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2016-09-22, 06:27 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Lisbon - Portugal
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Well, don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is a word.Is parsley scarier than nutmeg?
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2016-09-22, 06:32 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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- Lake Wobegon
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2016-09-22, 06:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2010
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Awesome strip.
: But you can't make an omelette without ruthlessly crushing dozens of eggs beneath your steel boot and then publicly disemboweling the chickens that laid them as a warning to others.
avatar made by Haruki-kun
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2016-09-22, 06:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2009
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- In a castle under the sea
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Eh, the logic works well enough. OotS hasn't consistently followed RAW (Rules As Written), or even RAI (Rules As Intended) but rather RAF (Rules As Funny).
Hm. True, that might be a bit close. I mean, the situation wouldn't be exactly the same (Belkar probably wouldn't jump as high, so he could continue stabbing the first giant a few times), but it's still a consideration.
I've never heard of Ben Bailey, and I found the "wrong bird" bit amusing.
So, clearly the Bailey thing isn't required for the joke to work.
Spoiler: Falling Damage
No "silly" terminal velocity cap. And for the record, real, normal people have survived terminal velocity falls without parachutes.
And just because your gaming group uses a rule doesn't mean Gygax "intended" it. Especially if it blatantly contradicts the reading of one ambiguous rule that sort of supports the not-actually-exponential damage thing.
Velocity doesn't increase linearly as you approach terminal velocity, though (IE, you won't be falling at 61 mph after falling 10 seconds). The faster you go, the more air resistance impedes gravitational acceleration.
It's worth noting that the damage rules you say you use are literally worse at approximating this than D&D's. In your system, damage goes up faster the farther you fall, which is the opposite of how it would work in real life. (E.g, the difference between 10 feet and 20 feet is larger IRL but smaller in your system than the difference between falling 30 feet and 40. I mean, you could make an argument about +200% versus +67%, but there's still a reasonable way to argue that the difference between 10- and 20- foot falling damage is less than 30- and 40-foot, which doesn't exactly parallel real life in any way.)
So the falling rules don't have much to do with terminal velocity, except as it provides an excuse that sounds better than 'we wanted it that way'. Personally, my games just have you make a save vs massive damage after the 20d6 limit is passed. Save, you have 1d4 hit points left. Fail, you're dead.
"...Can we go back to the simpler, self-consistent system?"
It's also worth pointing out that this is a system where a high-level character can wade through lava for a minute and only take the same "ridiculously low" 20d6 damage that you get from hitting the ground at terminal velocity or so. And survive clouds of caustic gas being belched at them from green dragons. And hold their breath, while fighting sahuagin, for minutes at a time. And some of them cast spells or call on the strength of their deity or internal energy, let's not forget that.
It's called high fantasy, and you're worried that the heroes might be able to survive falls almost as well as lucky normal people?
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2016-09-22, 10:34 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2014
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- A Michigan Far, Far Away
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Belkar & Roy bickering during combat is always solid gold.
"Is he flipping me off as he floats gently down to the ground?" may be Roy's best line of all time.
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2016-09-22, 10:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2013
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2016-09-22, 10:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2014
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- A Michigan Far, Far Away
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Last edited by Darth Paul; 2016-09-22 at 10:41 AM.
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2016-09-22, 11:36 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2013
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2016-09-22, 01:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2012
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- Colorado
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Terminal velocity is the speed at which the force of drag matches the force of gravity and the falling body no longer accelerates. The force of gravity is proportional to the mass of the falling object. Drag is proportional to the velocity and surface area of the falling object, and also a coefficient of ballistic drag that measures "smoothness" of the object. The density of the atmosphere also enters into it.
Surface area can be varied; a skydiver who adopts a head down posture falls faster than one who spread-eagles themselves.
Crudely, though, there's some speed where gravity and drag balance out - higher for bowling balls, lower for feathers.This ... is my signature finishing move!
"It's never good when you make a fiend cringe" - MadGrady
According to some online quiz, I'm a 6th level TN Wizard. They didn't give me full XP for all the monsters I've defeated while daydreaming.
http://easydamus.com/character.html
I am a Ranger Archetype: Gleaming Warden (thx to Ninja Prawn)
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2016-09-22, 01:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2006
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- Meridianville AL
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
There are cliff divers who routinely jump over 100' into water that's less than 15' deep. I guess they're ROUTINELY taking 55d6 of damage minus a small amount for jumping and for hitting water (say only half damage). So to do this daily or more often they need to be able to recover a couple of hundred HP per night's rest. Wow! There are people who are OVER level 200 in the real world, who knew?
Then there are at least five people have survived falling multiple thousands of feet from a plane with no parachute after being ejected. Those people weren't trained to fall well and probably weren't high level. Others have survived when their chute failed to open. At least two of those with no chute got up afterward and walked away to look for help. One was a stewardess who'd landed in the middle of the Amazon rain-forest in Brazil, fortunately since she had no particularly serious injuries she was able to find civilization.
I guess those people took millions of damage and must be really super-duper epic. Either that, or your allegedly more realistic falling rules are actually far less realistic.
It takes fairly amazing luck to survive a really long fall, fortunately the definition of HP has always included luck. Some people in a realistic world can routinely jump over a hundred feet into water, some people in a realistic world can survive falls of 10,000 or more feet. And in D&D land we call those people who are perfectly realistic in this respect "high level".
There are lots of unrealistic things about a level 15 character, surviving falls isn't on the list (CONSISTENTLY surviving falls is, but that's only a problem if it comes up often, and for that even Belkar figures a ring of feather falling is a good investment).Last edited by Doug Lampert; 2016-09-22 at 01:23 PM.
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2016-09-22, 01:43 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
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2016-09-22, 02:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2010
Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Where is Mr. Scruffy? BELKAR FORGOT MR. SCRUFFY! Clearly this means he is going to die.
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2016-09-22, 02:58 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
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2016-09-22, 07:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2004
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
There is a loosey-goosey sense of consistency in D&D. Circa 10th level PCs are consistently succeeding at tasks that are almost-sort-of-possible in the real world or, perhaps, possible with astounding luck, such as: survive a 100' drop, long jump 30 feet, unerringly track someone on a moonless night over hard ground while moving at full speed, become effectively impossible for a merely very competent soldier to kill with one or two blows (unless literally helpless), etc.
That is not a "problem" with the game system. That is implicitly the main feature of progressing well beyond low levels.
If players do not like this feature, they can find a DM who keeps the game at low levels or play a different game system with mechanics that keeps the risk of sudden death high.
In the case of OotS, the Giant chose to progress the PCs from middling levels to highish levels. It is what it is. Wondering about why Belkar or Tarquin can survive a 1000 foot fall, even without the benefit of magic, is like doubting that the stupid kid named Arthur has any business with the cool sword.Last edited by Snails; 2016-09-22 at 07:55 PM.
I owe Peelee 5 Quatloos. But I am going double or nothing that Durkon will be casting 8th level spells at the big finale.
I bet Goblin_Priest 5 quatloos that Xykon does not know RC has the phylactery at this point in the tale (#1139).
Using my Bardic skills I see the fate of Belkar...so close!
Using my Bardic skills I see the fate of goblinkind!
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2016-09-22, 08:47 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2013
Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Long live the sexy, shoeless God of War!!!
Skipper of the Good Ship O-ChOona (accepting crew applications)
Launched June 3, 2016. Oona+O-Chul OTP Forever!!!!
"Like a tenacious child we were born, born to be wild ...
we're gonna climb so high we're never gonna die" - Steppenwolf
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2016-09-23, 01:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2005
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- Perth, Australia
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2016-09-23, 02:13 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2016
Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Clearly the delightful Belkar is not flipping Roy the bird, he's just showing him the Ring of Featherfall he bought in Gnomeville. And then he's going to use his Ring of Jumping to stab a lot of Frost Giants in the face and perhaps harvest their kidneys.
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2016-09-23, 05:29 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
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- Germany
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Last edited by Kantaki; 2016-09-23 at 05:30 AM.
"If it lives it can be killed.
If it is dead it can be eaten."
Ronkong Coma "the way of the bookhunter" III Catacombium
(Walter Moers "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher")
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2016-09-23, 06:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2015
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- Lisbon - Portugal
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2016-09-23, 06:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2006
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
I admit full culpability for Phyrnglsnyx
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2016-09-23, 10:13 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2013
Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
No, the V is the archers showing off they still have the two fingers needed to nock and fire an arrow. Guess what the French used to chop off of every prisoner they took.
Devil's horns are something else. An Italian gesture, actually meant to ward off spells, hexes and curses (The Evil Eye). Dio made it a popular move in the Rock & Roll set, and the BADD set...
No, that's recent political stuff. Interesting, but very inflammatory.
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2016-09-23, 10:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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- Birmingham, AL
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
Nothing?
Yeah, it's about the "middle finger" origins, but it still skewers the whole "French cut off fingers of captives" bit as well.Last edited by Peelee; 2016-09-23 at 10:26 AM.
Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.
Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2
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2016-09-23, 11:12 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2015
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2016-09-23, 12:31 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
[citation needed]
https://bshistorian.wordpress.com/20...glish-history/
GWInterested in MitD? Join us in MitD's thread.There is a world of imagination
Deep in the corners of your mind
Where reality is an intruder
And myth and legend thrive
Ceterum autem censeo Hilgya malefica est
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2016-09-23, 01:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2006
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
I admit full culpability for Phyrnglsnyx
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2016-09-23, 02:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2006
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- Brookline MA
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2016-09-23, 02:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
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- Germany
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
"If it lives it can be killed.
If it is dead it can be eaten."
Ronkong Coma "the way of the bookhunter" III Catacombium
(Walter Moers "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher")
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2016-09-23, 02:33 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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- Birmingham, AL
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2016-09-23, 02:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2015
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- Germany
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
"If it lives it can be killed.
If it is dead it can be eaten."
Ronkong Coma "the way of the bookhunter" III Catacombium
(Walter Moers "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher")
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2016-09-23, 03:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2015
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- New York
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Re: OOTS #1053 - The Discussion Thread
You may have an internet today, Wolfram.
Avatar by linklele.