Thokar's page

Typically we have a quick and easy solution for less-than-serious arguments regarding rules. Three words:

Dance off, bro.

He should attempt to grapple to closest member of the party.

If the character is male, he will forget anything and everything he was about to do and focus on the fact that there is a naked man trying to grab him.

If the character is a female with any kind of self respect, she will forget anything and everything she was about to do and focus on the fact that there is a naked man trying to grab her.

After rinsing a repeating 3-4 times, he will be left with only the female members of the opposition who are of weak morale character. In which case they will be focusing on the fact that he is naked.

In conclusion, this strategy will likely turn a potentially deadly situation into an epic one for the naked, unarmed fighter.

This is a slippery slope.

Being either for or against this bill places you at odds with one freedom or another. I support gay marriage, but I also support the right of business owners to refuse service to whomever they so choose, after all..its their business. That being said, I also support Gen Con's right to find a new venue to express their own views as an organization. This is America. This country was founded on the principles of freedom, specifically for freedom of religion which is likely the biggest reason for the bias against the gay community in most cases.

I personally feel that Jesus wouldn't discriminate against anyone. If Sir Elton John came into his Carpentry/Flip Flop Emporium I think he would help him pick our some new footwear and a kitchen table. Just my 2 cents.

On that note, Asheville NC would be a fantastic location. Good food, a huge number of breweries, and enough goes on in Seattle that its time for a little love for your East Coast gamers.

You don't need to sacrifice your combat capability to be a skill monkey. Rogues are naturally skilled, and useful in those terms. 8 skill points per level, and proficiency in a healthy number of skills. That's not including extra skills you can pick up through feats or talents, or extra skill points derived from intelligence.

If you're really interested in being valuable to your party on that front, go 50/50. Use half of your talents and feats on skill based selections, and the other half on combat related, or general feats/talents. I think you'll find that even with that methodology, you'll be an exceptional skill monkey, as well as capable of delivering damage and contributing to the party's success in a combat situation. After a certain point, 1 or 2 extra skill points in a talent or two becomes moot.

However, your stats need some work. You can have skill points all day long, but you're working against yourself if your charisma, wisdom, and strength are low. A lot of rogue skills depend on charisma, wisdom and strength. Climbing, swimming, bluff, sense motive, perception, etc. And those are some of the more useful ones. What good is having an extra skill point or 2, when you could have a bonus to all of your strength based checks by just putting a 12 in strength? (Not to mention the extra point of damage you would no longer be forgoing).

Think it through, crunch the numbers. Putting all of your eggs in one basket wont necessarily make you a better skill monkey. There are ways to achieve that without sacrificing your characters playability in combat, or in other scenarios.

I think a better question is "Do the majority of gamers, who tend to be socially awkward begrudge the presence of people who are not"? In my experience, the answer can be yes or no. I've been more often shunned by the "typical" socially awkward gamer, than I have other types of gamers. Maybe because I don't fit their idea of what a gamer should be. But it doesn't mean I'm not a real gamer.

I know all sorts of people that are drawn to gaming. Some just have a greater desire to keep it a secret because of the social stigma. The sad truth is, to some people gaming is not cool. And most people care what other people think, regardless of what they say. The trick is to stop caring what other people think, and be open to including all types of players. When you can do that, people are more accepting, more interested in becoming involved in a hobby we all recognize as something everyone can enjoy on some level.

Gaming has social divisions sometimes, just like life. We represent a subculture that's defined by a similar interest we all share. So are some of us socially awkward? Yes. But if you accept the people who aren't, and the fact that being a gamer isn't a reason to hide from the world, you can help break down the stigmas that have kept game sessions huddled in basements, and attics, and garages for the last 35 years and find that this is an outlet to overcome your social awkwardness.

Who knows, with enough progress maybe someday taking on 20 orcs with no more than your trusty axe and your mad skills you'll draw more attention from the ladies than you would being the star quarterback...I won't hold my breath on that one though.