The Gaming Den

Once again I preach the word of Spycraft 2.0 , the system that makes all of these d20 things come together in a reasonable whole.[br][br] 'craft ditches the whole diplomacy thing and spreads it out over several skills (Impress, Intimidate, Manipulate, Networking, and even Streetwise) because interac...

So if you actually played by those guidelines, you're damned right something is off! The characters can't accomplish anything of lasting value because people can go from 1st level to casting 9th level spells inside of two months. [br][br]When I was running my Realms game that was the conceit I used...

In Edward Bellamy's now-class Utopian novel Looking Backward he proposed a solution to the question… If the sales clerk and the doctor both make the same wage, why would anyone want to waste all that time studying to be a doctor when they can go become a salesman with a high school education? His so...

That's the letter of the law. If you want to argue that the rule here is a little out of whack, I might be inclined to agree. We've seen a zillion spy movies where an assassin nails someone through a window with his rifle. Why not let that happen in D&D?[br][br] An easy solution to this might b...

Unkown Armies sounds so right for this game.

1. Official Web Site
   
2. Manufacturer's Web Site
   
3. Wikipedia Entry

20.00 EUR = 26.1515 USD according to XE.com, but, still, a $13 beer? That still should better be a great beer--or accompanied by hot chicks.

Oh, yeah, HNY and all.

Instead of basing it on accuracy, Spycraft 2.0 (a d20 permutation) bases it off of damage done. That way, even an expertly aimed pinky to the face doesn't randomly lead to decapitation.[br][br]To sum up: If the target suffers 25-49 points of damage from a single hit, he rolls a Fort save (DC = ½ dam...

Frank, that was the perfect link for the Kingdom Hearts newbie. Awesome.

(Let it be known (in parentheses) that I played all of 20 minutes of Kingdom Hearts and thought it was exactly like that guy was saying, except substituting Soul Caliber 3 for Resident Evil 4.)

My 3.5 purchases have included…[br][*]The 3 core books,[br][*] The Book of Nine Swords , and[br][*] Cityscape .[br]This last I purchased thinking that maybe Wizards could actually pull together and crank out a decent text on city design that goes beyond, "There is a Brd16 in this city, and that...

No matter what all the gaming advice columns and message boards say, it's still always the DM's game. It is always easier for the DM to find new players than for players to find a new DM. It's also always easier for the player to adapt his PC to the game world than it is for the DM to adapt the game...

Alternately, write the prestige class. Use as requirements the ability to summon familiar and aura of courage (making it difficult for anyone but a Pal/Sor to enter the class). Then grant the prestige class a hybridized summon familiar/special mount ability as well as limited spellcasting advancemen...

Well, my buffs last until combat ends. I figure I am still in combat so long as something can see me and wants to kill me. So I keep a baby with me and slap him every thirty seconds or so. He wants to fight me because of that (of course he can't do anything cause he's a baby) and so combat never en...

For multiclassing, the trick is to make the spellcasting immediately boss and scale it. There should be a way--and I'm not a-gonna write it--wherein a Ftr6 takes a level of wizard and can suddenly cast one 4th-level spell and 2 3rd-level spells… and then when he hits Ftr8/Wiz1, he can cast 1 5th-lev...

I was just stunned at the similarity. These are kill stickers for SJG's Car Wars, c. 1987.

The problem is that a Fighter never gets more options when new material is presented. They get 18 feats in 20 levels. No more, no less. No amount of feat publishing will ever change the fact that a Fighter always has 18 options at level 20. [br][br]They could , but they won't. [br][br]Wizards (the ...

The reason for torture in D&D is that it's nonmechanical information extraction. You, as the DM, have to decide at what point the orc is willing to give up the information based on the information and the orc not on the game mechanics.[br][br]Mechanize that and watch torture goes away. Spycraft ...

The perfect solution, really, is a Lost Worlds -type system wherein everyone has his own unique combat card and booklet.[br][br]I toyed with such a system, but it was clunky… it would need a pretty huge amount of support to be effective or only offer a smattering of maneuvers or be endlessly customi...

No one ever uses all-out defense, or any other of the basic maneuvers aside from charge and all-out attack... and winning battles is a matter of who's willing to stand there and hope luck goes with them - or they die in the first round. There seems little inbetween. [br][br]Sadly, the game I'm in d...

Here's why :[br][br] Southeast Michigan has served as a center of migration from the Middle East to the United States since the 19th century. Today the Detroit metropolitan area remains the capital of America?s Arab-American community, with an estimated population of 300,000. The largest concentrati...

While it's really not the solution we need, which is to ban gerunds , or restrict them, it's a solution. [br][br]While agreeing with you is sometimes difficult, the banning of gerunds appears, as a political necessity, to be, frankly, odd.[br][br]Using that word in a way with which I am unfamiliar ...

An aside…[br][br] None of the 56 passengers aboard US Airways Flight 3441 was injured, and no bomb was immediately found, authorities said. [br][br]I hate over-correction. Newspapers should know better. When using the words some , all , most , any , and none , plurality or singularity can only be de...

This is the only time I will ever respond to you because your posts are near 100% lies, misdirection and complete disconnection from reality. You and your "points" do not deserve the credibility of anyone responding, but heck, this once I will. [br][br]Hey, PL, was this really directed at...

Are you sure they didn't? Are you good friends with a Mossad agent or something? They might have been guilty due to secret evidence so secret no one even claims to have it. So they must die! How do WE know you haven't been hiding Osama Bin Laden in your basement? [br][br]Are you seriously suggestin...

Let me keep this simple.[br][br] A) Yes, those poor souls gave aid by hiding terrorists in their fishing boats hundreds of miles from the fighting. B) Must've hid them on the freeway, too. C) Yep, you're so responsible for hiding terrorists when they buy the house next door to you. [br][br] A) Are y...

I dunno, apparently 'not kill civillians' and 'support democratic change' aren't reasonable suggestions, so why are you even in the thread? [br][br]When one's foe is given material support by those civilians--which includes hiding one's foes in their homes--those civilians assume some risk, don't t...