How to protect casters?

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Why couldn't a mundane warrior, earn the respect of a god somewhere who gave him a small number of minor warrior demigods as his summable servants?

Arguing "But what if a God does it?" is sort of cheap. Gods can always break the rules, it's a given, and a cop-out as far as "well it should be legal because gods can do it".

Your mundane warrior CAN'T just randomly buy some summonable demigod sidekicks with spare character points, just because he has 20 CP from the last adventure and the party is spending a week in town and spending their Cp.

[Kaldrin]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Your mundane warrior CAN'T just randomly buy some summonable demigod sidekicks with spare character points, just because he has 20 CP from the last adventure and the party is spending a week in town and spending their Cp.

And 'demigod sidekicks'? How freakin' powerful are your characters at that point?

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

And 'demigod sidekicks'? How freakin' powerful are your characters at that point?

I *had* a demigod sidekick once...name of Periacles, Hera, no wait Heracles that was his name...all he did was drink all day and stick me with the bartab.


Frelling GM separating the Players from their hard earned Loot...

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Why couldn't a mundane warrior, earn the respect of a god somewhere who gave him a small number of minor warrior demigods as his summable servants?

In Dungeon Fantasy, because it's out-of-genre, where "genre" is defined as being the least common denominator of tropes shamelessly pilfered from AD&D, First Edition, Tunnels & Trolls, and similar late '70s and early '80s FRPGs; Rogue, NetHack, and all their clones; and pre-MMORPG CRPGs, most influentially the Diablo series. In that picture, casters have summonables because that's part of what defines "caster." Non-casters lack summonables because they have some combo of combat ability, evasion, stealth, and toughness that enables them to tackle enemies sans summoned help -- or because they have some "get out of combat free" ability that lets them not be there.

Outside of Dungeon Fantasy, there's no reason not to allow it.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Rogue, NetHack, and all their clones.

Nethack is notorious for giving every character, regardless of class, a pet at first level. In early editions, said pet was a substantial hazard to your character's life and limb, as it was prone to get in your way, wake up monsters, eat food you needed, and sometimes kill you, but it was certainly not a caster-specific trick. Summon Monster scrolls were magic, sure, but tended to get you monsters that would beat on you, not allies. Some methods of getting pets in later editions of nethack:

• At the start of the game, you get either a kitten or a little dog.
• Make offerings at an altar. Occasionally you'll get a divine ally sent.
• Polymorph into a demon and attack bare-handed. Occasionally you get some hell-p. This was not always a good idea.
• Polymorph into a female oviparous creature and use the #sit command to get an egg. When it hatched, it would become a pet.
• Read a scroll of taming next to a monster that isn't immune.
• Throw certain monsters, including wild cats and dogs, the sort of food they like.

Hm... Dungeon Fantasy: Nethack. Now there's a scheme.

[reverend]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Hm... Dungeon Fantasy: Nethack. Now there's a scheme.

I call dibs on the @ template.

[trooper6]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Why malediction and not sense based?

I said Malediction because that made it a Quick Contest between the person Taunting and the target of the taunt. Which seemed to make sense to me. With an Sense-Based Affliction...there isn't the Quick-Contest...just a ranged attack that would then be resisted (or not)...and I didn't like the feel of that.

Of course, since Malediction and Sense-Based are stackable, one could always add the Sense-Based (Hearing) -20% limitation to the Malediction and make Taunt a bit cheaper.

[PK]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Why couldn't a mundane warrior, earn the respect of a god somewhere who gave him a small number of minor warrior demigods as his summable servants?

In DF, that sounds like a Knight-Holy Warrior. Perfectly logical cross, sure, and there's no reason the delver couldn't spend the Holy Might points on a Summonable Ally.

See, once you have the ability to summon divine servitors, you're no longer a "mundane" warrior. You're a warrior with divine/magical/miraculous abilities. That's what the Holy Warrior template is for, in DF.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

And 'demigod sidekicks'? How freakin' powerful are your characters at that point?

I specified minor.

I could build minor demigods on very few points.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

In DF, that sounds like a Knight-Holy Warrior. Perfectly logical cross, sure, and there's no reason the delver couldn't spend the Holy Might points on a Summonable Ally.

See, once you have the ability to summon divine servitors, you're no longer a "mundane" warrior. You're a warrior with divine/magical/miraculous abilities. That's what the Holy Warrior template is for, in DF.

Sure you are, you just happen to have been given the Dog Wistle of Carbeleth, that summons the Divine Hounds of Carbeleth