Lingering questions from the monster manual

[darnizhaan]

Some of the entries in the original monster manual can be somewhat ambiguous. For example when a ghoul paralyzes someone, how long does the paralysis last. (A= 3 to 12 turns, from T1, by the way carrion crawler also 3 to 12 turns, ghast 6 to 24 turns (from sage advice?) ). What effect does violet fungi have when it rots flesh? (A= save vs poison or die from A4). I am wondering if anyone knows other places (modules, sage advice, etc.) where the monsters have been qualified?

Does anyone have questions about how monsters work? I am specifically interested in btb answers and that is why I put them in this section, but if anyone has any house rules they want to share, I would be interested in that too.

[Bargle]

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In CHAINMAIL 3rd edition a ghouls paralysis lasted 1 "turn" which was kind of like 1 round. The way it's worded makes me kind of think it was like missing a turn in a board game. You are able to act in round 1, but miss your next turn. When the nomenclature changed in d&d the 1 turn became 1 d&d turn which is 10 min/10 combat turns/rounds.

I might be missing something.

[T. Foster]

According to the Monster Cards, giant slug acid inflicts 4-32 damage.

[jallison86]

According to the Monster Cards, giant slug acid inflicts 4-32 damage.

Which is fairly nasty even for higher level parties. While many PC's will have protection from fire and cold, it's unlikely that they'll have protection from acid. The giant slug isn't terribly accurate but when it hits it can hurt -- average 18 hp damage per spit, no save.

- Jeff

[darnizhaan]

Good pickup on the giant slug. There is one in D1, but no mention as to damage.

I always thought it was interesting about the carrion crawler. You figure if it paralyzes for at least 3 turns it could finish eating a human in that time.

By the way, anyone ever use a slithering tracker? It has a similar mechanic to the carrion crawler.

[AxeMental]

According to the Monster Cards, giant slug acid inflicts 4-32 damage.

Foster, do you know when those cards were published? Did they come a good while after the original MM? Thanks

[T. Foster]

According to the Monster Cards, giant slug acid inflicts 4-32 damage.

Foster, do you know when those cards were published? Did they come a good while after the original MM? Thanks

1982.

[ScottyG]

It's amazing that AD&D works as well as it does. The development and editing are a mess. With so much of it based on OD&D mechanics, you could really redo the whole MM. Like so much of the system, it does work as is, but if you delve too deeply into system consistency, things fall apart.