Battlefield Butter? Isn't that how war spreads? But in all serious I can see it's applications. A sword dipped in battlefield butter and the opponent needs too save versus Paralysis or have his arteries clogged, causing death in 20 to 30 years.
That's King Wulfric, thank you very much. Or maybe Prince. Huskarlar were royal attendants, like knights, but in a Norse context. Several of my ancestors were Norman knights, or huskarlar dipped in French sauce.
Nice touch not having the Elf age any in 30 years. Maybe she's still only 5th level because she was busy learning Wombat. Nice Celtic triskelion too. Apparently, the Celts are allied with the Norse in this battle. But against whom?
I'm guessing battlefield butter is a euphemism for some sort of explosive. That, or Goodwurst is just a crazy person who wanders onto battlefields sometimes.
Oh no, my dear good fellow. Goodwurst isn't crazy. He's just crazy serious about making butter that explodes in your mouth with delicious battley goodness.
Yup, the elf was looking pretty much the same 30 years ago. In 1st edition D&D, elves had level caps that human player characters didn't have. Maybe the thinking was that if they didn't have limits, they would all just become too powerful since they live so long?
I think Tolkien's elves are pretty much immortal unless they're prematurely cut down. I actually prefer that they simply have an extremely long but limited lifespan. So, to our elf, 30 years is kind of like 3 years. Something like that.
Early D&D had a lot of essentially racist glass ceilings and exclusions like that. Prohibiting races from certain professions, even though they had the stats. Help Wanted ads must have said things like "Elves need not apply."
"In Hinduism, immortal does not mean eternal, as all physical bodies are foretold to become immaterial at the end of time, along with Brahma himself." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiranjivi
2nd edition carried on the tradition of capping demi-humans, but as with anything else, you could get around it.
I never did care for level caps on the Demi races, I always went with low population, long life spans, and voracious enemies who considered them a tasty deli human, (cut them up and ready to serve) kind of deal. Seemed less complicated that way.
One battle buttered, lettuce, tomato, Gnome on rye please!
Have you ever ventured into a discussion on whether, and if yes how, to "add realism" by nerfing female characters?
There really is a market for prejudice; some people need the world to be predictable and simplistic, even in a game that's meant to let you escape your reality for a bit.
Yeah, right? A female character with 18 Strength is not going to detract from the "realism" of a fantasy world populated with things like giant flying, fire breathing reptiles that can cast MAGICAL spells and have conversations with you.
Early D&D gimped the other races to give players a reason to play Human characters. 3.5e gives Humans their own advantages, and removes caps and exclusions, though I can't remember ever seeing certain combinations on DDO, like Half-Orc Magic-Users (Wizards). I did see a female Dwarf fighter in a bikini once.
Natural law doesn't preclude RL males from getting 18 DEX, or females, 18 STR. But even giving females a DEX bonus to compensate for a STR minus would have already been regarded as sexist in the '70s. In a game in which Humans can cast fireballs, Elves don't have a level cap for the sake of realism. That was done to compensate for the relatively weak Human design in early D&D. Elven longevity just allows Elves to remain maxed out longer. (Though probably the only maxed-out slacker NPCs you'd be likely to encounter would be Elves). Later edition changes in this area of the game balance the races without violating equal rights, or in this case, demi-Human rights.
It is safe to assume that RL dwarves (going by a more PC label) took exception to level caps on Dwarf PCs in early D&D. The ostensible reason was that Dwarves couldn't learn as well from non-Dwarves, which is analogous to only allowing minorities to enter higher education at minority institutions, since they would only be able to learn from their own kind. Why Johnny Dwarf can't learn. This approach was a kludge to maintain the prestige caste, Human PCs. Later editions of the game were able to abandon the bootlicker mentality -- whereby Human worth could only be affirmed in nerfing other races -- by giving Humans advantages of their own.
So... what kind of bonuses do humans get? +1 to greediness? +3 on saving throw vs. spiritual enlightenment? Anyway...
I noticed that in many science fiction scenarios, humans make out all right against other alien races (who often possess superior physical or mental abilities), thanks to qualities like tenacity, ingenuity, and adaptability. Oh, and manliness. Manliness works pretty good in lots of space situations. I mean, just look at all the times Captain Kirk gets his shirt torn and takes care of business.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Our modern society is so fussy and emasculated. However, as I've told you many times, going out in public without wearing pants... and underwear WILL make people uncomfortable.
In DDO, which is basically 3.5e with some mechanical differences, Humans get:
°+4 skill points at character creation
°+1 skill point at every level after level 1
°1 bonus feat at level 1
°The choice of four Dragonmarks
Humans, unlike other races, have no pluses or minuses to stats. Other races only have one choice each of Dragonmark, or none, in the case of the Drow.
Briefly, Humans are relatively versatile and adaptable. Even this can be, and has been, made into a cliche in science fiction. Capt. Kirk out-thinking his opponents, thanks to his superior ingenuity more so than intellect. Often he will try to fight his way out of a situation, but not always successfully. And when he does manage to best someone, like Khan, who is clearly his better in hand-to-hand combat, it's through a clever improvised move.
The Roddenberry-era Borg were an almost post-modern inversion of expectations, a species that was more adaptable, more ingenious, more resourceful, more democratic, etc. than Humans. The Federation wound up using Jujitsu on them, in effect, using the Borgified Picard against the Borg.
heh just re-read all the comments - didnt know about the RP discussion afterwards.. :P as far as elves go I go with tolkein elves ( ie immortal ) rolemaster took away the so called levle cap and added other ways to even things up. but time does pass diffrently a elf not paying attention can literally lose track of years fast. :D
I definitely see the logic of elves being immortal beings. Some of our oldest trees seem pretty much immortal. If disease, fire, or lumberjacks don't get at them, they could go on living indefinitely.
On the other hand, I like the idea of some elves looking actually old and I figure they'd only get that way if they aged... or partied too hard.
Not only did non-humans have caps, but they were also a class (at least that was the case with Basic rules: elf wasn't a race, it was a class, same with Barbarian)
Thanks guys for choosing the butter that was churned in the heat of battle, for that unmistakably authentic battlefield flavor. Huzzah!
Nice touch not having the Elf age any in 30 years. Maybe she's still only 5th level because she was busy learning Wombat. Nice Celtic triskelion too. Apparently, the Celts are allied with the Norse in this battle. But against whom?
I'm guessing battlefield butter is a euphemism for some sort of explosive. That, or Goodwurst is just a crazy person who wanders onto battlefields sometimes.
Yup, the elf was looking pretty much the same 30 years ago. In 1st edition D&D, elves had level caps that human player characters didn't have. Maybe the thinking was that if they didn't have limits, they would all just become too powerful since they live so long?
I think Tolkien's elves are pretty much immortal unless they're prematurely cut down. I actually prefer that they simply have an extremely long but limited lifespan. So, to our elf, 30 years is kind of like 3 years. Something like that.
"In Hinduism, immortal does not mean eternal, as all physical bodies are foretold to become immaterial at the end of time, along with Brahma himself." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiranjivi
I never did care for level caps on the Demi races, I always went with low population, long life spans, and voracious enemies who considered them a tasty deli human, (cut them up and ready to serve) kind of deal. Seemed less complicated that way.
One battle buttered, lettuce, tomato, Gnome on rye please!
There really is a market for prejudice; some people need the world to be predictable and simplistic, even in a game that's meant to let you escape your reality for a bit.
I noticed that in many science fiction scenarios, humans make out all right against other alien races (who often possess superior physical or mental abilities), thanks to qualities like tenacity, ingenuity, and adaptability. Oh, and manliness. Manliness works pretty good in lots of space situations. I mean, just look at all the times Captain Kirk gets his shirt torn and takes care of business.
°+4 skill points at character creation
°+1 skill point at every level after level 1
°1 bonus feat at level 1
°The choice of four Dragonmarks
Humans, unlike other races, have no pluses or minuses to stats. Other races only have one choice each of Dragonmark, or none, in the case of the Drow.
Briefly, Humans are relatively versatile and adaptable. Even this can be, and has been, made into a cliche in science fiction. Capt. Kirk out-thinking his opponents, thanks to his superior ingenuity more so than intellect. Often he will try to fight his way out of a situation, but not always successfully. And when he does manage to best someone, like Khan, who is clearly his better in hand-to-hand combat, it's through a clever improvised move.
The Roddenberry-era Borg were an almost post-modern inversion of expectations, a species that was more adaptable, more ingenious, more resourceful, more democratic, etc. than Humans. The Federation wound up using Jujitsu on them, in effect, using the Borgified Picard against the Borg.
On the other hand, I like the idea of some elves looking actually old and I figure they'd only get that way if they aged... or partied too hard.