the "outrageous attribute" problem

[JLV]

Originally Posted by tbeard1999

And GMs who constantly allow their players to face such weak opposition are indistinguishable from other Monty Haul GMs who hand out rewards like candy. <shrug> I can’t hide a certain contempt for that style of play, though I concede it may be attractive to some. But TFT, like most 1st gen RPGs, was simply not designed for such a style of play. So it seems dubious to criticize it for failing to enable that playing style.

I think everyone enjoys that style of play once in awhile (or maybe only once) just to see what it's like to be able to drop-kick a kobold across the arena; otherwise we wouldn't have games like Munchkin themed on it! ;-)

However, having said that, my experience had shown that the "Monty Haul" effect is usually less intentional than it is an indicator of a lack of GM experience, and can be corrected quickly in play. Unless of course the players really want that (and my experience also indicates that such campaigns fold in a matter of a couple of dozen sessions at most).

[Rick_Smith]

Originally Posted by JLV

... However, having said that, my experience had shown that the "Monty Haul" effect is usually less intentional than it is an indicator of a lack of GM experience, and can be corrected quickly in play. Unless of course the players really want that (and my experience also indicates that such campaigns fold in a matter of a couple of dozen sessions at most).

Hi all, JLV.
I agree, I never intended to be a Monty Hall GM, but when I first started game mastering (using just melee, wizard and what I could learn from the DM Guide for D&D), I often would give out a decent magic item every 2 or 3 sessions. It didn't take too long to realize how quickly the power of the players would build up after they got a few of those.

Later, I was much more stingy about magic items. When ITL and AW came out, I gave a lot of enemy magic items the Limit / Expunge combo. That lets the NPC's have a few non-lootable magic items.

(I really like the Limit / Expunge enchantments btw.)

Warm regards, Rick.

[Kirk]

Any magic style items in my campaigns tend to mirror life, i.e. Lady Luck and Miss Fortune make a pair.

So a sword that allows more damage with a lower ST requirement might lower your IQ or DX, or a Lens of Translation might cause vision blurring for a period after use.

[Jim Kane]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Any magic style items in my campaigns tend to mirror life, i.e. Lady Luck and Miss Fortune make a pair.

So a sword that allows more damage with a lower ST requirement might lower your IQ or DX, or a Lens of Translation might cause vision blurring for a period after use.

I am trying to locate some sort of "thumbs up" icon, and I can't find it. Again, so critical and spot-on.

After he had stolen some gems, later, when he was able to look into his loot-bag, Conan found the gems had magically turned to dust. Using 'The Ring' comes with all manner of consequence. REH and JRRT understood this too.

JK