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I've been emotionally grappling with a bit of a thorny set of thoughts, but I'm not sure who I could really speak to about it. In my immediate circle, I feel like if I explained the context, it'd either sound extremely petty or frivolous, or my thought process to get to it is kind of weird. It is related to gaming, but it touches on topics that I'm hesitant to discuss in public on these boards, since it's regarding Paizo specifically...
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But speaking of that, why do the NPCs always know about magic? I'm always disappointed to play a magic-user and every non-magic-user NPC seems to know not only that I'm casting a spell but what spell it is. I'd like to encounter some NPCs who are awed/frightened/intimidated by magic.
Sometimes I would like to play in a campaign more like the middle or dark ages where EVERYONE believes magic is real but virtually NO-ONE has ever actually seen anything that is indisputably magical. It need not prevent players having magic-using PCs but would just make them more special. Of course, the GM's job would be harder as there would be fewer magic-using opponents but on the other hand, when they do turn up, you absolutely plausibly need specialists to deal with them.
Essentially when I say "It's mostly middle aged white guys", what I'm also implying is "It's mostly middle aged white guys, and if you generally feel uncomfortable around that group because of your experience with them (especially in gaming spaces) then I want you to know up front what you're getting into..."But isn't this basically the definition of racism (or other "isms")? I mean, what would be your reaction to a statement identical to what I'm quoting here, but with "middle aged white guys" replaced with "urban black men" or "millennial trans folk" or basically any other group? Sure, your shorthand comes from valid personal experience, but does that make it okay? If we changed out the group, would a similar set of experiences on the part of the speaker make you feel any better about the statement?
Now, granted, not every group is in equal need of guardianship against racism and such. Please understand that's not my point. My point is that this just happened to end up being a perfect example of the dangers of categorical labels: they make it unbelievably easy for even the best-intentioned person to slip into racist (etc) patterns without even realizing it. (Heck, I've already caught myself like three different times just in writing this post!) Doesn't that mean it's worth the effort to break habits by avoiding these types of labels whenever possible?
No, because its important to recognize that race and racism create and enforce certain power structures. Which is to say, white people in the US benefit from racism (its structure and its history) even if they're personally against racism.
There are (at least) two definitions of racism. The first is the standard dictionary definition of discriminatory behavior based on race. However, this fails to take into account the historical context of race and racism (and also, who do you think writes English dictionary definitions? Mostly white guys). A more socially conscious definition of...
Everybody hates labels, or do they. Try to run a game where all labels are obscured. You can't tell a drow from an elf. There is no detect evil, because that's a label. All humanoids look the same, because black, white, european, oriental, male, female, are all labels. Just drop the baggage attached to the labels.
People getting within six(6) or even three (3) feet of me without having control of the situation.
I've been paranoid since a customer cut me a few years back, then complained to management that I was harassing **him**.
And then management threw me under the bus.
This pandemic isn't helping.
LoL even worse than covid 19
People getting within six(6) or even three (3) feet of me without having control of the situation.I've been paranoid since a customer cut me a few years back, then complained to management that I was harassing **him**.
And then management threw me under the bus.
This pandemic isn't helping.
It's worse, because I don't react well in such circumstances and I work in retail. And we still aren't getting the full-containment biohazard suits to deal with that.
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I have become unhappy with the barbarian class of late. Not so much the mechanics, though it does seem a bit ridiculous to me that a whole class is built around the ability to enter a berserk frenzy. It’s the image that bugs me, and the connotations of the class name. “Barbarian” originated as a derogatory term. It’s still used as a derogatory term. Barbarians are portrayed as ‘uncivilized brutes’ who are only good at fighting. And they’re almost always pseudo-Scandinavians who live in perpetually snowy environments and wear ridiculously impractical clothing.
Anybody could enter a battle rage. A cleric could enter a righteous rage when faced with undead and blow through all of her channel uses, or expend all her cure spells in a frenzy of grief to save a dying companion. A wizard could become enraged by misuse of magic and use up all her blast spells. Berserk frenzy doesn’t have to be limited to a bearded blond guy in furs wielding an axe, or a woman with an inexplicably bare midriff.
I can see a reason for not making rage just a thing you can do, but maybe it could be a feat available to any character with a minimum prerequisite, instead of the focus of a class. If there has to be a class, call it berserker instead. And take all the cultural references out of the class description.
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I have become unhappy with the barbarian class of late. Not so much the mechanics, though it does seem a bit ridiculous to me that a whole class is built around the ability to enter a berserk frenzy. It’s the image that bugs me, and the connotations of the class name. “Barbarian” originated as a derogatory term. It’s still used as a derogatory term.
Just calling the class 'Berserker' works for me, it's what we've been doing since like 2nd edition AD&D (similarly, we stopped calling the 'Thief' a thief and started calling them 'Scouts' back in 1st edition, although these days, I like Rogue even better). It's fun to come up with different in-game names as well. Some dude adventures with you for four levels and doesn't understand why you call him a 'Paladin,' since he's *clearly* a Crusader... Similarly, the 'Priest' of Desna has no use for the term 'Cleric.' There's no need for the out-of-game class nomenclature to be ubiquitous in-game, and it can certainly vary by culture or region.
And there are probably people in-game who will call that berserker a 'barbarian' anyway, not because she has class levels in Barbarian, but because she's a smelly Shoanti savage and he's a Chelish bigot!
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Some dude adventures with you for four levels and doesn't understand why you call him a 'Paladin,' since he's *clearly* a Crusader... Similarly, the 'Priest' of Desna has no use for the term 'Cleric.' There's no need for the out-of-game class nomenclature to be ubiquitous in-game, and it can certainly vary by culture or religion.
I’m playing a paladin for the first time ever in my 25+ years of gaming, and I’m trying hard to avoid referring to her as a paladin in-game. She is a warrior n the service of Sarenrae. I could envision using paladin as a title if she belonged to an organization, but I see her more as having been inspired by an experience to dedicate herself to this path, not as a member of any organized group of people with similar abilities. She’s also an aasimar and I’m resisting referencing that in-game, too. Her parents are elves, she was raised among elves, she looks like an elf. She sees herself as an elf.
That's my pet peeve. What's yours?
When people promise to show up for a game and simply don't bother to come or to tell you they are not coming.
It has become wildly common.
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Thing that's been bothering me lately is how easy it is to burn out on things that are supposed to be fun but now keeping up with or starting them seems more like work than fun, and not knowing what to DO instead to alleviate the burnout because your fun primarily comes from the stuff you're burned out on...
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Thread Necro Nazis. Usually all they have to contribute is hate and insults. It's not an official board policy and I will flag personal attacks. :(
Thing that's been bothering me lately is how easy it is to burn out on things that are supposed to be fun but now keeping up with or starting them seems more like work than fun, and not knowing what to DO instead to alleviate the burnout because your fun primarily comes from the stuff you're burned out on...
This. ^^^
For the last 20 years, I have been the ONLY GM in my group and was so the majority of the time in the 15 years before that. Absolutely no one in my group will run anything, and the one guy who did offer was shot down by everyone else because they didn't want to learn a new ruleset for the game he wanted to run (the new Stargate game). During the last couple of months of quarantine, I haven't thought of Pathfinder for most of it. I'm absolutely burned out. We were going to try a game this weekend but then I injured myself and couldn't do it. RPGs have been my greatest entertainment source since 1985 but I find myself running down quickly.
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The things that bother me the most are less game and more player things.
If you say you are going to show up then you should show up.
It seems to be popular now to commit to a session and then not bother to show up, let anyone know you will not be coming, etc.
If this was a rare event, it would be one thing, but it seems to be pervasive.
As a GM, if you are willing to put many hours into prep then the least the players can do is make realistic predictions about their attendance.
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The things that bother me the most are less game and more player things.
If you say you are going to show up then you should show up.
It seems to be popular now to commit to a session and then not bother to show up, let anyone know you will not be coming, etc.
If this was a rare event, it would be one thing, but it seems to be pervasive.
As a GM, if you are willing to put many hours into prep then the least the players can do is make realistic predictions about their attendance.
I read an article a while ago about how some people have become much less willing to commit exclusively to a single social activity these days because there’s a perception that they might miss out on something. The article related it to other social phenomena of the smartphone/instant information/flash mob/popup event era we live in.
This doesn’t excuse that type of behavior, but I think it’s also related to how no one ever has enough time to do all the things we want or need to do. I can game, or see my friend who’s only in from out of town for two days, or do laundry, or go to the gym, or spend time with my kids.... Which ones do I give up? And while gaming has become more acceptable and mainstream I think there’s still a perception among some players that it’s not that important, or a misunderstanding of its importance to the other members of the group. It’s part of the social compact that should probably be discussed with the group along with play styles and table etiquette.
I read an article a while ago about how some people have become much less willing to commit exclusively to a single social activity these days because there’s a perception that they might miss out on something. The article related it to other social phenomena of the smartphone/instant information/flash mob/popup event era we live in.
Good ol'FOMO (fear of missing out).
Is has been heavily weaponized in marketing and I wouldn't be surprised if it started showing up as an actual psychiatric concern in a few years.
Google Chrome keeps trying to block Shockwave Flash from functioning. They keep claiming they will stop supporting flash next year. They are not supporting it now! Anybody know of an internet browser that supports flash? I may have to start over with just big fish games. On my windows 7 computer, HTML5 strobes horribly.
Google Chrome keeps trying to block Shockwave Flash from functioning. They keep claiming they will stop supporting flash next year. They are not supporting it now! Anybody know of an internet browser that supports flash? I may have to start over with just big fish games. On my windows 7 computer, HTML5 strobes horribly.
Not sure if you're joking, but if you're not...
Adobe is dropping support for Flash in December 2020. Once that happens, no contemporary browser will allow Flash pages to load.
Adobe has been devaluing Flash for several years now: They've been recommending web sites transition their Flash pages to HTML5 since at least 2014.
And Microsoft ended extended support for Windows 7 a year ago: You are taking a very big risk of system compromise if you're putting a Windows 7 machine onto the Internet these days.
I think Flash is going to find a new life. Too much relies on it.
Spouting stats in game.
I love knowing the mechanics behind how the game works. It's one of the things that makes these games fun for me, and I'll happily talk outside of the game with someone about the damage spread difference for a weapon that does 2d6 vs a weapon that does 1d12, and all of those fun little things.
But when we're in game, it peeves me when all that OOC stuff starts coming up as regular discussion. It doesn't need to be strictly RP talk when we're at the table, but a little less crunch talk because yes, we're all trying to figure out how that NPC/Monster did that thing, and just because you failed your skill check doesn't mean we want to hear you theorize OOC about it for the next 10 minutes.