tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post1807156772838870647..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: All the King's MenAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-7390770756732765582012-03-19T09:33:36.555-06:002012-03-19T09:33:36.555-06:00To keep my sanity, everything returns in some degr...To keep my sanity, everything returns in some degree to the status quo.<br /><br />You misunderstood something I had said, but its understandable. When I said the "mongols" didn't conquer Russia, I was referring to the earth concept of the mongols - that is, humans. Orcs and haruchai and ogres conquered Russia ... but they did not stay, as they had to return to fight hobgoblins on their border. Baghdad was plundered - and there are orc and ogre kingdoms (along with goblins, hobgoblins, norkers and so on) that still control Siberia. Russia never expanded to the Pacific because of that.<br /><br />I apologize. I may have worded my original statement incorrectly, because most of the time I'm keeping two histories in my head, and I tend to get confused myself.<br /><br />There is a spice road: Samarkand and Kokand are human states, as well as the Moghuls and Safavids. The spice road passes through the Dzungarian Gate and is protected and defended by - well, I just don't tell people who don't go there, is all.<br /><br />There was a Black Death. It was anti-magical in nature. Many paladins died.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-10561962476366017302012-03-19T08:48:41.644-06:002012-03-19T08:48:41.644-06:00Resurrection is an interesting idea. But then why ...Resurrection is an interesting idea. But then why have heirs at all? Perhaps St. Peter is still on the throne in Vatican City! The Lich Pope!<br /><br />I'm not annoyed -- exactly the opposite, actually. I like talking about ideas and exploring what happens next. <br /><br />For example, earlier you said that the Mongols never conquered Russia. What does this mean for Islam if Baghdad is never sacked, and the Abbasid Caliphate continues? And what about world trade -- without a Mongol Empire to keep the peace, would "Spice Road" trade be possible? And if there is less east-west trade, does that mean no Black Death? Especially when you consider the power of a Cure Disease spell.<br /><br />Or not. Maybe Baghdad was sacked by Orcs a hundred years earlier or a hundred years later. Maybe the Spice Road is rendered moot by sea captains navigating by magic. I dunno. I just like thinking about it.Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-44016214841551078752012-03-19T07:48:30.076-06:002012-03-19T07:48:30.076-06:00Getting closer to it all the time, Butch.
Couple ...Getting closer to it all the time, Butch.<br /><br />Couple of questions, before I answer.<br /><br />If you had reached 20th level, and had to direct the battle as much as possible through mages standing at your elbow with spells, would you be in the fray, or would you be up on a hill? You make it sound like a general does nothing.<br /><br />In a D&D world, with magic, does the classic difficulty of making women pregnant, or ensuring a male heir, or seeing to it that the baby doesn't die at birth, really all the problem it was in our world? Think about it.<br /><br />Is the high death rate of heirs a given if laws are made that heirs under 30 are entitled to resurrection?<br /><br />Bastards WERE tolerated. What history have you read? There's a terrible tendency to think that 16 and 17th century politics/intrigue obeyed the rules set up during the 19th century monarchies.<br /><br />Answers:<br /><br />Yes, we're talking A LOT of very powerful NPCs - so be ready.<br /><br />In a world of magic, no place is safe. But no one "acts" in any given restrictive manner, just because they're high level. People are still individuals.<br /><br />I don't know why you presuppose that kings automatically die in battles. Ransom, you know, is still ransom; I think it likely your enemies would resurrect your bones if it meant getting your ransom. In any case, in actual history, real kings fought, real kings died, and the monarchy managed to struggle on.<br /><br />On a personal note, I'm not sure if this annoys you, or if it is just that the standardized D&D world seems preprogrammed so that anyone who's ninth level automatically gets a ticket to greatness.<br /><br />The fact is, IF you're going to have a meaningful "end game" after the player hits name level, then there have to be MORE powerful name levels than the party for things to stay interesting. All I've done is systematize a world where master high levels are more common.<br /><br />After all, my world's population IS above 200 million. How many DMs have worlds that big?Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-1431726743167229352012-03-19T07:25:31.549-06:002012-03-19T07:25:31.549-06:00One could argue that Authority Equals Asskicking a...One could argue that <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorityEqualsAsskicking" rel="nofollow">Authority Equals Asskicking</a> also is a cliche, but let's not digress...<br /><br />OK, so posit a world where a great deal of resources are used, and risk overcome, to level up your potential heirs. And isn't just the royal family -- this would be all nobles, soldiers (surely, if King Charles II is a 20th level Fighter, so is Cromwell?), clergymen (presumably the Pope is a 20th level Cleric?), and so on. So there are a LOT of very powerful NPCs in this world.<br /><br />I would also think it would be expected that nobles and generals would not only lead troops into battle, but <i>participate</i> (a la Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, or even Starship Troopers). Not just watch from a distant hill while surrounded by a troop of bodyguards. Actually, watching from a distant hill probably isn't a safe in a world with magic -- you're probably safer in the thick of the battle, in your non-fancy armor and with your non-ornate weaponry, mowing down the 1st level grunts.<br /><br />I would imagine there would be a high death rate among heirs as they attempt to level up. (Getting to level 16 or 20 isn't easy!) You would want to have <i>a lot</i> of spares. Maybe polygamy would be allowed, or at the very least, bastards would be tolerated.<br /><br />Or maybe going at it from another direction, instead of having many heirs with the hope that one will have the requisite ability scores and luck to survive to 20th level, you would instead see a system where a powerful son-in-law, or even a man adopted as an adult (which happens in Japan), can be named the successor over a natural son who is not up to the challenge. <br /><br />What do you think?Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-8702647068661806432012-03-17T22:59:38.143-06:002012-03-17T22:59:38.143-06:00I don't see the idea as 'rigid' at all...I don't see the idea as 'rigid' at all - no more than any other rule in the game. I see it as moving the decision-making process from "out of my ass" to one of predictable logic - thus providing the players with a reasonable expectation when speaking face to face with ANY authority figure.<br /><br />I know, I know, there's the old trope about the weak king surrounded by his strong and powerful protectors - but I think that's a sucked-dry cliche and it isn't interesting to me. Moreover, I don't have just one or two kings to consider - I have literally hundreds. This isn't rigid - it is simplification.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-70811285864112521602012-03-17T21:43:59.043-06:002012-03-17T21:43:59.043-06:00I'm just not sure why you want to tie a politi...I'm just not sure why you want to tie a political leader's stature -- especially an <i>inherited</i> leader -- into a PC concept like levels. So the King isn't the best fighter. So what? He's the King. It doesn't matter if he's 1st level or 20th. He's still the King. <br /><br />Why tie yourself into such a rigid system, instead of just declaring the King is whatever level you want him to be, should the need arise?Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-73301248064306588342012-03-17T15:43:30.169-06:002012-03-17T15:43:30.169-06:00Are you saying that in a world where people telepo...Are you saying that in a world where people teleport, where young future kings could go "hunting" on other planes of existence, where an assassin is about a hundred times more deadly due to magical aid and the like, that a father wouldn't teach his prince to fight like a 20th level fighter?<br /><br />Read Girl Genius. Read ALL of it. You can find the link in the sidebar. Then come talk to me.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-57016757849795473212012-03-17T15:15:36.862-06:002012-03-17T15:15:36.862-06:00Not 12th... 20th. Wow.Not 12th... 20th. Wow.Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-7113875097324522362012-03-17T14:32:44.907-06:002012-03-17T14:32:44.907-06:00So... you're saying King Charles II would be a...So... you're saying King Charles II would be able to fight as a 12th level fighter? He, personally, would be able to take on six or eight common foot soldiers and singlehandedly slay them all?<br /><br />Really?Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-59025242841106616442012-03-17T14:24:34.206-06:002012-03-17T14:24:34.206-06:00I've discussed that before, Doug.
Even nobles...I've discussed that before, Doug.<br /><br />Even nobles who inherited were raised from birth to hunt wild animals, stags and boars, worth 90+ experience per kill, and many of these could be killed - and were - through the 20 years leading up to a king's reign. Many nobles also led armies, and gained plunder by that leading, even if it wasn't done in the field. Wouldn't the ordered execution of an enemy be experience too? It was so ordered, it was so done - without the noble's writ, no blood would be spilled, so we're talking here of the king using a human being as a weapon.<br /><br />There are lots and lots of other ways you might consider; rape in the king's bedroom, for example, or watching the proceeds of a prisoner being tortured; or various other vices and pursuits. Not every point of damage is managed in ordinary D&D adventuring.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-69559273126278300682012-03-17T10:52:19.486-06:002012-03-17T10:52:19.486-06:00While the discussion of royalty and nobility as a ...While the discussion of royalty and nobility as a function of character level is interesting, I'm wondering how it holds up on the personal scale. Especially since many nobles did not acquire their position by adventuring and staking out a hex, but were instead born into noble families that already had ancestral titles and holdings and such. So if a character had a kingly sum simply handed to them in such a manner, what impact would it have on the character's level, hit points, saving throws, etc.?F. Douglas Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06497140550892192807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-34083625885009451052012-03-17T05:57:11.439-06:002012-03-17T05:57:11.439-06:00Which seems to be the wrong direction.
I guess no...Which seems to be the wrong direction.<br /><br />I guess no one really plays out the world their DM has set before them anymore, it's all narrow campaign this, module that.(this is what I gather in my ignorance, not in any actual experience)Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890397263351615168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-19914586041501121412012-03-16T20:57:48.522-06:002012-03-16T20:57:48.522-06:00It would never make it in. They're more worri...It would never make it in. They're more worried about your one character and it's super epic abilities, and staying 'in the action'. There isn't a strong emphasis on character legacy really.Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-88999480053729723112012-03-16T20:03:06.445-06:002012-03-16T20:03:06.445-06:00Alexis,
As usual, brilliant.
Of all the interest...Alexis, <br /><br />As usual, brilliant.<br />Of all the interesting mods you have done to the AD&D system, this fanatic henchmen your xp system, and you creature mass system should be incorporated into 5th edition.<br /><br />It boggles my mind how much work actually goes into your world to keep it interesting, especially when you start throwing high level NPC's at you PC's.Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890397263351615168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-84657638306993306132012-03-16T19:45:06.629-06:002012-03-16T19:45:06.629-06:00True, while sorting through your content a couple ...True, while sorting through your content a couple years back, I got to wondering about how your opinions on some of the topics have changed. I guess that's a possible font of topics should you ever run short eh?Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-37985504540082271442012-03-16T18:54:13.480-06:002012-03-16T18:54:13.480-06:00I did. But life - and logic - has moved on.I did. But life - and logic - has moved on.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83073385084540164062012-03-16T17:51:51.819-06:002012-03-16T17:51:51.819-06:00Didn't you cover 0th level previously when tal...Didn't you cover 0th level previously when talking about generating the level of all the people in a city?Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.com