As a standard action, you can attempt to grapple a foe, hindering his combat options. Since the character isn't trying to hinder the larger creature, I don't think it should be defined as a grapple.
My pitch goes like this: "Hey. What kind of shows have you been watching lately?" I listen to them name off some shows, I'll usually hone in on the show with the most fantasy elements. "Cool. So imagine that instead of watching Game of Thrones once a week, you and your friends hung out together, each played a character in a story told by one friend, and basically write an episode of a weird fantasy show together..." If I have a d20 on hand, I'll hand it to them and ask them to improvise a concept for a fantasy-setting character "like in Lord of the Rings or something". I'll then give an opening description of the scene and tell them why the character is there and what their goals are. The person tells me what they want to do. I explain to them that, in many role-playing games, your success at doing something is determined by a dice roll with an added bonus based on how skilled your character is at doing the thing. They roll, I set an arbitrary DC in my head, and then describe to them their character's success or failure. Rinse and repeat for a few more actions. I introduce them to a simple combat encounter with a simplified version of a d20 combat system. I throw in some social encounters too, and we improvise some fun dialogue and banter together. This usually gets them interested. When I invite new players like this to a game, I usually encourage them to take a learn-as-you-go approach. Instead of them learning what they "can and can't do" from the rulebook, I like them learning through play where they ask me questions as I go. "Can I kick that goblin in the crotch?"
This helps them learn the rules as they go, while still enabling them to imagine their actions cinematically instead of strictly in terms of game mechanics. That's just my approach, anyway.
"I've got less than 24 hours to get rid of this bozo...and you...are wearing...HIS MERCHANDISE!?!?!" "We dance, we kiss, we smooch, we go home. Happy? Whaddya say? Come on?" "Uh...guys? Olympus would be that way..." Hades, Hercules If we were to include television, there are some great bits from the various Venture Bros. villains, and some golden lines from Supernatural's Crowley. If it's not obvious already, I like amusing antagonists.
It means "I'm running something that uses ,at the very least, some of the Pathfinder CRB rules and there's nothin' those Pazio-forum chumps can do about it! Mwahahahaha!*" *Mwahahahaha! completely optional
One of the players was a Dhampir that had some homebrewed bloodlust/feeding mechanic. When in town, she'd regularly sneak out at night to some of the seedier parts of town to snack on some victims. She was careful most of the time, but eventually got sloppy and failed to properly dispose of a couple of the bodies. The next morning, the party awoke to a stern knocking at the door. The Dhampir answered it and found herself face-to-face with the city guard. "We have a few questions for you. You were seen down in Strumpet's Alley in the Red Lamp District at 0100 last night. Is this true?" "Um...yes..." "Bodies drained of their blood were also found in that alley this morning." "Uh..." "So we were hoping you'd help us track down the chupacabra that's clearly behind the attacks!" The entire party laughed and groaned. Funny joke, right? A few days later, another party member was attending to unrelated business in the same part of town. As he wanders down an alley, a creature pounces from behind some rubbish piles and attacks him. The creature? A chupacabra! It was a minor twist, but it was my favorite instance of the "turning a gag into something real" thing that I've managed to pull off.
I'm building a world that has some minor time travel anomalies and half a dozen dimensions/universes all based on Fictional books that the PCs have to jump back and forth between to complete their quest. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to make it work though. I haven't started writing it yet, just an outline, because I decided I was going to use it for NaNoWriMo (the story part of it anyway) which starts tomorrow and about all you're allowed to do before hand is outline and research. In the campaign I mentioned above where they went to Earth, there were other portals and offered them glimpses to other worlds. For 90% of the campaign, they just assumed these worlds were other planets, alternate planes, or alternate universes. But they learned the truth near the end: These "other worlds" were the same world as their own; the same planet in a universe being endlessly destroyed and recreated whenever the universe reaches equilibrium (or is destroyed prematurely by some sort of cataclysm, which was also the kind of cataclysm that the party was trying to prevent) and gets reset by the gods. The magic-less Earth they had visited was the "next" universe after the end of their own. Why did the gods create a world without magic after theirs? Did something happen in their universe's future that made the gods wary of entrusting magic to mortals? The twist added a sobering sense of imminent doom to a campaign already heavy with Lovecraftian elements. I don't know what tone you're going for with your story, but it might be cool to implement the "these worlds aren't connected the way you think they are!" twist that fits the tone and theme you're trying to establish. Just an idea.
The other thing I find amazing is that everybody expects the paladin to be a dick after the conception and walk off having no relationship with the demi-god or the child. What? There are not parental visitation rights on Golarion? Is the demi-god going to whisk the child off the heavens and get a restraining order against the paladin? Best episode of Maury ever?
Do internet arguments ALWAYS have to demonize the other side?! Yes! And anyone who disagrees with me is a doo-doo head. Shades of grey are for suckers! :)
"Well, when sentients get together and get it on, that's the Force, baby!" That sounds like the most amazing Jedi ever.
I dislike people who have lists of people they dislike.Cannot agree more strongly, this thread and the contributions to it make me very, very sad. People are to be handled on a case by case basis...interest based descimination isn't more noble than skin color,or gender or any other irrational reason to hate on people. I dislike people who dislike people who post in threads they don't like. But I try not to complain about it, because I also dislike people who dislike people who dislike people who post in threads they don't like. So it all balances out. :)
The word was invented by the webcomic Perry Bible Fellowship, but didn't gain its current connotations until it was used in 4chan as a substitute for the derogatory term "Wappanese." Ah, so it's a term for folks who are really into anime and such (like, really, really into it?) I've had a couple players like that. They'll send me messages asking "I WANNA BE A CHARACTER BASED ON CONCEPT FROM (Insert Anime Here)" and include a YouTube clip. I delete those messages.
So, my takeaway from this thread is that I should show up to a new game wearing a trillby and hypersexualized anime girl t-shirt, then play as a Psionic Lolicon Kender Antipaladin who rants about Linux and men's rights in a creepy little girl voice. Got it.
This is exactly what video I was thinking of, but my search was fruitless since I misremembered the name as "Andre the Giant".
I think you're in the wrong thread. The thread for Best Roleplaying/Backstory You've Ever Seen is that way!
This is quickly derailing into the "Character Names Made from Wonderful Puns" thread. I approve.
Could we perhaps change the title of the thread to "Play Styles or Roleplay Behaviors That You Aren't Cool With"? I like the idea of discussing our own individual preferences and feelings, but the threat currently runs the risk of being antagonistic.
If I wanted to play a human in the same party as your noble drow, how many bonus feats do I get at 1st level to balance things out?None i would give you the advanced template. You've pretty much answered your own thread. Drow Nobles are a race choice that is so powerful, that the GM has to grant templates and such to everyone else to balance things out. As a GM, it's easier to say "No" to one player than it is to add more tweaks and hand-waves to balance out the other players.
During the climactic battle of a campaign I ran, the skies over the Inner Sea were turned into one giant portal from which Azathoth slowly emerged as it awoke. When the skies opened, I reached into a trash bag beneath the table and pulled out this Tentacle Arm and waved it high over the table where their miniatures stood, explaining that the tentacle was to scale and that it was one of dozens that darkened the sky. Even though I only used it once for that one session, it was my favorite use of a prop/accessory to date.
It's ultimately going to depend on how alignment is defined by the table, the GM, and the setting you're playing in. We forum folks could debate the alignment of such an action until the cows come home, but all we'd really do is show how undefinitive the alignment system is for characterizing the morality of one's actions. All I can say is...I hope your Paladin enjoys their trip to the Boneyard.
This one comes up a lot. I laugh every time. GM: (Reaches the end of reading aloud a letter, note, or other handout)
They have direct control over the character, yes, but they don't have control over what happens to the character. The whole thing just seemed like a control issue to me.
A long hallway with individual squares that are false floors with illusions cast over them and lead down to a spike pit below. A cube room where the party has to use a gravity-shifting dias to rotate the room around to solve a puzzle and reveal the doorway.
I stopped reading at "high level characters with Mythic levels".
This one guy I GMed for refused to give his character a backstory. His justification was "He has amnesia!".
A hug? Wouldn't that just be a grap-OH CRAP! (Sultry saxophone music plays in the background as levels are sensuously drained from his corporeal form)
"The evil wizard cackles as the gates of the keep open to reveal the foot soldiers of his horrific army...magically-augmented 13 year-old boys!"
When I had a PC like this, I embraced how the character behaved rather than fought it. Each NPC had turn-ons/turn-offs, different sexualities/orientations, and certain interests in a romantic partner. The character couldn't just automatically make the trousers drop with a single Diplomacy check, the character had to converse with, learn about, and seduce that NPC. Even after all that, success isn't guaranteed. A character can get a natural 20 on their Diplomacy check when the time finally comes to "make their move", but still be turned down if the physical compatibility isn't there (although the character's Sense Motive was high enough that they usually figured it out before then). That was just seduction. If you and your table is comfortable with it, there are third party supplements that deal with the more...physical...stuff that occurs after that. In this particular case, I just described some smooching and over-the-clothes action before doing a PG-13 fade-to-black. Long story short: My solution was to engage the player the way they wanted rather than resist, and a whole dating sim minigame emerged as a result. That doesn't work for everyone, but it's something to consider instead of automatically fighting against PC attempts at getting some. Let them roleplay how they want, but do so in a way that challenges them.
My GM isn't too familiar with the Oracle class, which is something I found out only after he approved my Oracle with the Lore mystery. 90% of my time with the character is goofy roleplaying. She's a doddering old lady with a penchant for the preparation and smoking of flayleaf, loudly talking smack on the rest of the party with the invisible spirits next to her, and awkwardly flirting with the party's big armored tank whom she's affectionately nicknamed "canned beef". I think that 90% lowers my GM's expectations of granny's power level. Granny somehow has a high AC and Reflex saves (Sidestep Secret) and can regularly get ludicrously high Knowledge check results (Lore Keeper + Focused Trance). At one point, she successfully disarmed a Large scythe-wielding enemy and ran off with the weapon (Pilfering Han). There really wasn't alot of cheesy stuff I did, but the roleplaying seemed the cause my GM to lower his guard. Funny stuff.
So what you're saying is that slapping Pharasma's backside as you get resurrected may be a bad idea even if it's totally in character? "I wanna spank that goddess!" "Okay then...roll for an Unarmed Strike against a goddess' touch AC! Do you have Improved Unarmed Strike?""Uh...no..." "That provokes..." ;)
Generally? No. However, this doesn't mean that the gods are obligated to answer all prayers or grant power to just any worshiper. Depending on how your GM portrays the gods, they might have certain preferences... "Sarenrae, you have an incoming prayer from a worshiper on line one." "Of course. I'm always available to answer the prayers of those in need. Who is it?" "Some guy named Barry..." "Oh no...is he that heavy-set human with the weird left eye and the Sublime t-shirt?" "Umm...yes..." "Aw man...@#$% that guy. Tell him that I'm out of the celestial office and that 'Saranrae works in mysterious ways' or something..." Gods don't have to like everyone.
Breaking News: If a whole bunch of feats, traits, and class abilities are put into a class skill that uses an ability score that you've pumped up, that check is going to be ludicrously high. Full story at 11. Now to you with the weather, Tom.
What's interesting is that, for every behavior you observe in a culture, there's a context of events that shaped that behavior. If you go far back in the history of Paizo goblins, you'll find that they were slaves to Asmodeous thousands of years ago. After being freed by Lamashtu, many turned to her as their patron deity, while also disavowing any kind of written language (since a contract is what enslaved them). Thousands of years of illiteracy and worship of an evil deity is going to result in a very...interesting...culture.Where was this found? Pathfinder Wiki cites Mystery Monsters Revisted as the source of this. This is admittedly one of the older supplements, so I don't know how canonical it is.
We be goblins! Please don't shoot!We be goblins! We too cute! >(^w^)<
This is more or less what I was thinking, yeah. I love inhuman characters to bits. Got any good stories?When I've played non-evil goblins as PCs or NPCs, they're usually played more like wild tribal gnomes (for lack of better description). They maintain a certain level of violent mischievousness, short-term thinking, and naivete, but comparatively more behaved than the typical goblin. They're definitely still chaotic in alignment, and struggle to fit in with more "civilized" company. Sure. There was this CG goblin druid NPC that the PCs would always encounter fleeing from a goblin village. This druid, it turns out, was the decedent from an ancient order of goblins that swore to protect the written language and culture of goblinkind when the rest of them swore off reading and writing. She would try, mostly in vain, to bring literacy to various goblin tribes only to be chased off. The party eventually befriended her by offering her horse meat (don't ask how they got it). The druid's goals and role lead to some amusing moments into a campaign, including an encounter where the PCs arrived in a small mining town where the mines had shut down due to a union strike. The twist was that the miners were underpaid goblins, and the founder of the union turned out to be that upstart goblin that they had encountered several times before. Also, it turns out a "goblin protest" consists of goblins banging their picket signs against the ground, or each other, while cussing loudly. As a side note, check out Paizo's April Fool's joke from 2011: http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lc2e?Goblins-for-All
When I've played non-evil goblins as PCs or NPCs, they're usually played more like wild tribal gnomes (for lack of better description). They maintain a certain level of violent mischievousness, short-term thinking, and naivete, but comparatively more behaved than the typical goblin. They're definitely still chaotic in alignment, and struggle to fit in with more "civilized" company.
Goblins are generally portrayed as goofy, murderous savages. Personally, they're my favorite interpretation of the "goblin" creature in any work of fantasy. What's interesting is that, for every behavior you observe in a culture, there's a context of events that shaped that behavior. If you go far back in the history of Paizo goblins, you'll find that they were slaves to Asmodeous thousands of years ago. After being freed by Lamashtu, many turned to her as their patron deity, while also disavowing any kind of written language (since a contract is what enslaved them). Thousands of years of illiteracy and worship of an evil deity is going to result in a very...interesting...culture. It's going to be up to your GM. Some GMs are comfortable with races having certain intrinsic behaviors. Personally, I find such a mentality problematic that could easily be argued as bigotry if applied in a real-world context. I have no problem with goofy goblins, savage orcs, etc, but when I use them in games, I make sure to present them in a way the presents the cultural situation as more complex. Short answer: Most goblins you encounter in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting are going to be savage, murderous, and comical. This doesn't mean that it's inherent to their nature (unless your GM says so?).
I'm with Neongelion on this. I ran a campaign that involved a small bit of Earth-travel with merely a passing reference to the religions that existed there, and the theological questions that players asked out-of-game had alot of implications that would've trampled on the sensitivities of any religious players that might've been at my table (although I personally found them hilarious). Sensitive (maybe offesnive?) religious stuff inside:
"So what domains is Yaweh/Yehovah/Allah?" "NOPE. NOT GOING THERE. NOT ANSWERING THAT." "If Jesus died on the cross, then doesn't that mean he has stats?" "NOPE. NOT GOING THERE. NOT ANSWERING THAT." Also, the body of a mostly-naked man nailed to a cross while his face is contorted in pain is a pretty terrifying holy symbol to those who've never seen such a symbol before in their lives. The roleplaying that this misunderstanding prompted was absolutely priceless, though.
I haven't looked at Mummy's Mask, but it seems weird that they'd use real-world religious names instead of creating their own analogues. Seems like a can of worms was needlessly opened.
It ultimately depends on the party's makeup. Some players aren't exactly the pointiest arrows in the quiver. You can have them roll checks, and describe it to them vividly as something powerful, but the decision is ultimately up to them. Fun storytime: I had a party stopping at a small village on the edge of the woods. A beaten and mortally wounded man drags himself into the village telling of something terrifying that's after him. There's a symbol carved on the man's chest, and the man describes its features. The party consults a local wizard who lets them use his library, and they're able to learn that the description and the symbol match the avatar of an Outer God. Their research explicitly revealed that what lurked in the forest was on par with a demigod in power. A moment of stunned silence followed before the party unanimously declared their intention to go kill it. When I heard their decision, I reiterated their findings to them in case they didn't hear, but their minds were made up. And that's how a party with APL 7 marched off into the forest to "fight" a CR 22 monster. They survived. Barely. Only because I pulled the creature's punches with the justification that such a powerful creature wouldn't be interested in weaker creatures that couldn't even bypass its DR and SR. It eventually left after it finished setting up some macabre altar, but not before kindly distributing some curses and insanity effects that put the campaign in an interesting direction.
Oh no! SPELL X is broken because I can do a zillion damage with it at a high level, in narrow circumstances, after I cast the spell a thousand times in addition to casting several other spells! THE GAME HAS BEEN CHANGED...
I run games out of the Inner Sea campaign setting, but I still invent names for cities and settlements on blank spots of the map. Dygon, Landil, Dent, and Vyrona are just a couple of the names I can remember off the top of my head.
Always does annoying voices for their character; an obnoxiously high-pitched and nasally voice for the gnome, a gravelly version of the gnome voice for the goblin, etc. I am that player. I regret nothing.
Something fun you could do is have the messenger disguise themself as an important figure in the target's religion and throw together some B.S. prophecy to drive the target nuts.
Player Says (while in Absalom, or your Setting's Super Big City): There's nothing for us to do here!
My Andorid character was recently banned from pretty much any social interaction with the people of Sandpoint on account of his less-then-empathetic communication skills. Ven Vinder: Where is she!?! Have any of you seen my daughter!?!" Android: She is currently engaged in coital activity with an expedition partner of mine. Ven Vinder: WWHHHAAT!?!?! Android: (Rolls Sense Motive) You appear to be upset. I would like to inquire further about the reasoning behind this reaction. I've basically taken the "Emotionless" race trait to the ludicrous extreme. Also... Android: As requested, we have vacated your residence of goblinoid creatures. However, your son was discovered dead before our arrival. Resident: (Breaks down into violent sobbing) Android: Your dog was also found deceased. (Rest of party tackles Android)
Player Says: "Hero Lab must've calculated that wrong!" Player Means: "I tried stacking something that doesn't actually stack"
Variant Rule X must apply across the board! They didn't get that memo. They asked to have the Called Shot variant rule introduced for the sole reason of groin-shots to every bipedal creature they encountered. I let them have their fun for a session and a half before I brought in a crossbow-wielding baddie that exploited the rule just as badly. By session's end, I got them to agree that the variant rule was not a good idea for that particular playgroup.
Player Says: "Can we implement Variant Rule X?"
Player Says: "Hey! That's not fair, why are they all ganging up on me?"
PUNCH ALL THE THINGS, KESS!
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