Blog Comments

It’s also about accomplishing objectives and profiting individually and as a group thanks for highlighting some pitfalls in pc gen conception!

Originally Posted by Prozacco

Nice words, and fitting far too often.

But to hint at modesty & practicability: Perhaps one should handle each group on its own. An acquaintance phase, so players get along with each other on routine. A learning phase, so the roleplay progresses based on the shared experiences & chosen adventures.

Did you already write a blog about paladins who are even less Lawful-Good than Lady Aribeth was in Neverwinter nights 1?

My group were experienced players, I may have go easier on new players.

No I didn't write about paladins, but 5e have change how paladin work they don't have to be LG anymore.

Originally Posted by Prozacco

I respect your intent, but due the limitations of both, text-chat & audio/video roleplay, I would say: Please consider that some of us actually ONLY play pregenerated chars or chars with DM or GM approval to actually keep a group alive and functional.

I don't play analyst, but the main task of a group is making it through the adventure or campaign, certainly with moments of roleplaying the character. But it is not all about entertaining YOU. If it bores you, try to bring on some IC (in character) inspiration to make your fellow players realize they are a pain in the aftermath... Or outright toxic roleplayers, and grow the confidence to replace the incompatible ones & find a new group, if necessary.

Sure, the classic D&D rogue always comes in dark clothing, many insist a shortsword, oft plus backpack and crossbow, would totally not be a hindrance while sneaking and climbing, and most go halfling to serve a cliche even Tolkien already knew. Point is: Stealth is part of the rogue's purpose aka part of the job. Hence it does make some sense, but so does wearing inconspicuous 'normal' clothing in daylight and public.

My best wishes for reaching the goals due your efforts here, the side window panel shows me you blogged several further, seemingly mature & thoughtful, articles. Maybe I find time to read some. Blessed be aka Bye.

I can understand that not everyones need deep character backgrounds specially for one-shot or short serie of adventures, but limitation of text-chat is not a good reason, I have been DMing campaing in text chat only for the last two years, that as not limited my players.

By boring I don't mean specially boring myself, I may have use the wrong word, less interesting for the story maybe more accurate, I'll try explain with an example, one of my group is in Harkenwold to stop a group or mercenary taking over, they hear that the village of Marl has been burn down to resisting, our bard was born there, his mother still live there now the group get more involve in the story, it's not just about stopping mercenaries now, it's about family. The story got more interesting for everyones.

The games is not about entertaining myself, it's about everyones having fun

Nice words, and fitting far too often.

One bonus is players shouldn't forget their alignment. Good aligned people do not allow monsters (mostly Chaotic Evil) to survive, regroup, and butcher (brutes) or sacrifice (cults) hapless wanderers & townsfolk or villagers.

But to hint at modesty & practicability: Perhaps one should handle each group on its own. An acquaintance phase, so players get along with each other on routine. A learning phase, so the roleplay progresses based on the shared experiences & chosen adventures.

Did you already write a blog about paladins who are even less Lawful-Good than Lady Aribeth was in Neverwinter nights 1?

Add-IN: I missed it, but when the PC game version of Temple of Elemental Evil got the Circle of Eight MOD (still existent online) somebody, dunno, if officially or community, wrote 'Return to the Moathouse' into a PDF version of that adventure. I do not even know, if this is the proper PDF, due connection throttle not allowing quick check in: https://rpg.rem.uz/Dungeons%20%26%20...0Moathouse.pdf

I respect your intent, but due the limitations of both, text-chat & audio/video roleplay, I would say: Please consider that some of us actually ONLY play pregenerated chars or chars with DM or GM approval to actually keep a group alive and functional.

I don't play analyst, but the main task of a group is making it through the adventure or campaign, certainly with moments of roleplaying the character. But it is not all about entertaining YOU. If it bores you, try to bring on some IC (in character) inspiration to make your fellow players realize they are a pain in the aftermath... Or outright toxic roleplayers, and grow the confidence to replace the incompatible ones & find a new group, if necessary.

Sure, the classic D&D rogue always comes in dark clothing, many insist a shortsword, oft plus backpack and crossbow, would totally not be a hindrance while sneaking and climbing, and most go halfling to serve a cliche even Tolkien already knew. Point is: Stealth is part of the rogue's purpose aka part of the job. Hence it does make some sense, but so does wearing inconspicuous 'normal' clothing in daylight and public.

My best wishes for reaching the goals due your efforts here, the side window panel shows me you blogged several further, seemingly mature & thoughtful, articles. Maybe I find time to read some. Blessed be aka Bye.

These are great suggestions and a topic that I think highlights one of the best opportunities to improve FG's role-playing experience!

Thanks for kicking this off! I hope more people have suggestions for us newbies on how to improve the depth and richness of our characters.

Very good points.

Also I will add two cautions: First, that creating a character with TOO much backstory is very similar to making one who is supposed to be too high level like the greatest swordsman or the deity examples. Someone who has already been through a whole life's worth of experiences not only is expected to be higher than 1st level, but also doesn't have room to grow. You need enough details that you can understand who you are and why you make the decisions you do and how those things are different from the other players. Two PCs might make the same decisions every time, but if your character makes the decision for a totally different reason, it will still be interesting. And you need to be going somewhere as a character in the game. You want the story to help tell you how your character changes over time. The adventure you're playing needs to be your biggest story, not the history you wrote up alone without the other people at the table.

Second, don't make the same character every time. That really gets boring and uninteresting.

One thing I will say that you do need to layout first (at least to some detail) is the pantheon of gods and a at least a short idea of what history the PC's know of the world and cosmology.

As you've noted, you certainly don't want to get bogged down in details like mythos and history, but some outline of these will help shape your world as you build it.

To: SirGraystone, ShadowMystik
Boys both of you are great!! thank you for your experiences. Please continue in writing ...

One of the first lessons my original DM gave me in dungeoneering, both as a player and as a gamemaster, is that every dungeon, ruin, castle or whatever has an ecosystem and exists at a state of equilibrium. Explorers/adventurers disrupt that equilibrium and send ripples throughout the environment. This causes the inhabitants of that ecosystem to react, sometimes positively, most negatively, and a very few with indifference. (Giant rats don't care how many giant rats you kill. All they know is that you are a source of food if not food yourself. The warren of wererats, on the other hand, is going to notice and take measures seeing you as either a threat or an opportunity.) The second thing he taught me was everything should have a logic behind it. (There is not going to be a pit trap in what used to be the gallery of the old dwarven throne room. Unless of course the current residents had reason to dig one; such as adventures who keep using the hall for an entrance to the rest of the mine complex.) And finally, something that most gamers don't want to think about, the players additions to the environment. Even elves have to urinate and defecate, set up campsites/bases of operations, and other things that creatures will notice and respond to usually to the parties detriment. One of our standard pieces of equipment quickly became a couple of buckets and bags of sawdust.