Akharus's page

blahpers wrote:

The players drive my campaign's direction. I can put up signposts and interesting looking trails, but they're the ones who decide where we're going.

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How do you make sure one Player doesn't get all the spotlight or have the only voice? Or, when they PCswant to go separate directions, how to you adjudicate that?

There is usually one member who will try to dominate a game. Sometimes more. If there's more than one... be prepared for a massive pain in the butt and a lot of part squabbling. Realistically... this party probably needs to be changed if they can't stop trying to out-diva each other. It's sad... but inevitable. Some people just don't play nice with others.

What you can do though is communicate with all the players and find out as much about their characters as possible and then make intricate plot threads tailored to individual characters and gently nudge players to them to try and make them shine a bit. I try to do this for everyone so that everyone gets their own personal plot IN ADDITION TO the overarching plot. It works pretty well for me because people tend to ignore, derail, or generally f--- up the overall plot for giggles, but are often absorbed by their own character's sub plots.

As for party separation... just guide them back together, or make it not end well. Often one leads to the other. Just know your group -- are they the type who are super fluffy and would get mad if their characters are hurt or killed? If yes, find a new group. That group sucks. If no -- get nasty when needed. Where's the fun if there's no risk?

Akharus wrote:

I just hope that it doesn't go the "lets simplify things for faster games and a broader audience" route that inevitably harms RPGs...

How does that "harm" RPGs?

It makes them ridiculous and boring. I guess what I'm opposed to here are the already complex awesome games that *I* enjoy being dumbed down to appeal to a broader audience. I really rather they'd just make a whole new game for that. Call me a grognard, I don't care, I like Star Fleet Battles and stuff like that and I'm proud of it.

Making pen and paper games that are already complex more simplified for easier barriers to entry is like lowering the required GPA for honor's club from 4.0 to 3.0... oh crap... that happened like 20 years ago, didn't it? Laaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Just make RPG-Lite or something for the other crowd. Hell, isn't that why we have post-2004 MMOs?

So how does it harm RPGS? It winds up choking advanced systems out of production. Why? There's just so so so so much more money to be made appealing to a mass market that once you start down that path there's almost no reason to continue the advanced path because the market is so much smaller that you'd be better off investing those resources in better marketing for the masses.

Why? Because a nice ignorant monoculture that doesn't know any better and doesn't engage in critical thinking is the single best venue for marketing and mass sales that exists.

WARNING: I have only had one mug of coffee today so far and am slightly cranky, so take this entire post with a grain of salt or preferably a shot of tequila... and a bite of lime... with that salt. Damn, I need a drink. What goes well in coffee? Do I have any Kahlua left? Wtf why am I still typing...

Student Loans & Medical Bills

Get out of my head!

I already own Ultimate Psionics, and it's great. It's so great in fact that I have wholly skipped Occult Adventures because it was lacking in comparison. How in the world are you going to integrate those systems into your established psionics system? Are you tweaking them to make them more like yours, or just leaving them as a separate system?

Actually... the weighted buttcap of a typical hoplite's spear was often used as a light mace once the head was broken. It was also spiked on that end as well. The weighted section was often flanged. Nothing odd at all, really. A double bladed sword is actually a TERRIBLE idea for a weapon that probably only came about because someone thought Darth Maul was cool. A spear with two heads would accomplish all the same stuff but actually not suck.

What's more egregious is that a "spear" in this game is defined as about 5' long. That's a very short spear. It's also odd that you can't use spears (or long spears) one handed with a shield (unless you take a certain archetype for fighters).

What matters is the socio-economic class of the "worker" and "customer" involved. Also the availability of each. Additionally, wealthier seeming "customers" will likely be charged higher rates by shrewd "workers".

Sounds brutal, I know, and I apologize for that. But that's the economic reality of things. Supply, demand, and perceived quality of the "offering" modifying said demand. The local at a crossroads tavern will cost more than the local in a hamlet somewhere out of the way. The professionals at a brothel in the nice part of a major city - again, will cost more than either. Go to the slums of said city and the cost will be far less.

As an aside, when I DM, if I have "that" player - I make secret fortitude checks for them. It's always fun to tell them they've contracted an STD... or something more exotic. And do not forget a % chance to have a baby - the look on their faces is PRICELESS when you drop that one on them.

Bonus to initiative, never flat-footed, can always act in surprise round, dodge bonus to armor and/or reflex saves, etc... you've basically covered all the bases already :)

Thanks for the replies, all.

Sideromancer/Deth:I am using the ARG race builder (although just as a measure, not a rule); but I'm still finalizing a few other traits. I was torn between humanoid(reptilian) and monstrous humanoid, due to the lower body of a serpent. I do definitely want to give them a venom ability that's not like the toxic ability from the ARG. I know it's very powerful, which is why I'm wondering what sort of limitations sound best. As for medium over large - that's how I feel too, but how do I get around their "tails" being longer than 5'? Unless tightly coiled, they could not fit in a 5x5 space.

I have scoured bestiaries 1-5, and my old 2.5 D&D monstrous manual. There are creatures like this but they seem to run the gamut of large(tall), large(long), and medium - with wildly differing weights. The Emperor Cobra is a large(10space/reach) at 12 feet long; but the Peuchen, which is almost exactly the same stats as the serpentfolk I'm going for (16' long, more or less a foot wide, has a wingspan (arms for my purposes), and weighs about 250) - is medium. It's very frustrating, lol.

Imbicatus:I have looked at the 3.5 Yuan-ti abominations. They are too bulky for what I'm aiming for, they feel like a much more traditional "large" brutish creature. Too... muscular? I guess. I'm actually more reminded of Salamanders when i think of this race (which, incidentally, are medium).

Theliah: I have other plans for my deserts ^_^. Although now you have me envisioning side-winding desert serpentfolk, hehe.

Other racial traits I was adding or considering: Scent, jungle/subterranean "stride" either in lieu of or in concert with the move speeds, stealth bonus in appropriate terrain, natural armor of +1 or +2, low-light/darkvision for jungle/subterranean respectively, a +2 bonus v poison/mental (it's in the ARG).

Oh, and Sideromancer, my elves are a departure from the norm in this campaign, they are more savage, taller, physically impressive, and more fey in aspect. Not the typical magically inclined elves - far more druidic and aggressive. My dwarves are actually the magically inclined ones, hehe. The whole campaign is riddled with changes and departures. Additionally, I may well be using the Ultimate Psionics Handbook (seems better than OA) with these serpentfolk to shake things up a little.