Good, Clean, Oldtimey Fun!

[pyat]

"...you can ride back with me. I'm going, and I'll show you what my new electric car can do."

"Good!" cried the young bank cashier. "You're just in time. I was wondering how I could kill two hours, but now I'll get in your new car and--"

"And maybe we'll kill a few chickens, or a dog or two when we get her speeded up," put in Tom, with a laugh in which Ned joined."

- Tom Swift and his Electric Runabout, 1910

Comments

[mmsword.livejournal.com]

Fact: Domestic cats are the bane of low level adventurers in D&D.
Fact: Templates can be added to anything.
Fact: Dickens's love for the undead is well documented.
Fact: I should probably stop this line of thought before it's too late.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Really? I don't think I've ever fought a cat in D&D.

Though, once, when I GMed MERP, I killed a player with a bluejay!

[mmsword.livejournal.com]

It... was a popular pastime for some of my friends. See... D&D has a bit of a problem when it comes to balance at low level for various classes. Take a look here to see the numbers: http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/srd/srd_revised_html/MonstersAnimals.html

Essentially, the domestic cat ends up being a tiny ninja with multiple natural attacks. Sure they don't take much to take out of a fight, but actually getting to the cat and hitting it are entirely different matters. It can be a challenge for a fighter type and down right deadly to casters who don't have Magic Missile on hand. And pity the poor commoner NPC cat owner who tries to wash their cat... They haven't a prayer: http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/srd/srd_revised_html/NPCClasses.html

Tolkien's creative process worked much the same way.

[thebitterguy]

Though, once, when I GMed MERP, I killed a player with a bluejay!

In an early draft of LotR, five hobbits left on a voyage, but then encountered a vicious thrush.

Re: Tolkien's creative process worked much the same way.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Well, heck, Tolkien was all about low-level monsters. In "Hobbit", the world's most powerful magic user has to hide in a tree because of a dozen goblins.