response 252 of 295:

Dec 23 00:53 UTC 1997

Granted some of my TSR products are novels. :)
Munchkin!!

response 254 of 295:

Dec 23 15:31 UTC 1997

Dark Sun novels are decent, Dragonlance tolerable, Forgotten Realms - well,
exist, Ravenloft make you feel bad for evil people, and well, I have yet to
read any of the PlaneScape novels (although I do own one).

response 256 of 295:

Dec 24 05:18 UTC 1997

<giggle> man, the only other person in town who hates dragonlance
with me;)
isn't it like a cheap rip on anne mcafrey sometimes?

response 258 of 295:

Dec 24 13:02 UTC 1997

Well, I just finished _Darkness & Light_ (although I'd concluded about 1/12th
of the way through this fact), Sturm Brightblade is a moron.

I dunno though, _The Legend of Huma_ and _Kaz the Minotaur_ were good, but
I have several Dragonlance novels left unread - though I attempted _Weasel's
Luck_ once, I think I quit 'cause it was one of the most boring novels I'd
read.  _The Magic of Krynn_ witch I used to own had some decent stories, while
most of them were less than shit.

response 260 of 295:

Dec 24 23:25 UTC 1997

Yes, but what can you do to be original except add your own twist to
pre-existing ideas?  It's not like we could write a 100% original fantasy.
It's been said that there are only 10 stories in the world, just with
something different about it.  Sorry about the literary drift, but if you want
originality you'll have to go back in time quite a time.  However, few, if
any, books I've seen have evil win in the "final" confrontation between good
and evil . . .

response 262 of 295:

Dec 25 03:36 UTC 1997

I have to agree about the Dragonlance books, but not really for the 
same reasons.  Specifically, while I rather like an original setting
(and the Dragonlance books did have some originalities to their setting
when they first game out, even if they certainly were derivitave) as 
well as anyone, what really gets my is an original story, and they just
weren't there.  Now, take Jhereg (about a mortal assassin trying to navigate
the politics of a vaguely oriental, incredibly deadly society largely peopled 
by, for the lack of a better term, Elves (AKA Dragereans)), or even Jack the
Giant Killer (modern teenager stumbles into the plots of Faerie) or the 
Riddlemaster of Hed (young king must discover the mystery of the three stars
across his forehead, not to mention discover the meanings of several ages old
"riddles.") trilogy, and you've got me hooked, original world (as Jhereg's 
Dragerea is), one build on the foundations of our myths, but original from 
them (as the world of the Riddlemaster series draws from the Celtic myth cycle,
not to mention the Lloyd Alexander books doing basically the same thing), or
solidly and explicitly set within the frame of known tales (as Jack is).

response 264 of 295:

Dec 26 03:32 UTC 1997

Gotta love 'em.
<dan thinks bjorn needs something new to occupy his time>

response 266 of 295:

Dec 27 02:58 UTC 1997

re:258   Sturm Brightblade is of the alignment "Lawful Stupid" (a concept
created by my friends at college, but incredibly apt, esp. in a case like
this).

response 268 of 295:

Dec 27 06:03 UTC 1997

Most PC Paladins tend to turn out that way.  Well, most PC Standard Paladins,
and the Solamnic Knights attempt (quite poorly, I might add) to be Paladins.
Lawful Stupid - Kill every evil thing you see without a second thought.
Lawful Good - I work in the name of good, and under the law, with order.  I
fight against evil, but not when I don't have to.

response 270 of 295:

Dec 28 02:32 UTC 1997

actually, that isn't exactly the defenition of lawful stupid that my friends
tend to use...
it goes something like this (or, at least, here are a fewexamples)
I'm honorable, therefore sneaking and skulking is bad, therefore I will
anonounce myself and charge at this castle full of 300 anti-paladins 20 dark
wizards and 12 or so dark priests...what do you mean I die?
or, alternately, \:
no! stealing is bad! we must give the dark adept his evil weapon of mass
destruction back! it is HIS, after all

I think you get the idea :)

response 272 of 295:

Dec 28 17:54 UTC 1997

now, the question is weather or not the palidin can justify sneaking around
as being acceptable.
as i understand paladins, they're supposed to be very similar to malikim
the warrior angels, with a multitude of oaths, but the main one's being
'suffer no evil to live' 'n stuff like that.
so, the question is, does it violate his/her personall ethics? and if it does
is it reasonable to assume that he's got enough brains to get over a
significantly universe/reality threataning threat? or especially if he follows
a god, a patron deity threataning thingymabober the other point is that,
instead of STEALING the evil wizard's spell book or whatever, you just smash
it... or better yet, have one of your freinds make it backfire in a
spectacular, and hopefully fatal way

response 274 of 295:

Dec 28 23:46 UTC 1997

Ah, but the Paladin is also an example of his church/temple/whatever.  How
are people going to be able to respect your faith if you kill everyone evil
you meet and your only justification is "he/she/it was evil"?  Paladins are
supposed to oppose evil, but "suffer no evil to live" gets you in the
dead-book pretty fast.  Despite a beings personal aspirations regarding
alignment, sometimes people of opposite alignment actually want to help you.
Just because he's Chaotic Evil and you're Lawful Good doesn't mean he isn't
useful, he may even be your friend - after all, changing alignment is ALWAYS
a possibility.  It also just doesn't do to have a kill everything evil
attitude when Planewalking, especially on Evilly aligned planes.  Planar
Paladins have been known to kill Prime Paladins and those of their own ranks
for that attitude and it isn't quick or plesant either.