Is anyone here using Google Wave?

Here's what I'm talking about - https://wave.google.com/wave/

One note, if you're thinking about using this, you've to got to be using
Firefox, Chrome or Safari as your browser. It does not support IE or Opera.

Uatu and I are both set up, and I'm interested in discussing Dungeon Craft and
1e AD&D in particular. :)

Anyone interested?

**Update**

We've now set a deadline for submissions - Dec 20th. Then we'll take the
holidays to play and review other folk's work.

--- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, Steve McDonald <steve_mcdee@...> wrote:
>
>
> Sounds like a good idea. I probably won't have time to enter, but might give
it a shot. I think more like 4-6 weeks for designs could be better (but since
I'm unlikely to enter anyway, don't feel compelled to give too much weight to
that suggestion).
>
> Steve
>

Nice to hear from you Steve. Perhaps you can be enticed to enter now that there
is 8 or 9 weeks to do a small design? :)

I don't know if you're aware of the FRUA Community forums and the 5 DC subforums
there, but there has been quite a bit of activity recently as we're starting to
get some long time FRUA users on board with DC (hopefully a couple will be
entering the contest).
http://ua.reonis.com/index.php

-manikus

Sounds like a good idea. I probably won't have time to enter, but might give it
a shot. I think more like 4-6 weeks for designs could be better (but since I'm
unlikely to enter anyway, don't feel compelled to give too much weight to that
suggestion).

Steve




To: UAForever@yahoogroups.com
From: manikus5@...
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:35:19 +0000
Subject: [UAForever] Fall 2009 Design Contest





















                   House Contest



Contestants design one house/manor/small castle.



It must:

1) have no more than 5 levels

2) have no fewer than 2 levels

3) levels may be no larger than 15x15

4) must use at least one kind of "secret passage"

5) must contain at least one trap



In addition to the design to play, each entry must also include a short
explanation of how the "secret passage" and trap were achieved.



Judging will be done by the contest entrants. Each entrant agrees to play at
least two of the other designs and rate and review them in the following areas:

Background (Short-)Story - how motivating/convincing/exciting the story is

Events and Riddles - use of secret doors, traps, special events, NPCs and talk
events

Graphics - in case that own art is used

Presentation - how convincing the art/sounds/events are used (I would suggest
this category, since using arts of others, deciding about fonts and so on also
needs creativity)

Gameplay - fairness to the player concerning monsters and traps, reasonable
difficulty, avoiding of repetitive situations, fun and so on

Explanation/Tutorial: how helpful the explanation/tutorial of the "secret
passage" and/or trap is

All criticisms will be constructive.



The entry deadline will be in X amount of weeks (I think it should be short like
2 or 3) and judging deadline will be 2 weeks after that.



Then we release all the winners to the community at large.



Dinonykos came up with this idea, and I've expanded on the judging. All we are
waiting for to begin this new contest is for at least 5 people to commit to
participating. Dinonykos believes this is the minimum amount to have a good and
fun contest. :)

2 of the 5 have already stepped up to be counted (Dinonykos, manikus). If you
are interested in participating, just respond to this post. We'd also be
interested in hearing how long you think the contestants should have.






















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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

House Contest

Contestants design one house/manor/small castle.

It must:
1) have no more than 5 levels
2) have no fewer than 2 levels
3) levels may be no larger than 15x15
4) must use at least one kind of "secret passage"
5) must contain at least one trap

In addition to the design to play, each entry must also include a short
explanation of how the "secret passage" and trap were achieved.

Judging will be done by the contest entrants. Each entrant agrees to play at
least two of the other designs and rate and review them in the following areas:
Background (Short-)Story - how motivating/convincing/exciting the story is
Events and Riddles - use of secret doors, traps, special events, NPCs and talk
events
Graphics - in case that own art is used
Presentation - how convincing the art/sounds/events are used (I would suggest
this category, since using arts of others, deciding about fonts and so on also
needs creativity)
Gameplay - fairness to the player concerning monsters and traps, reasonable
difficulty, avoiding of repetitive situations, fun and so on
Explanation/Tutorial: how helpful the explanation/tutorial of the "secret
passage" and/or trap is
All criticisms will be constructive.

The entry deadline will be in X amount of weeks (I think it should be short like
2 or 3) and judging deadline will be 2 weeks after that.

Then we release all the winners to the community at large.

Dinonykos came up with this idea, and I've expanded on the judging. All we are
waiting for to begin this new contest is for at least 5 people to commit to
participating. Dinonykos believes this is the minimum amount to have a good and
fun contest. :)
2 of the 5 have already stepped up to be counted (Dinonykos, manikus). If you
are interested in participating, just respond to this post. We'd also be
interested in hearing how long you think the contestants should have.

The contest winning design, 'The Mystery of Filos' has been updated. This
version fixes several bugs with game mechanics and is a much better play than
the other version.

All fixes are by the design author and should have been included initially, but
weren't due to a snafu made by yours truly.

Make sure and download this game again, it's well worth the extra 2 minutes of
your life needed to download. ;)

-manikus

Attention! Attention!

Announcing the winner of the first Dungeon Craft Design Contest - The Mystery of
Filos by Jadefang.

You can download it right now from http://sourceforge.net/projects/uaf/files/ or
http://uaf.sourceforge.net/designs.html

You do not need the editor to play this design, just download the zip archive
and the Dungeon Craft Runtime engine (UAFWin.exe) and place the file in the
folder you unzip from the archive. If you already have downloaded the Dungeon
Craft Editor, you only need install the archive.
The UAFWin.exe can be found at:
http://uaf.sourceforge.net/download.html

Play the game, tell your friends, write a review, give Jadefang some much
deserved feedback and your kudos.

Congratulations Jadefang on a job well done!

-manikus


Plus, stay tuned for two new contest announcements...

The new release of Dungeon Craft is coming.

-manikus

The current version of the Help Documentation, including the GPDL section has
now been added in its entirety to the Dungeon Craft Wiki.

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/uaf/index.php?title=Contents

-manikus

Help Documentation

Thank you for the input. This does help give me a nudge in the right direction.
:)

I've noted that the 'manual' style beats out the 'F.A.Q.' style hands down. I've
also noted the desire for tutorials and for explanations of literally
everything. I'm not sure if the tutorials will make it in initially - but they
will come. I'm only one guy after all. ;)

The new Help documentation is a complete rewrite of the old, from scratch. But
never fear, for those of you who know your way around the old (current) Help, it
will remain available on the Dungeon Craft Wiki, and most of it is there now. :D
Remember, if you'd like to add something to the Wiki, all you need to do is
register with SourceForge (free and easy).
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/uaf/index.php?title=Contents

If anyone would like to help me with writing the Help documentation, please
email or PM me (I'm cross-posting this message, so use whichever is applicable).

-manikus

In relation to the last question, I think a manual with a good table of contents
and searchable index is better than a FAQ.





To: UAForever@yahoogroups.com
From: selias19@...
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:00:28 +0000
Subject: [UAForever] Re: Help Documentation Content





Hi, I haven't been active in quite a while but I think this warrants an answer.
:-)

>
> Think of this as a poll with free-form answers. :D
>

> What content would you like to see included in the DC Help?

Definitely anything/everything about the Logic Block. I have a hard time
understanding it although I know it is a very powerfull tool.

How to create magic spells and magic weapons. (I admit, haven't looked at the
new help yet so this might be included already).

>
> What content is mandatory for all users?

The basic explanations about the events and how they are to be set up should be
included, in case someone didn't start out with FRUA.

Also everything about the setting up of a dungeon and the limitations of DC
(which are much wider than the FRUA-limits and therefore sound really great :-))

How to use the artwork-templates and how to create/edit the items, monsters and
any other databases.

How to change the game font and create colored text.

>
> What doesn't belong in DC Help?

I don't know about that one... I think everything does belong in there if it
helps to create a game.

>
> Should the Help be more like a manual or more like a F.A.Q.?

I have no preference about that. Everything would be nice as long as I get my
answers. A good search function with crosslinks for connected themes would be
great.

>
> Thanks for you input, and remember if you don't let us know what you want, you
won't get it. ;)
>
> -manikus
>

Have a nice day.

Sigrid









_________________________________________________________________
Use Windows Live Messenger from your Hotmail inbox Web IM has arrived!
http://windowslive.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=823454

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi, I haven't been active in quite a while but I think this warrants an answer.
:-)

>
> Think of this as a poll with free-form answers. :D
>


> What content would you like to see included in the DC Help?

Definitely anything/everything about the Logic Block. I have a hard time
understanding it although I know it is a very powerfull tool.

How to create magic spells and magic weapons. (I admit, haven't looked at the
new help yet so this might be included already).

>
> What content is mandatory for all users?

The basic explanations about the events and how they are to be set up should be
included, in case someone didn't start out with FRUA.

Also everything about the setting up of a dungeon and the limitations of DC
(which are much wider than the FRUA-limits and therefore sound really great :-))

How to use the artwork-templates and how to create/edit the items, monsters and
any other databases.

How to change the game font and create colored text.

>
> What doesn't belong in DC Help?

I don't know about that one... I think everything does belong in there if it
helps to create a game.

>
> Should the Help be more like a manual or more like a F.A.Q.?

I have no preference about that. Everything would be nice as long as I get my
answers. A good search function with crosslinks for connected themes would be
great.

>
> Thanks for you input, and remember if you don't let us know what you want, you
won't get it. ;)
>
> -manikus
>

Have a nice day.

Sigrid

Think of this as a poll with free-form answers. :D

What content would you like to see included in the DC Help?

What content is mandatory for all users?

What doesn't belong in DC Help?

Should the Help be more like a manual or more like a F.A.Q.?

Thanks for you input, and remember if you don't let us know what you want, you
won't get it. ;)

-manikus

Through discussions with Uatu, I've decided to start this project. Think of it
as somewhere in between a collaboration and a Worldhack, all set in the world of
Greyhawk.

The working idea is to have a forum dedicated to a shared setting so that
designers can pool their resources, not just art and sounds, but ideas,
characters, maps, etc. as well.

We will be picking one area of Oerth to work on instead of the whole thing, most
likely a part of the Flanaess. More will be explained in the G.U.G. forum.

If you're interested, please contact me and I'll set you up. :) We are using a
private forum at my site.

-manikus

The web site has just been updated. :) Stop by and check it out. There is now an
interactive map (kind of) of The City.

http://one.xthost.info/elminster/city.html

For those that don't know, The City is a collaborative project for Dungeon
Craft. Each participant gets control of a ward of the city of Erraxy and can do
it with as they please, as long as they follow a few simple guidelines that is.

If you're interested in participating, let me know. The dark grey wards are
available for new members. The light yellow are available for existing members
once they've shown that they've already gotten a good start on their first ward.
When the last two inner wards are taken, the whole next ring will become
available to new members.

-manikus

It looks like Ironworks may be back up tomorrow, but possibly in a limited
capacity. If Dan's temp fix doesn't work, it will be a while longer as he's
still raising funds to buy a new motherboard.

-manikus

The Ironworks forum is down pending some new hardware for the server. There is
no estimated time for it to return (last time it was a week or two.

This is an opportune time for everyone to visit my forums. :) There are 5
sub-forums available to all to discuss Dungeon Craft and Dungeons and Dragons.
http://www.skybakcone.com/forums/index.php?sid=34ac801c08e572548fda165daa8d2ce7

There are also two private sub-forums: one for The City project and one for the
new "Greyhawk Users Group" for DC enthusiasts who want to set their designs in
the Greyhawk setting.
http://www.skybakcone.com/forums/index.php?sid=34ac801c08e572548fda165daa8d2ce7

Stop by and check out my forums.

-manikus

Due to changes at SourceForge, the two Wikis have been combined into one, so now
the F.A.Q. and Help Documents are at the same place.

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/uaf/index.php?title=Main_Page#Dungeon_Craf\
t

Everything from both of the previous Wikis is here (this is actually the former
Wiki Help document).

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please respond here.

-manikus

I've just uploaded my first pack of converted walls. There are 42 walls by
Kaltusara converted from default to hyper wall format.

http://dungeoncraft.skybakcone.com/640/kaltusara.7z

The file is compressed with 7-Zip, available for free at
http://www.7-zip.org/

Check it out, there are some nice walls here.

-manikus

I've just added 2 new tutorials for beginners on my site. There are for adding
an item to the Items Database and adding a mosnter to the Monsters Database.

There will be more soon.

http://dungeoncraft.skybakcone.com/

-manikus

I just wanted to let everyone know, especially those that do not visit the Yahoo
list website that a new link has been added on the main page for the DC Help
Documentation.

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/uaf/index.php?title=Contents

-manikus

Dungeon Craft needs tutorials. I happen to be someone who can help create
tutorials. :) Of course, I would always welcome other folks doing one as well.
:D

What I need to know is two-fold: What do you as a user of DC need a tutorial on
to help you out? What does an absolute newbie to DC and GoldBox gaming need a
tutorial on to get them started?

No idea is too small or too silly. :) If you want to know how to do something,
we can hook you up.

-manikus

Hey Tarlanon!

Long time since I've seen you around. I imagine that you are still quite busy
with other stuff. :)

I've a couple of questions regarding your DC Char Edit program. First, I get an
error that I'm missing dll files when I try to run it or install a new version.
They are VB4*.dll (I use an asterisk because I only wrote down VB4. :D )
Secondly, I was wondering if you were going to release the source for this
project, as that was mentioned in the readme file.
I know this project is 4 years old now, so you may no longer care or have all
the 'stuff' lying around.

I look forward to hearing from you.

-manikus

(I'll post this in the Ironworks forum, too, just in case you look there.)

Thanks for finding this Tom. I knew I had seen the diagrams somewhere and it
turns out to be on the page right before this stuff. :)

I've sent an email to Paul to start the development discussion on these issues.
I'm hoping we can implement them without too much trouble. In which case it
souns like we'll be ahead of FRUA on this topic.

You have impressive patience to have performed the kind of testing you did. I am
sure I will try and use this to mour advantage in the future. 8^>

-manikus

--- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, nologgie@... wrote:
>
> The First Edition Dungeon Master's Guide says the following about special
> types of attacks:
>
> Flank attacks: All flank attacks negate any defender armor class addition
> for shield. Attacks against a rear flank, where the opponent is virtually
> unable to view the attackers, negate dexterity armor class bonus.
>
> Rear Attacks: Opponents attacking from the rear gain a +2 to hit, negate
> any consideration for shield, and also negate any consideration for dexterity.
>
> Stunned, Prone or Motionless Opponents: Treat all such opponents as if
> being attacked from the rear, but in this case the "to hit" bonus is +4 rather
> than +2.
>
> FRUA is very inconsistent about displaying the message 'Attacks From
> Behind,' and I'm not sure whether it gives any attack bonus for it.
>
> I tried testing it by making a 'monster' fighter with a dexterity of 24*,
> equipped with leather armor and a +5 shield (adjusted A/C of -3). With the +2
> for rear attacks, this should have resulted in a 13 point THAC0 difference
> (65% hit probability) between front and rear attacks. When I ran two
> identical 5th level fighters against it, hits from the rear exceeded hits from
the
> front by about 4% through a series of 120 attacks. Less than half the
> attacks were hits, so I wasn't bottoming out. The 4% difference is within the
> margin of error for either a 10% or 0% bonus, so I don't know if it's there or
> not.
>
> FOR DC
>
> The +2 from behind looks pretty easy.
>
> Tracking the armor class adjustments for a shield (including +n shields),
> and dexterity could give four different armor classes based upon attack
> direction and surprise (a surprise attack negates dexterity, but armor and
shield
> would still be in play if it came from the front).
>
> I think it would be really neat if we could have all this, but it looks
> like it could become very cumbersome very quickly. If we could have one, I'd
go
> with negating dexterity over negating the shield. If we only get the +2 for
> rear attacks, it's at least as good as we got with FRUA. Maybe better.
>
> Tom
>
> *Note for FRUA testers: Changing monster ability scores in the FRUA monster
> editor only changes the first of the paired ability scores in the
> MONSTxxx.DAT file, which has no effect other than to display an asterisk by
the
> original ability score if the (friendly) monster is viewed during combat. Hex
> editing or CHAREDIT is needed to effectively change the scores for the purpose
> of bonuses.
> It took me a while to figure this one out.
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 6/17/2009 22:36:42 Central America Standard Time,
> steve_mcdee@... writes:
>
> >
> > Perhaps conceptually it should be the victim's AC that is modified. But
> > positive modification of AC and negative modification of THAC0 are of course
> > equivalent.
> >
> > The Secret of the Silver Blades Journal (and other gold box journals and
> > rule books) contains the following about attacking from behind (top of page
> > 10 of the SSB Journal):
> >
> > "An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to
> > the attacker's THAC0 minus the target's AC. THAC0 may be modified by range,
> >  attacking from the rear, magic weapons, and magic spells among other
> > things."
> >
> > It doesn't say exactly how THAC0 is affected. There may be a chance that
> > the target will realise they are being attacked from behind and turn around
> > - if so, I don't know how that reaction is calculated.
> >
> > Note that "attacking from the rear" is a far less onerous requirement than
> > the requirements for a backstab - the SSB journal says of backstabbing:
> >
> > "A thief will stab if he attacks a target from exactly opposite the first
> > character to attack the target. The thief may not back stab if he has
> > readied armor heavier than leather (Exception: Elfin Chain Mail). A back
stab
> > has a better chance of hitting and does additional damage."
> >
> > A single class thief cannot ready armour heavier than leather or elfin
> > chain, but a multi-class thief can: so that qualification on the ability to
> > backstab is important. Note that backstabbing "has a better chance of
> > hitting" - ie it affects THAC0 as well as damage.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> >
> > To: UAForever@yahoogroups.com
> > From: manikus5@...
> > Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:30:18 +0000
> > Subject: [UAForever] Re: BackStabbing
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I don't believe there is anything explicit in the GoldBox games or in
> > FRUA, and I'm not sure how one would test this. :)
> > I do however think that there might be something in the 1e literature
> > about this, and I vaguely recall a diagram from basic D&D that shows
> > zones...but I think that the victim's AC may be modified instead of the
attacker's
> > THAC0. I'll see what I can find.
> >
> > -manikus
> >
> > --- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, Steve McDonald <steve_mcdee@> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > I'm pretty sure that FRUA also displayed the text "attacks from behind"
> > in some circumstances where the attack came from behind. I have a feeling
> > attackers may get a bonus to THAC0 if they attack from behind. Can anyone
> > shed any more light on this?
> > >
> > >
> >
>
> <BR><BR>**************<BR>Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for local deals
at your
> fingertips.
>
(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolclassifieds/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000004)<\
/HTML>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Sure goblins aren't exactly realistic, but it's a relative thing. ;) Thery're
not very, umm, good at combat.

-manikus

--- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, nologgie@... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 6/17/2009 20:26:57 Central America Standard Time,
> manikus5@... writes:
>
>
> >
> > I recall getting rid of party members the same way in some of the early GB
> > games. :D But, I still need to test if FRUA does this. And even if it
> > does, should it? If I'm a first level mage with a Dexterity of 8 and I'm
> > surrounded by 8 monsters who all decide to flee at once (all the same
round), is
> > it realistic that I could hit all of them (or at least try)? Does realism
> > matter? :)
>
> The lone goblin in my test got 24 parting shot attacks in one round. It
> isn't entirely realistic, but neither was the goblin.
>
>
> > I'm just asking qauestions. :D People tend to give me good answers here,
> > too.
> >
> > Personally, I'm not set on either way, or some third option not yet
> > expressed.
> >
> > It should be noted that if a monster is magically invisible, they would
> > have lost that status id they attacked the PC, they are only still invisible
> > when they move away if they did not do anything, or try to do anything to
> > the PC.
> >
> >
>
> An invisible high-level fighter with two attacks per round will be visible
> after the first attack. It's more of a moot point for those with a single
> attack, because the attack ends their turn. They can usually be invisible
> again by the next round when they're allowed to move.
>
> Tom<BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for
local deals at
> your fingertips.
>
(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolclassifieds/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000004)<\
/HTML>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

In a message dated 6/17/2009 20:26:57 Central America Standard Time,
manikus5@... writes:


>
> I recall getting rid of party members the same way in some of the early GB
> games. :D But, I still need to test if FRUA does this. And even if it
> does, should it? If I'm a first level mage with a Dexterity of 8 and I'm
> surrounded by 8 monsters who all decide to flee at once (all the same round),
is
> it realistic that I could hit all of them (or at least try)? Does realism
> matter? :)

The lone goblin in my test got 24 parting shot attacks in one round. It
isn't entirely realistic, but neither was the goblin.


> I'm just asking qauestions. :D People tend to give me good answers here,
> too.
>
> Personally, I'm not set on either way, or some third option not yet
> expressed.
>
> It should be noted that if a monster is magically invisible, they would
> have lost that status id they attacked the PC, they are only still invisible
> when they move away if they did not do anything, or try to do anything to
> the PC.
>
>

An invisible high-level fighter with two attacks per round will be visible
after the first attack. It's more of a moot point for those with a single
attack, because the attack ends their turn. They can usually be invisible
again by the next round when they're allowed to move.

Tom<BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for local
deals at
your fingertips.
(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolclassifieds/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000004)<\
/HTML>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The First Edition Dungeon Master's Guide says the following about special
types of attacks:

Flank attacks: All flank attacks negate any defender armor class addition
for shield. Attacks against a rear flank, where the opponent is virtually
unable to view the attackers, negate dexterity armor class bonus.

Rear Attacks: Opponents attacking from the rear gain a +2 to hit, negate
any consideration for shield, and also negate any consideration for dexterity.

Stunned, Prone or Motionless Opponents: Treat all such opponents as if
being attacked from the rear, but in this case the "to hit" bonus is +4 rather
than +2.

FRUA is very inconsistent about displaying the message 'Attacks From
Behind,' and I'm not sure whether it gives any attack bonus for it.

I tried testing it by making a 'monster' fighter with a dexterity of 24*,
equipped with leather armor and a +5 shield (adjusted A/C of -3). With the +2
for rear attacks, this should have resulted in a 13 point THAC0 difference
(65% hit probability) between front and rear attacks. When I ran two
identical 5th level fighters against it, hits from the rear exceeded hits from
the
front by about 4% through a series of 120 attacks. Less than half the
attacks were hits, so I wasn't bottoming out. The 4% difference is within the
margin of error for either a 10% or 0% bonus, so I don't know if it's there or
not.

FOR DC

The +2 from behind looks pretty easy.

Tracking the armor class adjustments for a shield (including +n shields),
and dexterity could give four different armor classes based upon attack
direction and surprise (a surprise attack negates dexterity, but armor and
shield
would still be in play if it came from the front).

I think it would be really neat if we could have all this, but it looks
like it could become very cumbersome very quickly. If we could have one, I'd go
with negating dexterity over negating the shield. If we only get the +2 for
rear attacks, it's at least as good as we got with FRUA. Maybe better.

Tom

*Note for FRUA testers: Changing monster ability scores in the FRUA monster
editor only changes the first of the paired ability scores in the
MONSTxxx.DAT file, which has no effect other than to display an asterisk by the
original ability score if the (friendly) monster is viewed during combat. Hex
editing or CHAREDIT is needed to effectively change the scores for the purpose
of bonuses.
It took me a while to figure this one out.




In a message dated 6/17/2009 22:36:42 Central America Standard Time,
steve_mcdee@... writes:

>
> Perhaps conceptually it should be the victim's AC that is modified. But
> positive modification of AC and negative modification of THAC0 are of course
> equivalent.
>
> The Secret of the Silver Blades Journal (and other gold box journals and
> rule books) contains the following about attacking from behind (top of page
> 10 of the SSB Journal):
>
> "An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to
> the attacker's THAC0 minus the target's AC. THAC0 may be modified by range,
>  attacking from the rear, magic weapons, and magic spells among other
> things."
>
> It doesn't say exactly how THAC0 is affected. There may be a chance that
> the target will realise they are being attacked from behind and turn around
> - if so, I don't know how that reaction is calculated.
>
> Note that "attacking from the rear" is a far less onerous requirement than
> the requirements for a backstab - the SSB journal says of backstabbing:
>
> "A thief will stab if he attacks a target from exactly opposite the first
> character to attack the target. The thief may not back stab if he has
> readied armor heavier than leather (Exception: Elfin Chain Mail). A back stab
> has a better chance of hitting and does additional damage."
>
> A single class thief cannot ready armour heavier than leather or elfin
> chain, but a multi-class thief can: so that qualification on the ability to
> backstab is important. Note that backstabbing "has a better chance of
> hitting" - ie it affects THAC0 as well as damage.
>
> Cheers
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> To: UAForever@yahoogroups.com
> From: manikus5@...
> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:30:18 +0000
> Subject: [UAForever] Re: BackStabbing
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I don't believe there is anything explicit in the GoldBox games or in
> FRUA, and I'm not sure how one would test this. :)
> I do however think that there might be something in the 1e literature
> about this, and I vaguely recall a diagram from basic D&D that shows
> zones...but I think that the victim's AC may be modified instead of the
attacker's
> THAC0. I'll see what I can find.
>
> -manikus
>
> --- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, Steve McDonald <steve_mcdee@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > I'm pretty sure that FRUA also displayed the text "attacks from behind"
> in some circumstances where the attack came from behind. I have a feeling
> attackers may get a bonus to THAC0 if they attack from behind. Can anyone
> shed any more light on this?
> >
> >
>

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks Steve and Tom. :) The information you guys have provided is very helpful.

I will attempt to find specific numbers in the 1e books and hopefully we find
out that the GB games and FRUA were faithful.

-manikus

Determination of Which Way a Poor Schmuck is Facing - FRUA Style

   In FRUA, a monster (or character) will turn to face it's first attacker
in a melee round, regardless of subsequent attacks, until it's turn comes.
During it's turn, it may attack in any direction, and it's 'facing direction'
seems to go back to undetermined. If attacked after it's turn, it will face
that attacker, regardless of other attacks, and will remain so until the
following round when it is attacked or takes an action.

   For example, a fighter and a thief facing a single enemy delay their
actions until after the enemy attacks. The fighter then attacks, allowing the
thief opposite to attempt a backstab. If the thief gets first attack in the
next round, he may attempt another backstab from his current position. After
this attempt, the enemy will turn to face him, if still able.

   I don't know if other classes get an 'Attack From Behind' bonus* under
these circumstances, but it seems probable that if the 'facing direction' of a
target is established, the new 'facing direction' determination occurs
after an attack, rather than before.

   I do not maintain that this is the best or only way to do it, nor will I
say it's the way DC should do it. It is just how FRUA does it.

Tom Ward

*I've been testing for an 'Attack From Behind' adjustment for a couple of
days, and the results are far from conclusive.


In a message dated 6/17/2009 20:58:05 Central America Standard Time,
manikus5@... writes:


>
> I think that with the fix you mention (moving the victim facing attacker
> to after backstab being determined) that this is what we want. :)
>
> -manikus
>
> --- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, "Paul R. Stevens" <prsteven@...> wrote:
> >
> > Good Afternoon,
> >
> > I posted DC_COMBATANT_MakeAttack.gif
> >
> > at
> >
> > http://dianneandpaul.net/UAF
> >
> > The BackStab business will go into this function
> > quite nicely.  I think.
> >
> > Notice at the top we set the victim to face
> > the attacker.  Gotta fix that.  Probably move
> > it down near the end after we determine if a
> > BackStab occurred.
> >
> > It already keeps track of last attacker of
> > each combatant and last victim of each
> > combatant.  But I need to add something
> > to keep track of which direction the most
> > recent attack occurred for each combatant.
> > Easy.  Then determine if BackStab and,
> > if so, multiply the damage and change the
> > message.  More difficult but straight-forward.
> >
> > Notice that if the damage rolled is less than
> > one then the damage is set to one.  Is this good?
> >
> > Paul
> >
>

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Perhaps conceptually it should be the victim's AC that is modified. But positive
modification of AC and negative modification of THAC0 are of course equivalent.



The Secret of the Silver Blades Journal (and other gold box journals and rule
books) contains the following about attacking from behind (top of page 10 of the
SSB Journal):



"An attack is successful if the random number is greater than or equal to the
attacker's THAC0 minus the target's AC. THAC0 may be modified by range, 
attacking from the rear, magic weapons, and magic spells among other things."


It doesn't say exactly how THAC0 is affected. There may be a chance that the
target will realise they are being attacked from behind and turn around - if so,
I don't know how that reaction is calculated.



Note that "attacking from the rear" is a far less onerous requirement than the
requirements for a backstab - the SSB journal says of backstabbing:



"A thief will stab if he attacks a target from exactly opposite the first
character to attack the target. The thief may not back stab if he has readied
armor heavier than leather (Exception: Elfin Chain Mail). A back stab has a
better chance of hitting and does additional damage."


A single class thief cannot ready armour heavier than leather or elfin chain,
but a multi-class thief can: so that qualification on the ability to backstab is
important. Note that backstabbing "has a better chance of hitting" - ie it
affects THAC0 as well as damage.



Cheers

Steve









To: UAForever@yahoogroups.com
From: manikus5@...
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:30:18 +0000
Subject: [UAForever] Re: BackStabbing







I don't believe there is anything explicit in the GoldBox games or in FRUA, and
I'm not sure how one would test this. :)
I do however think that there might be something in the 1e literature about
this, and I vaguely recall a diagram from basic D&D that shows zones...but I
think that the victim's AC may be modified instead of the attacker's THAC0. I'll
see what I can find.

-manikus

--- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, Steve McDonald <steve_mcdee@...> wrote:
>
>
> I'm pretty sure that FRUA also displayed the text "attacks from behind" in
some circumstances where the attack came from behind. I have a feeling attackers
may get a bonus to THAC0 if they attack from behind. Can anyone shed any more
light on this?
>
>









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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I don't believe there is anything explicit in the GoldBox games or in FRUA, and
I'm not sure how one would test this. :)
I do however think that there might be something in the 1e literature about
this, and I vaguely recall a diagram from basic D&D that shows zones...but I
think that the victim's AC may be modified instead of the attacker's THAC0. I'll
see what I can find.

-manikus

--- In UAForever@yahoogroups.com, Steve McDonald <steve_mcdee@...> wrote:
>
>
> I'm pretty sure that FRUA also displayed the text "attacks from behind" in
some circumstances where the attack came from behind. I have a feeling attackers
may get a bonus to THAC0 if they attack from behind. Can anyone shed any more
light on this?
>
>