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Okay, let's get this straight, we all hate power gamers who think that 'winning' is the best thing in life. Unfortunately I'm friends with one, and recently introduced him to PFS so we could possibly join games together.
Here's the problem. He's a min maxing, power gaming munckin. I know I already said this, but it cannot be stressed enough. He's a good role player, as well as a funny guy, and that is the ONLY reason my DM put up with his antics.
He decided that he was going to start up a bard character (sandman archetype) and wrote an 8 page backstory. Legitimately an 8 page backstory. Anyways, he added details about getting a succubus' blessing that gave him a +2 ability score of his choice (or was it bonus? I forget) as well as giving himself an intelligent weapon. I took one look at this, and said, "no. This just isn't allowed." he claims there was no rules against it, and he searched for them. Please help me here... Just.... Yeah...
It is for PFS?
The rules are 20 pt buy, using the racial bonuses for the approved races. No where does it allow you to add bonuses in addition to that. Are you sure he wasn't just explaining his race bonus to his stats?
You also start with 150 gp in gear, and you cannot craft or create custom items. If he found an intelligent item for 150 or less in UE then good for him, otherwise he is cheat in :)
In PFS, yeah it's definitely not allowed. PFS characters have to use the standard character creation rules, with some additional restrictions specific for PFS. However, and I can't point to a place where it says it, but no PFS GM will approve him starting a character with intelligent items or a +2 ability bonus or anything of the like. He's gets a 1st level character with appropriate starting gold. In any event, writing in additions that your character receives as part of their back story isn't fair for the rest of the party.
The bonus you get from back story are from the traits that you can take, they can help provide back story and provide some small mechanical bonuses.
Well, what your ability scores are and what gear you have is determined using the same rules for everybody, 20 point buy (in PFS, higher than the normal 15) and you only have wealth as purchased by gold you've legitimately gained from each module (with 150gp when starting out). His character can BELIEVE his ability scores have been blessed by Succubi and that his crossbow is actually his best friend (and whether or not those are TRUE, he can roleplay them just as much as otherwise), but in game terms the PFS rules are determining everything. Not that that really prevents munchkin-y min-maxing, so you really should try to deal with that issue itself, but nobody can just 'dictate' things like their ability scores or gear.
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As MiniGM said, if he wants to explain the stats he got from 20 point buy and Racial Bonuses as being granted by a Succubus, all the more power to him. If he can get an Intelligent item by normal wealth/gear rules, all the more power to him. Otherwise, not really unless it's just something his character wants to 'believe' without having mechanical effect.
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Anyone with a Succubus' Profane Gift is dumb, damned and doomed. If he thinks he can simply decide he gets that +2 bonus, a GM can decide the Succubus withdraws her "favour", which causes 2d6 Charisma drain...
It appears he is indeed a munchkin, in the classic D&D meaning of the word. Not much of a powergamer though, to be using volatile and potentially backfiring bonuses such as Demonic favours and Intelligent items with a will of their own.
I'd almost suggest letting him keep these "boons" and face the consequences thereof.
Almost.
Point out the fact where it says that a Succubus can cancel that bonus at any time she gets bored with him and he takes 2d6 un-saveable Cha drain from it. That she can use Suggestion at him at-will.
Mention the intelligent item's Ego modifier. If the weapon is not CE itself then it will most likely have huge problems with the character being under the influence of a succubus and having made that deal in the first place. It will try to win Dominance as often as it can, if simply to keep the Succubus from using Suggestion on the wielder. And if it is in fact CE then he got a whole different bag of problems.
Then ask him if he really still wants all that. If he says yes, point out the other things people mentioned, that it's simply not allowed. :)
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Anyone with a Succubus' Profane Gift is dumb, damned and doomed. If he thinks he can simply decide he gets that +2 bonus, a GM can decide the Succubus withdraws her "favour", which causes 2d6 Charisma drain...
It appears he is indeed a munchkin, in the classic D&D meaning of the word. Not much of a powergamer though, to be using volatile and potentially backfiring bonuses such as Demonic favours and Intelligent items with a will of their own.
I'd almost suggest letting him keep these "boons" and face the consequences thereof.
Almost.
Now I desperately wish I was His DM. "You make a diplomacy roll hmm? Well the succumbs gets bored with you and withdraws her profane gift." honesty, what else should he expect from a CHAOTIC EVIL creature?
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Point out the fact where it says that a Succubus can cancel that bonus at any time she gets bored with him and he takes 2d6 un-saveable Cha drain from it. That she can use Suggestion at him at-will.
Mention the intelligent item's Ego modifier. If the weapon is not CE itself then it will most likely have huge problems with the character being under the influence of a succubus and having made that deal in the first place. It will try to win Dominance as often as it can, if simply to keep the Succubus from using Suggestion on the wielder. And if it is in fact CE then he got a whole different bag of problems.
Then ask him if he really still wants all that. If he says yes, point out the other things people mentioned, that it's simply not allowed. :)
I tried explaining to him the CE part... He's an idiot if he thinks that, 'well, this succumbs is friendly. She's CE, but she wouldnt betray him'.
She would betray him just for the LULZ! And the EVULZ. Don't forget that.
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Well, what your ability scores are and what gear you have is determined using the same rules for everybody, 20 point buy (in PFS, higher than the normal 15) and you only have wealth as purchased by gold you've legitimately gained from each module (with 150gp when starting out). His character can BELIEVE his ability scores have been blessed by Succubi and that his crossbow is actually his best friend (and whether or not those are TRUE, he can roleplay them just as much as otherwise), but in game terms the PFS rules are determining everything. Not that that really prevents munchkin-y min-maxing, so you really should try to deal with that issue itself, but nobody can just 'dictate' things like their ability scores or gear.
I can suggest the whole believing thing to him. He'd be kind of dissapointment, but he'd roleplay it. Thanks for your input.
He can't have anything the book does not give him, and PFS is more restrictive. You may have to get the GM to enforce the rules.
Tell your friend if he does not like the rules as they were explained to him, he can report the difference in opinion to a VC, then get back to us, so we can know how that went over. :)
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He can write another page how he lost the +2 and the talking sword.
Find a polite way to say:
"I'm the DM, that makes me the final arbiter. If I say 'no', then the answer is 'no'. If this isn't to your liking, you're under no obligation to join this game."
@Zhayne: I don't think that Michael is the DM in this case - at least, that's how I'm reading it.
Although I'm not a PFS player, I have several friends who are involved, and my understanding was always that character creation was pretty restrictive; given that even at a non-moderated table I wouldn't allow a back story to justify an additional +2 ability bonus (maybe an extra trait or an exotic (but otherwise mundane) starting weapon, something along those lines), I really doubt that it will get approved by the table DM.
You might try approaching him and point out the additional restrictions that go along with moderated play, and that you don't believe the DM will probably approve the character - and beyond that if he brushes you off further, leave it up to the DM.
to be clear, the "he's crazy and hallucinating things" doesn't have to be the real explanation,
the stats aren't going to be higher than what you get from point buy, but you CAN say as backstory
that they were blessed by a Succubus (i.e. before you had lower stats), which presumably allows for revocation,
but this is PFS and GMs aren't going to introduce some plot element like that outside of the script.
so he can have his Succubi blessed stat, that isn't higher than anybody else in PFS, but for his it is special.
Quandary's ideas are great.
The PC was a common farm boy who would never even go adventuring if he was not over-munchkinized, blessed by succubi and armed with an intelligent weapon (that speaks to him alone though).
Basically, his character made it from NPC to PFS PC thanks to his backstory.
Does he have a kindly old wizard mentor, a friendly ship captain Ranger with a gorilla animal companion, and an unknown sister that is a Princess?
He's not a power gamer. He is a total munchkin though.
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Okay, let's get this straight, we all hate power gamers who think that 'winning' is the best thing in life. Unfortunately I'm friends with one, and recently introduced him to PFS so we could possibly join games together.
"We" don't all hate power gamers... power gaming and minmaxing is mechanics stuff, and unless the person is cheating outright, or making themselves incapable of handling normal situations in order to maximize one ability, and it somehow hurts the party in the process, then it's mostly irrelevant, especially if they will actually roleplay well.
He decided that he was going to start up a bard character (sandman archetype) and wrote an 8 page backstory. Legitimately an 8 page backstory. Anyways, he added details about getting a succubus' blessing that gave him a +2 ability score of his choice (or was it bonus? I forget) as well as giving himself an intelligent weapon. I took one look at this, and said, "no. This just isn't allowed." he claims there was no rules against it, and he searched for them. Please help me here... Just.... Yeah...
If he's human, an the +2 ability bonus is his racial bonus only then sure, let him explain it any way he wants. Backstory does not grant you additional mechanical bonuses, however, unless the DM has expressly declared that you get a bonus for writing a backstory. In this case it sounds a lot more like cheating than power gaming.
That said, the DM is the final arbiter of such things, and if the DM has decided it's ok, then it's ok. That's the way of the game.
Who the hell "power games" a bard?
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My character met an angel who made him a Half-Celestial.
The rulebook doesn't say it can't happen, so...
