From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Fri Feb 19 09:46:28 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id JAA19081; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 09:46:28 +1300 Received: from smtp.worley.co.nz (fwuser@fw.worley.co.nz [202.135.112.130]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with SMTP id JAA19078 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 09:46:26 +1300 Received: by smtp.worley.co.nz(Lotus SMTP MTA v4.6.1 (569.2 2-6-1998)) id 4C25671C.0077B42A ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 09:47:29 +1200 X-Lotus-FromDomain: WORLEY CONSULTANTS Message-ID: <4C25671C.0075D316.00@smtp.worley.co.nz> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 09:43:27 +1200 Subject: Re: Getting the Right Party (42 and multi-level play) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline From: amtennant@worley.co.nz To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz >One of the problems with our guild meeting method of arranging >adventures is that you can often end up with the wrong party for an >adventure. >The wrong mix of characters, missing a vital college for the adventure, >the average level is too low (or high), a bunch of thugs on a diplomatic >mission, or a bunch of fops on an orc bash. In "real life" a guild such as ours which is sending peopl out on potentially very hazardous missions would probably vet parties to make sure they were at least reasonably prepared for what was coming. >Usually you don't find this out until after the guild meeting is over, >and changing players is a logistical nightmare. Sometimes you get lucky >and one or two players can play their other character which fixes the >problem. >The rest of the time the GM has a choice, modify the adventure, or let >them continue and risk a lousy adventure, a cake walk, or killing them >all. This is also a problem if you turn up to a game and find out on the first night that the GM plays some wacky rules which you totally disagree with. It's often bloody difficult to swap games. >Do I have a point to make? I think so but the thoughts just aren't >coming together today. >Amongst its strengths which have helped keep the guild going all these >years, our method of getting characters on adventures has its problems. >I have no idea how to fix it without losing many of the positive >aspects. Does anyone have any workable ideas? I'm not sure "fixing" it is what is required. The fact that the guild is at least a facsimile of what it might be like "in reality" is the coolest thing about the whole setup IMO. You do get a certain amount of leeway in that if you wait until a few people have signed up you can peruse the list for any problems which you might have with characters/players but it's of limited usefulness. I don't think we need to do anything about the randomness of party selection. It makes things interesting. Otherwise you could do what an efficient guild would do in "real life" and that is organise the whole guild into parties and assign parties to adventres. That way the parties would know how to work together, have balanced colleges/levels/abilities and be organised. Of course this isn't going to happen so.... On with the chaos! :) L8R, Adam. -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers -- From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Fri Feb 19 13:10:35 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id NAA19281; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:10:35 +1300 Received: from mailhost.auckland.ac.nz (mailhost.auckland.ac.nz [130.216.1.4]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with ESMTP id NAA19278 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:10:33 +1300 Received: from sci4 (lbr-122-42.lbrsc.auckland.ac.nz [130.216.122.42]) by mailhost.auckland.ac.nz (8.9.2/8.9.2/8.9.2-ua) with SMTP id NAA20795 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:07:26 +1300 (NZDT) Message-Id: <199902190007.NAA20795@mailhost.auckland.ac.nz> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:07:35 +0000 Subject: Re: 42 X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v2.53/R1) From: "Michael Parkinson" To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: m.parkinson@auckland.ac.nz, dq@dq.sf.org.nz Dear all, especially Michael & Michael > > 2) So I can plan my character advancement to take advantage of > > synergistic effects. E.g. I want to be able to heal animals, and I've > > seen in one game that having healer and beastmaster allowed that. I go > > away and spend heaps of time and EP on healer and beastmaster, then > > discover that only one GM allows that combination to heal animals, and > > I should have been learning herbalist instead. > > I agree that this area is a bit tricky and can be frustrating at times. > However nowhere in either Healer or Beastmaster does it say that you can > heal animals. So what you are trying to do is non-standard. This is not a fair criticism. The player is trying to acheive something which, in the past has been _presumed_ to be impossible. I will always, as GM, allow a player with reasonable choice of skills or abilities to do something which *ought* to be possible by some suitably qualified guildmembers -- healing animals is a classic example. Actually, there is NOTHING in the rules which prevents a Healer applying _most_ of their abilities to a suitable animal, since an animal may be a "being." However, in general, I would prefer the rules to be a bit more explicit in what they include or exclude. Could I also endorse Adams point: > ... also a problem if you turn up to a game and find out on the first > night that the GM plays some wacky rules which you totally disagree > with. This is difficulty is exacerbated when the rule is broken in the first place -- you just have to hope that the GM will tend towards common-sense rather than craziness in their substitution. regards, An other Michael PS for the politically incorrect: "Wacky" is an insult pejoritively insensitve to Lefthanders. W.r.t. characters, you're suggesting, for example, that S.F. is somewhat crazy for genetic reasons -- rather than as a lifestyle choice. Michael Parkinson Information Services A/L Science Library, University of Auckland. Email: m.parkinson@auckland.ac.nz Phone: (09) 3737 599 x 5858 Fax: (09) 3082 304 -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers -- From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Fri Feb 19 13:47:13 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id NAA19352; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:47:13 +1300 Received: from smtp.worley.co.nz (fwuser@fw.worley.co.nz [202.135.112.130]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with SMTP id NAA19349 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:47:08 +1300 Received: by smtp.worley.co.nz(Lotus SMTP MTA v4.6.1 (569.2 2-6-1998)) id 4C25671D.0009E7DD ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:48:11 +1200 X-Lotus-FromDomain: WORLEY CONSULTANTS Message-ID: <4C25671D.000971C0.00@smtp.worley.co.nz> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:44:02 +1200 Subject: Re: 42 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline From: amtennant@worley.co.nz To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz >PS for the politically incorrect: "Wacky" is an insult pejoritively >insensitve to Lefthanders. W.r.t. characters, you're suggesting, for >example, that S.F. is somewhat crazy for genetic reasons -- rather than as >a lifestyle choice. I guess that makes Fizzgig somewhat crazy then. But you already knew that.... L8R, Adam. -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers -- From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Fri Feb 19 14:54:44 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id OAA19437; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 14:54:44 +1300 Received: from peace.com (defacto.peace.co.nz [202.14.141.225]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with SMTP id OAA19434 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 14:54:42 +1300 Received: via ESMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/pcnz2.7) id OAA02281; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 14:51:29 +1300 Message-ID: <36CCC609.24AB9179@peace.co.nz> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 15:01:45 +1300 X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (WinNT; I) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 Subject: Re: 42 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Martin Dickson To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Michael Parkinson wrote: > PS for the politically incorrect: "Wacky" is an insult pejoritively > insensitve to Lefthanders. Errr... technically "left" -- from the Old English and meaning 'weak' -- is also an insult to us errr.... lefthand...errr... sinistral folk... ummm... just forget it. :) -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers -- From owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Fri Feb 19 17:24:15 1999 Received: (from bin@localhost) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) id RAA19598; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 17:24:15 +1300 Received: from smtp.worley.co.nz (fwuser@fw.worley.co.nz [202.135.112.130]) by mail.sf.org.nz (8.8.6/NZSFI-19980830) with SMTP id RAA19595 for ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 17:24:14 +1300 Received: by smtp.worley.co.nz(Lotus SMTP MTA v4.6.1 (569.2 2-6-1998)) id 4C25671D.001DC9E5 ; Fri, 19 Feb 1999 17:25:22 +1200 X-Lotus-FromDomain: WORLEY CONSULTANTS Message-ID: <4C25671D.001D4CB5.00@smtp.worley.co.nz> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 17:21:11 +1200 Subject: Re: 42 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline From: amtennant@worley.co.nz To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz Sender: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz Errors-To: owner-dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Loop: dq@dq.sf.org.nz X-Requests: To unsubscribe from this list, or change your subscription address, send a message to dq-request@dq.sf.org.nz. Reply-To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz >> PS for the politically incorrect: "Wacky" is an insult pejoritively >> insensitve to Lefthanders. >Errr... technically "left" -- from the Old English and meaning 'weak' -- is >also an insult to us errr.... lefthand...errr... sinistral folk... ummm... >just forget it. :) Travelers of the left hand path? }|-] ( daemon smiley TM ) L8R, Adam. -- see unsubscribe instructions in message headers --