From: "Nadler, David" <[n--dl--d] at [UH2297P01.DAYTONOH.ncr.com]> Subject: DQN - Spring 1997 - v4n1 Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 22:47:14 -0400 =========================================================== || || DRAGONQUEST Newsletter Early Spring 1997 || || Volume 4 / Number 1 =========================================================== 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.) [d q n] at [ntsource.com] David Nadler (Distribution Coordinator) [David Nadler] at [DaytonOH.NCR.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 website is at: http://www.ntsource.com/~psproefrock/dqn.html [if you are typing it, note that the server _IS_ case-sensitive!] This site contains the most recent issue of the newsletter as well as links to (ftp) archives and other DragonQuest related sites. ----------------------------------------------------------------- C O N T E N T S [v4/n1] ================================================================= Editorial Letters -- David F. Wall -- Tyrone Johnston WOTC News Release Weapons Master -- Peter Wyche Fatigue Recovery-- Martin Gallo DQ ARCHIVE -- News from the Archivist URLs ----------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL: ================================================================= My apologies to all of you out there who are regular readers of the Newsletter. It is now May, and I am only just getting the first issue of the year out. The Newsletter has languished for the past few months, due in part to my very busy work schedule, but also due to the recent slack in submitted material. On the plus side, I'm going to be sending out a double issue, so look for more coming close on the heels of this issue. There is also big news in the gaming industry which may be of interest to fans of DQ: I recently received several letters with the news that TSR is being acquired by Wizards of the Coast. The question we'll all be asking now is "Does this mean good things for DragonQuest?" I invite your letters and opinions on this topic as a way to get some discussion going among this group. What do you think may be in the future for DQ? ------------------------_L_E_T_T_E_R_S_-------------------------- ================================================================= I'm writing this to you in your capacity as editor of the DragonQuest newsletter, a labor you may no longer undertake... [I've been slacking in this duty, but I still am the DQN Editor, and we _are_ still putting out the Newsletter. -- ED.] As you may or may not have heard, Wizards of the Coast and TSR have released a letter of intent that says the former is going to buy the latter. I wonder if this means DragonQuest will get out from under TSR's draconian policies regarding derivative work. My own venture into this area so far regards doing some work on data sheets to allow Bruce Kvam's Character Constructor application to do DQ things, but it seems there are other people out there who'd like to bring the game back out of the shadows... -- David F. Wall ([w--l] at [amt.tay1.dec.com]) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I'm a subscriber to the DragonQuest Newsletter. I guess you could call this a letter to the newsletter. I'm not actually looking for a personal response from you or the newsletter, but I am hoping some of the following issues will be brought up in the next newsletter: Now that Wizards of the Coast is taking over TSR, does this mean anything for DragonQuest? I'm personally hopings Wizards will sell DQ to someone else if they aren't going to do something with it themselves (which they probably won't). A plus here is that in the past Wizards of the Coast sold the rights to all of its RPG games. Also, does anyone have an idea how much DQ might go for if the rights were for sale? Thanks, and good gaming to everyone Kron Darkbow (Tyrone Johnston) -- Tyrone Johnston <[k--n] at [mail.bright.net]> ----------------------------------------------------------------- WOTC News Release ================================================================= [Thanks to EBENSON for forwarding the entire text of this to us. -- ED.] News Release: Wizards of the Coast to Acquire TSR Inc. April 10, 1997 (Renton, WA) -- Wizards of the Coast Inc and TSR Inc, the two leaders of the adventure game industry, announced today that a letter of intent has been signed by both parties for Wizards of the Coast to acquire TSR Inc. The transaction is expected to be completed in May 1997. Wizards of the Coast is the publisher of the world's best-selling trading card game, Magic: The Gathering(r). Lake Geneva, Wis.-based TSR Inc. is the publisher of the world-renowned adventure game Dungeons & Dragons(r). Founded 22 years ago in 1975, TSR Inc rose to a market leadership position that endures today with the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons. The internationally famous game further generated a wide variety of best-selling adventure and role-playing games and merchandise, including the New York Times best-selling book series, Dragonlance. The game Dungeons & Dragons was featured in an early scene of the 1982 Steven Spielburg hit movie, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial." "TSR Inc. is the pioneer of adventure games and carries an important industry legacy," said Peter D. Adkison, president and CEO of Wizards of the Coast. "We look forward to drawing on TSR's world-wide reputation and established lines of popular games to complement our current business." Lorraine Williams, president and CEO of TSR Inc., added, "The synergies that already exist between Wizards of the Coast and TSR ensure a solid home and future for the vast library of intellectual property which TSR has created, and for its creative community." Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of entertainment products, including Magic: The Gathering. Since the game was released in 1993, over two billion cards have been sold, and the game is available in nine languages. Other products published by the company include the trading card game Battletech(r) and the soon-to-be-released card game Corporate Shuffle(tm), based on the popular comic character DILBERT(tm). The company is headquartered just outside of Seattle, Washington in the city of Renton, and has international offices in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and France. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website at --------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- WEAPONS MASTER -- Peter Wyche ([Peter Wyche] at [hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au]) ================================================================= Philip, When one reads the Dragonquest rulebook one fairly fundamental thing becomes clearly evident, and that is to create a really powerful DQ character the Player has to become a mage. But what of the player who does not want to be a mage? Clearly there is a need for a skill which provides for an alternative powerful character type to be developed. A question I think you will ask is if we are trying to create a non-mage type character, why then do these rules allow for limited magic for the character? The reason is that the mages in our Canberra group have become heavily into investing items for use while campaigning, especially for use within the fights. As a consequence, it was seen that the weapons master when he/she has achieved higher levels in the skill should be able to do these investments for him/herself. I am aware at least two articles have been published on this topic in the past. However, here is our groups answer to that problem, a skill we call weapons master. I would appreciate any comments about the rules via the Dragonquest Newsletter or directly to me via e-mail. Enjoy! I wish to acknowledge the aid from Ken Ward and Clinton Moore-Crouch (the GM at the time these were drafted) as they were involved in the discussions which lead to the drafting of the first set of these rules. WEAPONS MASTER -------------- An underlying fundamental tenet to the basic Dragonquest rules is that all players will aspire to being mages. The most powerful characters within Dragonquest are the mages and non-mages are weak by comparison. The skill of weapons master allows players to take a different avenue of development other than the one which is fundamental to the Dragonquest Rules; that is to develop characters which are warriors by nature. This does not preclude this player from eventually using limited magics to support this line of development, but it does preclude that individual from ever becoming part of any magic college. Conversely, no member of a magic college can ever aspire to the skill of weapons master. In order to develop this skill, the weapons table which is currently broken into a number of categories must be broken into a more diverse set of categories. These are documented at the end of this section. The ability for a player to open this skill and advance in this skill is dependant upon the number of weapons categories they have known weapons in and the relative ranks of those weapons. The grouping of weapons is based upon the basic use of the weapon. Hence, the breaking of swords into stabbing versus edged swords. The basic use of a stabbing sword can be applied to any of the other stabbing swords even if the individual is not trained in the use of that particular weapons. A basic tenet of the weapons master training is the ability to adapt their knowledge of one weapon within a category to use another weapon from within that category. The cost in experience points for weapons master is Rank EP Cost 0 600 1 250 2 1600 3 3500 4 5800 5 8400 6 11400 7 14700 8 18500 9 22500 10 26750 A weapons master may use other weapons that the individual does has not been trained in providing they are within one of the categories in which the weapons master has a known weapon at a rank of weapons master Rank /3 rather than at the unskilled rank. A weapon outside of the known categories is still used as unranked. To be able to open weapons master the player must have at least one weapon at rank 4. If the weapon in question has a maximum rank of less than 4 then it can only be counted for this purpose if it has the highest max rank within its category. To advance ranks in this skill the player must have additional weapons in unique categories at rank 4. To make rank 2, weapons must be known in 2 categories. To achieve ranks 3, 5, 7 and 9, the character must have 1 additional weapons for each in a new category at rank 4 or better. Thus to achieve rank 9 the character must have weapons to rank 4 in at least 6 categories. No weapon may be used to meet the requirements in more than one category. To achieve rank 10 the weapons master must have a shield and a missile weapons from these categories. These may be part of the 6 categories required for rank 9. In addition, a weapons master may take a weapon to one rank greater than the maximum allowed under the rules providing their current weapons master rank is equal to or greater than the rank sought in the weapon. The cost in experience points for this rank is equal to the highest rank cost for that weapon even if this cost is not for that weapons maximum rank. If a character's strength is grater than 20 then he/she may reduce the experience cost in gaining ranks by 10%. If the characters strength is less than 14 then he/she increases the cost to gain ranks by 15%. Being a weapons master will allow the character to use knowledge from this skill to be used to make the learning of others that much easier. There is a mutual relationship between weapons master and ranger. The cost in experience points to learn a new rank in the reciprocal skill is reduced by 50% if the current rank in that skill is less than its partner. The cost to open and subsequently learn healer is reduced to 75% of the original cost providing the current weapons master rank is greater than the sought rank of healer. If the player's healer rank ever equals or is greater than their weapons master rank then that player may never learn more ranks in weapons master. At rank 3 or more in weapons master, the cost to learn military scientist is reduced to 75% of the base figure, providing the military scientist rank being sought is less than the current weapons master rank. A weapons master gains benefits while fighting as part of this skill. At rank 2 the weapons master may increase his/her defence by rank. At rank 4, the chance of a critical hit is increased by rank if attacking from the front or side but not from the rear. At rank 6 the chance of direct to endurance hits is increased by Rank/2. At rank 8 there is a decrease in the chance of a critical hit on the character by Rank/3. This negates the assassin critical hit skill. At rank 10 the chance of direct to endurance hits is decreased by rank. Finally, a weapons master may use a select range of magics to aid them in the use of weapons. This ability becomes available at rank 8 and if the player has an MA of 15 or more. Two spells can be learned at rank 8 with 1 additional spell being available with each additional rank. The spells of Enchant Weapon, Enchant Armour, Weapon of Flame, Weapon of Cold, Investiture, Purification and Force Shield. All of these can only be applied to the weapons masters own weapons if cast during combat but any item can be invested at other times. The Guild fees for this skill are 200 sp per weapons Master rank plus the purchase cost for each weapon known multiplied by the known rank or 1,000 sp whichever is the greater. The weapons groupings are as follows Daggers Dagger Main-Gauche Stabbing Swords Short Sword Rapier Estoc Edged Swords Scimitar Falchion Tulwar Sabre Broadsword Hand and Half Claymore Two-Handed Bows Long Bow Giant Bow Composite Bow Short Bow Crossbows Crossbow Heavy Crossbow Misc Missile Weapons Sling Blowgun Axes Hand Axe Battle Axe Giant Axe Great Axe Maces Mace Giant Mace Mattock War Hammer War Pick Clubs Crude Club War Club Giant Club Torch Flails and Staves Flail Morning Star Quarterstaff Hoopak Assassin Weapons Sap Garrotte Defensive Weapons Main-Gauche Tower Shield Buckler Round Shield Kite Shield Thrown Weapons Net Bolas Grenado Javelin Spear Thrower Rock Dart Boomerang Whip Spears Spear Giant Spear Pike Lance Trident Polearm Halbard Poleaxe Glaive Giant Glaive Unarmed Fist Bite Claw Cestus -- Peter Wyche ([Peter Wyche] at [hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au]) ----------------------------------------------------------------- FATIGUE RECOVERY -- Martin Gallo ([m--ti--r] at [mindspring.com]) ================================================================= As fate would have it, I decided to try to start a DQ game with some friends. I made the decision Tuesday night (and actually got my stuff out of mothballs Wednesday night!) Thursday night, DQN arrives!! Now I know it is TIME. I read the article about FT recovery, and it reminded me that I never liked the FT recovery rules as published because they were very harsh towards the characters and did not reflect my life's experiences with exertion. I always allowed about 5 FT to be recovered right after a fight if the characters 'took a breather.' Whenever I got winded in real life (shovelling, running, lifting or actually swinging an SCA rattan sword) the act of sitting for about 5 to 15 minutes really helped me 'catch my breath' and go on. Needless to say, the recovery was not complete, and never got me feeling any better than when I started the workout. My FT recovery guidelines reflect this. Dissenting opinions are always welcome. Martin Gallo's post combat FT recovery guidelines: When a character completes a task that required great exertion and FT expenditure (combat is the most likely case, although running or climbing with a heavy load also qualifies) stopping, sitting and resting allows quick and incomplete FT recovery. This is only allowed if the character expended/lost more than 10 FT during the exertion (exceptions abound - I am generous). Resting for 10 to 15 minutes usually recovers about 1/3 of the lost/expended FT, unless the characters are engaged in wound binding, dead clearing, camp setup, etc. (for which I reduced the recovery to 1/4 the expenditure and doubled the time). Round down for 10 minutes and up for 15. If only 5 minutes rest is taken, 1/4 FT loss (rounded down) is recovered. Example - Rolph just finished a fight with some nasty baboons and took 13 FT damage and 3 EN. If Rolph sits down and does nothing, he can recover 3 FT in 5 minutes, 4 FT in 10 minutes and 5 FT in 15 minutes. After this, a point of diminishing return is reached, and the normal recovery rules apply. If Rolph decides to do a little scouting, or moves away from the carnage (for fear of his safety) resting for 20 minutes would recover 3 FT and 30 minutes recovers 4; note that this rest occurs AFTER Rolph moves away from the scene. If the combat was particularly vicious, I usually allowed a couple of FT recovered during camp setup activities, etc. unless the group was doing something silly like setting up camp in the trees, or across a river... Remember that recovery is based on the amount of FT expended/lost DURING the exertion. Other Campaign Thoughts ----------------------- [Martin also added these thoughts toward a proposed campaign. None of this is directly related to the FT recovery rules, but I have included it because it may be of interest and may help provoke some discussion.-- ED.] On another note, I am thinking of making vast changes to magic in my world for this new go around. Instead of just colleges of magic, I am thinking of adding deities (one per college per race or race class). Characters with magic are going to be priests or initiates to the various churches (or shamen or something) and the spells that they can cast are going to be given to them by the gods, etc. I am mostly doing this because what worked for me in my youth, is really bothering me in my dotage (being an engineer can sometimes really mess up a belief system!) I am not going to force any mysticism on the players, but am thinking of doing this to lend some credence to the opposed nature of the colleges (and the jealousy and separation). I am not going to involve the gods in the actual game or require tithing and money raising, just use this as a background (and occasional scenario motivation). {Darn lot of parentheses in this message!} Another idea is to split the pantheon into good/bad or order/chaos groups (maybe adding a new set of colleges - but probably just splitting off the summoners, which will tie in nicely with my world setting) and using that as further scenario motivation. I do not anticipate a RuneQuest-like ascension path for the characters. Another idea I am toying with is the thought of age. A character can start off with no profession and no magic at a young age (late teen to young adult) or can add a profession and/or college for some age penalty (and stat loss). This came about as I was trying to reconcile the problem that crippled my last 'campaign' when one of the players decided that if he joined no college, he should get the EXP to use for combat skills - it ruined the whole thing for all of us. I have not run through any numbers yet (hopefully this weekend) but my current idea is to do this using the profession/college and attribute EXP charts to try to balance it out. I fear that the numbers are going to be non-linear, but this seems like a good approach. My current estimate is 2-3 years for a Rk 2 at a profession and maybe also for the general knowledge spells/ritual in a college (5 years for both). This seems like a good balance. I do not expect to start the game for a few months (I am involved in other games) which will hopefully allow time for feedback from the readership. -- Martin Gallo ([m--ti--r] at [mindspring.com]) ---------------------_D_Q_ _A_R_C_H_I_V_E_----------------------- ================================================================= --------------------News from the Archivist---------------------- First, I want to profusely apologize to the DQN community for the lapse in service on the archive. I do not want to explain, except to say that for the past several months, I have not been processing any mail at all. I have recovered most or all of that mail, and by the time you read this, all submissions made in that period (including the Water adventure) should be on the archive. Steps WILL be taken to ensure this doesn't happen again. Thank you for your patience. Another minor change: I have changed the filenames of the newsletter back issues to "dqnvXnY", where X is the volume number and Y is the issue number. If the issue number is single digit (1-9), I have inserted a leading 0. For example, volume 3, issue 9 of the newsletter has the filename dqnv3n09 in the archive. This makes sorting and indexing easier. PS: If anyone out there knows of a GOOD internet service provider to whom I could go to as an alternate to NETCOM, please email me (I am recieving email again). The provider would have to fill the following criteria: * Full internet service, not just email. * Interface compatable with MS-DOS, or Windows 3.1 (NOT Windows 95). * A local access number in the South San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose area, area code 408). * Unlimited storage, or at least a fair amount of storage (5MB minimum). * A price range comparable with NETCOM ($19.50/mo. for unlimited time). * A direct link to the internet, not just a gateway (no AOL or Prodigy style gateway) I would be most grateful to find an alternative site for the Arhcive, perhaps even one that allows www access (my NETCOM shell account does not, and I don't even want to think about Netcruiser). Thanks again. Drake Stanton DragonQuest Archive Coordinator ================================================================= DragonQuest URLs: (If you know of any other DragonQuest related sites, please let us know.) --DragonQuest Home Page http://www.st.nepean.uws.edu.au/~dallbutt/dq/index.html --DragonQuest Newsletter Page http://www.ntsource.com/~psproefrock/dqn.html --DragonQuest Archive ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dr/drache --DragonQuest Home Companion (and other files) http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Role-Playing/Fantasy/DragonQuest/ --Shannon Appel's RPG Archives (DQ Index) ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/rpg-index --Surge's (Unofficial) Mirror Archive http://www.cqs.washington.edu:80/~surge/gaming/dragonquest/ ########################################################### ### End of DragonQuest Newsletter v4/n1 -- Early Spring 1997 ###########################################################