Candra's page

thejeff wrote:

Because as we all know, relationships, romance and even message have nothing to do with story. Are in fact all best avoided if you want good stories.

Not if they are a distraction. Who the hell cares about these NPCs and why do these Mary Sue’s need to be front and center in every AP holding the players hands?

Just off hand, I love this sort of stuff in my gaming and I don't find a distraction, but necessary to the game. Throw in a romance or throw in NPC's for me to get to know as people and always add in backstory and motivation! Why in the world people like playing games where the default answer to their GM is "I hit it/I spell it" is beyond my ability to comprehend. For me, it isn't enough to think, "I epic-ly saved the world" if I feel I had no stake in that world. Npc's give me that connection. I want to know that I saved someONE, not just someTHING. Another reason I enjoy Paizo.

I will add that while forcing the players to tie themselves to NPC's (a la Jade Regent) originally annoyed me, its due to those connections that my character in Jade Regent is now my favourite character of all time, and that I'm enjoying that game to the extent that I am. Paizo has proven to me that if we give it a chance, they will lead us to wonderful places and thus I am more than willing to place my trust in their knowledge of story for my games.

http://youtu.be/VFtlDhksGHA

I watch the PBS Idea Channel show and they had an episode on how D&D can you a confident and successful person. Insert Pathfinder wherever he says D & D and you have your argument.

Offhand, I think this a great idea and Pathfinder with its focus on diversity and appreciation of other cultures is a much better teaching tool than D & D.

This idea is so awesome... I'd like it for a few other cities as well. Instead of Beginner Box Set call t a City Box Set and include a four page map of the city as well as a notable place (like the Rusty Dragon) in it. This is an awesome idea. I wholly approve!

I love the kitsune race but I only play in Adventure path/long games. Thus, I get don't get to play new races as often as I'd like. Hasn't stopped me from pickling up every 3PP item about them I can get my hands on.

From a less fan-girl perspective, I do want more love for all the races since I generally hate playing "common" races. I think a book about Beast folk, in and out of inner sea, sounds awesome (fennec-folk OMG yes!). I also want more information on the Samsaran race and Tengu and I would snatch up a new Tien Xia race/place book in an instant.

As for the "get your Asian mythology out of my game", one of the the things I like about Pathfinder is that they're not going the safe route. All humans are not white, all npc's are not straight and all culture is not European. That diversity is why I love Pathfinder.

Offhand, the next campaign I'm running is the Mummy's Mask AP, and I'm going to love slipping into the culture while I add in a prominent Fennec-folk NPC for my players to find.

I try not to kill off characters and occasionally, only as a gm, I will pull my punches to do it. However, if your group knows that you're likely to pull your punches that way, they start acting like you'll always do it. Personally, if bad luck happens, let it go and kill the player. If, on the other hand, this is because you didn't realize that it wasn't just the dark before they got the upper hand and that the challenge really was overpowered for them, then you might want to pull your punches a bit.

Never pull your punches after the fact though. The one time I did was when a player died to a Human slaying arrow and a fellow player (a bard actually) realized that he could have afforded a second saving throw. I let it pass and the player agreed that he was out of this fight, regardless.

As to the "he had it coming since he was a bard" thing, I believe that any class can be good, if they're well played. Bards do great as secondary characters; secondary cleric, secondary wizard/sorcerer, secondary fighter... they fit just about everywhere. Likewise, being a fighter isn't just in the AC or BAB bonus. We have a fighter in a group that I'm playing with who only has a 12 to 14 AC. He's made it up in hit points. The "I have more hit points than you can possibly imagine" route.

Basically, here what I'm saying is let the players do what they want. If occasionally that brings death and destruction raging down upon their heads, all the better. After all, we can't learn if we don't know we've made a mistake, right?

I just wanted to let everyone know that the gnome bard in my group took Khazrae under his wing... her and specifically, her eventual redemption, are now his reason for not Bleaching. He totes her around everywhere, a Khazrae keychain, if you will.

I believe he mentioned that he planned to try and kill the undead her and then resurrect her to be his minion with the leadership feat... Good times, particularly since of the party members is Janivan (who ranger-ly hates outsiders) and the other is a half orc ranger (whose obsessions are not only evil outsiders but also undead).

Oh, the arguments and bullying going on my table while the ranger constantly threatens the bard with "throwing his head into the ocean" is sort of awesome, though I sort of wish I could lower the inherent bullying, even if it is all character motivationally conceived.

I let my characters keep their characters when it happens. There is nothing quite as awesome as watching those not dominated or under a spell try to think up ways to save their friends without dying or using up too many resources at once. Also, there are always in game rivalries between players. You can attack those people, to the exclusion of pretty much everyone else.

It also makes for some incredible role-playing afterwards as the characters try to repair the trust the party has in them, though in general, your other players should be willing to accept them back without too much trouble. After all, bad rolls can affect just about anyone at any time.

I also suggest using it somewhat sparingly... If your players know that their only challenges are other players, it takes away the point in sharing treasure and money between them.

XxAnthraxusxX wrote:

Is it really necesary to have everything on earth f%# friendly? Sexual orientation is something that has no business being incorporated into an rpg.... if you feel the need for such perversion you could add it yourself.

I don't hold anything personally against the gay community like some people do, but i for one am sick of it being shoved into the face of the world through the popular media.Nobody really cares to see that, and a certain level of decency that once seemed to exist is rapidly fading away.Keep it to yourselves.

Without getting too riled up by your post...

Yes. It is necessary. Just as it's necessary to move beyond having every PC and NPC in the game be white. And why it's important to show women in positions of power (be they bad like Queen Ileosa or good like Mayor Kendra or whatever.) It's called diversity, and it's a Good Thing. If diversity isn't something that you're interested in, Paizo products might not be for you.

This... Just forever. This is the reason I turn to Pathfinder products!

As a woman, I love seeing just as many (or more) women in suitable armor as women dressed in clothes like Seoni's. Sexual relationships are the same. I like knowing that there are multiple types of sexuality in the world (though I agree, it seems to be a bit more lenient/noted for the female characters than the male ones... I didn't know about the Sandpoint couple until now) and I like knowing that everybody isn't white. This is the world I want to play in!

I'm beginning to feel like @Nathanael is just complaining to complain.

I'm not quite sure about the "other classes don't have dead levels" argument either. I'm playing a hedge witch and a summoner right now; both have had "dead levels" by your definition. I put them off as easy levels to update.

If you don't like wizards in this generation, find something else. There are always going to be levels in which you don't get as much as others. It helps to add balance to the game. Personally, even when I had the option of Prestige Classes, I still preferred playing a single class. I hated feeling like I had to take a prestige class just to keep up or that I couldn't be the character I wanted until X level. Now that I can go up in a single class and feel like I still have options, I'm loving the game much more!

It gets me excited to try the new classes, even if sometimes they aren't as powerful as other classes that aren't already out.