Vinyl's page

I've seen them run well (outstandingly so for a pbp where nobody knew for ages who was a PC and who wasn't) and I've seen them run badly. However, the most egregious example was a text-book paragon of physical superiority, better than most of the PCs at most things they could do with plot lines hanging off him like armour.
It had all the warning signs of an impending disaster until the only female player, playing the only female character decided 'stuff this' and that since he was the best example of manhood in the entire village, she would marry him.
Suddenly, there were no secrets, he became hen-pecked and was the butt of many a joke from the rest of the PCs. Suddenly, adventuring with him became fun but for none of the reasons the DM wanted.
He left without warning one night and, cursed by his jilted bride, we never saw his like again.
My thirty years of gaming haven't burned me; they've taught me never to underestimate our fellow players' ingenuity at overcoming problems set by our DMs.

From one of my SLA Industry characters several years ago with a distinct peccadillo partly expressed in his clothing - black vinyl. I underplayed it (fade to grey) but this gave some of my fellow players the creeps even more. Every now and then, I had to remind them it was only role-playing. No avatar was appropriate.

What, honestly? Rather than being cool and fibbing?
Amy MacDonald 'This is the Life' is currently in the CD player.
Should I take it as a challenge to use some of her lyrics in my game without grinning and giving it away?
Perhaps 'I wish I knew you before' from 'Mr Rock and Roll' could be a line from the very essence of courtly love. There's a certain juxtaposition of bitter-sweetness with battle axes and single-minded brutality amongst my group there worth exploring. Or perhaps not. Maybe there's no connection.
There again - maybe?

I'll concur that over the last year within our group, wizards have the highest survival rate. The lowest tends to be a close call between fighters and rogues (only 1 bard in the last year and though he's dead too that's not strictly speaking statistically significant)

It's harsh making people decide when normally some will switch happily between them.
Okay - Forgotten Realms (closely followed by Greyhawk ahead by a nose from Nehwon)
Will this poll raise interest or reinforce divisions? (next poll in waiting)

I don't doubt that you're being honest.
That doesn't mean that your DM agrees with me. The long runs of good or bad luck make the game what it is.
A long term study of chaos theory isn't going to stave off an experienced DM though.

Are we saying that a DM (perfectly able to keep several long term plots and NPCs on-the-go at once) can't spot cheating with the dice? Short term I'm sure that's true.
Longer term, I'd watch out for diplomatic phrases like 'so the blue one is tens then?' and 'borrow mine/his for consistency'.
A weighted die rolls kind of 'wrong' and in a combat of several rounds, most people have done the sums to say, for instance, that a character should have hit a certain proportion of the time.
Figure out quite who is playing with whom and you'll discover a surprising amount of tolerance going on.

I ran a Lankhmar campaign years ago when the AD&D setting first came out with mixed fortunes.
A couple of our players were real fans of the fiction so that really helped with the atmosphere. However, most were old hands with AD&D and expected the magic to be similar - which unfortunately it isn't as the system (quite rightly!) sticks to the books' ideas.
In summary: the world is brilliant and if some aspects seem cliched it's only because of repeated mimicry since. However, it doesn't make a good role playing world with your 'typical' player. Although it took a lot of work, I still look back with fond memories though.

Not that's obvious.
The Spell Compendium came out a good bit later than the Players' Guide to Faerun which was billed as the 3.5 update to the Forgotten Realms.
I think you're up-to-date in those mainstream deities' domains.

Water and some means to carry it.
My first TPK (how we look back with pride) was through thirst.
Then rope.

Oh dear.
Can't complain about the cast, settings (excellent) or even the action.
However, despite being a rare film which gave you food for thought, It left me with the very distinct feeling that the back-story was far more interesting than the main plot.
I appreciate that a fine balance has to be maintained but IMHO this didn't quite strike it. Almost, but no. A missed opportunity.

Hope I'm not speaking (typing) too soon, but wow.
From the uninitiated, that was good.
(blame me if I was)

Yep, it's slow. I would like to think that it's worth the wait, mind you.
However, even when it's running 'normally', did the designer ever consider that regular fans of various sections way down at the bottom of the scrollbar have still got quite a while to wait before they get to the bits they're interested in.
Would it be reasonable to reconfigure so as to list the sections' headings (with links) before listing the sections? That way most people would get there quicker with the only downside being that regular fans of the very topmost sections would have to wait marginally longer.

Wierdly, I believe anything goes. We once had a mission in Shadowrun to organise a troll-gig. The music (provided throughout the session) ranged from thrash to Celine Dion (who had gained surprising kudos through goblinization). Everything added to the setting.

I played a paladin a good while back (1st ed) for 2-3 years. He advanced and the group got on very well. However, I wouldn't dream of trying it with my current group (3rd ed) which is not to say that my current group don't get on well.
The problem with paladins is that if it's done 'properly', they stop anyone even trying to play a vaguely evil character.
I'm still not sure where the lack of consideration lies and am grateful for the tolerance my first group showed me.
I would say that if your group works well and there is an established paladin, the player wanting to play an evil character has the problem and should expect trouble from that paladin (but not the DM) and since new characters tend to be weaker than experienced ones they'll soon be rolling up a new one anyway. Repeating this trick ought to be a no-no.
If, however, the group is struggling, by all means mix it up. Ultimately, all PCs and players have to align with the majority. As this is so against the grain for a paladin, the player may have to shrug his shoulders and move on one way or another.

Sure, why not?
Whether you use the various bits of commisioned art (e.g. 2nd ed Complete Gnomes and Halflings) or even the LotR films as a reference point, it's a reasonable assumption that most people would make.
Might even seem quite comical to some if it were not the case.

Sebastian, I think I'm still mostly with you on this (amazing how threads can wander back to where they started). I'm still all for some variant on the massive damage rules despite their arbitrary nature.
Players know they exist - use the rules then. Up the ante, build the tension, let them know it's roll or die. I play without a DM's screen - all rolls are in the open but I'd like to think I can judge the mood and fudge a DC a little bit when it matters. And this is from someone who described survival as cheap.

Unfortunately, I'd go for it. Yes.
I had a character fall a stupid distance, take the massive damage but still be left with a single hit point. He stood up, felt a bit dazed but walked off.
He survived but the manner felt cheap. Appologize to your players for me but narrow escapes should be heroic.