James Thomas's page

What he did was Evil. It's one thing to kill an opponent in open battle. It's quite another thing to murder a hostage during negotiations.

I wouldn't make the character go Evil instantly, rather I'd note down this event and all subsequent actions. Eventually a trend will emerge.

We had a player who would totally disregard background, setting, backstory etc. He would spend hours plotting out his character, down to just the right feat, weapon, skill set, etc. His character at least was not anachronistic, so it could be made to work. And the concepts were often interesting - a Good aligned bugbear openly worshipping a good aligned god and wearing the holy symbol at all times? Yeah, that's interesting and could be made to work in the setting.

Those were never the issue. For months, though, at the table he was unable to figure out an attack roll, saving throw, skill check, etc.

He was unable to sit and wait for everyone else to finish their actions.

He would get 'bored' if there was no combat and throw pencils, dice, etc. at other players taking part in the role playing.

He was 'That Guy' and is no longer welcome at my game table as a result. While I was kind of irritated that the lack of 'does this fit' was replaced by 'this is what I brought', it was the jackassery at the table which got him banned. At my table, if you disrupt the game for everyone else, you are gone.

We tried to work with him, to bring him into working with the rest of us, and he just would not or could not do it. So, he got uninvited. Problem solved.

They will ask to play a completely exotic race for this or that ability, or ignore the plot hooks of the campaign that might offer some nice character concept they can play. Are they playing the game incorrectly because of this?

No.

And I fundamentally disagree with you.

What you are describing is a player selfishly derailing a game. The analogies you gave would instantly have someone not invited to future games, period.

As to dice rolling, yes you will have players who have higher scores than others at the table. It happens. But if the setting is the focus, and everyone has a reason to be there and be a part of the group because that is the standard you hold the players to, everyone still has moments to shine. There are no aquamen if everyone has a place and a purpose within the group.

If you are making a character that has no reason to be there or be a part of the group, the DM can't create those moments. If you are doing it just so you can make a loophole power build, you derail the game in order to "win" the game.

If you do that, you are being selfish and would not be welcome at my table.

This is cool for me as Herman Cain and Ron Paul are the only GOP candidates I'm interested in, I just wanted to hear other paizonian thoughts on this.

It would certainly make for an exciting election, two black men, no one able to make claims of racism. but I know the media is trying to act like this doesn't change the race. I for one sure hope it does.

Wow, so there is a portion of people who believe Herman Cain can't win because to many republicans are racist. You know, I believe there are racists in the republican party, I also believe there are racists in the democratic party. I don't believe either parties racists hold sway over the party.

And don't forget patronage projects like the ones at Open Design. Lots of ways to flex your designer muscles in those.

I'm echoing gbonehead here. Open Design is one of the best avenues for breaking into freelancing. Basically, you learn how to pitch material to an audience as you vie for a limited paid slot in the book. If the patrons (the audience) like your ideas, you get the contract from OD to write your winning bit. It's your chance to show your chops.

Some Open Design freelancers have even gone on to work for Paizo, as I understand it. Some have gotten gigs with other publishers who've seen their Open Design work.

Open Design opens doors. And you learn so much by just pitching and reading the constructive criticism most submissions receive. It's one of the few times you might get someone like Wolfgang Baur's opinion on why your idea didn't (or did!) work.

Btw, the Midgard project and Dark Roads (a planar supplement) are both underway. They are both at stages where it would be worth your while to purchase a senior patronage to gain the chance to pitch material and get your foot in the door.

I've been on several of these projects now, and I can't tout them enough for individuals seeking writing opportunities.

GBonehead and Christina have both mentioned the pay-to-play doorway that is Open Design, so I'll get specific and name names, for projects and freelancers.

A lot of freelancers for Paizo got their start at Open Design, including Brandon Hodge ("Feast of Ravenmoor" and "From Shore to Sea"), Adam Daigle (lots of Bestiary 2 and 3 work), Jim Groves (some books in the Ultimate sequence), and others.

Right now, Open Design is doing a Pathfinder Bestiary for Midgard, some player's guides, and adventures for the Midgard campaign setting (patronage linkie). The Dark Roads & Golden Hells project includes comments and work by Colin McComb (Planescape: Torment), Todd Stewart (the Great Beyond), and Dan Voyce (Northlands).

The remarkable thing is that more people don't take the open door. But it's right there for anyone who wants to give it a shot.

Yep, RPG Superstar is a longshot (as a judge, I know just how MUCH of a longshot, on par with a small state lottery).

But it's definitely worth taking. You might just cut right to the front of the line.

My take is, you know how some cartoons like Family Guy or South Park run a joke into the ground until it's not funny, and then they keep hammering at it until it becomes funny again, and then they keep at it until it's not funny anymore? That's where we are with these threads—we'd like these "is [blah] evil" threads to pass quietly into the archives sooner rather than later.

You can use your one standard action in the surprise round to charge.

You can coup de grace a creature with total consealment or invisable with two full round actions

You lose your Dexterity bonus to your AC while running unless you have the Run feat.
Dimensional anchor does not require a saving throw, only spell resistance.