From: "Nadler, David" <[n--dl--d] at [uh2297p01.daytonoh.ATTGIS.COM]> Subject: DQ Netletter - v2n5 Date: Mon Jun 05 10:01 EDT 1995 ================================================================ || || || DRAGONQUEST Newsletter May 1995 || || || || Volume 2 / Number 5 || ================================================================ The DQ Newsletter is for discussions of the DragonQuest role playing game. The key addresses you need to know are: Philip Proefrock (Editor, Article Submissions, Etc.) [p s proefr] at [miamiu.muohio.edu] David Nadler (Distribution Coordinator) [n--dl--d] at [daytonoh.ATTGIS.COM] Drake Stanton (FTP Site Coordinator) [d--ac--e] at [netcom.com] All articles are copyrighted property of their respective authors. Reproducing or republishing an article, in whole or in part, in any other forum requires permission of the author or the moderator. The DragonQuest Newsletter also maintains an ftp archive site: [ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dr/drache] which includes back issues of the newsletter and other articles of interest to DragonQuest players and GMs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- C O N T E N T S ================================================================= Administrivia - Dave Nadler Editorial -- Philip Proefrock Letters -- Anthony Ragan -- John Kahane Column: The BEASTIARY Some Notes on Characteristics -- John Kahane Column: CHARACTER CORNER Advertisements ----------------------------------------------------------------- ADMINISTRIVIA The last issue resulted in a large number of "bounced" messages. I'd like to ask that you let me know if and when you change e-mail addresses, if you are going "off-line" for a while, or when you are losing net access. Also, let me know if you have a certain size limitation on e-mails. The last special edition was much larger than normal, which may have resulted in some of the technical difficulties. Dave Nadler ================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL: A DragonQuest FAQ ================================================================= As a part of the ongoing mission of the DragonQuest Newsletter and its attempt to support the DragonQuest game, it has been suggested that we set up a DragonQuest FAQ. [For those of you who have managed to get this far online without running across the term, FAQ is "Frequently Asked Questions," a set of basic questions and answers on a particular topic. The DQ FAQ would need brief descriptions of the various aspects of the game, as well as guidelines about where to find additional DQ resources (basically, it's all of us. If you know of something else, let the rest of us know about it!). I would like to make this as broadly collaborative a project as possible. {I know, I know, I'm always telling you I need your input; why should it be any different now?} Anything that you would like to contribute about DQ will be useful. (This could include such questions as: Why can't I find a copy of DragonQuest at my local games store? How many times can I try to 'Detect Aura' on something? How do I convert characters to DragonQuest from Game X? or anything else that seems relevant to you.) The DQ FAQ will ultimately be posted to the archive and made accessible on the Web Page, as well as offered to other sites which archive role-playing games related materials. As a side note, I am going to be away from my usual 'Net access for most of the rest of the summer. I will still be checking in, so please continue to send things to me at my usual address. But bear in mind that it may take me a little longer than usual to get to checking my mail and then getting a reply off to you. If you have any questions or problems that need quick response, get in touch with Dave Nadler ([n--dl--d] at [daytonoh.ATTGIS.COM]). It's one of the reasons that he's there. --Philip ------------------------_L_E_T_T_E_R_S_-------------------------- ================================================================= Hi there, This portion of the DQ newsletter left me a wee bit confused. (Not hard. ;>) >> ADVERTISEMENTS >>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >> >> Adventurers wanted in the locale of Devil's Head Mountain. >>Needed to seek out the possible lycanthrope that has been >>attacking the villages of Sharen, Flaminos, Galti, and Varen. >>Reward offered for the job. No mercenaries need apply. Contact >>Shevila Mekronth, village of Sharen for more information. >>********************************** ....and then I saw the "end of newsletter banner." Was this a real advertisement for players? Was something cut off? see ya, --Anthony ([I--sh--y] at [aol.com]) [No, nothing was cut off; That was the extent of that particular "ad." See the next letter for a bit more explanation of the 'Advertisement' that appeared in the last Newsletter. -- ED.] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hullo, Phil... In a netmail message...you scribed: PP> I'm curious, do you have an adventure to go with that PP> "notice" you sent me for the Newsletter classifieds? Or are PP> you offering to start an online campaign? Because I think PP> that will be how people will react to a notice like that. While the idea of running an on-line rpg of DQ does have it's appeal, I don't want to spend that much time on the computer, if you know what I mean. It distracts from reading, rpging, and generally having a life. :) That said, I do have an adventure that goes along with that particular little post, but I sent you the "notice" for the classifieds as an example of what we can do in there. If nothing else, perhaps that "notice" would give the GMs who read the Newsletter an idea for an interesting scenario or derivative of one. (That would be the whole purpose of this concept, in some ways, and it worked just as well for the TORG rpg newsletter, Infiniverse.) -- John Kahane ([John Kahane] at [p5.f198.n163.z1.fidonet.org]) [I think that we can use the "Advertisements" both as a source of tidbits such as what ran in the last issue (which might be enough of an idea for a GM to build an adventure around) as well as a more ordinary means of posting queries, campaign notices, items for sale (If, for some reason, you want to sell off any DragonQuest related materials, I would rather see it offered here, and let the active DQ community have the first crack at buying it), players wanted, etc. There was some discussion about having something of this sort available, a couple of issues ago, and this seemed like a good way to get it started. -- ED.] -------------------_The_ _B_E_A_S_T_I_A_R_Y_--------------------- ================================================================= Scitalis -- Philip Proefrock ([p s proefr] at [miamiu.muohio.edu]) The scitalis is a reptile with a somewhat birdlike appearance. It has two legs, two wings, a swan-like neck, and a wide, awkward body with a long, heavy, snake-like tail. The ugly form of its body is offset by its magnificent, shimmering skin, which can charm its prey into complacency. Within 60 feet of the scitalis, any figure who looks at the creature may become transfixed by its beauty and must make a Willpower check of ((4 x Willpower) - the Physical Beauty of the scitalis). If they fail this roll, they are transfixed by the scitalis (similar to a charm) and will stand motionless as it approaches them. (Note: A character must check this every Pulse he or she is in range of the scitalis.) {Add to Lizards and Kindred [69.1]} Movement Rate: 50 (running) PS: 6-12 MD: 11-14 AG: 3-5 MA: 8-12 EN: 10-13 FT: 15-20 WP: 14-18 PC: 18-22 PB: 26-33 TMR: 1 NA: Skin absorbs 3 DP Weapons: The bite of the scitalis is poisonous, and it is deceptively quick in Melee or Close Combat (Base Chance of 60%, +4 damage). If the bite does any effective damage to the target, the victim is also poisoned with a venom which may cause the victim to fall unconscious (Base Chance of 75% - victim's (EN + FT)). Once its prey is no longer resisting, the scitalis begins to devour it. A character who has been bitten by a scitalis also has a +25% chance of the wound becoming infected. Comments: Unfortunately, the luster of the scitalis' skin fades within only a few minutes of its death. However, its eyes may be used to create an amulet to resist charming, and may be worth up to 100 Silver Pennies apiece. Alchemists may have uses for other parts of the creature as well. GM's Notes: This is one of a series of creatures which I have recently found in a book entitled "Medieval Beasts" (The British Library, 1990). Its abilities are my extrapolations based on the descriptions given in the text. If you are interested in having an illustration to show your players, you may want to see if you can locate this book in your own local library. I have not had the chance to playtest this creature, however, so I will be very interested to hear if anyone uses this in the near future. "The scitalis was an elegant (in Latin 'scitulus') creature. It was slow on the ground, so it was unable to overtake its prey by rapid slithering; but impressionable men were transfixed by the beauty of its patterned markings and, as they stood marveling, the scitalis could catch them." -- from Ann Payne, "Medieval Beasts," p 88 ----------------------------------------------------------------- SOME NOTES ON CHARACTERISTICS -- John Kahane ([John Kahane] at [p5.f198.n163.z1.fidonet.org]) ================================================================= This material is copyright (c) John M. Kahane 1984, 1986, 1990. IV. CHARACTER GENERATION 3. DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTERISTICS [3.9] Physical Beauty Rules Addition: The Physical Beauty of the character is divided down into three different aspects, Facial Beauty, Build Beauty, and Height Beauty. Each of the three aspects of Physical Beauty is discussed below. It should be noted that the overall Physical Beauty of the character is derived from the average of the Facial, Build, and Height Beauty of the character. Facial Beauty is how pretty or handsome in facial structure and features the character is to a member of the same species. A character with a Facial PB of 5 would be one with horrific scarring or other marring, whereas one with a Facial PB of 24 would be extremely handsome in the classical sense of the term. Build Beauty is the overall structure of the body of the character and how attractive or repulsive this is to another member of the same species. This could deal with chest size, relationship of bust-waist-hip size in female characters, and the extent to which the body of the character is shapely to others of the same species. Character weight can be used as a good guideline in this regard. A Build PB of 5 would represent someone who is grossly out of shape due to lack of exercise or one whose body is severely deformed (eg. leprosy or hunchback) in some manner. A Build PB of 24 would represent the ideal of the Apollo- type in men, and the Greek goddess among women. Height Beauty is the height of the character, relative to others of his/her species. It is important to bear in mind that in mediaeval societies, men tended to average 5'9" tall and women averaged some 5'-1/2" tall. On the other hand, an elf male might average 6'6" tall, and thus an elven male of Height PB 13-14 would not be as short as a human male of the same height. The GamesMaster should permit the players a bit of latitude when having to roll for the Physical Beauty statistics, since the dice may not give the player a character that s/he envisions. Any alterations to this Facial, Build, and Height Physical Beauty must be made with the permission of the GamesMaster only. [3.10] Intellect is a measure of a character's powers of reason, and the ability to retain information and/or knowledge. Intellect (IN) is an optional characteristic that represents a character's reasoning and information-processing capacity. A character with a high Intellect will be more able to retain information and/or knowledge, and will have stronger powers of reasoning than a character with a lower characteristic rating in Intellect. Intellect functions much in the same manner as Physical Beauty, since the Intellect of an individual will be based upon the perception of such Intellect by a member of one's own species. Thus a Human with an Intellect of 15 will be more intelligent than an Ogre with an Intellect of 15, since ogres are not as intelligent as humans to begin with, but the Ogre will be more capable of reasoning than most of his fellow Ogres. The Intellect of a character also determines the maximum number of Secondary Skills. [These Secondary Skills rules will be in next month's issue. -- ED.] The character will begin with Intellect/5, rounded normally, in Secondary Skills, and can purchase additional Secondary Skills. However, no character may have a number of Secondary Skills greater than his/her Intellect. If a character raises his/her Intellect above the character's starting value through the expenditure of Experience Points (see Section 87 of the DragonQuest rules for more details), s/he may increase his/her maximum number of Secondary Skills to this new range. [3.11] Devoutness is a measure of the extent to which the character honestly believes in a specific deity or in a group of deities. The Devoutness (DV) characteristic is one that is the most flexible and difficult of all to characterize due to the nature of the matter of religion. Devoutness represents the honest belief of a character in a deity and/or a group of deities (commonly called a pantheon). The world around the characters possesses much in the way of history and ancient lore, and religion is a part of this world. While a character may choose not to have a belief in any form of deities or gods, it is likely that the character's personality is one that gives a respect to a certain type of deity or to a specific deity. The character's Devoutness represents the extent to which the character places faith in the gods of the game world and campaign, and could have long term effects. Each character will determine his/her own DV value, based on personal beliefs and aspects of the character's personality. Thus, a farmer might not be overly religious, but he will have a healthy respect for the goddess of agriculture and may offer small things at an altar to the goddess after a good harvest or may appeal in her name during a hard day in the fields. The character would have a DV of perhaps 1 or 2. A thief who is highly superstitious, on the other hand, might choose to have a strong worship of the god of thieves, possibly due to the influence of the Thieves' Guild or because of personal belief. This character would give a certain sum of money every month at the temple of the god, and might perform certain rituals at various times or just before committing a 'thiefly' act. This character would have a DV of perhaps 3, 4, or even as high as 5. 5. CHARACTERISTIC GENERATION [5.4] Perception Rules Addition: The Perception of a character begins at a base value of 5. If the character is a Mercenary, this value is increased by +1; if the character is an Adventurer, this value is increased by +3; if the character is a Hero, this value is increased by +5. The player then rolls 1D5, and adds this value to the base total of the Perception total to this point to determine the character's actual Perception at the start of play. [5.7] Physical Beauty Rules Addition: The Physical Beauty of the character is divided into three different aspects, Facial Beauty, Build Beauty, and Height Beauty. Each of these three aspects of Physical Beauty is rolled on 1D20 +4. The total Physical Beauty is the average of all three of these PB aspects. [5.8] The character's Intellect value is determined by the roll of 2d10 + 5. The character may not have an Intellect that is higher than 25 or below 7 using this method (but values below this can be incorporated into the campaign with the permission of the GamesMaster). The Intellect value may be modified if the character is non-human, and it should also be noted that the limitations on Intellect apply to all non-humans and to non-player characters as well. [5.9] The character begins with a Devoutness that is determined by the character's religious intent. The player character determines his/her Devoutness based on the extent to which they wish to worship the deities. Devoutness ranges from 0 (almost non-belief) to 100 (a total religious fervour), and there is also the realm of "A" which stands for atheism. The character must choose a Rank for their Devoutness at the time they create the character. It is important to note that a character can choose to worship more than one god or goddess. If a character chooses to worship a second deity, s/he cannot have a Devoutness higher than (DV1-1), and if the character chooses to worship a third deity, s/he cannot have a Devoutness higher than (DV2-3), where the DV with subscript refers to the previous DV value. No character may choose to worship more than three deities, but a Devoutness Rank can be chosen for an entire pantheon (which would be highly unusual to say the least). ----------------------------------------------------------------- Character Corner: ZYAR MARQUER ================================================================= This is a new column for the Newsletter. It is hoped that the characters presented in this column will be of use and interest to GMs for use as patrons, NPCs, villains, contacts, etc. [Of course we want you to send in your submissions for this column!] -- ED. Zyar Marquer PS: 16 MD: 19 AG: 19/18 MA: 8 WP: 11 EN: 21 FT: 22 PC: 12 PB: 15/12/15 IN: 18 DV: 1 TMR: 6 [The special Stats use and meaning are explained in John's article in this issue -- ED.] Race: Human Sex: Male Aspect: Winter Stars/Fire Social Status: Adventurer Birth: 3rd Born Hand: Ambidextrous College: None. Magic Resistance: 31% Armour: Soft Leather (Prot 2 DP, AG Mod na) Hard Leather (Prot 4 DP, AG Mod -1) Shield: None Weapons: Dagger- 6; Broadsword- 4; Sap- 2; Long Bow- 3. Primary Skills: Horsemanship- 1; Stealth- 2; Climb- 1; Swim- 0; Alchemist- 3; Assassin- 2; Hunter- 5, Ranger- 6. Languages: {Speak/Read & Write} Dorgane- 9/9; Lyran Common- 8/8; Alkyran- 6/-; Kith Aluni- 6/3. Secondary Skills: Archery- 2 (BC 63%); Brawling- 4 (BC na); Cooking- 2 (BC 21%); Dodge- 4 (BC 31/30%); First Aid- 2 (BC 21%); Heraldry- 1 (BC 20%); Knife-Throwing- 3 (BC 28%); (Disarm/Set) Traps- 1 (BC 22%); Search- 3 (BC 21%); Streetwise- 1 (BC 18%); Dorgane Lore- 3 (BC 27%); Kith Alunel Lore- 1 (BC 21%). Traits & Appearance: Zyar Marquer is some 30 years of age. He stands 5 ft, 11 in. tall and is rather swarthy, but dashing, in appearance. He has penetrating green eyes, straight black hair with a neatly trimmed moustache, and a beaky nose. Zyar tends to be a rough-and-tumble kind of guy, but doesn't like to draw all that much attention to himself. He prefers dark coloured clothing, but has a fondness for bear furs and glossy leather boots. Zyar has a fear of large bodies of water, something that seems to be buried deep in his psyche, but has never really tested this fear out. He can cross rivers and streams as long as they are not too deep. After an experience with a fossergrim during his early days of being a hunter/guide, Zyar is rather... petulant when it comes to the faerie folks. By nature secretive, Zyar found that his travels with Antina, a thief, were very pleasant, and the two continue a rather torrid affair that most of his fellow former adventurers disapprove of. ("She's not your type," they keep telling him, when visiting Kith Alunel.) Background: Zyar Marquer grew up the back-streets of Dorgane, a large city on the edge of the Melyranne Sea in what used to be the Empire of Chaldreth. The son of an adventurer father and a seamstress mother, Zyar quickly found that his talents lay in his hands and in his head, and was encouraged by his mother to take an apprenticeship with old Ajereb, the Alchemist. It turned out that Ajereb was an assassin as well, and he taught the boy the craft. After a disastrous mission on behalf of his patron, Zyar was forced to flee Dorgane and ended up in the realm of Alkyra. Learning the arts of the Hunter and Ranger, Zyar became a rather good guide and bounty hunter, his knowledge of the alchemical arts and the assassin's skills helping him procure his bounty most of the time. Having teamed up with a group of adventurers seeking a legendary temple, Zyar knew that he had found his calling when the group came away with significant amounts of treasure. Zyar traveled for over ten years, working with the group and making enough money that he has been able to establish a home for himself in Kith Alunel. Still working as a Ranger and guide in the area, Zyar is also one of the key members of the Kith Alunel scouts guild. He has acquired quite a large sum of money over the years (and keeps it in the form of gems primarily), but has several interesting magical items as well that he gained during his adventuring days. -- John Kahane ([John Kahane] at [p5.f198.n163.z1.fidonet.org]) ------------------------ADVERTISEMENTS--------------------------- ================================================================= Female adventurer has set of blue dragon scale armour. Armour is somewhat scratched, but willing to sell for equitable price. Contact Selina Whitefire at the Blue Sword Tavern, Rathane. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Adventurers or other brave souls needed for caravan escort from Antherwyck to Kenmore through the Wastes. Ask for Anticles the Merchant at the Adventurers' Guild, Antherwyck. ########################################################### ### End of DragonQuest Newsletter v2/n5 -- May 1995 ###########################################################