Vaziir Jivaan's page

Jade Regent.

-Vaz

Ranger in my group absolutely DESTROYS giants. Gravity Bow, Favored Enemy, typical feat selections.

It's just...obscene really.

-Vaz

I like the Runeforge/amnesiac idea. Players, or even goblins awaken him either below the Glassworks in the catacombs, or perhaps a jumbled heap in the junk pile along the shore. You could use him to occasionally remember glimpses of Thassilons past and feed the players info as needed as well as use some of the backstory provided that never really gets told during the game.

I might even tie in a Hellboy II like event later on, with an army of "brethren" and a crazed individual in search of the "Runeworks" or some such...

-Vaz

She's a troubleshooter sent by the city of Magnimar to investigate reports of goblin uprisings. Rogue skills, nut more investigator/detective type. Maybe some faux legal enforcement powers, as well as a hook for why she would want to continue investigating future issues in the region.

I did this with my game, and the rogue player loved it. She was a "Justicar of Magnimar", and was sent to Sandpoint when Sheriff Hemlock goes to Magnimar to beseech the city for aid/troops. She arrived a day later with the Texas Ranger mentality, "One Crisis, One Justicar".

Simple twist the rogue class. Was fun.

-Vaz

Forgive me if it's already been asked...

I'm a huge Jade Regent fan. I love the classic "regain the throne" storyline and how all things tie together. That being said...

Why is Jade Regent skipped over for accessories? I see AP's both before and after Jade Regent that have gotten "pawns" and miniature sets but alas, Jade Regent seems to be looked over.

-Vaz

I drew each area on an individual piece of graph paper, the players mapped "old school" and when appropriate I revealed the miniature scale map. It worked out surprisingly awesome.

-Vaz

Drogar Grimgut
-LN Dwarf Wizard (Earth Specialist); his love of gems, gold, and treasure knows NO limit. He oft charges into combat with his mighty hammer and smites his foe with spell and arms alike.

Ilsevele Amcathra
-LN Half-Elf Rogue (Investigator); a "Justicar of Magnimar". She's been assigned by Justice Ironbriar to investigate the goblin issues surrounding Sandpoint.

Dache Cole
-CG Human Fighter; growing up he was a womanizer and had his hands in many shady dealings, some of which have returned. With sword and shield he stands firmly beside his companions.

Vass V'alah
-NG Human Ranger; a Keleshite archer far from her home. She has bonded closely with her companions and says little. Like…really, she rarely talks.

Bindle Bogfoot
-NG Halfling Cleric of Plogg (Halfling Deity of Mediocrity); Bindle is just, well, awesome. We modded "Brew Potion" and he instead creates cooked items like "Benediction Bon Bons", "Happy Healing Ho-Ho's", and "Hacky Taffy". Bindle doesn't wear armor, carries no weapons, and uses his spells and abilities to invoke the "Meh" light of Plogg on his allies and enemies.

Just finishing the Skinsaw Murders.

Thanks all. Appreciate the input greatly!

-Vaz

Per Lesser Beast Totem, the two claw attacks are made at full BAB and are considered primary attacks.

Without Brawler, which grants Improved Unarmed Attack Feat he would be considered unarmed and his claw attacks would provoke attack of opportunity?

IF so, then Greater Brawler, which grants TWF for unarmed attacks would apply to his claws? It reasons that IF his claws would provoke attacks of opportunity then they are considered unarmed and subject to penalties and benefits alike except where otherwise stated.

This is an NPC, which I know I can float past the rules but I'm curious as to the rules and the spirit thereof.

-Vaz

6th level Half-Orc Barbarian with Lesser Beast Totem, Brawler, and Greater Brawler. How many attacks per round when he full attacks using his natural claws (raging), only taking a five-foot step?

-Vaz

Redneckdevil wrote:

So people are okay with their character dying to a group of bandits that are lower than them because of the dice rolled against their favor?

Dm didn't put something higher level and its lower lethal than normal, woukd people still be okay with the death and not think the dms killing them simply because the dice rolled against their favor?

Depends.

I still would hate dying to some basically irrelevant random bandit encounter. It being crazy dice luck just makes it more frustrating.

As for whether I'd blame the GM, that depends.

As pres man suggests, GM tactics still can play a role. If the bandits focus fire to kill one character, if a character goes down and the bandits finish him off rather than move on to still standing opponents, or any other GM decisions that lead directly to character death when there are other valid choices, then it's not "simply because the dice rolled against their favor."
Or if the encounter was built to be very swingy, with good chances of dying from a single very unlikely hit, even though it wasn't technically hard. The stereotypical great-ax barbarian against low-level characters, for example. Over a long series of fights not as dangerous as a greatsword, but if he does crit in his one fight, someone dies.

GM tactics ALWAYS play a role regardless of any caveat. I don't generally tend to finish player's off once their down, using the basic premise that the antagonists will offer final blows once the PC's are rendered relatively helpless (read as: 0 or fewer HP's). Otherwise, I could kill player's off left and right just by focusing all attacks on one PC till their down. It all comes down to reasonable tactics and a tempered hand.

And Hero Points.

-Vaz

I roll everything in front of my players when it comes to combat related functions, and my players love the transparency. They like knowing that they're surviving on their own ability coupled with luck and that they aren't fated to the whimsy of the DM. What keeps them alive when the dice fail?

Hero Points.

-Vaz

I really enjoy the Inquisitor. Utility and functionality in one tight neat package. Lots of fun backstory you can put together. Great class.

-Vaz

Have a look at Shattered Star. My understanding is that it is intended to be a sequel to Rise of the Runelords. It has more to do with the Sihedron Star et al. Jade Regent was coined as a "spiritual sequel" if memory serves, and the only real sequel trait it carries I believe is a recurring cast.

That being said, Jade Regent would get my vote. I love the idea of a foul mouthed tavern owner finding out she's the long lost heir to an empire on the brink.

-Vaz

Teleporting and other fast travel are irrelevant once the player's obtain the Warding Box in Book 1.

-Vaz

There is nothing anywhere that says you can't give your players an heirloom weapon at any level. RAW? Maybe, but I'm pretty sure if memory serves me correctly the number one rule of DMing is ignore the rules when & where they get in your way.

This isn't carte blanche to be taken "over the top" with idiotic arguments (well in that case, I want my wizard to be d12 HD!), but used judiciously it makes for fantastic games. I've done countless games that players started off with an item they didn't fully understand and it unlocked with them.

Also, you can't argue RAW about heirloom weapons and starting at level 2, and then talk about how the "rules" constrain you with regards to player death.

Just play the game you like to. Players that like your style will stay, and the rest will kick rocks.

-Vaz

EDIT: Grammar

I'm still stuck at the part about taking three weeks to create a character. Once I can wrap my head around that I might finish reading this thread…

-Vaz

In my 40+ (20+ DMing)* ** years of life it's been my experience that some tables are for some folk, some tables aren't. Find the table that suits you and grab on with both hands.

*the numbers are irrelevant. This should be common sense with age not being relevant to anyone over the age of 14.
** I'm an average DM at best but I must be doing something right because people keep sitting at my table, and I use the Benevolent Monarchy system.

Some people like story telling (story > rules) aspects...
Some people like a more gamist (25% RP, 75% Can I break the system...) approach...
Others love simulationist (50% storytelling, 50% gamist) games...

Others just like drama and getting people fired up.

-Vaz

Looks like it could be good.

Hope for more Darcy thou.

Amen. Kat Dennings...../swoon

-Vaz

PS: trailer actually made it appear to be better then the first movie. Time will tell!

I have about another month (Memorial Day) until I have to bear witness to every manner of poor driving known to man-kind. It ends about Labor Day...

-Vaz

I couldn't get past the first 15 minutes. I *wanted* to like it...

-Vaz

Cape Cod (Dennis), MA

-Vaz

Look forward to hearing about how the actual game went/goes. Good luck! :)

-Vaz

LowRoller wrote:

Funny thing is that i could turn those exact arguments against you by simply asking why you must play that specific race/class/whatever.

Remember that 'i want to' i not a good enough answer.

I covered this a few posts back.

The gist of it was, yes, a player needs to have a solid, specific concept, not just 'I want to play a Kitsune because they sound cool".

Xexyz wrote:

The thing is what if the reason is purely aesthetic? I personally don't like furries - I just don't care for anthropomorphic races - so they don't exist in my gameworld. I can't give any more reason than that. So are you saying aesthetic reasons aren't valid?

Yes.

Curious, if I may...

-Vaz

_Cobalt_ wrote:

I really don't know whether to ignore this thread or keep reading...

It is a train wreck...but it's your train wreck :)

This topic is ALWAYS a train wreck. It's like politics for gamers...

I personally love my gaming group because whoever bears the mantle of DM more or less gets ultimate veto power, and the players are 99% of the time perfectly ok with it. In a game with such a variety of class and race combos, the word "no" just means that the player moves on to the 2nd of his hundreds of concepts.

-Vaz

I've never understood Ciretose's elliptical logic (it's not QUITE circular) on this whole thing and I've pretty much given up trying.

Suffice it to say I disagree. I think anyone on either side of the table that refuses to compromise is being an a+%#+#+, unless there's a damn good reason for it.

If it was something like

"I want to play a Kitsune"

"Sorry, this campaign's kinda about a Kitsune army invading this country, it wouldn't really fit very well."

"I'll be an expatriate who is welcomed because he can provide valuable information to the opposing army!"

or "In my world none of the animal races (gnolls, serpentfolk/vishkanya, catfolk, all of 'em) were hunted and killed to almost extinction a few centuries back. If you came in with one hunters'd come from all over to kill you and make a coat of your luxurious fur."

"I'll work that into my backstory!"

or anything like that it'd be a good reason.

But "I don't think they fit, even though there's no real reason they shouldn't" or more often "I just don't like them" isn't fine. At that point both sides need to look over why they have the stance they do.

For the player, it's likely to be simple: I have a really cool idea I want to try, and Kitsune works best (or only Kitsune works for it). If it's just "I kinda just wanna play a fox guy, no real concept in mind that couldn't work with anything else", maybe he should be the first to bend.

For the GM, it could be anything he's already established. The aformentioned examples and more. But again, if it's simply "I don't like it" I really think he should be the one to cave on it.

Player's and GM's can go back and forth with this and sometimes the GM just needs to say, "Sorry man, I'm just not feeling it"

I've found in most cases the player's only motivation is to be "the special snowflake" or they're optimizing and "that race gives me the bestest stats!".

GM's saying no is ok with me. He's the guy who is being the storyteller and the referee, and he undertakes that willingly and if he asks me to make a small concession I'll move on to my next concept and go from there.

How often do these scenarios really play out how everyone describes them anyways? I was on the phone with my DM today and he didn't really like the idea of Ki Powers being rogue talents, they didn't really fit what he wanted to do and he felt they were overpowered. He didn't ban anything but asked me to take that into consideration. I was easily able to move stuff around and find something cool I liked. No. Big. Deal.

-Vaz

First off, I'd like to say thank you for putting yourself out there for the community.

Secondly, I am most curious if in your home campaign the events of The Jade Regent are canon, and if so, what theoretically has happened to The Rusty Dragon and Kaijitsu Manor?

Thanks.
-Vaz

People were certainly just as easily offended in ye olden days. You tended to stick with like minded people though and your words were rarely broadcast to the entire planet.

Not just that but people also understood that there was (and still is, though less used) publicly acceptable behavior. General consensus is that people can say whatever they want, whenever they want and the truth is they can....but as with everything every action has a consequence. Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins so to speak.

-Vaz

By the time you get to Brinewall most of the campaign traits become harder and harder to explain. Shalelu and maybe Sandru can be possible but not Koya or Ameiko.

Mind expanding on this? I'm curious your thoughts and exactly what you mean.

Thanks!
-Vaz

I was thinking of picking up a Chessex battlemat and wet erase markers. Not sure what I will do miniature-wise though just yet.

I grabbed the Paizo Gamemastery FlipMat, which is great as it supports any markers (I use Vis-a-Vis Wet Erase). Far more inexpensive then a Chessex Battlemat. Have had it for 2.5-3 yrs and it's still going strong.

-Vaz

Most of the stuff where they just have a reference instead of full stats is stuff from the core books, which you can find on the Pathfinder Reference Document for free (it's the PRD link to the left, in the Links box under the search).

Has Bestiaries 1-3, the Ultimates, Gamemastery Guide, Advanced Player's Guide, Advanced Races Guide and, of course, the core book.

Heh, thanks ShadowFighter88, I always forget about the PRD. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't some of the creatures used from 3PP books?

-Vaz

I just checked out the product page for Imperial Heroes and while pregens aren't really my style, I like the assortment you have and am chomping at the bit to have a look inside, specifically for the flavor/backstory elements. As you mentioned above, it might be worth having on hand for players to get ideas from, or at least get them focused.

Player's can USUALLY sell me on anything so long as they can explain to me why and how it works. The issue I generally end up having is they all feel the need to have the "Special Snowflake" attribute and have the overwhelming desire to play something completely out of left field.

Looking forward to checking out your product. It's tempting the folds of my wallet.

-Vaz

Insnare wrote:

The logic of a Masato hitching a ride to Brinewall and then Minkai is a bit obtuse.

Rogue Eidolon wrote:

It might work for other groups, but someone like Masato or, say, pregen Hayato joining the caravan before Brinewall (when the caravan had no plans to go to Minkai yet) makes no sense...

Thanks for the kudos on the LG plug-ins for Jade Regent, guys. On this particular subject, I'm unsure why you guys feel the inclusion of Masato is illogical. As-written, he has the Caravan Guard campaign trait. So, having him journey with Sandru and the caravan to Brinewall and ultimately Minkai seems perfectly in line to me. There are easy hooks in his design to accommodate plausible reasons for joining both the campaign and the caravan.

As for a pregen Hayato? Yeah...maybe not so much. But that's why we created Imperial Heroes. These pregen PCs are meant to replace the Paizo iconics. :-)

Something like Masato would be fine by me. I haven't read your product yet, but based off what you've posted, he has a solid backstory. My "complaint" (for lack of a better word) is that when discussing characters with people at Session 0 the overwhelming desire for the majority to play expatriates was disconcerting.

-Vaz

In the incredibly long and derailed Paladin thread, the OP was about a player in my group who is more or less allowed to play any concept they want, at any time, no questions asked, because they have shown through the years an uncanny ability to make any concept work. Hell, I would let that guy play a Kender.

This.

-Vaz

I don't have my books in front of me at the moment, but if I recall correctly (and you can check this by looking in Book 1) but some monster stat blocks aren't stat blocks per say but a VERY brief block of text that refers you to the appropriate resource. I believe this was done to allow more room for actual unique text instead of regurgitating information already contained in another book.

During my sessions I have on hand...
-Obviously the AP's...
-Bestiary PDF's
-Core Rulebook
-Advanced Player's Guide and Ultimate Magic/Combat

Non Book Stuff....
-Map Folio for Jade Regent
-32 page map of Golarion (which I have used to reference travel routes with a laser pointer)
-Jade Regent Item Cards
-Condition Cards

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the Adventure Path!

-Vaz

I DM'ed both Legacy of Fire and Jade Regent from start to finish. Heartily recommend both, although they do have some issues. Concerning JR (Spoilers, obviously):

- The whole campaign is based on the destiny of an NPC. Although Ameiko is pretty dang cool and there is a possibility for the players to take her place, it still detracts from the player characters as the true stars of the campaign. Now there are some explanations as to why Ameiko hangs back and lets the PCs do all the heavy lifting, but in chapters five and six it kinda kills suspension of disbelief to let her do that. If I were to run JR again, I would let one of the PCs be the Amatatsu heir.

In one of my groups, one of the players replaced Ameiko. I knew from Step 0 she wanted to play a Kaijitsu so I worked closely with her to craft a backstory; Ameiko has passed on, and she's in Sandpoint for legal reasons regarding her estate.

- Paizo is very fond of subsystems for their APs. This time, it's relationship scores and the infamous caravan rules. I ditched them both and never regretted it.

I also ditched both and never looked back. I used it as a guideline and found keeping track of Relationship Scores and whatnot to be more then I wanted to deal with.

- Sandru, Koya and Shalelu are introduced with much fanfare. While they are good as NPCs, they never actually do something (as written).

As written, agreed. The caravan NPC's were nice to have for those few moments when I had a guest player. One of the really nice things about this AP is that it made it easy to introduce a new player, a guest, or excuse a player's absence, just by virtue of having the caravan present.

- Chapter four includes one very, VERY long dungeon crawl. While it's creepy and has some great ideas, it really drags on and on.

Yeah, I felt that way about Brinewall Keep as well. I ended up eliminating some content that was integral to the storyline just to keep the game moving at a reasonable pace. No one was the wiser.

- Final encounter should be a pushover for most groups that make it there.

Other than that, one of my favorite APs.

Haven't gotten there yet, but I've so far loved everything about this AP. It combined a lot of elements that are standard fantasy fare and integrated them into a foreign culture. Made for some great roleplay encounters.

-Vaz

Vaziir Jivaan wrote:

I'd certainly ask players to refrain from making characters who hail from the lands of Tian Xia. Seems once they find out the backstory of the game you end up with an entire party or close to either "Kaijitsu relatives" or swarms of PC's "exiled and wanting to return".

Okay ... but what's wrong with that? There are expatriots of Tian Xia in Avistan, and if they want to go home, there are worse ways than hooking up with a caravan heading that way. Sounds to me like you're advising that a GM say "no" to a player (or players) with rock-solid in-character motivation to drive them along the AP, and I'm not sure why you'd advise that.

You're assuming their motivations were "rock-solid". If even one of them presented to me in such a way that you did I could have been completely on board. Granted, my situation was more based on my player's and I should have reworded my previous comment with less broad strokes.

I found, for me, one of the best parts of running Jade Regent was introducing the characters to a culture completely alien to them. Having been running it for two groups, I found the group of non-Tien to have had a far more enjoyable time as they explored, learned, and fumbled in the social graces. YMMV.

I apologize again for the broad strokes. Just speaking from personal experiences.

-Vaz

Bucklefist
Shank
Leebo-San and the Seven Spacers
Yak Bashers
Goblin!
Sihedron
Yellow Musk Zombie
Minotaur
.
.
.

-Vaz

Jade Regent has a bunch of fantastic elements that make the story as damn near epic as they get IMO.
Travel to the far reaches through inhospitable terrain? Check.
Unknown heir to a kingdom under seige by foreign powers? Check.
Vikings? Check. Ninja? Check. Goblins? Check.
Viking-Ninja Goblins? No, but it's a great idea!

I could go on. I think if you're ok with dipping your fantasy into the Japanese analog, then you'll enjoy it. It is just...well...epic.

-Vaz

PS: While not required, I'd certainly ask players to refrain from making characters who hail from the lands of Tian Xia. Seems once they find out the backstory of the game you end up with an entire party or close to either "Kaijitsu relatives" or swarms of PC's "exiled and wanting to return".

My friend runs an NPC halfling cleric. Not being able to find a deity he liked suitable to a halfling he created Plog, Deity of Mediocrity. All his spells, feats, and abilities were aimed at making the party better.

+4 when he aided another. Rerolls on various ability scores. Always opened with the line "Plog can't do it, but you sure can!", "Plogs only kind of ok, but you're great!", etc. etc.

Hilarious.

-Vaz

Aside from the great suggestions above, I'd probably ask that no one play characters with summoned creatures/animal companions. Combat rounds will last forever as is...

-Vaz

Savage Worlds, and there is plenty of fan generated content out there for Alternity, Mass Effect, generic sci-fi, Aliens, etc etc.

My second choice is Star Wars D6.

-Vaz

BASH followed by ICONS.
Savage Worlds if neither of those.

-Vaz

As can be said for 99% of the other threads...

Whatever works for you and your group.

-Vaz

A. Before taking such a feat, talk it over with your group to find out how its going to be handled.

B. It's a game, breath. The gold pieces aren't real, and neither is that Holy Vorpal Avenger of Thundering. Have some fun.

C. I'm with Gustavo, I'd TOTALLY take that version of Power Attack. The groups half orc Barbarian would be nigh unstoppable...

D. I'd have the cohort/follower/whatever cover MY backside first and foremost if its coming out of my pocket. If the rest of the group is kicking in then I'd let him share the love with them.

E. I think what I'd do is make each follower different depending on their abilities and contribution level. Maybe that rogue who was stealing from the party was being paid for out of your own pocket, but he made cash for you and himself through his skills and got some on the job training. In the same fashion, Lance the Cleric comes along and offers his services to you AND your companions, for a meager share of the spoils...

Or just let them be your trap finders...

thejeff wrote:

And no one has said the GM should be a tyrant either. Or advocated tyranny, but that keeps coming up too.

When I talk about the GM acting like a benevolent tyrant (which I've done all of once), I'm talking about the sort who lives by the "You'll take what I give you and like it, or you'll find another GM," attitude. Which is an attitude shared by a number of posters here.

And I've explained this three times now, so I'm not sure what excuse you have for perpetuating anything to the contrary.

Actually, that's just a tyrant. Nothing benevolent about it.

be·nev·o·lent
/bəˈnevələnt/
Adjective
Well meaning and kindly.
(of an organization) Serving a charitable rather than a profit-making purpose.
Synonyms
charitable - kind - benign - benignant - kindly

On a side note, he's a cleric of Calistria, and I see him as being a bit shifty using his Bluff and Diplomacy to coerce people to see things his way, as well as a wee bit of stealth from his Domain.

I chose Entropic Shield to protect self from enemy archers, and Bless figuring he should have at least one spell to contribute to the party that could be cast at range.

-Vaz

I went with Cleric only, 1st level. Figured next feat would be Deadly Aim or Precise Shot, with the latter being my preferred choice. I sacrificed some stats figuring he'd be keeping his distance, and mostly using his Channel Positive Energy to heal the party. I'd definitely put a Feat towards Extra Channel as well.

I didn't really flesh out weapons outside of the core stuff (armor and bow)

I think I'd go with something like this...

Elf Cleric Archer
Elf Cleric 1
CN Medium Humanoid (elf)
Hero Points 1
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4; +2 vs. enchantments
Immune magic sleep; Resist elven immunities
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Ranged Longbow +5 (1d8+1/x3)
Spell-Like Abilities Bit of Luck (5/day)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 1):
1 (2/day) Entropic Shield, True Strike, Bless
0 (at will) Guidance, Detect Magic, Spark (DC 12)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 9
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 13
Feats Point Blank Shot
Traits Fast-Talker, Forlorn
Skills Acrobatics +2 (-2 jump), Bluff +4, Climb -2, Diplomacy +3, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Perception +4, Ride +2, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +6 (+8 to determine the properties of a magic item), Stealth +6, Swim -2
Languages Celestial, Common, Elven, Gnome
SQ aura, cleric channel positive energy 1d6 (2/day) (dc 9), domains (deception, luck), elven magic, hero points, spontaneous casting, sudden shift (5/day)
Other Gear Armored coat, Longbow, 25 GP
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Aura (Ex) The Cleric has an aura corresponding to his deity's alignment.
Bit of Luck (5/day) (Sp) Target takes the higher of 2d20 for a d20 roll.
Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (2/day) (DC 9) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Cleric Domain (Deception) Associated Domain: Trickery

Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth are class skills.
Cleric Domain (Luck) Granted Powers: You are infused with luck, and your mere presence can spread good fortune.
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Elven Immunities - Sleep You are immune to magic sleep effects.
Elven Magic +2 to spellcraft checks to determine the properties of a magic item.
Hero Points (1) Hero Points can be spent at any time to grant a variety of bonuses.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Point Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Spontaneous Casting The Cleric can convert stored spells into Cure or Inflict spells.
Sudden Shift (5/day) (Su) As an immediate action after being missed by a melee attack, teleport up to 10' away, within the reach of the attacker.

Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

I have zero issues with playing by the DM's rules, and have rarely met gamers in my age category who do. I've had character concepts shot down before, and I have TONS more that I'd like to play. Re-file nixed concept, pull out new one, move on.

I'm totally down with a Benevolent Monarchy when it comes to gaming.

-Vaz

Invariably, there is ALWAYS "that guy" who wants to be the Paladin in Skull & Shackles, the drow in Council of Thieves, the ninja/samurai/Tian Xia native in Jade Regent, etc. etc.

I've been pretty fortunate. After 25+ year of gaming no one has ever felt stifled or violated at being told "no", and often times they didn't even need a reason. They were good enough players where they had more then one concept tucked up their sleeve. I recall the earlier days of gaming where the "DM is God" mentality was more prevalent and no one really seemed to mind.

These days I just limit everything to the core rulebook and usually if someone has a concept outside that they bring it to me for discussion and we act like adults.

We discuss it.

Characters I WISHED I had said no to but didn't....
Kitsune Gunslinger (Mysterious Stranger) named Nathaniel Rhodes.
Skittles, a kobold sorcerer of "light" (Wtf?!)
Characters that played that made me shake my head...
Seperatist Cleric of Desna who refused to heal the group when they were getting attacked by goblins...
Paladin of Ragathiel who stood by and guarded the cleric while he was busy NOT healing anyone.

Characters I LOVED....
Summoner Broodmaster (Mother of Dragons build), player loved it, I loved it, Soooo much fun.
Pizbik, the gnome rogue (sniper) with mechanically tinkered crossbow and retractable bayonet.
Bindle Bogfoot, Cleric of Plaugg, Deity of Mediocrity (build revolved around aid another and buffing others), "Plaugg may not be so great, but you are!"

YMMV

-Vaz