hashimashadoo's page

Yeah, if my players insist on playing trox or drow nobles, I make them play with one less character level than the APL. That being said, these are the non-core races I'm allowing in my S&S campaign:

Aasimar, aquatic elf, catfolk, changeling, dhampir, fetchling, goblin, hobgoblin, ifrit, monkey goblin, orc, oread, ratfolk, skinwalker, suli, sylph, tengu, tiefling, undine and vanara.

Thanks for the more constructive suggestions, guys :)

Just to clarify, I was hoping for a suggestion that the Cleric could utilise by himself without need for GM intervention. This would allow him to feel a strong sense of personal achievement and justifiably let him snub his nose at his wife and best mate for being the lazy douches that they've made themselves out to be. In regard to the bridge, yes I was talking about after the trap had been sprung. I was wondering what people's thoughts were about the process of re-tying it. The description says only the eastern rope remains attached when the supports tear. Do you suppose, if they don't discover the knotted ropes below the bridge on the island side, that the one remaining rope would support a medium creature's weight if they shimmied across it to reattach the western rope?

I do like the Malfeshnekor/Lamashtu angle that Nobodyshome's friend suggested but I don't think his character will go for it.

The beaches on the Thistletop map appear to all be at the base of sheer cliffs and that's how I've described them to the players. I'm not ruling out the discovery of a nearby trail, but it feels almost as much of a GM intervention as just stumbling upon a potion of flying.

Incidentally, the Cleric's player's plan was to try and find a way back to Sandpoint and leave his party to their fate.

My solution: Racism. NPCs are not enlightened socialists like people want them to be. If a player plays an atypical race for the area they can expect to face persecution wherever they go. Children pointing while parents usher them away, price markups in shops, higher Bluff and Diplomacy DCs (though lower intimidate DCs) and even if the rest of the party makes fast friends, the 'alien' is at best tolerated until they personally save someone's life.

I have an orc player in Sandpoint and a couple of goblins sailing the Arcadian ocean who can attest to this, though I manage to keep the games fun enough so they don't ragequit. It can be a delicate balancing act alienating the character but not the player.

'Course, in places like Katapesh, Kaer Maga and Durpar (I primarily DM in the Forgotten Realms and Golarion), these attitudes are relaxed and my players can feel more free to be a drow or ghoran or whatever esoteric race that they want to experiment/powergame with.

So after all of their shenanigans on the Wormwood (see my last post in this thread), Captain Harrigan wants the party off his ship, foisting them onto Scourge's Man's Promise. They're told to go get their stuff but I'm a nice DM and don't force them to accept an escort belowdecks.

So that troublesome half-orc from last time hasn't earned any of his equipment back and since the entire crew is on the main deck (and Grok is unfriendly) he can't even buy his stuff from her.

He breaks into the store and TAKES his equipment back, including that sack of coffee and his earthbreaker. I remind the player that this stuff belongs to Harrigan now and that he'll have to walk past him on the way to the new ship. He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and says that's fine.

Back on the main deck he's stopped by the cap'n himself.
"You've got some brass balls to steal from me, swab. I've keelhauled folk for less."
"I'll pay you more than they're worth from my share of the booty." (Fool forgot honourifics AND the respectful tone)
"What if I'm not interested in yer gold? I'll give ye yer stuff - got no need fer it anyway - in exchange fer two of yer fingers."

The player asks me what the game penalties for losing fingers are. I say -1 Dexterity for every thee fingers lost. The character says okay, grits his teeth, draws a knife and cuts off the little finger from each hand.

"Those weren't the fingers I wanted." Harrigan says with an evil smile.