| Lanthorn wrote: |
| Not sure if I agree with you on this account, Ceb, that an illiterate character can use a scroll, including one of the 'protection' varieties. That doesn't make sense to me. It stands to reason for me that a character must be able to read to use any type of written document, and if those words are written in a magical language, the appropriate proficiency (Spellcraft, for instance) OR a spell (Read Magic) may be needed. |
Of course a read magic spell is needed, if the scroll is a magic-user scroll. Clerics however do not need anything to read their scrolls, as that info is divinely imparted to them. Also, read magic allows for magical writing to be read, but it takes a Spellcraft check to understand the writing (but only if it is a magic- user spell) such that the caster can then scribe it into a spellbook. Otherwise a scroll imparts the knowledge of its use for that time only to the user once it has been read (requiring a read magic for magic-user scrolls, but not any others). Protection scrolls can be read by anybody, even the illiterate. They are magical in that very specific way. But they can't read. Well, a person can't fly either, but wings of flying allow them to do just that. Protection spells impart understanding to the reader. Cursed scrolls also affect the illiterate.
I think you are very much getting hung up on literal reading of the rules in this case, particularly the word "read". Much of this language comes straight from 1E, where there were no language proficiencies or anything relating to that. Everyone could read (i.e. use) these scrolls specifically because they were magical. An illiterate savage mage can use a magic-user scroll, even if he can't write in any language other than the magical language (so long as they use a read magic spell). Why? Because it is magic. An illiterate cleric can read a cleric scroll, even though they cannot read or write the language they speak, because their deity empowers them to be able to do so. Why? Because it is faith magic. A protection scroll can be use by anyone, even the illiterate, who somehow can understand it (and the same with the literate who realize that they can understand said scroll, even though it is not written in any language that they even know); even the mage doesn't need a read magic spell to read it. Why? Because it is magic. An illiterate character looks at a scroll covered in strange symbols, which suddenly begin to swim on the page, moving about until, quite suddenly, their meaning is perfectly clear, and the character knows what the scroll can be used for. How does that happen? Magic.
But now I just went and looked at the 2E rules, because this all sounds way too jumbled up to be due to a complete lack of understanding. And so I see what the problem is- incomplete rules. The 2E rules could be a heck of a lot more clear, let alone complete. For instance, the read magic spell doesn't say that it can be cast on other people, so exactly how could any class ever use use a protection spell if they can't cast a read magic spell to begin with? Kinda stupid, huh?
But, my initial responses to this line of questioning go more to how we handled things in 1E and carried them over into 2E. For 2E, I think you have a few options, and here are three to consider:
1. Go with the 1E way of doing things, that being most scrolls can simply be "read" (i.e. understood) by those they are intended for (excepting magi-user spells)- even the illiterate. Why? Because it is magic.
2. Allow the read magic spell to be cast on a target, that being either the caster or somebody else, which then allows them to read a magical scroll and know it. Then you follow the usual rules which state that, once a scroll has been read using read magic, that character can then use the scroll whenever they want to without needing to use read magic again (the only exception being clerics/druids, who shouldn't need read magic to understand their own holy writings, as requiring that would be idiotic). And, even the illiterate can benefit form the read magic spell to read a scroll. Why? Because it is magic.
3. Allow the read magic spell to be cast on a target, that being either the caster or somebody else, which then allows them to read a magical scroll and know it. Then you follow the usual rules which state that, once a scroll has been read using read magic, that character can then use the scroll whenever they want to without needing to use read magic again (the only exception being clerics/druids, who shouldn't need read magic to understand their own holy writings, as requiring that would be idiotic). And, illiterate characters cannot use scrolls at all, though, as you state, this sort of poops all over primitive spellcasters and so I wouldn't recommend it.
I bet there is a "Sage Advice" on this, somewhere. That would be a good project for somebody- compiling a "Sage Advice Index". Actually, such a thing already exists! I think I just found Lanthorn's Holy Grail!
Deja vu. Maybe I already posted this link somewhere. Anyways, check it out: http://www.purpleworm.org/content/index.php/research/dragons-sage-advice.html
That webpage covers Sage Advice from Dragon #31-#250. Not bad!
So, here we go:
"Q: In the AD&D PLAYERS HANDBOOK, under the Read Magic spell, it says that scrolls must have the spell cast upon them before they can be read by the Magic-User. What does a magic-user do if he doesn't have a Read Magic? What about the poor illusionist who has no Read Magic spell at all, except perhaps as a seventh-level spell? Furthermore, what do clerics do about scrolls? Do they have any? "
"A: In the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE, it says that all magic-users know the spell Read Magic. They would be worthless to their master (from whom they learned the profession) without it. Illusionists don't need a Read Magic. as all of their spells are written in the same secret language. This also applies to clerics. even though their spells are god-given, so yes, clerics can have scrolls"
"Q: Can specialist wizards use scroll spells from opposition schools? Can clerics use scroll spells from outside their spheres?"
"A: A character who can use spells can use a scroll if it matches his class, so priests can use scroll spells from outside their spheres and wizards can use scroll spells from outside their schools."
"Q: The rules on scrolls in the DMG (page 145) say that a read magic spell must be used to discover a scroll's contents. According to this rule, even a map is unintelligible until a comprehend languages spell is used to decipher it. Since priests have neither read magic nor comprehend languages in their spell lists, how do priests discover what's on a scroll?"
"A: You seem to have found a genuine "hole" in the rules. The DM can handle it in several ways: 1. Assume that the read magic and comprehend languages spells can be bestowed upon the item itself. The caster touches the writing, and any single creature who can read (in the case of maps) or cast the type of spell written on the scroll can decipher the writing. Alternately, the caster can copy the map or simply explain the spell to another caster, who can then read the writing himself. 2. Assume that a tongues spell can be used by priests to decipher scrolls, one scroll per spell. 3. Introduce clerical versions of read magic and comprehend languages spells into your campaign. I recommend that you make them both first-level spells in the All sphere. 4. Assume that all priests have a limited ability to decipher priestly scrolls on their own. A priest who does nothing else during a day might have a chance to petition his deity for help in deciphering one or more scrolls, provided he can read and write."
"Q: Do player characters need to have the read/write proficiency to use magical books, tomes, manuals, and librams? Do player characters need the read/write proficiency to use scrolls and spell books?"
"A: A character must be able to read to use any written magical item, including books and scrolls. Technically, wizards and bards are not required to have the read/write proficiency, though many campaigns do require it as a house rule. Spell books are written in a sort of personal magical cipher, and illiterate characters can make up their own if they know how to cast spells. Note that the read magic always gives the caster the ability to read a scroll, though the character might be categorically denied the use of the spell (no wizard can cast a priest spell from a scroll and vice versa). Likewise, thieves are not technically required to have the read/write proficiency to use their read languages skill (the skill itself is sufficient to unravel the mysteries of a written page if the character's die roll succeeds) or to use scrolls at high level."
"Q: Can specialists use scroll spells from their opposing schools? The text on page 145 of the DMG seems to say that they can. Also, just how far does the prohibition against specialist wizards using magical items from their opposing schools go? Can an illusionist use a potion of healing, which is pretty clearly a necromantic item?"
"A: Any wizard character can read any wizard spell from a scroll (although there might be a chance for failure if the character reading the scroll isn't of sufficient level to cast the spell). I recommend that you allow specialist wizards to use freely any items that can be used by all character classes, even when they duplicate effects from their opposition schools. This includes the majority of potions, and most rings and miscellaneous magical items. Any item, however, that can be used only by wizards, or only by wizards and priests, is off limits to a specialist if it duplicates an effect from the character's opposition schools. Any character, for example, can use a potion of healing, even an illusionist. An illusionist also can use a wand of magic missiles, but the character must make attack rolls when firing the missiles, just as a non wizard does."
"Q: Do spell level limits for intelligence and Wisdom apply to spells cast from scrolls? For example, can a priest with a Wisdom score of 15 cast a 7th-level priest spell from a scroll? Could a wizard with a 15 Intelligence cast a 9th-level wizard spell from a scroll?"
"A: A scroll is essentially a precast spell waiting for someone to come along and trigger it. A character who can read a spell scroll can use the spells on it without regard to any other restrictions. Both player characters (PCs) in the example could use the spells on the scrolls. Of course, the priest cannot read the wizard scroll and vice versa."
That website ought to keep you busy for a while!
| Lanthorn wrote: |
| Any priest can use a spell scribed from his/her Power's granted Spheres without any hindrance. For instance, a priest of Rao can use a Plane Shift spell penned by a priest of Trithereon since both have Major access to that Sphere. |
Not sure where that is from. So far as I recall, a cleric/priest can use any clerical spell, from any sphere, so long as it doesn't violate their alignment/is not a druid spell. EDIT: I am correct. See the above Q & A quotes for confirmation.
| Lanthorn wrote: |
| However, it gets tricky when the spell is penned by a priest of an opposing alignment. In the above case, if the Plane Shift was scribed by a priest of Nerull or Incabulos, you will have to determine for yourself if you think it is the direct power of the God in question that is used, OR if it is the power contained within the scroll itself during its creation that is used (this is my personal opinion). In the case of the former, perhaps the spell fails, or the reading priest is catapulted into one of the Hells or another plane of Evil...in the case of the latter, maybe it works. This may be one of those DM calls since the guides don't say. In any case, it is likely a wise choice that priests of opposing alignments/faiths would instead destroy such magical scrolls rather than use them...unless they are truly desperate. |
The guides don't say anything in this regard because items with imbued powers do not work that way. They are, in effect, power storage devices, and can be used however one wants, by whomever, even if it is counter to the purpose of the deity who empowered a servant to create the items in the first place. Say a bunch of clerics of Pelor create a case of healing potions...which subsequently get stolen and later winds up in the hands of evil forces. Too bad, the potions work just fine for them. It is just stored power. Now, if, as a part of their manufacture a cleric of Pelor also puts in a curse/other damaging effect vs. evil, well, then you get an adverse effect, but that has to be put into the potion (which adds to the creation cost, so it usually won't be done). There is no freebie effect. There is no free butt wiping from the deity just because their servants screwed up or allowed themselves to be taken advantage of. If some negative effect isn't also put in there, then there will be none. Of course putting in a negative effect, just in case enemies get hold of something, sounds very much like something evil clerics enchanting things might do. They might even get hold of an allied arcane caster to work in some non-detection effect on only the bad part so that it won't show up under the scrutiny of detect magic/identify spells.
A potion or scroll is just like a +3 mace empowered by a cleric. Whoever the deity was, it is still a +3 mace, potion, or scroll, and its power can be used by anyone. Not sure how one can figure that a scroll, potion, or any other item that isn't very specifically crafted to screw over enemies in some way should they try to use it, would be any different than a +3 mace. There actually are rules that govern this sort of thing, and they involve building effects in. Easier to do as a DM than as a player to be sure, as the added cost/resources can be prohibitive for a player character to add such negative effects all of time (which is why you don't see it very often among player character created things). The Q & A quotes touch on this just a tiny bit, but there may be other stuff pertinent to this in Sage Advice (I only did a find for "scroll" on the webpage).
Sage Advice by Skip Williams The sage continues his examination of the magical items of the AD&D(R) game universe, continuing from issue #146. All information in this article concerns the AD&D 1st Edition game, and references to the Dungeon Masters Guide and Players Handbook are to the 1st Edition game versions of those volumes. In all cases, the information in the AD&D 2nd Edition game volumes takes precedence where there is a contradiction between those rules and the information in this article. Potions Will a potion of undead control work on undead who are under an evil cleric's control? Could an evil cleric control undead under that potion's influence? If both effects are operating in the same area, which one takes precedence? Both effects work normally but not simultaneously, even on undead controlled by other means. The first form of control to be applied to a particular undead monster works normally until its duration expires or until control is usurped by another form. A cleric can make multiple attempts to establish or reestablish control (see the DMG, pages 65-66), while the potion-user can try only once per potion used (see the DMG, page 127). If a character mixes two potions and rolls a 00 on the DMG's potion miscibility table (page 119), can he duplicate the resulting potion if he knows the exact formulas of the two original potions? No. Potions are manufactured through the art of alchemy, not the science of chemistry. When two completed potions are combined, there is no way to predict the result; if the two original potions are duplicated and mixed again, a second miscibility roll must be made. Rings If a ring of regeneration (from the DMG, page 130) can revive someone who has died from hit-point loss due to injuries, can it revive someone slain by a death spell, power word kill, or banshee wail? No, in all three cases. The death spell causes irrevocable death (see the Players Handbook, page 83), which means that it takes a wish to get the slain creature back to life. The banshee's wail (see the Monster Manual, page 50, "Groaning Spirit") and the power word kill spell (Players Handbook, page 93) are even more potent forms of death magic. Exactly what can be done to bring back victims of these effects is up to the DM, but things such as regeneration, death's door, and healing spells are not enough to do it. Can a ring of regeneration revive a character if the ring is placed on the victim's finger after he has died? No. A ring of regeneration is not a portable resurrection spell. The ring is powerful enough to keep a creature's soul or spirit from departing if the ring is worn by the victim at the time of his death, but the ring can't bring the victim to life if the soul or spirit has already departed. How long does it take for a ring of regeneration to regrow lost limbs? Can damage from fire or acid be regenerated? What about damage from disintegration? Here are some unofficial organ-regrowth times for a ring of regeneration: Finger, toe, nose, or ear: 1 hour (6 turns); Hand, foot, or internal organ: 6 hours (36 turns); Arm, leg, or wing: 1 day (24 hours); Head: 1 week (7 days). Replacement time is only two rounds if the lost organ is present and can be pressed into place. Trolls and vampires regenerate 30 times faster than a character with a ring of regeneration. Severed pieces of a troll are ambulatory and will crawl to the troll and press themselves on. Pieces lost from vampires merely re-form, as if becoming solid from vapor. Fire and acid do not prevent regeneration, but these effects do prevent a slain creature from coming back to life by using regeneration. If a regenerating creature survives a fire or acid attack, it will eventually regenerate the damage. However, if the creature is slain by such an attack, or if it is slain and its remains are destroyed by fire, acid, or disintegration, it remains dead. If a creature falls victim to a disintegrate spell or its effects, it vanishes completely and cannot be regenerated (If it was using a ring of regeneration, the ring is disintegrated as well, if it fails its saving throw against the spell.) If a character wearing a ring of protection steps into the area protected by a second ring of protection with a radius of effect, are the two rings temporarily cumulative? No. In general, when protections of the same type are combined, only the strongest or best one functions. The DMG states that this is the case when two rings of protection are functioning on the same person or in the same area (see page 130). A ring of earth elemental command acts as a ring of feather falling until activated, whereupon it grants the ability to cast feather fall. Does the ring still act as a ring of feather falling? The "at will" abilities gained when the ring is fully activated will replace the ring's original function. This holds true for all rings of elemental command. In most instances, however, the "at will" spell ability is just as effective as that of the original ring (see the DMG, pages 129-130). Will a ring of fire resistance protect the wearer's equipment or just his body? This is up to the DM. Generally, it is safe to assume that the ring keeps the wearer's personal equipment from burning to cinders if he walks through a normal fire. However, the ring's + 4 saving throw bonus vs. magical fires applies only to the wearer, and does not extend to his items (see the DMG, page 130). Rods, staves, & wands How is a wand, staff, or rod recharged? The spell-caster first casts an enchant an item spell (or its equivalent, if he isn't a magic-user), then recharges the item by placing additional spells into it. You may give a bonus to the item's saving throw (see the enchant an item spell's description in the Players Handbook, pages 83-84), since wands, staves, and rods are already enchanted to hold multiple spells. The exact spell that is needed to recharge the item will vary with the type of item. A wand of fireballs, for example, requires fireball spells. A wand of fire, however, can create multiple effects; in such cases, the spell required for recharging is that which is the highest-level spell effect that the item creates (a wall of fire spell, in the wand of fire's case). Some items create effects that are unique; for these, you will have to decide on a spell or combination of spells that approximates the item's effect. For example, shatter or spiritual hammer might be used to recharge a staff of striking, as these effects all involve magical force. Author/designer Jon Pickens has approached this problem by creating new spells to fit some of these magical items. The spells have been published in the POLYHEDRON(TM) Newszine, the bi-monthly newsletter of the RPGA(TM) Network, which is available only to members (see POLYHEDRON issues #22, 24-26, and 31). How is a rod of cancellation made? That device is created using enchant an item and probably anti-magic shell spells, as well as whatever other time and material requirements and success rates the DM wishes to impose. As this item is quite valuable (see the DMG, pages 122 and 133), its construction should be difficult and expensive. Are rods permanent items, or do they have charges? Most rods have 40 + 1d10 charges when found (see the DMG, page 132). Certain rods (like a rod of cancellation) have one charge only. What kind of weapon is a rod of smiting considered for weapon proficiency purposes? Treat that rod as a staff. Do nondruids have to have a proficiency in the staff sling in order to use the missile ability of a staff of slinging? This item's description (in Unearthed Arcana, page 95) clearly states that only druids may use that staffs slinging ability. For all others, the staff is merely a staff + 1. You could decide to require druids to have a proficiency in the staff sling in order to use the slinging ability without penalty. Does a magic-user suffer a - 5 nonproficiency penalty when using the first function of a wand of force? No. The shaft of force created by the first function is the equivalent of a magical broad sword, but (like a Mordenkainen's sword spell) it is not a true sword and does not require any specific proficiency in order to be used properly (see Unearthed Arcana, page 96). A wand of conjuration can create a wall of total darkness that "can be penetrated only by physical means or magic." What other ways are there? You've missed the point. The key word here is "penetrate." A creature cannot see beyond the wall unless he sticks his head through the wall, steps through it, or uses a magical effect such as clairvoyance or wizard eye to penetrate it. Magical effects that involve direct visual detection within the area of darkness, such as detect invisibility or continual light, cannot penetrate the wall (see the DMG, page 135). What is the range of a wand of flame extinguishing? The wand has a range of 12"; it can extinguish only one fire at a time (see Unearthed Arcana, page 96). Miscellaneous items What is the duration of a manual or tome? Manuals and all other magical books in the game are much like scrolls in effect. Their potential magical powers have no duration, but once the books are read, the writing in them disappears. Their effects are permanent, although the onset of beneficial effects might take some time (see the individual descriptions of such books in the DMG). I understand that strength bonuses from gauntlets of ogre power and the various girdles of giant strength are cumulative under certain conditions. What are these conditions? These items are cumulative only when the wearer is wielding a magical war hammer, either held or hurled. (See the DMG, page 145, girdle of giant strength; the reference to "hurled weapon" in the text for the gauntlets of ogre power on the same page should be taken to mean a magical war hammer. See also pages 168-169, hammer + 3, dwarven thrower and hammer of thunderbolts.) The gauntlets' and girdle's powers may not be combined for any other purpose. If a character wearing gauntlets of ogre power or a girdle of giant strength is struck by a shadow or other attack that drains strength, what happens? Temporary strength losses' are taken from the character's augmented strength score, and results are taken accordingly Such losses are always a full point, so that a hit from a shadow will reduce a character wearing gauntlets of ogre power to a 17 strength. Permanent strength losses, such as those due to aging, are taken from the character's base strength score. In these cases, the magically augmented score is unchanged. In the DMG, page 123, the sale price of a girdle of giant strength is listed as 2,500 gp. Isn't this a bit low? Gauntlets of ogre power, which bestow less strength, sell for 10,000 gp. This was a misprint. The sale price for such a girdle is 25,000 gp. The experience value was also misprinted; it should be 2,000 xp, not 200 xp. Note that a girdle imbues the wearer's entire body with extra strength, while the gauntlets enhance only the wearer's chest and arms. Can magical gloves and gauntlets be worn simultaneously? No. One will not fit over the other. Will gauntlets of ogre power or a girdle of giant strength allow a demi-human fighter an increased level-advancement limit? Strength bestowed by magical items such as girdles or gauntlets is temporary; it lasts only as long as a character wears such an item. Thus, these items do not allow extra advancement in level. Only a permanent increase in an ability score will allow extra advancement. Will striking the wrong chord on a lyre of building destroy everything built with it? Striking the wrong chord on a lyre of building negates everything accomplished with the lyre that week, so all structures created during that time will be wholly undone - but not all structures ever made with this item (see the DMG, page 149). How do you determine how long a crystal ball can be used with each use, when the total viewing time varies with the chance to locate each subject? The limits on a crystal ball apply on a per-subject basis. How long the mage observes one subject does not affect how long he can observe another. I recommend that you limit crystal ball use to no more than eight hours per day, and count each failed location attempt as one viewing and 10 minutes of use (see the DMG, page 141). Does the sword of flame ability of a helm of brilliance bestow any magical properties to a sword that the helm's user carries? A nonmagical sword becomes the equivalent of a flame tongue sword. Magical swords gain the powers of a flame tongue sword in addition to their own. If the sword was a flame tongue weapon to begin with, double the effects of its powers when used with the helm (see the DMG, pages 145-146 for the helm and page 165 for the sword). Can magical helms and hats be worn simultaneously? No. They won't fit together. Is the change produced by a hat of disguise partially real or completely illusory? Will tactile examination reveal the change? Can the hat produce functional equipment? The hat's effect is similar to that of an alter self spell, subject to the limits given in the item's description in Unearthed Arcana, page 100). Just touching the disguised individual will not reveal his true nature, but true seeing or detect illusion will do so. Like alter self, the change is partially real; the height and weight of the user actually changes, but any equipment created in the process is nonfunctional. The hat cannot produce functional body parts such as wings or gills. May a cloak of protection be worn with nonmagical elfin chain mail? No, nor may it be worn with any kind of armor other than nonmagical leather (see the DMG, page 141). Can a cloak of protection be worn along with a cloak of displacement or robe of blending? Only one magical cloak can be worn at a time, although a magical cloak and a robe can be worn together, with the cloak being worn over the robe. Can a cloak of arachnids or cloak of the bat be worn with plate mail? Yes, or with any other type of armor. The protective qualities of these cloaks are not cumulative with any type of armor, however. Can a mantle of Celestian (from Unearthed Arcana, page 101) be worn over a cloak of protection? No, but it could be worn over a robe. How many different characters can draw cards from one deck of many things? Up to four cards may be drawn from the deck; a party may divide these draws among PCs in any way seen fit, except that card draws and results may not be shared. Any potential drawer must state how many cards he plans to draw before the first card is drawn, and he must stick to the decision once drawing begins (see the DMG, pages 142-143). Does the pale green prism ioun stone bestow a level to its user permanently? Does it immediately "burn out" when so used? No, to both questions. The stone must trail and circle the user to be effective. It does not "burn out" upon use, and the level is lost when the stone is not operating. Any spells gained from the increase in level are forgotten if the stone is removed; such spells must be restudied before being cast, even if the stone's effects are restarted later (see the DMG, page 147). Will the white spindle ioun stone, which provides regeneration, continue to work if the user dies? Can the user regrow limbs? The user can regenerate from injuries causing his death, but only if the stone is allowed to trail and circle the user's body. While the stone is functioning, the user can also regrow lost limbs or organs (see the DMG, page 147). Are there any limits to the numbers, types, and magical bonuses of the items produced by a quiver of Ehlonna? The quiver of Ehlonna is a holding device, like a bag of holding. One can only take out of it what has been put into it; it does not generate new items, as is accidentally implied in the last sentence of that item's description (see Unearthed Arcana, page 102). Will a stone of good luck affect a character's system shock or resurrection rolls? Yes, in both cases. The stone causes fate to be a bit kinder than normal to the character, and it makes adverse events less likely - failing a system shock or resurrection roll is an adverse event. However, the effect works only for the owner and only if the stone is on his person at the time the revivification attempt is made. It cannot be "given" to an already dead character (see the DMG, page 154). The description of the prison of Zagyg in Unearthed Arcana (page 102) states that the possessor can free a prisoner by use of a "freedom word." What is a freedom word? In this case, the freedom word is a command word that causes the prison to release a captive. Command words are discussed briefly on page 119 of the DMG. Does a gem of insight allow another check for psionic ability? How about a ring of human influence or rod of splendor? A gem of insight (see Unearthed Arcana, page 100) will allow a new check for psionic ability, but only after the possessor has received an ability score increase from the gem. If the character uses the gem properly and receives an increase in both intelligence and wisdom, he makes one additional roll for psionics, not two. The charisma increases provided by the latter two items are not permanent; they last only as long as the item is worn (in the case of the ring, on page 130 of the DMG) or held or carried (in the case of the rod, on page 94 of Unearthed Arcana). Only permanent ability score increases allow additional checks for psionic ability. Can two alchemical substances be found simultaneously within a philosopher's stone? Each stone contains quicksilver, plus either the green or the white crystalline salt. No stone contains all three, and the two salts never occur together (see Unearthed Arcana, page 101). What happens when a bag of holding is turned inside out? Will the nondimensional space inside rip? This will completely empty the bag, but no spectacular effects will occur. The nondimensional space inside the bag is present but inaccessible as long as the bag remains inside out, rendering the bag inoperative except as a normal (nonmagical) bag. While inside out, the bag looks just like any other well-made but inside-out bag (see the DMG, page 138). Will an amulet of proof against detection and location prevent an invisible character from being detected by someone with a detect invisibility spell? Yes. The amulet defeats low-level divinations, including all detect spells. High-level divinations such as commune still work, however. The invisible character in the example can be revealed by dust of appearance (which is not a divination) and by the methods described on pages 59-60 of the DMG. Note that normal invisibility is broken when the recipient attacks. Copyright © TSR, Inc. All Rights reserved.
The Perils of Prehistory by Gregory W. Detwiler Adventures using time travel to prehistoric times are favorites in fiction and AD&D games alike, due chiefly to the exotic animals encountered. However, even the largest dinosaurs are no match for high-level player characters. Be assured, however, that ways exist for a clever Dungeon Master to even the odds in prehistoric adventures in a fantasy world. This article assumes that your game world had a prehistoric period similar to that of our Earth. Even without time travel, other worlds in wildspace and alternate Prime Material planes might have conditions matching those at an early epoch in our Earth's history, and this information will prove useful in designing and running scenarios in those places. Against the world The first thing you have to realize about the various ages of Earth's prehistory is that, except for the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, there was no human life of any sort. If characters get into trouble in a time period, there will be no friendly NPCs around to bail them out. Without people, of course, there is no civilization (nonhuman civilizations will be touched on later for special cases). In other words, there are no cities, towns, or other fortified areas of relative safety; no high-level mages to recharge magical items; no source of supply for arrows, sling bullets, oil, weapons and armor repair, etc.; and no artificial material components for spells. There are no glass rods for lightning bolt, no miniature platinum swords for Mordenkainen`s sword, and so on. For a prolonged trip into the past, heroes will have to take along an ample supply of everything that they need, possibly including food and water (more on that later). The two problems that will hurt combat-happy characters most will be the lack of recharging facilities for wands and other magical items, and the relative scarcity of clerical healing spells. To fight big dinosaurs and other beasts, you need big-hitting spells, just the kind that rapidly drain off item charges. Fighters can melee the beasts to death, but the warriors will be wounded in the process. Why not have the clerics heal them, you ask? Simple: In an age before humans and their gods appear, the clerics will be cut off from their deities, and hence unable to recover any spells above second level. It'll take an awful lot of cure light wounds spells to repair the battle damage a Tyrannosaurus rex leaves behind it, and that is the only true curative spell that can be recovered. Unless the PCs can amass an improbably large collection of healing potions and other magical items, even the more dangerous wounds may have to be left to heal naturally, as the clerics carefully husband their vital healing spells for the very worst of emergencies. Indeed, with so few healing spells available, clerics preparing for such trips may just decide to pray for raise dead and resurrection spells exclusively when gaining fifth- and seventh-level spells. This spell scarcity should convince the most battle-happy heroes to change their ways or die. Being cut off from spell components is not a concern just of spell-casters who need artificial material components. The further back in time the heroes go, the fewer types of plants and animals there will be, so natural spell components will also be scarce. Both bats and mistletoe did not appear until early in the Cenozoic era (the Age of Mammals), putting fireball lovers and druids in a real bind. The illusionist spells phantasmal force, improved phantasmal force, and spectral force all require fleece as a material component, but sheep did not appear until the Pleistocene epoch, which started a mere 600,000 years ago. And if a hero believes himself lucky enough to find a substance that might work as a substitute for a much-needed material component, wait until you see this article's section on metaphysical evolution. Mundane evolution Evolution assumes the gradual change of plants and animals over the course of time when conditions are right. This little-realized fact can be used by a subtle DM to hit the characters with difficulties they never even imagined existed, particularly in a fantasy world. Convergent evolution occurs when animals that live in the same environment come to look superficially alike, even when they are not closely related. For a maritime example, consider sharks (fish), dolphins (mammals), and ichthyosaurs (reptiles). Similarly, catlike creodonts (primitive mammalian predators) prowled the early Cenozoic era, and these will not respond to any spell, device, or being with command over true felines. An early amphibian called Platyhystrix had a sail-back fin like its better-known reptilian contemporary Dimetrodon, possibly causing adventurers to waste an arrow of reptile slaying that may be sorely missed later on. If the heroes have one arrow of slaying each for reptiles and birds, which do they use when the DM hits them with a giant Archaeopteryx? As will become clear later, it is possible that neither may work! Our heroes may decide to live off the land, finding food for themselves and for any mounts or pack animals they bring along. One might think that there will be plenty to eat once green plants appear on land in large quantities. One could well be wrong. Picture a prehistoric time similar to the Mesozoic Era (the Age of Reptiles), sometime after the first big herbivorous dinosaurs like sauropods have appeared. Their gluttonous appetites threaten to strip all the local plants bare, so a counter must be evolved, and fast. Though the local plants resemble those of today, lets imagine that they have evolved the ability to secrete a bitter chemical or poison to keep the piggy dinosaurs from swallowing them down to their roots. The stuff is a partial success; the dinosaurs still graze, but they don't totally consume the plants. When the adventurers and their mounts try eating the stuff-yeecch! No one can stand the plants' awful taste or their digestive aftermath, and persistent diners may find themselves poisoned in a world with a scarcity of neutralize poison spells. Anyone who's a vegetarian might as well pack it in unless he's willing to turn pure carnivore on short notice. (Incidentally, once the dinosaurs die out, the innate toxins would not be necessary as a defense against smaller grazers, so the plants would phase them out in favor of the ability to grow taller or leafier; thus, their modern descendants are perfectly edible.) This is only a thought experiment, but it's certainly an interesting one. Metaphysical evolution In a fantasy world full of magic, it seems only right that a creature's natural dweomers should evolve along with its physical properties. This may make life difficult for magic-using characters trying to collect natural spell components. A prehistoric plant or animal part might have an entirely different dweomer than its modern counterpart, with results best left up to the DM's fertile imagination. An archaic spider's web might get a mage entangled in his own web spell, and using the guano of the first bats might put the whole party on ground zero for their mage's fireball. If prehistoric mistletoe acts up like this, a druid can kiss his spell-casting abilities good-bye. Adventurers will need pack animals to carry all the proper spell components they'll bring with them, particularly for an extended adventure. If something happens to the animals (like becoming a dinosaur's snack or being poisoned by the local greenery), a mage may well have to carry those components on his own scrawny shoulders. Even with well-charged wands, the mage may well be hesitant about casting any spells that require material components. Again, this will serve to deemphasize combat, or at least combat made unfair by large amounts of magic. If the PCs don't guard their magical supplies, the result could be catastrophic. [Other thoughts on substituting nonstandard material components in spell-casting may be found in DRAGON issue #147, "Variety the Spice of Magic."] Monstrous evolution If you assume evolution exists in a fantasy world, then it follows that monsters such as dragons and hydras must have had supernatural ancestors in the prehistoric past. Various dinosaurs could have evolved into dragons and other reptilian monsters, the displacer beast may have had a sabre-toothed ancestor, and so on. Indeed, writer Peter Dickinson argues in his speculative book, The Flight of Dragons, that dragons really did exist and evolved from the big flesh-eating dinosaurs. DMs should feel free to go wild in creating supernatural prehistoric beasts, including those supposedly created by one or more gods. Go for small changes at first, emphasizing defense over offense. Many prehistoric beasts already have good combat abilities in melee; just keep the magic-equipped characters from using this advantage to run roughshod over them. A carnivorous ancestor of the red dragon may appear to be a perfectly normal winged dinosaur from the outside, until your magic-user sees it fly through his wall of fire as if it weren't even there. When the fighter with a vorpal blade lops off a plesiosaur's head, he discovers too late that it is also a prototype hydra, of the Lernaean variety! A mammoth might literally blow away its enemies, if it's an overgrown ancestor of the hollyphant, while an ankylosaur may well reflect spells off its shell in the manner of its descendant, the tarrasque. When the PCs encounter their first spell-using Tyrannosaurus rex (a cleric, perhaps-see "Gods and cave men"), the first thing they'll ask the DM is: "Can we go home now?" If you do go this far, then think of the opportunity for introducing new (and long lost in your own age) spells. The earth below One of the juiciest problem-causers for time travelers is often neglected: continental drift. The continents of Earth didn't always stay in the same place; they slid about constantly (albeit slowly) over the course of ages. The areas of land and sea were different, too. For example, in the Cretaceous Period, most of the eastern U.S.A. was under the sea. A modern time traveler in New York who fails to take this into account will have a short (and wet) trip. So let it be with your players' characters. [Continental drift is not the only source of widespread geophysical change. Note, for instance the changes wrought by the Cataclysm on the AD&D world of Krynn, the aftermath of the Rain of Colorless Fire on the AD&D world of Oerth, or the sinking of Blackmoor by "accident" in the D&D game's Known World.] If the PCs don't do research to determine the relative positions of land and sea in the age that is their intended destination, feel free to dump them in the water. Unless you're feeling mean, put them somewhere close to shore; the dunking will be bad enough. Aside from the chance of drowning (particularly for armored characters), an unexpected drenching will also ruin unprotected objects, including spell books, material components, and perhaps a few magical items (like dust of sneezing and choking). The reverse can be true, and characters intending to explore prehistoric seas may find their folding boat or apparatus of Kwalish left high and dry in a mountain range. This sort of soaking is an ideal way to punish PCs who do not take the trouble to do research on their destination before starting out. If their world's prehistory is relatively unknown (learning about it may be the motive for the trip), and the PCs are going in blind through no fault of their own, then you can be lenient. The unknown Ignorance of local prehistoric conditions is a serious handicap, particularly for fantasy heroes who don't have any handy paleontology books for reference purposes. In this case, what they don't know can hurt them, perhaps fatally. An example: One modern theory concerning dinosaurs is that they were not actually reptiles, but in a class by themselves, a class of which birds might be a subclass. Pterosaurs (flying reptiles) are included in this class, while the mammal-like reptiles that preceded the dinosaurs are now considered to be more mammal than reptile. This obviously takes much of the starch out of a sword +1, +4 reptiles, to say nothing of arrows of reptile slaying. Given the bird/dinosaur debate, an arrow of avian slaying might work against dinosaurs, though I personally wouldn't allow it. To be sure of killing special or intermediate beasts like dinosaurs, mammal-like reptiles, etc., it might be necessary to use their blood (or whatever) in work to construct a magic weapon specifically directed against them. The aforementioned convergent evolution problem is another example of how this sort of solution might become necessary. If the heroes are really going in blind (i.e., traveling into prehistoric times unwittingly through a spell, curse, or unknown magical gate), then their problems are even worse. If they are in a relatively mundane prehistoric world with no lycanthropes, undead, elementals, etc., then much of their gear and many memorized spells will be useless. Protection from evil, conjure elemental, summon shadow, and a host of other spells simply will not work. In the magical-item line, a paladin won't get the most out of his holy avenger sword, while a mace of disruption is just an ordinary mace + 1 if there are no undead to fight. Many types of arrows of slaying will be totally worthless, unless their owners "waste" them by using them as ordinary arrows. Mages who have memorized the wrong spells can learn appropriate ones if they were lucky enough to have brought their traveling spell books along (though this doesn't help the clerics much), but scroll-spells that are useless will stay useless. If you really like elementals and other extraplanar monsters, you could put them in-but heavily modified. Forget human forms, except in the Pleistocene epoch, and make them look like whatever animals are dominant at this stage in world history, particularly if intelligent, civilized "animals" (such as lizard men or giant beavers) are running around. If conjuring spells are allowed to work in your prehistoric world, the results could be something of a surprise! Gods and cave men Here we go from "lesser" supernatural beings to the gods themselves. For a change of pace in your fantasy world, assume that the gods created the world or were created along with it, and did not have to wait until worshipers appeared to give them life. If that is the case, then the same gods might be worshiped all throughout time, assuming a succession of intelligent races. In order to be best appreciated by those worshipers, of course, the gods may come to look like them, or at least to look like the dominant race. In the Age of Reptiles, for example, Odin, Zeus, and company could look like dinosaurs or lizard men, with generally the same attributes as given in Legends & Lore. There would be a few modifications, of course, like a hammer-throwing lizardly Thor who also has a tail-slap attack. There is no limit to the number of old deities in new bodies you can get out of this. If your world is like Earth, large birds beat mammals to the big-body niche when the dinosaurs died out, so the gods could change to look like dire corbys, vulchlings, etc. All throughout time, the gods could change, bestowing their "stamp of approval" on each new race that becomes dominant by taking its form. I leave to your imagination the trouble adventurers would get into by slaying fellow worshipers just because they look odd. When PCs get to the Pleistocene or a similarly recent time period, they can encounter early man, and this can be the stickiest part of the time-travel business. In terms of pure combat ability, "cave men" aren't much of a threat to a powerful group that hasn't been greatly weakened already by combat or privation (all the more reason to follow the suggestions earlier in this article). Therefore, the DM may have to take certain measures to make certain the PCs don't simply engage in a general massacre. Since we are assuming that the PCs are going into the prehistory of their own world, their actions could well change their own home period when they go back. (Actually, they could do that in any time period.) The classic example is Ray Bradbury's story, A Sound of Thunder, in which a time traveler turns the U.S.A. from a democratic country into a dictatorship by stepping on a butterfly in the Cretaceous period. This story, particularly Bradbury's explanation for historical change, is must reading for any referee running a time-travel adventure in any game system. This opens up an almost infinite range of possibilities. If you want to end the campaign quickly, the easiest way to do so is to have the PCs fight cave men who turn out to be their own ancestors. When their ancestors die, the PCs immediately disappear as though they had never been. Alternatively, nothing could happen to them. Since the PCs killed their ancestors, they prevented themselves from being born. But since they were never born, they couldn't very well go back in time to slay their ancestors, thus they will be born, and.., you get the idea. Paradoxes are fun, but handle them with care. Stomping on the PCs directly is a rather heavy-handed method of DMing. DMs who want the PCs' actions to change history should be more subtle if possible. There is the Sound of Thunder option, in which slaying someone's ancestors can change the moral or political outlook of an entire kingdom, if not the world. Using this system, the victorious PCs could return from the past to a world that is suddenly (and no doubt mysteriously) inimical to them. It could take the characters a while to figure out what went wrong. There is, of course, the genocidal option. The AD&D game provides for antipathy between specific races, such as orcs vs. elves and goblins vs. dwarves, If the very first members of a hated race are encountered, the PCs may get the bright idea of wiping them out, thereby preventing the spread of a race that will otherwise give their characters no end of trouble in the modern world. For that matter, if some prehistoric animals are ancestral to dragons or other troublemakers, the PCs may undertake a worldwide cross between a safari and a search-and-destroy mission. A truly great and noble idea, right? Well, not exactly. Even assuming one's morals permit such actions, there are a few problems. After all, the PCs no doubt fought many of the descendants of these creatures and killed them, winning monetary and magical treasures from them and definitely gaining experience points from their defeat. If the PCs keep some of their opponents from being born, the DM should feel free to strip them of the experience points, magical items, and riches that were gained after fighting these foes. Again, if the PCs aren't particularly perceptive, it might take them a while to figure out what happened. If you don't like these complications, ignore them. (The mage who cast the time-travel spell arose to a high-enough level to cast it because of the monsters he defeated. If he never defeated them, he couldn't rise to a high-enough level to cast the spell, the party never went back to slay the ancestral monsters, etc.) We now return to the gods (in this case, including extraplanar monsters). If we assume, as many game designers do, that a fantasy world's gods are created and sustained by their worshipers' deeds, offerings, and prayers, then we have some interesting possibilities. By slaying all of a god's first worshipers before his religion is firmly established, the PCs could stop the creation of an entire pantheon. Again, this sounds nice if it's an enemy deity, but it is a real killer if your own pantheon gets wiped out. If you follow my earlier suggestion that the gods were created by the very first intelligent beings on Earth and simply changed their forms to match the evolving races, then look out! Xenophobic PCs of the "hack-and-slash" school who attack anything that moves could well wipe out their own gods by destroying a strange race simply because it is different. Aside from the obvious loss of power to clerics, any suitably cataclysmic punishments are left up to the DM. If the PCs do not kill a deity when they slay his worshipers (due to time paradoxes or the like), then they will have him as an eternal foe, in the ultimate sense of the word "eternal." Even an impersonal deity might have a sentimental attachment to his very first worshipers or temple, however crude and humble. This sentimentality could drive the god to seek revenge even more than if the PCs had sacked a temple of his in the modern world. Not only that, but the wronged deity will have no scruples about helping a band of adventurers of his own alignment travel to the past to chop up the first worshipers of the PCs' deity or even their ancestors. Things can easily escalate out of control in this manner, with potent magical warfare being waged all throughout history and prehistory. The DM should consider all the implications before using this option. If the PCs go into a past where their deities exist but are worshiped by another race, such as lizard men of appropriate (and possibly different) alignment, the PC clerics might get their god to grant them spells, if they can convince the deity that they are his true worshipers (and if that deity's followers don't slay the PCs first as "monsters" -turnabout is fair play!). A xenophobic deity might simply squash his future worshipers for daring to ask, since their race hasn't appeared yet. If holy symbols, proper deeds, or mind-reading can convince him that the characters are true believers, he may grant their request. Since the characters' race will eventually replace the current worshipers (or so they say), the god may take a "show me" attitude, granting the PCs their spells only if they can defeat his current worshipers in a fair fight. This could be a full-scale battle or merely a single duel between individuals (especially clerics, paladins, or druids). If the characters are unable to prove their heritage in battle, the god might just decide to suppress the upcoming evolution of their race as a penalty for being "inferior"! As stated before, primitive humans (or whatever) will be inferior to any adventuring band that has not been put through the wringer previously. This is, of course, all the more reason for the DM to put them through the wringer in previous adventures, unless the PCs have worked very hard to avoid this sort of thing. Failing the depletion of their fighting strength, the twin threats of changing history and the gods are absolutely necessary to keep the party from conducting an easy slaughter of primitive men and force them to negotiate, at the only time in normal prehistory when they are able to do so. Scenarios Many DMs who have read thus far might love the prospect of sending their player's characters into the prehistoric past. What, however, is the motivation for this journey? Aside from the usual explanations (time elementals, a gate into the plane of Time, an angry time-traveling mage of enormous power, etc.), there are perfectly valid reasons for having time-travel scenarios creep into your campaigns. The simplest scenario is exploration. Some wealthy sage wants the PCs to either accompany him into the past or go by themselves to study conditions in another age. Exploration scenarios usually require that some rich NPC foot the bill, as there is no guarantee that the party will find any treasure in the wilderness. The DM should also figure out a way to assign experience points for information obtained. Mercantile scenarios are another method. The characters go back in time to collect baby dinosaurs, mammoth and mastodon ivory, etc. Body parts of creatures can also be used as ingredients for magical items, but this isn't as good a motive, even in modern campaigns. How many PCs go around shaving the heads of dryads for ingredients to make philtres of love? How many actually go to the trouble to collect a fiend's ichor or a giant slug's spittle? If prehistoric beasts are extinct in the modern campaign world, there would seem to be little justification for going to the trouble to create an arrow of dinosaur slaying. Money-grubbing scenarios lack glamour, anyway; high fantasy is supposed to do better than that. Best of all is the long-term quest. If you want a thorough prehistoric adventure, break up an artifact or relic like the Machine of Lum the Mad or the Mighty Servant of Leuk-o and put one piece of the item in each of the separate prehistoric environments and ages where danger can be found. (Bone up on paleontology before you try this.) Starting with the Carboniferous period (when the first giant amphibians appeared on land), at least two pieces of the relic should be left in each time period: one on land and one in the sea. If you can get detailed information about different faunas on the various continental areas, more pieces could be scattered to those spots. A search for the pieces of a mighty magical item over a span of 600 million to five billion years (depending on whether you start with the Cambrian period or a fantasy Precambrian era) could with justification be called the ultimate quest. This scenario alone could take up an entire gaming tournament. Not only will the characters meet a wide variety of monsters and environments, but if any of the restrictions mentioned earlier are used, they will be forced to use intelligent play along with brute force, even though the overwhelming majority of their opponents are "mere" animals. Consider the situation: In a long-term adventure, the party will be cut off from all the usual sources of reliable supplies for everything. They will be alone in the wilderness (or, rather, in a series of wildernesses) having to constantly be on the alert for attacks by wild animals, many of whom are of incredible power, and watching their supplies and magical abilities gradually dwindle away. Sneakiness will be at a premium, as will be using their wits to find the pieces quickly, thus reducing the amount of time spent in the period (and the number of encounters and fights they will have). Provide the PCs with a series of riddles or clues to each piece's whereabouts. If they play intelligently, they should escape the adventure with only a few hard knocks; if not, well. Remember that intelligent races, whether special prehistoric types or humans, should be treated to negotiations rather than brute force. Perhaps the characters should get a chance to see a primitive but still recognizable symbol of one or more of their own deities. Even without the peril of changing history, this should be enough to convince them that an open attack might violate alignment restrictions (even evil pantheons might not want followers killing their own clerics and worshipers). Negotiations, riddles, stealth, cross-country travel, and (of course) combat: Can any adventure be better than this? Only a quest that also takes place in the prehistoric Inner and Outer Planes or on an ancient world elsewhere in wildspace using the SPELLJAMMER rules. Perhaps the most appropriate scenario for time travel is the "changing history" scenario. A band of (possibly misguided) PCs goes into the past to exterminate a species of creature, wipe out an intelligent race, or nip a pantheon in the bud, in the belief that this will make the world a better place for them. They might even go back into the past to prevent a rival group from doing this very same thing. The possibilities here are staggering. The world could change somehow without warning, and the PCs must find out through mages or sages what happened, then go back in time to change it. While they're mucking around in the past, they might change time in other ways without realizing it. With enough time and creativity, the DM could have characters return a number of times, each time to a world changed in some different manner, until they finally learn to be careful. Some adventures, especially pantheon-busters, will involve the gods, possibly in radically different forms in various prehistoric ages. This article should help increase the amount of excitement and suspense in any AD&D adventure taking place in prehistoric times. Players whose characters go into the past may get nervous or worried, but they will never be bored.
SEE
http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5252
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http://www.datapacrat.com/Art/Games/RPG/_________________
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