I think having races that are by default good or evil is stupid. And even when there is a race that due to its backstory is predominantly evil, I don't see why there shouldn't be individuals that have transcended this.
Yeah, the whole "X race is alignment Y" is what got the ball rolling for me tossing out alignment entirely oh so many years ago. Certainly I can understand that, for example, a given orc culture generally values things like strength, power, taking what you want, and rule by fear; but a given orc who grew up in that culture can certainly make other decisions, and I don't want to have preface any description of different orcs with "these orcs are different" as though the orcs from place A having a different culture than the orcs from place B do is any more exceptional than people from Belgium having a different culture than people in Laos do.
I really, really hate most instances of "this thing is evil just because of what it is".
I see alignment for the races as something that defines society as a whole, not individuals. Some races ( as some outsiders) are more restricted as they are created with said alignment and both their inherent nature and social pressure makes them difficult to change, but not impossible.
I feel like it's more interesting though to describe what it is about orc society that would get other people to label them as "evil" (e.g. their callous treatment of perceived inferiors, their belief that might makes right, their willingness to break their word to get ahead, etc.) than to just say "orcish society is evil."
Instead of using alignment as shorthand for a bunch of shared cultural values, it's probably more evocative to talk about those values and leave alignment out of it.
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I do feel like this discussion belongs in a different thread.
Yep.
Indeed. Even though I keep derailing the thread. Does that make me evil or just chaotic?
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Just Chaotic Evil. Congratulations: You have fallen.
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OK. My embarrasing confession to get this thing back to its rails as an attonement.
I unwillingly make characters fall. All the time. I don't take special delight in doing it. It just happens.
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The reason some monsters are always evil is to cut back on the ethical dilemmas posed.
Yeah, Paizo is a big fan of the "guiltless massacres" element of pulp, and this is how they make it work.
Of all the cruddy elements Paizo decided to take from pulp fiction, it's definitely not the worst offender. Just not my thing. Eberron achieved "pulp" far more effectively without it.
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To get back to the topic of the thread, I must confess that as a player I *adore* ethical dilemmas in roleplaying games. I'd rather spend 2 hours discussing the moral repercussions of attacking the Goblin Village than spend 30 minutes fighting Goblins.
I've slaughtered entire villages of goblins on the pretense of "we would like to speak to your chief or leader so that we may come to a mutually beneficial peace treaty" all the time in-character believing that this is all just a terrible, terrible misunderstanding and that "I must have said the wrong thing, I don't speak very good goblin" and being reassured by other players that the goblins are "just sleeping" and that they can regrow various severed limbs and heads "just like lizards can regrow their tails."
I kind of adore "hopelessly naïve" as a personality archetype for characters. That and "cynical smartypants" are probably my go-to for character concepts when I'm put on the spot, and the choice between the two is generally determined by my INT score.
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I must confess that as a player I *adore* ethical dilemmas in roleplaying games. I'd rather spend 2 hours discussing the moral repercussions of attacking the Goblin Village than spend 30 minutes fighting Goblins.
After many years, I've learned to enjoy a good combat encounter both as a GM and a player, but it's not my favorite thing.
WoD was the first RPG that caught my eye so I'm used to bringing ethical dilemmas to the table.I like it better when things are not black or white, the most vile person in the world might be the best potential ally the PCs could have and sometimes good people stand in your way and you have to deal with them. I put this kind of stuff just to see what are the PCs made of, but don't try to force them to do anything they don't want to, so if they do something morally questionable is because they have made their choice.
To me, the fact that the characters have their own morals only makes the game more interesting.
Some time ago my GM picked the «Tower of the Last Baron» module's setting and GMed it with a different backstory where we were agents for the law and needed to arrest the Baron so he could be judged. We didn't know if he was guilty or innocent. I was playing a NG cleric who sees killing as the last resource.
What could have been a pretty standard dungeon crawl ended being something different. We spent a lot of time planning so we could device a way to deal with the issue without killing or seriously harming anybody. We didn't want to wander around because we didn't want to kill the guards. In the end we only killed a couple of dogs, we captured the baron alive and we striked a deal (thanks to charm person) with his right hand so he allowed us to take the baron to justice and we made it look like he was colaborating with us rather than arrested.
It was more difficult to do it this way. Almost always killing is the easy way, but finding alternative ways to deal with conflict that match your character's ethics is one of the most great sensations ever.
My current list of character races:
Pseudodragon
Werewolf
Kitsune
Catfolk
Catfolk
Half-Orc (going animal-themed Psychic Warrior--3.5 campaign)
Kitsune
Wyvaran
Bronze Dragon
Sylph
Kitsune
Nagaji
KitsuneI think the only logical conclusion given this data is that I hate humans. =P
I realized I forgot "shapeshifting cat-thing" when I made this list. :D
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I develop enough character concepts to fill entire parties for adventure paths on my own, yet get frustrated by being only able to pick one to play at a time.
I also have difficulty getting down to actually making SHEETS for these characters until the last minute.
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I develop enough character concepts to fill entire parties for adventure paths on my own, yet get frustrated by being only able to pick one to play at a time.
I do the same, except I'm generally the GM so I don't get to use any of them.
I love memorable NPCs. When I have a cool concept for a character but I don't feel like playing it as a PC, it always ends finding a good place as NPC.
I enjoy character creation so much, that I like to crunch the numbers and make a character out of a backstory, even when I will never get to play them in a game.
It is a practice in futility, but I am addicted. I even remake other people's characters sometimes, but I never show the new model of the character because it is not my character.
I often have a story in mind. Numbers come later.
I wish I was better at story first. I normally only have a story seed when I start character creation. Then as I build the character, the story appears; that is why I like the background generator.
I have only ever played with four GMs, (2 in D&D, 1 World of Darkness, and 1 Pathfinder) and often the games were months apart. I started GMing myself, and got to play more often. Plots seem to come to me quicker than character concepts.
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I enjoy character creation so much, that I like to crunch the numbers and make a character out of a backstory, even when I will never get to play them in a game.
It is a practice in futility, but I am addicted. I even remake other people's characters sometimes, but I never show the new model of the character because it is not my character.
I've put out a standing offer to my group to create cohorts for anyone that wants to take Leadership, because I have so many ideas kicking around that at least this way some of them get to see some light. They'll give mechanical basics and any storyline details they want included, then it goes to me. :)
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The worse part of hostile NPCs is that, if you don't play it clever the PCs might get rid of them without even knowing their background, so all your character developement will never see a lot of game.
The worse part of hostile NPCs is that, if you don't play it clever the PCs might get rid of them without even knowing their background, so all your character developement will never see a lot of game.
It's ok - with the group I'm in, even my PC character development doesn't tend to see a lot of airtime anyway. ;)
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There's that guy in every gaming group, that when there's a creature with a tentacle ALWAYS makes the comment "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going!"
...
I am that guy. :D
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I've described as a GM a Handmaiden Devil as «too hentai to be descripted».
I work for the public system, so it doesn't seem fair paying my gaming stuff with public taxes.
That and the fact that you have to enter a personal code to use a printer so they always know who is wasting public money on personal prints.
Mostly the latter.
There's that guy in every gaming group, that when there's a creature with a tentacle ALWAYS makes the comment "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going!"
...
I am that guy. :D
My group is old. I'm the only one who knows what hentai is. I mentioned it during a game recently and I had to explain it to the whole group.
I wonder what that says about me.....
I work for the public system, so it doesn't seem fair paying my gaming stuff with public taxes.
That and the fact that you have to enter a personal code to use a printer so they always know who is wasting public money on personal prints.
Mostly the latter.
My printer is old and barely works. It serves ok to print out things before a game (a few pages then it shuts down) but for large pdf purchases I have a friend print things off for me at her job. They don't worry about user codes there and I can get clean, colorful laser copies of the things I need.
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I don't even have a PC at home, just a small netbook. Nor do I have a TV.
The lack of a PC is for economic reasons but I don't have a TV because I decided not to have one even though I could have one for free. Everybody looks at me as I was an alien when I say it.
I have a TV, but I only very occasionally use it to watch Netflix or Hulu. I don't have cable or satellite and it won't pick up the broadcast channels even with an antenna, so I rarely use it. Sometimes I watch a DVD when friends come over, so there's that.
I have a microwave only to heat liquids.
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I'd starve without my microwave.
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I really want to buy all the modules for the Adventure Path we're going through now because I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN even though I know that's cheating.
#shameface
I also read the last page of books before I buy them. It freaks my husband out. But I don't mind spoilers, and anyway the last page seldom has major spoilers.
I have to read the last phrase of any book I start reading. I love the sensation of getting into the last page of the book and that single phrase suddenly making all the sense it didn't make before.
My worse flaw as a GM is that when I start talking I tend to unwillingly spoil things so I've already spoiled some important parts of the story to my players by accident.
Which AP are you running, Dire Elf?
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That's a proud father!
I have to read the last phrase of any book I start reading. I love the sensation of getting into the last page of the book and that single phrase suddenly making all the sense it didn't make before.
My worse flaw as a GM is that when I start talking I tend to unwillingly spoil things so I've already spoiled some important parts of the story to my players by accident.
Which AP are you running, Dire Elf?
Do you also go back and add things later?
edit: Do you go back after the game is done and change things slightly after your done?
Sorry, I didn't understand your question.
Curse you, language barriers!
edited see if that helps^^
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No, that only happens in my posts. But when I'm telling stories I keep remembering I forgot to mention some details and I get back to tell it. So... yes, I do it xD
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I'm so glad no one was in ear shot of me just then I had a good throaty laugh.
I have to read the last phrase of any book I start reading. I love the sensation of getting into the last page of the book and that single phrase suddenly making all the sense it didn't make before.
My worse flaw as a GM is that when I start talking I tend to unwillingly spoil things so I've already spoiled some important parts of the story to my players by accident.
Which AP are you running, Dire Elf?
It's SO HARD not to spoil all the things! I get so excited!
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I'm so glad no one was in ear shot of me just then I had a good throaty laugh.
Dalindra looks weird at me each time he sees me snickering while looking at my phone.
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Just tell dali to come read my posts then it will all be made clear.