Ragitsu

Although I am grateful we have Republican opposition to Trump on our side, I keep reminding myself that some of those Republicans would enact many of the policies that Trump is trying to push through. They would work methodically and put on a saner, more urbane face. If Donald J. Trump is the bear dead ahead, then John Q. Republican is the adder in the bush.

Although I am grateful we have Republican opposition to Trump on our side, I keep reminding myself that some of those Republicans would enact many of the policies that Trump is trying to push through. They would work methodically and put on a saner, more urbane face. If Donald J. Trump is the bear dead ahead, then John Q. Republican is the adder in the bush.

As I remember things, both of these were true. Your haul was passed through a calculation that give you an XP value  At the same time, I've had DMs use these values as a means to have shops. Generally speaking, in 2nd Ed if you followed the random tables, PCs could get loaded up on items really quickly. This is why I started having NPCs use as many of the items I rolled as logically possible. This added some fun challenges, and could really piss off PCs when a Dragon quaffed a healing potion or used a scroll. 

I seem to recall the GP notation being intended for purposes other than actual regular commerce (the GP value once indicated how much equivalent XP you earned). AD&D 2e started to enshrine the idea that you can earn XP for accomplishments other than the acquisition of treasure. You could  - in theory - sell those magical items to individuals with enough coin, but you couldn't buy them.

NPC: "That was one alias. I have many names. You should..."
Player: "So do porn stars. You'll have to try a lot harder if you want to impress me."

https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2020/08/03/new-words-3-august-2020/

I got off without any real complications from my bout with Covid-19. So did my 82 year aunt. My sister however needs a an oxygen machine to combat her lingering viral pneumonia. She has to carry oxygen tanks to go out and can't stand for over 30 seconds. The doctors are hopeful this will fade in 3-6 months but they don't really know when or if her lungs will clear.

I have to say that left Trump out-debated right Trump.

If you have breathing issues might want to seal up as best as can. Clouds of tear gas seem to appear at random......

Do you ever feel like screaming at everyone to stop the minimization? I do.

Never forget to mention long-term health effects (and accompanying psychological trauma) when talking about COVID-19 survivors; deaths are tragic, but they aren't the only part of this ghastly equation.

Our healthcare infrastructure is fine....for making a profit. Sigh....   grumblegrumble

Never forget to mention long-term health effects (and accompanying psychological trauma) when talking about COVID-19 survivors; deaths are tragic, but they aren't the only part of this ghastly equation.

Do you ever feel like screaming at everyone to stop the minimization? I do.

That is one of the stronger selling points that made AD&D 2e appealing to me when I discovered it about a year ago; even low HD monsters can be armed with save-or-die attacks or no-save non-lethal incapacitating effects. You're forced to engage in more lateral thinking compared to later versions of D&D when players caught onto the fact that the marionettes and shadow puppets are incapable of breaking from an accountant's script. It is amazing how these games of yesteryear feel less like games and more like fairy tales/legends (that didn't cling to "statistical balance"). Increased competition with video games/massively multiplayer online roleplaying games has hurt the evolution of tabletop roleplaying games.
 
If a DM/GM is competent enough (through natural talent, experience or some combination of the two) and the players are largely on the same page as far as "common sense" and genre conventions go, there are going to be fewer bumps in the road when it comes to judgment calls made by both sides.

Encounter balance is hard to nail in the absence of a point-build system, IMO. And even point-based games aren't perfect in this regard either. One of the benefits of "old school" RPGing is the general disregard for encounter balance on a mechanical level. It is up to the players to use common sense and realize that their party of 3rd level characters are no match for the two stone giants they just stumbled upon, and judiciously try to slip past undetected rather than engage them in combat in the mistaken belief that the GM (and/or the published module) has arranged the encounter to be "winnable".
 
I primarily blame video games (MMORPGs in particular) for establishing this mentality in players.

That's what I like about these boards, the clean humor.

Am I the only one here thinking "be sure to follow it with a bleach chaser!"?

WE NEED MORE INTERVIEWERS LIKE JONATHAN SWAN.