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I have to say, for the most part, I like the current structure of the modules. The only exception is I would like to see more interconnectivity with the suppliments published at the release of the module. I think Paizo is on the right track with Pathfinder as a whole and at this point, changing a formula that is working is quite frankly dangerous to the company. I remember the mistakes TSR made by not having a proper release schedule and would hate for Paizo to fall into the same trap. To be honest, a delay in one of the AP books causes a momentary flashback to the dark days of Dungeons and Dragons. I am able to calm down as soon as I look at all the quality releases from Paizo and realize those days are long behind me. Almost every concern mentioned in this thread has been addressed by third party publishers. Utilizing adventures and suppliments from other publishers is the best way to prevent your campaigns from being exactly the same as everybody elses. I urge everyone to support third party developers, after all, Paizo started as one. Also, with a little effort on the GMs part, many of the adventures can easily be tailored to suit your needs. I rarely run my adventures exactly as they are written. I am a single father running his own business so I know time is at a premium for everybody but it really doesnt take that long.
Steven,
I challenge you Steven to take an honest, long look at history from a different perspective. If you look at the Columbus example from the side of the indigenous people you might understand why they feel the need to study history from the perspective they have been. Ethnic studies is very important as it provides a much needed additional side to learn from. As a caucasian male who's family left the Ukraine in 1917, my perspective is naturally skewed in that direction. I avoid that perspective being the only one I think about by reading books with opinions contrary to my opinions.
I remember that after school special as well. The problem with your example is the teacher was teaching contrary to the facts and there is no evidence of that happening in Tucson. Once you get into the interpretation of Historical facts, History becomes quite subjective. For example, we know Columbus visited the new world, that is fact. To the europeans, this opened up the new world. To the people who were already here, it was the beginning of the end of their way of life. Both interpretations are correct but for the most part, only the first one is taught. Does that mean the second interpretation is not valid because most people benefited from the first interpretation? I fully support the idea that racial resentment has no place in an educational institution however banning it will only make it stronger.
Did the state superintendent really compare Mexican-American studies to Hitler Youth indoctrination? Seriously? Seriously? Who in their right mind let that man take office?Hitler was democratically elected...and apparently his ghost is roaming the halls of Tucson's schools!Yup, that is pretty crazy, making comparisons like that. I purposely avoid comparing current politicians to Hitler because I consider it in poor taste. Using Hitler in this example serves more as a warning than calling Tucson politicians Hitlers. Thank you for pointing it out, I should have read my post more carefully before I submitted it.
Nothing scares me more as a banned book list. Once the state tells us what to believe democracy is over. I am up here in Canada but this still frightens me to no end. First SOPA and now this. Hitler was democratically elected...and apparently his ghost is roaming the halls of Tucson's schools!
Thank you so much for doing this! I will be posting a review on my blog as soon as I get a free moment!
Great question! I usually tailor my campaigns to the players playing but I refuse to allow a player to tell me how I should play an NPC or what NPCs to include. In order to ensure I am being fair as a GM I publish a player guide similar to the one Paizo publishes. I have been doing this for over 25 years and it is the best way for the players to make characters that will fit into the world. You are not obligated to change your world to suit your players. Your players should adapt. Part of playing RPGs is to be challenged. The easiest way to challenge a group is to present monsters and NPCs who take advantage of the players weaknesses. For example, if the Ranger has favored enemy of Human, create a Human Ranger with his race as a favored enemy. If your group prefers to have their ego stroked rather than their minds challenged an RPG is not the game for them...perhaps you could suggest something like single player risk where they are sure to win!
I would be interested in running a Star Trek campaign via Skype if you are up for it? I used to run a party onboard the USS Excalibur back in the day.
Another old canuck here! I have played Dungeons and Dragons since 1980. Mostly as a DM. I have played every edition including 4th and it will always be my first love...although I am having a torrid affair with Pathfinder! I have GMd everything from Robotech to Traveller (Mulitple Versions) to Star Trek to Paranoia to Chill to a tonne of Superhero RPGs...I even played the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG. Too many games to list really.
I don't see a problem with allowing this however, the higher the NPC level and the more powerful the creature the harder it would be to do that. You might assign a penalty to the attempt or some sort of save for the targeted creature. Adding an environmental aspect to combat can be quite fun and this case in particular would make for an exciting way to deal with less powerful NPCs and creatures. In my campaigns one of my house rules is any modification or clarification to a rule will apply to any and all NPCs, and if applicable, to any creature or monster. As my campaigns use a high percentage of NPCs most of my players will work with me to come up with a fair compromise. This will limit the inevitable picking of a player up and throwing him off the same cliff by a large creature.
From the Core Rulebook: Through a select, worthy few shines the power of the divine. Called paladins, these noble souls dedicate their swords and lives to the battle against evil. Knights, crusaders, and law- bringers, paladins seek not just to spread divine justice but to embody the teachings of the virtuous deities they serve. In pursuit of their lofty goals, they adhere to ironclad laws of morality and discipline. As reward for their righteousness, these holy champions are blessed with boons to aid them in their quests: powers to banish evil, heal the innocent, and inspire the faithful. Although their convictions might lead them into conflict with the very souls they would save, paladins weather endless challenges of faith and dark temptations, risking their lives to do right and fighting to bring about a brighter future. This is the passage from the CRB. I don't mean to be a rules-lawyer, because I am not but it is clear that a Paladin "adheres to ironclad laws of morality and discipline." The laws of the land may or may not fit into this description.
Is this cleric human? One of the things I would do to minimize this cleric's power is to give him a serious Charisma penalty and an additional penalty to certain CHA based skill checks. He is a freak after all. When the player says, and he inevitably will, "I cover my arm up so it can't be scene." Insist on a Disguise skill check. If they don't have the skill, they suffer with the penalty. This won't necessarily fix your problem but it will add some balance to your game in other areas. If you wanted you could, depending of the deity of the cleric, kick the cleric out of the priesthood. You could send the cleric on a mission of atonement in which his third arm needs to be removed.
Confusing a Paladin with a law abiding citizen is a common mistake. A Paladin lives by his code and not by the law of the land, the same as a jedi. A paladin will not hesitate to break an unjust law if it conflicts with his code. A Lawful character doesn't blindly follow laws, otherwise it would be pretty tough for a Lawful Evil character to be evil. I have always characterized the Jedi as Lawful, Lawful Good for the Jedi and Lawful Evil for the dark side.
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By the sounds of your group your games can't be that fun. I wouldn't bother playing with them. Find another group. Once the game stops being fun its time to move on. As I learn more about your game none of your rules will have an impact. If ou are being overruled over what supplements you will allow, I don't think they will listen to your other house rules.
My biggest problem with your rule is Is your interpretation of Game Master. Do not confuse Game Master to mean god. You would be better to think of Game Master in the form of a Master Craftsperson, and ideally a Master Bard. I have been playing RPGs for over 30 years and use many of the same house rules you listed. The tone of your rules has You coming off as a Lawful Evil GM and your players will grow tired of this very quickly. A GM should never impose his or her will on a party decision such as who should get a certain Magic item. This is the same thing as a referee in football telling the quarterback who he can pass to. A good GM stays out of the parties way whenever possible.
The other thing you can do is to get a subscription to Dungeons and Dragons Insider. Try it for a month. It will give you access to the character builder with all the races and classes from all the books. The DM you played with would be horrible no matter what system he was playing. You might be forced to do what many of us had to do when this hobby was brand new, DM yourself. Once you find a group of people to play, you can pass the DM reigns off to someone who wants the job. You don't need all the books to DM, Wizards has quick start rules for the DM and a pretty good adventure for free. You can find it here and if you subscribed to the Insider, you would also get access to quite a few adventures. The world is full of DMs who have a god complex. A good DM isn't a god, he is of the Bard class.
The best fantasy novels to read would be from Paizo or Wizards of the Coast. They are both companies that appeal to a wide demographic. As many of their readers are younger, these books will have far less questionable content. As many of the previous posters have pointed out, a good character has a good back story and often that means serious hardships. I fully understand where your fiancee is coming from. I am a single father with a teenage daughter and an impressionable 12 year old son and do not allow them to consume media where women are objectified. There are some excellent examples already so I am sure you will find something acceptable.
I had couldn't get into the Sword of Shannara series. I got about 50 pages into the first book and couldn't read any more. I didn't like the Darksword books by Weis and Hickman. I loved their Dragonlance stuff but for some reason didn't like this series. I felt the same as many people about LotR. Saying that, the Hobbit is my favourite fantasy novel. Thankfully, I have found plenty of good reads, many of them on people lists here.
Close but not exactly accurate. You have good and evil right and even Neutral and Chaotic right. Lawful does not mean bow down to societies rules. Lawful means respect for order. That doesn't necessary mean societies rules. For example, a Lawful Good Paladin may not accept a law that says the king may abuse his citizens as he sees fit. The Paladin would be inclined to fight this "law"
As a GM I have always hated players killing other players, in my opinion it ruins the game for the other players. Your game is broken and the above statement is a pretty good indication I am right. As someone with the alignment of CN and moving to the CE alignment, you would not be a peacekeeper. You would relish the chaos fighting party members brings. On a side note, in the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Guide, yes I am that old, CN was basically the alignment of mental illness. I have never allowed that alignment because it is almost impossible to play. As for CE, I usually do not allow it in a campaign unless the player can give me a really good reason as to why he is hanging around with the party. These two alignments are not conducive to playing in a party.
I DM'd a couple of "God" wizards in my time and it was a pain. I also had the player write his spells and magic items out in pen to avoid the temptation to cheat. I hate cheating in RPGs because it ruins the game for everybody. One of the things I like to do with a character who has become too powerful for his own good is to devise a special encounter where having powerful magic is a disadvantage. In one case, I created a creature that attacked the wizard in his sleep. Rather than physical damage, the wizard took damage to both his intelligence and the number of spells he could use. All effects lasted only a day and could be used night after night if needed. For the most part, this dream battle was well received by the wizards...and the players found it quite entertaining. Another time I created a creature that would physically attack a magic strong party. The creature would attack spell casters and characters with magic items, the more powerful the item, the more the creature was attracted to the character.
Well...as I am currently lost in the Jade Regent, and Heros of the Jade Oath will help me find my way back home.
Yet another reason I am glad I picked up the beginner box...and as a Mac user this will give me the perfect opportunity to demo your software! Very nice move! PS. I will be picking up the Mac version of Army Builder as well when its ready!
What you have discovered is exactly why most of us play this game. We play it for the exceptions to the rules and not the rules. When you try to account for all the possible exceptions you quickly discover you why most people don't go the route you are going. I have been writing software for over 25 years and would suggest to you what you are doing is almost impossible. I wish you luck. You are a better man than I for attempting this!
I was reading over the the descriptions of the core books when I came across the page for the Gamemastery Guide. Near the bottom there is a download for some handy worksheets to help the GM when running his campaign. The last page in the PDF is a "Basic Rules Cheatsheet". It has simplified explanations for some of the trickier combat actions not covered by the rules in the Beginner Box. I am going to start transitioning my players to the full game using this document. One thing I have learned is this website is filled with very useful things, many of them even free! We just have to look around.
Many of you are too young to remember the problems us old guys had about this very game. Parents were told that because of the game their children would follow in the footsteps of their characters and do all sorts of things such as witchcraft and devil worship. Holding the author of this book responsible is no different than holding the creators of Dungeons and Dragons responsible for all the worlds problems. As much as I find his book tasteless and just plain stupid, we can't hold him responsible. |
