ok, so my emailing the combat manager to myself, didn't work, but I found the link Mended originally gave me and I was able to download CM onto my computer at work. I'm just hoping they don't find out & that I get in trouble for that! :o
The problem now is I don't have the party members since before I just loaded them from HL into CM. Maybe I can copy the saved PC files and email them to myself? .... All the work a DM has to go through!!!! ;) (Just cause I don't want to have to rely on the old pen and paper notepad! Hahahaha)
You can actually "Save the Combat State." It saves all the information in the combat window, and then email that to yourself, or save it in Google Drive and download it that way. It will have all the characters exactly as they are on your other copy of Combat Manager. Then if you want to make sure not to lose them, you can save each PC in the "Monster Editor." Just right click on the PC and click "Save as Custom Monster." Then a local copy of that PC will be searchable and findable as a "Monster" for later extraction. :)
If you have all these restrictions to work around, maybe you would be better off with something cloud-based, or an app on your phone? There is a version of combat manager for android, I see.
To the earlier points of people rehashing characters.. Tangar is one of those, I started playing him back in the 90s with friends, and then brought him online for a PBP. I took this opportunity to do so again.. I really do have that family well thought out.. the father figure is my very first character.. lol.. he's been tweeked and shaped over the years ( almost 40 years lol) into his current concept. Every level was played out, and he's dumped a lot of magic over the years. it's crazy the stuff you accumulate lol
I have also played his older brother Thorgir.. and used various members of the family as NPCs for games I've run.. it's been fun.. so I thought I'd bring them to Pathfinder as well lol..
You can actually "Save the Combat State." It saves all the information in the combat window, and then email that to yourself, or save it in Google Drive and download it that way. It will have all the characters exactly as they are on your other copy of Combat Manager. Then if you want to make sure not to lose them, you can save each PC in the "Monster Editor." Just right click on the PC and click "Save as Custom Monster." Then a local copy of that PC will be searchable and findable as a "Monster" for later extraction. :)
Thanks Mended! I'll look into that! ... How do I go about saving it in Google drive? Drive is still very new to me! I've become more knowledgeable about Google drawings due to setting up this campaign, but I have no idea how to save something else into Google drive?
EDIT: Of course I'll have to wait 'til I get back home to do all that! But that's fine! At least it's a possibility! And besides saving them individually, I should save them as a party as well right?
If you have all these restrictions to work around, maybe you would be better off with something cloud-based, or an app on your phone? There is a version of combat manager for android, I see.
I appreciate the idea Ozzy, but regrettably I use an old-fashioned pre-paid flip-phone! I actually use my phone for PHONE-CALLS! What a novel idea huh?
If you have all these restrictions to work around, maybe you would be better off with something cloud-based, or an app on your phone? There is a version of combat manager for android, I see.I appreciate the idea Ozzy, but regrettably I use an old-fashioned pre-paid flip-phone! I actually use my phone for PHONE-CALLS! What a novel idea huh?
You mean like Skype? ;)
Seriously though, they actually have prepaid android phones now. You can even buy one for 20 bucks and never activate it. It will probably have an old version of android, a low-res screen, and very minimal storage (though they usually have microSD expansion in that case), but you can still use it for mobile apps. For better specs, you Gazelle has used phones pretty cheap.
Also, Amazon's fire tablets run android and are dirt cheap (though you have to manually install the play store). Just saying, there are options.
Thanks Ozzy. I may look into that in the future, but right now after all the time off from work with no income my budget is EXTREMELY tight!
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Now, something else just reminded me of my personal favorite DnD genre story. I did a search in both Mended's game and mine and it looks Like I have not shared this so ... (I won't be offended if you skip it, but it is a great story IMHO!)
I shall now have to tell you all the story of how a 100 Gp magic item, saved my entire party (ESPECIALLY me!)!
We were fighting a Giant Purple Worm. Not going well. Then it happened ... the worm managed to pick me up in it's mouth and was about to swallow me whole.
The DM said I had time for one action. I was wearing a Heward's Handy Haversack. In case you don't know, whatever item you are thinking of is automatically on top & you can retrieve it as a ...move? action I believe it is. So, ...
I told the DM I was pulling out my Feather token of Swan boat! Again, in case you don't know, upon activation this item will turn into a full size boat capable of carrying ... something like 30 men.
So I pulled that out, throwing into the worm's throat as I activated it!
The DM's jaw literally dropped open! He didn't say anything, he just stood up, and started pacing back and forth for about a full minute.
Finally he came back and said he had to allow it. He could find no reason not to. He made a few different rolls and the worm exploded into shreds! I went flying! I took a good bit of falling damage, but survived! He also rolled dice to randomly see where I fell. As it turned out I landed on the Mage's stairway that was hidden by an illusion and we could not find! The Feather Token of Swan Boat that cost 100 Gp saved the day!
So, the lesson is,
Yeah, there are some magic items that can put a GM in a tough situation. I once heard a story of something that happened in a game involving a high-speed train and an immovable rod. You can guess the details.
Feather tokens, in particular, can be really overpowered if the GM lets you get away with certain uses.
I started right at the end of 2nd ed. Did 2.5 (was there a 3? Must a been, don't recall) then 3.5 for a long time with a DM (right Tamlara?), and then 4th was published ...
played it. Due to my DnD addiction and the need to fuel it and a lack of someone doing 3.5 I continued on 4th. I was having the shakes reeeaaallll bad! Then I had to move to another continent and had to leave all that behind, so 4th did have the good point of making it easier for me to break away from DnD. But yeah, it.
Absolutely!! To both of those Luckily my husband still runs 3.5, or a version of it blended with pathfinder. He's a fantastic, super-marvelous, wonderful husband! Btw, Stormy, he says thank you for the birthday wishes.
Sorry to have to this say this, but I'm afraid I've got to bow out of this game. Real life has suddenly become far more demanding, and I don't think I'll be able to keep up postings of any reasonable quality, not to mention Zero didn't translate well from my mind to character page. Sorry. I'll try and have Zero leave organically but that's the best I can manage.
I am sorry to see you leaving Zero! If you ever want back in just let me know!
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high-speed train - immovable rod ... OH MY!!!! Hahahahaha!
Goodbye Zero. Fun while it lasted.
Generally, while Zero is a loss, the group was a bit big. That leaves us with 5 plus Alex, which seems a good sized group.
Well, I thought my first payday after going back to work was going to be on 3/10, but miscalculated and it will be on 3/17. So my rent is going to be late for the first time since I moved in here in December and only by 2 weeks.
My jerk of a landlord is threatening to evict me.
If I had somewhere else that i could go, i would do so just for the sake of getting away from him.
He sent me a text saying I should have gone back to work full time instead of part time. How is that going to change when my payday is???
In one of his text (BTW, he sent me EIGHT text in the space of 3 hrs! Doesn't that constitute harassment?) he says "your fine to sit at your laptop for hours yet unable to work"! Hello! Until last week, the longest I could sit up was about 3-3.5 hrs before I had to lay back down. They won't allow laying down at my job!
I think a big part of what's going on, is that they recently had a vehicle break down & had to pay to fix that and this coming weekend they are going to some church retreat event and he was hoping to have the money for that.
Thanks for letting me vent! Sorry if I bothered anybody!
Goodbye Zero. Fun while it lasted.
Generally, while Zero is a loss, the group was a bit big. That leaves us with 5 plus Alex, which seems a good sized group.
I fully agree! This size group is going to be much better!
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BTW, I have read most of Thornkeep including the first dungeon. By the time I had finished reading that first dungeon, it was crystal clear that I want to send you all to the Spire first! I wold rather not do a TPK on my first dungeon!
Seriously! I couldn't believe some of the encounters they have for a 1st lev party! AND the map is done with 10' squares?!?!?! Come on!!!! I didn't look to see when it was published, but really? I'm surprised at Paizo actually putting out something w/10' squares. That much more work for me as the DM! Before we play that I will 'edit' it to have 5' squares.
Sorry that your health problems have compounded into economy problems Stormstrider. Not sure it's of any help, but if you signed a lease agreement or a rental agreement, which is usually a standard procedure, your landlord can't evict you without due process. Unfortunately, if you didn't sign any kind of contract or agreement, your landlord CAN do whatever he wants. Also, I'd be a little freaked out if my landlord seemed to know what I as doing in my place...? I mean, does he have cameras on you?
Also, sorry to see you go Zero, but I certainly understand RL getting in the way. It's happened to some of my most favorite characters and games over the years.
Edit: Oh! Forgot to say, Stormstrider, in order to save anything to Google Drive, just open your drive and click the big blue "New" button in the upper left hand corner. Then click "New File Upload." You can upload anything to Google Drive. Even if it doesn't recognize the file type, which it won't with Combat Manager, you can still upload it for retrieval elsewhere. :) And yes, saving the PCs as individual monsters and as a full party is good redundancy to make sure you don't lose them. :)
Thanks Mended! No, I say Landlord, but I rent a bedroom in his house, and his wife is a 'stay at home' wife, so ... yeah, other than my bedroom door being closed ... There was no signed contract, but there were multiple emails back and forth so that should stand up in court if it came to that right? The problem is since I have no place else I can go,and no money to rent some other place either ... I'm stuck living under the same roof with this guy and his wife ...
Anyways ...
Thanks for the info on saving in Google drive!!! Will try doing that this morn before going to work so I can then test the rest from work today ... but also gotta deal with RL and this jerk and see if I can do anything about it ... Didn't sleep well last night either of course with this on my mind ... GGGGGRRRRRR
I think you need to make a Fortitude save to not be exhausted. I'm going to set the DC at 13.
Stormstrider- Life seems to be intent on dumping excrement over you at present.
Remember to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life .
I hope things look up.
AAaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Saving things in the Google drive .... SO EASY & NICE!!!!! MENDED, Thank you so much! I REALLY needed that today! For something to go smoothly and nice .... ya know? Now I'm actually anxious (in the good sense) to go to work this afternoon so I can see if all that worked! I'm experimenting with some other things too in their so ...
Course, anxious to go to work in the sense of getting out of this house as well ... :(
Boudacia, Wow, I don't even know what to say ... the whole section to Mended was typed before i saw your post. If Mended made my week, then I've never seen that before. I'm only slightly familiar with Monty Python's work and definitely need to take the time to see some more of it! You had me sitting here chuckling! and at the same time crying for happiness because I'm seeing I have friends that care for me! I am a VERY emotional kind of guy.
You two have really helped! And knowing the rest of this group like I do i know there's more emotional support on the way as well! I already had a good bit last night from RL Tangar as we were gaming and then out to dinner with most of our tabletop gang when most of this crap with my landlord happened.
After the Clip that Boudacia shared this video of a sing-a-long of the Bright side of life done in an a concert hall with the whole audience singing-along came up right after it and I watched it as well.
I just can't say it enough!
I am ever at your disposal. That's what friends are for. :) I hope you have a way better day than you did a night. :)
Great to hear you are feeling better.
Yay! My landlord agreed to wait until the 17th! That's a relief! :)
EDIT:
Now I just need for for my cat-scan tomorrow morning to show that everything is fine with the surgery!
And for those files in google drive to transfer properly to my work computer! I'm hoping!
Now I just need for for my cat-scan tomorrow morning to show that everything is fine with the surgery!
I see. Your surgery was to remove a cat.
And you are having a scan to see if there are any more cats that need to be removed.
If your body was instead infested by rabbits, you would need to change your alias to Warren, at least until it was effectively treated.
I try to remember to either post my long posts then edit them or type them on wordpad and then copy them over.
The evil software tends to cause them to vanish for no explained reason.
I try to remember to either post my long posts then edit them or type them on wordpad and then copy them over.
The evil software tends to cause them to vanish for no explained reason.
Nerd-snipe
I believe there is some sort of equation or formula that shows an increase in the statistical likelihood of a post being "accidentally" eaten by the Paizo boards in relation to its length. Ergo, the lengthier the word count of the post, the more statistical likelihood that it will be eaten. At least that is my personal anecdotal experience. ;)
When I submit a long post, or an edit to a post (as those seem more likely to get lost, especially if I spend too long editing, and they're not restored to the input box when I use the back button), I try to always hit command-A, command-C to select the text and copy it to the clipboard. If submitting fails, I can just go back and paste it in again.
I also write posts that I know are going to be particularly long in an external editor.
When I submit a long post, or an edit to a post (as those seem more likely to get lost, especially if I spend too long editing, and they're not restored to the input box when I use the back button), I try to always hit command-A, command-C to select the text and copy it to the clipboard. If submitting fails, I can just go back and paste it in again.
I also write posts that I know are going to be particularly long in an external editor.
And your computer follows these commands? Truly, you are a great sorcerer. :)
Only if I get the somatic components right. That's why I try not to wear armor while I'm posting.
Only if I get the somatic components right. That's why I try not to wear armor while I'm posting.
Another literal laugh out loud. Good thing my workstation is secluded. Funny!
Only if I get the somatic components right. That's why I try not to wear armor while I'm posting.Another literal laugh out loud. Good thing my workstation is secluded. Funny!
Fully agree! LOL to Ozzy's post!
And yes, come to think of it I was going back and editing that missing post. I have noticed this problem before as well. I MUST learn to remember to use an external editor!
I try to remember to either post my long posts then edit them or type them on wordpad and then copy them over.
The evil software tends to cause them to vanish for no explained reason.
Nerd-snipe
I believe there is some sort of equation or formula that shows an increase in the statistical likelihood of a post being "accidentally" eaten by the Paizo boards in relation to its length. Ergo, the lengthier the word count of the post, the more statistical likelihood that it will be eaten. At least that is my personal anecdotal experience. ;)
OK, it may be disguised as something that is more likely the longer you have the window open. But this kind of naivete is dangerous. That software is malevolent and secretly hates all organic life.
Rats!!! My work computer is set up to not allow Google drive! (at least currently) I have a lead I may be able to follow ...
You guys are hilarious! Make me laugh out loud! Sending you love, Stormy. I'm glad the landlord thing got worked out!
You guys are hilarious! Make me laugh out loud! Sending you love, Stormy. I'm glad the landlord thing got worked out!
Thanks Tamlara! I needed some of your special love my friend!
Stormstrider, I have to look really closely at Alex's avatar to see that he doesn't look exactly like Teal'c. That image has some serious blue-and-black/white-and-gold action going on. Even having seen it up close, I still can't help hearing his words in Teal'c's voice.
Stormstrider, I have to look really closely at Alex's avatar to see that he doesn't look exactly like Teal'c. That image has some serious blue-and-black/white-and-gold action going on. Even having seen it up close, I still can't help hearing his words in Teal'c's voice.
Hahaha! I hadn't noticed the similarity to Teal'c before, but he does look similar doesn't he?
I actually got to meet Christopher Judge (Teal'c), Rachel Luttrell (Teyla - Stargate Atlantis), Tony Amendola (Jaffa master Bra'tac), & Claudia Black (Vala Mal Doran) at a DragonCon convention in Atlanta Ga. It was kinda neat, A friend of mine and I got there the day before the convention started and we stayed in of the hosting hotels. (I HIGHLY recommend it if you can afford it!). And that night we stepped out of the hotel to go to a restaurant or something like that. As we came down the steps and turned the corner we literally almost bumped into a couple other people, missed by less than 5 inches I'd say. Then, as we were already passing them we suddenly realized, it was Christopher Judge & Tony Amendola! We were too shy/nervous to actually go back and talk to them, but we got in the autograph lines and got pictures taken with them! Regrettably when I made my inter-continental move I had to get rid of those. I was moving back to live with my parents, who are missionaries and are VERY old school and would not have approved and would not allow into their home ...
Back before that move I was able to go to that convention in Atlanta for several years in a row. I lived in Greenville, SC back then. (HOME!!! How i miss it!). During those years of con going I also got to meet Director: Joss Whedon (Firefly/Serenity among many others!), Nathan Fillion (Captain Mal - Firefly), the ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS Morena Baccarin (Inara - Firefly), Adam Baldwin (Jayne - Firefly), Jewel Staite (Kaylee - Firefly), Lou Ferrigno (The original Hulk from the 70's TV series - when I shook his hand, my hand was literally completely engulfed by his! The guy is HUGE!), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys TV), and many others that I can't think of right now.
For anybody who cares here's a link to the only 2 pictures out of thousands! that I managed to copy into my computer back before the big move. (Didn't have a digital camera back then.) me with Morena Baccarin & Jewel Saite. Also you get to see what your DM actually looks like! (And Tamlara And Tangar canboth verify that's me in the pic! Though I no longer have the mustache.) Anyways ... thanks for letting me reminisce!
Oh, and by the way Ozzy that second link to the dress thing? I've never seen or heard of that before, but the dress is CLEARLY white and gold!
EDIT: OH! I also got to meet Gil Gerard (Capt. William 'Buck' Rogers - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - TV show), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century), Felix Silla (Twiki - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) & Anthony Daniels (The original C3PO from Star Wars).
I was moving back to live with my parents, who are missionaries and are VERY old school and would not have approved and would not allow into their home ...
Would that not mean that your parents are always in the missionary position?
Which is the woman in the yellow dress? I think I am in love.
I don't think that this will impress this audience as much as your celebrity encounters Stormstrider, but in 1983/4 I spent 9 months in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Just before I went home I got to see most of one of 1984's strongest chess tournaments, the Phillips and Drew in London.
While I was there I was having a discussion with a guy making book on the event and a kid. I was looking at the odds and observed "Jan Timman does not look a bad bet." The kid, a teenager really, agreed and placed a bet on Timman.
I later discovered the kid was Nigel Short. He had played, quite disastrously, he was too young and not ready, in the 1983 Phillips and Drew and went on to challenge Gary Kasparov for the world title in 1992. How many people have given chess betting tips taken up by a world championship challenger?
I also got to use the same urinal as Anatoly Karpov, then world champion who won the tournament. However, I did not, as one lady friend asked "check out his package".
Which is the woman in the yellow dress? I think I am in love.
That is the afore-mentioned ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS Morena Baccarin (Inara - Firefly) and
So, Boudacia, does this mean you have not seen the tv show Firefly, followed by the movie Serenity? Anyone else? Your character's lives and our friendships could depend on me receiving the right answer here! ;)
Just kidding of course ... but ... really, if you have not seen them, YOU MUST!!!!! And I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the TV show (VERY regrettably it was not even 1 full season) before watching the movie! The TV show got canceled due to disagreements between the writer/producer Joss Whedon and the people from FOX network (CURSE FOX NETWORK SOULS TO DAMNATION FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!!!!). According to Joss, one of the primary arguments was that since the show was a futuristic space show, Joss wanted to use unknown music bands so the show would have new styles of music, but Fox insisted on using 'modern, popular' bands. So Fox put them in a bad time slot, then kept changing the times of the show, and broadcasted some of them out of order on purpose.
A year or so? after the show was cancelled, when people at the DragonCon convention heard that Nathan Fillion and several other cast members were going to be in a discussion panel, they stood in line for more than 8-9 hrs in 90+ degrees to get in! The room was filled to standing room only and even then they had to turn people away! And I know all this because I was an actual witness to this! Yes, I personally heard Joss say those things. Yes, I personally missed some of the episodes because of the changing times. Yes, I personally got confused some because they were broadcast out of order. Yes, I personally observed those people standing in the sun in that line. Yes, I personally observed people get turned away from that room, which by the way held well over 1,000 people. I saw the people turned away, because I staid standing in the back with my tripod and camcorder.
I was lucky enough that my good friend Lisa was willing to stand in the line the whole time, and when they got close to the doors I joined her and got in. - If some of you consider that to be cutting in line, I'm sorry, but I am actually considered medically allergic to the SUN! I literally could have died if I had stood in that line!
Anyways, when I got to meet the afore-mentioned ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS Morena Baccarin I did get to talk to her for just a few seconds, and then there was also one night in the lobby of the hotel, I saw her come walking through and she was gracious enough to allow me to talk to her again for a few seconds. She would have stayed longer, but I was too nervous and I could not abuse of her in any way!!!! But from my little inter-action with her I could tell she is one of those very kind, gracious, compassionate, kind of persons and she is gorgeous on the outside, because her beauty comes from deep inside her!
Sorry, got onto one of those subjects that I am passionate about! Anything Morena Baccarin/Firefly/Serenity related! :D
Boudacia, here you go, Just to make you jealous! Pay attention and you can easily tell these are 3 different pictures from the one with her in the yellow dress (Not to mention my red shirt vrs my white shirt.) And these were not quick pics like you can do with a digital camera, this was a 35 mm camera, which means we actually had to wait in between each pic! The picture-taker didn't do a very good job, but it allowed me to keep hugging her longer! :D :P
OH! DOH!!! I also met Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), & Jimmy Vee (R2D2)! Peter Mayhew is REALLY tall!
And sorry, but all the names of chess players you mentioned ... I've vaguely heard of Gary Kasparov. That's it. I like chess, I'm just a HORRIBLE player/tactician!
I have had Firefly seriously recommended by my nephew and gaming friends and seen a some of episodes but they were not from Episode 1 in proper order and it was long ago.
It seemed good but the way I viewed the stuff is not the best way. And I have not seen the movie.
Morena Baccarin is certainly very beautiful.
You don't really need to know chess personalities to follow what I was saying about the Phillips and Drew tournament.
I have played chess since I was a young child, have huge nos of books on the subject and played a lot in competition. I am currently playing in my first real chess tournament for 24 years.
I have played 4 games and beaten the two highest rated players in the tournament, including a 2 time West Australian Champion. And lost to the lowest rated player in the tournament, who is currently leading the tournament, and drew with someone rated in the middle of the field.
My results make no sense to man or beast, but given my time away from playing properly I am really happy.
I almost forgot about this one! For Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate skill checks. I don't go by just the die roll alone! I will give a chance to speak or perform some sort of APPROPRIATE-TO-THE-SITUATION action, and depending on all that, I will (at least in many cases) allow that to influence my decision. My feeling is that if your character comes up with something really, truly convincing to say or do, it makes no sense to say you failed, just because you rolled real low. On the other hand if you roll real low, then your desired outcome may not be as good as you had hoped either. The opposite will also apply; If you can't think of something great to say/do, but you rolled really high, you should get a fairly good outcome. Make sense? Acceptable?
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So, I just want to review/remind us all (myself included!) of what my house rules are: (please remind me if I miss something!)
If your race gives you a bonus to a skill check, then that skill is a class skill for you, and if it is already a class skill, you get a + 1 DM Bonus. - Get that? It's a DM bonus so it stacks with all other bonus types! ;)
For Combat or when needed, we play in actual initiative order, not block initiative.
For Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate checks, roll AND RP it!
I honestly though I had something else, but I can't seem to remember any?!?!
It all looks good. I can't think of anything missing, but that's just me.
It all looks good. I can't think of anything missing, but that's just me.
Thanks!
And BTW, I keep meaning to mention, I noticed you fixed your tag-line! GREAT job! Thanks! I really do appreciate it! - Was driving my CDO crazy!!!
CDO is something completely different than OCD.. lol...
As he goes to leave he hands Alex the required gold for the warrant. "Keep them safe please."
I realize this, I just didn't know if you were going to take it or not.. personally I would have let him keep it.. just me..
Why let him keep it? It ain't gonna do him no good! :)
And nope, can't get Google Drive on my work computer. Have to be an administrator. :(
I guess for any DM'g from work I'll have to keep track of everything on the note pad & then email it home.
CDO is something completely different than OCD.. lol...
What is CDO???
I almost forgot about this one! For Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate skill checks. I don't go by just the die roll alone! I will give a chance to speak or perform some sort of APPROPRIATE-TO-THE-SITUATION action, and depending on all that, I will (at least in many cases) allow that to influence my decision. My feeling is that if your character comes up with something really, truly convincing to say or do, it makes no sense to say you failed, just because you rolled real low. On the other hand if you roll real low, then your desired outcome may not be as good as you had hoped either. The opposite will also apply; If you can't think of something great to say/do, but you rolled really high, you should get a fairly good outcome. Make sense? Acceptable?
I usually handle this with (sometimes substantial) circumstance modifiers. If you can be really convincing in your RP, that will help, but remember also that a character's persuasiveness is supposed to be based on the character's abilities, not the player's. Just like someone's actual, real-world skill with a sword has no bearing on their character's attack rolls, it's not fair to judge the effectiveness of a character's speech on how articulate the player is.
It's a difficult balance to strike. I have a player who would max out the diplomacy skill and then walk into battle and just say "I roll diplomacy," or walk up to a barmaid in a tavern and, despite being covered in horrible burns and scars and wearing a mask (think V for Vendetta), say "I want to seduce the barmaid. I roll diplomacy." Obviously, in both cases, I didn't let that fly (even when, in the latter case, the roll was in the mid 30s), but it was for in-character reasons (not saying anything is with at least a -10 on a diplomacy check and while his appearance might give a bonus for intimidation, it's a severe penalty for seduction. Btw, after his recent character death, that player is banned from charisma-based classes until he demonstrates that he can RP a character properly.)
On the other hand the player and GM should work together to justify what the character's stats and roll say about what happens. A high diplomacy roll from Ozzy, for instance, would look very different from a similar roll made by Alex, but they should have pretty much the same effect. If a character rolls really low, perhaps there was a problem with their delivery, and they sounded really insincere. If they roll high, maybe (at least in Ozzy's case), she reminded an NPC of his daughter who died in his arms (who might not have existed in that NPC's backstory until that moment).
I guess what I'm saying is that yes, RP should matter, but it's important to make sure that the dice and the character's stats also matter. To accomplish this, when I DM, I try to figure out any conditional modifiers before the relevant rolls are made, so that I don't end up completely discounting the roll (actually, what usually happens is that I forget to do this, then kick myself for it after).
I would let him keep it, because in a real world situation, He'll need it more than we do.. in a real world situation he wouldn't have offered it.. he would have known he'll need it for living expenses.. as it was I had to refrain from telling him to keep it. I knew that was probably the last post for him and he might not respond to my post.
In short it's a mild form of metagaming.. he knows he won't be playing so he buffs the groups funds for a task.. we accept knowing he;s leaving the game and won't need the funds.. when I say I don't like metagaming, I mean any form of it.. and that was a small one.. Pushing Ozzy forward to bluff or to use her diplomacy because she has the highest skills in it is another.. this is why I mentioned it before..
It would be silly for a group of adults to push a child, or someone acting as a child, into a serious situation where diplomacy is the key to solving the problem... I hope people see what I mean here.. and not that I'm being difficult.. I play my characters in a certain manner, as we all do.. I call myself a more serious player, in that I try to play my characters according to their culture, their personal morals, ad as close to their alignment as I can.. Stormy can atest tothis.. I once had to have a Paladin walk away from our froup wirh 2 powerful magic items, one of them evil, just so I wouldn't kill half the party..
Don't get me wrong I like to have fun in games, but I also have to see the reality of the game as well.. and yes I know this isn't reality, per say.. but it's my thing.. lol..
and the CDO.. well you know it's OCD for the people that think they have OCD worse than others.. but really it's for those who want to be funny and make their ICD sound worse than other people.. or at least, to me that's what it always sounds like..
There are studies on OCD and most that think they have it.. really don't.. we all hate it when a tile is out of place or that some object is wonky.. and just so you know, I'm the guy who will walk by your picture, and set it straight, even after you have done it 10 times.. I have a higher spacial awareness than most people lol
There you go folks.. you now know more about me than you ever wanted.. lol.. yeah, I got my issues.. hahahah
I have to add here.. I agree with Ozzy in what is being said there.. Character flair can only add so much.. I've seen smart people play low CHR characters and still get through a situation because he RP'd it well.. when the dice would have had him fail it..
I would let him keep it, because in a real world situation, He'll need it more than we do.. in a real world situation he wouldn't have offered it.. he would have known he'll need it for living expenses.. as it was I had to refrain from telling him to keep it. I knew that was probably the last post for him and he might not respond to my post.
In short it's a mild form of metagaming.. he knows he won't be playing so he buffs the groups funds for a task.. we accept knowing he;s leaving the game and won't need the funds.. when I say I don't like metagaming, I mean any form of it.. and that was a small one.. Pushing Ozzy forward to bluff or to use her diplomacy because she has the highest skills in it is another.. this is why I mentioned it before..
It would be silly for a group of adults to push a child, or someone acting as a child, into a serious situation where diplomacy is the key to solving the problem... I hope people see what I mean here.. and not that I'm being difficult.. I play my characters in a certain manner, as we all do.. I call myself a more serious player, in that I try to play my characters according to their culture, their personal morals, ad as close to their alignment as I can.. Stormy can atest tothis.. I once had to have a Paladin walk away from our froup wirh 2 powerful magic items, one of them evil, just so I wouldn't kill half the party..
Don't get me wrong I like to have fun in games, but I also have to see the reality of the game as well.. and yes I know this isn't reality, per say.. but it's my thing.. lol..
You and I are more alike than you might think. I like to play a more unusual character concepts, but given those conceits, I play pretty straight. In the other PBP that most of us are in, my character ended up against the rest of the party at first, to the point that I almost got kicked out of the game, all because I thought the party was coming together too easily (I think there was too much Deus Ex Machina in that respect in this game too, but I made sure I had a character that could go along with it this time to avoid rocking the boat so much) and he didn't trust them. In case you're interested, here's my character from that game: Illiam Taal.
I have to add here.. I agree with Ozzy in what is being said there.. Character flair can only add so much.. I've seen smart people play low CHR characters and still get through a situation because he RP'd it well.. when the dice would have had him fail it..
Oh, and there are a lot of situations where you could try a diplomacy check (or other charisma-based check) OR the situation can be handled purely with RP, not requiring a check. Players should still play their characters' ability scores as best they can (which is difficult with mental abilities that are better than the player's own), but clever players can often avoid the need to take chances on a die roll.