===========================================================
||
|| 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.)
dqn@ntsource.com
David Nadler (Distribution Coordinator)
David.Nadler@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 (wall@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
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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@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@hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FATIGUE RECOVERY
-- Martin Gallo (martimer@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 (martimer@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.magna.com.au/~dja/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
###########################################################