cerberuspuppy's page

Yes, it's a stock question, but I do NOT want the stock answers.

NO Java garbage. That means NO PCGEN.

NO spreadsheets. All that does is add another layer of junk that WILL break.

I'd prefer something browser based but I don't mind downloads so much as long as THE STUPID THING ACTUALLY WORKS. Imagine that. I want something that isn't so much hassle that I'd be better off busting out the books and doing myself. Kinda defeats the purpose, huh?

I am willing to pay, but not to be cheated like with Hero Lab, especially since their UI is downright painful.

I have this wacky idea that I will open the program and it will work. I won't even have to hack it or hunt down a workaround tutorial or otherwise beat it into submission.

I never figured out why this is so impossible. D&D had a great character generator right on the Wizards site for most of 4th Edition's lifespan.

I'm on spring break until March 22 so I thought I'd see if anybody wanted to get a game together. Maybe even a mod if enough of us have the time off. I can play a cleric 2 or a barbarian 1/fighter 1.

If so what is it? Feat, trait or item? What book is it in? Thanks.

I just got Fangwood Keep and I'm looking forward to running it. I have plenty of minis and I can use the PRD for stats that aren't in the module, but what about maps?

I have a vinyl mat and markers but I don't like drawing all those huge rooms. Are there any nice poster maps for the Keep? Or maybe map tiles that would work? I searched but I didn't find anything. Thanks.

Here's an interesting question: Of course you can never have too many dice, but what's good for a new player to start out with? I'm getting a Christmas present for a guy who has never played any RPGs and I figured the best choice might very well be dice, which are useful regardless of the system.

So far I have:

A set of 10 d10, because they look cool (black with gold numbers) and that covers the possibility of WW, L5R etc and must surely be enough for PF.

Another set of a dozen d6, again for the look and to cover Shadowrun etc. Should also be plenty for PF.

4d20 which should be more than enough for anything.

2d12, which I'm pretty sure is enough- these don't get used much anywhere.

1 percentile die, cuz you never know.

Here's where I'm really uncertain:

7d8 Should I go for the full 10?

6d4 Does anything use more than 5?

Thanks.

I'm still not sure but I might be playing in a Pathfinder game and I'm kicking around ideas. My strongest character concept (as in the actual character himself) is Abraxsis Pratt, a straight up redux of an old character from a 3.5 Dragonstar game (a fantasy/scifi OGL setting from FF- actually kind of fun) The "high concept" started as "Richard Moll with a plasma rifle" and evolved from there.

The only thing I didn't like about the character was that I completely botched the build. I went with straight up Fighter when Barbarian would have been better and fit the personality better too. I didn't want to do the book keeping I thought might be too much of a pain, with basically two totally different sets of stats for raging and otherwise. That and I didn't want to give up heavy armor- this was a setting with powered armor after all.

About that book keeping- I have a Kindle Fire HD. Is there an app I can get on there that will manage the character sheet and ALL the math for me and let me switch the rage bonuses off/on on the fly? Bonus if it will also track all the copious buffs like Haste, Bull's Strength, etc. Also bonus if it doubles as a character builder or if you can steer me to a good one on the PC for that matter.

A few ideas on what I know of the mechanics: 1) "Rage cycling" looks very abusive. I really don't think the DM would let me get away with that. I could ask, but it smells fishy to me. 2) I'm concerned that many top builds look so counter-intuitive. (ala 3.5) What's wrong with mithral plate and a greatsword? I don't even know what a bardiche is. 3) Is Superstition essential? It doesn't quite fit what I'd established of his background and I hear it can backfire.

RP notes: 1) Abraxsis is Human- mostly. He's got traces of a supernatural bloodline. That may be the source of his rage. Originally that was a red dragon, but for the new version I might go with something fiendish. 2) He's an orphan from a young age and his only known relative is his sister, a sorceress. 3) He meditates in a mostly vain attempt to control his temper. 4) I know Charisma is a dump stat for Barbarians, but I'm reluctant to dump it too hard, for RP reasons and also for Intimidate. "Does the phrase 'closed casket funeral' mean anything to you?" 5) His hobby is botany. (no not for growing weed) 6) He smokes cigars but not every day. Or maybe not cigars if a pipe might make more sense- maybe tobacco is what he's growing. Hmm. 7) He can actually be pretty funny (especially when he doesn't mean to be) and even has flashes of insight at times even though he's not very smart- not like Int 6 or 7, more like 8. (-2 would have me bleeding skill points anyway.) 8) His "rages" are usually more cold than hot, unless someone has pushed one of several berserk buttons: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BerserkButton 9) He really doesn't like Halflings or especially Gnomes. It's probably not bad enough to keep him from having a Chaotic Good alignment, but it could be a problem if he ever has to trust one.

The question is how to make all this work mechanically and still have something effective. I can trim things down a bit if it's too much to cover I suppose.

Like I said in the other thread, it looks like I might be playing in a Pathfinder game soon. I should probably try it out sooner or later anyway.

I haven't had time to give the book a very close look just yet, but from what little I've seen I might be most interested in the Druid. It seems to strike a good balance between versatility and focus. It also seems to be the most interesting (though not most efficient) way to play the healer, and let's face it, I'm probably going to get stuck playing the healer. I do often enough that I need to have a plan for that.

Speaking of healers, does Pathfinder have anything like 4E's minor action heals? Such a simple idea, but it helped A LOT. Seriously when you've played healers in every edition since 2E you know how huge that was. There's a reason why the Warlord was the most fun healer ever- because you actually got to FIGHT. (as well as all the great tactical options)

I like the feel and mechanics of the Druid from what I've seen so far- spell casting, wild shape, animal companion, etc but I'll need to study it more closely before I know for sure.

On the other hand, I might not want to jump right into a caster right off the bat. Maybe I should start with something simpler if I can. How's the Barbarian? Is the Fighter 2/Barbarian 18 build still strong? (no pun intended) Or is it no longer worth it? Is there any way to get all the benefits of the Barbarian plus plate mail? I could revamp one of my old characters, who was a lot of fun despite the way I built him all wrong. I could try it again only smarter.

I kind of like Rogues, it's just that I've never played one without multiclassing and even then not much.

If I am not shoehorned and can choose anything what should I go with? Ideally I want something that:

-Is complex enough to keep me from getting bored yet simple enough that I can play it even though I haven't touched 3.5 since 4E came out.

-Has at least decent versatility and isn't completely useless outside of its specialty. (Fighters still get 2 skill points? Really?) Can Barbarians track? Are they interesting even in combat?

-Is powerful enough to be effective but not so game breaking that I feel bad about playing it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again.

I currently run a 4E D&D game. I know, I know, you probably all hate it and I'm assuming you don't want to hear about that. Thing is, WoTC has all but stopped supporting 4E already (we still have DDI- for now) and 5E (I will NEVER call it "Next"- what a load of bull) is a disjointed mess to say the least. I shouldn't even get started.

The question is whether to keep playing a dead game that for all its faults we know works or try something different. Losing the online support will hurt a lot, but we managed without it back in the old days. I tried to talk the group into trying Mutants & Masterminds but it's starting to look like the only thing we can all agree on is some version of D&D.

Naturally, Pathfinder is the top contender. I've even gone so far as to shell out for the book. It's a very nice looking book and does seem to be well made, though it's just plain too big IMO.

Here's what worries me: I left 3E behind for a reason- because the whole thing was stupid broken. Monte Cook deliberately overpowered the casters and underpowered everything else- by A LOT. Buffs were too important (which only made the casters even more dominant) and there were times when we literally spent more time buffing than fighting! Or buffing strategy would be more important than combat tactics. 3E DEMANDED system mastery- especially after about level 12 or so, you minmaxed the crap out of everything or you were dead. You played the right class the right way with the right gear or you were completely useless 90% of the time. I'm not eager to go back to that.

When I see that Wish is in Pathfinder (just for example) I'm frankly not encouraged.

So how similar is Pathfinder to 3.5? To what extent did Paizo fix things and actually balance the game? Game balance is very important to me. That's the main reason I prefer 4E despite all its flaws. I know perfect balance is impossible, but it certainly needs to be better than any other version of D&D I've ever seen.

Support is also important to me though. Paizo clearly stands behind its product.

Also it's probably easier to find players for Pathfinder than anything else these days.

Granted, I probably wouldn't be DMing anymore anyway- I'm getting a bit burned out and too busy, but we do have at least one guy who can run Pathfinder.

Thanks for your help and sorry if I come across as too angry or bitter. It's just that I've invested a lot into this game over 20 years.