Murphy's Rules

[Kirby]

Originally Posted by Rupert

FTL comms:

In D&D3.x a readied action preempts the action that triggers it. Have a chain of commoners, five feet apart (though they could be as much as 10' apart, if need be) all ready the action "when the guy on my right puts the message baton into my hand, I shall place it in the hand of the guy to my left". Perfectly legal. The message is placed in the hand of the fist commoner, and arrives at the end of the chain before it even started - not just FTL, but time travel. :)

This is a completely beautiful observation. You've got to send it in to Pyramid.

--K

[Methariel]

Well, concerning the "killing the helpless high-level character"-mysterium I'd like to add that I think I read in the Player's Handbook 3.5 something like "sometimes a bolt to the head is just a bolt to the head" (isn't that somewhere in the "Coup de grace"-section?), encouraging the DM to step in on those occasions the rules are...well, let's just say not intuitive.

M.

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

2. Not really, in 3.x at least Golems and Skeletons take less damage from some weapons but have no absolute immunity. All can be damaged by sword's edges if swung with sufficient force.

Fred Brackin

I shall edit to replace 'invulnerable' with 'resistant'. Does that make you feel better?

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie

In Classic Traveller, it was possible for your character to be killed during character generation -- before he even entered play.

I must know more about this!

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

I must know more about this!

In Classic Traveller, before your character actually started playing the game you choose a "career" lasting 4 years (like joining the Navy) and during those 4 years you gained a skill (rolled randomly) and maybe got promoted (rolled randomly) and maybe you died (again rolled randomly).

When you left the Navy or whatever) you got retirement benefits like cash or stuff (rolled randomly again) and voila! you were ready to play after you spent whatever money you had to buy the stuff you didn't get at retirement.

Aboutt he only thing to be said for this except that it was sort of simulationist (after all, some people do die every year) was that it theoretically discouraged people from staying on their pre-game career path until they were kicked out because of age. Staying in your career was pretty much the only way to gain skills or anything else before the game started after all.

Few people were dissuaded by the death roll. Rolling a new character took about 5 minutes, most of that scribbling down what you rolled randomly. The real danger was that you could get a crappy character and he'd survive.

Fred Brackin

[Kromm]

Or you'd get a really capable character who was an expert at something you had no desire to use. My very first character somehow ended up with level 5 in a combat skill . . . and he was meant to be a noncombatant. It struck me as unusually silly at the time. It was a result of his career being a relatively easy one to survive for many, many terms; there being a small chance of a combat skill level; and me surviving for some five terms and getting only that one stupid skill every time.

[Pmandrekar]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

In Classic Traveller, before your character actually started playing the game you choose a "career" lasting 4 years (like joining the Navy) and during those 4 years you gained a skill (rolled randomly) and maybe got promoted (rolled randomly) and maybe you died (again rolled randomly).

When you left the Navy or whatever) you got retirement benefits like cash or stuff (rolled randomly again) and voila! you were ready to play after you spent whatever money you had to buy the stuff you didn't get at retirement.

One thing that I have to say about this approach to character generation is that it created characters that looked as if they didn't all enter play together. That is, Most D&D campaigns start off with all characters the same "level" (Let's say 1st, but for balance sake, they can all be some different level). Most GURPS campaigns kick off with the same assumption, that everyone starts off with the same number of "points". For game balance sake. (Although, on the same # of points, it's possible to create characters that look as if they're at different points in their careers).

One of the cool things about Classic Traveller is that you end up with 4 or 5 characters that look as if they went down different pathways, different backstories to end up working together.

So, you could end up with an 18 year old farm boy (who would have maximum physical attributes, but have very few skills) or a 50-year old retired general in the same party. Different backstories working together.

-P.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Or you'd get a really capable character who was an expert at something you had no desire to use. My very first character somehow ended up with level 5 in a combat skill . . . and he was meant to be a noncombatant. It struck me as unusually silly at the time. It was a result of his career being a relatively easy one to survive for many, many terms; there being a small chance of a combat skill level; and me surviving for some five terms and getting only that one stupid skill every time.

Some would argue that this reflects your average military bureaucracy pretty well.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Rupert

Some would argue that this reflects your average military bureaucracy pretty well.

"But I'm an electronics engineer!"

"Sorry, says close-combat expertise on the yellow slip."

[smurf]

Warhammer (FB not 40K)

Large creatures get +1 to hit when shooting at them.

You do not get +1 to hit large creatures when in close combat.

Also a large unit, often wider than a large creature and also many ranks deep do not get a +1 to hit when shooting at them.