psionichamster's page

count me in...i'll play a pepto-pink-pugilist named Pete.

class: bard.

after levelling up through commoner, of course.

my preferred perform proficiency: poetry.

alliterates at all available avenues

name: Elan

-the hamster

...

Work Rant: I hate the fact that we just got a bunch new M-4's in and I won't be allowed to qualify with one, or carry one, or keep one in my cubicle...just because I don't go into the field very often...what if HQ got attacked by terrorists? I'm like right by the entrance and all I'll have to defend the homeland with is my .40 and my 870 12 gauge....waaahhaaaaa...I want a fully automatic weapon!!!!! Just think how silly I'll look spraying buckshot at some dude with an AK-47? How silly did the LAPD look in North Hollywood having to go to frickin' gunshops to get enough firepower to take down those bank robbers? I got an image to protect here :)
...
"An Assault Rifle In Every Cubicle" (Charlton Heston)
"A chicken in every pot" (FDR??)
"All I want is sharks with laserbeams on their frikkin' heads" (Dr. Evil)

hmmm....perhaps some extra time on the ranges, practicing ricocheting buckshot from a concret floor into a target's legs/crotch? or many, many, many snatch/load/shoot into 4x4" bobbing targets? (apples on string/playing cards in a light fan-breeze)

work on them headshots man, get that WF: Pistol and GWF: Pistol feat!

-the hamster

not something i hate, but a peeve of mine...

i LIKE it when my players spend their GP on magic items.

i ESPECIALLY like it when they spend ALL their gold on items that are either a: consumable, b: destructible, or c: single-dimensioned.

with my current character (mind you, a 5th lvl start...at least 3 lvls higher than our typical start), i have purchased 1: magic armor, 2: magic shield, 3: adamantine sword.

in game, i have managed to upgrade the armor with found armor, same with the shield, and have gotten the sword enchanted.

so, when the opportunity came to purchase an "arming rod," i leapt at it. (rod which makes it a std. action to don/doff any 1 type of armor, possibly switching it for what you're currently wearing). why? 2 reasons.

1: i can stop asking for help in putting on/taking off my full plate (knight, not going without it)

2: can doff said full plate if i get knocked in the water/need to be quiet in 1/40th the time before.

now i'm just afraid i'll get that particular item boosted from me by a sneaky rogue-y type.

hmm...not much of a rant, upon reflection...

i got it...

i hate having to level up the hard way, in real life. working out is HARD, and dieting sucks about as bad as i can imagine something sucking.

there.

-the hamster

bards are my all-time favorite class to play

of course, i am drawn to the more social end of the game, so pure combatability is not the be-all-end-all for me. even my current knight/cleric has decent charisma and max ranks in intimidation (and a few in diplo)

one of my favorite short-term characters was a full bard (lvl 15). he was the party's ONLY spellcaster, if i recall correctly...(save the dragon sorc/barb..but he was only lvl 1 in each), so was responsible for healing, buffing, detection, and support magic. with good feat choices (mostly heroic spirit and action surge), he was able to carry the party through when they really should have failed.

and the best part: his perform was poetry (haiku)...gotta love it!

as for a bard's effectiveness in the STAP...inspire competence makes all your sailors better at sailing, for as long as he sings/chants...inspire courage is just good, period...bardic knowledge, speak language, and diplomacy when you have to deal with the natives on the isle of dread are all key.

plus, they can heal, cast support magic, and handle their own in a (short) tussle.

-the hamster

that's an interesting point with the Orc's darkvision/light sensitivity.

i hadn't thought of it before, but it DEFINITELY makes a lot of sense.

not to mention, their natural hits to int, wis, and cha make the profession skills unlikely to be high among the low-level members of the tribe. (like most of them)

i could see them as night-raiders, though, on land. massive hordes smashing through the human camps at night? sounds like a huge advantage to the race with darkvision (or lowlight).

the hamster

i'd recommend you read the last couple of months of

[color=blue]Dominic Deegan, Oracle for Hire[/color], Saern.

It will illuminate you when it comes to "civilized" Orcs.

(as well as being some damn good reading!)

-the hamster

in my campaigns (note: have been playing Eberron for some 3-4 years, and homebews prior to that), the following are generally true:

Kobolds: consumate clan-workers, these little critters are paranoid, xenophobic, cowardly, and amazing engineers. think tinker-gnomes from Dragonlance, without the Rube Goldberg-esque mental defects. these are the guys to think up repeating crossbows, knock-down-portable siege engines, self-firing ballista, and all sorts of fun mechanical things.

physically weak, they let their intellects and clan structures guide them. they are also crazy about dragons, and consider themselves as simply Small dragons, for the most part.

Goblins: the city-dwellers and shadow-hiders. they use their natural sneakyness and possessive nature to acquire, trade, and make profit. if they can get it for nothing, even better.

generally the largest population of the monstrous humanoids, they stay in groups and often form gangs/cliques within their clan. (the roofrunners, lockpickers, sneakthieves, fences, and the like would all have their own gangs, similar to human guilds). larceny, assault, and murder are all accorded mercantile value, and those that can pull it off and not get caught are respected/feared all the more.

Orcs: strong, savage, these are the "vikings" of the monstrous humanoids. they generally live in an inhospitable area (typically either arctic, desert, or savannah populated by fierce beasts), and must force nature to their will. they rely on their natural (+4 base) strength to carry them through their lives, and respect power/strength more than anything else.

when they are short of supplies, one of their more charismatic/strongest leaders whips them into a frenzy, and all hell breaks loose as the clan rampages onto the nearby "soft" humans/demi-humans, to take what they can't defend.

orcs GREATLY respect their few druids/clerics, mostly because they are usually the MOST powerful creatures they can think of, and also because of their typically more capable intellects (high wis?).

Gnolls: are tribal hunters, similar to the Inca or Aztec early meso-america. since they are so rarely encountered in THEIR cities/towns, it's unlikely that the few outside will be indicative of their whole civilization.

savage beasts, (as their entry clearly states they prefer to eat live, terrified, prey) they are pretty much inimical to human/demihuman life. much like the Aztecs were seen by the other tribes they conquered.

Lizardfolk: scavengers and swamp-survivors. more primitive than most of the others, simply because they don't NEED to have amazing technology to help them survive.

the combine the best parts of Crocodile (cunning, strength, armor, able to hold breath a LONG time) and a human (adaptability, culture, communication, and hands), thus creating the ultimate swamp predator. if not for green dragons, lizardfolk would be the most dangerous threat of any swampy terrain.

Hobgoblins: the most "human" of the monstrous humanoids, they are regimented, tightly organized, and capable of great works when motivated in the proper direction.

unfortunately, those in power often turn on the most convenient targets, rather than concentrate the power of ALL the hobgoblins (and their slave armies...kobolds, goblins, and bugbears included) on a single target. if they WERE to acquire a single leader of great insight and charisma (the Hobgoblin Alexander the Great or Julius Cesear, perhaps), all those around them are in SERIOUS trouble.

Bugbears: similar to Orcs, in that they usually want to thump things into submission. they are used to more "stealth behind them" attacks, though, owing to their racial bonus to move silently.

they are consumate guerilla soldiers, working behind enemy lines and disrupting life in general, ESPECIALLY when the enemy can't see in the dark. put a few commandos in a hobgoblin led strike force, and the enemy better watch it.

similar to Klingons, they fight over perceived insults and threats to honor, which limits their general effectiveness as a whole, although singly or in small groups, they can be devastating.

i think that about wraps it up...culturally, there is no reason for ANY of the above to NOT live on their own...unless it's easier, more profitable, or external situations force their hand.

-the hamster

kobold pirates?

i am intrigued!

how did your players come up with that idea? was it a serious of infividual decisions, or a group consensus kind of thing?

-the hamster

well, since there's already a thread with a fairly appropriate title, may as well post here.

looks like i will have from 4-6 pc's in my upcoming ST game.
3 likely characters are:

rogue - going to extreme explorer
rogue - going to dread pirate/duelist perhaps
psion (nomad) - drug runner and smuggler extraordinaire

not sure what the others will want to play, but i am hoping at least 1 will play a cleric, and more than likely, at least 1 will play a heavy hitter (likely ranger/druid)

-the hamster

DEFINITELY pick up the Zombie Survival Guide.

it's the book that made me change my mind about a shotgun, in favor of a 9mm carbine.

lessee here, d20 modern ideas:

the food/water around the area has become contaminated. (slow acting poison/virus) a large, reputable drug company is behind it, as a project to both clear out land for easy acquisition and a little RnD on their new bio-weapons.

the aforementioned lvl 2 zombie outbreak. the PC's must quell it, flee from it, or somehow survive the 4 weeks it'll take for the last of them to starve out.

animals in the area have become vicious and are attacking their owners/passerby. the police are baffled and the animal control people are COMPLETELY overworked, what with all the dogs/cats/rats/squirrels/pigeons that have gone bonkers. the cause: an evil druid has gained immense power through some artifact/ritual/pact, and is turning the animals of the city on the people.

rival spirits are trying to take over the turf the PC's and THEIR rivals are going for. one's a nasty spirit of decay and entropy, all about rot and chaos. the other's a spirit of Man, looking to increase the population of people and get some puppets of it's own to wipe out the enemy.

rival gangs have started going missing. when the locals/other gangers have tried to scavenge their stuff, they ALSO go missing/insane. someone's been playing with the insect spirits, and they're making a hive RIGHT under the city.

a vigilant is out and about, ferociously attacking and deliberately crippling even petty criminals. the police are baffled, as he constantly stays one step ahead of them. they put out a general contract on his whereabouts. the twist - he's a revenant, looking for justice on someone, but he's gotten confused. its up to the PC's to help him or hunt him down.

thats all i got right now, will try to keep some new ideas coming outta this rusty brain box o' mine

the hamster

you're right...especially about the rogue officers

although that may be an artifact of where i lived (lessee here...walking through urban New Haven at 0600, white dude, dressed like he's got some money...must be here to buy/sell/distribute)

living out of the "norm" for the situation gets you stopped and "talked to" many many many times. personal experience tells me that.

and you're right, i know what not to do. i know i'm not committing crimes. i know i have nothing to really fear from those nice men in uniforms.

but the end result is: there's 2 of them, 1 of me. they have sticks, guns, pepper spray, and handcuffs, and worst of all, radios.

so, your average citizen (white, middle-class working stiff btw. 18-30, like yours truly) has a slightly less than "oh let's have a nice little chat" attitude when approached by armed men/women.

but that's a rant for a completely other topic...

my original post wasn't really about that part of the post...that came out as i was typing...must have been a cathartic kind of typing leakage, i would assume.

but i stand by my statment. when you have to have a piece of paper/plastic/computer chip to tell the world who you are, we've grown too far apart to trust one another. time to move on to quieter, friendlier locales. (if they're to be found)

the hamster

again, i am reminded about stupidity

we, (at least those of us in the USA) are slowly becoming more and more gullible, and foolish.

with each passing terror incident, whether actual, potential, or "foiled", the US government takes one (or several) more of our civil liberties away.

before you know it, there will be inter-state checkpoints and all citizens will be required to carry ID at all times.

hell, that's now.

try getting stopped on the street and be unable to produce identification. i dare you to go unshaven (for you males) or in a burkha, walk around a close-by town, and see how many times you get stopped for questioning by those fellows and ladies in the nice blue uniforms.

better be able to prove you're who you say you are...and that "Guess?" label on your jeans ain't gonna cut it.

Heinlein had it right. once you're in a community large enough to require identification papers, it's time to move on out and start fresh.

and on the advertising....

i recommend everyone reads William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition", in which the main character, Caise Pollard, has a VERY severe reaction to any and all major logo's and brands. quite an interesting read.

here's to the end of the world as we know it, chummers!

the hamster

i'd recommend a Warlock

give him the "set you on fire", Eldritch Spear, and Spider-Climb Whenever You Want invocations.

(later on, get sickening blast and vitriolic)

his M.O.?

climb as high as possible, and snipe.

there, instant "arcane support" with a pretty bad-arse 1-shot sniper-bot, noone's getting an area of expertise stepped on, you win.

as far as character design goes...

a loner who really wants to be liked...perhaps an outcast from "nice" society due to his propensity for colors macabre, blood-themed speech, or just being an all around creepy bastard. play him like a shy, dangerous, emo-brat who REALLY wants the party to like him, but can't bring himself to actually verbalize his desires. (cuz his pain is so great, noone would possibly know what it is like to be him...boo hoo hoo)

there you go.

non-spotlight taker, can kill things (or disable them, what with the whole "i'm on fire, putitoutputitoutputitoutputitout, run around while being on fire" of his enemies (from 250' away, mind you)

hell, when you can, get hideous blow (perhaps via an "extra invocation" feat) and Improved Unarmed Strike. i can see a WHOLE lotta brawls happening in this AP, and being able to pimp-slap someone for lvl/2 d6 fire damage, AND set em on fire seems to be a nice addition.

last suggestion...have him HEROICALLY sacrifice himself for the greater good of the party. gets swallowed by the kraken and gives him burning indigestion, becomes king-kong-food on the isle of dread, or the like. DMPC's are not cool in my book.

but, to each his own.

good luck
the hamster

i'd recommend the following.

set out how you'd like your initial plot line to start, a couple of notable things to happen along the way, and end.

ie,

ghost-ranger (GR) finds the PC's after they acquire some mundane part of his old gear (perhaps a cloak or backpack).
they are looking for some adventure, so GR manifests (or uses telekinesis, or whatever ghostly powers you give him) and prompts them along to the place he died/is buried/the lair of his murderer.

along the way, they are beset by bandits/orcs/undead, and must defeat them to continue. (or similar situation)

at the location the GR wants them to go, they must find his bones/determine if the map/other quest item/personal artifact is really there, or similar goal, which is PARTIALLY completed.

they go back to GR's original place of communication (perhaps a certain room in a certain inn at a certain time of night), and get more back story/info on the baddies.

NOW, you've got them hooked on a particular quest, involving your GR, and you can send them all over creation so long as you keep the "getting there" fun and only ever partially completed.

---things to avoid:
paladins/pious exorcists in the party...not a good combo to start with a ghost-patron

giving TOO much info about the ghost away at once. then it seems like they are geting TOLD what is happening, rather than MAKING what happens

TELLING the players what to do. you've gotta be more tricksy than that. after you subtle lead into "follow this guy's instructions" make them seem reasonable and profitable. soon enough they'll be thinking it was THEIR idea to listen to the dead guy with the ghost-touch knives...

lastly, be prepared to improvise. your players WILL throw you curveballs. expect that. you won't know just WHAT they will do/say/burn, but expect that they'll do SOMETHING stupid to break your plot. if you're flexible about timelines, locations, and NPC's, you can go with the flow, and they'll never know that situation A was REALLY supposed to happen at Town C, and NPC Bob was never really a vampire-monk until AFTER they completely ignored the (you thought) obvious hints about NPC Lord Alucard d'Blood-Drinker. (exaggeration, but you get the hint.)

good luck, and stay cool!

namaste'
the hamster

i hate my boss, and by extension, my job.

despite the fact that everything is getting done to the best of my ability, she takes the fact that i am on the internet while at work as a sign that i am NOT working. sure, she sees the 1 screen i have on the top of the desktop, decides that that's NOT work-related, and calls the IT dept. to get our entire office's internet access terminated.

after she LEFT the office at 0900, only to return AFTER 1300. so, for 4 hours, she is not there, nor is there anyone ELSE who is getting paid 6 times as much as me to make decisions, handle discipline problems, and answer to testing sites and nursing floors just why their patients are not being transported in a timely manner.

(oh yeah, i dispatch for a hospital's patient transport/environmental services/linen services department)

so, with NO real information and only a snap decision, she takes away the ONE thing that keeps me sane at that lousy place.

it took a supreme amount of self-control NOT to quit right then and there, telling the entire hospital, via Email, just exactly what she has NOT been doing for the past 4 weeks.

arghhh!

i also hate that i now have to drive to work (since my old apartment was only 2 blocks away, but the constant sirens/flood lights/drug dealers and the occasional gunshots/police raids were not too conducive to a safe and happy living environment), and have to actually fill my car with gas more than 1/month!

hmm...Saern, i think you may be on to something here.

hippy = counterculture representative = societally denigrated to help further the cause of the status quo.

of course, i like saying "i hate hippies" because it's funny to me. and i REALLY can't stand B.O. covered up with mud, patchouli, weed-smoke, and the like.

personally, i hate stupidity.

willful ignorance, diregarding logic, sheepishly following the status quo, rubbernecking, drunk driving, and self-inflicted wounds are all in the same boat with me. people should feel excruciating pain (like a spinal puncture or severe neck spasm) when they DO something stupid. (perhaps it can ramp up to that level as they go along, so they get an idea of what is going to come about.)

other than that, i'm ok with pretty much anything.

even hippies. so long as they don't stink up my personal airspace, or subject me to stupid ideas about crystals forecasting my personal future or other bs.

namaste'
the hamster

ha!

hahahahaha!

wow, that really made me laugh inside.

newsflash: a 10,000 print run, that's cake.

do you know the costs of shipping, postage, paper, ink, press-time, proofs, re-made proofs, advertising, marketing, writing, editing, designing, redesigning, Reredesigning that goes into your average publication?

i'm gonna bet NOT, since you AREN'T (by your own admission) running a magazine.

kudos to you for reading for so long. i am sure you have acumulated many many hours of good gameplay for your gaming fun time. that doesn't really excuse your impolite nature or blatant accusatory tone.

i mean, here you are, on the FREE site that PAIZO owns, operates, and FREQUENTS. (and the likelihood of another CEO/Editor In Chief of say, maxim, WoTC, etc frequenting, READING and RESPONDING on said boards is about nil), and throwing venom in their faces.

wow.

but, to each his own, and you are very much entitled to your opinion. as for me, i'm ordering at least 1 of the booklets, and will probably d/l and distribute the PDF to my players when we do start the AP.

seriously, that was funny.

namaste'
the hamster

i highly recommend you read [u]American Gods[/u] by Neil Gaiman

pretty much what you're describing, he's got.

as far as a 3rd party to the group, you've already got trickery, war, death, magic, knowledge, fire, creation, and presience amongst your pair.

they need a god (goddess) of life, nature, family, community, and the like. (well, they don't NEED one, but that's what they're missing out on.)

a woman's touch, so to speak.

grandmother bear?
anasazi?
buddha?

someone who can soften the edges of these pretty hard-nosed gods, and make them palatable to fearful commoners.

namaste'
the hamster

Phanatons = check
Kopru = check
Ixitxachitl = check
Rakastas = nope

Plus...
Tyrannosaurus (one really, really tough one)
Araneas
Were-jaguars
Leech Swarms
Couatl
Dragon Eel
An Avatar of Camazotz, the Olman bat god
And much, much, more...

YAY!

and better yet, i have miniatures for almost all of these creatures.

this is turning out to be exactly what i was hoping for!

namaste'
the hamster

well, if the party is so hurting for divine healing, then yes, the cleric is going to be the "go-to-guy" to patch them up.

BUT, this allows for some significant control on the Cleric's part to change the party's tactics.

"ambush" attacks = less loss of life on the party's part
"area of effect" and "crowd control" spells get played up in the wizard's repoitoire
ranged weapons become worth their weight in plat.

also: get a wand of CLW, and later 2. (maybe some scrolls of Cure Moderate). hell, if you're so worried about not having non-healing spells, get Scribe Scroll, and just whip them out.

this way, you can always patch the saps back together, and still have your prepared spells to play with.

namaste'
the hamster

<snip>

Ability wise they don't get too much, spells, domains, wearing armor, and turning undead. The variety of spells mentioned as a plus are all generaly healing spells or health related spells.

Any power they may weild is through roleplaying and not a class function in itself. But how heavy handed is a lawful good cleric going to be with his healing to his comrades and friends?

um....hate to break it to you, but these statements are pretty much wrong.

to whit:
domains = 2 free powers (or feats) which can really drastically change the face of the game (travel domain = no web/entangle for you,)
spells = ALL THE DIVINE SPELLS. if you're playing core rules only, then there's not too many to choose from. but once you break into the supplemental rules, there's TONS of stuff you can pull off.
Heavy armor. sure, it's gonna slow you down. but you're ac is much better than your average wizard (or you have 2 extra spells/ day, since he just cast mage armor and Shield to get the same benefit as your full plate)
no spellbook. can't be stolen/destroyed. don't have to pay money for spells.
turning undead. 'nuff said, here, i think. except if you take the right domains (and extra turning, perhaps) you can turn elementals, plants, animals, oozes, vermin. pretty nice, i would think
2 good saves. sure, they are gonna have poor ref. saves. but that's it.
3/4 bab. well, you're as good a fighter as the rogue, bard, druid, aristocrat, and monk.
d8 hp. same as druid, monk, ranger

so, in the end, you end up with someone who can fight, wear armor, has a full caster progression, wears any kind of armor, carrys any (except tower) kind of shield, has decent HP, can turn AT LEAST undead, and heal the party (and himself.)

yep.
weak.

as far as "power through roleplaying, not a class function itself"?.

see above.

note: this is not intended as a personal attack, but probably a reaction to SOOOOO many "clerics are teh uber" or "clerics/druids are so broken" threads. not so much here, but on other sites.

namaste'
the hamster

on the "pro-DnD-Mini's" side, they DO have a couple of advantages over pewter minis.

1: weight. have you ever tried to carry a box of 70-100 pewter minis? significant weight, and if you're DM'ing at a non-home location, figuring in books, minis, dice, anything else, that's a butt-load to carry around.

2: paint. sure, they're not perfect. sure, you may HATE the paint job. but the point is, they ARE painted. i dunno how many of you have 30-60 minutes to paint 1 (one) mini, but if i were to do so for each of the PC's, that's 6 hours, and each mook takes about as much time as a boss figure.

and sure, you can use them unpainted, but if you're doing that, it's hard to keep track of who's who, especially at a distance.

also: paint ain't free. add that to the "savings" of the pewter mini's, cuz it's NOT an expense with the pre-made plastic "garbage"

3: durability. toss your pewter (or lead, or scupley) fig's in a cardboard box. rattle them around in the trunk of your car for a day or so, then count the new pieces. oh wait, each one is it its own, padded, safe-like compartment in your travel case? how much did that cost?

all told, i think they're worth it. still wish i had gotten those Giants of Legend boxes when i coulda...only got 1 and i've been kicking myself for some time.

(btw, Paizo sale price and Ebay price may vary quite significantly. case in point: Tiamat is going for 20-25.00 US on Ebay right now.)

namaste'
the hamster

hmmm

how about the "turle hermit" style monk?

paladin 4/monk 5/Xerth Cenobite (psionic monk type from complete psionic)

for the 1st 6 or so levels, Lando (the paladin/monk in question) was pretty much next-to-useless in combat. he spent his monk and standard feats on "wpn focus longsword" "throw anything" "monastic training: paladin" and "whirling steel strike"

which meant he could throw longswords as flurry weapons (range 10'), and miss all the time.

however, his best stats were Cha, Wis, and Int (18, 16, 14, IIRC). combining divine grace, perfect saves of monk, and some other nice synergies which i don't recall off-hand, he was operating at roughly 2x lvl in saves. across the board.

the ONLY things that could consistently hit him, at high levels, (since ranged attacks, touch attacks, save-or-die spells, area of affect spells, fear effects, poison, disease, falling damage, and the like were all but useless) were large, grappling monsters with high strength.

mages/psionicists were all but useless.

keep in mind, too, this was a character that was played organically from 2nd lvl (mon1/pally1), and ALWAYS tried to talk his way out of combat (max ranks in diplomacy + 18 cha + circlet of persuasion?)

also consider the "couldn't do anything else, so i may as well craft" gnome.
bard/cleric with 10 cha and 10 wis.
18 int, though.
so he uses the intro lvls of bard and cleric to basically, not get anything groovy, (save access to the spell lists for items, and domain powers), and then starts levelling as an artificer. he later built items and infusion-thingers to up those abysmal stats, and was slinging out Arcane, Divine, and Artifice magic with impunity, later on.

both these characters were played by the same individual, mind you.

now, for one which i have not gotten to play yet, and should get you thinking.

Cleric 5/Alienist 10/Thaumaturgist 5

yep

don't need to be arcane for Alienist, and Thaumaturgist just adds icing to the cake.

summons aliens to do his bidding on this plane, all the while doing all the "normal" cleric-y stuff. healing the sick, feeding the poor, creating homes for the homeless. by means of horrible Cthulhu-esque pseudonatural creatures.

best of all...full 20 lvls of caster progression, heavy armor, and once you hit 6th lvl, you can pick any of the critters on the summon monster list (well, celestial/fiendish), cuz pseudonatural has no alignment switch (like Cel/Fiend)...thereby allowing your Good cleric of say, Pelor, to summon a (no longer fiendish) Huge Scorpion, or Girallon, or whathave you.

lets hear it for breaking the Arcane/Divine stereotypes!

namaste'
the hamster

human psion(shaper) with Psionic Body and Psionic Talent for almost all my feats.

would possibly take the "Artiste" psicrystal at some point.

my goal: to adventure as safely as possible until i can get the TK powers and Fabricate, Psionic.

after that, take my time and build my house/inn/bar/bookstore/whatever else i may want to have.

i mean, looking at something, thinking about HOW it fits together, and then it just happens?

yeah, i'll take one of that.

or warforged bard. cuz, that would be fun.

namaste'
the hamster

Gamers (not just DnD) tend to be more descriptive in their speech, more detailed in their scrutiny, and (for the most part) completly Draconian (pun soooooo intended) when it comes to analyzing rules/code/punctuation.

that's what makes us good proofreaders, managers, HR personnel (if we can avoid the requisite lobotomy), coders, game-testers, and the like.

the ability to sit at 1 task for long periods of time, expending vast amounts of mental energy to stay focused and achieve the goals desired...THIS is what makes a gamer unique, in my opinion.

namaste'
the hamster

(btw: thank you so much for the Colbert links...they made my morning!)

h

hamster: cute, small furry animal which likes desert dwellings, can go for long distances without water or other supplies, and carries snacks in his cheek pouches.

my totem animal, if i am to believe my friends

psionic: mental power, crystals, creation of things from ectoplasmic nothing. and massive energy blasts without warning.

yeah, that's me

http://www.flashplayer.com/animation/hamstersrevenge.html
(note: not really workplace appropriate...cartoon animation violence and interesting music...)

namaste'
the hamster

WoTC just released this little Design and Development article, by Mike Mearls, on their site

linky: [ur]http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060714a[/url]

enjoy!

namaste'
the hamster

as far as being the only healer as a druid, at low levels, it's worth preparing all cure minor wounds as your 0th lvl spells, and cure light wounds once. if the party gets more banged up than that in a day, try to space out your encounters more...in other words, run away. fast.

use your summon nature's ally when you must provide a screener or temporary blocker, but be aware, at 1st lvl, that creature is around for 1 round, then is gone. make it last.

alternatively, look at the entangle spell.

1st lvl
reflex save or be entangled
if NOT entangled, movement is at 1/2 speed, and must make new saves each round (on your turn) they remain in the area

lasts 1min/lvl (or 10, not sure), and is a huge (40' radius?) area.

this is your prime druid 1st lvl spell. hands down, beats all. (except when situationally inappropriate, ie, in a city or underwater or in the air, with no plants around)

if you are going the "healer" route, check out Augment Healing from the Complete Divine book. +2 hp/lvl of healing spell, not too sure on the req's, but i believe you could take it at 1st lvl...

that means a cure light spell does 1d8+3 at 1st lvl. quite nice, especially for the sole healer in the party.

namaste'
the hamster

I had some strange reactions to my gaming and the cover when I was reading in the lunchroom at work today. I was called down to HR to talk about how I was reading adult material at work. I then pulled it out of my bag and let HR look at the magazine. She then recanted about how it was an adult material but then started about how the cover was not appropriate for a workplace. I then pointed out the Cosmo on her desk and pointed out to her that that cover model had less clothing on then the artwork on the cover of Dungeon. She became real quiet after that and then said that I should not be reading children’s magazines at work because it will set a bad example for my direct reports. It was an interesting meeting after that when we called the call center director down to HR for the talk at that point. Turns out she played D&D in the 80’s and we then started talking about our favorite adventures from 1st edition. HR was not amused at how this turned out.

ha!

ha, ha, ha

i laugh at the inane attempts of HR to counteract the imagination of their employees, once again.

also: you should probably send that person a note or card or something, with definitions of "adult" and "children's" written in clear, non-mistakeable lettering. and a clipping of ann landers.

why? just because.

hahahaha

you managed to defeat the HR monsters!!!

namaste'
the hamster

well, we currently have 3 of the above classes in play in both our bi-weekly games right now.

i play a knight 5/ cleric 1 in one game, and a Gnomish beguiler 3 in the 2nd.

a friend plays a Duskblade 3 in the one w/ my Beguiler. (he dm's the other)

things i have noticed re: these classes:

Knight: High HP, high AC (based around AC, with Shield Spec, Shield Ward, plate mail and heavy steel shield), very tough to kill.
drawbacks: low init score, low movement (at least until Knight 9), low dex=no real ranged combatability. also, has diplo/intimidate as class skills, so has some decent social interaction skills.

Beguiler: not really better or worse in magic than my halfling sorcerer in another game, but that may be my play type coming to the fore. high skill points= useful even when out of spells, and social skills= a mage who can sound reasonably intelligent without being completely socially inept.

spells: coloor spray, silent image, and expeditious retreat are the most common ones used for me...mage armor is all but useless with my chain shirt, but will be quite nice when cast on the druid/monk in the party.

as the "face" of the party, its somewhat challenging to keep everyone on the same "mission," or even going the same direction, but, again, that's more likely an artifact of our playstle rather than the class itself.

Duskblade: rather deadly, from what i can tell. he just got arcane channeling, and we've been going over the rather disturbing "home-run-bat*" type of attacks he can pull off, with relativly limited prep.

combine a channeled shocking grasp[i] with a (swift action to cast) [i]blade of blood with a spell-storing sword with another shocking grasp spell in it (nothing illegal that i can see there, other than a 3rd lvl character having a +2 effective weapon, unlikely at best), and thats 1d8+str*1.5+3d6+3d6+3d6 damage on a single melee attack.

at 3rd lvl.

of course, this means he's using 3 of his daily spells (2 shocking grasp and 1 blade of blood), as well as taking 5hp damage himself. and he still needs to hit with that attack.

other than that, he doesn't have the skills of a ranger, he's short 2 feats of a fighter, and about 15 hp of a barbarian. he also would have had divine grace and lay-on-hands if he was a paladin. basically, he's really good at whacking 1 guy, then fading back and "recharging" his attack for another enemy.

seems to be akin to a soulknife, save that a SK would be able to do his psychic-strike/psionic weapon tricks all day long, and 2 fights will almost completely drain the duskblade of spells/day.

as a caveat: we don't usually play high-lvl games (just recently finished one which ran about 18mo-2yrs, and the party went from 2nd lvl to 12th or 13th at the end), so it may be that at high levels, these characters are untouchable and unkillable. as of now, however, they seem fragile and hittable enough to me.

*"home-run-bat" see "Super Smash Brothers, Melee"...weapon which, when used properly, completely demolished the opponent in 1 swing.

namaste'
the hamster

Well if the format is that the first movie is just going to be Dragons of Autumn Twilight then they have enough room to explain the details. The catch is if they have what it takes to make explaining of the details in this Krynn epic in a cool manner. Krynn and this particular tale only makes sense if you understand the background from the Cataclysm etc.

Mainly I'm concerned with the idea of making this an animation flick – nothing against cartoons ... just saw The Incredibles the other day and it was great but I strongly question if this material works with that format. This is an epic of Good and Evil and one wants to come away understanding that the nature of Good is that it redeems its own and that Evil feeds on itself (but it also feeds on Good). I question whether an animated flick can convey some of these aspects in an impactful manner.

In the end Tolkien's work could never effectively be portrayed as a kids movie (despite some attempts to do so) and I would contend that the same holds true for the Dragonlance Epic.

bolded emphasis mine...

i would highly recommend you watch at least some of the following movies.

Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" & "Spirited Away"
The Wachowski Bro.'s "Animatrix"
Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira"
Mamoru Oshii's "Ghost in the Shell"
Rintaro's "Metropolis" (Metoroporisu in Japanese)

all of which have deep philosphical underpinnings, serious writing, and adult situations plaguing (mostly) 3-dimensional characters. (the dialogue can get a little ham-handed sometimes, but that is usually an artifact of the translation from the original, rather than a true indication of sophomoric intent)

granted, most are not American, but then again, we're supposed to be a world community, no?

of course, the DL movie will quite likely bite, as we were shown with not 1 but 2 awful Dungeons & Dragons movies.

please don't rag on animation, it gets enough guff already.

namaste'
the hamster

haven't played the AP's before, so i can't help you there. but i DO have some experience w/ premade modules and there lack of psionic content.

some general guidelines:

any sorcerer you come across, can fairly easily be made a psion. just take the salient powers to replace their spells/day, and remember, they TOO can be quite charismatic. (especially them Telepaths...)

BBEG's seem tailor made for the Thrallherd class. i mean, with 1 feat, he can pull in a powerful thrall and possibly believers. for extra pull, give the thrall leadership and a cohort of her own. (recently did this in reverse...leader-cleric had Shaper-Thrallherd Cohort, who had a Nomad thrall...all a cozy little insane family)

remember your psionic monsters/races.
half-giants
githyanki/githzerai
illithids (of course)
yuan-ti
goblins (Blues)

and the rest of the XPH races

when in doubt, or if you need a quick, last-minute-replacement, use this.
soulknife x (where x is Average Party Lvl), with Psionic Weapon, Greater Psionic Weapon, Psychic Meditation, Speed of Throught, and Psionic Body.

that's at 9th lvl for all those feats (not necessarily in that order), and nets you +4d6 dmg on a focus-dump-melee attack, spd 40' base (while focused), and 10 extra HP.

ranks in hide/move silently/climb/jump/balance, and you have the dash-in attacker to open your combat.

last but not least, take the time to re-populate the treasure items a bit. boots of skating, crystal shards, the various 3rd eye items...all are useable by "norms," and make the psionic PC's quite happy when they find psionic treasure as well as (or in place of) magic treasure.

alternatively, just swap out that +1 sword for a +1 Psionically enchanted sword. it may not glow, but it probably chants or hums when you swing it!

if you know your XPH cover-to-cover, these basic guidelines will help immensely, as i know they did for me!

namaste'
the hamster