| Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
---|
671. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | The jester NPC class (issue #60) seems
to allow certain races like dwarves and
halflings to get the ability to cast magical
spells they could not normally use. Also,
some races are noted in the Players
Handbook as being able to learn only a
few extra languages due to their intelligence,
while jester NPCs are supposed to
gain a new language every other level. | | Jesters were designed to be unusual
NPCs; however, if a DM finds some of
their abilities to be too unusual, then of
course some changes in the class may be
made. DMs might consider having only
humans and gnomes be jesters if they
wish to restrict the class only to those
beings who can use illusionist magic,
possibly including half-elves if one
wanted to stretch it a bit, but this is all up
to the DM. As for the second question,
there are other character classes like
druids and bards who are able to learn a
number of languages over and above any
racial or intelligence limits; the jester is
free to do so, too, by the same token. |
672. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | What is a cantrip? | | Cantrips are minor magical spells for
magic-users and illusionists, often
referred to as 0-level spells. Typical
cantrips include polish, sweeten, curdle,
knot, flavor, (summon) mouse, and (produce)
belch. These spells were described
in issues #59-61 of DRAGON Magazine,
and are reprinted in the Best of
DRAGON® Vol. III anthology. |
673. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | In the game Flight of the Boodles
(issue #60), does the Boodle wizard hit on
a 1-3 or 1-4? The text contradicts itself. | | They hit on a 1-4, according to the
original rules, so two of the charts in the
game need to be corrected accordingly. |
674. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | In Modern Monsters (issue #57) the
speeds given for modern automotive vehicles
in AD&D terms seem awfully low
(example: 70/round is about 8 mph).
Why was this done? | | As mentioned in that article, the speeds
of such vehicles were scaled down by as
much as a factor of ten; this was done
partly for game balance, and because offroad
speeds will be much slower than
normal and game scenarios may have
overland travel involved. DMs using this
material may wish to increase these
speeds, but should be careful in doing so
to preserve game balance. |
675. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | In issue #48, in the section on undersea
magical items, there seems to have been a
misprint of some kind. | | The confusion can be cleared up by
reading + where = appears, so that
the names of the items are Dagger +1/+2
vs. Dolphins and Trident +1/+3 vs.
Elemental Beings. |
676. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | What is a balrog, and what are the statistics
for it? | | A balrog, as described in the Lord of
the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien,
appears to be similar to lower planes
creatures like demons in the AD&D system.
(Note that the original rules for the
D&D game did include mention of creatures
such as the balrog and the hobbit,
but those references were changed or
deleted in subsequent editions of that
game, and the terms do not appear in the
rules for the AD&D system.) The Type VI
demon in the Monster Manual resembles
the balrog, but is probably not as powerful
as a true balrog would be. If something
meant to be identical to a balrog is
to be used in a variant AD&D game, the
DM will have to invent his own game statistics
for the monster after carefully reading
the various Tolkien books. |
677. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | With regards to AD&D module S3,
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, would a
shield spell stop a laser shot? | | No; the shield would have no effect. |
678. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | Would blasters or lasers from GAMMA
WORLD adventures be able to harm creatures
only affected by magical weapons,
such as gargoyles? | | Yes; such energy attacks would harm
nearly all AD&D monsters or characters.
Use the Mutants & Magic section of the
DMG to arbitrate details of such combat. |
679. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | What are the following weapons like in
AD&D gaming: great axe, great bow,
great sword? | | The great axe is a bardiche or halberd
(which are both poleaxes); the great bow
is a long bow or long composite bow; the
great sword is a two-handed sword. |
680. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | Do real barbarians eat quiche? | | Real barbarians would hack and slay
anyone who offered them quiche to eat,
and would then stomp the quiche until it
was totally flat. Barbarians are like that. |