| From: | Terry Amburgey <xanth@****.UKY.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | DLOH redux |
| Date: | Mon, 23 Oct 1995 15:39:26 -0400 |
>> I've heard Tom Dowd do Q&A; his answers were thoughtful. Moreover, if you
>> think he would be intimidated by some jackass at a convention, I think
>> you've misjudged his character [I'm assuming that you've met the man and
>> made a personal judgement]. I've played with Mr. Dowd as the DM and watched
>> part of another game he was running. My judgement is that he knows the
>> rules; why do you believe he doesn't know the rules?
>
>Take a look at "Burning Bright", p.162-163. There Kyle Teller uses a
>far seeing spell in the astral plane to watch the drone that comes
>looking for the stuff that blocks the lens of the camera - this MIGHT
>work if you have altered the Clearvoyance spell to work correctly in
>the astral space and to look through walls. But THEN he does something
>that's absolutely violating 2 main rules of the astral space:
>
>
>A.) He is casting a spell using the Clearvoyance spell for LOS,
>because he doesn't have LOS while casting his "Magic Fingers" spell.
>
>B.) He casts the "Magic Fingers" spell at a bag of paper - and NO, the
>bag didn't have foci on it, so there was NO WAY how he could have
>affected the bag in this way.
He also sends an elemental off on a remote service even though 'the book'
says this can be done only at the time of summoning. I asked him about this
and a few other odds & ends during a Q&A. His response was simple - poetic
license for fiction. FASA likes for the authors to try to follow the rules
but they explicitly allow deviations if, in their judgement, it makes the
novel better fiction. This is why I am reluctant to cite novels (or modules)
for rules or rules clarifications.
>This is absolutely impossible if you look at the "by the book" rules
>and would imbalance the game like nothing else, because you could A.)
>affect targets that don't even have an astral presence and B.) no
>longer need LOS for spells. THIS is why I think he doesn't know the
>rules.
Now you know that FASA is willing to allow authors the right to create
'house rules' to further their fiction.
>Unfortunately I never met him personally (not everyone can be
>as great as you are, thank you for telling us dumblings how great and
>wise you are), because I live in Germany - that makes it rather
>difficult to meet Tom Dowd personally.
You forgot to insert the smiley. You really should remember to put them in,
otherwise you look like an petulant schmuck.
>Don't get me wrong: I like his books, but he obviously doesn't know or
>doesn't care about the rules.
When he's an author, increasing sales of the novel is more important than
by-the-book plotline and action.
>> You strike me as a kindred spirit - a real died in the wool By-The-Book
>> gamer. IMHO suggesting that Mr. Dowd doesn't know the rules is not likely to
>> advance your argument. Terry
>
>Thank you very much. I wish I were as great as you are, but noone is
>as gifted, I guess. Of course you met me personally to be able to
>make a judgement - I wish I could remember where that was.
You either forgot the smiley again or you ARE an petulant schmuck. I guess I
HAVE to assume you forgot the smiley.
>That Tom Dowd didn't know much about how the magic rules work until November
>1994 at least is sure - or why did he write these things in Burning
>Bright ???
I've relayed Mr. Dowd's reason. If you wish to assume that you know the
rules better than one of the game designers, it's your perogative. The rest
of of us can make our own judgement about your expertise compared to Tom Dowd's.
>And by the way: The discussion was how the rules "by the book" have to
>be understood. Noone ever denied that you can change them as much as
>you like, but the question was "what are the 'by the book' rules ?",
Yes. And one thing to consider in how the rules are to be understood is
'FASA allows authors to bend the rules'. Another is 'The creators of the
rules sometimes provide clarification'.
>so please think the next time before talking bad about people you
>don't know.
If you can show me an instance [in my original post] where I talked bad
about someone I will publically apologize to them on the list.
In my original post I wanted to point out that, IMO, trashing Tom Dowd's
knowledge of the game he helped create was not an effective means of winning
your arguments. Perhaps I'm wrong. If you like you can send email to those
listmembers with whom you are debating the rules and ask them "Who do think
has more expertise with shadowrun A. Georg Greve B. Tom Dowd". If the
results are strongly in your favor perhaps the list will appoint you the new
DLOH. Terry
Terry L. Amburgey Office: 606-257-7726
Associate Professor Home: 606-224-0636
College of Business & Economics Fax: 606-257-3577
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506
