Accessory - Dragon Magazine #111.pdf - Index of

Let me congratulate you on your excellent
editorial taste in choosing to publish Bruce Hum-
phrey’s “The role of nature” in issue #108. Back
when I penned “Weather in the World of Greyhawk,”
I hoped that someone would go beyond
my (admittedly sketchy) appendices on the effects
of heat and cold and examine all the environmental
issues. Mr. Humphrey has done so, and quite
nicely, making the two articles a well-matched
pair.
While I agree with almost all of Mr. Humphrey’s
work, there are a few thoughts I’d like to
add. First of all, while he speaks of the effects of
humidity in hot climates, he ignores it in the cold
— a critical omission. Compare cold weather in
the American Plains states with that along a
seacoast such as that of Norway or Newfoundland,
and you’ll see what I mean.
What effects will the humidity have? Well,
moist climates tend to be more disease-ridden, no
matter what the temperature, because the airborne
water provides a home for assorted microbes.
Influenza, pneumonia, and tuberculosis
(not to mention the common cold) are examples
of diseases that thrive on cold, damp environments.
The overall effects of both high and low
temperatures tend to be exaggerated by humidity,
and preservation of foodstuffs and valuable
substances like silk will be harder in any moist
climate, due to the increased likelihood of organic
rot and mildew. One of the few advantages of
such a clime is that tracking is often simplified,
due to the softness of the ground, though mists
and fogs may balance out this benefit by reducing
vision.
Mr. Humphrey argues that “. . . hard work
helps keep you warm in cold weather.” While
there’s some truth to this, it’s also important to
recognize that overwork in such an environment
can lead to serious illness. A form of heat prostration
is also possible, as the extra layers of clothing
prevent the evaporation of sweat. In general, the
time needed for rest and recovery from physical
labor will be 1½ to 2 times as long in cold climates
as it would in temperate areas, and a
corresponding increase in appetite is also expectable.
I fully agree with Mr. Humphrey’s notion that
elementals and their kin will pose a problem
when they are summoned into “improper”
environs, even under situations that would normally
imply absolute control. I would even go a
step further, and suggest that a druid who summoned
a fire elemental into a cold environment
or an earth elemental into a wet area would be
risking the wrath of his or her deity for misuse of
a valuable spell. In my own world, summoned
animals or insects that are brought into a climate
to which they are not native only have half their
normal effects.
A form of heat damage the article omits is the
inhalation of superheated air, which causes burns
within the throat and lungs. In real life, this is the
cause of more fire-related deaths than actual
contact with flames, and is a problem separate
from that of smoke inhalation, which Mr. Humphrey
did cover. Also relevant here is the fact that
hot fires lasting more than a few rounds will
6 JULY 1986
easily consume the oxygen in an enclosed, unventilated
area, leading to the effects described under
“Terrain” on page 17.
Mr. Humphrey’s approach to lightning is, I
think, a bit too severe. Though the natural bolts
he describes are far weaker than those of a
medium-level mage in terms of immediate effect,
the additional damage he adds in is excessive. For
consistency, a DM using this method should also
apply it to all spells involving lightning, and even
to the damage done by monsters with electrical
attacks.
While the two articles do differ slightly on the
effects of some events, these discrepancies are far
from critical. The DM should simply choose the
approach which best fits his or her campaign,
making sure that the choice is consistent with the
rest of the world, and proceed with the campaign.
David M. Axler
Philadelphia, Pa.
I’m writing in response to Bryan Winter’s
letter on akasa existing in a “modern world.”
Bryan seemed to be looking for a method of
justifying the use of magic in a modern world. I
have developed a system that could be applied to
a campaign in the modern world. We must first
look at the source of power of magic-users and
clerics.
A magic-user gains his power by learning how
to manipulate certain things such as nature, the
elements, and many other things. He does this by
combining specific vocal, somatic, and material
components to invoke the desired effect. Thus, he
gains his power from his knowledge of how the
components work together. Cantrips are a “first
step” for the magic-user into the realm of magic
use. They learn how to perform minor tricks by
waving their hands or combining certain things.
This becomes the basis of spellcasting. As they
practice and train, they learn how to gain a more
powerful result from their combination of components.
In this, we also see the need for a magicuser
to have a high intelligence. It is needed to
retain all the information gained from training
and experience. So, the power of the magic-user
is gained from his own knowledge, and he would
be able to cast a spell anywhere provided he had
the components and the knowledge of how to cast
the spell.
As for clerics, they are also required to have
vocal, somatic, and material components to cast a
spell. They, however, gain the knowledge on how
to cast the spell from their deities. Thus, the
cleric does not need a high intelligence to cast a
spell, but he needs a high wisdom which will
permit him to become close to his deity. If a cleric
should go to a modern world, of course, the deity
could grant him a spell. If the mortal 1st-level
cleric went to the modern world, why couldn’t
the immortal all-powerful deity, with his instantaneous,
unlimited-range, innate ability of teleportation,
go there? The deity being too far away
shouldn’t be a problem since the planes that the
deities exist on are infinite. So, a cleric on the
Prime Material Plane would be an infinite number
of miles away. In other words, a cleric of
Odin in the Hellfurnaces of Greyhawk would be
just as far away as a drunken bum in a modern
world on the Prime Material Plane. The modern
world must be accepted as existing on the Prime
Material Plane just in a different time. The
justification for us mundane people not being
able to cast spells is that we do not posssess the
knowledge of how to use certain components in
coordination with each other in order to acquire
the desired effect. The only flaw in my theory is
the reason why magic-users forget the spell after
they cast it. My reasoning is that it is part of the
magic but this doesn’t satisfy many people. I
would be delighted if I could receive other ideas
on this subject and constructive criticism is gladly
accepted on my whole theory. I know I have
omitted many areas of spellcasting, but I consider
this to be the basis of it all.
Andy Price
Miami, Fla.
In his article “Locals aren’t all yokels” (issue
#109), Ralph Sizer said that the best way to
prevent PCs from assaulting the local serfs is to
make every third one a 15th level MU. There are
more subtle ways to deal with wayward players,
however.
For example, threatening the old hermit could
result in the party failing to find the location of
the exit to the Maze of Darkness. Their next
characters won’t make the same mistake. Or, the
PCs could find themselves without armor, weapons,
or shelter as the whole town shuts down in
mourning for its recently departed mayor.
This type of DM control encourages good roleplaying.
Mr. Sizer’s method merely helps reduce
the game to a brawl.
Jaldhar Uyas
Jersey City, N.J.
I have not yet bought Unearthed Arcana and
have now decided I will not do so. I have used it
on a number of occasions but I always borrowed
a copy from a friend.
I have decided not to use Unearthed Arcana
when I play the AD&D game. I don’t like the
new races or classes presented there.
First, the new races presented do not improve
the game at all and only serve to complicate the
game and upset game balance. The gray dwarf,
drow, and deep gnome races have such unbelievable
powers innate to their race as player characters
that they are strongly upsetting in the game
and much too powerful. In a recent DRAGON
Magazine, a writer said that these races had to be
powerful to be like their monster counterparts.
Why include them at all? I have at least six
people I DM for and none of them have any
desire to play any race outside of those presented
in the Players Handbook.
Second, there is no need for any more classes.
If I want a knight in my campaign he (or she) will
be a paladin or a fighter with a set of honorific
rules. In my campaign there are special guilds
which teach extra skills at the cost of a percentage
of experience. Thus, if I want a thief-acrobat (or
one of my players wishes to play one), the character
can get into a guild that teaches these extra
skills at perhaps 20% additional experience.
Thus, there is no need for these new classes
either: the first eleven are plenty.
Almost everything in Unearthed Arcana was
from DRAGON Magazine. I suggest you leave
them there. We AD&D players could then decide
what to use and which classes and races to allow.
But now, since it is official, I just won’t buy the
book.
Scott Paul Maykrantz
Midland, Mich.