As I find errors the Black Pudding Play Book or they are pointed out to me, I'll post about them here, as needed. Since this is just one item to discuss... would this be "erratum"?
Page 22, the Vulgar Grimoire:
Magic Missile says it has a duration of 1 turn. There are two ways to handle this.
1) You can cast MM and the missiles will hover or be on your person for 1 turn (about 10 minutes). You can loose them at will anytime during that duration, regardless of initiative. That could be handy since the spell never misses. But you might not need it in 10 minutes... so that's a risk.
2) Just ignore that and treat it as an instant cast, like every other iteration of the spell.
So, I was the one that asked about that originally. Thanks for clarifying.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I think the Holmes version of the rules worked the spell that way too (my first experience with D&D lol)
I just wanted to give you some feedback....
As I wait on my print version I have read and re-read the pdf over and over. The rules dont cover everything,, they leave some wiggle room. And thats a good thing. We old timers refer to that as Rulings over Rules.
Which leads me to the eureka moment I had.
Ive been playing D&D over 40 years and have never quite gotten the same thrill as my old first edition game. But I think you have come as close as anyone to capturing that "lightning in a bottle".
We didnt have "written in stone" rules for everything in the old days. NPC wizards did things pc wizards coulnt all the time. There were always weird effects, pools, mirrors etc that did amazing inexplicable things.
Now in days of yore I became somewhat of a tyranical "rules lawyer" But reading BPP made me realize the magic/charm of old school gaming was imagination and experiencing the unknown. I remember my mind racing trying to figure out the mysteries of a module played out. Usually, what my fevered brain imagined was much more involved and convoluted than what was actually going on in the module.
My point? Well I think you have done a great job of weaving that classic gaming tapestry into a wonderful work of magic and imagination!
I feel young again. Kudos JV!
Wow, thank you! Since that is exactly what I hoped to do, it makes me feel giddy that I did it, at least to some degree. Magic is the word I would use to describe the feeling I had when I discovered RPGs. A deep sense of possibility, imagination, wonder.
DeleteA huge inspiration for me in creating Black Pudding was B/X D&D, of course. And for the treatment of the setting, I was thinking of Isle of Dread. The Gazetteer portion of BPPB was modelled on X1's gazetteer section. Of course I didn't stick to their format or exact style, but the succinct descriptions of Alfheim, Minrothad Guilds, the Broken Lands, etc... those filled me with wonder.
Thanks again for the fantastic message!