# Jack Chick's "Dark Dungeons" - The classics stay fresh forever! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224 "2004-04-27T03:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/41 "2004-04-28T13:27:03Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > For the first time ever in one of campaigns, I have gender parity among my players: three women, three men. I had one campaign when I was 16 where a quarter of players were girls. > [@CalMeachem](#): > > So girls do, so, play. Fortunately for me, they also bury themselves very well in their characters. > [@FilmGeek](#): > > I’m a girl. > > I play every week. (D&D 3.5). I stand by my remarks – I think it’s important not to let little things like facts get in the way of a good joke. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/42 "2004-04-28T14:45:54Z")
Ah, Alberto! I knew I was forgetting a key horse in the Chick stable. [The real Alberto Rivera](http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ343.HTM) and [Chick’s take](http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0112/albertoinfo.asp) on him. You have GOT to read the comics linked on the bottom of this page! ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/43 "2004-04-28T15:07:58Z")
Hi! I’m playing Icewind Dale on the PC, my party just returned to Kuldahar from the Vale of Shadows, and I can’t find any level 2 spell scrolls anywhere in town! My gnome illusionist/thief is at level 4 now and doesn’t have a single level 2 spell in his book ☹ pls hlp… oh, and Hail Satan 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/44 "2004-04-28T15:32:35Z")
[One Man’s Attempt To Actually Cast Spells](http://www.theescapist.com/random011102.htm) So my girlfriend and I are working our way through Diablo 2 again, so we’re good, right? Cause we’re fighting evil? Only I’m playing a Sorceress, so am I evil? These metaphysical conundrums are so confusing. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/45 "2004-04-28T16:12:18Z")
Hi. I’m playing a neutral good female 13 level wizard, 13 level cleric elf in Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark and I’m out of storage space for all those neat items you get from killing people. I’ve temporarily hoisted them onto my henchmen so that I don’t lose them completely but I want to keep them until I can reimport my character into a different module because, let’s face it, you don’t get nearly what you should for items sold in HotU. My question is, am I going to Hell if I give myself some extra magic bags to hold all the nifty weapons and armor I got from killing (or is it rekilling?) the Order of the Long Death in Chapter 3? Oh, and what kind of sacrifice do I have to make to Satan to get BioWare to fix the ability to import characters into a saved game in the middle of a module instead of having to start from the beginning? ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/46 "2004-04-28T19:32:47Z")
_Two_ tracts about pencil and paper roleplaying. Two. Homosexuals are tying the knot in San Francisco, years of clinic bombings and propaganda and harrassment have not stopped abortions, George W Bush is slowly but steadily losing support, the Catholic church has been rocked to its foundations with the pedophilia accusations, online porn is bigger than ever…and he’s done TWO freaking tracts about **pencil and paper roleplaying!!** Seriously, does this guy have absolutely no sense of priority or what? Seriously, though, I hope Jack Chick keeps at it for a long time. I could always use a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/47 "2004-04-28T19:49:55Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > I think it’s impossible to exaggerate Chick’s beliefs, **Homebrew**. I should be doing work involving an HIV vaccine, but this is more important (or fun, I get those words mixed up some times) 😉 > > [From “He Came to Set the Captives Free”, 1986 a confession by an Ex-wife of Satan (not kidding)](http://www.monsterwax.com/chicktapes3.html) :: picks up jaw from floor :: Oh my … And here I thought you were kidding us. I guess anyone who believes in other supernatural creatures like demons and angels (and Gods) might as well believe in werewolves, too. ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/48 "2004-04-28T20:02:32Z")
> [@](#): > > by Hamish > First of all, a character is dying at -1 hit points, not dead. Any DM that throws in a trap that can reduce a fully healthy character to -10 (dead) has made a serious error in judgment – and it’s up to the DM to find a way to correct it. Any player who disables a trap, takes on a tough monster, etc, when they are almost dying is either stupid or desperate. > > If they’re desperate, it’s okay for the DM to fudge dice roles or throw in a deus ex machina, as long as they’re subtle about it. A character who is dying can be treated with the heal skill until they are stable (no longer losing one hit point per round), assuming there’s no magical healing available. What kind of wussy GM are you! 😃 First off, I agree with you that a dead PC should not be a common occurance…but it should happen often enough. The problem with not killing off PC’s is there is no fear of death. Players can do all sorts of stupid, aggressive things and know that the GM will ‘fudge’ it so they live or, if they die, it is only an inconvenience. Some GM’s it would be almost a joke with PC’s seeing how far they could push the GM before he actually killed you. Not when I GM’d. You had a real fear of death. It was very difficult if not impossible to just find a cleric hanging around to resurrect you. Yes, you weren’t dead until -10 HP and bled out at 1 HP per round until stablized, which tended to keep players alive but it was very possible to take a hit knocking you down past -10 initially. Hey, that’s the risk. Not every encounter is to be fought or, if forced upon you, to not be run from. Some wisdom is needed. On the plus side, I never hindered a PC from rentering the party. Yes, they may be first level but they shoot up levels fast. I had many people playing when I GM’d that were new to me that were shocked when they found out that, yes, they died…and yes, they had to roll a new character. After some time, many said they preferred it that way. The very real possibility of death added ‘spice’ to the game. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/49 "2004-04-28T21:38:57Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > OK, so I point my fingers and say the magic word, but nothing comes out. They worked so hard on getting it accurate, and damn it, I’m just not learning real magic. _What am I doing wrong?_ Two things: 1. You forgot to roll for the 1d4 +1 damage. 2. You abort the spell too soon. “1 standard action” is, in fact, ten minutes in duration. As for wussy GMs, I play **Paranoia,** where characters get vaped just by improperly saluting Friend Computer. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/50 "2004-04-29T00:17:02Z")
You’re right about that damage. I’ll try it again. But one standard action is only 6 seconds, so I’m sure I’m okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/51 "2004-04-29T01:23:10Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > While I don’t doubt that ol’ Chick believes in Werewolves in the employ of the Vatican, do you have a link to which tract that’s in. There’s no way I’m going to thumb through them all looking for it. Yeah, apparently Remus Lupin is a Jesuit. Go figure. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/52 "2004-04-29T13:19:56Z")
> [@Gamaliel](#): > > I need to learn that “mind bondage” spell so I can get people to buy me stuff. C’mon, if the “mind bondage” stuff worked then women would do practically all the spending and buying … [hey, wait a minute!](http://www.count-me-in.org/press/postdispatch.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/53 "2004-04-30T03:35:38Z")
> [@andymurph64](#): > > The problem with not killing off PC’s is there is no fear of death. Players can do all sorts of stupid, aggressive things and know that the GM will ‘fudge’ it so they live or, if they die, it is only an inconvenience. Some GM’s it would be almost a joke with PC’s seeing how far they could push the GM before he actually killed you. As I said above, I will kill a character if they do something stupid enough. But it’s not a problem in my campaign. We’re big on the role-playing, and combat is fairly secondary. After all, if it was just about pumping up characters to uinsane levels of power, we’d all be playing video games, of which I have an ample supply. Oh, and I’ve decided to name an NPC rogue Black Leaf, in honour of the Chick Tract. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224/54 "2004-04-30T07:40:42Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > But one standard action is only 6 seconds, Oh, sure, if you’re playing with them newfangled fancy-schmancy 3rd Edition rules. Back in **my** day, a melee round took an entire minute. And we-e-e-e-e-e liked it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-chicks-dark-dungeons-the-classics-stay-fresh-forever/242224.md?page=2)