Memory of Dreams's page

Rogue Eidolon: That was the point I was trying to make: in v.3.5 barbarians were illiterate; in PFRPG they're not. Sorry if my sentence was ambiguous.

Ah, quite so--except me, of course!

(OOC: I'm from the legal True Primitive archetype)

Rogue Eidolon wrote:

In PFS, even my half-orc barbarian always strikes for nonlethal damage except against undead or anything a "sun shaman" or "moon shaman" tells him is an evil outsider. He doesn't want to end anyone else's story in a footnote to his own, so he is extremely reverent of those who do wind up dying by the hands of his "tribe".

Hey, this guy sounds alright!

I am called Memory of Dreams, for I memorize the names and dreams of each story that has ended so that mine can continue. To them, their death was the capstone to their whole story, so how can I let it simply be a passing mention in my own that I quickly forget until it fades away. Every name will be remembered, and if they have a bit of their story untold, a dream that is not wholly evil that they have yet to fulfill, I will try to fulfill it. I take that part of them into me when I take responsibility for their end.

It is amazing to see how quickly a PC can become a bloodthirsty murderer when faced with taking a -4 to hit in order to deal nonlethal damage.

-Matt

Truly, it would be better if more Pathfinders understood the ideals of the Sun Spirit, and learn to use their weapon as a blade of mercy, not a tool of death. But they tell me I'm the one who's an ignorant savage...

Memory of Dreams wrote:

In_digo wrote:

Sheesh, stories like this make me never want to play a Gunslinger in PFS play. Every other tale I hear with a Gunslinger in it makes them sound like the jerk class >.>
Although we have the same problem with AM barbarians. "Lets talk to the guy for informa-"
"NO I SMASH!"
Combat begins.

I am sorry you feel that way about barbarians, but I can see why you do. Few who share my propensity for righteous wrath are of the same opinion as myself, that all sentient creatures deserve to live their own story, and that every life is precious. I, for one, hope that any means other than fighting can prevail, if possible.

It's not just a feeling, unfortunately. It's my entire experience as a player :(

Every straight barbarian we've played with has done this in the scenario. If only more of them were like you!

Not all understand the teaching of the Sun Spirit, who your people call Sara-Anne Ray. If they cannot see any other path, perhaps you can convince them to strike for nonlethal force so you can preserve the lives of your foes and at least question them afterwards? If I can avoid it, I never strike with lethal force except against the walking dead or unliving constructs.

Mike Mistele wrote:

In the combat which went pear-shaped in "Blakros Matrimony" today, our gunslinger PC (played by a young man who clearly enjoyed combat, and might well have been a little bored and frustrated with all of the roleplaying and skill use up until that point) went Leeroy. We were talking with the "bad guys", and it still wasn't clear if things were going to come to blows or not, when he said, "Eh, I'm done. I shoot the guy", which, of course, started the combat.

Karma was served, however, as the GM focused a lot of fire on him, and his PC wound up very dead (he was at ~5 HP when the lead bad guy critted him for ~60 points of damage). Even then, the player just cheerily and repeatedly chirped, "no problem, I got enough Prestige to get rezzed."

Given how badass the opponents were, any trigger for combat would have led to the same result, and I'm not convinced that even my Diplo-monkey paladin would have been able to achieve a peaceful resolution to the encounter.

Sheesh, stories like this make me never want to play a Gunslinger in PFS play. Every other tale I hear with a Gunslinger in it makes them sound like the jerk class >.>

Although we have the same problem with AM barbarians. "Lets talk to the guy for informa-"
"NO I SMASH!"
Combat begins.

I am sorry you feel that way about barbarians, but I can see why you do. Few who share my propensity for righteous wrath are of the same opinion as myself, that all sentient creatures deserve to live their own story, and that every life is precious. I, for one, hope that any means other than fighting can prevail, if possible.

Not all of us can use the magical runes that you call writing that beam information into your head. That said, we "primitives", as you call us, make up for it with a strong oral tradition. I like to hope my extensive oral reports are better than the scribbled ravings of certain other (7 Int 7 Wis) agents I've known...

So what determines "member of a Mammoth Lords tribe or following"? Is there any kind of trait/ethnicity/race/whatever requirement? I ask because in a home game it's all backstory, but in PFS there's no real way of checking on that.

More generally, what is the ruling for this sort of thing in PFS? I vaguely recall some feat that requires you served under some specific captain at sea, which Hero Lab assures me is legal for Society play, and there's upbringing feats like the Shoanti options, yadda yadda. Is this waived a la the PrC roleplay requirements? Or is it still in place, on the honor system?

If you do not know if you are a member of a Mammoth Lord tribe, then you are not a member. While fewer than one in a thousand of us are not of the Kellid ethnicity, sometimes, like the Snowmask Huscarl, there is an outlander who proves their honor and strength and joins a tribe. Considering that the Pathfinder Society already contains more tengu, aasimar, and summoner members than the entire Inner Sea Region combined (if not all of Golarion in the case of summoners), it would not be totally shocking if it also contained several non-Kellid Mammoth Lords.

or I'd come up with a system by which it was logical that the illiterate barbarian who can't interact with humans or find his way through a ruin by himself would actually make it through the training. And then a way to assign appropriate characters to appropriate missions - but that kills the current play model. ]

Always you pick on us for not understanding you "civilized" folks and your magic symbols on paper that transmit knowledge to your heads. You should know that we are more likely than our more mainstream brethren to find the way through a ruin.

(OOC: The only archetype that grants illiteracy also grants Favored Terrain, giving bonuses to, among other things, Perception and Survival in ruins if you pick Underground like Memory did)

Jiggy wrote:

I didn't think it was mechanically possible in Pathfinder rules to be illiterate.

It not. Stupid Zey make Garble look at stolen Pathfinder words. Says Garble have to or Garble get thrown into red blanket hanging from wall, never to come back. Garble not understand.

It isn't? But I am both illiterate and a Pathfinder. Perhaps you weren't trying hard enough to hold onto the traditions of your tribe in the face of Aram Zey's harsh words.

(OOC: True Primitive archetype grants Illiteracy)

(OOC: Memory of Dreams is not the character mentioned in the OP and has never eaten anyone so far due to fellow PCs so far backing up his peaceful ways--here's his view)

The orcs have their ways, and their ways are often brutal and cruel. I cannot speak to this man you mentioned, but my people are neither. In my tribe, we follow the traditions of the sun and moon spirits. They have taught us that taking the life of another living being (undead are certainly not living, and as to that status for outsiders, I will ask the nearest shaman to weigh in, as I am not well-informed on the matter) is a weighty and momentous decision. It should be undertaken only in the most extreme circumstances, when no other options are available.

In your story, the man you slay may just be one of ten faceless minions, but to that man, it is the final end of his story, his hopes, and his dreams. He was a son, and perhaps a brother, a husband, or a father. When you end another being, it is your duty to use every part and let nothing go to waste. It is your duty to take their hopes and dreams within you, through ritual consumption--if all of these dreams are evil, you need not pursue them, but try to find something in their story that you can continue, even if it is merely to locate their loved ones and inform them of their death. You must learn and remember their names, and respect that for your story to continue, theirs had to end.

In my adventures with the Pathfinder Society, thus far despite the extreme violence required, far more than suits my taste, I have managed to work with my comrades to prevent any fatalities on either side, but some day, I may not be so fortunate.

Your people call me a barbarian, a primitive, and with all the strange things you have in your civilization, I guess it must be so. But now you call me evil? I hold each life sacred and remember their loss. How many lives have you taken on an adventure and soon forgotten? In my tribe, this would be a great sin, but I do not judge you for it.

I owe your agents life-debt for saving me from the hold of the hated White Witches. In this, as in all things, you will have my blade at your disposal. By the grace of the sun spirit and the moon spirit, may we all be successful and safe, and may no lives be lost on either side, no stories forced to end before their time.

Oh, and one last thing? Chief Maldris, if you wouldn't mind sending your message with a crier next time--Last time you sent me a letter, which as you know I cannot read. Fortunately there was a trustworthy paladin of the Silver Crusade to read it to me, but I fear some time there will not be. I would not want to miss even one of your noble missions due to guile from my potential allies.

In my tribe, we follow the traditions of the sun and moon spirits. They have taught us that taking the life of another living being (undead are certainly not living, and as to that status for outsiders, I will ask the nearest shaman to weigh in, as I am not well-informed on the matter) is a weighty and momentous decision. It should be undertaken only in the most extreme circumstances, when no other options are available.

In your story, the man you slay may just be one of ten faceless minions, but to that man, it is the final end of his story, his hopes, and his dreams. He was a son, and perhaps a brother, a husband, or a father. When you end another being, it is your duty to use every part and let nothing go to waste. It is your duty to take their hopes and dreams within you, through ritual consumption--if all of these dreams are evil, you need not pursue them, but try to find something in their story that you can continue, even if it is merely to locate their loved ones and inform them of their death. You must learn and remember their names, and respect that for your story to continue, theirs had to end.

In my adventures with the Pathfinder Society, thus far despite the extreme violence required, far more than suits my taste, I have managed to work with my comrades to prevent any fatalities on either side, but some day, I may not be so fortunate.

Your people call me a barbarian, a primitive, and with all the strange things you have in your civilization, I guess it must be so. But now you call me evil? I hold each life sacred and remember their loss. How many lives have you taken on an adventure and soon forgotten? In my tribe, this would be a great sin, but I do not judge you for it.