Also, why is currency usually calculated in GP?
Why not rubies or wampum or (gasp) paper money?
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Well, in the spirit of the last thread like this, let's bring up another controversial overdone cliche: Tucker's Kobolds.
I would rather forget that several of my game masters in the past read that article, sebastian. Proved to me that low hp, low ac and NPC classes can be made for with tactics, numbers and a total disregard for the final body count on the NPC side....several times.
-Weylin
Yup. That's part of the argument that tends to get kicked up. Some people say "ooh! See kobolds can be cleverly played if you do it right." and others respond with "the kobolds are entirely incidental - the true threat is the traps and the ridiculous amount of wealth you give them for exotic weapons/equipment."
Humans are overated.
Simple.
Ratings are overrated.
Also, why is currency usually calculated in GP?
Why not rubies or wampum or (gasp) paper money?
I used to try and change money types up in my games. No one really cared long as they could buy stuff. I got a lot of: "How much is that in gold pieces?".
My vote for overrated: How about the language that everyone knows: Common. How tired is that? In medieval times you could walk 50 miles and not understand what other folks were saying, even if was technically the same language.
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1 is the modern day equivalent of the dual weapon drow elf. It's cliche and overdone, yet everyone who builds one thinks it's original and new.1) Necromancers that aren't evil
2) misunderstood monsters/witches/mystical punk rockers/whathaveyou that aren't really evil after all, just misunderstood.
3) Pagans who eviscerate the evil Christians.Wow, I don't think I've *ever* seen 1 or 3 in any show, novel or movie, ever. 2 seems pretty common, these days, 'though.
As a player of a non-evil necromancer i can but say, Pish-posh. I think it is neither original or new, but rather steeped in literary tradition and gothic romance. It is a nod of the head to hollow one, euthanatos, Foxglove form Death: The Time of Your Life, Dr. Frankenstien, 19th century spiritualists and many other cool thing. And I am still the only person i know personally who has played one in DnD, so i am happy with that.
Pish posh? I rest my case.
Pish-posh is an odd name for a necromancer, but hey, he's not evil.
Creative Director
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As far as Common goes... it's a necessary evil, I think. It's not really fun to not be able to have the various PCs in a group be able to talk to each other, and not much less fun for them to not to be able to talk to the NPCs they meet.
That said, there is architecture in Golarion for you to become more regionalized as regards languages, since "Common" is the same as "Taldan."
Having played in a world with no common language, it quickly became a pain.
Great for versimilitude, no fun in play.
Drow...and Duregar...and Derro...and pretty much anything from the "evil" alternative version of reality we call the Underdark, or Darklands, or somesuch.I can see where you're coming from with drow and duergar... but I should point out that in Golarion/Pathfinder, derro aren't an "evil" version of something, really. They're really their own thing.Is there an "evil" version of humans? Dark Stalkers, perhaps?
I wrote up something like that for the LPJ contest
1) I'll agree with the Underwear model vampires and Dragons.
2) Tieflings too
3) Drizzt or Legolas PCs
4) Orphan boys with the mysterious heritage who find a magical MacGuffin to defeat the BBG.
5) Lovecraft
Tentacles. Oh, please no more tentacles. I am willing to accept a grandfather clause-if you're already tentacular when my ban takes effect, you can live on-but NO NEW TENTACLES, for ANY reason, at all, EVER.
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When properly used, a Dragon is an incredible adversary. Dragons, IMO, should be used sparingly and to devestating effect.
I remember the first time, after nearly 20 years of gaming, that one of my characters took down a dragon it was the most exhilirating experience in my gaming career. It's called "Dungeons and Dragons", and going into a Dungeon is awesome. QED, Dragons should be awesome too.
But that's just me.
Dragons are our masters. We love them!
Yum, yum, yummy!
Also, why is currency usually calculated in GP?
Why not rubies or wampum or (gasp) paper money?I used to try and change money types up in my games. No one really cared long as they could buy stuff. I got a lot of: "How much is that in gold pieces?".
My vote for overrated: How about the language that everyone knows: Common. How tired is that? In medieval times you could walk 50 miles and not understand what other folks were saying, even if was technically the same language.
One of the many things I really liked about the Greyhawk campaign setting was that the common tongue was an amalgamation of Old Oeridian, Suloise, and Ancient Baklunish. Since 90% of the NPCs you encountered knew either an Oeridian, Suloise or Baklunish dialect, you could engage them in rudimentary communication even if they did not actually know common. It could also lead to hilarious misinterpretations (hilarious for the GM anyways).
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One of the many things I really liked about the Greyhawk campaign setting was that the common tongue was an amalgamation of Old Oeridian, Suloise, and Ancient Baklunish. Since 90% of the NPCs you encountered knew either an Oeridian, Suloise or Baklunish dialect, you could engage them in rudimentary communication even if they did not actually know common. It could also lead to hilarious misinterpretations (hilarious for the GM anyways).
My wife runs a similar situation. The 'Common' tongue in her world is "Trade Tongue" and is a derivative of Modern Elven with a bunch of racial loan words. Therefore, if you speak Elven, you can speak Trade.
Ratings are overrated.
Report to Carousel, Marikurion.
Equal Rights for Curmudgeons, Old Fogies, Coots, Codgers, and Grognards!
Humans are overated.
Simple.
I dunno...the extra bonus feat is pretty nice!
You know, he actually kinda sucked.Kids, this is what a vampire oughtta look like.
*sigh*
Get off of teh interwebz. You need some sun.This also works.
What? Marlow suck? Are you kidding me. 30 days of night rocks. Even the film is okay. A film based on a comic AND including vampires and it isn't complete and epic fail...come on, it has to be a first.
The 30 days of night vampires also do stand in stark contrast to the curse of twilight. Which was the point.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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30 days of night rocks. Even the film is okay. A film based on a comic AND including vampires and it isn't complete and epic fail...come on, it has to be a first.
er...
uh...
....
30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
Kids, this is what a vampire oughtta look like.
*sigh*
Get off of teh interwebz. You need some sun.This also works.
I think I prefer a more traditional Dracula vampire appearance, but I like Nosferatu as well.
Comical and traditional.
Sexy and NOT an underwear model, but has on occasion been caught wearing a trenchcoat with a katana.
As far as Common goes... it's a necessary evil, I think. It's not really fun to not be able to have the various PCs in a group be able to talk to each other, and not much less fun for them to not to be able to talk to the NPCs they meet.
That said, there is architecture in Golarion for you to become more regionalized as regards languages, since "Common" is the same as "Taldan."
I do appreciate the effort to have versimilitude with Taldan, James. Very similar to the concept of Latin or Arabic in medieval times.
Having played in a world with no common language, it quickly became a pain.
Great for versimilitude, no fun in play.
Oh yeah, I totally agree. It's the same with coinage, unless you have a group stone-cold dedicated to versimilitude and willing to spend precious play time exchanging strange forms of money at the temple moneychanger, a standardized coinage makes sense.
Heck, just like languages, coins had all different weights and sizes (and purities) in medieval history. For most of the Dark Ages Islamic silver coins were the 'global standard'. These coins still show up in Scandinavian burial sites. A 'pretty penny' as in 'that will cost you a pretty penny' refers to a small gold penny minted in England (most English pennies were silver until the late 18th Century). A doubloon from the Spanish Empire was legal tender in the US until the mid 19th Century. It could be carved into smaller 'pieces of eight' or 'bits'. The old singsong, 'Shave and a haircut, two bits.' references this, as two bits=$.25.
With languages, as well as coins, you do have to sacrifice versimilitude sometimes for gameplay. But all these overrated complaints are just people's personal versimilitude bugaboos. Coming from a linguistic background, the artifical 'Common' construct bugs me, as does a standardized coinage system. Others don't like good necromancers or sparkly vampires :P
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:
Ratings are overrated.Report to Carousel, Marikurion.
LIFE DAY! LIFE DAY! RENEWAL!
30 days of night rocks. Even the film is okay. A film based on a comic AND including vampires and it isn't complete and epic fail...come on, it has to be a first.
er...
uh...
....
30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
+1 WTF was the POINT of that whole movie? Or the comic?
30 days of night rocks. Even the film is okay. A film based on a comic AND including vampires and it isn't complete and epic fail...come on, it has to be a first.
er...
uh...
....
30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
Perhapes if you'd actually watched the film. You know, rather than skipping it. You might have actually gotten it.
It isn't even really about vampires, so much as isolation and the cold.
Patience, it helps when watching a film :P
+1 WTF was the POINT of that whole movie? Or the comic?
Okay, while the film isn't ever going to be one of the greatest peices of cinema, the comic is up there with hellblazer, global frequence, transmetropolitan, the invisible and Sandman on levels of awesome. Shame on you patrick
I would love for a country/continent/planet/island where some evil thing just didn't like humans and killed them indiscriminately until there were none left.
Well, there are nations without humans around. Or with very few humans. Examples on Golarion: Have your pick of a drow city. The few humans around are probably slaves. Kyonin has a single town where outsiders are welcome. And the Hold of Belkzen - I think most of the humans there are breeding stock.
Other worlds have that, too. Try, as a non-elf, to enter Evereska. Bring friends - they can bet on how long you'll last.
10) Its not for us so it must be evil.
That's not really a fantasy cliché, though. It's part of human nature.
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Evil is so much more seductive then good. Let me tell you a story. I was running a emo game at my FLGS. The players were seeking a book, which they nicknamed "the book of ultimate evil." They were to get it and bring it back to thecouncil of wizards who would destroy it to keep it out of the hands of the enemies of goodness. When they finally found it, the first thing they wanted to do was read the book.
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30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
Well, it could have been worse, it could have been The 5th Element.
Hey there were elements of the Fifth Element that were good.
What? Marlow suck? Are you kidding me. 30 days of night rocks. Even the film is okay. A film based on a comic AND including vampires and it isn't complete and epic fail...come on, it has to be a first.The 30 days of night vampires also do stand in stark contrast to the curse of twilight. Which was the point.
I only know the movie, and I liked it.
And never mind trying to reach Evermeet itself...
Don't bother. Dead is dead, but if you just go to Evereska, it will be a lot less arduous to die. I mean, for Evermeet, you'll have to get a ship, travel a really long distance over the sea, outwit all the illusion stuff, fight all kinds of sea monsters, and do all kinds of nasty things, all before you get a chance of getting killed by the elves who don't want you trespassing.
I mean, a guy can get himself killed on the way.
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Hey there were elements of the Fifth Element that were good.30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
Well, it could have been worse, it could have been The 5th Element.
Blargh... Chris Tucker ruined the whole thing for me, that and the singing octupus woman. And probably a few more things as I refuse to ever watch it again.
Hey there were elements of the Fifth Element that were good.30 days of night is okay as a sleep aid, I suppose. I couldn't watch it without frequent resort to the fast forward button, and even then I suffered 4d10 points of intelligence drain and got a bad case of the runs.
Well, it could have been worse, it could have been The 5th Element.
Tentacles. Oh, please no more tentacles. I am willing to accept a grandfather clause-if you're already tentacular when my ban takes effect, you can live on-but NO NEW TENTACLES, for ANY reason, at all, EVER.
What exactly qualifies as a "tentacle"?
Ratings are overrated.
Would it be too juvenile if I said "Your mom is overrated!"?
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Perhapes if you'd actually watched the film. You know, rather than skipping it. You might have actually gotten it.It isn't even really about vampires, so much as isolation and the cold.
Patience, it helps when watching a film :P
Was the message that isolation and cold are boring? Because I totally got that.
I can't imagine Twighlight is any worse. It's probably a lot better given that there are some attractive young women to alleviate the boredom.