Great for filing in party gaps. If no one wants to play a cleric or a rogue, then it can be great. It gives the chance for the DM to have a little bit of investment in the PCs, beyond the norm. He just needs to be built and played in such a way that he is NOT a decision maker. Having his own opinion is cool, but should almost always defer to the rest of the party in a disagreement.
I've seen DMPCs done very well and very poorly. Best used with caution.
The first Rappan Atuk session went well. No deaths, but at least three separate occasions of negative hit points. I did make one serious tactical error, but in the end it's for the best. Had I played that encounter differently I may have had a TPK...
I am a man who walks alone
And when I'm walking a dark road
At night or strolling through the park
When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it's dark.
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there
Have you run your fingers down the wall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you're searching for the light ?
Sometimes when you're scared to take a look
At the corner of the room
You've sensed that something's watching you.
Have you ever been alone at night
Thought you heard footsteps behind
And turned around and no-one's there ?
And as you quicken up your pace
You find it hard to look again
Because you're sure there's someone there.
Watching horror films the night before
Debating witches and folklore
The unknown troubles on your mind
Maybe your mind is playing tricks
You sense, and suddenly eyes fix
On dancing shadows from behind.
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there.
When I'm walking a dark road
I am a man who walks alone.
Maybe it's the fact that Jason David Frank was at Space City Con, but I'm now imagining Freehold standing on the head of his HATETRON(tm).
I would stand on th shoulder of my giant robot, while looking at the horizon. I am a veteran giant robot pilot and would stand upon it accordingly - - only green horns stand on the head!
I do NOT understand how a guy can be famous and have such a following for being on that crappy show... :/
Although, he did seem like a really great guy. So there is that.
A bit of fawsome news. One of our gamers just brought his wife in from Scotland. No, not like that, he's Scottish too.
Anyway, there was some concern about his continued participation with her close by.
BUT she has decided to give gaming a try. Has even gone so far as to visit a local gaming store a few times, but the atmosphere was too loud for her, as she is still adjusting to hearing English all the time. He is going to help her play an 'easy' PC and the group remains at 5 players + GM.
The only thing that makes me nervous is that I am running Rappan Athuk. I may have to pull some punches for awhile.
Spoiler:
Now, if a certain LPM and Mrs. would make their move I could field an optimal table of 7 and wreak true havoc!
Underwhelmed by what exactly? The product descriptions? A handful of forum posts? The Players Guide? At least let the first volume get out before you decide you know how it's going to play out.
Awake for close to 48 hours this weekend, made a f~$%load of money, got really drunk last night, went to bed at 9:30, and then somehow woke up at 4 AM feeling like a million bucks. This is f%*~ing bizarre.
Whether Pathfinder is outselling D&D really doesn't matter all that much. The importance of the figures is that they indicate that Pathfinder is definitely selling very well, which is extremely heartening.
Considering that the position in question is the #1 spot for RPG sales, against the previously unassailable champion, I'd say it actually matters quite a bit.
I strongly suspect that if direct sales and subscriptions were counted, this wouldn't even be a close contest. But, that's just speculation. We also won't know what effect 5th edition will have on the market yet.
In the mean time, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of our favorite system for doing well.
So this thread is turning into, "It's so sad the way a dozen people were killed, but the media doesn't even know which guns they're talking about!"
Shifty, BT: the difference between fully automatic and semi automatic, and which of those should actually be called an assault weapon is just about the least important part of what happened.
Actually, Facts are supposed to be the very heart of journalism. If the can't get the type of firearm correct, which they rarely do, how can you be sure the rest of what they are reporting is accurate?
Questions to ask yourself before being a complete douche bag:
1) Could I communicate with this person in his native language? However poorly.
2) Could I do so calmly when responding to what is already an upsetting topic, in which it has implied that I could be 'just making this s&$# up'.
3) Could I do so in written word, which can be so much harder than just speaking.
If you answer 'No' to any of these questions, stop criticizing now. You are being a douche. Stop it.
If you can answer 'Yes', congratulations. But if your criticizing the guy in the same way as the person who said 'No' would... you're still being a douche. Stop it.
... if there was a special edition Beginner Box with Ashton (WhoDrewThis) Sperry artwork throughout?
You know, for kids!
Oh hell yes... O.O
EDIT: Actually, not just for kids. I'd want this person's art in all sorts of products. I really like it. I wonder how much he charges for commissions.
Man, now that's some f$!*ing b!%&+*+@. Just got rear ended at a stoplight! Stupid damn cager yakking on his damn phone idled right up on my ass.
F#$!ing HATE moronic jerkoffs.
:-/
"Look, it's an attractive girl who chooses not to have sex. She simply must be mocked! I mean, if she is not mocked, why... I may have to examine my own life and the decisions I have made. But we all know that I made all the right decisions. All the ones with no baggage attached, all the ones the are acceptably normal. Yep. So, certainly it is this girl who is making silly choices. I mean, jeez. She believes in God and everything. So, silly and foolish..."
You know, this is the second time in the past week that I have been reminded of this.
Crabs in a Bucket metaphor:
There's a very powerful metaphor of crabs in a bucket. Supposedly, if you put one crab in a bucket, it'll eventually find a way to leverage itself out of the bucket. But if you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, none will ever get out because as soon as one crab gets up near the top, the others reach up, grab onto it and pull it back.
I don't think the crabs are really thinking critically about this, but it's a very human metaphor because people often, when they see someone getting ahead or see somebody who's taking a different path, the tendency is to reach out and try to pull that person back. And if they resist, then to punish them in a whole variety of ways.
One of the ironic things is that often the people who pull you back are those who are close to you. I think one of the reasons is because they see your accomplishments and achievements and individuality as a negative reflection on themselves. It's like holding a mirror up to themselves and by comparison they feel like they're suffering. Their way of dealing with it, instead of themselves trying to achieve, is to try to pull you back.
-John Chaffee
Get over it folks. Whatever her reasons, there are no real risks to choosing to stay a virgin (zomg but it feels so awesome! really doesn't cut it. sorry.), while there are innumerable dangers and complications in choosing not to.
Wolfthulhu
