Friendship is Dragons
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Page 124 - Counterpoint Character
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Newbiespud
22nd May 2012, 6:00 AM
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Hitting players over the head with tag names can be great, or even better when only a few are in on the joke.
I don't remember any off the top of my head, what are your favorite tag names or stories about tag names in your sessions guys?
I don't remember any off the top of my head, what are your favorite tag names or stories about tag names in your sessions guys?
I remember a 1st Edition party who knew they'd taken a wrong step in their community every time they encountered Sir Pompasas.
I'm playing a mid-level pathfinder game with some friends from a forum, and we know a character in the game is bad news when he/she has a username from said forum instead of a name.
"Mad Mask takes out a bottle of Diet Coke and some Mentos. Everyone roll a reflex save... seriously. Stop laughing and throw a reflex save."
That one actually was a line attack that got three of us >.>
"Mad Mask takes out a bottle of Diet Coke and some Mentos. Everyone roll a reflex save... seriously. Stop laughing and throw a reflex save."
That one actually was a line attack that got three of us >.>
I've tried to be too clever with a character name at least once. Photojournalist in a zombie campaign named Victor Timothies. No one else got the joke until I broke it down. (And in one case, not even then, though he could have been trolling me by that point.)
Hint: shorten both names.
Hint: shorten both names.
My party doesn't take hints well. At one point the boss villain showed up with a puppy for the sole purpose of illustrating his willingness to "Kick puppies" because he was that evil.
"Do you need a demonstration?!"
When the party acted surprised as if this was a sudden change in the villain's alignment or something, the boss let the puppy go and walked away ranting.
Hilarious.
"Do you need a demonstration?!"
When the party acted surprised as if this was a sudden change in the villain's alignment or something, the boss let the puppy go and walked away ranting.
Hilarious.
"That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on."
"He's got fangs like... He can leap like... JUST LOOK AT THE BONES!"
Silly Lyntermas,
Everyday is "Take advantage of the less assertive ponies" day!
Everyday is "Take advantage of the less assertive ponies" day!
Although when it comes to monsters, a GM *has* to be obvious. Otherwise your lvl 1 party will gleefully poke the hibernating Tarrasque in the eye.
I recall one Pathfinder game session where a newer player had his level 2 rogue walk all the way around a sleeping cave bear (size category: HUGE) in a side room of a dungeon, poking at it, trying to see if it's lying on anything important like treasure or a trap door.
He made all his rolls, but the DM as well as all the rest of us had to very strongly remind him that his character was doing this without support from the rest of us, and if the bear woke up from his continued poking, he probably was going to have to roll up a new character.
I like to call players like that "button pushers", because if you give them a button to push, they'll push it.
He made all his rolls, but the DM as well as all the rest of us had to very strongly remind him that his character was doing this without support from the rest of us, and if the bear woke up from his continued poking, he probably was going to have to roll up a new character.
I like to call players like that "button pushers", because if you give them a button to push, they'll push it.
And right when the party starts to get them in hand, you throw in the following trap:
On the wall is a lever, next to it a sign: "For a case of fire, don't pull lever."
On the wall is a lever, next to it a sign: "For a case of fire, don't pull lever."
And now that I'm back, all I have to pick from is alignments, which we've done to death, and Angel, which I am staying right the hell away from after last time.
So... Hey, Im finally starting a new campaign today! So hopefully new stories should be forthcoming.
New campaign? Ooooh, what of?
System? Genre? Flavor of chips on the gaming table? :D
System? Genre? Flavor of chips on the gaming table? :D
My group tends to skimp on lunch, so in the late afternoon when we get together we demand snacks.
?Of course I use this as an opportunity to elect my 4-year old daughter to pick out the flavors of chips for the session and she's gotten some interesting choices and combinations.
Oh, and pretzels make awesome counters for large scale battles. XD
?Of course I use this as an opportunity to elect my 4-year old daughter to pick out the flavors of chips for the session and she's gotten some interesting choices and combinations.
Oh, and pretzels make awesome counters for large scale battles. XD
Although if we want stories, here's a good topic to focus on: Stupidly obvious things you or your players failed to notice or use during the campaign.
Each other's names.
Telling NPCs, "I'm looking for the elf," in the middle of an elven community is a twenty minute stoppage of play penalty.
Telling NPCs, "I'm looking for the elf," in the middle of an elven community is a twenty minute stoppage of play penalty.
If the campaign continues and we get a few more players it should end up being pretty good.
I will note that in this first session, the DM decided to derail himself. No idea why, he just did.
So anyway, the objective was a Golden Dragon Egg that we had to retrieve to pass the final exam fro the training academy we were all enrolled in. Having scouted a path through the woods earlier, I was leading the party to the intended destination when the Dwarf, receiving some signal from his War Pig, charged off in another direction. By the time we had caught up with him, he had ambushed and slaughtered a harmless Orc caravan.
This in turn led us off on a tangent where we- again for no known reason- massacred an entire farming village because they were, of course, Orcs.
There was no hidden plot point, no special items or gear for us to find, no one to talk to. Just went off and killed them. And once we had secured their stuff (including two children for servants), we went right back to looking for the Dragon egg.
I do so hope it comes into play later.
Heh. My current campaign is running Basic Roleplaying, and it's the DMs first go at using the system. I persuaded him to let me lose points in one stat to boost another in char creation. I promptly made an eighteen foot knight giant and tool all his SIZ points away and put them in strength. The DM didn't realise exactly what I'd done until the first time my cereal box sized character picked up a stagecoach and used it as a melee weapon.
He's been trying to kill of Bazinar the Six inch giant off since, with little success. The last trap involved big crushing wallplates. Bazinar stuck out his hands and blocked these three ton plates from killing everyone.
Last session the DM used "rocks fall, everyone dies" to try and get me. I picked the rest of the party in one hand and threw them out of the cave mouth we were in. Criticals rule.
He's been trying to kill of Bazinar the Six inch giant off since, with little success. The last trap involved big crushing wallplates. Bazinar stuck out his hands and blocked these three ton plates from killing everyone.
Last session the DM used "rocks fall, everyone dies" to try and get me. I picked the rest of the party in one hand and threw them out of the cave mouth we were in. Criticals rule.
ITT: Unusual Improved Weapons
How many of you have used your Gnome teammate for Improvised Thrown Weapons?
I've seen the party ranger weild a kobold as a 2-handed weapon once.
Which is why the tiny giant using a Knight as a melee is so deliciously ironic.
One of my most recent characters was an inquisitor (pathfinder campaign). He had catch off-guard, and throw anything (let's you wield improvised weapons and melee without penalty, and ranged respectively). He had a strong habit of wielding his enemies as weapons against other enemies. If those weren't readily available, he usually had a full bag of table legs available.
I once had them fight their way through a horrible electric deathtrap of a Wizards tower. I always described the high Quality of the furniture, the golden inlays and doorknobs, the silver candelabras and even a diamond-studded paperweight. And the party complained that the Monsters never dropped any gold. After they defused the Fantastic Nuke of the dead owner and getting out of there I had the Big Bad reveal that He followed them through the Dungeon, stole the Doorknobs and bought a +5 Armor, +3 Vorpal Sword and a Ring of Greater Regeneration.
one time my DM trapped two of us in a four room dungeon. we were using those pre-made map tile things and he rather constantly stated, "everything you see is there." two hours later, after more failed intelligence rolls than i'd care to mention, and LONG after we solved the secondary puzzle involving many traps and gadgets, we finally notice what the tiles actually represent. each one had stonework on the floor vaguely shaped like a letter. those letters were M, S, T, and Y. all we had to say was "this is MYST." and we'd have been free.
You want to know a great way to get rabbits to eat the amount they're supposed to?
DON'T FEED THEM CARROTS.
Seriously. Rabbits are better off with lettuce and things like that. Carrots are root vegetables, which aren't part of a rabbit's natural diet. It's like giving people pure sucrose and wondering why they're all getting sick and dying.
So... yeah. To whom it may concern: Fluttershy is apparently not that good at taking care of animals.
DON'T FEED THEM CARROTS.
Seriously. Rabbits are better off with lettuce and things like that. Carrots are root vegetables, which aren't part of a rabbit's natural diet. It's like giving people pure sucrose and wondering why they're all getting sick and dying.
So... yeah. To whom it may concern: Fluttershy is apparently not that good at taking care of animals.
In Equestria, carrots are magic. Like friendship. They're part of everyday bunny diet.
On the other hand, other episodes show Angel making/eating salads, so maybe this carrot is one of those mid-morning snack treats?
The problem with that is that Fluttershy urges him to eat the ENTIRE carrot.
When was the last time you saw a parent tell their kid to eat the ENTIRE candy bar?
Of course, they urge their kids to eat all their corn or their cereal or things like that, but that's aside from the point. That's just ignorance in action.
I prefer to take the Doyalist approach and just say that Meghan McCarthy didn't know much about rabbit nutrition. Or maybe it's just a Looney Tunes reference.
When was the last time you saw a parent tell their kid to eat the ENTIRE candy bar?
Of course, they urge their kids to eat all their corn or their cereal or things like that, but that's aside from the point. That's just ignorance in action.
I prefer to take the Doyalist approach and just say that Meghan McCarthy didn't know much about rabbit nutrition. Or maybe it's just a Looney Tunes reference.
*laughs* That WAS funny Newbiespud! I'd forgotten about that moment in our D&D game you're referencing. Did Graeme literally try to get the Succubus Estra to put it in writing, or did he just want to see her true form?
That's pretty much my story for this comic.
Fortunately, my players are smart enough to not miss obvious stuff. Although one of them makes it a point that her characters never remember anyone's name. Ever.
I envy your players, Crimson Doom. :D
My party always misses the hints unless I drive it home with a hammer:
DM (me): "You all walk into the study. There is a fireplace to your right with a warm fire burning, shining off the empty polished marble mantle and the equally polished poker. To your left are book shelves of old dusty books, mostly romantic fiction."
Player 1: "I'm checking out the books."
Player 2: "Me too, must be a secret bookshelf."
Player 3: "I'm checking the cushions for loose change!"
Player 4: "I'll keep a watch out for Strahd coming back."
DM (me): "You notice nothing odd about the bookshelf, it is bolted to the wall. The books are nothing unusual, the standard novels you all know. You find no money in the cushions. The only glittery metal here is that pristine poker by the fire place."
Player 1: "I'll take a couple of history books."
Player 2: "I'll check the shelves again for secrets."
DM (me): "Still no secrets. Nothing unusual in this room except for that very clean as if unused poker by the fireplace."
Player 4: "Does the mantle have anything unusual on it? Like china plates?"
DM (me): "No, there's nothing on it."
Player 3: "Hmm... I dunno."
Player 4: "Wait, does Strahd have Darkvision? If he has Darkvision then he doesn't need the fireplace right?"
DM (me): "Have you all not noticed that the poker is in prestine condition?! As if it was never used to stoke a fire even though this fire had to be stoked regularly if you were using it for some reason? Anyone want to check the poker?"
Player 1: "I check the poker?"
DM (me): "VERY GOOD. You find the secret passage."
My party always misses the hints unless I drive it home with a hammer:
DM (me): "You all walk into the study. There is a fireplace to your right with a warm fire burning, shining off the empty polished marble mantle and the equally polished poker. To your left are book shelves of old dusty books, mostly romantic fiction."
Player 1: "I'm checking out the books."
Player 2: "Me too, must be a secret bookshelf."
Player 3: "I'm checking the cushions for loose change!"
Player 4: "I'll keep a watch out for Strahd coming back."
DM (me): "You notice nothing odd about the bookshelf, it is bolted to the wall. The books are nothing unusual, the standard novels you all know. You find no money in the cushions. The only glittery metal here is that pristine poker by the fire place."
Player 1: "I'll take a couple of history books."
Player 2: "I'll check the shelves again for secrets."
DM (me): "Still no secrets. Nothing unusual in this room except for that very clean as if unused poker by the fireplace."
Player 4: "Does the mantle have anything unusual on it? Like china plates?"
DM (me): "No, there's nothing on it."
Player 3: "Hmm... I dunno."
Player 4: "Wait, does Strahd have Darkvision? If he has Darkvision then he doesn't need the fireplace right?"
DM (me): "Have you all not noticed that the poker is in prestine condition?! As if it was never used to stoke a fire even though this fire had to be stoked regularly if you were using it for some reason? Anyone want to check the poker?"
Player 1: "I check the poker?"
DM (me): "VERY GOOD. You find the secret passage."
You should make a tally for each time you drop a hint like that, then let your Party fail and show them the tally. I started doing that after the Doorknob incident.
Maybe I should!
Although the party brawler never leaves a valuable doorknob behind. Or really, a valuable anything if he can put the fire out or pry it off the nail.
Although the party brawler never leaves a valuable doorknob behind. Or really, a valuable anything if he can put the fire out or pry it off the nail.
Then just make the levers to your secret passages silver, duh?
Somehow I see the party just taking the levers and not triggering the mechanism to get at the secrets. XD
mh... Like, "As you try to take the poker a Secret Mechanism activates." "I rolled a nat twenty on my reflex save and avoided taking it as soon as I noticed something wrong. I cast Maximized fire Dagger and use it like a blowtorch to get the lever without triggering the mechanism."
Heh. Been playing Skyrim recently and it shows.
GM: the room contains no treasure
Me: I take the plates, the food, the torches, the rug, and the candles.
GM: the room contains no treasure
Me: I take the plates, the food, the torches, the rug, and the candles.
In a realistic game, there's only so much of a market for any particular thing. How many plates does a person really need after all?
The other thing to keep in mind, is how much can you carry? Obviously, you want to prioritize the valuable stuff. But even then there can be encumbrance issues. If all you'd get for the 400 pounds of junk is an extra gold piece on top of another thousand pieces of gold? All of that hassle probably isn't worth it. Both in character and in the metagame sense of how long it takes to sort that out.
That being said, a true adventurer realizes that treasure doesn't always come solely in the form of shiny objects. Even the doors are worth something really. Even knocked out sections of the dungeon wall do have some value.
I guess he's going through a punk phase.