Kere's page

i participate in a Pathfinder RPG with a very outgoing and creative male player who likes breaking barriers and boundaries for the sake of doing something new and innovative, but does not want to have to compromise with other players about what he’s doing. He says it spoils the fun for him. In his defense, he does realize that when his play style causes someone else not to have fun, that’s not a good thing.

His unwillingness to compromise was a huge sore spot for me for quite a while and really ruined my ability to have fun with him. I finally left the party because of it, and our GM offered to let me run solo. As long as I wasn’t going to have to deal with him very often and our GM was okay with the extra work, I was perfectly fine with the idea of doing things that way so he could still stay in the party. A few days ago, he announced that he was leaving permanently so I wouldn’t have to leave the party.

We’ve had a pretty good clearing of the air since then, and while I will NEVER sit at another game table with him ever again, things are good enough between us that I could probably have a conversation with him about RL stuff if the opportunity arose. I’m hoping to leave things between us on as positive a note as possible.

On the one hand, I think that his unwillingness to compromise doesn’t really belong in a teamwork-oriented social game like an RPG, but on the other, I can’t help but think that there are other players out there somewhere who want the same things he does who might have some good suggestions.

1. I want to ask experienced GMs to chime in if they’ve ever dealt with a player like this guy and if they know of a way to give him everything I’ve listed here without driving the other players batty.

2. I also want to ask if there are any players out there who really resonate with the idea of pushing boundaries for the sake of doing something new and innovative and how you handle the social aspects of an RPG. Do you refuse to compromise for the sake of your fun?

3. Does anyone know of a game other than an RPG or some pursuit other than a game where the player I’m talking about could combine his desire for socialization, creativity/innovation, and no compromise constructively? Having some adventure in the mix would be good too, but is not a strict necessity.

There may not be an option to let him combine everything he wants, but I’m new enough to RPGs in general that I figure it’s worth asking! You all have experience and expertise that I don’t.

Thanking you all in advance...

I have a really fun play-by-post homebrew campaign I’m doing, but there is another player I’m having some trouble with. We are extreme opposites in personality type, and he does not believe in compromise or sitting down like adults and talking about what each of us needs to have fun and seeking win-win solutions so both of us can enjoy ourselves and have fun. I don’t know why. - he doesn’t communicate about what the block is for him, he just refuses to answer anytime I ask him to talk with me. The GM also doesn’t want to get involved in our conflict - I think maybe he fears conflict, and so doesn’t mediate any. We’ve limped along together for four years, but things got so bad between us a few months back that I finally decided to quit, even though I really like the campaign.

My GM offered to let me run a solo adventure once I officially leave the party, and because I DO really like the campaign, I agreed. (My cohort character needs to finish a crafting project before I officially leave - just 1.5 in-game days left!)

One of the problems I have with this guy is he’s a boundary buster. That is to say, if I ask him to please not do something, he does it anyway. Nearly every flaming time! To some extent, he comes by it honestly. His Meyers-Briggs personality type is ENTP, also known as the Visionary, and ENTPs are drawn to breaking barriers for the sake of doing things that have never been done before. The problem is A) he massively overestimates his social skills. His social skills aren’t awful, they just aren’t anywhere near as good as he makes them out to be. B) He thinks that having good intentions gives him the right to completely ignore what other people want/need and to tell them how how to live their lives. As I said earlier, he refuses to compromise, even a little. His personality is somewhat dominant, and as far as I can tell, he’s the only extrovert in our group.

I’ve dealt with boundary busters before, and you pretty much have to be able to enforce your no, because they won’t get the point any other way. The nature of our campaign is such that I can’t completely disconnect from the original party, but I can limit contact with them quite a bit, and I want to be ready for the times I have to deal with Mr. No-doesn’t-apply-to-me.

With all of that as background, that brings me to what I need from you all. My character is going to be acquiring a ship and I want to put an enchantment on it that will keep his character out, so I have one place I know I can get away from him. His character is a fairy who has a custom template for her racial details, but falls under Fey as a race. Her size is diminutive, so she’s hard to hit. She is an arcane trickster, and I think she”s a rogue/sorcerer as opposed to a bard/sorcerer. She has Fey bloodline. She is level 8 or 9 overall, and there are also 4 levels in fairy she can gain as well that grant her abilities like invisibility at-will and underwater breathing. I don’t know how many levels she has of fairy and rogue, but I think her sorcerer level is pretty low - 1 or 2.

I’m not opposed to hearing other solutions if anyone has a thought, but I would like to avoid PvP if at all possible.

Thanks for everyone’s help!

I’m a little bit confused about the rules for mesmerists. I’m trying to put together a character who is a low-level Monster, specifically a dweomercat cub, which has high CHA and Dex. We don’t get to roll stats, we have to take what’s in the bestiary entry as her stats and go from there. Her STR is terrible, so I’m thinking some kind of spontaneous caster. I thought it would be awkward for her to try to cast spells that have a gestural components since she walks on 4 legs, and when I saw that mesmerists can cast some spells without having to include somatic components even if those are required in the spell’s entry, I was immediately interested in it as a class for this character. However, there seem to be two different mesmerist spell lists, a shorter list that is labeled “psychic spells” and the normal mesmerist list, which includes stuff from the wizard/sorcerer/bard lists.

Which list does the ‘no somatic or verbal components required’ rule apply to, only the list that is specifically psychic spells, only the regular list, or both lists?

Sorry if this is a newbie question, it’s just not really clear to me. I appreciate any help this community can offer!

I am familiar with Pathfinder and know how to roll up a character. I am interested in participating in PFS pbp games, and I have my PFS ID, but I am brand new to PFS. I thought I'd roll up maybe 3 characters and then try to find a campaign and pick the one that seems like the best fit.

I have found a lot of information about getting started, but there are a few questions remaining that I can't seem to find answers to. I'm hoping you folks here can help me, because I can't proceed with rolling up a character until question 1 gets answered.

1. The PFS Character Creation guide constantly references the Core Rulebook (CRB), the Hero's Handbook (HH), and the Player Pack (PP) in terms of determining certain things. I know where to find the CRB online, and I found the PP, but the only place I can seem to find the HH is in the Beginner Box. I looked at the Beginner Box and am hoping to not have to purchase it because as a pbp player, I have no need for for anything except the HH. I am more than happy to pay for a copy of the HH if need be. Is there a way I can either get hold of a copy of the HH or else pay for a copy of just the HH alone? I can't proceed with character creation until I know what things from the CRB are not allowed, and it also looks like my starting equipment should be taken from the HH and PP.

2. Does PFS play make use of regional or campaign traits? I can find other traits if need be, but if these are legal, I'd like to look through them and see if anything pops out at me.

3. This is probably a silly question, but when I look at other players' online character profiles, I often see a reference to something called SQ. What does that stand for, and what sorts of things go into that slot?

Thanks a ton for any help you can give me with these questions!