Sage Advice by Skip Williams If you have any questions on the games produced by TSR, Inc., "Sage Advice" will answer them. In the United States and Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON(R) Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom. This month, "Sage Advice" covers a potpourri of questions on various topics related to TSR(R) games. D&D(R) game The D&D Expert Set says that only maidens can ride unicorns. How can my female PC become a maiden? Females don't become maidens. Maidens are born, not made. In fantasy literature, a maiden is a young, unmarried woman. In the D&D game, a true maiden also has a Lawful alignment. You might also look up the word "virgin" in a dictionary. At what level can PC mystics start on a path to Immortality? Does any path favor Mystics? Mystics can seek immortality any time after reaching 16th level. A mystic's intense devotion to his discipline makes the Epic Hero the only suitable path for a mystic; the DM must decide if this is also the favored path (see the Master DM's Book, page 15). Will a weapon of wounding negate a troll's regeneration ability in the D&D game? Only insofar as the troll suffers the extra damage caused by the "wound" (1 hp per round). The troll can regenerate this damage, however. STAR FRONTIERS(R) game I enjoyed the article "Armored and Dangerous" in issue #129 (page 70), but I have a few questions. Does the basic suit of powered armor come with a bodycomp and any special scanners? I assume there is a bodycomp because Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space says that an enviro-comp is required, and implies that a master-comp is also required. The basic suit has no scanners, but it does have a bodycomp with a type D processor and a kingpack power supply. The standard progits are: master-comp, medinject (three of them), body-scan, and enviro-comp. Additional progits can be added to the computer, up to the kingpack's 12-progit limit. I like the helmet rafflurs and grenade launchers in Zebulon's Guide, but I can't find costs and weights for them. As explained on page 70 of that book, helmet attachments cost 20% more than their regular counterparts. The weights of the helmet and regular versions are identical. Helmet rafflurs, for example are merely two rafflur M-1s attached to a helmet. The cost and weight of the rafflur M-1 are given on page 34 as 300 Cr and .50 kg. Therefore, helmet rafflurs cost 720 Cr ((300 x 2) x 1.2) and weigh 1 kg. AD&D(R) game Why does a paladin become a cavalier instead of a fighter when he loses his paladinhood? With the appearance of Unearthed Arcana, paladins became a subclass of the cavalier, not the fighter. Both the Monster Manual I and the Best of DRAGON Magazine Anthology, vol. III, say that halflings have a + 3 "to hit" with missile weapons. Do PC halflings get this bonus in addition to any adjustments for dexterity? No; the + 3 bonus is given only to NPC halflings, who are assumed to spend a lot of time practicing with short bows or slings (as well as to have high dexterities). The + 3 bonus applies only to these two weapons. Are elves immune to charm effects that aren't from spells, such as a vampire's gaze or a harpy's song? Elves and half-elves are resistant (not immune) to all forms of sleep and charm, including those above. If a dwarven character and a human character got married and had kids, wouldn't their offspring be half-dwarves? What would the racial characteristics of half-dwarves be? We suppose that a human and a dwarf would produce a half-dwarf, if they could produce a child at all. Such a child, however, might be either a tall, hairless dwarf or a short, hairy human, as there are no half-dwarves in the AD&D game. While it is possible to create more crossbreeds than are already present in the AD&D game, we recommend that you stick with the ones in the rules. Can humanoids such as gnolls or orcs use weapon specialization? No; weapon specialization is for the fighter class only. We suppose that some very extraordinary humanoids might actually have fighter training and so could specialize. This would be very rare. Here is my 8th-level troll thief. What do you think of him? See the DMG, page 21, "The Monster as a Player Character," for the official view on this and all other cases like it involving monsters as PCs. Can a character worship a deity from the pantheon of another race? Why or why not? Yes, he can, but he might find himself outcast, accepted neither by his own race nor the race associated with the deity. This depends on how appropriate the deity is for the character. The Greek deity Hephaestus, for example, is very appropriate for dwarves or gnomes. Likewise, deities who are associated with a particular class are generally appropriate for any character of that class regardless of race. A dwarven worshiper of a giants' deity, however, is likely to be unwelcome wherever he goes. Clerics are a different matter; refer to the individual descriptions of each deity to determine which races the deity will accept as clerics. When can a character build a stronghold and attract followers? Characters who are allowed to construct strongholds in order to attract followers may do so when they reach "name" level. "Name" level is the level at which a class no longer gains additional hit dice or constitution bonuses (see Unearthed Arcana, page 12). DRAGON issue #117, pages 16-17 ("Feuds and Feudalism"), has some suggestions for midlevel strongholds as well. Any PC with the money may build a stronghold - but attracting followers other than the usual henchmen and hirelings could be difficult if the PC is of low level. Which classes get a constitution bonus higher than + 2 per hit die? To be absolutely clear: fighters (including rangers and barbarians) and cavaliers (including paladins). Do nonthief characters have any chance to open locked chests or doors? Only thieves can pick locks in the AD&D game. Other characters can try to force locked closures by making an open doors attempt or bend bars/lift gates roll, as per the Players Handbook, page 9. It is up to the DM to decide when and how a locked door or chest can be opened. Do nonthief characters have any chance to listen at doors? See page 60 of the DMG for nonthief hear noise attempts. What is the effect of nonmagical exercise on ability scores? Officially, none. All character classes are assumed to exercise to a degree appropriate to their professions, as a normal part of training for advancement. The less physical classes fill in their nonadventuring time with study and mental exercises. Can a character hold his breath and avoid the effects of gases? Yes, it is possible for a character who suspects or detects poisonous gas before having to make a saving throw against it to hold his breath and avoid the effects of most gases. Some gases, such as green dragon breath, take effect on contact and cannot be avoided simply by holding one's breath. Rules for characters holding their breaths are given in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, page 12. Do characters still get constitution bonuses to their hit points after reaching "name" level? No. Once the character stops gaining new hit dice, he also stops gaining constitution bonuses. When a character is raised or resurrected and loses a point of constitution, does he also lose bonus hit points? For example, would a 13th level paladin with an 18 constitution lose 13 hp after being raised? Yes, a character who loses a point of constitution loses all the bonus hit points that went with it. Note that the paladin in your example would have stopped gaining bonus hit points for constitution at level 9, so he would lose 9 hp. Some campaigns, rather than subtracting previously acquired hit points for the constitution loss, allow the PC to retain his old hit points but restrict new hit-point bonuses for constitution to the amount appropriate for the new constitution. For example, an 8th-level magic-user with a 16 constitution dies, is brought back to life, and loses a point of constitution. His hit points are unchanged, but when he earns his next level, he gets only a + 1 bonus for his 15 constitution. Page 13 of the DMG says that adjustments due to aging will lower an ability score a full point, so that a - 1 will reduce an 18/00 strength to 17. Yet under "Middle Aged," it says: "Subtract 1 point (or half exceptional rating) of strength." Please resolve this contradiction. The text has been changed in a later printing of the DMG. When going from "Mature" to "Middle Aged," a character loses one point of strength or half the exceptional rating. Thereafter, any loss lowers strength a full point. A percentage-rated 18 strength at middle age drops to 16 with the two-point loss at "Old." If a character's intelligence, wisdom, or charisma score increases, can he make a new check for psionic ability? Yes. The character may check for psionic ability each time his chance improves, but never when it gets worse. Fractions are dropped when calculating psionic potential, so the new number must round down to a number at least one point higher than the old number before the character is entitled to a new roll. Can a character be awarded experience points for an adventure in which he dies? Yes, but this is up to the DM. The DMG suggests an optional 1,000 xp bonus for dying (see pages 85-86). (The DMG also says that earned experience should be divided equally among the surviving characters; see page 85.) Survivors may be counted after all attempts to revive characters by magical means have been resolved. If a character has been fighting or doing something very strenuous for a long time, would he still he able to use his strength bonuses? See the fatigue rules on page 88 of the Wilderness Survival Guide. What do you do with a character who has accumulated enough experience to advance more than one level? Say that a 1st-level fighter earns 4,500 xp on an adventure, enough to make him a 3rd-level fighter. Does he simply train for 3rd level, or does he also have to spend time and money training for 2nd level at the same time? Characters are limited to gaining one level at a time (see the DMG, page 86). If a character earns a windfall of experience, he gains only enough to place him within one point of the next highest level - the 1st-level fighter in the example would have 4,000 xp, one point short of 3rd level. The extra 500 xp are lost, and the character cannot gain additional experience until he completes his training for 2nd level. How do you figure the training cost and time for a character who hasn't gone adventuring, such as a city NPC who earns all his money (and hence experience) through a business or service? You figure them just as you would for an adventuring character (see the DMG, page 86). Substitute individual transactions or standard periods of time for adventures when rating overall performance. Where can I get a map of Kara-Tur for inclusion in the WORLD OF GREYHAWK(R) setting? Where is Kara-Tur in relation to Oerik? I assume to the west, since Zeif, Ekbir, and their neighbors have a Middle-Eastern flavor. Maps for Kara-Tur are now available for the FORGOTTEN REALMS(R) setting in the form of a boxed set released in the fall of 1988. WORLD OF GREYHAWK setting DMs should have little trouble adapting this product for use with their campaigns. Otherwise, the section on the geography of Kara-Tur, starting on page 136 of Oriental Adventures, gives you all the information you need in order to make your own maps. DMs can place Kara-Tur anywhere they want in relation to Oerik, but the opposite side of Oerth is best. Copyright © TSR, Inc. All Rights reserved.