Okay.. Lets kick this pig.. Ive seen a whole bunch of stuff pro or con the rules now I'm gonna throw out some stuff I see as related to the spirit of gaming.. Ive noticed a few things here and there on the boards or even among some gaming groups that for one reason or another have begun to bother me..
I'm going to start by saying this list is not directed at and persons in particular and and resemblance to people real or imagined is unintentional and definitely in no way deliberate.. IE if you think i'm talking about you.. Your wrong.
First of all the posts that are a variation of 'We have to change blah to a less powerful version so that the power gamers don't win.'
Why ? Just because some people spend four hours crunching numbers to make their characters statistical badasses and some people spend the same amount of time writing up the characters childhood in hogwaller marshes. Suck it up, deal, and do a little min-maxing yourself.. This is a game built around a four to five person party killing things. Yes playing a role is important to but don't be a jackass and play an 8 str 17 int fighter because you like the concept then complain that the twink gets all the glory.. Its your own fault. These games are supposed to be fun for everyone power gamers and role players alike. Even better.. You and your party twink can work together he can help you min max a little and you can help him round out his character background
Second off The phrase to much bookkeeping..
C'mon ? Seriously ? This is an issue for people ? Its a game.. played out of books.. Lots of people i know buy a new notebook for every character they make to record observations random stuff equipment little bits of math all sorts of this.. The whole game is about bookkeeping and very very easy math.. If you cant do it find something else to do and stop jacking up my hobby. Or if your Gamer SO wont let you off the hook that easy at least play something easy that doesn't need to be dumbed down.
Third off Player and GM responsibility
This another important part of this game and the best way to deal with the lack of it is much like how many ancient tribal societies dealt with people doing wrong. Its called shunning.. Its a simple concept if someone is a jackass and making the game less fun for everyone tell them what they're doing and tell them to take a week off. If it doesn't work you might have to take longer or even more permanent steps.. Same if its the GM.. if all his players walk he might get the idea and be ready to listen.. And if not.. Let another player stp up.. I mean I'm spitting distance from being a dyslexic mongoloid who walks around saying "I'm an exelent driver." and I run a fifty plus person larp and between two and three tabletop games so if I can do it anyone can. But the long and short of it it keep each other honest and try to let everyone enjoy the game.
Fourth off Tomi O'Niceness and the Hugsalot Gamers
This is the one that really really pisses me off.. stuff like 'I don't want half orcs being a product of rape in the core book cause its mean and hurtful an..' STFU put down your PETA friendly dice bag and join the real world. This is a game not a grand conspiracy to discourage friendliness no matter how much I might wish otherwise. First off.. Your character is likely trying to commit small scale genocide against the various monster races and second off In a game like this where good and evil are actual tangible things you have to have heroes and villains that are good and evil themselves.. Sure sometimes you want a more three dimensional antagonist but sometimes you just need the gold ole villainy for the sake of villainy bad guy who rapes and pillages and kills just to evoke that visceral gut wrenching hatred. Not every bad guy should be pitied for his tragic past.. Sometimes black and white are the only colors writ upon the wall. The amount of detail you go into is a group to group thing based on age and maturity of the players involved but don't whine at the game company from telling you from the get go 'Hey.. sometimes evil crap happens in our world' Ya know why ? Cause as a hero its your job to fix it. If you want to play 'Candyland the RPG' by all means do so but try to realize that games with conflict involved *have* to have some things in them that offend you as a decent human being and mentioning them is not the same as condoning them.
First of all the posts that are a variation of 'We have to change blah to a less powerful version so that the power gamers don't win.'Why ? Just because some people spend four hours crunching numbers to make their characters statistical badasses and some people spend the same amount of time writing up the characters childhood in hogwaller marshes. Suck it up, deal, and do a little min-maxing yourself..
I agree, up to a point. I agree that the game should not be turned into a mathematical challenge of absolute balance or something like that.
On the other hand, you shouldn't make it too easy for munchkins, and if there are glaring problems that can be taken care of without bending over backwards and screwing over the game's flavour, I'm all for it.
This is a game built around a four to five person party killing things. Yes playing a role is important to but don't be a jackass and play an 8 str 17 int fighter because you like the concept then complain that the twink gets all the glory.. Its your own fault.
There's more than just the Munchkin and the Drama Queen. I agree that if you play characters with obvious and profound deficicencies, you're not allowed to complain if you cannot pull your weight, but the guy with the half-dragon savage creature goliath fighter/barbarian (with those nice substitution levels from book X, the old, pre-nerved version of certain feats from book Y, and that ridiculous weapon from book Z) is just as bad.
These games are supposed to be fun for everyone
Not quite true, for there are people who aren't having fun unless they ruin it for everyone else, or "win" the game. They should not be encouraged or defended (in fact, the current cause of action involves rubber hoses, pieces of soap in towels, panzer tape, and taped yodeling concerts)
Second off The phrase to much bookkeeping..C'mon ? Seriously ? This is an issue for people ? Its a game.. played out of books.. Lots of people i know buy a new notebook for every character they make to record observations random stuff equipment little bits of math all sorts of this.. The whole game is about bookkeeping and very very easy math.. If you cant do it find something else to do and stop jacking up my hobby. Or if your Gamer SO wont let you off the hook that easy at least play something easy that doesn't need to be dumbed down.
Now, there's bookkeeping, and there's unnecessary bookkeeping. Just because the game revolves around character sheets and class tables doesn't mean that every class ability should come with an accompanying three-page sheet to keep track of uses and calculate the power level depending on race, class, ability scores, moon phase, how much the last soda you drank cost and whether you have cut your hair on an even day.
Moderation.
This is the one that really really pisses me off.. stuff like 'I don't want half orcs being a product of rape in the core book cause its mean and hurtful an..' STFU put down your PETA friendly dice bag and join the real world.
While I'm all for a "the world's not a pony ranch" mentality and laud Paizo in their efforts to create a world that actually needs heroes...
If you insult others for their opinion, people might take your advice about shunning jackasses to heart and put you on their mental ignore list.