Jaelithe, one good example of what you're talking about are the Harry Dresden books. What did the author of the series have to say on it?
The first Harry Dresden book was written, and I quote, "as if I was some kind of formulaic, genre-writing drone" and was written to prove to a teacher just how awful the result would be.
Back on topic...
One thing that will get me shunned?
I actually think that the issue of dwarves living underground is overdone to the point of boredom.
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- I believe the constant escalation of power in player characters is detrimental to the holistic gaming experience
- I think everyone who plays D&D should DM at least a handful of times, so as to better appreciate what that guy or gal behind the screen is dealing with
You are welcome at my table. Welcome, welcome, welcome.
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I like my dwarves a very alien-seeming community, kind of a cross between Star Control 3's Clairconctlar and an ant colony with a strong undercurrent of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri's Human Hive and Chairman Sheng-ji Yang. Their Charisma penalty represents the lesser sense of self a dwarf holds on to. Dwarves will do as is their station and role. Clever communication is unnecessary, as other dwarves will do as is expected of them, and everyone benefits.
And they are most definitely NOT Scottish.
I've tried all the major drink groups, and they're all gross.That just means you haven't tried enough minor drink groups. There's basically an alcohol for everyone (except for those people that can't handle their alcohol, under 21, and other PC messages.)
Every time I see your screen name I think of Tequila Rose. Stuff tastes like strawberry Quick.
Lol, well I did enjoy mixed drinks; but only because they didn't taste like alcohol. And seeing as I wasn't drinking to get buzzed or drunk, I figured I might as well save myself a few bucks and just order an orange juice, or whatever.
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In my English classes, Lord of the Rings was actually used as an example of how not to write a book. In particular, how it is he forgot conservation of detail and went overboard a few times (this is actually one of the primary criticisms...The only flaw I see comes from the ADD personalities that want to put the blame on the work instead of their own shoulders. By every definition the works of J.R.R. Tolkien are and will always be MASTERPIECES of fiction. As long as civilization endures it will be the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings that will studied by literary scholars, not these overly glitzed cartoons with their BESMs.Not to reply twice to this topic in short succession...but pretty much see my post above. I love Tolkien, but I get it. Tastes have changed for starters many dont want to waid through something so densly packed with detail, but beyond that it is a flawed work in many ways, most of which is forgiven because it is a seminal work to most anything that came after it.I seriously don't get this Tolkien hate. I devoured the Hobbit and LotR when I was ten years old. At one point I knew more about ME than the real world. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the fact I'm seeing this opinion more and more doesn't sit well with me. Most of the so-called fantasy people are reading today is the equivalent of trash romance novels; and what's worse they mistake them for quality stories....I actually like Tolkien?Can't actually say weather I like or dislike him. I tried reading Fellowship back in 7th grade, and couldn't get through the first chapter. I've been meaning to give Tolkien a go again, since that was 15 years ago now, but between keeping up with various things on the web, a myriad of video games, GMing one game, playing in another, and reading other books, my plate is pretty full.
So your English teacher was an idiot.
I'm certainly not an expert, but Hunter: The Vigil ties in with the rest of WoD's "settings". A lot of the monsters tend to have a high degree of organisation, like in Underworld (which basically is the movie adaption of WoD's Werewolf and Vampire settings). They also know that humans outnumber them and generally have access to superior firepower.Does Hunter explain why everyone on the planet doesn't know about demons and monsters being real and hungry?Supernatural is the TV version of WoD's Hunter.
I do occasionally fantasize about playing a game loosely based on a movie or show. Like watching Supernatural sometimes makes me wonder what it'd be like to role play a monster-hunter in the real world, with some kind of explanation for how the existence of all those monsters and demons isn't common knowledge.Werewolves also aren't inherently evil in WoD *pushes thick glasses back up his nose*, they're written as a completely separate species that, mostly, is devoted to fighting evil spirits and creatures that they see as the "enemies of Gaia", which, of course, includes Vampires.
There are bad werewolves, not proportionally more so than there are bad humans.
I just recently got into WoD and let me tell you, it's a breath of fresh air after a life of playing just DnD.
I'd like to play each of the WoD games at least once. I did play a session of Vamp once, but the storyteller was terrible, so I don't think that counts.
I'm not sure how much I'd like WoD, but it is refreshing that it gives the question of monster common knowledge at least lip service. (And possibly more.)
Saying, "I don't enjoy Tolkien" and pointing out some of the flaws in his prose is entirely reasonable. Saying "Tolkien's stuff is poorly written" is about a quarter-notch short of idiocy.
I believe the constant escalation of power in player characters is detrimental to the holistic gaming experience
I think everyone who plays D&D should DM at least a handful of times, so as to better appreciate what that guy or gal behind the screen is dealing with
I think the appeal of vampires to women is directly related to either their brokenness, my own gender's inadequacy, or some combination of both[/list]
I agree on all four points here. But that last is very controversial. OTOH, my people's "real" vampires from folktales are anything but sexy.
Lol, well I did enjoy mixed drinks; but only because they didn't taste like alcohol. And seeing as I wasn't drinking to get buzzed or drunk, I figured I might as well save myself a few bucks and just order an orange juice, or whatever.I've tried all the major drink groups, and they're all gross.That just means you haven't tried enough minor drink groups. There's basically an alcohol for everyone (except for those people that can't handle their alcohol, under 21, and other PC messages.)
Every time I see your screen name I think of Tequila Rose. Stuff tastes like strawberry Quick.
i enjoy mixed drinks too, especially various blended berry flavored margaritas, but it's the berry flavor i like. not the alchohol. i could have saved a few bucks, saved a flashing of ID, and gotten more volume by ordering a berry smoothie.
Oh, that vampire thing? It's just that a powerful person outside the confines of regular society, with lots of knowledge and demonstrating personal restraint and control is very sexy.
Compare and contrast the vampire to Doctor Who, Howl's Moving Castle (yes, it's anime, there's another confession related to this that I'll describe later), and even, after a fashion, Batman, and the triangulation is clear.
The only flaw I see comes from the ADD personalities that want to put the blame on the work instead of their own shoulders. By every definition the works of J.R.R. Tolkien are and will always be MASTERPIECES of fiction. As long as civilization endures it will be the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings that will studied by literary scholars, not these overly glitzed cartoons with their BESMs.Not to reply twice to this topic in short succession...but pretty much see my post above. I love Tolkien, but I get it. Tastes have changed for starters many dont want to waid through something so densly packed with detail, but beyond that it is a flawed work in many ways, most of which is forgiven because it is a seminal work to most anything that came after it.I seriously don't get this Tolkien hate. I devoured the Hobbit and LotR when I was ten years old. At one point I knew more about ME than the real world. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the fact I'm seeing this opinion more and more doesn't sit well with me. Most of the so-called fantasy people are reading today is the equivalent of trash romance novels; and what's worse they mistake them for quality stories....I actually like Tolkien?Can't actually say weather I like or dislike him. I tried reading Fellowship back in 7th grade, and couldn't get through the first chapter. I've been meaning to give Tolkien a go again, since that was 15 years ago now, but between keeping up with various things on the web, a myriad of video games, GMing one game, playing in another, and reading other books, my plate is pretty full.
As someone who actually was diagnosed with ADD, I realise that is probably why I couldn't get through it, especially at age 12.
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Oh, that vampire thing? It's just that a powerful person outside the confines of regular society, with lots of knowledge and demonstrating is very sexy.
Not when they smell like the grave, their breath reeks like a charnel house, and they look dead…which they are. Trust me, my Great-grandfather staked a vampire (well they dug open a coffin and staked the body inside, which they thought was a vampire, so…) and in folklore, t least Carpathian folklore, they aren’t sexy. Magically alluring, maybe.
Nor do they have much knowledge nor demonstrate personal restraint and control- in fact the opposite, since they live to kill.
Oh, that vampire thing? It's just that a powerful person outside the confines of regular society, with lots of knowledge and demonstrating is very sexy.
Not when they smell like the grave, their breath reeks like a charnel house, and they look dead…which they are. Trust me, my Great-grandfather staked a vampire (well they dug open a coffin and staked the body inside, which they thought was a vampire, so…) and in folklore, t least Carpathian folklore, they aren’t sexy. Magically alluring, maybe.
Nor do they have much knowledge nor demonstrate personal restraint and control- in fact the opposite, since they live to kill.
I'm not talking about the historical/folklore vampire. I'm talking about the present-day vampire of fiction that Jaelithe refers to, which is a very different creature.
I agree on all four points here.But ... but ... you cut the one that's most unquestionably true!
;-)
Altho it's very likely that "the Star Trek Relaunches from Pocket Books are for the most part insipid fan-wank"- since I am a fairly well known book reviewer, I can't agree without actually reading one, and I have much better things to read.
Are we good?
I don't care for the work of China Mieville despite enjoying steampunk. His protagonists bore me and he seems to be a guy who uses vocabulary for egocentric reasons.I'm a China Miéville fan, and I totally get where you're coming from. However, I never saw Bas-Lag as steampunk and have no clue why people think it is. Bas-Lag, I consider more New Weird Fiction, if anything. So I'd support these charges, anyway.
My confession? No anime, please. Twenty years ago, my friends all tried to forcefeed me anime, and I still can't get the taste out of my mouth. I don't understand why all the characters need to be so recognizably similar.
yeah ..it is sort of tangentially steampunk, But it does get categorized there. It's the Jules Vernian tech that does it I would imagine.
Oh, that vampire thing? It's just that a powerful person outside the confines of regular society, with lots of knowledge and demonstrating personal restraint and control is very sexy.Sadly, though an element of what you mention is no doubt a part of it, it's not "just" or even mostly that. I'll stand by my statement.
Frankly, I think that if the Doctor sacrificed himself to annihilate both himself and all vampires, along with their memory, sci-fi and fantasy would be a much better and more literary place.
...And here's my other confession: That whole vampire-Doctor-what-have-you thingy is a real thing, yes, and if you can show you're brilliant, capable, a little mysterious, and unafraid to ignore the system... well... I'm really glad my wife finds the attention I've gotten amusing.
And, hey, the Doctor's been around for 50 years, you just can't kill that. It's a significant part of British culture, now.
But then again, heck, I've met women who find Pyramid Head totally hot.
Oh, that vampire thing? It's just that a powerful person outside the confines of regular society, with lots of knowledge and demonstrating is very sexy.
Not when they smell like the grave, their breath reeks like a charnel house, and they look dead…which they are. Trust me, my Great-grandfather staked a vampire (well they dug open a coffin and staked the body inside, which they thought was a vampire, so…) and in folklore, t least Carpathian folklore, they aren’t sexy. Magically alluring, maybe.
Nor do they have much knowledge nor demonstrate personal restraint and control- in fact the opposite, since they live to kill.
When I've ran vampire-centric Ravenloft games, these were exactly the kinds of vampires I tried to convey to the players; the true living dead, not sparkly underwear models. Vampires as monsters, not validation for boyfriend-dom. Any mortals somehow drawn to them, were done so out of magical hypnosis, craving power/enthrallment, etc.
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I find vampires to be one of the worst monsters for anything. Movies, tv shows, video games, tabletop games, books. I would rather inundate myself with Cthulhu and all things tentacley "horrifying" than sit through any form of vampire. And I have made my dislike of Cthulhu and his tentacle army clear earlier in this thread and elsewhere.
I like faeries. They are not cute, they only look that way. In "reality", they are vicious, untrustworthy little buggers who would slaughter any little pony they come across for fun/food (an idea I can get behind).
do you go for actively vicious or subtly vicious? i go for subtly vicious personally. whenever i play a faerie, i don't simply slaughter every horse and dog i see. but i will play around with the local political and educational systems. pretending to be an abducted young lady or similar youthful role.
usually, acting like the youth the faerie appears to be, and setting up tyrants for failure.
Sheriff of Nottingham abusing the people of Sherwood Forest? i will pretend to be a noble scion of higher status from another kingdom the Sheriff kidnapped to get him executed for treason with complex plans
i guess you can call most of my faeries anti-tyrant
some of them have even used stories to drive evil overlords into commiting suicide
Sadly, I haven't had much chance to use fey in my games yet. I think it depends on the creature.
On topic:
I can't fathom what people see in the Silmarillion. It's not a literary achievement, but a history textbook written in an antiquated style.
I also don't like vampires or were creatures.
The fact that romance for many in this generation of girls and women consists of being taken, drained of life force, and used by a dead thing says a lot. What it says I'm not sure.
I supposed you could argue that it's just a further extension of the bad boy complex, but ... whatever.
To be fair, plenty of young women in today's society feel drained of life force and used by dead things already. At least this time, it's in the guise of an attractive person who will fight for her.
It's all a twist on the knight in shining armor (and the bad boy), but at least this time, the knight doesn't have to be in prime physical condition anymore.
Another confession: I don't drink soda or eat chips if I don't have to. Coffee and tea are my preferred beverages, and any snack that is non-salty is welcome.
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I think Peter Jackson was a poor choice for Lord of the Rings, and an even worse choice for The Hobbit.
I agree but wasn't it really a case of Jackson carrying the banner to get LOTR made and putting himself through Hell to do what no one else was actually willing to do rather than a studio picking him to direct it?
I definitely would have liked to have seen someone else direct the Hobbit...not GDT, though. That would have been even worse, IMO.
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My confession (I haven't read every post in this thread because...obviously, so I might be duplicating here):
I like roll playing just as much as, if not more than, role playing.
I think Peter Jackson was a poor choice for Lord of the Rings, and an even worse choice for The Hobbit.
Should have checked with Uwe Boll first, huh? Though admittedly... Kubrick would have been one amazing experience.
I think Peter Jackson was a poor choice for Lord of the Rings, and an even worse choice for The Hobbit.Should have checked with Uwe Boll first, huh? Though admittedly... Kubrick would have been one amazing experience.
It would have been no mean feat to get him to accept the job ...
I definitely would have liked to have seen someone else direct the Hobbit...not GDT, though. That would have been even worse, IMO.
Yes, in his version, the Ring would not have been destroyed. ;-)
I can't stand the level of stats optimization (min-maxing) most folks feel is necessary in a game like Pathfinder.
Oh really? I can't stand games that strongly endorse stat optimization.
Having a hard time trying to phrase that as a confession though...
I can't stand the level of stats optimization (min-maxing) most folks feel is necessary in a game like Pathfinder.Oh really? I can't stand games that strongly endorse stat optimization.
Having a hard time trying to phrase that as a confession though...
i can't stand games that strongly endorse the need for stat optimization or extremely optimized itemization
I can't stand the level of stats optimization (min-maxing) most folks feel is necessary in a game like Pathfinder.
But then I feel everyone should try a non-optimized character, basing their skills/feats on character life decisions, at least once.
Note, it is not by any means necessary in Pathfinder. Mind you, playing the only un-optimized PC at a table of hyper-optimizers could mean you're not pulling your expected weight.
So, just be careful when playing with those kinds of players. I am not saying hyper-optimization is badwrongfun, but it can be weird to be in a mixed table. It can also be fun, but everyone then has to talk about expectations and roles.
Well that turned dark. I have a far more serious confession... I... I...
Confession: I don't actually enjoy mountain dew, nor alcohol.
One of my character's names was based off a joke. (Strikes Like Lightning...never in the same place twice.)
Heh, my dad called me that when I was a kid. He was a naturally gifted carpenter and I was the king of the bent nail.
After reading some of Guillermo del Toro's demands for the "At the Mountains of Madness" movie, I'm glad it never got made.
An not JUST because I think the story is absolutely unfilmable.
What demands were those? I was curious but skeptical after hearing that del Toro wanted to do At The Mountains of Madness, but haven't been keeping up with it much.