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|| DRAGONQUEST Newsletter May 1995 ||
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|| Volume 2 / Number 5 ||
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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.)
psproefr@miamiu.muohio.edu
David Nadler (Distribution Coordinator)
nadled@daytonoh.ATTGIS.COM
Drake Stanton (FTP Site Coordinator)
drache@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.
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C O N T E N T S
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Administrivia - Dave Nadler
Editorial -- Philip Proefrock
Letters -- Anthony Ragan
-- John Kahane
Column: The BEASTIARY
Some Notes on Characteristics -- John Kahane
Column: CHARACTER CORNER
Advertisements
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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
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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 (nadled@daytonoh.ATTGIS.COM). It's one of
the reasons that he's there. --Philip
------------------------_L_E_T_T_E_R_S_--------------------------
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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 (IrishSpy@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.]
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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@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_---------------------
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Scitalis
-- Philip Proefrock (psproefr@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
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SOME NOTES ON CHARACTERISTICS
-- John Kahane (John.Kahane@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).
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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@p5.f198.n163.z1.fidonet.org)
------------------------ADVERTISEMENTS---------------------------
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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.
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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.
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### End of DragonQuest Newsletter v2/n5 -- May 1995
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