A slice of life.

[theweaselking]

Me: "I've just discovered an interesting new term in RPG rules discussions - the 'bag of rats' rule"
torrain: "Sounds intriguing. What's that?"
Me: "Well, D&D Warlocks get superpowers when an enemy they have 'cursed' dies. The Bag Of Rats rule says, in essence, that a Warlock can't carry around a bag of pre-cursed rats and bash them against a wall any time he needs a good, long teleport. Generalising, it's requiring that your powers have a meaningful target before they start working."
torrain: "Oh! So it prevents just having a bucket of mice and a potato masher!"

Why am *I* supposed to be the sick one, here?

Comments

[dreamshade.livejournal.com]

Well, let's face it - you heard about the idea of slaughtering rats just for the sake of moving yourself a few feet in one direction from someone who had already thought of it.

[ianhess.livejournal.com]

Flashback to the 1st ed animate dead spell + sledgehammer = free xp.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I just didn't know there was a term for banning it. I've though of that kind of thing all the way back to L5R and the Dragon Samurai arranging a line of peasants to allow him instant travel to his destination - after all, any time he kills an enemy, he gets to move and attack again, and peasants are obedient, easy to hit, and die in a single attack....

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Nice!

[endotoxin.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a legitimate spell-crafting technique to me... at least for some of the dark-aligned characters. "Igor, go round up the peasants. I've got to make a run to the grocers today." They're just spell-components.

[dreamshade.livejournal.com]

Well, of course, if you're talking about L5R, that would probably cost you a hit to your honor. Maybe it's more of a Scorpion clan move. :V

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Sadly, just like the rats in the bag, most peasants object to being spell components.

And rats in a bag will escape. Peasants will mob you with pitchforks and torches.

[pyroofone.livejournal.com]

That amused me greatly, thank you.

Similar Concept

[weaselpants.livejournal.com]

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Peasant_Railgun

[nomadmwe.livejournal.com]

Similarly, in 3.0/3.5, the Bag o' Rats was used in combination with Cleave and Whirlwind Attack. Drop the bag, and Whirlwind Attack when the boss monster is next to you.

Kill a rat, cleave into the boss. Kill a rat, cleave into the boss. Etc.

Then they fixed it such that you can't trigger Cleave off of Whirlwind Attack and it got better.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I usually heard that as "hive of wasps", not "bag of rats".

And for bonus points, you used a Keen Vorpal Scimitar.

Re: Similar Concept

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Legal, yes.

But the final damage is that of a single peasant throwing an improvised weapon. By the rules, you don't get any bonus damage, even if a billion people readied an action to pass the item on to you.

[nomadmwe.livejournal.com]

Weirdly, I never heard of using the Keen Vorpal Scimitar, but in retrospect that makes perfect sense. Good call.

Re: Similar Concept

[pyroofone.livejournal.com]

In theory in 3.5 yes. Everyone delays their action until the guy behind them (presuming the thing is moving forwards) hands them the pole, then they get to act. Which is to pass it to the guy in front of them, who's action then starts because he's waiting for the guy behind him to act. etc etc etc.

Silly but the printed rules don't shoot it down such as I know.

Re: Similar Concept

[pyroofone.livejournal.com]

ah, in addition: WK above is correct, You could move something that distance, but the system rules do not improve it's damage due to that movement.

Re: Similar Concept

[jagash.livejournal.com]

That is however, an awesome way to transport explosives.

Re: Similar Concept

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Possible in D&D4, too. But no matter how many people ready an action to pass it on, it doesn't do bonus damage for distance.

Re: Similar Concept

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Why wouldn't you just have the guy at the front (or next to the front) carry it?

Re: Similar Concept

[pyroofone.livejournal.com]

Hah, that's not a bad idea. Highly amusing in a very lemmings kind of way as well!

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Keen Vorpal Scimitar + Improved Crit (Scimitar) = crit on 12+, making one attack per wasp and Great Cleave onto the dragon. If *ANY ONE* of those potential crits becomes a real crit, dragon dies instantly.

This is not the reason I hate D20. It's nowhere *near* the reason I hate D20. But it's an example of the attitude that tends to make me hate D20.

Re: Similar Concept

[jagash.livejournal.com]

1) Depending on GM, it might still impart improved distance on the throw.
2) Timed explosives
3) You can keep sending one explosive (from your depot in your home base) every 12 seconds and even if the first in line dies, you can keep on firing.

Re: Similar Concept

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Is this like mocking the Gnome Bard by insisting on singing Oompa Loompa, Munchkin, Chipmunks, and Raffi songs every time he says "Okay, I use Song Of Whatever"?

Re: Similar Concept

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

If your GM is going to be by-the-rules enough to allow infinite distance instant transport, he's also necessarily going to be by-the-rules enough to say you don't get extra range, because the rules only IMPLY infinite distance transport while they SPECIFY no extra range and damage.

[sanityimpaired.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of boiling an anthill.

Ah, the terrible things that happen without the Rule of Lame.

[nomadmwe.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised how long it took them to fix it such that Improved Crit and Keen no longer stacked, really.

I can agree with you about d20. It was lots of fun, with the right group - but one person could really ruin it for everyone else. I'd ask why you hate it, but I imagine that'd be an entry or three right there.