(TFT) Wizard Scans & Other Magical Topics

[Nocstar <shepherd93@insightbb.com>]

Ah, questions and more questions! This is exactly what happens when we 
discuss this topic. However I wasn't clear about the nature of the scan. We 
have always considered it a "mental" scan as opposed to a "visual" scan 
related to the developed auras of the schooled wizard. As a result, line of 
sight is not relevant. We have never been able to agree on range or size of 
area affected. The wizards in our group are hesitant to do anything that 
gives them away. Only the most powerful wizard can afford to advertise the 
fact that he is a wizard unless he belongs to a powerful guild. The wizards 
in our group tend to dress like rogues and often wear leather armor.

The warriors in our group covet any magic defense item they can find. 
Reverse Missiles and Spell Shield are always in high demand and you haven't 
arrived if you don't have at least one. If our group is heading off to an 
adventure, they are often supplied well enough to be a target for some 
other group of adventurers. This happened to them once and taught them to 
keep a low profile after the third group of NPC adventurers assaulted them.

A little history of our group
We have been gaming together since 1970. We have played several systems as 
well as other types of war games but TFT has always been the favorite. We 
are the best of friends but it is a different story "on the boards". As I 
said before I am always the GM because I enjoy the detail and planning and 
the others don't. They prefer to play two or three characters at a time. I 
can tell you from a GM's viewpoint, I don't believe a more cutthroat, back 
stabbing bunch of players ever existed! They never fully trust each other 
because they know (and rightly so) that each one of them has their own 
personal agenda. The list of characters that has died in their group is 
astounding. They are the worst bunch of rules lawyers you ever ran across. 
They can loophole and play the angles like the best of them. They are the 
creative minds that come up with all sorts of outlandish interpretations of 
the rules.

"If someone is carrying a pouch of exploding gems, will they explode if he 
runs? Can I hit the pouch with a magic fist and set them off?"

They definitely keep me on my toes. But I know how to wreak my vengeance.

"You see a shining silver chased gauntlet lying in the center of a large 
scorched area. It seems to pulse with power."

While they always agree to split the loot equally, history has shown that 
possession is 9/10 of the law when the loot is hard to split. Thus they are 
often conflicted between their greed to own and self-preservation. They 
often shift alliances within their group if they think any one of them is 
getting too powerful. To give you an idea of how they might handle the 
above situation, the wizard acting on knowledge he has of the group 
members, might throw a Control Person spell on the lowest IQ member of the 
group and command him to pick up the item and put it on. Based on the 
results, he will then either command the player to give the item to him or 
sweep away the ashes to see if any of the player's items survived. They 
don't act like this all the time, but they have done it enough that the 
potential is always there. They seem like a black-hearted band of 
sociopaths but when I commented on this bahavior of theirs, their response 
was that they break into people's homes, murder them and steal their 
wealth. What should I expect? We have some interesting roleplaying but they 
demand a heavy dose of hack and slash. One thing they have held true in is 
they never abandon one of their own to the enemy if at all possible. It 
seems to be okay for them to rip each other off but no one outside the band 
had better try.

There is one thing that will solidify them like lead. All they need to hear 
is that a certain relentless psychopathic bounty hunter called the 
Witch-Hunter is in the neighborhood. Eigon Streele taught them fear once in 
the past. I love to play with these guys. Our campaigns are mature but 
nothing is sacred. And when we "hit the boards" they rarely break 
character. After 33 years of gaming with them I have enough material to 
write several fantasy novels.
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