241
General Discussion / Re: The pretend gay German makes me want one...
« on: April 01, 2011, 09:34:51 pm »
thanks Nine, now I have to go watch the damn boot song again to feel more manly. 
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242
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: April 01, 2011, 09:24:55 pm »Those kind of games are fun as long as everyone knows its ok. Its not fair to do that to a group of people on the sly w/o them knowing it was even an option. But its still fun to do thoOur paladin brutally slaughtered our bard for using bluff in front of him. In these games, finding a good reason in character to kill another player was a sport. And it was awesome fun.I remember a thief that hated a certain party member. So he stole another party members stuff and put it in the backpack of the guy he hated and then just waited. It was awesome. If you want to mess with the players, find one who you trust, and every know and then slip him a note in front of eveyone. leave it blank. it will keep them on their toes. If you want to allow note passing to Dm for secrets, be very careful to keep a tight rain on it, or that is all that will happen for two hours and the players wont get outta the tavern until you start a fight and call the guards and force them out.
One time something happened purely by chance, which is always the best way of course. A friend of mine was playing a monk (1st ed AD&Dbtw) and my half-orc fighter was out front doing his deal. In two combats in a row, the monk used a crossbow and rolled a 1 followed by a 1. Both times, when determining LOS (line of sight), my half-orc was between the monk and his target. Shoot me in the back once shame on you, shoot me in the back twice...........have a raging half-orc tie you naked to a tree and bleed you for the wolves.
Of course this was the same player who, in another game, I convinced to charge down a 120ft long corridor at 6 goblin archers. I just wanted to test the archers abilities on someone other than my pretty self ( i was playing a dandy type thief ). To his credit, he physically reached the goblins at the end of the hall. He was sliding on a grease track of his own dead guts of course, but he made it. Good times......
Lol he also played a monk who tried a flying sidekick at a mob while on the stairs going around the outside of a very high tower. He rolled a 1 . . . and then rolled a new monk......
Damn those were the days. Just to be clear tho, he rolls dice FAR better than I. I pulled 3 (yes 3) tripple 1's on a d20 in 2 hours. My friends want to take me to vegas to bet against me. But they forget I am always the guy to pull the nat20 out of his ass in the most freakish moments also. LOL i only roll avg on char stats.
sorry, off topic i know, but, thanks for letting me share the memories.
@SOWELU - I am sooooooo jealous of you playing deadlands. Also, thanks for destroying the d20 version. Its an ABOMINATION.
243
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: April 01, 2011, 05:43:40 pm »In response to the person who said 'people who only know 3.0+ ed D&D don't know what roleplaying is'.Sorry, maybe I didnt say what I meant well, but maybe you didnt read my whole point, it was neither insulting nor all-encompassing. I said "too many" not all. I didnt say that they dont know how to roleplay, just misunderstand it, and i said it was the inherent fault of the game itself, not the players. kudo's for you avoiding the the min-max temptation.
I'm anti-powergaming/minmaxing. And I've only ever played 3.5e. I find that comment you made insulting.
Do be careful with "bonus xp for RPing your flaws". I've got a Deadlands game going with that rule, and one of players characters with black lung has taken to coughing obnoxiously at random times in a vain attempt to get more stuff, as though it was roleplay :|True enough about xp roleplaying rewards. Cheesy repetition doesnt cut it. Responding to new situations correctly in character/alignment does tho.
"Damn it...Lung's acting up...Hard to get up this hill, wait a second guys" => well, that's good for portraying the inconveniences involved, especially if they were in a hurry. Screwing over the whole party is bad, but being the one guy who's a round or two late to the sniping spot is okay.
"Okay so tell me about the last place you saw your sister COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE Oh I'm sorry was the NPC talking" =>
Also, you play Deadlands? Sweet. Funnest game I have ever played. Do you use the original rules or the newer d20 version (please say original rules)?
If you want, talk a little about the back story of each character with the player before the game starts, in private. This way you can arrange to have some players know something, and not others. I remember I once played the happy-go-lucky with slightly sub-par wisdom rogue, however, given the right night I assassinated each and every party member, because my entire home village was being held hostage by the big bad. I knew it, the DM knew it, and nobody thought for a second that the new guy would do anything interesting like that.Those kind of games are fun as long as everyone knows its ok. Its not fair to do that to a group of people on the sly w/o them knowing it was even an option. But its still fun to do tho
I remember a thief that hated a certain party member. So he stole another party members stuff and put it in the backpack of the guy he hated and then just waited. It was awesome. If you want to mess with the players, find one who you trust, and every know and then slip him a note in front of eveyone. leave it blank. it will keep them on their toes. If you want to allow note passing to Dm for secrets, be very careful to keep a tight rain on it, or that is all that will happen for two hours and the players wont get outta the tavern until you start a fight and call the guards and force them out.244
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 31, 2011, 09:05:15 pm »
Speaking as a player, i would constantly do things that were "in character" that were completely against party success/survival. They hated it, the Dm loved it. But I realized that doing so too often would upset players too much and I had to learn to pick and choose when I "played my characters int". But beyond roleplaying stats, too many players I meet nowadays, who ony know 3.0+ D&D seem to misunderstand what roleplaying is. Since the game became so min-max tabletop miniature focused, much of the flair and joy has left the game IMO. It became a boardgame, full of people who roll dice and move their playing piece. NOW, I do not beleive this is their fault, i just think they havent been exposed to real roleplaying games. SPeaking as a DM, i TELL my players taht the more the "play" the role they have the more rewards I give them (10-100xp here and there). This encourages them to do so, and also gets the other players thinking how do go about doing the same for those rewards.
Also, speaking as a DM, may favorite word is "consequences". basicly, after the first adventure, the results of the players actions (and inaction) often drive every single adventure after that. I love watching the players faces as they contemplate those moral decisions and "should I or shouldn't I" moments while fondly inform them that any either way decision always has consequences.
A far as stats go: I have always favored 4d6x7, drop lowest d6 and lowest 4d6, assign as needed when I was a DM. But because I am strange, as a player I really prefered the more hardcore stat generators and purely avg characters. Min-max always bored me. The 3.0 and 3.5 DM's guide has alternate stat ideas with hardcore (13,12,11,10,10,8 assign as desired) and "elite" (15,14,13,12,10,8); I may be off a number or two, but these are esentially correct. Both are actually tough to work with. Min maxers will immediately choose to play a dwarf or half orc or such to get the stat bumps. The hardcore roleplayer (IMO) will play a human and take his lumps. Try making a monk with the hardcore points as a human.........ouch. The nice thing about these kinds of generator systems (like point buy and the above) is that you avoid the one guy who rolled 2 18's and nothing below a 14 and the other guy who rolled nothing better than a 13, because then, the dice just decided who the main character is really going to be before you have even started.
oh well, this is all prolly tl;dr lol
Also, speaking as a DM, may favorite word is "consequences". basicly, after the first adventure, the results of the players actions (and inaction) often drive every single adventure after that. I love watching the players faces as they contemplate those moral decisions and "should I or shouldn't I" moments while fondly inform them that any either way decision always has consequences.
A far as stats go: I have always favored 4d6x7, drop lowest d6 and lowest 4d6, assign as needed when I was a DM. But because I am strange, as a player I really prefered the more hardcore stat generators and purely avg characters. Min-max always bored me. The 3.0 and 3.5 DM's guide has alternate stat ideas with hardcore (13,12,11,10,10,8 assign as desired) and "elite" (15,14,13,12,10,8); I may be off a number or two, but these are esentially correct. Both are actually tough to work with. Min maxers will immediately choose to play a dwarf or half orc or such to get the stat bumps. The hardcore roleplayer (IMO) will play a human and take his lumps. Try making a monk with the hardcore points as a human.........ouch. The nice thing about these kinds of generator systems (like point buy and the above) is that you avoid the one guy who rolled 2 18's and nothing below a 14 and the other guy who rolled nothing better than a 13, because then, the dice just decided who the main character is really going to be before you have even started.
oh well, this is all prolly tl;dr lol
245
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 31, 2011, 10:46:02 am »Let me rephrase that: It has stuff for helping players come up with backgrounds for their characters.
Perfect!
246
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 31, 2011, 10:41:46 am »I managed to find a copy of Player's Handbook II. It's got stuff on the character's background. I might use that.
Dont pigeon hole the players. They might have their own background thought up. Its no fun playing "someone elses" character backstory. If they dont come up with anything and dont care, then your free to do whateever you want to them of course, and perfectly right to do so. At that point they want to play your story. But, they are probably not going to roleplay as much as those who have their own story idea. Players who wait for you to make it all up tend to be just dice rollers........
247
Life Advice / Re: Moving out
« on: March 31, 2011, 10:39:20 am »
Just keep in mind that your dad isnt an asshole or something. He might yell or scream or not want to talk about it, but most likely its because he loves you and worries about your future and well being. Remember that before talking to him. His decisions are based on the same things yours are, what he/you think is best for you. If you talk to him calmly and rationaly, and can lay out a real plan with BACKUP contingencies, like maybe someone renting a room near the campus and other job applications allready turned in and a layed out course plan from your schools advisor, I would hope and believe that your father would respect the thought and work you put into it. Also, think about his arguments agasint your decisions and actually consider them and discuss them, do not dismiss them out of hand. If you both do taht, i bet you can reach an agreement that both surprises both of you and makes you happy. Although I am sure your dad will be sad to move away from you, I bet he will be proud of you for your behavior and maturity.
248
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 31, 2011, 10:27:44 am »One thing I like to do is ask my players to write down on notecards a list of plot elements and places they'd like to see, a long enough list that you can pick at least something from each player while rejecting ones you don't like. For one thing it'll help you get ideas, but if your paladin is making a big deal out of wanting to save innocents then you know you can make him super happy by giving him a burning orphanage to dash into, and maybe some other player would really love to have a duel on top of a mountain in a lightning storm...hey, that's not so hard to work into a campaign if you're already going to be on a mountain.
Thats not a bad idea at all. I usually make players write a paragraph or more of a backstory or character end-goal that I can work into the game. I know it sucks as a player when you have an idea for a character and the game never goes anywhere in that direction.
249
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 28, 2011, 02:35:36 pm »....Paranoia....
ahhhh, such fond memories of that game. But, boy, does it take a good Dm to run.
One idea might be to play the original D&D. Not AD&D, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0....etc. Find the book (probably at half price books or online used at Amazon or something) called D&D Encyclopedia. Its the rules of the original game, no miniatures. Modern D&D is heavy on miniature combat and light on roleplaying. Old D&D is mostly roleplaying and gets rid of all the needless rules for table top combat. Its simple, straightforward and geared for unlimited levels. DO not mistake the current D&D new boxed material to be anything like the old D&D boxed material. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Full Disclosure: I HATE 4.0.
Rust monsters (among others) are the DM's tool for getting rid of stuff he never should have given out in the first place. I would also advise against the saving throws for equipment. Its time consuming and rule heavy, same with object hardnessa and hitpoints. Just wing those based on common sense. IMO
250
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 28, 2011, 12:59:07 am »The first thing is really sound advice. The FOURTH one is too, there's a lot of bullshit the players can pull if you're using splatbooks and the only way to prevent it is to develop an eye for it and know when it's being brought out.
fix'd for ya, I think. I didnt label the fourth one.
251
Life Advice / Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« on: March 27, 2011, 02:09:29 am »
For the sake of your game: read, re-read, test, and re-re-read times ten the rules and rationalizations behind Challenge Ratings and encounter rewards. If you dont, one of these things will happen:
1. PC's wax every creature without breaking a sweat and get bored.
2. The first encounter kills 3/4 or more of the party.
3. The encounter goes great and you give away a magic item you think is cool, which then causes #1 infinitely, till you take it away and the players bitch.
4. The encounter goes great but you give meager treasure, eventually leading to a brutal #2 during some climatic showdown, cuz the party never got stronger.
Secondly, No matter what the monster manuals say or even your own notes, the attacks, damage and hit points of enemy mobs can be whatever you need them to be.
Third, a great final encouter is when everyone in the party is on there last leg and somehow manage to eek out the final victory, desperately praying for a great roll as they do. See my second point. Bad guy bosses should have no more and no less HP/Magic/Attacks/Dam/etc then necessary to run the party through the ringer.
DO NOT LET players go beyond the core rulebooks for D&D (players handbook, MM, DM's guide) for their characters feats and such until YOU have a handle on the basic system and rules.
Fifthly, dont be afraid to just wing it and say to the guy who wants to jump off the balcony, grab the chandelier, swing across the room, sumersault through the air and hit/kick/stomp some baddie from behind. Just say "roll a d20" and make a quick judgement. I can guarantee you there are no rules ever written for any game to honestly adjudicate such actions, and all games are chock full of those kind of actions. Also, its fun to see the players face when he rolls great and pulls off the manuever only to back that up with a "2" for the attack roll, and still ends up on his/her ass. They will sit there and think, "damn, I just blew a perfectly good roll for nothing!" Its sweet, truly sweet. MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm. Good players will realize the tactical problem and conserve the number of rolls for success, allowing you to avoid the hasty issues like that. GREAT players will keep on doing it anyway cuz its fun and makes the game move and when they pull it off everyone remembers. No one remembers the guy who just always went conservative.
Sixthly, if the players havent ever seen anGazeeboOrc, and they meet one, dont say "You see an orc gazeebo". Say something like "You see a monstrously large muscular humanoid standing across from you. He smiles at you, picks up a rock and camly pulverizes it do dust in his fist in a display of arrogant power. For some reason, he looks happy to see you." Trust me, it will change the whole freaking encounter.
Lastly, ignore everything I said, and just play and learn and take your lumps. DMing is a craft one has to develop. It gets easier with time and you will find your own feel, voice and flair. DONT try to be another DM.
1. PC's wax every creature without breaking a sweat and get bored.
2. The first encounter kills 3/4 or more of the party.
3. The encounter goes great and you give away a magic item you think is cool, which then causes #1 infinitely, till you take it away and the players bitch.
4. The encounter goes great but you give meager treasure, eventually leading to a brutal #2 during some climatic showdown, cuz the party never got stronger.
Secondly, No matter what the monster manuals say or even your own notes, the attacks, damage and hit points of enemy mobs can be whatever you need them to be.
Third, a great final encouter is when everyone in the party is on there last leg and somehow manage to eek out the final victory, desperately praying for a great roll as they do. See my second point. Bad guy bosses should have no more and no less HP/Magic/Attacks/Dam/etc then necessary to run the party through the ringer.
DO NOT LET players go beyond the core rulebooks for D&D (players handbook, MM, DM's guide) for their characters feats and such until YOU have a handle on the basic system and rules.
Fifthly, dont be afraid to just wing it and say to the guy who wants to jump off the balcony, grab the chandelier, swing across the room, sumersault through the air and hit/kick/stomp some baddie from behind. Just say "roll a d20" and make a quick judgement. I can guarantee you there are no rules ever written for any game to honestly adjudicate such actions, and all games are chock full of those kind of actions. Also, its fun to see the players face when he rolls great and pulls off the manuever only to back that up with a "2" for the attack roll, and still ends up on his/her ass. They will sit there and think, "damn, I just blew a perfectly good roll for nothing!" Its sweet, truly sweet. MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm. Good players will realize the tactical problem and conserve the number of rolls for success, allowing you to avoid the hasty issues like that. GREAT players will keep on doing it anyway cuz its fun and makes the game move and when they pull it off everyone remembers. No one remembers the guy who just always went conservative.
Sixthly, if the players havent ever seen an
Lastly, ignore everything I said, and just play and learn and take your lumps. DMing is a craft one has to develop. It gets easier with time and you will find your own feel, voice and flair. DONT try to be another DM.
252
General Discussion / Re: A survey for all of you who enjoy other people
« on: March 25, 2011, 02:10:20 pm »Men and women both are invited to answer a few questions. This survey is being conducted to help a research paper of mine on differing methods of friendly relationship creation and sustainability.
Please state your gender. Male
1. What does friendship mean to you.
- Being able to 100% rely upon the support of another.
2. What is love? (Any and all Haddaway jokes get no points.)
- Complete acceptance of another individual, no matter what.
3. How many close friends do you have?
- 2. Around 10 more good social friends of varying importance to me, about 20 more good "aquaintances".
4. What makes these people your close friends?
- Knowing that no matter what, they will always be willing to help me when i am in need and vice-versa.
5. How do you best make new friends?
- Going places, trying new things, which lends itself to meeting new people. You just have to be open to the idea.
6. What do you most enjoy doing with your friends?
- Anytime spent with friends is a treasure. We mostly play games, discuss life and politics, BS about our greatness.
7. What is the furthest you would go for your best friend? (IE: Help them with murder, cheat on a test, etc.)
- take a bullet
8. What do you think is most important in a friendship?
- remembering that friendship mean you always have someones back, even if it means doing something they might not like.
9. Do you think there is something your gender values more in a friendship than the other? If so, what?
- Tough question. I think yes, men prefer (IMO) more physical real world support, ie financial, muscle, hardship, etc.
10. What do you think the other gender values more?
- I think women look for emotional support more than men.
Bonus question: Do you think friendships are meant to last, or can even very temporary acquaintances become friends?
Of course very temporary aquaintences can become friends. Thats how they all start. And yes, real friendships never die. Some fade away due to distance, but upon re-uniting, the friendship returns. I know many people who think that someone isnt their friend anymore because of _______, when their friendship wasnt based upon each other but instead upon a friend, alcohol, drug, game,etc..........
Thank you for your time. No trees were harmed in the typing of this survey.
253
General Discussion / Re: Ant Fortress
« on: March 23, 2011, 12:11:56 pm »This should happen if your fortress get flooded and you had a sizable stock of gypsum powder.
New challenge: Build a fort. Flood your fort with water, then with magma. Reclaim it, and dig away all surrounding soil, leaving an obsidian cast of your previous fortress.
Freakin genius! wow, gotta try this.........but I guess i need to line the entire fort in magma-proof materials wont I, to keep it from breaking out and melting everything else......
254
General Discussion / Re: Guilty pleasures?
« on: March 23, 2011, 12:09:48 pm »
Lets see, I turned 41 yesterday and still watch Anime. Not too vocal about that with strangers! lol Also, I feel the same twinge of anxiety when I tell people that I read only Fantasy and Sci-Fi (well, about 90%) and still play D&D, among other games. Lastly, since I live in texas, I dont have to feel worried about admitting I am a George Bush fan. he lives not far from me!
he lives not far from me!
255
General Discussion / Re: Alternative energy sources
« on: March 21, 2011, 07:56:11 pm »
Its very freaking cool.