Ganegrei's page

Tower Shield Specialist - Fighter. Makes the tower shield actually use-able. There is much to like about a character tailor made for locking down the approach to the softer party members in tight quarters.

Steel Hound - Investigator. All the fun of a regular investigator with some much needed damage dealing ability.

Winged Marauder - Alchemist. Goblin plus alchemy plus flying. Enough said.

Divine marksman - Ranger. Archery is awesome. Having an archetype tailored especially to it is even better.

Scarred Witch Doctor - Witch. It's just so metal.

• Roleplaying-to-combat ratios
  
• Rules vs. flavor
  
• Powerful and flavorful builds
  
• Evil parties vs. noble parties vs. slightly sketchy parties
  
• "Sandbox" (open route, open destination) vs. "railroad" (set route, set destination) vs. "freeway" (open route, set destination)
  
• Silly vs. serious
  
• Genre choices

Rules definitely. Out of a sense of, "we all need to be playing the same game." That does not preclude bending of said rules or "rule of cool" moments but doing either too much starts to grant players powers and abilities they really shouldn't have and inevitably and unfairly favors the more extroverted and theatrical players.

Power vs. flavor is a very false dichotomy. Good characters should be both.

Not particular on party ethics, but pvp is strictly prohibited.

Freeway. Nobody likes being railroaded with no chance to actually effect the outcome. However, I find sandbox to be an overwhelming amount of work for me as DM. Players also easily lose focus in this kind of game I find as they cannot keep track of everything they have been doing. Freeway allows for an overarching goal or villain without binding the players too strictly. The game I am running right now does this. The players need to solve the mystery of why a megadungeon became a dungeon in the first place. Exactly how they go about exploring and accomplishing this is up to them, as is what to do with the revelation towards the end.

Serious plots with some sillier npc interactions.

Traditional Tolkien-esq fantasy. I also like to mix in some light steampunk. Occasionally I will venture into science fantasy. However, the science/technology elements are usually not immediately apparent. I am a huge fan of Fred Saberhagen's books.

Campaign where the players are investigating the many strange events and misfortunes taking place in an underground dwarven city. Strange disappearances, mysterious deaths, cultist activity, riled up elementals, weird monsters appearing, tectonic disturbances, foul portents, etc.

At the end of the campaign it becomes apparent that all the various problems are signs that the volcano the dwarf city is built upon is about to erupt. And there is nothing the players can do about it but try and get everyone to evacuate.

Dunno how to keep it from becoming too obvious what is happening too quickly.

Also don't think my players would be too happy with the inevitable disaster at the end.

Current party on the way to the Glassworks.

CN female Aasimar Warpriest of Calistria. She is a bad ass but a seriously vicious piece of work. Wanted to go with Shayliss but was rebuffed. Is now "working on" both Ameiko and Shalelu.

CN female fetchling Divine Marksman ranger. Deadly with a bow and the only player with non-knowledge skills. Just kind of wandered into town and ende dup shooting goblins.

CG male human Cleric of Desna. Has no idea who Desna is, but just picked her due to the Swallowtail festival.

LN male human scroll scholar Wizard. Played as a totally naive geek who just graduated wizard college. Has only knowledge and spellcraft skills. Also (somehow) has the highest charisma in the party and as such ended up with Shayliss and got beaten to a pulp by her dad.

An AWOL ratfolk investigator.

Had a wizard PC whose personality was a cross between the evil of Voldemort and the social awkwardness of Steve Urkel.

After getting 6th level spells he promptly shouted "Avada Kedavra," disintegrated the nearest enemy, and followed up with "Did I do that?"

We all laughed for five solid minutes.