Bunch of games that I still play fairly regularly and are cheap to acquire:
Civ 4
Starcraft
Diablo 2
Sid Meier's Pirates
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (not sure how easy this is to find now but it's still a lot of fun)
Age of Mythology
Nothing that's really going to dazzle your eyes or tax your vid card, but they are fun, easy to learn, and I think most of these games can be gotten for under 15 bucks and are still available at your local best buy or whatever.
I'd love to see it. Sorted by categories would be great, esp the summoned animals. It'd make GM-ing nice, I already print out the statblock and cut/paste it onto cards anyway for my games, if I could have the common combat/skill info on a card (with a cool picture!)already that'd save me hours of pre-session prep-time, and I know my druid would kill for the summons.
I think the system works just fine. Go ahead and try it with your friends. Stand across from each other and try to trip or tackle the other one when they know it's coming. See what your success rate is. Watch a MMA fight, even Wrestling and Jujitsu black belts don't have anything better than a 50-60 percent rate to trip or grapple against a wary opponent who they can focus on entirely and who is roughly the same size and weight(and that's after feinting and dancing around each other for 20-30 seconds, you get to try every 6 seconds in DnD.
It is not something you should just expect to be able to do easily without putting a significant amount of training, and it's not an efficient tactic compared to, you know, just whacking them with a weapon.
As for unusual targets, I certainly can't imagine any situation where one would see a bear, or a tiger, a gorilla, etc coming at them and think "I'll drop my sword and wrestle that charging beast into submission". The deck is stacked against you, even more so for supernatural opponents like demons and 20 foot giants.
My players and I both hate tracking experience. I keep the group at the same level, and tell them when they can level up based on when I feel they deserve it (or need it to keep their interest active).
For things which incur xp loss, I give each player 10 percent of the xp it would have taken to move from the previous lvl to the new lvl every time they level up. They can use that xp for anything (crafting, permanency spells, etc., I have even let the party pool theirs to "buy back" a lost level for a ressurected party-mate if there's enough left amongh the party.)
If a player loses a lvl due to res and the party can't/won't help with the xp, I just give the player a "side goal" that they have to acheive before they get their lost lvl back.
I think Roag works. the oa combination pretty much always forms the correct sound you're looking for.
But I like Rogue..there's something dashing and well, rogueish about it. It doesn't follow rules, it's it's own word, forging it's own way in the language...It can be nondescript and stealthy, even marauding as another word on occasion. Was that orc stabbed in the back by a stealthy scoundrel? Or was it impaled on a woman's makeup compact? We'll never know! Rogue gets away with it again!
I don't think I'd ever want to leave my CIA assasin career and go Roag, just not sexy. I certainly wouldn't want to be a Roge demon hunter. The pronunciation seems like it would intuitively be closer to loge, and I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a man who scours the middle tiers of theaters and stadiums for demons.
In the end, there's more to the word than it's spelling. It's got a persona and a life of it's own. You can't take that away for the sake of simplicity and/or order or you undermine it's very purpose.
As much as I can epathize with a desire to see a world where homosexual lifesyles are depicted as a non-issue, we don't live in a world yet where we can "splash" something like that into a well-known franchise like Trek and expect it not to cause ripples. It's not fair to compare the intent of Roddenberry's television series with a high-budget feature film. It's not a medium where you can just toss in a gay character casually. You have to point it out, say that it's there, and that changes the focus of the film.
I don't think the director, the screenwriters, or the fans should be forced to include this theme/subplot just because it serves your needs. Maybe the director isn't interested in tackling social issues, maybe he just signed on to make a cool action movie with some well-known characters to please a fanbase out there that is hungry for more Trek. There is no need to force "issues" on every movie. Sometimes, entertainment can be there for the fun of it. As long as the movie doesn't go out of its way to be offensive to someone (I'm looking at you, Prequel George Lucas), then what's the harm in deciding not to focus your movie on an issue?
It's just not possible for them to include a gay character in the movie without making that a part of the story (unless you want to just point to some guy in the background and say, see him, he was gay all along ala the Lame "outing" of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books, which was done so that the author could tell her self just how progressive she really is, without taking any risks with her billion dollar franchise. Imagine she showed Dumbledore and another Wizard happily married inthe first book, do you think it would be the mega-hit it is now? Yeah, she was really brave....sorry, /rant off.)
If they wanted to add a gay character to the trek series, it should have been done on the show. I think the subject was tackled, and well in the various series without adding a gay character. Yeah, they missed some chances (Riker could easily be a Cpt. Jack type from Dr. Who) but they did try and touch on the issue in a subtle and tasteful way without beating anyone over the head with the morality stick.
Hollywood has been very helpful to the gay community in the last 20 years or so. I think we are finally getting to the point wher you can have gay characters on TV for more than just "shock value". There have been sympathetic, masculine, even badass gay characters (Omar on "The Wire", or the aforementioned Cpt. Jack). We've had shows that focused on the topic (Will and Grace, the "L" word). There are a ton of very successful movies out there (Brokeback Mountain, Milk on the political side, hell the "gay best friend" character for women has become almost a staple in romantic comedies).
What I'm saying, I guess, in sum, is that to pick out one movie, and say that because they don't choose to tackle that particular theme in the 90 minutes they were allotted for their 250 million dollar investment, that it is somehow an affront to the gay community is ridiculous and short-sighted. It is the millions made by movies like Star Trek, and it's like, that fund things like Milk and Brokeback Mountain. Those don't ever get made and put in mainstream theaters without the financial backing from the big-budget blockbusters. So in a Way, you got Brokeback Mountain because of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Die Hard, etc. etc. etc. Just because those movies didn't openly show gay relationships (well aside from LoTR) doesn't mean they aren't doing anything for the Gay agenda.
The thing I've always hated about these spells is the whole reflex save/evasion thing. The most flagrant abuse is the whole "Just go ahead and drop the fireball/bolt/cone on me (from the Rogue or monk usually) if it hits, I'll just dodge it. This has always driven me crazy as nobody sane would actually be "ok" with being fireballed/cast on on a routine basis.
Just spittballing an idea that popped into my head here at work, but how about something like this: (in place of the normal reflex/evasion etc)
..."Anyone in the area of effect may choose to make a reflex save. If successful, they may move 5 feet (As an "attack of opportunity") to an open, adjacent square. If the square they move into is outside of the area of effect, the spell deals no damage and they are prone." (Some tweaking/clarificaiton would have to be done here for Flying/Swimming). This movement provokes attacks of opportunity if appropriate.
A player with the Evasion ability is not prone at the end of this movement.
A player with the Improved evasion ability is able to take half damage on a successful save, even if they cannot escape the spell's area of effect."
I kind of like this, first, it's a choice, if you'd rather not take the AOO, or use your AOO, you don't have to make the save. The attack of opportunity means that Combat Reflexes lets you dodge more than 1 spell/round (could also be an immediate action, which probably fits the spirit of the rules better, but I kind of like the synergy with CR, giving it a little perk too)
The 5-foot move gives the guys on the periphery of the spell effect a chance to escape, but if you're at the center of the blast, you're screwed (which makes sense to me, Spell resistance still gives you a chance to take no damage and makes more sense, since it's basicaly "magic" if you can stand in the middle of a ball of fire and take no damage).
The prone thing gives the nimble guys a nice advantage for having evasion.
It makes lightning bolt a bit weaker, but that spell has always been at it's best when cast down a long, narrow hallway (which would not allow the player to escape it's AoE).
I don't know if it's a good idea or not, and I'm sure there are things I'm missing/forgetting, but I thought I'd toss it out there and see what people think.
I think what the sidebar and the authors are saying is more of a warning to Nazi DM's who go a little crazy with the Paladin hate. It's not saying to ignore the consequences, and it's not saying 'et them through with their powers no matter what' for the sake of the story. I read it as more of a reminder to allow your characters to find those creative solutions if possible, and to remember, as a DM, that you need to allow your players a little leeway when presented with an impossible choice.
Do you really think it's in the best interests of the Paladin's god to take away his champion's powers because he was forced to ignore specific sins in order to serve the greater good? I am always very careful with strict adherence tot he "code" when DMing a Paladin character. I like to work under the old "spirit of the law" sort of thing. It's why the paladin is breaking (or keeping) the code that is more important than the fact that he is breaking some specific rule.
One way to work it is to let your Paladin police him/herself. I think you'll find that they're pretty fair (they did choose to play a Paladin, after all) with the rules, and it allows them to decide how their character thinks/copes with his decisions, rather than you, as the DM doing that (the most frustrating thing, as a paladin player, is the feeling that the character is not 100 percent "yours." No other class really has to deal with that much interference/meddling from the GM).
As for the sidebar, I like it for what it is. Adding specific ways out of the different situations seems like much more of a railroad to me (let your players think for themselves, and when they come up with an idea of their own, roll with it as the GM). I take it for what it is, a plea to give your characters a little slack before you pull the rug out from under them. Let them roleplay their way through the situation and all of its moral implications. If you're constantly policing what your paladin says/does/thinks you're basically playing their character for them.
I don't have my books with me, so I don't have names handy, but:
Class/Level: Wizard (Mage of Arcane Order) 13
Adventure: Fortress of the Stone Giants
Catalyst: Mokmurian
Class/Level: Ranger/Fighter multiclass 13
Adventure: Fortress of the Stone Giants
Catalyst: Mokmurian
Class/Level: Cleric (Radiant Servant of Pel.. er, Sarenrae) 13
Adventure: Fortress of the Stone Giants
Catalyst: Mokmurian
Some spoilers, obviously, so
Spoiler:
Mokmurian observed the party fighting against the Headless Lord's encounter and took copious notes. The party spent quite a while at the shining child's door attempting to discern the password (they were so close, they realized there *was* a password, they just couldn't figure it out) from the Black Monk's loot. Eventually they just said "screw it" and decided to risk the trap. After fighting the Shining Child (and nearly losing a couple party members after a well-placed wall of force split the party), they entered the Library.
Mokmurian let them explore the library a bit while he buffed up. When the party came out of the library, Mokmurian waited for them to bunch up nicely and sent in two Hounds. They fogged up the area and sufficiently confused the party while Mokmurian moved into position and Reversed gravity, catching the whole party 10 feet off of the ground (and none with a useful movment ability active).
The dwarven defender, effectively blind and immobile cursed and attempted to make a lasso to pull himself out of the gravity/fog.
The ranger dispatched a hound.
The cleric attempted a dispel magic, but failed.
The wizard cast greater invisiblity.
Conna the Wise (played by player 5, whose duskblade died to the rocs/harpies outside) cast fly.
He followed up the next round with a Flesh to Stone on the (uselessly invis, thanks to pre-buffing by M) Wizard to neutralize the most dangerous opponent.
The next round the party began playing marco polo to find each other in the fog and try to find a way out. Conna flew out of the fog to find Mokmurian and a hound waiting for her. The ranger fired blindly. The dwarf cursed and threw rope.
Mok followed up the next round by making the fog solid. Conna attacked the hound on the way to Mok.
At this point the dwarf was utterly despondent about being stuck in the solid fog. He flailed around with his axe, hoping to catch it on something that he could use to pull himself toward a wall, or shove off of. The cleric unsuccessfuly tried to find the stone-wizard. The ranger fired blindly and uselessly into the solid fog.
The next Round Mokmurian Baleful Polymorphed the ranger into a toad.
The next round the Conna cast a fireball, centered on the hound (killing it), also getting herself, Mokmurian and, unwittingly, turning the toad/ranger into a briquette. The dwarf found solid ground and began fighting his way through the solid fog. The cleric, tried to find the ranger or the wizard but the fog prevented him from doing so.
Mokmurian hit the cleric with a disintegrate, which was resisted for minimal damage.
The dwarf moved through the fog, Conna fired a lightning bolt at Mokmurian. The cleric, with a line of sight to Mokmurian created by the disintegrate, fired back with a flamestrike that was largely innefective. He began to make his way toward the fight.
Mokmurian followd up with a crippling ray of enfeeblement on the cleric, effectively removing him from the fight.
Conna and the dwarf continued to beat on Mokmurian, who pulled the doors to the library shut, trapping the wizard and cleric's bodies inside behind a newly locked/trapped door. He beat back on Conna and the dwarf for a while until he decided to retreat into the library, where he dispatched the cleric and wizard easily. Later, in his lair, Mokmurian met his end from Karzoug as the giant army above dissolved thanks help from Conna's allies in the stone giant forces.
The dwarf and Conna, used a scroll of teleport to retreat. Conna rejoined the giants to help re-establish jorgenfist under non-evil rule, the dwarf decided to retire from adventuring. The group decided to create a shiny-new lvl 13 party to continue/complete the AP, which they are thourougly enjoying.
I think the standard tactics are nasty enough already...
Spoiler:
He crushed my group of 4 + Conna the Wise (who they convinced to help, to give the 5th player, whose Duskblade died to the combined Rocs/Harpies outside, something to do) with the standard tactics/spell list. He had time to observe their tactics against the Headless Lord, and knows quite a bit of info about the party. Just taking that info and those tactics should give him a huge advantage. Here's the death total on what was basically a TPK (party of experienced 3.5 gamers):
Wizard (Arcane Order Mage): Turned to stone in Round 2 (tortured/killed later)
Cleric (Radiant Servant of Sarenrae): Reduced to 0 Str (Killed by a hound later)
Ranger/Fighter (Bow user): Uselessly stuck in reverse gravity-ed solid fog until Mok got around to polymorphing/crushing her
Dwarven Defender: Made useless by the reverse gravity/solid fog combo for the first part of the fight.
Conna: Managed, with the dwarf helping later, to force Mokmurian into a position where she and the Dwarf could retreat, but had no chance of defeating him.
Luckily, it was enough, with Conna's influence to break up the giant army.
Needless to say, pretty tough already. Luckily, the party likes the AP and decided to try and finish it. Their new characters, a group of pathfinder society adventurers arrived in Sandpoint just in time to investigate a mysterious sinkhole after clearing a nasty nest of vampires who had taken residence at Thisletop...
Players definitely need to adjust their tactics. I've found this to be a problem, but I don't blame it on the game, but the players. They need to understand that the tactics that worked on Goblins don't work on Giants and other Big Nasties.
We had a ton of deaths in HMM and early in Stone Giants. We're midway through Stone Giants now, and I've noticed a dramatic uptick in the survival/near death experience rate even as the monsters get harder.
When my group realized that there was more to combating giants than charging in and trying to do your biggest hit every round with no thought toward teamwork, or preparation (or that there was more to an 'encounter' than combat as a first resort), their survivability went up a ton. Additionally when the wizard realized he had spells other than fireball, and the cleric actually put some thought into her spells for the day (and read the Spell Compendium, can't reccomend it enough!), things got even easier.
This also made the roleplay a lot better. The tension was higher, the characters personalities came out because they actually had to learn about each other and how to work as a team to succeed. They would talk in the morning about how to approach the day. They became a unit instead of 5 individuals. It became more than just a "open the door, let's see what there is to fight in here" type of game. I think Xanesha was really the first big eye-opener for them, and then the lethality of Hook Mountain really drove it home.
In the end, it's tactics and teamwork. Players have to adjust and sometimes do the "boring" thing like take a full defense, or use combat expertise, or memorize a buff instead of that 6th fireball. Or (god forbid!) avoid combat instead of charging in for loot and xp.
As a GM I try to reinforce this stuff by giving extra xp for being "smart" and by reminding them constantly that "roll for intitiative" doesn't always mean "roll to see who gets to attack first."
