Alex_br's page

Yes, you can... well... touch youself magically.

You may want to keep the details to yourself, though.

Some people say there's a curse in using spells that way, hairy hands being a known side effect.

Don't worry though, be your own target at will.

Have fun!

mirror image

fear

suggestion

basically, spells designed to avoid atacks and affect willopower (will dcs suck for fighter, no?).

What was Paizo thinking?
Maybe that there are different groups out there. So it's a possibility.

If you care so much about balance, don't use it.

If you have a group who is together to play and don't care about a player playing a Drow, awesome.

If, yet, you have a group that will not care as long as they have compensations (say, magic items), awesome.

It's all good. No point trying to keep the game pinned to YOUR (or mine) point of view, different options for different groups.

That said, I'd only allow it in a group I knew, not in a random group from a store.

Have fun man, and let everybody else in it too.

Cheers!

Good to see most of you agress that comedy is a powerful tool in the game.

If nothing else, it makes the serious moments more serious =D

Not overdoing is important, but the DM can control it somewhat, while still keeping it fun for everyone.

Well, I tried a search but didin't find anything exactly like this question, so...

1) Do you allow comic relief in your sessions? If so, how often?

2) Do you think it "spoils the mood"? Why?

Myself, I do allow comic reliefs. I believe I got this from too much anime, where I learned that a character can be heroic and still a spaz fom time to time.

So, I do have a big plot going on. It's a heroic tale, full of twists and (sometimes) dark mood.

But then again I make some "sidequests" where the mood is lighter, there's laughter all around and I think it's great. for example: to make a sidequest, my characters were given "straw hats of peasantry", magic hats that gave them the appearance of rednecks of any region they go, incidently giving them a small boost in HP (2 + 1 each other lvl). We laughed our guts out at the indignant paladin/noble of the group. He screamed at how devilish a item is, if it gives him hp at the price of looking like a... well... peasant.

So, I find the balance between heroic and comedy to be a great tool. It lighten the mood sometimes, it is fun and everybody (except the paladin, maybe) gets a laugh.

So, what about you guys? Anything to share?

Cheers!

i know its been asked and answered, but i havent been able to find it on here using the search...

so, sorcerers can use metemagic feats and when he applies a metemagic feat it makes the spell a full round cast.... right?

is there anything else?

The quicken spell feat is an exception.

First of all, interesting posts all, even if the thread has meandered a little.

Second, My thoughts on slavery is that it should be up to the DM, but a character should not be penalized if alignment positions were not originally clear. It is my opinion that slavery as an institution cannot have a de facto alignment. Like many government laws, it is a tool. How that tool is used reflects on its wielder, not itself. A lawful slave owner will treat his slaves lawfully,and a good owner would treat slaves well. Obviously, if a religion states some opinion about slavery that should be followed. Also, blatant generalizations should not be the tools of the paladin. They should seek divine guidance, and that is what Detect Evil and Phylactery of Faithfulness is for. A good DM will take these aspects of slavery into account when introducing them into a game, and they can be great tools for character growth. A similar test could be creating a town where everyone worships an evil deity who had legitimately protected it at some point (probably only to increase his follower base), but every villager from that town worshiped regardless of their alignment.

A paladin has tools for separating good and bad, and they should be used to clarify things in a grey environment sometimes resulting in difficult decisions. Allowing a paladin to just live in the black and white views is encouraging boring characters with very rigid decision making.

So, if you read that far, I guess I can share some stories.

1.) Not technically a paladin, but a monk who became a sacred fist character of mine, Rakkar, did something that is still a joke among my group. We had invaded some subterranean fortress and the opening encounter was a room full of beaten and emaciated slaves being overseen by a beholder who situated himself between two statues formed of former slaves.
When the beholder saw my monk rush in, he quips, "What are YOU doing here?"
Rakkar, "We're here to free the slaves!"
Again the beholder, "We?"
Every other PC,...

I actually enjoyed the reading. Thanks for sharing! =D

Aff... this thread became a discussion about slavery. A pity, the stories about paladins wa really funny.

I suppose I should say something here.

People coming here and discussing about point of view and modern ethics miss the point, IMO.

DnD, PF... are not worlds where ethics are abstract concepts, but real forces. It's a game, not a discussion about slavery in Earth.

Slavery is the portfolio of an EVIL Deity, so it's evil in my chronicle.

Believe me, I know my way around the topic od slavery and human rights, from Aristotle to modern Constitutions. I simply don't apply them in my fantasy game.

In the end, it comes down to the campaign world. If you want to somehow justify slavery because it's legal... have fun. (and read Lawful Evil entry). I would not.

I'm not really interested in discussing philosophy here, though, so I'll move on to another thread... maybe: Funny Paladin stories... whatever.

CHeers!

Hmm...I guess I just really don't care to police someone's activity. Doe that count as "advocating" illegal activities? If a guy told me he stole his book from the LGS we're playing at, I wouldn't do or say anything simply because I don't care.

I'm in the middle nowadays. I live in Brazil, so my context is truly different.

I have my own, physical copy of corebook and bestiary, plus some bought pdfs of psionics and random suplements.

I don't like piracy very much in this point of my life, but I would NOT kick a player from my table. I have, however, suggested a player to buy the book, going so far as offering my credit card (his wasn't international). There's a fuzzy and warm feeling in having your legal copies :D

So... there you go. I care, but I'd be lying if I said i was the paladine of rpgs.

Gaseous Form is a living cloud of gas, plain and simple. If whatever method you're using can grapple a cloud, then you can grapple the gaseous form. This is not even close to being incorporeal.

Notice I did not specify the type of cloud, but it shouldn't matter. It's a gas you can see in the air. Rules for grappling Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Argon, Xenon, or any other gas apply.

Think of the damage reduction as resistance to dispersal. Try using a sword to disperse a thick fog... doesn't work too well.

A caterpillar can move though small holes and cracks... that's not even a valid comparison. That's a size thing, not a state of matter thing. A caterpillar is a solid. Gaseous Form is a gas, not a solid, not a liquid, not a vaporized liquid, not a plasma, not a ghost.

Awesomely said.

Any method to grasp gas can hold gaseous form. I doubt a combat move/martial art cover it.

Why didn't I think of putting it this way. Cheers for you!

Since incorporeal is a specific condition, I'd still hold my point of view with insubstantial, as per spell description.

I really don't see how you'd grapple a puddle of water, for example... gas is even harder.

Grappling is technique that is anatomy dependant (joints, locks and friction), it just doesn't work without these conditions... (then again, me being a practicioner of brazilian jiu jitsu makes me see it in a particular way :D )

EDIT: as an example, let's see how the book treats the concept of insubstantiality:

Ethereal Plane: The Ethereal Plane is a ghostly realm
that exists as a buffer between the Material Plane and the
Shadow Plane, overlapping each. A traveler in the Ethereal
plane experiences the real world as if the world were an
insubstantial ghost, and can move through solid objects
without being seen in the real world. p 440

or the spell ethereal: As an insubstantial creature, you can move through solid
objects, including living creatures.

This spell is odd, because it's a small form of insubstantiality maybe. You can argue both ways, not sure we'll find solid ground (pun intended) hehe

But it's a game, i get that... there are silly things like hitting stone creatures with blades (really?).

My final saying is fun>logic

But logicwise, there's no grappling gas.

Cheers and good game.

A centipede or similarly shaped creature can pass through small holes or narrow openings, even mere cracks, but can also be grappled. I fear it is much the same with gaseous form.

The ability to fit through small cracks does not necessarily mean you are immune to grapples. (You're gaseous, not incorporeal.) I fear that if a barbarian gets a hold of your smokey ankle, you're not going anywhere.

I hope you're right, in the end, I'm just not entirely convinced that you are.

You didn't take my whole argument into consideration. I say it can not be done because of two factors: incorporeal AND able to pass cracks.

1) it passes through craks, meaning it's completly maleable.
2) it's incorporeal, meaning it has no friction... you can't heally hold gas, so if it's maleable it'll slip through ANY opening.

It's like trying to grappe a pool of water... unless you seal it (ergo the engulf from ooze), you can't hold it.

But well, in the end it's whatever works in you game.

EDIT: as for not being incorporeal, here's a direct quote:
School transmutation; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
...The subject and all its gear become insubstantial, misty, and
translucent.

NO SUBSTANCE.

In my game, even the grapplers think it silly to pin gaseous form (or fart form, in a less respectful nomenclature), so it has never been an issue.

Incorporeal - able to pass through small cracks...

Other than being engulfed by an ooze, I don't see how exactly you'd grasp a gaseous creature (keith richards barbarian not counting).

It's a no no in my game.

In my games, those using Eschew/Silent/Still Spell cannot have their spells identified (there's nothing to identify, at least not until after the spell is cast), though their moment of necessary concentration still leaves them open to attacks of opportunity, even if their foes don't realize the cause lapse in defense. I know there are a great many people on these boards who disagree. All I can say to that is "to each his own."

I like that, although there would be exceptions, in my game.

1) The character has an active detect magic effect (or true seeing etc), then I'd allow the roll as normal.

2) The character has a mind reading effect active.

That would be about it, though.

not at all, except in extended dungeons (which are rare in my campaigns). Then I make all characters state their equipment, as to avoid: "oh, no problem, i just take my 5th 1000 feet long rope out of my pocket and we're all good".

That's actually funny.

- The holy avenger thief paladin

- The murder-children-in-church-for-swearing paladin

- the backstabs-good-aligned-characters paladin

I see a new Paladin Code of Ethics being born out of this ahahah.

And the decision to turn the paladin into a fighter wasn't just arbitrary. The player himself accepted.

Now he's a LN knight who can act pretty much as he pleases, withing the law of the realm he serves.

... and don't get me started in using "immunity to diseases" to visit some shady spots in port cities (no, really) =D

EDIT

KnightErrantJR, you're right.

Let's see if we get funny stories :D

The new Paladin, and his (overpowered, some would say... but that’s not the point of this thread) abilities attract some players just because of the powers, not the idea of the class.
The consequence, in my experience, is a lot of really “lame” paladin RP.
On to the point of this thread: What’s the WORST paladin RP you’ve met? (and please, don’t take it personally because you actually play a paladin just like an example… let’s just share stories, if possible)

I’ll begin: I’m DMing a campaign where this Paladin acts completely arrogant towards defeated enemies. He actually mocks defeated foes, wants to torture (yes, torture) them… but the best happened in the last session:

“and those are the slaves” (NPC)
“Really? Orc slaves? Nice.” (PAL)
“Nice? That's certainly amusing coming from you.”(NPC)
“Yes, at least they’re being put to use.”

And the he proceeded (out of game) to defend this paladin code =)
At which point he reverted to a common fighter.

Got anything to share, any of you? :D