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From: pop@bunkerb.UUCP (Paul Pederson)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Elves, Magic & Teleportation
Message-ID: <522@bunkerb.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 11:36:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: bunkerb.522
Posted: Thu Jun 13 11:36:02 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Jun-85 06:40:50 EDT
References: <1028@dual.UUCP>
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In article <1028@dual.UUCP> brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) writes:
>
>      Why do you always hear about magical artifacts and such being 
>    made by elves?  The AD&D Players Handbook says that the maximum
>    level for an elven magic user is 11, well at 11th level you can 
>    cast spells up to 5th level... "Enchant An Item" is a 6th level 
>    spell..  There is a 4th level spell "Enchant Weapon" but this has 
>    a limited duration of 5 rounds/level and only enchants things to
>    +1 for that time...  
>
>                          Why is this??

I do believe it is also stated (either in DMG or Dragon) that level 
restrictions are for player characters only.  NPCs may be of any class,
and level.  I'm not positive as to WHY NPCs have such freedom  -- possibly
to give the game more balance?

It seems that there is a big hang up about AD&D rules by several people
on the net.  Let it be said that any system which attempts to define a universe
(or a broad portion of it) will be full of inconsistancies.  You will
find it true in mathematic theory, justice systems, etc..  How can a rules
system which attempts to define the constraints of an alter-ego within
an imaginary universe be any different?

The only way to avoid the inconsistancies is to vastly limit the system,
not the rules which define the system.  Not only will a large system be
full of inconsistancies, but also full of paradoxes.  Neither the
inconsistancies nor the paradoxes invalidate the system.  For each
inconsistancy, there is an exception to the rule (again, think of
mathematics - imaginary numbers, mapping of fractions to a real number
system, etc.).

Therefore, any system which attempts to define the rules of system as
broad as 'constraints of an alter-ego in an imaginary universe' will
be full of inconsistancies.  Exceptions to the general rule is the only
way to patch up these inconsistancies.  If you believe that AD&D fails
as a game system because of these inconsistancies or exceptions to the
rule, then you must also believe that any other system which attempts
to define rules for the same will also fail.

-Paul Pederson
.