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On page 20 of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook is the following concerning Clerics: "This class of character bears a certain resemblance to religious orders of knighthood of medieval times."
That sounds a lot more like a Templar or a Hospitaller than a priest!
But we always played them as priests back when.
The Paladin was whom we played like a Templar or Hospitaller.
I am less and less certain we actually played AD&D and were just using a D&Desque home brew the whole time.
I'm in the process of getting the appropriate Energy Reserve, Power Investiture, and Pact calculated for Clerics and Druids.
Druids can select from Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant and Water colleges. Still have to pay for each spell like a Mage would, but no prerequisites. Their sanctity level is based on how close to nature their surrounding are. I remembered I have GURPS: Celtic Myths and they have a much more detailed, and better, setup for Druid magic than what I was coming up with trying to make things fit. Different prerequisites and paths based on what wood is associated with the spells.
Clerics get to choose from Communication & Empathy, Food, Healing, Knowledge, Light & Darkness, Necromantic and Protection & Warding colleges. Their sanctity levels are based on how holy the area is to their chosen deity. The only place they would have no power is in the consecrated ground of a deity diametrically opposed to theirs. Don't stand on the alter of your god's enemies and expect your spells to work unless you do some serious desecration first!
Illusionists are simply one-college only mages using the Illusion & Creation college.
Yes, this means that a Mage can do everything that the other three kind of spellcasters can do.
But...
Clerics don't have material components to deal with. There will be a penalty for NOT using their holy symbol.
Druids don't need material components, but will get a boost if they use their holy plants as part of the evocation.
Something I'm changing from the main GURPS rules about spells is putting a price on material components rather than just assuming the Mage covered it and they're negligible. On the Appendix: Spell Table starting on Magic p. 223 there's a "prerequisite count". That number, squared, is the G$ cost of the materials needed to cast the spell, times the effect.
For example: Fireball has a prerequisite count of 4. So a 1d fireball would cost G$16 to cast in addition to the 1 FP. 2s is G$32 and 2 FP and so on. Force Dome is an area spell, so it's prerequisite count of 11 means G$121 for a 1 hex radius, G$242 for a 2 hex and so on.
It's coalescing.
Finally!
Are fractions really that hard and terrifying?
Because I am sick of reading, "20 times less" when they mean 1/20th.
This is easy math. Try it at home.
20 x 1 = 20. Is 20 more or less than 1?
20 x 20 = 400. Is 400 more or less than 20?
When you multiply it's always MORE not less.
Even if you use smaller numbers.
20 x 0.001 = 0.02. 0.02 is more than 0.001.
It's high time we made journalists take some fucking math classes.
I'm close to getting generic Cleric and Druid stuff done for GURPS.
I keep finding that nearly all of the spells in AD&D have an exact counterpart in GURPS Magic.
That, quickly, gives a sense of what the spell list for each class should be in GURPS.
Much like the GURPS mage has more spells than his Magic User counterpart, so will Druids and Clerics.
The order you learn phrases matters a lot to how you figure their meaning.
I read a lot of WW2 books when I wasn't really old enough to understand what I was reading, but I figured out what "comfort woman" was from the context.
Flash forward a few years and the term "comfort dog" comes into usage and I had no frame of reference.
Um... yeah...
That can't mean the same thing can it?
THANKFULLY! It does not mean the same thing.
Here's the sticky point of a GURPS conversion.
Druids can cast a certain number of spells per day, based on their level:
By level 14 they can cast quite a few, but at level 1 just two first level.
How to incorporate this with the GURPS rules?
Druid Level could be the level of Power Investiture.
One could simply say that the level of Power Investiture gets you the number of spells shown on the table and call it good.
That's a 100% translation.
But it feels a bit wrong.
I'm working on it. Hopefully this will get FuzzyGeff's tasty chess-club brain thinking on it before we talk.
Druid Spells
First Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Animal Friendship -- Beast Link (Animal)
Detect Magic -- Mage Sight (Knowledge)
Detect Snares & Pits -- See Secrets (Knowledge)
Entangle Tangle -- Growth (Plant)
Faerie Fire -- Phantom Flame (Fire or Illusion)
Invisibility to Animals -- Invisibility (Switchable +10%, Animals Only -20%) [36]
Locate Animals -- Beast Seeker (Animal)
Pass Without Trace -- False Tracks (Plant) or Hide Path (Plant) or Walk Through Plants (Plant)
Predict Weather -- Predict Weather (Air or Weather)
Purify Water -- Purify Water (Water)
Shillelagh --
Speak with Animals -- Beast Speech (Animal)
Second Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Barkskin -- Armor (Protection)
Charm Person or Mammal -- Charm (Mind Control) or (Animal) Control (Animal)
Create Water -- Create Water (Water)
Cure Light Wounds -- Minor Healing (Healing)
Feign Death -- Suspended Animation (Healing)
Fire Trap -- Link (Meta) on Explosive Fireball (Fire)
Heat Metal -- Heat (Fire)
Locate Plants -- Seek Plant (Plant)
Obscurement -- Fog (Water or Weather)
Produce Flame -- Burning Touch (Fire)
Trip -- Tanglefoot (Body)
Warp Wood -- Weaken (Making and Breaking)
Third Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Identify Plant Ability -- Identify Plant (Plant)
Identify Animal
Ability --
Identify Pure
Water Ability --
Leave No Trail
Power --
AD&D GURPS
Call Lightning -- Spark Storm (Air and Weather)
Cure Disease -- Cure Disease (Healing)
Hold Animal -- Master (Animal)
Neutralize Poison -- Instant Neutralize Poison (Healing)
Plant Growth -- Tangle Growth (Plant)
Protection From Fire -- Resist Fire (Fire)
Pyrotechnics -- Wall of Light (Light) or Smoke (Fire)
Snare --
Stone Shape -- Shape Earth (Earth)
Summon Insects --
Tree Plant -- Form (Plant)
Water Breathing -- Breathe Water (Air and Water)
Fourth Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Animal Summoning I -- Beast Summoning (Animal)
Call Woodland Beings --
Cure Serious Wounds -- Major Healing (Healing)
Dispel Magic -- Dispel Magic (Meta)
Hallucinatory Forest -- Phantom (Illusion) of a forest
Hold Plant -- Plant Control (Plant) or Walk Through Plants (Plant)
Plant Door -- Walk Through Wood (Plant)
Produce Fire -- Create Fire (Fire)
Protection from Lightning -- Resist Lightning (Air, Protection or Weather)
Repel Insects -- Repel (Vermin) (Animal)
Speak with Plants -- Plant Speech (Plant)
Fifth Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Animal Growth -- Enlarge Other (Body)
Animal Summoning II -- Beast Summoning (Animal)
Anti-Plant Shell -- Force Dome (Protection)
Commune With Nature -- Plant Sense (Plant)
Control Winds -- Wind (Weather)
Insect Plague --
Pass Plant -- Create Gate (Gate) and Teleport (Gate or Movement)
Sticks to Snakes -- Phantom (Illusion) of sticks turning into snakes
Transmute Rock to Mud -- Stone to Earth (Earth)
Wall of Fire -- Fire Cloud (Fire)
Sixth Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Animal Summoning III -- Beast Summoning (Animal)
Anti-Animal Shell -- Repel (Animal) (Animal)
Conjure Fire Elemental -- Summon (Fire) Elemental (Fire) and Control (Fire) Elemental (Fire)
Cure Critical Wounds -- Great Healing (Healing)
Feeblemind -- Foolishness (Mind) or Mindlessness (Mind)
Fire Seeds -- Rain of Fire (Fire)
Transport Via Plants -- Create Gate (Gate) and Teleport (Gate or Movement)
Turn Wood --
Wall of Thorns -- Tangle Growth (Plant)
Weather Summoning -- Wind (Air or Weather) or Storm (Air, Water or Weather)
Seventh Level
AD&D -- GURPS
Animate Rock -- Shape Earth (Earth)
Chariot of Sustarre -- Create Mount (Illusion)
Confusion -- Daze (Mind)
Conjure Earth Elemental -- Summon (Earth) Elemental (Earth) and Control (Earth) Elemental (Earth)
Control Weather -- Wind (Air or Weather) or Storm (Air, Water or Weather)
Creeping Doom --
Finger of Death -- Evisceration (Necromantic)
Fire Storm -- Rain of Fire (Fire)
Reincarnate --
Transmute Metal to Wood --
Speaking of AD&D conversion...
Which world?
The original goal is to run, in order...
T1 - The Village of HommletT2 - Nulb and the RuinsT3 - Dungeons of Elemental EvilT4 - Nodes of Elemental EvilA0 - Danger at Darkshelf QuarryA1 - Slave Pits of the UndercityA2 - Secret of the Slavers' StockadeA3 - Assault on the Aerie of the Slave LordsA4 - In the Dungeons of the Slave LordsG1 - Steading of the Hill Giant ChiefG2 - The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant JarlG3 - Hall of the Fire Giant KingD1 - Descent Into the Depths of the EarthD2 - Shrine of the Kuo-ToaD3 - Vault of the DrowQ1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Officially all of that happens in The World of Greyhawk.
Thanks to Drive Thru RPG, I have a copy of that, though I never did when I ran T1, G1 and G2 way back when.
Greyhawk has a list of Gods! My Cleric problem could be guided by the information there!
Happily, there's a lot of information online too.
I can work with this.
I keep returning, like a dog to its vomit, to the idea of using GURPS to play, not just, a fantasy campaign, but to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.
Obviously, the rules change is up front and personal in this.
Especially my intention to just use GURPS: Magic for Magic Users.
But there's other magic users in AD&D.
In addition to Magic Users we also have Illusionists, Clerics and Druids.
Then there's fighter classes who use Clerical and Druidic spells; Paladin and Ranger.
Later versions of D&D add even more arcane spell users!
It goes off the rails fast.
I have the framework I need, but what's missing is something that's also missing from OG AD&D.
Cleric is a generic warrior priest of a non-specific deity. Regardless of their affinity, they're all the same. Same class restrictions, same spell lists.
When you start defining a polytheistic pantheon you start feeling that the spell list is inappropriate for some Gods.
Zeus and Poseidon don't seem near as healing focused as an AD&D cleric.
The ban on edged weapons for a priest of Ares doesn't seem to make sense.
Etcetera.
It would be simpler to just play AD&D, no?
I'm a knothead.
There's no players, I'm not going to get to play this even if I finish.
I can't hardly get the two people I talk to about gaming to even engage in discussing this. I'd be farther along if I could capture their interest and get discussion to go on its own rather than wasting time and effort getting them to respond.
Getting into Valhalla is not as simple as dying in combat.
There's additional requirements.
Most important is allowing Your Lord and Savior, Odin, into your heart.
Positions in Valhalla are only open to someone who adheres to the Norse religion.
Next, die in combat.
Actually, die valorously in combat.
Because the last step is to be chosen by the Valkyrie.
They're looking for HEROES! Not everyday soldiers.
To recap:
1. Be of the Norse religion.
2. Die a heroic death in battle.
3. Have your death be noticed by the Valkyrie.
4. Be chosen by the Valkyrie as worthy of a seat in Valhalla.
Now you know what you have to do!
.45 Mars does 3d+1 pi+ out to 420/2,900 yards in GURPS.
That's got some thump!
To put some perspective on that .44 Magnum is 3d+2 pi+ out to 210/2,300.
My mom collected wooden masks.
I got them in the inheritance.
So I make sure they're on the wall.
Had to rearrange everything on that wall when the IKEA cabinet went in.
Yes, I need to dust.
There's a marked similarity between how the old Gabbett-Fairfax Mars pistol works and the Boberg XR9-S
I'd watched vids on them both and never connected it before.
My bookshelf that has been sitting next to my desk for years made a popping noise and leaned over 15 degrees.
Damn!
But I'm handy, I can fix it!
No. I am not that handy and I could not fix it.
I know exactly what bookshelf I wanted to replace it.
Just run down to Sears, Montgomery-Wards, Woolworths, or JC Penny's.
Oh... Wait...
Check at Wal Mart, Target, Amazon, Home Depot and Staples.
While there were a couple of good candidates, nothing could be here for about a week, Friday at the soonest.
That's sub optimal, and downright untenable.
The Feline agents of destruction would scatter the Lego to the wind in the mean time.
So I checked IKEA. There's an IKEA in Tampa and they had something that looked right, but I wanted to see it in person.
The Billy.
Knowing that it'd never fit in Moxie, I enlisted Marv's help (THANKS MARV!)
You can even get it with doors. I didn't know that until we got there.
Now the Legos are safe and can be seen. The books are behind the solid section of the doors.
The IKEA store is a fucking maze! We walked the entire ground floor until we realized that we needed to go upstairs and that meant waltzing through the warehouse and checkout to get to the escalator.
Then another maze to the area with bookshelves on display in their fake rooms.
Then look up the pieces, find them in the warehouse and check out with a side trip BACK into the ground floor to get the brass knobs.
I think it would be hilarious to bring a LARP group to an IKEA store and face the maze!
An independent, non-communist Rhodesia is something I've included in my version of Technomancer/Merlin 1.
This is a reasonable way for it to have happened.
The use of the Oath spell and significant numbers of Vietnam veterans from the chimera population are catalysts.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
-- Laurence Binyon
Today is not about sales. It is not about summer starting. It is not about grandma.
It's is about those who served and have passed beyond the vale.
I want them all back.
To:
Bernie Canniff (Korea, in a car club together).
Carol LeFon aka Neptunus Lex (patiently explained both real world and flight sim military aviation to this tanker).
Davy McGuire (COB USS Whale, originally a friend of my Dad's, later me).
Fred Gabow (we served together, his wife hired someone to murder him).
Jerry Pournelle (you do read, don't you? Willing to be wrong and listened to my correction!).
Kevin O'Brian aka Hognose (our beloved Weaponsman).
Paul Harrell (he taught me a couple things about guns and how to reply to dicks).
Robert (uncle by marriage to Mom's sister).
Standing Bear aka William Dawkins (WW2 and Korea, who taught me gaming).
The world is better that you were in it and worse that you have left.
For the first time in, probably decades, I remembered that the Indy 500 was on and actually sat down and watched it.
I have no idea who any of the drivers are any more.
Nice to see Mario Andretti is still around, sad the curse still holds.
Watching it reminded me of why I stopped watching NASCAR.
Indy is still may the best car, best team and best driver win.
That hasn't been true of NASCAR for a very long time.
Guten Abend, meine neuen Leser aus Brasilien!
Bist du wegen der GURPS oder der Waffen hier oder einfach nur wegen der schrillen Beleidigungen für bigotte, rassistische Idioten?
Shit! That's Argentinian. Hang on.
Boa noite meus novos leitores do Brasil!
Você está aqui pelos GURPS ou pelas armas ou apenas pelos insultos estridentes aos intolerantes e racistas?
Progressing through Andor's two seasons then Rogue One is well worth the time.
It's the only Star Wars that acknowledges that the people who were there, in the theater, in 1977 are no longer nine year olds.
With only a couple of exceptions, 6.8x51mm appears to all be +P.
That changes my calculations a little.
.277 Fury 7d pi. G$0.85, 0.043 lb. per round.
.277 Fury Match 7d pi +1 to Acc. G$1.70 per round.
.277 Fury Match HP 7d(0.5) pi+ +1 to Acc. G$1.70 round..277 Fury Match +P 8d-1 pi +1 to Acc. G$2.55 per round.
.277 Fury Match HP +P 8d-1(0.5) pi+ +1 to Acc. G$2.55 round.6.8x51mm XM1168 AP 5d(2) pi-. This is the "practice" ammo that's normal pressure. G$1.28 per round.
6.8x51mm XM1170 APHC +P 8d-1(2) pi-. G$2.55 per round.
6.8x51mm XM1184 APHC +P Match 8d-1(2) pi-. +1 to Acc. G$3.83 per round.
6.8x51mm XM1184A1 APDU +P 9d+1(2) pi- inc. G$3.83 per round.
6.8x51mm XM1186 AP +P 5d+1(2) pi-. G$1.91 per round.
6.8x51mm XM1188 APFSDS +P 11d+2(2) pi- with 50% boost to range (1,050/7,500). G$5.10 per
round.
6.8x51mm Aeroshell SLAP APDS +P 10d(2) pi- with 50% boost to range (1,050/7,500). G$1.66 per round.
6.8x51mm HAPI API AP Incendiary +P 5d+1(2) pi- inc. G$2.87 per round.
6.8x51mm NM142 HEIAP: APHEX Incendiary +P 8d-1(2) pi- inc follow-up 1d-2 cr ex. G$7.65 per round.
It should be noted that +P made the ST of both the M7 and M250 11 instead of 10. Remember the average infantryman is going to have a ST of 10 which means they're at -1 to their (not excessively high) skill.
9-0 Ruling on excessive force under the 4th Amendment in Barnes v Felix.
As someone who's long held the cops are too trigger happy, I think this is good news.
The tragic parts:
The toll violations were on the plate of a rental car. Likely from before Barnes girlfriend rented it. Not even an arrestable offense.
Despite the claims of Felix that he smelled marijuana in the car, none was found.
Barnes trying to drive off was stupid.
I cannot help but think that if Felix had returned to his vehicle and resumed pursuit that Barnes would be alive today. If Felix had done this, he would not have been in the danger he felt he needed to shoot Barnes over.
The Supreme Court just agreed.
All the news appears good, but all I can do is hum this song.
Also, more cynically:
I made stats for the M7 and M250 a while ago based on the information I could find for the XM1168 round.
The list I just posted says that it can penetrate Level IV plates.
That's DR 35.
7d pi only punches 24.5 on average. But that's a lead core ball round. G$0.85 per round.
XM1168 has a steel core.
That'd make it an AP round and that changes the damage to 5d(2) pi-. G$1.28 per round.
That does exactly 35 points of damage (on average) and, thus, qualifies for penetrating Level IV armor. Damage after penetrating: 0.
Coincidentally, this is the same math that goes from .30-06 M2 Ball to M2 AP. And M2 AP defines the NIJ Level IV standard.
XM1169 appears to be a match grade loading of XM1168. That's a +1 to Acc. G$2.55 per round.
XM1170 is a super-duper AP round with a tungsten instead of steel core. That's APHC 7d(2) pi- which will penetrate an average of DR 49. Damage after penetrating: 3. G$1.70 per round.
XM1184 is a special purpose version of XM1170, and I don't know what the difference is.
XM1184A1 uses a DU core. APDU, 8d+1(2) pi- inc which, on average, penetrates DR 58. Damage after penetrating: 5. G$2.55 per round.
XM1186 is an improved ball round. Call it AP +P. That's 5d+1(2) pi-, which should punch an average of DR 37. Damage after penetrating: 1. G$1.91 per round.
XM1188, tungsten APFSDS. 10d+2(2) pi- and a 50% boost to range (1,050/7,500). That will go through DR 74 on average. Damage after penetrating: 9. G$3.40 per round.
Aeroshell SLAP is, essentially APDS. 9d(2) pi- which will go through DR 63. Damage after penetrating: 7. G$1.70 per round.
Fury match is the lead core ball round I originally used for the calculations with a +1 to Acc. G$1.70
HAPI API which is AP Incendiary 5d(2) pi- inc. Same armor performance as XM1168 with an incendiary effect. G$1.91 per round.
SIC WC UAP. 25mm of rolled homogeneous armor is DR 18. Not sure what they're bragging about here since the normal lead core will defeat this. Even at 1,000m which is right at the edge of the 1/2D range. Need more information.
NM142 HEIAP: 6.8 Raufoss! APHEX Incendiary 7d(2) pi- inc follow-up 1d-2 cr ex. Damage after penetrating: 3, plus 4 from the explosion in contact. G$5.10 per round.
The real problem with all of these is the emphasis on armor penetration. That general who was touting the lethality doesn't seem to be talking about what it does after penetrating armor.
The XM1168's 5d(2) pi- will do 8 points to an unarmored opponent.
An M4A1 firing M855A1 with 4d+2 pi+ does 24. It won't punch DR 35, but... G$0.50 per round.
A Vietnam era M16A1 firing M193 with 5d pi does 17. Still doesn't penetrate Level IV... G$0.50 per round.
A Garand firing M2 ball doing 7d+1 pi does 25. G$0.80 per round. M2 AP is identical to XM1168. G$1.20 per round.
An FAL firing typical ball ammo does 7d pi and 24 to an unarmored opponent. G$0.80 per round.
In GURPS terms, 6.8x51mm isn't very lethal compared to other rounds unless it's wearing armor. Armor that's as good as what we wear. Armor that covers areas 9-10, 17-18. Both arms, both legs, the entire head and groin are outside that DR 35 level of protection. Our helmets are a mere DR 12. Even 'Nam era M193 can punch that!
NOTE! G$ translate to 2025 USD at about G$1 = US$2 Double prices in the real world.
This would be really strange if it's true.
As Michael points out, those 1,500 people that Wal Mart is getting rid of are workers at the HQ in Bentonville.
That's 10% of the folks working there.
That IS a pretty big layoff. I was going from a headline and couldn't see the rest of the story thanks to a paywall... Then I snarked without looking for another source.
But I don't really think the sky is falling.
Wal Mart has been clipping the top levels for a while, especially in San Franciso and Newark. Consolidating back to the home HQ in Arkansas.
Those reductions were happening before the bond market started giving the signals he pointed out in the, regrettably, deleted for going off on a tangent comment.
Michael! THIS POST is your chance to re-submit that tangent! Because it was actually a decent comment, I just have had to get brutal about enforcing my commenting rules thanks to the host of dickheads I talked about last week.
I absolutely detest the nose on a 73 Chevelle. But the same nose on an El Camino is kinda cool.
Go figure.
