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From: tim@unc.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Kill ORCUS contest and Magic resistance
Message-ID: <5969@unc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Oct-83 16:22:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5969
Posted: Tue Oct  4 16:22:01 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Oct-83 02:32:26 EDT
References: watmath.5852
Lines: 29

Magic resistance is very ill-defined in AD&D.  My earlier article was an
attempt to make sense of it in terms of the definitions given in the Monster
Manual and Deities and Demigods.  This is difficult to do, since the Monster
Manual definition is just plain wrong, but I think the idea of giving magic
resistance to ALL magic effects is best.  If the effect is a spell or
something else which has a clear level (for instance, wands are sixth level,
according to the DMG), weight the percentage accordingly.  If the effect is
an artifact, treat it as being 20th level.  Anything else requires you to
use the basic (11th level) magic resistance percentage.

The reason for this last rule should be obvious to anyone who plays (and not
just talks about the game).  It is there to prevent a lot of player
character arguments and spot subjective DM decisions, two really bad things
for the flow of play.  If you wanted to base it on the X.P. value of the
item in some well-defined way, I would have no objections, but this is how I
do it.  The game rules as written do not support anything else.

The only real "extra" rule I add to magic resistance is that it is only
possible to resist magic when you are conscious, and that it does take a
conscious decision to do so.  (This can be made when an offensive spell
hits; that is, reaction time is close to null.)  This means that a Trap The
Soul will effect you if you choose to accept the soul prison, regardless of
magic resistance.  If you knew in advance, you could choose to resist, but
not otherwise.

_____________________
Tim Maroney
duke!unc!tim (USENET)
tim.unc@udel-relay (ARPA)