How do we feel about playing and DMing in ALFA?

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:13 am

I can't believe I have to actually *argue* that a chicken can't realistically kill you with it's spurs.... I think ALFA has finally jumped the shark. Or at least Zel and Jayde have.

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:15 am

Silly Mulu, where PCs are concerned, it's impossible for anyone to have just 1 HP in ALFA.

Therefore, your whole argument is, by default, incorrect.

No, like I said, what HP represent and degrees of damage as they equate in the mechanical system of DnD might be interpretted differently by you or me or the next person but the simple fact of the matter is that a small animal can hurt you just as badly as a minor nick from a blade.

If you actually disagree with any of the following points, then I suppose we can still debate it, but I might call you daft:

1. Small animals (such as normal rats and chickens) should not be able to kill you.
2. Small animals should not even attack you under normal circumstances.
3. Small animals do not normally band together to gang up on you under normal circumstances (rat hordes exempted, perhaps)
4. No single small animal in and of itself should be able to cause major damage to a human being.
5. It is quite possible for a small animal to cause appreciable damage to a human being.
6. It is highly UNLIKELY that a small animal will cause traumatic damage to any individual person.
7. ALFA's current method of handling animal attacks in NWN1 is broken.

Debate THAT, Contrary Man!!!

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:19 am

Also, please QUOTE the part where I say, ANYWHERE that chickens can kill you?

dumB!

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:27 am

JaydeMoon wrote:Silly Mulu, where PCs are concerned, it's impossible for anyone to have just 1 HP in ALFA.

Therefore, your whole argument is, by default, incorrect.

Except you're wrong. If a PC gets whacked with a club, runs away with 1 hp remaining, the chicken is *still* not realistically going to be able to kill him, but in ALFA it's possible. Anything that can do 1 hp of damage can kill you, period. Having played a PC in ALFA that was not a cleric and for the first few levels could not afford CLW potions, I can say that many many times I traveled around with only 1 hp after a bad encounter with no means to heal myself. Frequently in Jello walk mode so also unable to escape anything.

JaydeMoon wrote: 1. Small animals (such as normal rats and chickens) should not be able to kill you.

Then they can't be allowed to do even 1 hp of damage, or else they could potentially kill you. Seriously, this is a really easy concept. Even the Hawaiian sun can't bake your brain that much.

JaydeMoon wrote:2. Small animals should not even attack you under normal circumstances.
3. Small animals do not normally band together to gang up on you under normal circumstances (rat hordes exempted, perhaps)

I would only except rat hordes due to their use in movies, not as anything realistic. Even a hundred rat bites would not kill you, unless you were a hemophiliac or something. It would hurt, but it would not be fatal. A disease might kill you later, but that's not a measure of the injuries caused.

JaydeMoon wrote:4. No single small animal in and of itself should be able to cause major damage to a human being.
5. It is quite possible for a small animal to cause appreciable damage to a human being.

If you define appreciable as "mortal," then no you are smoking something. I suppose a really lucky hit could scratch your eye out. You still wouldn't die.

JaydeMoon wrote:6. It is highly UNLIKELY that a small animal will cause traumatic damage to any individual person.

I would restate this as "impossible" since you can't make a monster that only does 1 hp of damage 0.01% of the time. So, your choices are: small animal can cause mortal wounds if it hits, or small animal cannot cause mortal wounds if it hits. That's all the game system allows. I choose the latter.

JaydeMoon wrote:7. ALFA's current method of handling animal attacks in NWN1 is broken.

Debate THAT, Contrary Man!!!

Well, I can't debate the last one, but the rest were pretty easy.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:28 am

Oh, and BTW, that SCA dude I quoted was Dr. William Ernoehazy, Jr., a board certified specialist in the field of Emergency Medicine and a Naval Officer.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:34 am

So, I told my wife I was actually debating in ALFA whether or not a chicken could kill a human, and she said, "I only hope you're on the side that is arguing it can't happen."

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:38 am

I submit you're arguing for the sake of arguing.

Point 1 you didn't argue, you just moved on to YOUR next point.

Points 2 and 3 you didn't really debate, you just expounded on, in an argumentative tone.

Point 4 you failed to mention that you weren't debating... lumping it into...

Point 5, which you also didn't debate, simply clarifying a word to your convenience so that you could make an attempt at debating it. Obviously appreciable is not defined as mortal as it would directly conflict with several of my other points. But for your benefit, appreciable here means anything that might make you go, "Ow! That sure does smart!"

Point 6 you delve into game mechanics, which is a totally different debate, I thought I made that clear, but in your hurry to prove your own point, you conveniently ignore statements made by others, it's a common ALFA debate tactic, I've noticed.

Point 7 is what it is.

So, to reiterate, I think you're just making a lot of noise here. Which is fine, that's all I'm doing. It's good fun.

danielmn · Post by **danielmn** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:38 am

Maybe a chicken can't....

But a big canary named Big Bird can stomp your wizzie butt into kingdom come!

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:46 am

Page ten... it's on the horizon!!!

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:55 am

And here I thought I was just being efficient. You really want a point by point? Okay.

1. Agreed, but your statements don't support your conclusion. 1 hp of damage is potentially lethal, period. That means if a chicken can do 1 hp of damage, then it can kill a PC
2. Agreed.
3. Agreed, even though I don't think even a rat horde doing mortal (1 hp+) damage is realistic.
4. Agreed
5. Should be a restatement of 4, unless you are defining appreciable as measureable in hit points. If you can measure it in hit points, it is potentially lethal. Even DJ spinmaster can't get around that conclusion. Sometimes you *do* only have 1 hp, and commoners and other NPC can also have only 1 hp.
6. I stick by my original response.
7. ditto

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:01 am

Mulu... I want to point out that I don't have ANY hit points. Hit points are this imaginary thing made up so that this game called DnD could be played.

I don't have hit points. You don't have hit points. If a chicken pecks me, it doesn't do hit point damage. If you shoot me, it doesn't do hit point damage.

Because I don't have hit points.

None.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:02 am

Our discussion is obviously in the context of the game, duh.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to give my daughter a parade using DM client.

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:14 am

ZOMG! Parade!!!

I wantz to come!!!

psycho_leo · Post by **psycho_leo** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:18 am

Vaelahr · Post by **Vaelahr** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:22 am

Werechicken! I say we make them a playable race!