What is your least favorite thing that happens while playing, either in the game or out of it?
Mine is when people don't take the 5-foot to give flanking. It's completely free, just fricken step over!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Rocket Tag.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Lack of 5 foot steps is irritating.
I get irritated when characters act on information they would never have.
Out of game I get frustrated when people have played their character for over a year and can't remember their attack modifiers. And still can't find "intimidate" on their character sheet.
Okay.
Just had a burst of illness this morning, brought back a horrid memory. Changing my vote.
Been guilty of the following myself.
...folks who bring odor-ific food to the table that is nauseating due to smell.
In game I actually could do without AOO. I understand about balance, but still. I'd like to try a game without it to see how it speeds up combat. Feel free to discuss.
Out of game, it bothers me how me and my players all talk ourselves out of playing because we don't have a 5 hour block of time (with 1 hour on each side of that) dedicated to the game. Two hours? Nope can't play. One hour, Nope.
| 11 people marked this as a favorite. |
Finding a group of people who want to play, but no more than two of them are available on any given day.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
When a player has had the entire initiative roster to decide what to do on their turn, and still need, like a minute, to figure out what they want to do (and nothing big changed that might have forced them to suddenly make a new plan).
| 19 people marked this as a favorite. |
Unwarranted errata over-nerfs that turn an option from decent into trash.
Unwarranted errata over-nerfs that turn an option from decent into trash.
waves sadly at Wolf Style...
Unwarranted errata over-nerfs that turn an option from decent into trash.waves sadly at Wolf Style...
What the what? Did they ruin something when I wasn't looking?
Yeah, Ultimate Wilderness totally ruined Wolf Style. And it was one of my favorite styles!
In what way did they ruin it?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I found Celestial Healing rather amusing.
Ring of Seven Lovely Colors shows that style trumps balance at times.
some stuff is just purposefully overcomplicated and funny - Arithmancy! Sacred Geometry! No - just wait until it's your turn to start doing the calculations or rolling dice... yeah... clearly the current date, time, and star chart position of your PC's birth star needs to be added to the calculations. Take the cube root of 2's compliment of your sum to streamline the calculations.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
In what way did they ruin it?
Wolf Savage got nerfed from bestow curse to an effect of roughly half the power. Wolf Trip's ability when used with ranged trip attempts to drag enemies across the battlefield was left untouched however.
Edit: Thanks F-W, I must have misunderstood.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wolf Trip's ability when used with ranged trip attempts to drag enemies across the battlefield was left untouched however.
No, they fixed that; now you have them land in a space adjacent both to you and to their prior space.
| 13 people marked this as a favorite. |
The anxiety that accompanies any time someone you don't already know shares a gaming table with you until you are absolutely 100% certain they are not a creep.
That is, I hate that there's a sufficient number of creeps in this hobby that this is a reasonable concern, not that I watch for this stuff.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Okay.Just had a burst of illness this morning, brought back a horrid memory. Changing my vote.
Been guilty of the following myself.
...folks who bring odor-ific food to the table that is nauseating due to smell.
I used to GM my game in a game shop where I couldn't help but deal with strong-smelling food people brought to the table. When my game moved to my house (after the game shop closed--we tried another game shop before I made it a home game), I instructed my players to eat before they come, because I don't like the smell of their food. I've been very clear on the reason why I don't want players to bring in their meals, so any exceptions I've made have not been a problem so far. (I have made exceptions twice when players said, "We just have fast food hamburgers and fries. Can we bring them in?")
Since I don't have that issue anymore...
My biggest issues are probably when people don't give adequate notice that they won't be coming, and when players schedule other things that are not date-dependent on days when we had a session scheduled. ("A few days ago I made plans to go out to eat with my brother tonight. That's why I'm notifying you at the last minute that I won't be at the game that is scheduled right now.) That's not a valid excuse. The player already had plans to be at the game. Any plans made after that should be rescheduled unless it's a sickness, birthday, wedding, death/funeral, doctor's appointment, holiday, or involves a responsibility that the individual should not back-out of, such a commitment made to babysitting, or helping someone deal with a mental or physical health condition. ("I made plans to go out to eat with my brother" is not the same as "My brother is going through some stuff right now, so I'm spending time with him.") On the one hand, it's not my business what's going on with a player's family. On the other hand, enough justification should be given that the player isn't just canceling at the last minute due to a lack of appreciation that effort has been made to schedule people together for a game session.
This mostly applies to last-minute cancellations and no-shows. (I used to have a problem with no-shows, but I at least get cancellations now.) While I don't like it when people cancel, regardless of the amount of notice given, I respect and expect that sometimes plans change. It's just "unjustified" last-minute cancellations (and no-shows) that really irk me.
As for stuff that happens during the game, I'm also not fond of when my family members walk through the room and feel perfectly comfortable initiating conversation with my players that disrupts the focus and flow of the game. (This is usually not a problem as my family doesn't like to be around when we're playing anyway, but it does crop up sometimes.)
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The fact that every small race aside from one nobody plays has -2 to strength.
Yes i am still not over it.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
In what way did they ruin it?Wolf Savage got nerfed from bestow curse to an effect of roughly half the power.
Wolf Trip's ability when used with ranged trip attempts to drag enemies across the battlefield was left untouched however.Edit: Thanks F-W, I must have misunderstood.
I see. : / Thanks for the news.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The fact that every small race aside from one nobody plays has -2 to strength.
Yes i am still not over it.
Psst... small-sized aasimars, tieflings, and changelings.
Be a half-halfling and you can be super-buff relative to your peers if you're angel-blooded, demon-spawn, qlippoth-spawn, oni-spawn, a slag may, or a waker may.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Psst... small-sized aasimars, tieflings, and changelings.The fact that every small race aside from one nobody plays has -2 to strength.
Yes i am still not over it.
To be honest that always felt kinda like cheatong to me.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I like monkey goblins....
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
People who don't know what their own character abilities do. Doubly true for spell casters. At the very least, if you're not willing to write down at least abbreviated notes, write down the book and page number so it can be looked up easily.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Players that don't pay attention when it's not their turn in combat, or in the game in general. I know that at times it can be awhile between your turns in combat, but it helps the game move more smoothly if everyone is focused on the game.
It becomes a cycle, the game takes longer because player A takes longer because he was on his phone, or chatting off topic with another player and doesn't know what is going on when his turn comes. Then other players have to wait longer, and are more tempted to be side tracked from the game.
This can happen in non combat situations with players that have few social skills.
| 10 people marked this as a favorite. |
Antagonistic table relationships. If you're out to "get" the gm, or the players or playing like its some competition where someone wins at pathfinder its just depressing to me to be at that table.
| 10 people marked this as a favorite. |
Here's mine: Chaotic Evil players running nominally Chaotic Neutral characters.
| 19 people marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm just playing my character..." as the excuse for jerk behaviour that reduces the fun level at the table. You chose to make that character, so it is your fault, actually.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The fact that every small race aside from one nobody plays has -2 to strength.
Yes i am still not over it.
Vine Leshys and Gathlain from Ultimate Wilderness have a -2 Int and -2 Con respectively. They're both small-sized. Gathlain can even fly.
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Either players plotting against each other, or ones who spend an hour each session going off on their own and hold up everything. It's hard for the GM to nudge them back on track without making solo sidequest take even longer.
In third place, alignment/paladin threads. "Players & GMs, talk to each other," seems to be the best way for individual groups to resolve their issues.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Here's mine: Chaotic Evil players running nominally Chaotic Neutral characters.
Ah, Chaotic Neutral: what Neutral Evil players write on their character sheets.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Out of game, I used to kind of hate Buffy, a show I never watched, because at least an hour or two of most game sessions would be devoted to people discussing it. Later on the same happened to a lesser extent with Firefly, which I eventually watched and enjoyed. Finally I got in on the conversation with Game of Thrones, but honestly I’d rather play if possible.
Several people mentioning sensitivity to the smell of foods makes me wonder what foul smelling foods other players are bringing. I personally don’t mind most foods, but I hate it when people fart, especially when they fart during meals in groups which eat together. Some of the time they use excuses like, “It’s natural!”, but others they clearly fart just to offend me. I guess it is my fault for letting people learn that I don’t like public farting much, and here I’ve just posted it for the whole Internet to see - alas!
In game there are lots of things to hate though most of them are minor enough that maybe I just “dislike” them instead. As a DM I hate how quickly encounters can end since it means I’m never sure whether I’ve prepared enough of them or if the time spent preparing them will be close to wasted. As a player I kind of hate Will saves since they can often lead to sitting around bored or even worse fighting the other PCs. Touch attacks can be a pain on either side of the table since most PCs and monsters are highly susceptible to them.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I hate effects on characters that change players from participants to observers (sleep, stun, paralysis, petrification, etc.). When a PC is forced to fight other PCs, there should be a level of lethalness indicated. Kid gloves? Non-lethal OK? Just grappling? Or coup-de-grace-ing PCs under the effects of sleep, stun, paralysis, unconsciousness, etc. Are sundering and disintegration OK? How much metagaming is allowed? Can I loot an item from one PC corpse to make another PC corpse? Does anyone think that is fun?
I really dislike disorganized character sheets. Know your PC, people! This means spells, race and class abilities, feats and skills, and magic and mundane gear.
I also don't like it when players boss other players around. It can be awkward because I tend to have both good system mastery and a good memory, so I can remember options other players' characters have, and have to try to politely prompt them or remind them of some of their options, while trying not to be bossy myself!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Players acting on meta-knowledge for sure.
I hate, while GMing, when a player isn't paying attention and keeps breaking in with "your mom" jokes and "that's what she said". Occasionally, I'm cool with it. Every... single... time... No.
In game, I hate how there are hundreds of races. Every group now has, maybe, one human. The rest are exotic rare races that players think are neat and unusual with really cool special abilities. I understand the draw to them. I really do, but I play message board games exclusively now due to time constraints and every game I'm in has several exotics running around with no good campaign reason to be there. We're in a city. "Hey. Here's a new player. They're playing a Nymph urban druid". WHAT??? How about a sverfneblin when we're all good and meet for the first time to root out evil. Okay... I'll trust the goblin to not cause a ruckus or get us ostracized in a human city.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Getting into particulars with alignment. It isn't really fun for me, I don't make it a big deal in my games, I don't play classes which make it a big deal. I like it as a tool in helping me think up RP ideas, but not as a way to balance the game or restrict actions or cause arguments at the table. 9/10 times the arguments just end with neither side feeling great.
I hate effects on characters that change players from participants to observers (sleep, stun, paralysis, petrification, etc.). When a PC is forced to fight other PCs
This more than any other thing in Pathfinder. Too many of the published adventures, of all types, rely on the baddies doing this.
It is rubbishPlease stop.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I hate effects on characters that change players from participants to observers (sleep, stun, paralysis, petrification, etc.). When a PC is forced to fight other PCs
This more than any other thing in Pathfinder. Too many of the published adventures, of all types, rely on the baddies doing this.
It is rubbish
Please stop.
When I run PF games, I allow a saving throw every round to negate effect. Not for petrification, though. I play 5th Edition now, but if I ever run a PF game again, I might (will) steal some rules/flavor from 5E, such as having petrification cause paralysis for one round, and allow a second round of saving throws to avoid being petrified. And maybe having some partial petrification, such has having a stone fist or something else fun.
@SmiloDan - I’ve changed certain spells and effects like Greater Forbid Action and Dazing Spell to allow a new save every round. In the case of Fear the subsequent saves are to reduce condition to shaken for the duration.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I hate, while GMing, when a player isn't paying attention and keeps breaking in with "your mom" jokes and "that's what she said". Occasionally, I'm cool with it. Every... single... time... No.
In game, I hate how there are hundreds of races. Every group now has, maybe, one human. The rest are exotic rare races that players think are neat and unusual with really cool special abilities. I understand the draw to them. I really do, but I play message board games exclusively now due to time constraints and every game I'm in has several exotics running around with no good campaign reason to be there. We're in a city. "Hey. Here's a new player. They're playing a Nymph urban druid". WHAT??? How about a sverfneblin when we're all good and meet for the first time to root out evil. Okay... I'll trust the goblin to not cause a ruckus or get us ostracized in a human city.
Rare and exotic in the game world doesn't, and shouldn't, be a limiter on the PCs.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I appreciate your opinion and every DM can allow and not allow races they think aren't appropriate to the campaign or for player races. Rare and exotic occasionally is fine. When every game group consists of drow, sverfneblin, dragonkin, tieflings and fetchlings with no humans or other "normal" (for the campaign) races, then it's my "least favorite thing".
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I think a lot of the aversion to "rare and exotic races" is mostly about appearances. Like there are probably more Cecaelias on Golarion than there are Changelings but "the tall and beautiful woman wearing gloves with mismatched eyes and a white streak in her hair" is plausibly human whereas "you've got an octopus for legs" isn't.
Like the party of a gathlain, a cecaelia, an astomoi, and a kasatha just looks weirder than a party of an aasimar, a tiefling, a changeling, and a gillperson, but doesn't really have that many more exotic things in it. The problem with the former party is more in "so you have an octopus-lady, a wooden fairy-thing, a sapient void, and somebody with four arms" rather than plausible demographics. The latter party doesn't require weird looks from every NPC commoner that encounters them (particularly if the Aasimar and Tiefling took Scion of Humanity and Pass for Human). Just give the changeling and gillperson a scarf, some gloves, and sunglasses and no one will ever know.
It's also a little annoying to me when a new race or new concept comes out and suddenly the world is overrun with them. Half-dragon comes out in a new book, everyone wants to play one. A book is written about a good drow, suddenly there are hundreds of good drow running around and not one seems to understand why they're met with prejudice by the common folk.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
If you have hundreds of good drow PCs running around, you might need a co-GM or 50. ;-)
If they release races no one wants to play, then they're wasting space. Any option that no one wants to use is a waste of space. If they're providing lots of options lots of people want to use, then they're doing a good job.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I feel like one of the reasons people shop for races too is how Pathfinder is tied to the 3e thing about having very specific attribute bonuses from your race. So if you want to play a class that prioritizes a certain mental and a certain physical attribute, you might shop for a race that has bonuses to those and a penalty to something you don't care about.
You might not even care if that race is a formless void with nine tentacles whose head is constantly on fire that terrifies small animals, since it's got the right stats.
Other d20 games have experimented with "giving players a choice of stat bonuses based on their race and/or class" which I think mitigates a good portion of this. So for example if you can get +STR and +CON for your dwarf fighter, you might play a plain old dwarf instead of a rock person.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I guess, I just don't get bored with the same old races. I don't feel the need to play a new race as soon as it comes out. I appreciate the "monster" races as monsters unless it's a special occasion or a monster campaign. Introducing the occasional goblin or gnoll into a campaign is fine with me, but when every campaign has several "monster" races that are supposed to be interacting with normal villages and civilized 'humanocentric' places, it gets on my nerves.
PossibleCabbage has a point. If they at least looked human or close (like an elf or dwarf) I wouldn't have a problem. You're also right about them being about stats and special abilities. A lot of players look at special abilities then come up with a character concept based on them. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of halfling paladins and dwarf wizards, but since I've been reading the forums lately, I've seen a lot of posting about maximizing characters by giving advice of changing races and classes to give better numbers. It seems that, if you don't have an 18 or 20 in your prime attribute for your class, the general consensus is "you're doin it wrong".
The only class i really feel obligated for an 18 or 20 out of the gates with are 9 level casters.
1. To simply use all your class abilities requires an eventual 19 anyway.
2. To have endurance in an adventuring day it really helps to have the high attribute bonus spells
3. Save DC's can make it so you functionally forfeit your turn so you need them high.
3.1 Save DC reliance for a key component of your class definitely pushes the 18+ at start, prime caster or no.
I rarely have characters with 18 attributes and I've never had a problem or any less fun playing with. Try playing AD&D... a cleric with his highest stat (Wisdom) as a 13. I had a blast with that character. Now, since Wizards butchered the game (my opinion, so don't get angry), It seems that most players have to have high stats or the character is unplayable. The d20 system has made it waaay to easy for powergaming instead of roleplaying.
I like to mix up what races I play, but I like them to be humanoids, at least. I play 5E mostly now, and I have a hill dwarf cleric, a half-elf rogue, a wood elf druid, a drow elf bard, and a human barbarian/druid in different games, and there is a halfling paladin, outlander mountain dwarf abjuration wizard tank, half-elf sorceress, and tiefling warlock I would like to play.
In 2nd Edition, I played a Bleaker aasimar ranger/cleric that dual-wielded warhammers and a Halfling rogue that was deaf in one ear. (I mostly DMed in 2nd Edition)
In 3.0, I played a human cleric/paladin, a halfling ranger/rogue, and a human ranger.
In 3.5, I played an elf druid archer, an epic-level Krynnish dark dwarf warlock, various slaves in Darksun, a human ranger 1/warlock X on the run from the githyanki, an Ancient Greek-inspired paladin with Bronze Age equipment and an adamantite shortsword, a dwarf ranger/fighter that tried to "swashbuckler it up" with a rapier and whip-wielding elf fighter/rogue while dual-wielding dwarven waraxes and then just one axe and shield and full plate like a proper dwarf fighter, a human super healbot cleric that one-rounded an epic level lich due to amazing luck, a human scout that switched between archery, longspear, and handaxe.
There wasn't a kender rogue that didn't get wiped from existence due to a Charisma draining monstrosity. ;-)
Too many in Pathfinder, but more than a couple gnomes.
But I don't think I ever played anything with a bestial head or non-bipedal body.