NPC - Astrologer- JG

The Dungeoneer 24 - Jan/Dec 1980

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Morale - Bravery

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When developing Non-Player Characters, one of the factors to determine is Bravery.  GG defines this on DMG 102: To randomize the attribute for an NPC, two methods are given: PERSONAE OF NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS - TRAITS TABLES on DMG 101: And NON-PLAYER CHARACTER ENCOUNTER/OFFER REACTION ADJUSTMENTS on DMG 102: Interesting insight in an unlikely place, DMG 82: Seems pretty clear to me that +1 Bravery equals +5% an Morale checks while +4 Bravery equals +15% on Morale.  However, we know from the Reaction adjustment table above the max % adjustment is 20%, so how would you tie these together? If the descriptions from the Traits table were combined with the possible Morale adjustment percentages and ordered them may look like this: 1. Foolhardy  +20% 2.  Fearless +10% 3.  Brave +5% 4.  Normal 0% 5.  Normal 0% 6.  Normal 0% 7.  Cowardly -5% 8.  Craven -10% If we look at as a s...
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App N - Clark Ashton Smith - The Dark Eidolon

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 The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith A grim tale of wickedness, revenge, and doom. Not a single decent, moral character in the entire story, everyone is evil. Strange to read a tale where no one is good and there is no side you instinctively want to succeed. What's in a name?  The word 'eidolon' is only used once in the text. Sure, it's evocative, but maybe it is pointing to a moral lesson or truth in the story.  Looking up "eidolon" in the Oxford English Dictionary, makes you think...   https:// oed.com/dictionary/eid olon_n?tab=meaning_and_use#5785452 … Most, if not all, characters in the story have some dark (evil) obsession that ultimately destroys them when manifest.  When these fatal, evil flaws are brought to the surface and exposed, they spell doom for all.  I think about how each of the characters met their ultimate doom: Namirrha - driven mindless and slashing an image of himself in the mirror until his magic sword crumbles. --> He lost h...
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App.N - What's the AD&D Thief class based on?

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Appendix N - Inspirational and Educational Reading includes stories showing the various Classes in AD&D.  What are the best examples of the Thief class? Some answers are obvious:  - Jack Vance's Cugle is probably the closest thing to the Thief described by GG   - Fritz Lieber's Grey Mouser  - Tolkien''s Bilbo & Frodo Not thought of often, but clearly Conan was a multi-class Fighter / Thief, e.g. "The Tower of the Elephant."  Taurus of Nemedia from that story is also a good example.  Another example of Conan as a Thief is "The God in the Bowl". A lesser known example is Satampra Zeiros from Clark Ashton Smith's "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros".  He had a partner in crime, who didn't make it through the adventure...the life of a thief. Gygax later wrote a series of novels about a Thief named Gord. I've been told, Zelazny, Roger's Jack of Shadows is a good example of the AD&D Thief, ...
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