
Bree Longfield |

We could swap if you want? I'll read some delightful text books and you can have a go at these matrix calculations I've been avoiding all day. I think I'd like the change of scenery/pace/brain-screwery.
I don't do well with math. Jimmy Buffette's Math Sucks was my anthem to get me through my math requirements. That was good enough for me, I have 0 intentions of taking another math class.

grmnbln |
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Oh but this isn't technically maths! It is applied maths! In this case applied to angular momentum calculations for 3 extended bodies which all interact. It is rather good as long as you are allowed a computer to do the nasty bits for you and less so if you have to do them yourself.

grmnbln |

Yeah, we're allowed to use maple and mathematica and things like that for most of the nasty stuff and then when we have to do horrible integrals and so on in exams they'll provide standard integrals to make it a bit easier. I generally do a few nasty example calculations for each thing though just to make sure I've got the hang of whatever it is.

DM Harpwizard |

I love mathematics and Calculus in particular. I suppose that's why I became a mathematics teacher. It's a great job and the math is a lot of fun, but if I'm at a party and I tell somebody that I'm a mathematics teacher, it's usually a quick conversation stopper! That is where I have to pull out the fact that I'm a harpist and that usually eases the awkward moment. I suppose it makes them think that I am not one of those weird mathematician sorts and that I am still somewhat normal.

Bree Longfield |

Lol, DMHW I think it's awesome that you're a math teacher and it would be even more awesome if you were "one of those weird mathematician sorts"! Truth is, I have a healthy respect (and perhaps fear) of math. Just because I'm not very good with it, doesn't mean I think badly about math or those who love math. I see math as being the language of the universe, the language of the gods, so to speak. I'm just not very fluent!

Tirion Jörðhár |

Yeh, saw that. It is interesting what they have. Of course some of them are mislabeled - clearly female as male, etc. I don't think that I have any deities in my pics, may have to change some, or join a few more campaigns so that I can play some gods.

TarkXT |

No love for Scion? ;-)
Not from me. It's crappily balanced and a direct rip off of Exalted. It's so direct that they had approached a friend of mine who was one of the developers for it and asked if he wanted to help write it. He declined and they did it anyway.
In general I've really come to despise how "god" games are handled. Even Nobilis leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Now it just makes me want to finish Beyond Gods more.

Zyren Zemerys |

Hah- yeah, I remember weird situations playing Werewolf or Vampire.
GM: There is an iron door, it's closed.
Player: What about the wall?
GM: Wall? umm brickstone I guess.
Player: Ok, then I go through the wall.
Gm: What?
Player: With my strength I can easily throw cars and that's just a mere wall...

Zyren Zemerys |

@ All Campfire-Sitters:
How do we handle combat deaths?
Bad luck and deal with it or some kind rescuing mechanism?
In this special case Alcheringa (one of Shifty's characters) was hit by a critical attack that dealt like 50 damage or so...I guess he won't like the fact his oldest characters in all of my campaigns got smashed to bits...

Vaughn Elliot |
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Hmmm . . . this is a limitation of PBP, the DM can't hide/fudge the dice, which every good DM should do from tiem to time (IMHO). Were we at the table, you could have reduced the damage to make the situation critical but not deadly.
It's a tough call. Normally I'm a strong opponent of Deus Ex Machina, but I'm also a strong advocate of the DM being able to fudge. (I draw a distinction between the two in that players shouldn't be punished for doing everything right except the dice don't go their way, nor should they be rewarded for doing stuff wrong)
I believe that it boils down to YOU, ZDM--what kind of DM philosophy do you hold to? You need to ask yourself . . .
Are you OK with the consequences of whatever happens (if Al dies, you OK with that? If you "save" him, you OK with that?)? Which is the preferable outcome within the framework of the story/campaign?
I'd also add . . . do you think Al made critical errors in which he "deserved" to die? Note: recently in a tabletop game, we had one character get swallowed by a tyrannosaurus in a combat--no direct fault of his own--and he ended up dying. We used our one Raise Dead scroll to bring him back. Later, we crossed paths with a dire crocodile; none of us wanted a fight, except for the dude in question. He jumped on the things head (exaggeration--he was a monk, so he jumped AT its head), and got swallowed and killed. We did NOT raise him, specifically because that death was entirely his own fault (blatant stupidity). So yes, as a player I've punished other players for stupidity. :-)

Zyren Zemerys |

Normally I would have fudged dice - no question - but in PBP that is no option which is quite annyoing...
Al did nothing wrong, but in the end we can't rescue every char just because he did nothing woring...
I need more input...what if it happened to Vaughn?

Tirion Jörðhár |
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I think that the really big issue here is that Shifty is gone right now and someone is NPCing him. Thus, this is a very different situation than usual where the player was making good/bad decisions.
If a character dies, it dies, that is part of the game. If the player was a jerk, then you hope that he does not continue. If the player is fun to play with, give them the option of creating a new character, either similar, or try something new and just add them into the campaign. After all, these campaigns are designed for 4, 5, 6 players, if one dies, that is a 17-25% reduction in firepower - or more depending on how the character was built.
Or when it really comes down to it, there is always divine intervention.

Bilbo Bang-Bang |
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I like the possibility of getting killed. I just realized how hard it is to die compared to other versions and other games. But, like everyone else has said, Shifty is not around to have made the decision for this character. I would say fudge it in the open due to the fact that he had no say so in the outcome. Gods do tend to interfere with the lives of heroes after all. With that said, you have the ultimate say as the DM. If it was something that you disliked or thought was just then rule as you see fit. You're are a fair GM and no one here would question that, IMHO.
If I get thumped for doing something ate up with Perdition, I expect it as part of being a gnome and not just playing a little human. After reading the gnome book again, I felt I had not been playing him any different than a cautious dwarf like Harl. Hence the up swing in annoying pranks he only seems to enjoy. I would not expect the group to pay the price for his poor decisions as they would most certainly arise again if I played him like a Golarion gnome. Death happens to characters and having just read through both WFRP 2nd ed. and Mouseguard it seems like we are a little insulated from it in Pathfinder.

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I also agree that sometimes getting killed can be fun. The party might be able to bring you back later, but we are adventurers. In any game there is always that possibility of snuffing it.
I do think that Shifty should have a chance though since he isn't here to witness his own death.