CourtFool

Re: Robbers on the Road Why is it so important to capture the PCs? I know some people say that to ignore that tactic limits your options, but I do not see that as necessarily a bad thing. Not all options are good. Not runing your favorite god-like pet NPC is limiting your options but probably a good idea. If players do not enjoy playing in a game where they are captured why is it the GM's duty to convince them that they are wrong?

Re: Robbers on the Road That will teach him for having a different playing style than you.

Re: Robbers on the Road Yes, it hampers plotting. However, literature does not always convert well to gaming. Real people fear for their lives and have an instinct for self preservation. Characters...not so much. I will conceed that I have not been blessed with shining examples of role playing gamers but not everyone gets the concept that role playing is not about 'winning'. To the people I have gamed with capture = losing. Not only that, but a humiliating loss. Better to go out in a blaze of glory. I do not agree with this philosophy, but it has been my experience. You are absolutely right that combat should not be the only option. As a GM I try to leave other options open for my players. Along the same vein as being captured, fleeing seems to be an equally humiliating loss. I read an article once that explained why players seem to prefer combat over other alternatives. I wish I could remember where I had read it. The article explained that most systems detail combat so that players have a very good grasp of what they can and can not do. On the other hand, even the most skill intensive systems do not provide as much detail for skills. Players have a pretty good idea of what their chance to hit is, how much damage they are going to deal out and what it will take to bring the current 'target' down. However, it is a little fuzzy just how effective that Persuasion skill will be against the night watch. This is not to mention the many gamers who are just looking for an outlet to release their daily frustrations through. I believe you and I agree in theory. What I am saying is that practical application is an entirely different beast. If you know not thyself nor thy players, thy gaming will be unsucessful. If you know thyself but know not thy players, thy gaming will be sucessful half the time. If you know thyself and thy players, thy gaming will always be sucessful. (My version of Sun Tzu)

Re: D & D Diatribe

Re: Robbers on the Road

Re: D & D Diatribe We have had this conversation before. What do you want combat based on? Com? The magic system is not a bloody nightmare, it is non-existant. In my opinion that is its greatest strength and weakness. Experience points awards are too simple? This is the first time I have heard Hero being acused of being too simple. Would you like an arbitrary mathmatical formula? I am sure I could cook one up for you. I will be sure to use decimals instead of fractions. I will conceed that decimals are more appealing than fractions...but then 1/2 and 1/4 convert nicely into decimals. What would I change? Well...to be honest I would like to see more granularity. However, I do not have any suggestions on how to add this without breaking things, so I will just keep quiet about it.

Re: PBEM ad: "And the dead shall walk..." All Flesh Must Be Eaten! Um...shouldn't this go in the Player Finder section? Oops. Already there. Disregard.

Flamewar on! These are simply my feelings and not meant to ignite. I hate D&D in all its incarnations because there are not enough Hero gamers. It is my belief, and you could certainly make strong arguments against it, that if people moved away from D&D there would be more Hero gamers. Enough that I could actually play in a Hero game instead of running and trying desperately to convince D&D players to try Hero. I have to disagree with the article in that I do not feel that classes encourage good role playing or avoids munchkinism. As long as players maintain a philosophy of 'winning' in a role playing game, there will be min/maxing. In any system. Classes do not remove 'niche invasion'. There are frequently duplicate classes in a party. Classes special abilities frequently trample all over each other, especially prestige classes. And do not get me started on Feats. "...a good class system also leaves many things unspecified so that you can fill in the details with roleplaying." You mean the arbitrary rulling of the current Game Master. I prefer to have something defined so it is more consistent through GMs, genres and campaigns. Classes do make it easier for novices. I will completely agree with that. Of course this is just as easily accomplished with a package deal. A good GM is a good GM regardless of system. A good role player will role play regardless of system. Remove those two factors and I would still rather have the flexibility of a skill based system. ...but what the hell does a llama know?

Re: Military Hero G.U.R.P.S. Special Ops is an excellent resource for special forces material but I do not think it would be very useful for your typical grunt campaign.

Your non-issue is an issue. Don't belittle someone's non-issue, dude. That's just wrong.

Swordbrother of the Broken Blade Swordbrother of the Broken Blade 15 "...passing grueling mental, physical and doctrinal test..." +3 CON +3 EGO KS (Broken Blade Philosophy) 11- 3 "...training emphasizes physical skills such as Balance, Jump, and Tumble": Acrobatics 11- 4 Dodge: Martial Dodge 6 Improved Critical: PSL +3 vs. Hit Location w/Broken Blade Style 4 Improved Disarm: Martial Disarm 12 Martial Arts (12 points worth) 3 Quick Draw: Fast Draw 11- 6 Weapon Focus: CSL +2 w/Broken Blade Style 5 Whirling Steel Strike: Rapid Attack (HTH) 58 Total Points -20 "The ultimate goal is to attain enlightenment through conflict...": Psych Lim (Seeks enlightenment through conflict, Very Common, Strong)

Re: D & D Diatribe We have to make a contribution? Why didn't I get the memo!?Um...I don't like D&D because...uh...well...it's D&D. I like the skills. Oh wait! They stole that from other systems.

Re: D & D Diatribe I am way too cool for school, so you go nap now.

Master Inquisitive Master Inquisitive Skills 3 Analyze (Crime Scene) 11- 3 Conversation 11- 3 Criminology 11- 17 “…takes the art of investigation and deduction to the ultimate level.†Deduction 18- 2 “…quintessential investigator…†Interrogation 11- 2 “…digging up details on corruption and conspiracies.†KS (Conspiracies) 11- Powers 12 “…intuition and insight becomes so finely tuned as to appear supernatural…†Detect Lie (Discriminatory, Sense) Disadvantages -20 “…insatiable curiosity and a need to solve mysteries…†Psych Lim (Curious, Very Common, Strong) 22 points Personally, I would take the 17 points from Deduction and spread some skill levels between Analyze, Deduction and Interrogation. I would also add some levels to Detect Lie. This should be a good start for a beginning character though.

What is Elfboy's deal? Top 5 Ways To More Compelling Encounters Ten Tips For Stress-Free Gamemastering Adventure Writing Tips: The Goal Reversal & The 9-Act Format 9 Game Master Tips From Valdron Inc. 7 Plot Twisting Tips, Part I It sounds like Elfboy needs some more background. If the player is not giving you one, you give him one. Maybe he is banished because he was mistaken for his evil twin who defiled a sacred temple. His evil twin shows up begging for his brother's help. He wants to go 'straight' but no one will give him a chance. Does he really want to go straight or is this another one of his twisted ploys?

Re: i feel humiliated Yeah...I hate it when the PCs suceed.

19 Tips for GMing Powerful Characters 19 Tips for GMing Powerful Characters The majority of the campaigns I have run have been high powered. I have run Fantasy, Espionage and Supers at high levels. I focus more on character interaction and less on combat. When combat does come up it is usually one of two varieties. One, I essentially let the PCs mop the battlefield with the opposition. This is usually why most players want to play powerful characters to begin with and I see nothing wrong with letting them have their day. The second variety is usually the big boss who is scaled appropriately to the PCs. In truth, most of the problems I have encountered in high powered campaigns have more to do with particular powers and less to do with point totals. The usual adventure busters like Clairsentience, Mind Control and Telepathy can be more of a problem when they are more affordable. Resourceful players will find a way to dismantle your carefully laid tangled web of an adventure no matter what you do so I suggest learning flexibility regardless of point totals and power constructs. Allow the players to do some of the cool things they have always wanted to do but never had the points to. Find new ways outside of combat to challenge the characters. Insist on detailed backgrounds and make them spend some of those points on background skills. I know this goes for any campaign I just thought it was worth repeating.

Reputation It seems obvious that Eberron places the PCs in the Important to All Important category. Even the most powerful NPCs are at most in the mid-level range. In the article Eberron Under the Glass: Character Classes and Levels it is mentioned that the focus should be on the PCs. It is suggested that even after a few adventures the PCs should begin to see some notoriety. To keep this feel of the campaign I suggest the GM award small bonuses of XP that may only be used for Reputation. The GM could also offset the cost with appropriate Disadvantages such as Public Identity or Famous.

Re: Eberron Hero I done been quoted. I am flattered. I guess I will have to scrounge up some more material from Wizards and present my take.

Re: How to make an alchemy power. You have been hitting the crack-pipe extra heavy but there is a bit in FH and more detail in FHG I.

Re: New to Fantasy Hero

Re: Fantasy Hero Grimoire review discussion Agreed. This always irked me.

Jenny from the block Just my opinion, so take it for what it is worth. I would be slightly tempted to increase CON. Let’s face it, dancers are in good shape and we are exaggerating here. Along those same lines I would increase EGO since we are talking about such a strong willed and determined individual. I would reduce COM to 14. I would say most people that find her appealing are attracted to her charisma (PRE) and body (CON). I am not really feeling the mace. Seems heavy and slow for a dancer. I might have gone with a whip or staff. Even knives would add to the flavor of the parody. We are talking about Jenny from the block after all. I would admit that she is a bad singer. I would argue, although I could easily see your point that she is a questionable actress. I think you have to give props to her skill as a dancer. I would also add PS Choreographer. I am not a big fan of J-Lo so I hope I do not come off like I am trying to defend her or anything. I thought this write-up was quite good. I would love to see more celebrity write-ups just for fun.

Dwarves begat Elves. Elves begat Orcs. Orcs begat capitalism. Are the Dwarves and Elves still as powerful or have they lost all this knowledge in the last 500 years?

Angel? I was not a big fan of Angel and that is probably why I am not really sure I am following you here. My best guess from what you presented here and my limited knowledge of the Buffyverse would be that you have Old Ones, a plethora of demon types that are weaker and possibly serve the Old Ones and vampires which are descendents of one particular type of demon.