Page121 is about role playing games and other hobbies brought to you by an experienced player, game master and collector who was there when the stuff hit the shelves. I bring over 40 years of RPG experience and 50 years of comic book experience to the channel.
I think the big limitation on the bridging is that little "per minor action". Physical augmentation just works all the time. The book seems a bit vague how long this lasts, but given that minor actions are mentioned I would assume this last for 1 combat round only. What that effectively means: in combat they can't get +1 DEX and aim and shoot. Both aiming and getting the dex bonus is a minor action, shooting takes up the major action (though this is good in melee, there is no minor action like aiming for melee combat so they are a bit more free to increase STR). Walking distance is increased, but to use it you have to use are least 2 minor actions (1 to enhance, 1 to move), so you can only take 1 more minor action, AKA you can't attack. How to rule this out of combat? My personal instinct would be: you have the +1 in relevant situation if you saw them coming. You wanted to kick in that door - yeah of course you enhanced your STR first, but if you step on e.g. a trap that you could avoid with a DEX check after triggering it you probably didn't see it coming and didn't have the time to enhance your DEX.
One upside to skipping out on a deal in Traveller is news only travels as fast as your fastest starship, so it will be a minimum of weeks before the crime lord even knows you've done it. Then weeks to get a bounty hunter on you. If you really want, you can be very far away before they even know you did them dirty, and then they have the problem of figuring out where you went. It may not even be worth the cost depending on what you stole.
When I gave the Pearl out, I ruled that it could be used to cast the level rolled or lower. So a Fourth level could be used to cast a 1st through 4th level spell. Now I use spell point system, so its value is lessened
I enjoy all of Page121 Tabletop Roleplaying Games videos 🎉🎉 I usually change from single spell to spell levels since on average I had the habit of rolling 4th level and lower
Pearl of Power is a wonderful magical item to give out. I am fond of magic items that have a utility effect that can often help a group when they need it most but isn't overpowering. As far as a player taking the item that cannot use it just to keep it out of the hands of someone who can would be given a warning to not do that and if they continue to do so would be out of my game fast.
@@AlanSmitheeman I don't really allow evil characters in my games unless the whole party is evil. Now if that PC wanted to trade the item to someone for something that is fine but to horde something that can be very useful for the group goes against being a team.
@@nordicmaelstrom4714 Well, yeah, that's what I mean, an evil player character in an evil party. I have never and none of my friends every played evil characters because it seemed counterintuitive. How could evil characters maintain unit cohesion if they are all evil? They couldn't trust one another and would be back stabbing each other all the time. I guess you could play it like a real life organized crime mob but would that be fun to play characters that are trying to get each other killed? D&D wasn't designed to be subtle. It was good characters against bad monsters!
Agree in general about cursed magic items. I think cursed items that have some sort of “redemption” quest that transforms the item being powerfully beneficial can be a strong hook for the party.
A pearl of power is a fantastic item for any mage. Even one that they cannot yet use gives them the incentive to gain levels. Or they could use it to trade for something they can use. Or to bribe a high level mage. And I know that you allow illusionists to use it but it isn't on the list of usable items for them. But neither is a wand of magic missiles which is usable by any class. It would be difficult to use one for 8th or 9th level spells since illusionists only have 7th level spells. It is odd that they can't use the pearl of power but they can use a ring of wizardry.
Gave the Pearl of Wisdom text (q.v.) a quick read while watching. Always interested in magic items that increase player statistics. Librams, Manuals, Ioun Stones etc.
Re: Cursed Items Years ago I did an inventory study of magic items for 1e AD&D, and found that there is a very consistent math regarding cursed items. About 95% of the time, items are useful & good. Only about 5% of the time will an item be cursed. So the 1 in 20 “fumble” rule is definitely applicable as a rule of thumb to magic items. 1 in 20 magic items are cursed. The probability odds are very reasonably favoured toward the players. But, eventually, any party can expect some sort of nastiness in the treasure they hunt.
This same idea goes along with a mages chance to fail when making a magic item. So that is probably where most cursed items come from unless they are specifically made to be cursed.
I interpret this to mean to recall a spell that was most recently memorized and cast, which can be problematic for the DM. The reason is, first, that you now need to keep track of spells that were previously used and are now gone. Secondly, virtually every time a magic-user rememorizes spells, there will be spell slots that were cast and forgotten along with spells that were not used and retained. This leads to a question of: “Which spell did you cast exactly, and when?” Of course, the player might answer, “I did cast a Wish, but that was 3 weeks ago!” So, a prudent DM will put some kind of limit on what was previously cast (perhaps a time limit of what was cast within that day, or possibly even the previous day), or better yet, have the player keep a list of the appropriate prior spells cast, which aligns with the DM log. Ergo, if the Pearl allows recollection of 3rd level spells, and the Magic-user can memorize and retain 4 3rd level spells, then they ought to be limited to recall the last 4 3rd level spells cast, and the player & DM will need to keep an ongoing updated record of this. Naturally, this will be more fun (translate as “complicated”) if the Magic-user also possesses Rings of Wizardry and/or Spell Storing! 😄
I'm pretty sure that it is referencing a spell currently memorized and cast. Such as a mage casting a lightning bolt and then later using the pearl to be able to cast it again. And not insinuating that any spell previously cast but only one that the mage had currently memorized.
@@CaptCook999 It does specify recently cast. But this is subject to interpretation. What if the magic-user hasn’t cast a spell for a month? Can he still cast the most recent spell that wast cast, even though it was a month ago? I seem to get the impression that there’s a one day limit, with some ambiguity as to whether that’s the current day, or possibly the previous day. I’m tending to think it’s the current day. In any event, it’s something the DM needs to consider. If they don’t figure it out beforehand, they’ll be scratching their head later on.
Thanks for the video! I have used these quite a bit but in my games these crumble to dust after being used. I like having treasures that contain items that are used once: potions, scrolls, and items like Pearls. I like to add them to pregen PCs for one-shot games though I will include a journal that references the Pearls in some way so that Identify is unneeded. Sometimes scrolls are too much guidance and the Pearls leave more of the agency in the hands of the players. I have not used the cursed version and have only had cursed items of any kind.
This could really be a source of unlimited energy, and is what I think people would actually do with this item in a pre-industrialized milieu. It could run a small mill, forge bellows, or even a pipe organ. Considering that fire hose is in the ballpark of 125 to 500gpm (and up), this isn’t quite as powerful as one might think. Now if you made a tiny nozzle for it, that’s a different story.
I wonder if Heward needed this to keep sheet music organized. He’s detailed in Dragon 71, the same text as World of Greyhawk, but with an illustration.
Thanks for the nice review. A couple of points of interest... The Keith brothers lived in Elk Grove Village... the address in Oak Lawn was where one of the high school kids (like me) lived. The magazine ceased for a number of reasons... FASA and us had different ideas on matters, but more importantly... the high school kids had graduated and were going their separate ways joining the military and going to college... we were moving on. About the price... it was more than most periodicals, but content-wise was pretty much equivalent to what GDW was putting out as adventures... for $6.00 (if I recall correctly... it has been almost a half century). One of the things we learned in our naivete was that pricing depended more on what you called the product rather than what was in the product. If we had taken the same content and packaged it as an adventure we could have charged more for it and maybe broken even! Very fond memories... we couldn't have been happier as teenagers being allowed to create this... it was a lot more fun than what most high school kids got to do. I still have my Bill Keith paintings on my wall, one of which was derived from the SDB drawing in you showed in this issue. Good times!
I remember seeing quite a few of the "Approved for use with Traveller" products back in the 1980s. I couldn't ever justify buying one of them rather than something from GDW. Teenage gamer learns economics.
I remember I had missed the single use line in the DMG. A player had the whip and used it repeatedly, but then I caught my error. It ran out of “charges” shortly after.
The Imperial Navy book has maps of the Old Expanses and info on the fleet stationed there. Might be interesting to see what if anything of the old material has been retained.
We recently played N1, and the NPC MU Ramne has a wand of wonder. I played him as being very old and addled. He believed that the wand just did whatever was needed at the moment, and for the most part he was right! In the dungeon, we ran into the troglodytes that throw a basket containing a poisonous snake. My son’s character got bitten and missed his save. The cleric cast slow poison, but being only third level that was all he could do. Ramne said “don’t worry, my wand will save him” and aimed it at the afflicted character. I rolled a 99, and turned him to stone. Problem solved. For now. The rest of the party is now looking for both a cleric who can cast neutralize poison (fairly easy) and a stone to flesh (a taller order.)
Like you I have 2-5 of High Passage. I saw issue 1 on sale in a collector's store once, it was going for £350, so I decided not to partake 🙂 High Passage was succeeded by FASA's Far Traveller, of which only 2 copies came out - all Keith brothers goodness though.
Pictured on the back cover are a pair of 2,000 ton ZISMV: Vlezhdatl Zhodan Strike Cruisers. Also pictured are 2 30 ton Vlezhdest Fighters, of which each Vlezhdatl cares two internally. The "Strike Cruiser" has excellent fire power, meh armor, and a jump of 1, with enough fuel to do that twice. The Vlezhdatl would be better described as a "Support Destroyer."
Great video. I once saw a ot of these for sale on eBay but the price was too high and I couldn't envision a time I'd be able to use them for more than nostalgia reading. I'd love to see them.
I had a character with a hat of difference in the late 80s and it was definitely abused. As DM, I think I’d limit it to one class and make the PC go train by the book, freezing xp when the PC qualifies for the next level. In my campaign, PCs are allowed to gain enough xp for two levels. This is because I realized a first level barbarian and thief could go on an adventure, each earning 6001xp. By the book, the thief only walks away with 1251xp, and this defeats the purpose of making some classes need to earn more xp to level up. My two cents. My PCs just got a hat of disguise last night! They spent too much time arguing over who would get it, but it came out okay in the end. 😂
I actually had the Moe, Larry and Curly Ettin figure way back when. Just imagine an Ettin with 3 heads like thise Stooges! And seeing as Hill Giants can have Shaman, it isn't too far fetched for an Ettin to be a Mage.
I think Ettins are good for straight up hack & slash murderhobo fights, but could also be great for some role playing comedy if the DM feels up to it. There’s a 1972 movie called The Thing with Two Heads, starring Ray Milland and Rosey Grier if you need some inspiration & entertainment.😂
@@page121tabletoproleplaying4 She was in The Incredible 2-headed Transplant, 1971, a different movie. That’s great, we can have us a Double Creature Double Feature!
Had a similar encounter once (one head smart the other not). The party was able to get the heads to begin arguing with each other and started to fight each other as the party sneaked away.
@@glenncox9128 lol well if it's a real word from mythology i try make a point to learn it, but fictional names or where they change one letter it gets even more pedantic and complicated ;) and to be fair it's probably even more like etten
