Mmm, I think you're right about the goblin's legs, though the swirls are less intended as shading (though adapted somewhast to be) and more remnants of the sketching process as I found the line I wanted to bring out. As for the scene in question, I only rmemeber the mindflayer, cleric, ranger, wizard, and the one minion being mentioned explicitly - there was something about more minions but they were "down the hall" or something like that - not in the same room or there'd have been more of them watching Mr. Wizard to notice him with his little knife after he got the one pushing him around to take the "I memorized Explosive Runes today" letter.
As for examples of what I mean with D&D ... I think it's really a case of genre mismatch error, because even mid-teens level D&D characters just seem so weak and narrowly-focused. The way ythe magic system is laid out doesn't agree with me much either, my favored style is to have physical combat for the main standard offense, small but cheap healing to patch up between opponents, and big, limited use attack magic to soften up major opponents before closing to melee. Just TRY and make a D&D character that can do that, though... the best success in my build attempts was adding the Bionoid template (adpted from 2e Spelljammer, bsically it's a Guyver unit though with only the power level of the Mark Hamill movie version) a and then 1:3 levels of Ninja (as found in the Rogues & Adventurers splatbook, whose title I can't exectly recall right now - also in Dragon 319 IIRC) and Warlock. That relied on the Bionoid racial abilities for the healing, but covered the rest pretty well - only I know that no DM would allow it, because the Bionoid is such a gamebreaker combat monster, and it also uses a few house-rules to modify the classes, mostly substituting certain class features for various feats. I've repeatedly tried to write a "fake campaign chronicle" fic with this character and a few others, but it never gets off the ground.
Basically, my evul-brane wants to play in martial arts or sci-fi anime, or at least Slayers, and D&D just doesn't do that - no class/level system really does that that I've seen; these days I'm all about the point-buy, with a sharp division between mechanics and the "special effects" descriptions attached by each character to those mechanics. I espescially like BESM, and was annoyed to discover that the third edition had come out and gone out of print while I was away from the scene. I have a good dozen 40pt 2nd Edition character builds, my favorite being a young German mage - I'll quote his basics here:
Strahl is really nifty, though a stricter DM might make disallow some of the disads (stacking daily meditation time to activate continuous Abilities) and put him up to 44-48 CP. All of his magic pertains to the mind and spirit, though Geistigfeuer ("ghostly fire," blue fireballs) and Geistschreiten ("ghost stepping," or teleportation) push that a little bit.
Now, all this isn't to say I haven't had some fun playing D&D, it's just that the game group made it fun despite lingering dissatisfaction with the characters as such, and when I get an idea for a neat game character, I reach for my BESM 2nd, or Tri-Stat SAS/Tri-Stat dX, or even the Champions Big Blue Book, not D&D, because with D&D I'm alwyas settling for the class that's least wrong and trying to tweak it the right way with feats, rather than just getting it right. At the same time, though, Tri-Stat is a little TOO simple for my taste with its eponymous three character stats; while the system I came up with on my own for NRSF is deliciously crunchy in all the right ways but too complicated to use in a pen & paper setting, it requires too much record keeping to be practical without computer assistance. The older "Game of STUPIDCOOLNESS" was worse, but intentionallly designed to "play wierd" and make use of those d12s and d30s every gamer has but never gets to roll. Well, D&D Barbarian players use a d12 when they go up a level for HP, but that's pretty much it. I'm afraid all copies of STUPIDCOOLNESS burned with the old comps in my house fire, though - at least, I've had no luck finding any trace of the one or two places I thoguh I'd posted it online.
Anyway, I think I've rambled on quite enough.
- CD,
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
As for examples of what I mean with D&D ... I think it's really a case of genre mismatch error, because even mid-teens level D&D characters just seem so weak and narrowly-focused. The way ythe magic system is laid out doesn't agree with me much either, my favored style is to have physical combat for the main standard offense, small but cheap healing to patch up between opponents, and big, limited use attack magic to soften up major opponents before closing to melee. Just TRY and make a D&D character that can do that, though... the best success in my build attempts was adding the Bionoid template (adpted from 2e Spelljammer, bsically it's a Guyver unit though with only the power level of the Mark Hamill movie version) a and then 1:3 levels of Ninja (as found in the Rogues & Adventurers splatbook, whose title I can't exectly recall right now - also in Dragon 319 IIRC) and Warlock. That relied on the Bionoid racial abilities for the healing, but covered the rest pretty well - only I know that no DM would allow it, because the Bionoid is such a gamebreaker combat monster, and it also uses a few house-rules to modify the classes, mostly substituting certain class features for various feats. I've repeatedly tried to write a "fake campaign chronicle" fic with this character and a few others, but it never gets off the ground.
Basically, my evul-brane wants to play in martial arts or sci-fi anime, or at least Slayers, and D&D just doesn't do that - no class/level system really does that that I've seen; these days I'm all about the point-buy, with a sharp division between mechanics and the "special effects" descriptions attached by each character to those mechanics. I espescially like BESM, and was annoyed to discover that the third edition had come out and gone out of print while I was away from the scene. I have a good dozen 40pt 2nd Edition character builds, my favorite being a young German mage - I'll quote his basics here:
Quote:Name: Herr Zaubermeister Strahl Schienlicht Schraubenformig im Dunkeln
Genre: Occult Horror
Race: Human (Alchemical Immortality)
Occupation: Freelance Demon Hunter
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 6ft. 4in.
Weight: 122lb.
Description and Character Notes:
Name meaning: (honored) (archmage) (ray/beam) (shining light) (spiral) (in the darkness)
A quote: "Halten fur mich Strahl, ich bin nur ein Kerl, verstehen?"
"Regard me as Strahl, I am just a guy, understand?"
Schools:
Ebenholz Vorbereitungenschule von Zauber (aka Ebenholz VvZ)
Ebenholz (ebony) preparations school of magic
Sonderling Universitat Zauberei Ostenberg (aka SUZO)
Eccentric University (of) Spellcasting (at) Eastern Mountain
A true magical prodigy, Strahl was accepted to Ebenholz VvZ at the age of seven, having already skipped 1st & 3rd year primary schooling (started Kindergarten at 4, skipped to 2nd grade at 5, skipped to 4th grade at 6, ended that year in 5th grade) and completed the full seven year course of study with high honors, having taken as many electives as could fit in his schedule at 14. Despite aggressive recruiting (including no less than three kidnapping attempts and one seduction) by magical colleges from around the world, he continued to Ebenholz's sister school, SUZO, having already taken advance-placement courses there to attain the rank of Zauberlehrling upon metriculation.
There his studies focused primarily on influencing the Geist, whether in the form of living minds or natural or undead spirits, and he again graduated with high honors and the rank of Zauberkunstler at 18. Taking a break from formal study Strahl wandered Europe and the Middle East for two years, working as a freelance exorcist and demon hunter, returning to test for Zauberkreiger rank. Upon attaining that certification, he entered postgraduate studies for another two years, achieving the alchemical modifications for immortality and finally recieving certification as Zaubermeister with the casting of a combined Teleport and Illusion that brought the entire staff and student body within the tower where the examination panel was taking place to the grand hall of an amazing palace of crystal overlooking a chasm where dragons played in the thermals and set them down to a feast, only to reveal it all an hour later as a city-sized illusion placed over one of the freshly-harvested fields at a nearby farm, the grand feast of exquisite food and drink nothing more than grilled sausages in buns and plain water.
Academic credentials now fully secured, Strahl intends to travel the world once more, banishing evil spirits where they appear, to find a group of worthy companions, and to have some fun with life since he now has an unlimited time to enjoy it. He'd like to get his body in better tone and improve the rate of his healing as well.
Strahl is really nifty, though a stricter DM might make disallow some of the disads (stacking daily meditation time to activate continuous Abilities) and put him up to 44-48 CP. All of his magic pertains to the mind and spirit, though Geistigfeuer ("ghostly fire," blue fireballs) and Geistschreiten ("ghost stepping," or teleportation) push that a little bit.
Now, all this isn't to say I haven't had some fun playing D&D, it's just that the game group made it fun despite lingering dissatisfaction with the characters as such, and when I get an idea for a neat game character, I reach for my BESM 2nd, or Tri-Stat SAS/Tri-Stat dX, or even the Champions Big Blue Book, not D&D, because with D&D I'm alwyas settling for the class that's least wrong and trying to tweak it the right way with feats, rather than just getting it right. At the same time, though, Tri-Stat is a little TOO simple for my taste with its eponymous three character stats; while the system I came up with on my own for NRSF is deliciously crunchy in all the right ways but too complicated to use in a pen & paper setting, it requires too much record keeping to be practical without computer assistance. The older "Game of STUPIDCOOLNESS" was worse, but intentionallly designed to "play wierd" and make use of those d12s and d30s every gamer has but never gets to roll. Well, D&D Barbarian players use a d12 when they go up a level for HP, but that's pretty much it. I'm afraid all copies of STUPIDCOOLNESS burned with the old comps in my house fire, though - at least, I've had no luck finding any trace of the one or two places I thoguh I'd posted it online.
Anyway, I think I've rambled on quite enough.
- CD,
STUPIDCOOLNESS
Never Ends
But This Post
Does.
-- Never Ends
But This Post
Does.
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows