Quote from: Kaz;618178I ran an RC game for some guys and half had played before and half had only played some 3E and a lot of video games. Every time they walked into a room, the younger guys would say, "I Hide in Shadows." As if that would magically enshroud them in darkness and make them unseen.

a lot of old school players actually interpret "hide in shadows" exactly like that. and at least one who actually played with gary, as i recall.

Quote from: The Traveller;618142And yet...

Or indeed -

Quote from: ICFTI;618180a lot of old school players actually interpret "hide in shadows" exactly like that. and at least one who actually played with gary, as i recall.

Climb walls as well... the number of guys who ignore the actual description of the skill and instead make the thief spiderman...anyone can climb walls but a thief can climb sheer walls... in total contravention of the actual description of the skill.

Or maybe:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZkgGCickg#/watch?v=sGZkgGCickg

Quote from: jibbajibba;618182Climb walls as well... the number of guys who ignore the actual description of the skill and instead make the thief spiderman...anyone can climb walls but a thief can climb sheer walls... in total contravention of the actual description of the skill.

actually, that's totally in line with the description of the skill in several sources. frex, in the 2e phb:

QuoteAlthough everyone can climb rocky cliffs and steep slopes, the thief is far superior to others in this ability. Not only does he have a better climbing percentage than other characters, he can also climb most surfaces without tools, ropes, or devices. Only the thief can climb smooth and very smooth surfaces without climbing gear. Of course, the thief is very limited in his actions while climbing--he is unable to fight or effectively defend himself.

Quote from: Reckall;618186Or maybe:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZkgGCickg#/watch?v=sGZkgGCickg

Yeah it just depends what type it is, one type of flow the superheated air would incinerate your lungs before you got to it, another you can stand right next to, another the poison gas would kill you, etc...

Quote from: ggroy

Quote from: Fiasco;616861Throwing in real world physics is a sure fire winner too.

What would be examples of this?

I remember one in particular, actually had to do with my "flying brick" character is a game of SAS. He had a max speed of Mach 1. The GM decreed that was sufficient for me to go out into outer space, under my own power.

I and the physics student looked at each other, and said, "Uh, you know that's not true, right? The Space Shuttle does like Mach 16 or some such, and it only gets into low orbit. It has to do with acceleration off a circular curve..."

To which he replied, "We're playing a game where tank rounds bounce off your ass. You can fly into space, because I said so."

..."Okay, boss."

Quote from: Novastar;618198I remember one in particular, actually had to do with my "flying brick" character is a game of SAS. He had a max speed of Mach 1. The GM decreed that was sufficient for me to go out into outer space, under my own power.

I and the physics student looked at each other, and said, "Uh, you know that's not true, right? The Space Shuttle does like Mach 16 or some such, and it only gets into low orbit. It has to do with acceleration off a circular curve..."

Um, reaching space is not the same as achieving orbit. Neither are the ballistics of a limited fuel rocket comparable to a constant no-fuel-used type of flight. For example a helium balloon can reach the edge of space and it only travels at a fraction of Mach 1.

Providing the hero can generate enough flying 'force' to counteract Earth's gravitational acceleration (and keep it switched on), then they can reach space.  So I'm afraid the GM was right, in more ways than one!

Quote from: thedungeondelver on January 10, 2013, 09:27:35 AM
This multi-thousand post beast in rec.games.frp.dnd from the early 2000s that involved whether or not casting Invisibility on a door would allow you to see through it.

People kept trolling that thing (and by people I mean different handles used by werebat) and keeping it going and going and going.  Hilarious.

Is there an archive of this somewhere?

Quote from: allison-kaas on April 14, 2022, 10:15:22 PM

Quote from: thedungeondelver on January 10, 2013, 09:27:35 AM
This multi-thousand post beast in rec.games.frp.dnd from the early 2000s that involved whether or not casting Invisibility on a door would allow you to see through it.

People kept trolling that thing (and by people I mean different handles used by werebat) and keeping it going and going and going.  Hilarious.

Is there an archive of this somewhere?

Here are some threads. I searched on "invisible door".

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.frp.dnd/c/7QYF7v2NUlc/m/N00xLFLzBHUJ

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.frp.dnd/c/Stwu1e0H5J8/m/OVc-MbniWyUJ

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.frp.dnd/c/Stwu1e0H5J8/m/OVc-MbniWyUJ

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.frp.dnd/c/5cJzeY8t0AQ/m/hC_BfwCW80cJ

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.frp.dnd/c/FbHggkr9fso/m/V27t8vN_VwkJ

Yeah, most people have no concept of orbit involving massive amounts of velocity.  A related annoyance is people who think things burn up in the upper atmosphere because it's very hot.  No it's because of the friction because you're going very fast.  With their anti-gravity and reactionless thrusters, Traveller ships will almost never generate heat on reentry.  Also, a free trader can get into space and achieve orbit.  It's 1 g acceleration AND the ability to switch gravity on and off.

There was this one supers game where a character teleported a submarine into space to use as a space station.  Not a bad idea since it can handle many times one atmosphere of pressure.  But it fell straight down again...

Climb sheer surfaces and hide in shadows are much better than realistic hiding and climbing but not superhumanly so.  But yeah, if a character has good cover or hand holds these things are not what the thief's skills are for.  Unless you're specifically playing XXVc. in which case they're just skills and everyone gets skills not just thieves.

Hitpoints and what they represent and the weapon verses armour table are a couple good arguments.

Dagger to the throat

Quote from: allison-kaas on April 14, 2022, 10:15:22 PM

Quote from: thedungeondelver on January 10, 2013, 09:27:35 AM
This multi-thousand post beast in rec.games.frp.dnd from the early 2000s that involved whether or not casting Invisibility on a door would allow you to see through it.

People kept trolling that thing (and by people I mean different handles used by werebat) and keeping it going and going and going.  Hilarious.

Is there an archive of this somewhere?

Damn, came back nearly a decade later to ask about this one?  I guess the original thread itself must now be almost 20 years old!

Heh. Kind of funny but I actually agree with the troller. An invisibility spell being an illusion should work more like a blind spot rather than turning yourself transparent. So casting invisibility on a door would just make it appear to be a regular part of the wall rather than seeing through it into the corridor beyond. Now, if the spell was alteration magic...   

The original cavalier vs fighter argument spawned from an article in Dragon #118, "Surely You Joust!", in which the author made some very... um, interesting assertions as to what would give bonuses and penalties in a joust.

It culminated in a positively mind boggling scenario where a female high elf 6th level cavalier defeats a male human 8th level fighter, unhorsing him and then (without any details, of course) slaying him when he refuses to yield.

What.

The crowning glory, in my opinion, was this:

"Females — Although female fighters are considered to be at a disadvantage in most melee situations, jousting is one form of combat where a case can be made for a slight female advantage. Female knights gain a +1 to save vs. unhorsing due to their low center of gravity. A woman’s center of gravity is located in her hips, while a man’s is higher up in his abdomen. As women have a smaller percentage of total body weight located above the waist compared to men, female knights are less likely to be knocked off-balance by a lance blow to the upper body."

Uh huh. Let's not take into account that the male combatant can weigh anywhere from 50 to 100 percent MORE than the female combatant. Suuuuuuure.