Knights & Knaves Alehouse

Who would enjoy a game where wearing plate mail makes you easier to hit then wearing no armor for instance?

Tholianweb wrote:

Who would enjoy a game where wearing plate mail makes you easier to hit then wearing no armor for instance?

Axe, I totally disagree with the majority of your post but let me just comment on this one here...

If you played the WH RPG, then you know the "naked dwarf" syndrome is just an awesome concept. LOL in the WH RPG, I rather be a naked dwarf then a fully armored dwarf....;D

here is a quote from a blog i just read...

...this game is loosely based on Feudal European technology, history and myth (88 Dmg)

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is first and foremost a game for the fun and enjoyment of those who seek to use imagination and creativity. This is not to say that where it does not interfere with the flow of the game that the highest degree of realism hasn‘t been attempted, but neither is a serious approach to play discouraged (9 DMG)… In any event, do not allow either the demands of "realism" or impossible make-believe to spoil your milieu (88).

The game features humankind for a reason. It is the most logical basis in an illogical game. From a design aspect it provides the sound groundwork. From a standpoint of creating the campaign milieu it provides the most readily usable assumptions. From a participation approach it is the only method, for all players are, after all is said and done, human, and it allows them the role with which most are most desirous and capable of identifying with. From all views then it is enough fantasy to assume a swords & sorcery cosmos, with impossible professions and make-believe magic. To adventure amongst the weird is fantasy enough without becoming that too (21 DMG)!

For fun, excitement, and captivating fantosy, AD&D is unsurpassed. As a realistic simulation of things from the realm of make-believe, or even as a reflection of medieval or ancient warfare or culture or society, it can be deemed only a dismal failure.
Readers who seek the latter must search elsewhere. Those who desire to create and populate imaginary worlds with larger-thon-life heroes and villains, who seek relaxation with a fascinating game, and who generally believe games should be fun, not work, will hopefully find this system to their taste (9 DMG).

It would be no great task to devise an elaborate set of rules for highly complex individual combats with rounds of but a few seconds length. It is not in the best interests of an adventure gome, however, to delve too deeply into cut and thrust, parry and riposte. The location of a hit or wound, the sort of damage done, sprains, breaks, and dislocations are not the stuff of heroic fantasy (61 DMG)...The mechanics of combat or the details of the injury caused by some horrible weapon are not the key to heroic fantasy and adventure games. It is the character, how he or she becomes involved in the combat, how he or she somehow escapes ~ or fails to escape- the mortal threat which is important to the enjoyment and longevity of the game (81 DMG).

what kind of a dragon hoard, for example, doesn't have gold and gems? It is simply
more heroic for players to have their characters swaggering around with pouches full of gems and tossing out gold pieces than it is for them to have coppers. Heroic fantasy is made of fortunes and king's ransoms in loot (Barter was common because hard money was so rare. However, in the typical fantasy milieu, we deal with great sums of precious metals 90 DMG) ,gained most cleverly and bravely and lost in a twinkling by various means - thievery, gambling, debauchery, gift-giving, bribes, and so forth. The "reality" AD&D seeks to create through role playing is that of the mythical heroes such as Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Kothar, Elric, and their ilk (90 DMG) ...If player characters are not of the same stamp as Conan, they also appreciate that they are in effect writing their own adventures and creating their own legends, not merely reliving those of someone else's creation (80).

While I appreciate the sentiment expressed in the post, in terms of rpgs it is must be balanced with that of Gygax's own words:

I tend to part ways with Gygax on the latter perspective, preferring simulation in setting (i.e. historical places and semi-historical currency) and character class/profession (military orders in lieu of paladins). Yet, I remain a wanton devotee of abstract mechanics (thought some would challenge me on implementing the Weapon vs. Armor table - and I in turn would challenge them on weapon proficiencies and specialization).

Tholianweb wrote: If you played the WH RPG, then you know the "naked dwarf" syndrome is just an awesome concept. LOL in the WH RPG, I rather be a naked dwarf then a fully armored dwarf....;D

Matthew wrote:I cannot say it strikes me as particularly odd to say the monk is recognisably different from the other classes, heck even the designer notes that by treating it outside the alphabetical ordering of the other classes. Can it work in context? Sure, but we should not simply gloss over the reality of its oddity with wishful thinking.