Q. The description of the troll in the Monstrous Compendium says that
any hit with a "natural" 20 severs a limb. Does this apply to attacks
against other creatures? If not, why does the game have the
seventh-level priest spell regenerate?
A. Trolls are thin and rubbery, and are prone to being hacked apart,
although hacking apart a troll doesn't do much good. Unless the DM
creates his own critical-hit system, it's not possible to hack limbs
off other creatures in combat. However, swords of sharpness, monsters
such as green slime, crude forms of medieval justice, and many other
hazards in the game can lead to the loss of limbs, hence the
regenerate spell.
Q. The Monstrous Compendium, Volume One lists statistics for greater
rakshasas, but gives no experience point values for them.
A. Greater rakshasas are the Rhuks, Rajahs, and Maharajahs.
Q. One of my players wants to run anultimist character from Polyhedron
Newszine issue #23. This is a powerful class. Is it intended for PC
use or just for NPCs?
A. Neither. The ultimist is a piece of satire. In this case, the
mockery is directed at players who insist on having characters who can
do anything and everything. Try not to laugh too hard if you player
asks about playing an ultimist again.
Q. When can we expect to see rules for psionics in the AD&D 2nd
Edition game?
A. A handbook on psionics is tentatively scheduled for release in
early 1991. Stay tuned for further developments.
Q. How much does it cost to build a castle, tower, or other
fortification? I couldn't find this information in the DMG.
A. This information is presented in DMGR2 Castle Guide (TSR Product
#2114), available now.
Q. Can a spellfire wielder (from FR7 Hall of Heroes, pages 49-50) ever
return to his original class? Can a spellfire wielder absorb clerical
spell energy? If so, is this voluntary or involuntary? What happens to
spellfire wielders who absorb more energy than their limit? How do you
determine if a character can have spellfire ability?
A. A character with spellfire powers never actually leaves his
original class. However, to gain experience in his original class, the
character must refrain from using any spellfire abilities during an
adventure. If the character does use a spellfire ability, all
experience earned during that adventure goes toward the character's
spellfire level, except for individual experience awards for the
character's original class (see the DMG, page 48), which are lost.
Spellfire wielders can absorb magical energy from almost any source:
spells of all types, breath weapons, gaze attacks, and just about
anything else. At the 1st level of spellfire ability, absorption is
involuntary; the character drains any magic with which he comes in
contact, including useful magical items and healing spells (only rest
or non-magical healing can heal damage to the character). Absorption
is strictly voluntary at 2nd level and above. Exactly what happens if
the character exceeds his limit is unrevealed. I suggest that either
the character becomes unable to absorb more energy once he reaches the
limit and consequentially is affected normally by any magic with which
he comes in contact while "full", or he absorbs the excess and
automatically releases one level of energy each segment (10 times per
round), suffering 1-6 hit points of damage each time, until his total
energy falls back into the "10 x constitution" category. Spellfire is
a variant type of magic created by Ed Greenwood in his novel of the
same name. Only the DM can decide if a particular character can have
the ability. It seems likely that only one spellfire wielder can be
alive at a time on any given world, and that the ability is
hereditary.
Q. Why can't halflings be rangers? Halflings can be clerics, and
rangers have a few clerical spells. Why can't gnomes be bards? Gnomes
are known for their sense of humour and should have access to some
kind of jester-type abilities. Why can't [my favourite race] become
[my favourite class], since [several dozen good reasons why this
race/class combination is justified exist]?
A. Game logic and game balance require that demi-humans have limited
character class options. According to game logic, halflings don't
become rangers because they aren't inclined to be. Halflings who
really like the outdoors and nature become druids. Halflings who are
nimble and good at hiding become thieves; that's just the way
halflings are. Gnomes who feel roguish become thieves themselves.
Those who tend toward flashy expositions become illusionists.
(Illusionists, by the way, have an almost infinite capacity for vivid
storytelling and practical jokes, as even a quick look at the spells
in the illusion/phantasm spell school will show.) Only humans have the
ability to become any class they want to be (ability scores
permitting), and they can advance all the way to level 20. That's what
makes humans unique. Demi-humans have completely different
psychological, physical, and spiritual make-ups from humans; that's
what makes each demi-human race unique. Overall, demi-humans are not
nearly so versatile or adaptable as are humans, because all have
special skills and limitations derived from their heredity and culture
that simply close some doors to them when they seek professions. Game
balance requires that each race in the game be equally playable. If
demi-humans, with their infravision, special resistances, and special
abilities, could freely choose from every character class in the game,
there wouldn't be much reason to play a human character. As I've said
before, the D&D and AD&D games are games of choices; to get something,
you've got to give up something else. Good players make the right
choices most of the time and know how to capitalize on their
characters' strengths while finding ways to circumvent their
weaknesses. While changing the rules to eliminate character weaknesses
is one way to circumvent them, it isn't a clever or heroic one.
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