TheAuldGrump Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Just now, Reaperbryan said: A sensible adventurer buys a bag of Holding or portable hole as fast as possible and carries only what he needs and that bag. Back when I first started playing, it was not unknown for PCs to take mules with them into the dungeons. Mules are a whole lot less likely to shy than pack horses, eat less, and can handle narrow trails... and are cheap enough that even when they get eaten by a grue it is not that big a deal. (Except for the mule....) I still remember the first time my players had to deal with a stubborn mule refusing to follow them int a tunnel.... Turned out that the mule was right.... The Auld Grump 2 minutes ago, BlazingTornado said: Yeah but we're talking OD&D movements here, so this is that era where you couldn't buy magic items, wasn't it? You could only find them through adventuring. And, whoo boy! Did the treasure vary from adventure to adventure! As a GM, I, personally, was very glad to see guidelines in 3e - because, when left to my own devices, I am a stingy bastiche. You slay the dragon and find twelve silver pieces, and some pocket lint. The Auld Grump 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Ah, yes, extra muscle to lug stuff around. That reminds me of my players, actually. Throughout recent adventures they found a number of mundane weapons and armors they chose to hold on to (as well they should because they're coming up on a pretty touch cultist hideout, but will find within some prisoners that can help them once freed and geared up), but some started complaining about how their bags and haversack were getting bloated... Despite the fact that I gave them a cart to lug things around way back, and they bought a carriage for more capacity later on.... neither of which were particularly filled. They finally realized the weekend prior that they could lighten up their carried loads by passing some on to their vehicles. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unruly Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 25 minutes ago, TheAuldGrump said: In the SCA there was a guy that managed to swim the length of an Olympic sized pool and back, while wearing full plate. Even with chain armor, some of the weight is supported from a belt that is around your hips, taking some of the weight off of your shoulders. The Auld Grump There's actually a video I saw where a guy attempted just that. He's not a SCAdian, but he's got a kit that's looks pretty dang accurate and he goes for a swim in an Olympic pool. He doesn't quite make the distance, and he's got a couple safety divers on hand for if he fails, but he does make a fair attempt. It proves the possibility to me, even if it doesn't prove that it was a historical feat. https://player.vimeo.com/video/13634653 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperbryan Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 So much of the old rules were based on what Gary and his friends thought was true, or thought should be true, or just thought made plate an unattractive option because otherwise there were no in-game reasons NOT to wear plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Except the price... and after about third level or so, that is not a real problem. The Auld Grump 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaganMegan Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Dice. Not everyone is created equal. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 2 hours ago, Unruly said: I've had some old soldiers tell me that their armor is actually far less limiting and cumbersome than their modern combat gear was. Primarily because it's not all piled onto their back and shoulders and has the weight distributed across the whole body. That was my experience of using plate. I always wanted to try a front rolling breakfall in a breastplate, but I've never been convinced that the neck cutout wouldn't hit my throat and break my larynx. Which would make for a suboptimal day. Back when it would have been hard to carry all your stuff, most people had hirelings. (And if they had horses, they had hirelings to watch the horses while the group went into the dungeon.) Which is the source of many comic strips about D&D. And the deep weirdness of D&D was well-understood at the time. There's a reason that nearly all the fantasy RPGs that came out after it was clear that D&D was a hit went toward some version of "realistic". RuneQuest was almost certainly the most popular, and it used attacks and parries as separate skills and rolls, armor that reduced damage rather than making it harder to hit, hit points that were extremely limited, limb damage, .... Pretty much a direct response to "D&D combat makes no sense." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokemeister Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 6 hours ago, VitM said: I tend towards using the standard array, plus 3 to 6 additional stat points (not following the point buy system, purchased 1:1). That way there's enough to buy a stat up to 18 or buy off the 8, whichever the player prefers. I remember reading about one rolling scheme that I really liked: All players roll 1-3 sets of stats (4d6) and picks one to keep, the other is discarded. Then, everyone compares what was kept and anyone can use any of those arrays to make their character. It allows you have the variety of rolling without having anyone get stuck playing the village doofus. If the set of numbers you rolled was trash, you can just take the array your friend rolled with the 3 16's. Or you can take an overall slightly worse array because it's the only one that someone rolled an 18 in, or was the only array without a stat below 11, or whatever. I really like this idea - will have to keep it in mind for possible (albeit unlikely ) future use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unruly Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 2 hours ago, Doug Sundseth said: That was my experience of using plate. I always wanted to try a front rolling breakfall in a breastplate, but I've never been convinced that the neck cutout wouldn't hit my throat and break my larynx. Which would make for a suboptimal day. A properly fit breastplate should stop at your natural waist, with articulated faulds covering anything below. So if it fits right, it shouldn't really run the risk of messing with your neck even at full bend. But I can understand your hesitation, especially these days. Unless you're spending a lot of money and either visiting your armorer frequently or sending them a full body cast of yourself, you're unlikely to get something that truly fits perfectly. Most of what gets made these day, especially for the SCA and similar organizations, is firmly within the realm of what was known as "munition armor." In other words it's stuff that's made to set patterns that are a passable fit for most people, and anyone that it doesn't fit just gets the pattern enlarged or shrunk until it does. That's not to say that there aren't armorers out there willing to do the custom stuff, but it's usually outside what most people are willing to spend. It's kind of impressive how the fit of a well made suit of armor is, because it meant that the maker had to be both blacksmith and tailor. And doing tailoring in metal is definitely not easy, that's for sure. Trust me, I've tried both. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 3 minutes ago, Unruly said: A properly fit breastplate should stop at your natural waist, with articulated faulds covering anything below. So if it fits right, it shouldn't really run the risk of messing with your neck even at full bend. But I can understand your hesitation, especially these days. Unless you're spending a lot of money and either visiting your armorer frequently or sending them a full body cast of yourself, you're unlikely to get something that truly fits perfectly. Most of what gets made these day, especially for the SCA and similar organizations, is firmly within the realm of what was known as "munition armor." In other words it's stuff that's made to set patterns that are a passable fit for most people, and anyone that it doesn't fit just gets the pattern enlarged or shrunk until it does. That's not to say that there aren't armorers out there willing to do the custom stuff, but it's usually outside what most people are willing to spend. It's kind of impressive how the fit of a well made suit of armor is, because it meant that the maker had to be both blacksmith and tailor. And doing tailoring in metal is definitely not easy, that's for sure. Trust me, I've tried both. Mine is fairly well fitted, but in a front rolling breakfall, your neck to waist distance can decrease by rather more than the thickness of your esophagus. Even a well-fitted breastplate functionally increases your torso rigidity. At any rate, I fought for the Outlands at Estrella a couple of years (long enough ago that it was still at Estrella Mountain Park), and like much of the Kingdom was skirmishing for many of the battles. I did get a bit winded at times, but never had much problem running entirely around the end of the enemy line to attack the rear while wearing breastplate (with faulds), pauldrons, gorget, vambraces, helm, cuisses, poleyns, greaves, and gauntlets. Not full plate, but quite fully protected. Though it helped that we were at 1100 feet, not 5300 feet. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowley Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 22 hours ago, Reaperbryan said: A sensible adventurer buys a bag of Holding or portable hole as fast as possible and carries only what he needs and that bag. Also meat shields... I mean hirelings... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaganMegan Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Mapping. I would say get her a gridded easel pad and some colored pencils. The maps will be big enough for her to use on the table, and she already knows how to draw. Maybe make some stickers for furniture, like you have on some of your old maps. She doesn't need software, she needs EXPERIENCE. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unruly Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 3 hours ago, Crowley said: Also meat shields... I mean hirelings... My friends have a term for those - torchbearers. They go to town, find some naive kid, pay them a gp or two, and have them carry a torch 10ft in front of the party. If the kid dies, no big loss for the party and now the party knows where the traps and bad guys are. If the kid lives, he just made a couple gold for walking and probably gets tipped some extra loot for being a good torchbearer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaganMegan Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 Pathfinder has a feat for torchbearers. Not a feat I would take 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 37 minutes ago, Unruly said: My friends have a term for those - torchbearers. They go to town, find some naive kid, pay them a gp or two, and have them carry a torch 10ft in front of the party. If the kid dies, no big loss for the party and now the party knows where the traps and bad guys are. If the kid lives, he just made a couple gold for walking and probably gets tipped some extra loot for being a good torchbearer. Yeah but then the townsfolk hate the murderhobos for suckering the poor kid to his doom. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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