Sunday, August 2, 2026

2 August 2026 DM's Guide: Exploration and Combat, Including Spell Casting (pgs. 47-80)

     As I've said, I played the shit out of this game for about 20 years, but I never actually played it rules as written (RAW). This next section covers outdoor travel, air combat, underwater combat, types of ships, the planes of existence, infravision, ultravision, and invisibility. Then, combat, which is extraordinarily granular--weapon speeds, initiative, surprise (including while taking a dump, pg. 62), encounter reactions (something I've definitely never used), and grenade-like weapons.  Morale, pursuit, evasion, combat positioning, and rules for a monk's open hand melee on a chart that includes level, height, and weight of opponents! Grappling, pummeling, and overbearing, attack roll matrixes, and turning the undead. A lot going on in these pages! 

    Of particular interest is the section on spell casting during melee (pg. 65). It is not easy to be a wizard in this game. If a caster is interrupted during spell preparation, they lose their spell.  I quoth the Gygax: "Intelligent monsters able to recognize the danger of spells will direct attacks against spell casters if not engaged by other opponents so as to be prevented from so doing." Spell casters cannot use their dexterity bonus while casting, and must be motionless (so no movement). Compared to the D&D 5e rules for wizards in combat, this is incredibly difficult stuff. 



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17 August 2026 DM's Guide: Creating Magic Items, Magic Items, and the Appendices (pg. 114-230)

            Finished. The last part of the book lent itself to some skimming as there are many, many tables and a long section of alphabetic...