Tranquilis's page

Way to look like a bunch of homophobic, bigoted, regressives.

Link

Paizo,

You should seriously consider removing all off-topic posts from showing up in the Message Board box that is on the right of EVERY page I navigate to. I can't escape crap like this - politics, "civil religious discussions"... I don't come to Paizo for that. If you want an off-topic board, fine: just allow us who want to avoid such a thing be able.

Think about what a newcomer sees when going to the homepage for the first time: "Kingmaker, cool. Alliance sale...gotta check that out! Conservatives suck...whoa...".

It's gotten now to where when I see a Pathfinder product in my FLGS, my mind wanders back to some off-topic, hateful post I saw on Paizo.com. That's a crying shame.

I've got about $25 in my cart right now and I've lost interest in completing my order (this has been building over months) because of this crap.

Why would a company want to subject their customer base to controversial post headings on every single page? On-topic, ok, but not off topic.

Think about companies considering working with Paizo. Do you think they appreciate the potential lost customer base when Paizo allows any yahoo to insult said base and put it on every Paizo webpage?

Sincerely,

Lee

Tranquilis wrote:

You were just discriminatory against the entire populace of Kentucky. Congrats. In fact, what does that say about your opinion of the rest of the South? I'm suspecting you're a bigot. I hope I'm wrong.

Tranquilis, one thing that I've learned on this board is that people who throw the word "bigotry" around the most are usually the worst perpetrators of it themselves.

Wow, way to add to the discussion: a single, sanctimonious sentence that fails to address the issue.

Who "threw it around"?

I've never used that word here save now, yet when someone links to a national story "about" bigotry and discrimination (whether accurately reported or otherwise) and accuses an entire state of being in the same camp as the guy in the story, some "Mighter than Thou" and his allies come chasing me?

My beef is no longer with the OP; he explained himself in a later post. My beef is with your kind of asinine, righteous dismissiveness.

WTF? Seriously? You would think they would be a little more cognizant of what their candidates are saying on the public stage, especially after their first major primary win. I guess it just goes to show that the best way to deal with an opponent is to just give them enough rope to hang themselves with. OTOH, it is Kentucky, so hell, it might just help him in the polls...

You were just discriminatory against the entire populace of Kentucky. Congrats. In fact, what does that say about your opinion of the rest of the South? I'm suspecting you're a bigot. I hope I'm wrong.

Rand Paul is a LIBERTARIAN (regardless of current party affiliation). If you know anything about Libertarians, they believe in true freedom - not the government regulated freedom that we're all subjected to.

Understand the position and you'll understand his answer, although it was political suicide to answer it in the way he did because 99% of the folks hearing the sound bite or reading the headline won't go beyond it.

Why he even appeared on Rachel Maddow's show is beyond me.

Would I have said it? No.

Do I see the philosophy behind it? Yes.

Do I agree with the vast uninformed interpretation of it? Hell No.

Do I agree that the Act should be repealed? Double Hell No.

As a Tennessean, I'm ashamed Al Gore's daddy fought and voted against the Civil Rights Act.

I'm no d@mn Demoncrat. You can bet your arse on that.

My how history is forgotten.

By the way, if anyone is interested in what the book will actually contain (and is capable of looking past a cover of non-traditional art illustrated by one of the 100 most influential people in the world, according to Time), you can find excerpts of its contents here, including an art gallery (you need to be a subscriber to see the full images, but the thumbnails alone give you a good idea of the variety of art contained within). All non-gallery excerpts are free to read.

Two strikes:

- Who gives a cudgel about Time's list. Have you SEEN some of the yahoos on it?

- I'll never see the full images, then, if it relies on Insider.

Read all the threads...

Personally don't like the art...

...and the genesis of the art used (esp. the cover) sounds a bit self-indulgent/self-serving to me - for all parties involved.

Just my two cents. I ain't hatin'; just sayin'.

Oh good grief!

Forget the "depends what your definition of 'is' is" stuff!

Option 3. No brainer.

Not to derail the thread, but I think it is a pertinent question:

Why is there a bard class at all? Moons ago, why was it introduced in the first place?

To emulate a historical "job"/"position"?

A meta-game thing to create a character that could do a little bit of everything (cast, fight, thieve)?

With that said, spell songs from "The Book of Eldritch Might II: Songs and Souls of Power" (or "The Complete Book of Eldritch Might") help me justify the bard a bit more...

Can't wait for this release, though the only thing that bothers me is their hair color. I know it's explained as fey influence, which is great and something I had always hoped for, but I don't think it should necessarily make an entire race look like the cast of a bad anime.

I agree. The poor Pathfinder Druid iconic is Gnome...poor, poor thing. Her art doesn't fit with the other iconics.

This will be an instant purchase.

I love Gnomes...portrayed as the fey/forest/mischieveous race they "should" be.

But if this has any "Tinker" Gnome crap in it, I'll be sad.

I HATE "Tinker" Gnomes...

I "tinkle" on "Tinker" Gnomes.

America's Soapbox: Who would win a fight, Superman or Iron Man?

Superman could simply outlast Iron Man. I don't think it's even a contest. Iron man vs. batman might be fun though.

Supes grapples Iron Man, takes him into space and pitches him on a trajectory to the Sun (if he's really ticked off) or into space on a trajectory to No Where Fast. Supes FTW.

And I'll echo DM Wellard's comment, Scarlett looks totally HOT (no matter what she's wearing)!

Totally disagree.

Scarlett Johansson/Natalie Rushman equals Anna Paquin/Rogue from X-Men 3: A total waste of screen time.

Scarlett J. looked and acted (as in the profession of...) like she was 15 during this movie. She's around 26 IRL. Anna P. was around 24 in X-Men 3 and looked and acted like she was 12.

And Scarlett's hair color job was HORRIBLE.

I wouldn't have acted like a petulant child after the initial comment but I would have certainly called you on it. More important I would expect later in the game that my rogue character could get away with similar feats and if you denied it then my confidence in your ability to rule consistently would be destroyed.

Uh...ouch. That 'tude is a bit severe in my neck of the woods.

We're talking about an RPG - not Heroscape or Warmachine.

And "calling out" _during_ the game session is a big no-no in my woods, too. Anything beyond a mere "Are you sure?" if life-and-death isn't in the boughs is over the line, IMHO.

What do I do about this player? I dont want him to feel like im being a jerk by not leting him play what he wants, but i have to do something because the rest of the players arent having fun. Any suggestions?

1.) Entangle - 1st level Druid spell; 40' radius.

2.) Unmerciful ranged attacks - Archers with Manyshot, Warlock with buffed Eldritch Blasts (Sickening Blast is a good choice for a Lesser Incantation), Cleric with Flame Strike, etc... take your pick.

You could even have the Druid follow up with a Call Lightning...during a storm...or have him summon a swarm of flying, biting insects - all while the player is Entangled.

Worried about the player getting un-Entangled? Cast an overlapping one...

And the nice thing is, all of this can be accomplished within your parties recommened ECL.

Heck, Magic Missile would go a long way, too (auto-hit, good range).

Oh! Don't forget to require saves on all carried objects that take damage from applicable spells... That might cut into his supply of Enlarge Person if you think it's gotten out of control.

As for this particular guy's "power level", it's probably not as bad as you think. Sounds like your encounters have been playing to his strengths - which is ok from time to time and should be rotated among the PCs.

Oh, wait, I have some examples for different ability scores, too!

Fly - Charisma: You're like a graceful eagle, looking so good flying around that the air helps you in your funny manoeuvres.

Handle Animal - Strength: Just yank the chain!

Knowledge - Dexterity: You have fast fingers, enabling you to enter stuff into google real fast!

Perception - Charisma: You're so popular, people WANT to show and tell you things.

Linguistics - Constitution: Your big set of lungs allows you to speak loudly to foreigners, because speaking your own language loudly and slowly is a scientifically proved way to bridge the language barrier.

Use Magic Device - Strength: Just press the "shoot" button really, really hard. Bang the staff against the wall a couple of times, or give it a good kick. That usually works.

Sense Motive - Dexterity: Dodge the lies!

FTW!!!

I'm trying to figure out what the heck this feat actually does. Mostly sounds broken but really? Lets see the feat or you can't really judge. Maybe the feat is fine but the player is reading it wrong.

Well, with the near unanimous 5-star reviews "Experts" got at Amazon, I'd think one of you yahoos would have a copy =D

Seriously, I won't be able to get an exact wording myself for a few days when I see my bud again.
I'm hoping the problem is simply an interpretation one myself.

From what I know now without having the exact wording, the feat gets wonky when you replace a really low skill modifier with a really high one (e.g. replacing a -2 or -3 with a +4 or +5).

I'd allow it, but make him choose three skills it works for instead of ALL of them.

I think this is the compromise we're going to reach. We'll see how it goes. I can see the use of this feat in a (very) limited fashion, such as applying to just two or three skills that make sense for character background, etc.

The feat is from Experts 3.5, although I personally have not read it.

Thanks for all the feedback, folks!

Ok, straight to the point (problem):

I’ve got a new campaign getting started; the first game has yet to be played. We’re using a smattering of rules from 3.5 and Pathfinder – heck, we’re flying by the seat of our pants, what with the mixing of the two games.

Anyway, I’ve got a human player character that’s got a 20 Intelligence due to an 18 plus the “+2” to an ability from Pathfinder.

The player has found a feat called “Key Ability Change” (from “Experts” 3.5 maybe?) that allows you to use the modifier from one ability in place of the modifier for another. So, in his case, he’s obviously going to choose his +5 from his 20 Intelligence and use it to replace a much lower modifier (in this case, a -2 from Wisdom).

Um, am I missing something or is this way out of kilter!? Evidently according to the feat’s description, the modifiers aren’t swapped (Intelligence becomes Wisdom, Wisdom becomes Intelligence), but rather the Wisdom modifier becomes the Intelligence modifier.

So, he’s running around with a character whose ability score total is around 75 or 76, but in effect he’s got two 20’s for ability scores when it comes to skills (making his ability score total 95 or 96)!!

Anyone want to talk me back from pressing the veto button on this one!?

Cleave and Great Cleave no longer require dropping your enemy, hitting them is sufficient now (although it now works only against adjacent enemies).

Oh.... OUCH!!!

=)

As the fight went on, however, our characters started to lose ground due to their incessant use of Cleave and Great Cleave. Eventually we wizened up and spread out, resorting to reach weapons and ranged attacks.

How were the Cyclopsesis getting Cleave and Great Cleave set-ups anyway? If they weren't dropping the party, who/how were they cleaving/great cleaving incessantly??

Shinmizu wrote:

I liked the Volo's Guides. :(

Some of the best FR books (heck, best RPG books) available, AFAIC.

This FR-bashing going on here is kinda lame...

I'm personally not FR-bashing. The fact is, FR products (some more than others) are P-A-C-K-E-D with detailed information. "Detailed information" doesn't even describe them appropriately! I was merely lampooning that fact, in Volo's unique style. =)

I can nitpick, too, but truth is: I own every Volo's Guide except the one to Baldur's Gate or some such. I love 'em, too.

Yes but what COLOR are the rooms? ahhh ha! Got ya!

* See FRG1575 "Deepwater and the North" for room color.

=P

Cpt_kirstov wrote:

it also allows them to write adventures set there without disturbing canon.. if they had cannon lawyers saying "there's no castle in that part of the city it's a fur shop, shield shop and blacksmith"

More of a great reason to keep it vague

True 'dat! Can we say "Volo's Guide to..." anyone!?

"The Star Spangled Inn is located between Cat's Alley and Greenwood Street, right next to Tommy's Books and Things. The proprietor is Cattie Do'Umpesh, an 18th level enchantress. She keeps a wand of instant death on her at all times and, literally, can't be killed (Seriously, don't even try to jump the desk ~Elflimnster). The rooms are plush and..."

Ok, I'll put myself out there as flame bait, although my comments are my honest opinions:

I'm not willing to pay $7.99 plus s/h (from Paizo) for a magazine that includes a bulk of information on a game system (4E) that I don't play.

I *did* carry a subscription to Dragon Magazine, which was entirely devoted to a game system I played.

I *do* carry a subscription to Crusader Magazine, which is entirely devoted to Castles and Crusades, which I play ($3.99 cover price or $36.00 annual for 12 issues, btw).

I *would* pay for a magazine totally devoted to Pathfinder, but that idea evidently has generally been poo-pooed by "those in the know". I don't know a thing about the magazine publishing business, so I'll take their collective word on it.

I certainly don't expect a company to hemorrhage money to publish a magazine and would much rather Paizo, for example, use their resources on what they already do exceptionally well: RPG products!

Well, if you want to push somebody or swipe his legs away or grab a hold on him with your hands you need raw muscle strength.

And if you want to avoid such move you need either muscles (stand firmly) or nimble moves (dodge away).

Exactly..."or" being the operative word.

But as far as Strength being *only* for CMB, what about the lithe elf who can feint and sneak a stab in (as a matter of speak; I know there are feint and sneak mechanics)?

CMB = Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + special size modifier

CMD = 10 + Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + Dexterity modifier + special size modifier

I'm just using the Pathfinder Conversion Guide right now until I can get a 2nd printing of the full rules. The calculations for CMB and CMD above are the same as in the Conversion Guide...

I don't understand why Strength AND Dexterity modifiers are used at the same time for CMD. If for CMD, why not CMB? Should it be Strength OR Dexterity, whichever is higher and/or appropriate for the situation?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

What are children learning in school these days?

"Barrak Hussein Obama....Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBA65i26lv8

Climate scientists are engaged in a worldwide conspiracy to fabricate evidence for global warming so they can get more grant money. (But scientists employed by petroleum companies are physically incapable of being influenced by offers of money.)

Ok, I'll bite...

As a scientist myself, I find "global warming concern" to be a sad hysteria that _has_ been used by certain greedy parties to their own benefit - usually by preying on the good intentions of other scientists and the public in general, but also using "useful idiots" in academia, government, business and the entertainment industry.

Man-caused "global warming" or "climate change" is an absolute farce that will rank right up there with the Y2K hysteria of almost a decade ago.

Yes, I'm serious. By Gore, am I serious... Let the flailing begin...

David Fryer wrote:

Celestial Healer wrote:

I failed my sanity check after reading all the crap about Illumians.

I just ignored that, I made my Will save to avoid reading it.

I read it...my wife had to stop me from crying. It hurt so much. they were banned from my table, except for One-Shots.

Illumians from RoD and the whole "Magic of Incarnum" book will find a place at my table if I ever run a...

... DRAGONSTAR campaign! Incarnum and Illumians would fit that setting to a TEE!

Tranquilis wrote:

<sigh> "YES, Mother..." ... ... ... ... ...

Don't call me that.....I would've strangled you at birth.

So you're female, huh? Kewl! A female gamer grrl!!

<eye roll>

Eeuargh. I made the mistake of buying Avalanche's "Endless Sands" book (their take on d20 Arabian Adventures). This is what I bring out to show people when I talk about craptastic OGL material from the early 2000s.

Well nigh 15 years ago, I was in a very memorable campaign that spanned Ravenloft and Al-Qadim. I snagged "Endless Sands" for that reason...no, seriously ;-) I've honestly never taken much of a look inside.

I also bought "Tales of the Caliphate Nights". For one, I spent way too much for it (retail price is ridiculous) and it's too grounded in real-world religion in many ways for my tastes. There is some interesting information in it, but it left me feeling... odd...

Kingdoms of Kalamar did nothing for me.

Agreed.

To each his own;

the problem with a thread like this is it turns into a morass of "I hate this!" "No way--that's teh roxxOrs!" "Wauggh! I like pie!"

BO9S IS TEH ROXXORS, BYOCH!
onnyhoo...

As an aside, they dig it the most here at Paizo if you get onto products and review them, so by all means: if something sucks, give it a star on it's product page and explicate what a piece it is.

<sigh> "YES, Mother..." ... ... ... ... ...

Legends and Lairs is a really wildly mixed bag.

I agree. I wanted to like the "Path of..." series, but...???

Sword & Sorcery, imho, has put out nothing that wasn't garbage or way over the top.

I have most of the Scarred Lands stuff, namely because I got it on the cheap. I have to say I really like the "Relics and Rituals: Olympus" and "R&R: Excaliber" books. I also like "Advanced Player's Guide", but I really don't see me using most of the rules 'cause it would just bog down the game (armor damage, weapon speed factors).

Necromancer Games' Tome of Horror is a nice mixture of really good fluff, very bad artwork, and insane or useless monster stats. Nothing in there is the right CR, but the fluff is wonderful.

I'll admit that I judged Necromancer Games' products by their covers and never picked them up. However, Tome of Horror (1, 2, & 3??) I've seen go for some high prices on Amazon.

Green Ronin's Races Of Renown series was really very very good.

LOVED the Half-Orc book. I finally got the Dwarf book, but didn't like it *as* well (still a good book). I like Green Ronin's stuff in general. I especially like their "Mythic Vistas" series. "Spirosblaak" has the best gunpowder weapon rules (from pistols to artillery) in one place that I've come across yet.

Tranquilis wrote:

Callous Jack wrote:

Hrm... well, there was a Dragonlance Bestiary that was pretty poor but I'm forgetting the name now. I heard the MMs after MM3 were pretty bad too.

Now you're on to something! The 1st printing (3.0?) of the Dragonlance: Bestiary of Krynn was bad. The 2nd printing (DL: BoK Revised; 3.5?) "looked" better, but I never picked it up...

It was slicker and better looking the the 3.0 version, but it was still bad crunchwise.

That's unfortunate. I was interested in the book just to have it, but I don't want to clutter my mind with more bad crunch, lol!

I would say that the Book of Erotic Fantasy and Nymphology were two that I was less than happy with. Of course that's what you get for buying books just to satisfy purient interests. The Slayers Guide to series was a good concept, but poor execution. Same with Sword and Sorcery's Players Guide to series. Also there was a line that I can't remember the title of, but it dealt with Egyption and Mayan settings and such and generally featured almost bare chested women on the cover. I was generally disappointed with those as well. I never bought any but I did flip through a few and I was appaled by the historical inacuracies in what were billed as sourcebooks for historical role-playing.

Nymphology has a damn-potent spell. Off the top of my head, it's "Summon Sexual Partner" and it's like 1st level. Can you imagine the havoc a spell like that would create!? Forget "Fireball"...

I totally agree with S&S's Player's Guide series. I was going to list those, but I refrained. I figured maybe fans of the Scarred Lands setting found more use out of them. As generic sourcebooks, they weren't the best.

As for the bare chested covers, you are thinking of the series of books by Avalanche Press. Geez, it's embarrassing buying one of those in person at the FLGS, lol! Seriously, the marketing was blatant: semi-nude, full color spreads. In fact, the artist has even more provocative artwork out there. Anyway, I really enjoyed two books from that publisher: "Noble Steeds" (buff your mount!) and "All for One, and One for All" (Musketeers)

Hrm... well, there was a Dragonlance Bestiary that was pretty poor but I'm forgetting the name now. I heard the MMs after MM3 were pretty bad too.

Now you're on to something! The 1st printing (3.0?) of the Dragonlance: Bestiary of Krynn was bad. The 2nd printing (DL: BoK Revised; 3.5?) "looked" better, but I never picked it up...

Troll Lord Games had some fairly special adventures, which I would not recommend to everybody, despite the Gygax claims and so on ... say doing a city adventure around Debbie Harry (Blondie) is a bit ... special to me, and that's probably the best one in the bunch.

I love me some Troll Lord Games, especially Castles and Crusades stuff. Their d20 products were...interesting... sometimes, though...

Callous Jack wrote:

Tranquilis wrote:

Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords (maybe it's just my taste, but um...no...)

I hope you have a fire extinguisher as this will not sit well with some folks.

+1. I'll bring hotdogs and marshmallows.

You, sir, must have a weenie... or a few, evidently <grin>

Tranquilis wrote:

Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords (maybe it's just my taste, but um...no...)

I hope you have a fire extinguisher as this will not sit well with some folks.

Bwahawahaw! If I get flamed for an honest opinion, I must be hanging out at the wrong forum [/sarcasm]

Now, Jack, don't be Callous: at least address the original topic. You have to have something to add to the list...

...or, "Bad d20 products".

Hi all!

I've been finding myself gobbling up d20 material published by third-party publishers left and right here of late. The prices on most books and supplements are a bargain, and I really enjoy 3.0/3.5/PF, so it's a good fit.

I've often read about sub-par d20 material and have even heard folks talk about the "glut" of d20 material a few years ago. Although I know all too well that a lot of d20 material was published over the years (especially if you add in pdfs), I have to admit that I haven't found anything just out-and-out horrible yet.

What about you? What would advise someone to stay away from, third-party d20 or otherwise (3.0, 3.5, d20 Modern)?

I'm not around my collection right now, but I can name a couple:

Such is the Way of the Faeries: A Guide to the Thornwode Deeps by Elmore Productions (not a bad book, but not a priority for one's collection; very, very crunch lite, as if the crunch was an after thought)

Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords (maybe it's just my taste, but um...no...)

Planar Handbook (a hodge-podge, desperate attempt to ring another hardback book out of the subject of the Planes)

...?

Kender. Tinker gnomes. Gully dwarves. Minotaur. Draconians.

I think there may be a theme there somewhere...

I'm with you on the Kender and Tinker Gnomes. I HATE Tinker Gnomes, especially.

I've always liked Gnomes, but not "D&D" gnomes, per se. When I play a Gnome, I base it off of traditional legend and not "D".

Ok I was at a debate at the university this week about religion, anyway I admitted that yes I am an atheist and was verbally attacked by a woman on the opposite side of the floor, saying things like I would burn in hell. My only response was a quote by Stephen Roberts to close the debate I said the following.

"I contend we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss the existence of all other possible gods, then you will understand why I dismiss yours."

Apparently this was received as offensive and I still don't see how.

Fella, give me a break! Of course that statement could be construed as offensive, especially after an outburst! If you've got enough moxie to attend a debate about religion, you should have enough - well sense, frankly - to realize that.

"I contend we are both <insert name here>. I just believe that YOU'RE wrong. When YOU understand why YOU are wrong, then YOU will understand why I'm right."

Nah, that's not gasoline on the fire...!?

Word for the day: Wisdom.

I am in an awkward (and very radical) position where I believe that non native (Australian) animals should be slowly phased out of existence in Australia (through mandatory de-sexing, exterminating feral animals and import bans)and owning(or being owned by) a cat.

Does this include humans, and if so how far back?

Anyway, as far as I can tell, "stimulus bill" is a subset of "spending bill." That is to say that people who oppose the current bill seem to do so because of *where* the money is spent without explaining how they expect to stimulate the economy without spending money.

There is absolutely no reason the federal government should be "stimulating" the free market by spending money. That is completely absurd and to call what the government has done with that "stimulus money" stimulus is equally absurd.

It's old news that the free market is stimulated by more money - more of *our* money in *our* pockets, spent the way *we* choose. Yet to speak that way today is to invite ridicule and distain, so effective is the control of the language and the media.

The "paranoid" among us may believe that the massive debt caused by the massive spending has its own nefarious advantages for those currently in power, changing the course of this nation forever. If that be paranoid, then you might just be able to count me among them - only time will tell.

Quite frankly, I'd rather the reason be nefarious that be the child of incompetence, which is the only other explanation in my humble opinion.

You lost me at "failing Iraq war", but I'll bite anyway.

The "stimulus bill" is not a "stimulus" bill. It's a massive expenditure bill supporting pet projects and gearing the US towards additional support of causes du jour such as "global warming", "green/clean energy", etc.

The economy will recover _despite_ the stimulus bill, and the current administration and party in power will take full credit - a brilliant ploy.

If the current party in power is to your liking, take heart that they actually use power when they get it. Covered by willing accomplices in the media, I see no end to their reign - hence why I'm personally "clinging to my Bible and guns."

3)How easy is the transition from 3.5 to pathfinder? In other words, if your players are familiar with 3.5, is the transistion to pathfinder difficult or weird?

I was all pro-Pathfinder until I got the Beta Player's Handbook. It wasn't as backwards compatible with 3.5 as I had hoped and I still have a problem with "CMB" or whatever it's called.

Don't get me wrong, I still root for Pathfinder and love to see positive press and reviews for it. I still continue to purchase Paizo-published adventures. I'll probably give Pathfinder another chance when it goes to print later this year. However, I don't see it supplanting 3.5 for me unless I take time (I don't have) to compartmentalize 3.5 and learn Pathfinder.

I just foresee a lot of confusion trying to keep 3.5 and Pathfinder separate and "straight" FOR MYSELF (I fully admit I'm not as sharp as I once thought I was...)

The biggest "problem" of games like this is that people think it is - or at least has to be - fair and balanced. Especially those constant whinings about mage superiority and the cry for more goodness for melee classes is a huge pain. The simple truth there is that you cant make these classes equally powerful without making them "the same". This is the 4e approach, but IMO it also makes classes much more boring simply because they are "the same in green".

...

Wizards simply are the most flexible class in the game, fighters are focusing everything on their one job. This is the structural difference which explains why they cant ever be balanced evenly by the rules and why the DM has to do this.

QFT

D&D Fan Edition?

Castles and Crusades

So any thoughts from people who have played/gm'd it?

I loved it until I realized that, "If you ain't a Jedi, you ain't nothin'."

Jedi's (even failed) are first tier characters. The rest are supporting cast.

If you can mitigate the above, you should have a blast.

The same as if I posted an article about how what Sarah Palin represents is all that is good about America, there's bias.

Ah, but where are those articles? They don't exist! They aren't out there- because she's "one of them...conservatives" <shock, horror!>

However, those type of articles do exist for "the other side."

The "other side" is replete with positive press- so much so that such articles aren't just biased, but the very institution (journalism) is biased _towards_ "the other side."