New game

[The Choinski Family]

>> Well, I have just joined the P&P list a little while ago.
>
> Welcome aboard!  Oh, and this list tends to be a bit quiet...so don't
> panic if you don't get any mail from it for weeks. :-)

True, it would be noisier had we a game system that was under current
publishing, but hey at least you have us. :)

>> I haven't played in
>> a game yet so I would like to now exactly how the game works.
>
> Oh, is that all? ;-)  [yes, that was sarcasm].  P&P is a rather
> expansive game.  There are some basic rules/ways of doing things. Some of
> the general points:
>
> 2.  Magic is quite powerful.

Too powerful, in some ways.  many of the cheap and easy spells have very
far-reaching effects that can be abused without CAREFUL GM monitoring.

> 5.  Combat can be deadly and quick.  Your character has X amount of
> HitPoints (generic, not 'locational' or anything like that), and they only
> increase when your characteristics increase (Strength, Stamina and
> Constitution).  Typically, a character will have around 15 to 25hp.  The
> most important combat 'adjustment' that a character will generally have is
> his/her EL in the weapon used (Oh, EL is Expertise Level; how good you are
> at a skill).

The deadly and quick goes both ways...at low levels you can be easily taken
out by minor monsters...at high levels you become truly "conan-like" in your
ability to dish it out.

> 6.  Monsters are...er, 'wierd'.  No standard fantasy "Orc", for example.
> You get some cool baddies, that most players have NEVER encountered in your
> RPGing career...trust me.  (Oh, dragons, demons, giants, goblins, vampires
> and all that are represented...and are FRICKIN' tough, all things
> concidered...well, goblins aren't bad).

Many of the monsters are taken from other cultural mythology (lots of Celtic
influence here), not warmed over Tolkein or Christian mythos.

> 8. The DM has to know the game like the back of his/her hand.  Players
> also need to know what they are doing.  Once this is accomplished, P&P runs
> quite smoothly.

True.  There are many things in the rules that scare new players, such as
the umpteen formulas for skills and sub-attributes, but for the most part
they are dealt with in character creation.

       -- Burton