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1,475 posts. Alias of John M Baker.


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Shadow Lodge

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Hama wrote:

I don't have anyone whose playstyle I like to play with. All of my players are horrifying number crunchers that see roleplay as a means to an end and nothing more.

I think I'm horribly burned out. To the level that I might just decide not to play RPGs for about a decade.

Try creative writing for a while. I find it helps.

Shadow Lodge

Designing a PSH for the game!

PS: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 4) = 12 = 10
DX: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 4) = 9 = 8
CN: 4d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 5, 3, 4) + 3 = 20 = 17 (+3)
MS: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 2, 2) = 11 = 10
IN: 4d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 4, 3) + 3 = 12 = 11
CH: 4d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 5, 5, 3) + 3 = 22 = 19 (+4)

Senses: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 6) = 17 = 17 (+3)

Hmm, high CN, CH, SN, middling everything else... Bonuses to Perception, Hit Points, Health... Probably Enforcer.

HP: 17d6 + 17 ⇒ (5, 2, 1, 5, 5, 3, 1, 3, 2, 6, 6, 3, 1, 3, 6, 5, 2) + 17 = 76

Read/Write: 1d100 ⇒ 33
Swim: 1d100 ⇒ 39

Shadow Lodge

I'd definitely be interested in Gamma World! I've got the books (not on me, I'm afraid... I'll look up what I can at home. 4th edition? Great, I have that.

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Josh Vogt wrote:
2. Slowly reveal that most of the PCs are actually figments of one PC's imagination, or fragmented personalities within his/her mind.

I had an idea for a one-shot in the middle of a campaign. You give the players a set of new characters for the one-shot, where everyone wakes up on the beach with amnesia. They explore the beach together, and find an asylum nearby, where they're taken in. PCs being PCs, they start exploring the asylum not trusting things, looking for evidence of bad experiments. That's when they find a chest containing the prized belongings of the regular campaign PCs.

That's when they realize that the one-shot characters have been each other's PCs all along, and that they received amnesia somehow. Now, they have to get themselves back out, and get themselves back.

Shadow Lodge

'Sani wrote:
Oh, and take the Technologist feat eventually. Otherwise when you find tech item you won't be able to tell whether it's a weapon or a high tech band-aid.

Since it's Iron Gods, do you need to take Technologist if you take the Local Ties campaign trait?

Shadow Lodge

How about something like this?

1: Picaroon Swashbuckler. Weapon finesse and Two-Weapon Fighting for free, proficiency in one-handed firearms. Quick Draw.
2: Steel Hound Sleuth Investigator. Add luck deeds to Swashbuckler, get the most out of Quick Draw with firearms.
3: Investigator. Amateur Gunslinger and Gunsmithing for free. Take Gunslinger's Quick Clear deed.
4: Unchained Rogue from here.

I'm still thinking about the best way to get the feats to work.

Shadow Lodge

First level.

Shadow Lodge

I'm looking over the various ways to do get an unchained rogue access to firearms, and want to know your opinions. I'm less interested in a spellcasting method to do so.

1. The Firearms Training and Grit talents. Pretty intensive, gotta wait for level 4. Can reduce by taking the Amateur Gunslinger feat myself and avoiding

2. Dip into Gunslinger. Most gunplay available, least rogue synergy.

3. Dip into Swashbuckler (Picaroon). Deeds work better for the rogue, and free rapier-and-pistol fighting.

4. Dip into Investigator (Steel Hound). Doubles up on Trapfinding. Could trade out the alchemy for Sleuth, but that doesn't sound like a particularly good trade.

I'm just not sure what direction to take...

Shadow Lodge

So I'm considering making a Steel Hound Sleuth Investigator, and I'm curious how the various abilities interact.

A Steel Hound gets the Amateur Gunslinger feat for free at 2nd level, which gives him 1 grit point. A Sleuth gets a luck pool at level 1, and any feat, magic item, or spell that grants grit or panache can also grant the Sleuth an equal number of luck points.

So, at level 2, the Investigator gains +1 luck point when that grit point is gained, right? Does this raise the maximum number of luck points to Wis+Cha?

Extra Grit pretty clearly grants +2 grit and +2 luck (and +2 max grit and luck).

Then there's this bit under Swashbuckler:

PRD wrote:

Grit and Panache: The gunslinger's grit and the swashbuckler's panache represent two paths to gain access to the same heroic pool. Characters with both grit and panache class features combine the two resources into a larger pool of both grit points and panache points.

For the purposes of feat prerequisites, a character with the panache class feature satisfies the prerequisites as if she were a grit user, and vice versa. Swashbuckler levels stack with gunslinger levels for the purpose of satisfying Signature Deed's level requirement. For feats, magic items, and other effects, a panache user can spend and gain panache points in place of grit points, and vice versa.

However, this isn't present in the Sleuth description, so grit and luck are not considered the same larger pool, correct?

Shadow Lodge

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Zeugma wrote:
I had to take a break from Hambly and read some Jorge Luis Borges because the cliches and inconsistencies were getting to me. Any other Borges fans on here?

Huge Borges fan here. I have a copy of Ficciones that is nearly falling apart.

Shadow Lodge

I'll have to watch Requiem for a Dream, then.

I just saw Ink last night. Wonderful film, but the adventuring party? A bunch of folk who can't affect the world around them? They really expect to be successful? Only the wise-cracking blind loner seems to know how to play.

It did have the best villain design I've seen for a long time, though. Simple, gorgeous, and creepy.

Shadow Lodge

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I prefer to think of a birthday as proof that death failed to catch you yet again.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus spends all his gold on liquor and whores, and then whines to the GM about WBL.

Gallant enjoys playing support characters on occasion, and figures out how to be effective in that role.

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Goofus pours everything into his combat skill, then makes sure that combat is the solution for every problem. Impress the princess? Kill her guards! Didn't work? Kill the princess!

Gallant helps new players through character design, offering solid choices and listening to what the players want to do with their characters.

Shadow Lodge

The old Dragonlance Roleplaying book?

Dude. Ask about playing an Irda.

Yes, white robes are Good and tied to Solinari, red robes are Neutral and tied to Lunitari, black robes are Evil and tied to Nuitari.

Yeah, at this time there was no divine magic. Otherwise, just make sure that you've got plenty of things you can do that aren't spells, and you'll do all right. Ask about magic item creation. Wands and scrolls sound like a great way to get around the requirement.

Shadow Lodge

It's funny. Back before I even knew D&D was a thing, back in the early 80s, back when a wizard was a man with a long white beard, and a robe and conical hat covered in stars, I knew wizards threw fireballs.

Heck, I started with the D&D Basic book, which only covered character levels 1-3, and as a matter of course didn't have fireballs, and I ran around busy to make them.

Of course, mine weren't big explosions, but they were balls of flame held in my hand and tossed at enemies, as those pointy-hat wizards did.

Shadow Lodge

PossibleCabbage wrote:
born_of_fire wrote:
It may look like there's a bajillion feats worth choosing but, once they become more familiar with the game, your group will likely find that there are really a rather small handful. Most people end up using a lot of the same feats over and over because some of them are just more useful or at least less situational than the rest of the dross.

I think that this sort of highlights what the problem is. There are a vast array of feats, and only a small percentage of them are good. Unless you already know what the good ones are, all those other feats are things you have to read though and consider before rejecting and moving on to the next one.

For less experienced players, a curated list of feats is probably a good idea. If the GM can just disseminate a couple of lists like "feats I can guarantee to you are useful" and "feats you should avoid, even if they sound good" that's going to save people a lot of headache.

I agree wholeheartedly on being lenient with retraining if people are struggling with analysis paralysis when it comes time to pick a state. (I mean, I have to build a level 5 martial for next week, and I've been thinking about feats for four days now, and I haven't even gotten to buying equipment yet, and I'm not new to this; there's just a lot to consider.)

I agree, this is precisely the problem.

In fact, for all the well-versed expert players who wonder why anyone complains about bloat in Pathfinder, this is why. When more books are added, it just adds to the backlog that needs to be sifted through for the new player. Yes, this is not a problem for players that have learned how to glean through a list of feats quickly. This is not a problem for people who know how to plan out a character from 1-20.

Not everyone is like that. These people need to be able to play the game, too.

I like the solution of GM-vetted feat (and spell and equipment) lists. Another solution that I've used successfully with new players is start by asking them, "How do you want your character to improve over time? What do you want to do?" Then, as they give you their qualitative answers, share a build or two with them that gets them there. As the players gain more system mastery, you can start taking them off that system and let them build themselves up further.

Shadow Lodge

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Tacticslion wrote:
For those that haven't seen (the D&D Movie): don't. It sucks. Unless you want to see Jeremy Irons not only chew the scenery, but devour it whole before {SPOILER ALERT} behind devoured whole by bad CGI dragons. But for the record, the party comprised of two thieves (one of which was Marlon Wayans), an apprentice wizard, a dwarf, an elf (sometimes - sometimes, she wasn't really a party member), and the only healing available was from another elf, who had a vaguely druidic philosophy, just without the wildshaping.

I have found one correct way to view this movie. Gather your friends and favorite drinks of choice. Then, open the special features (do note the little puzzle you must complete first), and turn on the director commentary.

Then watch the thing and laugh.

Warning: after watching it with the commentary on, you might be tempted to see it again with it off. Don't. It's a trap. You'll be paying for it in seconds.

Shadow Lodge

...Okay, I'm tempted to make a goblin firebomber. Would this be a problem for people?

Shadow Lodge

I think I'll submit an alchemist. I'm not yet sure on which flavor, though.

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Greylurker wrote:
on the other hand this is kind of a thread for people who want to incorperate that kind of stuff. Can't really blame us for talking about it and wanting to share

No blame at all!

I just saw a bunch of people saying, "People who say, 'I don't want anime in my game' are saying 'I don't want martial supernatural power in my game'" and wanted to present a different viewpoint. I'd be happy to allow martial supernatural power in my game and still not want anime, so I just wanted to mention what "no anime please" means to me, instead.

But yeah, otherwise, please, carry on.

Shadow Lodge

knightnday wrote:
SilvercatMoonpaw wrote:
InVinoVeritas: I feel sorry that you get anime pushed on you so much. I know I have subject matter I don't want to touch like Horror and I'd hate it if people pushed it on me.

Many (many) years ago when I was last in college, you couldn't swing a rule book without running into people that were .. let's say very very excited about anime. Every comic store, game store, and college dorm I went near was frequented by people that were excited about it and wanted to tell you about it.

Now, this was 20ish years ago, so I imagine it was a little newer and that added to the excitement. I wouldn't say that they pushed it on me, but you had to go out of your way sometimes to escape the conversations. It took the place, for a short time, of the on-going "let me tell you about my character" conversations that you may have heard about, except it went beyond gamers.

My friends (the RPG crowd in my dorm) were all fanatic members of the Anime Club, and yes, this was 20 years ago, over a span of years including most/all of my convention-going years. So yes, my personal experiences are skewed differently from the general population.

Outside of that, people have had to explain to me, after feeding me a bunch of AMVs and me asking why all the anime was that AMV was Anime Music Video, and not Amateur Music Video like I had originally heard. It just... it keeps coming up.

Anyway. I just want a respite from it in my games, is all. I really don't mind it, otherwise.

Shadow Lodge

TOZ wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
You would not have called me ridiculous if you were not offended.
You don't know TOZ very well if you believe that.

Most people don't. You're a multifaceted guy.

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
You've called me ridiculous. That was rather dismissive.
So I've offended you, then. But has anyone been offended by you, or told you that you can't be here?

You would not have called me ridiculous if you were not offended.

I'll agree you didn't ask me to leave.

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
I'm really that offensive?
Who said you're offensive? And who said you aren't allowed?

You've called me ridiculous. That was rather dismissive.

And who said you were pushing it on me, TOZ?

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TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
I'm not ridiculous at all.

It is ridiculous to seek out anime proponents over religious ones and then complain about being pushed into anime more.

Go look at our religious threads and see how many people say you need to read the Bible more.

So I'm not allowed to express my viewpoint on a thread about why there exist people who don't want more anime in their game? I'm really that offensive?

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
I swear, I've had anime pushed on me harder than Christianity.
Now you're just being ridiculous.

What do people here tell me I should do more of: read the Bible or watch anime?

What do people in any "geek/nerd entertainment" venue say I should do more of: read the Bible or watch anime?

My family doesn't tell me to do either. My friends don't wonder how I can go through life without Jesus. They do wonder why I'm not watching more anime.

Anime is no threat. I'm glad I get more anime shoved in my face than religion. That's a wonderful problem to have. That doesn't change the fact it's proselytized more, to me, personally.

I'm not ridiculous at all.

Shadow Lodge

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I swear, I've had anime pushed on me harder than Christianity.

Shadow Lodge

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Create Mr. Pitt wrote:
I don't think there are many spells that truly if ever break the game, if handled well as GM.

Absolutely agree! Yet it might be instructive to show the new/inexperienced GM how to handle the spell well. Sometimes it's not so obvious.

Shadow Lodge

Crafting potions happens faster than crafting acid. A low-level potion can be cranked out in 2 hours, while if you take 10 and have a +15 Craft(Alchemy), and add 10 to the difficulty to speed up the process, it takes you more than one day's work for a single flask of acid.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus still loves those four red dragons, and modifies the Tomb of Horrors to make it "better" with the rooms full of monsters who somehow avoid all the deathtraps.

When Gallant designs a sandbox game, he listens to the players and makes sure there are plenty of plot hooks around the party.

Shadow Lodge

You can do it as a cleric. The trick is, you have to accept you can't do everything, and so you pick and choose what you want to focus on.

Regarding skills: which skills are you looking for? A cleric still won't be a jack of all trades, but if you focus on just a few main skills, then you can patch class skills with traits.

Regarding MAD: The way around MAD for a cleric is to focus on buffs. No save needed means you're just as effective with a 15 WIS as a 19 WIS. You lose a couple bonus spells but you can make those back up later with the right headband. You can then be an archer and make do with lower STR and CON, or get Heavy Armor and Lightning Reflexes and dump DEX. In either case, you worry less about channeling.

Shadow Lodge

I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of anime tropes in my RPGs, but all the combat/non-caster going over the top stuff doesn't bother me that much.

What bothers me are things like female hypersexualization and casual sexism, mood swings (with or without face faults), stock main characters that are easily identified on TVTropes (especially the enigmatic bishi, or the noblewoman villain), or all the screaming in combat.

My least favorite, however? Here's the world. Here's how the world works, with this new power thingy tacked on. Here's the limitation on that power. Now here's the main protagonist, who doesn't have to follow those rules.

Bonus points if the reason he doesn't have to follow the rules is because he's so highly trained and disciplined. That's just shorthand for "You must love the rulebreaker, because he has a greater moral purity than you." He's the best, so he's the hero? No. Hell no.

These aren't strictly anime, though. However, they're what I notice when people try to add more "anime feel" in their games. Otherwise, enjoy, add more anime to your and my game, that's cool.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus fearquits ragequits when he loses a piece of equipment, because how is he expected to fight then?

Gallant worries less about WBL and more about matching encounters to PCs.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus arbitrarily smites the PCs, to keep his players on their toes.

Gallant keeps a couple one-shot adventures in his backpack just in case the regular game can't run due to absences.

Shadow Lodge

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Goofus keeps four red dragons in the first room of the dungeon. That should make for a fun first encounter for the new characters.

(I speak from experience, unfortunately.)

Gallant think about hooks for the PCs, helping the players to want to search adventure.

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
They don't apply if the game is low-level only.
And you expressed surprise at that fact, which was befuddling to me.

Eh? Ah! No, that was sarcasm. What's truly astounding is how people have trouble adjusting to the honest likelihood that the campaign won't last after a few levels, and planning accordingly, instead of always assuming a 1-20.

Shadow Lodge

And that's the point. You'll hear "don't dip" and "plan to use metamagic rods" and all sorts of advice that won't help. They don't apply if the game is low-level only. And many times, if you describe the game as low-level only, the advice columns fill with useless snark instead of some advice that applies to the situation.

That's a pity.

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
So why not plan for that?
Considering I currently have two games at 10+, why WOULD I plan for that?

Because this isn't about you and your long-running campaigns. This is about all the campaigns that don't last that long. What's the advice for them?

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
InVinoVeritas wrote:
Give them a Level 5 cap, and they all look at you in horror.
In most cases because those levels are the ones that have been played to death.

Because no campaign lasts long enough, yes, that's the point. So why not plan for that?

Shadow Lodge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
...it's astounding that strategies requiring 6+ levels don't work if you never get to 6+?

Not astounding per se. But yeah, if you're building a character, and people send you a bunch of strategies that expect 6+ levels. Give them a Level 5 cap, and they all look at you in horror.

Shadow Lodge

Artemis Moonstar wrote:

A game reaching it's intended end? I think that's blasphemy these days!

(still hoping for a glimpse at such a thing myself though)

But you still better plan out your character progression to Level 20, because anything less is just poor optimization.

(I went nearly ten years with never having a character above Level 5. It's astounding how many strategies simply fall flat on their face when that's the only space you're playing in.)

Shadow Lodge

I'll submit a cleric of Erastil. Would someone who happens to know something he shouldn't about Trelvar Silvers's wife's death be appropriate? Perhaps he was there administering to her?

Shadow Lodge

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Goofus kicks out players that demand on "study time" for "finals week" because he only plays with hardcore gamers.

Gallant prepares extra stat blocks for creatures and henchmen he travels with and/or expects to summon.

Shadow Lodge

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...at the hands of Goofus.

Gallant avoids topics that are sensitive to the other players.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus laughs at players who do not optimize perfectly into his own single vision of the "way the game is designed."

Gallant learns about cultures around the world when seeking new campaign ideas.

Shadow Lodge

Goofus runs a campaign that strips the PCs of their belongings and sells them into slavery every time they seem capable of anything.

Gallant considers what sort of character would synergize with the other PCs.

Shadow Lodge

Mark Hoover wrote:

I've always wanted to run a random campaign. I do mean random. Grab every random generator table I can find that relate in some way to PF and the game's default setting, then just start running.

Everyone rolls up characters while I randomly generate the first "hex" on the map. There's no BBEG, no overarching plot until some random combination of rolls generates it.

This seems like a "crazy" idea to me because, after the age of 15 I haven't found a single player who's willing to go along with it.

I'd play! Honestly, I've done something similar to start, and over time start making the world more coherent as the narrative emerges from the random noise.

Shadow Lodge

Kirth Gersen wrote:
That looks surprisingly good. I don't even like ice cream and I want one!

It's It really is it. They're excellent. The way an ice cream sandwich should be.

Shadow Lodge

I'm toying around with the idea of creating a PFS character that eventually goes into the Riftwarden prestige class. Right now, the idea is starting with a Dwarf Empyreal Sorcerer... but there are a few things that make me wonder.

Feats: I need SF(Abjuration) and Spell Penetration for the prestige class. Given the strength in counterspells, I'm planning to add Improved Counterspell and Heighten Spell to the list of feats. However, none of these feats are any good at first level. Any ideas?

Traits: No clue what to choose. I could go with Magical Knack for the long game, perhaps Glory of Old for save bonuses or Strength of the Land. Any other thoughts?

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