A New Leaf for Companions

See? SEE? I knew beating James with the the "inspiration stick" would get RESULTS! Because you only hurt the ones you love!

The Puffball seems sort of un-Elf-y. Having a pet fungus seems more in line with general gnomish madness.

What Nonsense! There are many perfectly sane reasons to have a 3ft tall floating carnivorous fungus following you around. They're totally useful as... um... And they can help with your... er... They're great conversation starters at adventuring parties?

I just want to go around breaking houses with my treant. That's all I'll do in my game and it will be glorious.

After the first or second ravaged village or town any respectable DM worth his or her weight in gold pieces would immediately teach your PC (and you) a lesson by throwing him up against elite knights riding griffons, ranger protectors riding dire wolves, or militia mages fireballing/lightning bolting the s#++ out of you and you murderous tree of a familiar. Personally I'd throw all of the above at you myself (and give you an experience point penalty if your good aligned).

I want a leshy companion! :<

I will strip the restrictions concerning race as well. As has been done with the paladin and the Arcane Archer in the past, I don't see why this returns to haunt us with ARG.

I like the plant companions, certainly a nice addtion to Arazyr's lab on d20pfsrd.

Ruyan.

Doing the same with the race restrictions for the most part, except where balance may be an issue or a race's actual features are required as part of the new mechanics. The listed race came up with it first and has the strongest tradition in it, but other races can learn it just fine.

Plant companions are just too cool to lock in with just one race. Especially with green-skinned half-orc druids and green-haired/skinned gnome druids. :)

Edit-and actual plant races via the race builder!

I think race-specific archetypes are fine and dandy as long as they're relatively minor ones and the flavor is good, or the archetype specifically interacts with a racial feature (such as an archetype that expanded on a Halfling's Jinx feature, for example). I'd be a little less happy if really unique or transformative archetypes showed up with racial restrictions on them, and would be more likely to relax racial requirements in that case.

First, Paizo was all, "Check it out, guys! You don't have to be an elf to be an arcane archer anymore!"

Now, Paizo is all, "Check it out, guys! Lots of cool druid stuff... but only if you're an elf!"

What's going to be in Ultimate Equipment? Magic items you have to spend XP to create?

Racial restrictions? Probably not going to happen in my games.

Also, I want to see plant familiars.

Plant familiars would be awesome, also familiars that are aberrations, monstrous humaniods, constructs, Undead, Oozes, and more Fey types would be awesome too.

Also plant based companions would work for Gnomes, Lashunta, playable plant creatures, and other races I am sure.

A dwarf or deep gnome with a puffball companion makes sense as well.

OK, how many people are going to call their plant companions Russel? :)

Or call the carnivorous one, Audrey!

-- david
Papa.DRB

Where is the Treesinger archetype defined?

-- david
Papa.DRB

Where is the Treesinger archetype defined?

-- david
Papa.DRB

It hasn't been, as of now. It will be in the Advanced Race Guide which is due out on June.

Every time I want to go and play something other than a wizard or a druid, here you guys go, just dragging me back!

Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Asgetrion wrote:

Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Suddenly, being a companion seems like a legitimate career choice.

Ha! I'd gladly accept you as my leafy slav... companion, old treant! Now, if we only could add the fiendish template to your stats...

Sorry, but somehow, you don't measure up to Hot Elven Babe.

** spoiler omitted **

"Yeah, nice bush lady" is likely your last words

You two just made it to my ignore list...

And how could that simple "elven babe" peasant be hotter than the Master of Hellfire, hmmm?

I wonder if dwarf druids will get pet rocks. :)

Plant familiars would be awesome, also familiars that are aberrations, monstrous humaniods, constructs, Undead, Oozes, and more Fey types would be awesome too.

You can already pick e.g. a Brownie as your (advanced) familiar, Dragon78. And a Homunculus is a construct, which is also available (and you can make it look like whatever you want, too). *smirks*

Ruyan.

I wonder if dwarf druids will get pet rocks. :)

I will call mine Pebbles.

Ruyan.

I said more Fey

Also it would have been nice to have the Soulbound dolls and some of the types of Leshy added to the Improved familiar list.

OK, how many people are going to call their plant companions Russel? :)

My carnivorous flower will be named Audrey, thank you very much!

drurd: hay man whats up
Seamore: WHAT IN THE 9 HELLS IS THAT!!

Kalraan wrote:

OK, how many people are going to call their plant companions Russel? :)

My carnivorous flower will be named Audrey, thank you very much!

I'll name my angry flower...Bob.

Robespierre wrote:

I just want to go around breaking houses with my treant. That's all I'll do in my game and it will be glorious.

After the first or second ravaged village or town any respectable DM worth his or her weight in gold pieces would immediately teach your PC (and you) a lesson by throwing him up against elite knights riding griffons, ranger protectors riding dire wolves, or militia mages fireballing/lightning bolting the s~*! out of you and you murderous tree of a familiar. Personally I'd throw all of the above at you myself (and give you an experience point penalty if your good aligned).

We're playing an evil campaign. Also I was joking about destroying buildings. Another thing is that most of those things wouldn't go after me for destroying villager homes.

We're playing an evil campaign.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND? Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

Quote:

We're playing an evil campaign.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND? Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

You're asking when it became socially acceptable for people who are acting to portray the deeds of psychotic supernatural villains? I'd say about three thousand years ago when the ancient Greeks first started writing plays. Possibly tens of thousands of years before that.

Quote:

We're playing an evil campaign.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's?

1) D&D was inspired by stuff like Conan, like Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser, Elric of Melnibone, etc. where the 'heroes' were *hardly* good. As a result, there are tons of rules for gaining experience by invading people's homes, killing them and stealing their money, and no rules at all for gaining experience for donating to charity or building orphanages or feeding the hungry.

2) It wouldn't be role-playing if I played a nice person. I already am a nice person (more or less). Most of the people I game with are similarly nice people. We donate blood and clothes and books and food and computer equipment. We volunteer time. What's the harm in role-playing an evil priest or an amoral rogue or firing up a first-person shooter and head-shotting a bunch of faceless mooks? It's just a game. Contrary to Pat Pulling and Jack Chick, playing a game with magic and demons in it doesn't make me a Satanist.

Quote:

We're playing an evil campaign.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND? Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

At least since Grand Theft: Auto. Not that GTA is the cause; it's just another symptom. I don't know what the cause is.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND? Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

You do know that not every evil campaign involves the PCs continually performing the sickest, most depraved acts that they can imagine, right?

Quote:

We're playing an evil campaign.

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND? Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

I eat live puppies for breakfast and vandalize road signs just because I can, what's wrong with that?

I eat live puppies for breakfast and vandalize road signs just because I can, what's wrong with that?

It's badwrongfun to vandalize road signs.

Gorbacz wrote:

I eat live puppies for breakfast and vandalize road signs just because I can, what's wrong with that?

It's badwrongfun to vandalize road signs.

Yes

Sigh. Why am I seeing more and more of this? Why are people playing evil-aligned PC's? When did it become socially acceptable to imagine yourself as a blackguard who murders innocents or a necromancer who butchers children, then raises their corpses as undead minions or even a gnoll cleric of Lamashtu who rapes women and impregnates them with monster spawn? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A TREND?

Trend as old as gaming. Or (as others have mentioned) as old as acting. Kids do it every time they play the robber in Cops and Robbers. And, as others have mentione, it's certainly supported by the source material. Elric of Melnibone is not a good guy, for example.

As for why? Sometimes it's nice to let one's less pleasant and socially acceptable traits out to play in an environment where nobody real gets hurt. Sometimes, you just get tired of playing the nice guy all the time, too. Or, as Set said, you want to play something truly different from yourself. There are lots of different reasons, many of them quite good.

As one example, in the evil campaign I played in, my goal was to play a rising Evil Overlord who was smart about it. The kind of guy who not only read the Evil Overlord list but avoided unnecessary atrocities (they're wasteful, and bad publicity), always accepted surrenders and treated enemy soldiers who surrendered well (so more people would be inclined to surrender), and was also personally charming and took extraordinarily good care of his personnel, cementing their deep personal loyalty to him. It was enormously cathartic after watching a million movies where the villain is Evil for Evil's sake and an idiot to boot, to just do it right. Much like playing in a Horror game and not making all those stupid mistakes they make in horror movies.

Because where and when I grew up, imagining you were an evil sick sociopath usually meant there was something wrong with you.

*ahem* points at Grand Theft Auto

I really don't think pretending to be a bad person in a gmae is a sign of anything wrong with you.

Also, I want to see plant familiars.

This!

Loved the Dragon Magazine issue with the plant companions, now I'm very happy to see them back as an option. I'd like to see them include gnomes in this option officially though, as gnomes are supposed to be leaning more into their fey heritage in Golarion.

I will buy this book.