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12:42 pm
April 21, 2011
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Dramaman
| | Midwest | |
| Wizard | posts 379 | |
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I've long been amused by the bonuses that the PHB gives a Ranger against giant class creatures. I have no problems with the bonuses themselves, but found the list of what comprises the 'giant' class to be questionable, to say the least. Obviously giants and other large humanoids make sense, but then the list goes on to include goblins and…kobolds? This is such an obvious discrepancy that I have to think that at some point the designers issued some kind of explanation or mea culpa.
Regardless, I simply handle it by assuming they meant man sized or larger humanoids, and I exclude kobolds and goblins (which I consider ever so slighly smaller than man-sized).
I'm curious how others interpret this and if anyone knows the backstory behind this confusing list of 'giant' class creatures.
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Gnewton Gnorlock – Illusionist/Thief 1/1 level
Etruna, Mistress of the Sacred Grove – Druid 1st level
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2:03 pm
April 21, 2011
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angelicdoctor
| | Deep in the Heart of Texas | |
| Conjurer | posts 17 |  
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I wonder if this was addressed in a Dragon magazine…Anyone who has the CD archive is certainly encouraged to search on this…
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'I won Dungeons & Dragons! And it was Advanced!' – Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne
Sir Godfrey Arkadeus des Chevaliers, Cavalier 1st level
Jamabarn's PbP on Dragonsfoot.org
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4:16 pm
April 21, 2011
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dietyrangerlordsalace
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| Theurgist | posts 40 | |
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idk but ranger pwn and ranger kill gaints np!
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3:53 pm
April 22, 2011
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Martijn
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| Theurgist | posts 49 | |
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That also baffles me. But, if you want an explanation:
1. in ad&d, there is also evolution (hey, in real world there is also a mouse-like creature which is a nephew of the elephant). So, the kobolds, giants etc share a common ancestor which the ranger has always loathed.
2. the game designers were playing a prank on us: "we put this in the PHB, and they will still be talking about this 40 years later".
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9:36 am
April 26, 2011
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Lass
| | 3rd Base | |
| Moderator
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Yeah it is a bit silly… but still sorta conditional. Kobolds, goblins and orcs are pretty low lvl monsters so the ranger out grows them before that dmg bonus becomes too overwhelming. As for the Giants, Ive not faced them very often in the games Ive played. Perhaps Im exceptional in this regard… then again I never played the G series in which case a ranger must be a powerhouse, esp with UA weapon spec handing out more attacks withmore dmg.
Best thing I can think of is toss a dragon his way… or perhaps the scariest encouter of all, another well balanced, well geared party.
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4:12 pm
April 26, 2011
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dietyrangerlordsalace
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| Theurgist | posts 40 | |
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i did tons and without ranger we would of been dead
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10:06 pm
May 21, 2011
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Azeoth
| | Waukesha, WI | |
| Theurgist | posts 26 | |
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I don't know the backstory, but I have a theory. The giant in 'Giant' class creatures is always listed with the parentheses around it. I've often wondered if that aspect of the ranger class was referring to the story of Jack the Giant killer. I thought that there was a referrence in the 2nd edition PH to rangers being like Jack the Giant killer (as well as Robin Hood). I think that it would have been more appropriate if they had called it Humanoid class creatures.
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Jayson played his first game of AD&D in 1983, and still plays with the books he bought from a musty secondhand gaming shop in Des Moines back then. 
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