Friendship is Dragons
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Page 272 - Indirect Respect
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Newbiespud
16th Apr 2013, 6:00 AM
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Tell stories of when you took it :)
As for my group...I think we take this approach EVERY time we meet royalty. Yeah...we're not exactly the most "professional" bunch...
When you're playing people that can expect to go toe-to-toe against demon lords and crazed gods, it can be difficult to simulate appropriate deference to temporal nobility.
In our Pathfinder campaign, we sort of have the opposite problem. We're properly deferential to nobility... but we're war-heroes with reputations for fighting (and beating) mythical things in a realistic campaign. Minor nobles tend to feel upstaged, and the rumour mill exaggerating our accomplishments doesn't help.
Realistic campaigns get a bit strange when the PCs reach "superhero" power levels.
Fortunately, the real power-brokers don't feel threatened, and the rumour mill can be managed through the wonders of money (propaganda campaigns can be used for good as well as evil, and are surprisingly affordable).
Realistic campaigns get a bit strange when the PCs reach "superhero" power levels.
Fortunately, the real power-brokers don't feel threatened, and the rumour mill can be managed through the wonders of money (propaganda campaigns can be used for good as well as evil, and are surprisingly affordable).
When I'm a PC, I always go for the polite protocals when addressing nobility. Maybe the other players scoff at me for it, but I've found a little butt-kissing will pay off later when I need a favor from royalty, like access to a private library for research or restricted information on some other noble I suspect isn't playing by the rules...
"Be Polite, Be Courteous, Have a Plan to kill everyone you meet" Red Sniper
My group usually gets pretty casual with the royalty. So much so that the king tends to end up with his pockets picked and his treasury robbed.
Can't say I'm one to discriminate, at least.
Saying "yo" to your god is less far-fetched than it sounds, actually.
If you have a world where the gods do hear prayers, and sometimes respond to them, then your deity is someone you've known all your life, who's known _you_ all your life, and whom you have a rather personal relationship with. That doesn't automatically mean you'll be casual with each other - there are terrestrial variants of christianity that pretty much believe this but are still formal - but it's entirely possible.
The old 3.x campaign I was running had this problem, as its pantheon acted a lot like the Royal Alicorn Sisters: deities, but taking part in society as public figures/celebrities (with clergy who effectively all had their cell phone number). Government would still have been secular, but the consequences would nevertheless be interesting.
As far as Equestria goes, the bureaucrat protagonist in "Whom the Princesses Would Destroy" used to be a devout orthodox Celestian... and then got hired as a government minister. As he put it, it becomes difficult to cling to ritual when you occasionally have tea with your deity.
(I am totally borrowing Leafy Salad and Dotted Line as Celestial Outsiders if I ever run another campaign and "diplomacy with the gods" is on the table.)
If you have a world where the gods do hear prayers, and sometimes respond to them, then your deity is someone you've known all your life, who's known _you_ all your life, and whom you have a rather personal relationship with. That doesn't automatically mean you'll be casual with each other - there are terrestrial variants of christianity that pretty much believe this but are still formal - but it's entirely possible.
The old 3.x campaign I was running had this problem, as its pantheon acted a lot like the Royal Alicorn Sisters: deities, but taking part in society as public figures/celebrities (with clergy who effectively all had their cell phone number). Government would still have been secular, but the consequences would nevertheless be interesting.
As far as Equestria goes, the bureaucrat protagonist in "Whom the Princesses Would Destroy" used to be a devout orthodox Celestian... and then got hired as a government minister. As he put it, it becomes difficult to cling to ritual when you occasionally have tea with your deity.
(I am totally borrowing Leafy Salad and Dotted Line as Celestial Outsiders if I ever run another campaign and "diplomacy with the gods" is on the table.)
That was a great story. The humor was so dry that I became dehydrated.
There's a short sequel, about Dotted trying to get ready for Hearth's Warming Eve.
Casual with Royalty... ah, I don't have any of those stories specifically, but I think being casual with gods fall under that area.
I have a character named Felicity who is the sweetest, fluffiest, most unhinged darling... her brain simply does not work in the fashion most peoples do, she has very aberrant, yet pragmatic points of views, and she is a tinkerer wizard. The game she is in has quite a few small, local gods, and we've run several images of Felicity talking to the gods before. Felicity doesn't really treat them as or see them as gods, though, she just sees them as powerful beings, which the world is full of. She has this very casual way of viewing gods that treats them with the same amount of respect she'd give a normal person, nothing more and nothing less.
Felicity: "Of course I accept you exist, to deny that would just be silly, but that doesn't mean I have to follow, like, or respect you any differently from how I would see any of my companions, or a common person on the street, or a shoemaker. The mere fact of your existence, however powerful and widely worshiped, has created me no obligation to you- just as my existence, however seemingly insignificant in your eyes, has created you no obligations to me."
Completely casual with gods, she'd be the same to Royalty if she ever got the chance to meet them. I think she did run into a Baron at one point id time and he found her very child-like, innocent, yet aberrant and brilliant personality to be somewhat refreshing. That, and she had to apologize for her familiar (a rat named Trouble) mocking him during his fencing lesson by pretending to fence with a sewing needle...
I have a character named Felicity who is the sweetest, fluffiest, most unhinged darling... her brain simply does not work in the fashion most peoples do, she has very aberrant, yet pragmatic points of views, and she is a tinkerer wizard. The game she is in has quite a few small, local gods, and we've run several images of Felicity talking to the gods before. Felicity doesn't really treat them as or see them as gods, though, she just sees them as powerful beings, which the world is full of. She has this very casual way of viewing gods that treats them with the same amount of respect she'd give a normal person, nothing more and nothing less.
Felicity: "Of course I accept you exist, to deny that would just be silly, but that doesn't mean I have to follow, like, or respect you any differently from how I would see any of my companions, or a common person on the street, or a shoemaker. The mere fact of your existence, however powerful and widely worshiped, has created me no obligation to you- just as my existence, however seemingly insignificant in your eyes, has created you no obligations to me."
Completely casual with gods, she'd be the same to Royalty if she ever got the chance to meet them. I think she did run into a Baron at one point id time and he found her very child-like, innocent, yet aberrant and brilliant personality to be somewhat refreshing. That, and she had to apologize for her familiar (a rat named Trouble) mocking him during his fencing lesson by pretending to fence with a sewing needle...
"Listen, man. You brudda is wicked jacked up. *drag* 's got zombies and sh**. 's a real bad man, brudda."
I was doing my best impression of Little Jacob, from GTA IV. Basing a paladin on a drug dealer is kind of a bad thing, apparently.
Also, I must have been doing a bad impression, because they could understand everything I said.
I've actually recently had this problem. Our party got separated and the part that ended up with me found ourselves captured and questioned by the lord of the land, who thought we might be enemy spies. We were rightly concerned about the fate of our companions, and so completely ignored the interrogation and the noble's attempts to garner respect/fear from us while we argued about how we should go about finding our lost allies. Eventually, our argument broke into a fist fight (our characters aren't the best of friends) and we each got sent to dungeon cells for the rest of the session.
yeah, in a campaign i was playing in, the prince of one of the cities we were in visited another player at night because they were suspected to be a drow, they were but we didnt know at the time, and when we heard the noise, we ran into the room, recognized the prince, and i decided to just walk in all casual, wave, and say "yo, whats up"
One of my 4th edition characters was the most level headed of the group. Former interrogator for the city guard, Tiefling spellblade, lawful neutral. She was pretty much the one that kept the party from being stupid.
Until, after dealing with a curse that had turned a town of people into bloodthirsty demons, the high ranking noblewoman who'd hired them refused to budge on her initial reward. The original job was to see what'd happened to a guard who hadn't come back from the town. After dealing with the cursed, three party members almost succumbing to the curse themselves, and killing the one responsible for the curse, she was going to pay each party member 100 gold.
My little Tiefling was about to shove an eldrich bolt, and her sword, down her throat, when our Wizard and Monk managed to keep her from getting them all killed.
Until, after dealing with a curse that had turned a town of people into bloodthirsty demons, the high ranking noblewoman who'd hired them refused to budge on her initial reward. The original job was to see what'd happened to a guard who hadn't come back from the town. After dealing with the cursed, three party members almost succumbing to the curse themselves, and killing the one responsible for the curse, she was going to pay each party member 100 gold.
My little Tiefling was about to shove an eldrich bolt, and her sword, down her throat, when our Wizard and Monk managed to keep her from getting them all killed.
Well usually I never get to meet royalty (Don't think my GM's trust me with them)
But i do have a dwarf group where we are three brothers exploring the lands, when suddenly aliens attack(yea gm is crazy I know, books filled with demons and he sends aliens :P) and they are using some sort of stones to grow stronger and stuff like that, which we need to find and hide.
We happen to come to an should have been dead dwarf clan in the hunt for an ancient weapon that was once used by our God. Me as the wizard starts learning all about the law of the city since our cleric has been promised the hammer from the previous owner's ghost but his son is the king of this clan and he of course believe its his.
Meanwhile our barbarian spots an teen with one of the stones around his neck starting to die because its giving off insane heat when aliens are near and about to attack,
he saves the boy and learn that he is the son of the king. so we end up pulling the son up the king and we start to scold him for giving his son something that dangers, telling him he is about to be attacked by creatures from beyond the stars, and shouting laws at him telling him to give the hammer to our cleric.
But i do have a dwarf group where we are three brothers exploring the lands, when suddenly aliens attack(yea gm is crazy I know, books filled with demons and he sends aliens :P) and they are using some sort of stones to grow stronger and stuff like that, which we need to find and hide.
We happen to come to an should have been dead dwarf clan in the hunt for an ancient weapon that was once used by our God. Me as the wizard starts learning all about the law of the city since our cleric has been promised the hammer from the previous owner's ghost but his son is the king of this clan and he of course believe its his.
Meanwhile our barbarian spots an teen with one of the stones around his neck starting to die because its giving off insane heat when aliens are near and about to attack,
he saves the boy and learn that he is the son of the king. so we end up pulling the son up the king and we start to scold him for giving his son something that dangers, telling him he is about to be attacked by creatures from beyond the stars, and shouting laws at him telling him to give the hammer to our cleric.
Also have a story about my lovable thiefling (yes I said thief ;p) and how he meet an god.
In a run in with my groups cleric i had started calling him by the name of his god (Pelor) since he kept shouting at me that he did things in Pelor's name.
And "real" Pelor did not care about this since that was just some nobody running around thinking he was funny, but when the world got annihilated and Pelor only had one follower left in the new plane that spawned suddenly that one rogue running around became a big deal and each time i would call David for Pelor we would hear Pelor's voice "He is NOT Pelor!"
But hey he couldn't really do anything since he only had one follower and had to use his power to grand that guy spells, that was until i felt like being really annoying doing one of Davids prayers and we where both transported to Pelor's domain, and a very annoying god was staring at me, he tells David that he is now in charge of me and should keep me on the right path. he then extends an half godly power David has over light to surround me, removing my power over shadows and making my hide in plane sight useless, and i do what any sane adventure in my situation would do and threaten Pelor telling him not to try and chain me down since he knows what happened last time someone did. (kinda destroyed the world :P ups)
He ignored me and is now on my "To Kill List
In a run in with my groups cleric i had started calling him by the name of his god (Pelor) since he kept shouting at me that he did things in Pelor's name.
And "real" Pelor did not care about this since that was just some nobody running around thinking he was funny, but when the world got annihilated and Pelor only had one follower left in the new plane that spawned suddenly that one rogue running around became a big deal and each time i would call David for Pelor we would hear Pelor's voice "He is NOT Pelor!"
But hey he couldn't really do anything since he only had one follower and had to use his power to grand that guy spells, that was until i felt like being really annoying doing one of Davids prayers and we where both transported to Pelor's domain, and a very annoying god was staring at me, he tells David that he is now in charge of me and should keep me on the right path. he then extends an half godly power David has over light to surround me, removing my power over shadows and making my hide in plane sight useless, and i do what any sane adventure in my situation would do and threaten Pelor telling him not to try and chain me down since he knows what happened last time someone did. (kinda destroyed the world :P ups)
He ignored me and is now on my "To Kill List
Even on kings, instant friends has a 20% chance of working. What's the worst that could happen?
It works great when you're not a subject of a Joffrey type.
Being casual with royalty is fine. Just don't insult the King's wife by telling her that you're a closer companion to him than she was just because you had a one-time dungeon crawl with the king before he was king.
That sort of thing gets PCs killed (By the other PCs hired secretly by the queen).
It was a beautiful setup.
That sort of thing gets PCs killed (By the other PCs hired secretly by the queen).
It was a beautiful setup.
"Be casual with royalty" reminds me of Naked Gun when two guys just sit in the queen's seats and she has to pass down hot dogs.
Love the way that scene was narrated. XD
GLUTTON PINKIE!
GLUTTON PINKIE!
I'm currently in a campaign- where my DM made it very explicit that there is a very rigid heirarchy. However, the majority of our party - since most of us witnessed what being informal can get you - basically doesn't talk to/avoids the nobility to a point. Apparently he meant for us to just be polite... any NPC talking is usually awkward as heck.
Which is why you don't terrify the characters with nobility right off the bat if that isn't your goal...
Which is why you don't terrify the characters with nobility right off the bat if that isn't your goal...
I was GMing and one of the players wanted to test his luck against royalty. He was such a jerk that he got himself arrested in dungeon forever... and he was surprised the other players told him they didn't want to rescue him.
That scene was very well handled :)
That scene was very well handled :)
I may have mentioned this one a while back, but there was an Ars Magica campaign which ended up with a character "retired" under similar conditions.
The PCs had become embroiled in intrigue between the Light and Dark fae courts (protip: in Ars Magica, you Do Not Mess With The Fae unless you really know what you're doing).
One particular PC, while attempting to hedge and be weaselly, pretty much promised the dark court he'd help them win their little contest.
On finding the plot token needed for this... he goes to the light court, and tries to get a better offer. He started at "better offer", anyways. He ended up at "ok, just protect me from the dark court I've just screwed, please".
He might not even have gotten _that_, as some time later, he wound up in the dark court trying to explain that he hadn't actually _promised_ them to help them, he'd just led them to believe that he'd promised to do so.
And that's how "Ok, I take a few _more_ steps away from [character]" became a meme with our group. The fellow PC who did that, lived.
Technically so did the deal-breaking PC, but when you're a still-living disembodied head hung on someone's wall, you still aren't in a position to do much.
The PCs had become embroiled in intrigue between the Light and Dark fae courts (protip: in Ars Magica, you Do Not Mess With The Fae unless you really know what you're doing).
One particular PC, while attempting to hedge and be weaselly, pretty much promised the dark court he'd help them win their little contest.
On finding the plot token needed for this... he goes to the light court, and tries to get a better offer. He started at "better offer", anyways. He ended up at "ok, just protect me from the dark court I've just screwed, please".
He might not even have gotten _that_, as some time later, he wound up in the dark court trying to explain that he hadn't actually _promised_ them to help them, he'd just led them to believe that he'd promised to do so.
And that's how "Ok, I take a few _more_ steps away from [character]" became a meme with our group. The fellow PC who did that, lived.
Technically so did the deal-breaking PC, but when you're a still-living disembodied head hung on someone's wall, you still aren't in a position to do much.
...I can see why. It's difficult to sustain a campaign that sounds more like a Marx Brothers film.
Really? Seems like it would be a perfect opportunity to step up the conflict. Make it so the late king was balancing a delicate web of diplomatic relationships that had just collapsed because of your character saying, "I'm hijacking your kingdom for my quest." Now you've accidentally caused an international incident and the majority of the known world hates you, in addition to whatever you needed the McGuffin for. What do you do?
And that's why it's so difficult to maintain. The campaign left realistic consequences behind when the king agreed to fight (rather than appoint a champion), then hit the afterburners the moment everyone agreed that his murderer should be his successor. Why bother after that?
True, GMs can't be the experts at everything. On the other hoof, I once ran a a civil war scenario where the PCs were appointed generals of the rebel army.
They were SOOOOO lost when it came down to commanding troops effectively. Luckily one of the PCs is a former marine and at least had some idea about organizing troops into proper stacks.
It also helped that I ran the battles like "Ogre Battle" where winning wasn't necessarily done by beating the other side to a pulp.
They were SOOOOO lost when it came down to commanding troops effectively. Luckily one of the PCs is a former marine and at least had some idea about organizing troops into proper stacks.
It also helped that I ran the battles like "Ogre Battle" where winning wasn't necessarily done by beating the other side to a pulp.
And for what it's worth, I wasn't planning on actually fighting him, I just tried to intimidate him and utterly failed (not critically, though).
Most people have trouble commanding one NPC, what made you think they could command many?
Simple: A DM is expected to do that all the time.
I put the DM on the spot and he didn't know what to do, it's not my fault he didn't know how a head of state would carry himself.
Irresponsibility is such a liberating position to take, isn't it?
Simple: A DM is expected to do that all the time.
I put the DM on the spot and he didn't know what to do, it's not my fault he didn't know how a head of state would carry himself.
Irresponsibility is such a liberating position to take, isn't it?
For what it's worth, the players were willing to try their hands at a large scale military battle, so it was a mutually agreed upon scenario. :)
My Pathfinder character was dragged into a leadership position more or less that way (NPC commander appointed him the next-in-line for political reasons, and then got poisoned).
Fortunately, my character was smart enough to start learning the ropes _before_ the poisoning happened, and also smart enough to ask all of the nobles and officers in our ragtag army for advice before making his decisions.
Our DM is good about having useful NPC assistance around if we're willing to look for it.
Fortunately, my character was smart enough to start learning the ropes _before_ the poisoning happened, and also smart enough to ask all of the nobles and officers in our ragtag army for advice before making his decisions.
Our DM is good about having useful NPC assistance around if we're willing to look for it.
The most memorable large-scale battle I played in was a fleet action. We had no idea how to command a fleet, but we had this wish-granting genie on our side... man, our fleet was so pissed at us when we wished that 'every shot would hit the enemy flagship'. Because we hadn't specified shots aimed at it.
We ended up having to use an iterative time-travel loop to actually win the battle. It was that kind of game.
We ended up having to use an iterative time-travel loop to actually win the battle. It was that kind of game.
You might think that. But when there are ships between yours and the flagship and you fire away from them to hit another enemy, wouldn't the shot make a turn and hit all ships inbetween, including your own?
Ah, Pinkie. Always with the brain-bending antics. Don't ever stop.
This DM is very good at carrying on conversations with himself. I also like how this lets him "correct" a PC without condemning the player's choice.
Although I am a bit intrigued as to how Spud is going to pull off Diamond Dogs, Bird in the Hoof, AND keep PP, AJ, and RD engaged.
Oh dear.
If we're splitting the party already... RD and AJ might have their Iron Pony competition (or at least the Running of the Leaves part) while all of this is going on, with Pinkie officiating. Celestia was there for the end of it, and could easily be edited into the earlier parts.
It would be logical enough, given that as far as anyone knows, it's a casual visit with no disasters going on. A skill-check contest is easy for the DM to set up, and AJ and RD have strong enough personalities that the DM could easily goad them into providing enough roleplaying to make up for a threadbare setup.
The downside is having to switch back and forth between groups repeatedly, but if he gives the Iron Pony team "plotting time" with him out of the room to think up schemes (or competition contests), they'll keep themselves adequately busy when waiting.
(As for "Celestia doesn't know everything", her comment works equally well as a way to save face for Pinkie and put the Cakes at ease, vs generally not knowing much about her.)
If we're splitting the party already... RD and AJ might have their Iron Pony competition (or at least the Running of the Leaves part) while all of this is going on, with Pinkie officiating. Celestia was there for the end of it, and could easily be edited into the earlier parts.
It would be logical enough, given that as far as anyone knows, it's a casual visit with no disasters going on. A skill-check contest is easy for the DM to set up, and AJ and RD have strong enough personalities that the DM could easily goad them into providing enough roleplaying to make up for a threadbare setup.
The downside is having to switch back and forth between groups repeatedly, but if he gives the Iron Pony team "plotting time" with him out of the room to think up schemes (or competition contests), they'll keep themselves adequately busy when waiting.
(As for "Celestia doesn't know everything", her comment works equally well as a way to save face for Pinkie and put the Cakes at ease, vs generally not knowing much about her.)
to quote the rest of the party, 'You can't kill her, she still hasn't paid us'
Not exactly casual with royalty, but here's how Merry met the king:
[9/5/2012 12:44:12 AM] DM: You have all been called forth in front of the king to discuss a matter of importance to the kingdom, he had been searching for the three most skilled people he could find within his kingdom
[9/5/2012 12:44:45 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa is drunk
[9/5/2012 12:45:20 AM] Cocoa: Actually, Merlin is drunk. I'm stone cold sober.
Oh, there's more:
[9/5/2012 12:45:42 AM] DM: You three are ushered into the throne room where a worried looking man is sitting in the throne before sitting up straight "Ah good you have come" The king says
[9/5/2012 12:45:52 AM] DM: ((I'll keep that in mind Pat))
[9/5/2012 12:46:15 AM] Cocoa: 's good t'be here!
[9/5/2012 12:46:19 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa stumbles a bit
[9/5/2012 12:46:34 AM] Cleric: Uhm, since I see the Wizard is rather inebriated I take the lead and ask the king why we are here.
[9/5/2012 12:46:49 AM] Cocoa: Okay, so dere's dis cleric... and a wizard...
[9/5/2012 12:46:59 AM] Cocoa: And summat... uh...
[9/5/2012 12:47:04 AM] Cocoa: A horse!
[9/5/2012 12:47:06 AM] Cocoa: It's a horse.
[9/5/2012 12:47:22 AM] DM: "Straight to the point, I like that!" The king says before noticing the wizard is drunk
[9/5/2012 12:47:24 AM] Cocoa: Soday walkina bar...
[9/5/2012 12:48:08 AM] Cocoa: Za points...
[9/5/2012 12:48:18 AM] Cocoa: Well, tha cleric ducks...
[9/5/2012 12:48:27 AM] Cocoa: Uhmmm...
[9/5/2012 12:48:34 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa mumbles to himself
[9/5/2012 12:50:40 AM] DM: "who gave the wizard the spirits?" The king says eyeing Merlin
[9/5/2012 12:51:00 AM] Cocoa: Sprits?
[9/5/2012 12:51:14 AM] Cleric: Could I use a cure wounds to cure him of his Drunkeness?
[9/5/2012 12:51:19 AM] Cocoa: I gawt sprit frm Bccob!
[9/5/2012 12:51:33 AM] DM: Why not
[9/5/2012 12:51:36 AM] Cleric: I do it
[9/5/2012 12:51:51 AM] Cocoa: Bt I got ber frm za guy...
[9/5/2012 12:51:53 AM] Cleric: I am not getting embarassed in front of the king ;)
[9/5/2012 12:51:53 AM] Cocoa: The rag...
[9/5/2012 12:52:02 AM] Cocoa: :c
[9/5/2012 12:52:03 AM] DM: You are no longer drunk cocoa
Names have been changed to protect the drunk.
Also, I believe I've mentioned about the time that I got a natural 20 to get an advanced payment of wine from the king. Yeah, this was it. After this, of course.
[9/5/2012 12:44:12 AM] DM: You have all been called forth in front of the king to discuss a matter of importance to the kingdom, he had been searching for the three most skilled people he could find within his kingdom
[9/5/2012 12:44:45 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa is drunk
[9/5/2012 12:45:20 AM] Cocoa: Actually, Merlin is drunk. I'm stone cold sober.
Oh, there's more:
[9/5/2012 12:45:42 AM] DM: You three are ushered into the throne room where a worried looking man is sitting in the throne before sitting up straight "Ah good you have come" The king says
[9/5/2012 12:45:52 AM] DM: ((I'll keep that in mind Pat))
[9/5/2012 12:46:15 AM] Cocoa: 's good t'be here!
[9/5/2012 12:46:19 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa stumbles a bit
[9/5/2012 12:46:34 AM] Cleric: Uhm, since I see the Wizard is rather inebriated I take the lead and ask the king why we are here.
[9/5/2012 12:46:49 AM] Cocoa: Okay, so dere's dis cleric... and a wizard...
[9/5/2012 12:46:59 AM] Cocoa: And summat... uh...
[9/5/2012 12:47:04 AM] Cocoa: A horse!
[9/5/2012 12:47:06 AM] Cocoa: It's a horse.
[9/5/2012 12:47:22 AM] DM: "Straight to the point, I like that!" The king says before noticing the wizard is drunk
[9/5/2012 12:47:24 AM] Cocoa: Soday walkina bar...
[9/5/2012 12:48:08 AM] Cocoa: Za points...
[9/5/2012 12:48:18 AM] Cocoa: Well, tha cleric ducks...
[9/5/2012 12:48:27 AM] Cocoa: Uhmmm...
[9/5/2012 12:48:34 AM] Cocoa: Cocoa mumbles to himself
[9/5/2012 12:50:40 AM] DM: "who gave the wizard the spirits?" The king says eyeing Merlin
[9/5/2012 12:51:00 AM] Cocoa: Sprits?
[9/5/2012 12:51:14 AM] Cleric: Could I use a cure wounds to cure him of his Drunkeness?
[9/5/2012 12:51:19 AM] Cocoa: I gawt sprit frm Bccob!
[9/5/2012 12:51:33 AM] DM: Why not
[9/5/2012 12:51:36 AM] Cleric: I do it
[9/5/2012 12:51:51 AM] Cocoa: Bt I got ber frm za guy...
[9/5/2012 12:51:53 AM] Cleric: I am not getting embarassed in front of the king ;)
[9/5/2012 12:51:53 AM] Cocoa: The rag...
[9/5/2012 12:52:02 AM] Cocoa: :c
[9/5/2012 12:52:03 AM] DM: You are no longer drunk cocoa
Names have been changed to protect the drunk.
Also, I believe I've mentioned about the time that I got a natural 20 to get an advanced payment of wine from the king. Yeah, this was it. After this, of course.
Eh, ability score damage (like from being drunk) usually falls to lesser restoration to cure.
Actually, I believe that the standard way of curing drunkeness is with a poison curative spell, but, well... the DM's kind of new.
I wasn't DM'ing this one, this was back when I was a player.
A member of our group never took anything seriously, and always tried to derail any given moment into comedy. He didn't rely on being Chaotic Neutral to do this either, just roleplaying wacky characters. Our DM thought it was all in good fun, but had no real sense of humor and couldn't effectively counter the antics.
One day we went to visit a king. This king was barely in his teens, and thus basically a puppet figure to his regent godfather. When we met with the king, the loon decided that since the king was basically a dorky adolescent, we should treat him as such.
PLAYER: Wassup! How's it hangin', homie?
And so on. After nearly a full minute of outdated street slang, the DM just sort of stared down the other guy for a few seconds before launching into the first counterattack he ever gave.
KING: Yo, dawgs! I hear you da bomb!
The King gave us his quest entirely in slang. After the DM finished, we all sort of sat there speechless. The DM assumed our characters were also speechless and sent the chancellor to harass us.
CHANCELLOR: Excuse me, sirs, but His Homeslice is very busy! I must ask you to take your leave!
PLAYER: ...His Homeslice?
CHANCELLOR: Royal Decree turned "His Majesty" into an outdated term.
A member of our group never took anything seriously, and always tried to derail any given moment into comedy. He didn't rely on being Chaotic Neutral to do this either, just roleplaying wacky characters. Our DM thought it was all in good fun, but had no real sense of humor and couldn't effectively counter the antics.
One day we went to visit a king. This king was barely in his teens, and thus basically a puppet figure to his regent godfather. When we met with the king, the loon decided that since the king was basically a dorky adolescent, we should treat him as such.
PLAYER: Wassup! How's it hangin', homie?
And so on. After nearly a full minute of outdated street slang, the DM just sort of stared down the other guy for a few seconds before launching into the first counterattack he ever gave.
KING: Yo, dawgs! I hear you da bomb!
The King gave us his quest entirely in slang. After the DM finished, we all sort of sat there speechless. The DM assumed our characters were also speechless and sent the chancellor to harass us.
CHANCELLOR: Excuse me, sirs, but His Homeslice is very busy! I must ask you to take your leave!
PLAYER: ...His Homeslice?
CHANCELLOR: Royal Decree turned "His Majesty" into an outdated term.
For a Changeling queen that tried to execute him, he referred to her as "Queenie" for the entire campaign. He also happened to use her (petrified) as a raft for an improvised "slip and slide" ride down a changeling hive.
Your not going to mention that Answer attempted to deck Celestia in the face?
That attempt went really well, for about 5 second, until everyone in the party yelled at him so much he gave up on the idea. Good times.
That attempt went really well, for about 5 second, until everyone in the party yelled at him so much he gave up on the idea. Good times.
My final boss... IS a king... They still don't treat him with the respect they should. But that's only because they don't know how terrifying a 30th level Enchanter is.
Being a wandering hero without allegiance can result in being pretty damn powerful. This results in the ability to talk to kings just like you would anyone else. That said, he's also a psychotic wizard with ADHD, so he doesn't care about that.
*hums* You know, the strip and the stories gives me an interesting idea of something to do when a certain character meets Celestia for the first time.
Well... that's one way to go about it. :) This might turn out to be a might more complicated then that, and involve the Emperor as well.
Oh, and does that mean you actually read my fics... or I'm just talking about them to much?
Oh, and does that mean you actually read my fics... or I'm just talking about them to much?
The other, I can't remember the name of. Celestia and Luna's mom and dad, Titan and Terra, return. Terra had a cutie mark that was a heart made of thorns, and they brainwash Twilight, and there's a big civil war and stuff as the mane six lead a rebellion. And Twilight uses a spell similar to one I developed in a story for pranks, but she uses metal, which turns it into a devastating weapon.
Twilight got taken over by some horrible evil entity or something, and then she put a curse on Rainbow Dash, and made her kill Fluttershy, but then [spoiler] and Twilight was pissed at Celestia until Luna talks to her, but Luna didn't talk to her. Rarity has a big sword made of sparkly diamonds, and Twilight steals all the magic, And PINKIE IS EFFING MAGICAL BATMAN! Or maybe the huntress, I'm not sure.
*pant pant pant* Yes. This is why I don't do reviews or read fanfics. I get to sounding like Chester A. Bum, but less coherent.
AND THEN RARITY'S DAD KICKED BLUEBLOOD'S ASS! But he's still the bad guy. Not blueblood, rarity's dad. He has a big fancy magic sword, made out of pretty metal shards. And he's evil. And then he eats Spike, but not really, and Equestria returned to peace, and the mane six all live shellshockily ever after. THE END!
The second fic is "The Immortal Game", formerly titled "Ponies Make War". The epilogue just went up fairly recently.
It's been on my to-read list for about six months now. I'll get to it in due time (I've just been reading comedies more recently).
It's been on my to-read list for about six months now. I'll get to it in due time (I've just been reading comedies more recently).
Wings and steel!
I kinda wish it was still titled Ponies Make War. To me, the simplistic, clear-cut title had this subtly sinister vibe to it that I feel a title like The Immortal Game loses.
Yeah, I never did understand how that story related to Anderrsen-Kieseritzky.
Best Gilda head-canon I've heard about:
Gilda took Iron Will's seminar.
The similarities are scary when you watch for them.
Gilda took Iron Will's seminar.
The similarities are scary when you watch for them.
You have a good point... maybe I should work that into my fic...
I like the casual like with royalty thing too. I have a character in a Savage World of Ponies game who's very casual when the Princesses are around. Which often earns him bonks on the head from any offical like folks around while the royals usually chuckle.
Look at panel 2, who is levitating the cupcake? And why is Pinkie Pie looking at it, not hungrily but, as if someone was pranking princess Cellestia?
You can see sparkles starting around Celestia's horn in that frame. I think it's a grab from *just* before the glow was starting (you can see a thin partial glow around the cupcake).
I parsed Pinkie's expression as just "excited", myself, but YMMV.
I parsed Pinkie's expression as just "excited", myself, but YMMV.
I always thought it was princess Luna who was levitating the cupcake, you know because the glow's blue, and Pinkie knew that it was a prank on princess Cellestia from her sister.
Celestia's aura is inconsistent in the show. It's been shown as gold in some scenes, pink in a few others, and apparently blue here.
If anything, it looks like Rarity's aura in that frame, colour-wise.
If anything, it looks like Rarity's aura in that frame, colour-wise.
I hate royalty
I can not tell you how many times we encontered them
I remember the Red Queen
"Off with their heads!"
Our GM needs to get out more, no matter how much he travels or gos to cons.
I can not tell you how many times we encontered them
I remember the Red Queen
"Off with their heads!"
Our GM needs to get out more, no matter how much he travels or gos to cons.
No useful skills do they have.
Set their pants ablaze.
Kings have lots of cash
And magical protection.
Damned aristocrats.
And magical protection.
Damned aristocrats.
Queen sweetie
That isn't evev the worst part, he gave us a catfolk(?) guide of undetermineable gender named Chesire.
I mean really was he reading Alice or playing the M rated game
That isn't evev the worst part, he gave us a catfolk(?) guide of undetermineable gender named Chesire.
I mean really was he reading Alice or playing the M rated game
Does reducing royalty into radioactive plasma count as being Casual?
A sorcerer on the other hoof thought it'd be the most brilliant idea in the world to get shitfaced drunk both in and out of character just minutes before we met the princess, we were filthy so went to get cleaned up, she started slamming down shots.
I can probably never show my face in Canterlot again.
Why, what did the sorcerer do? Try to make out with Celestia?
I'm being reminded of good old Azif Aram al'Rashid. My desert elf.
After being given a duchy he started greeting everyone with the now classical "Hello neighbor!"
This ofcourse annoyed the group to no end and they were ready to punch me in the end when I didn't greet the neighboring duke (who really was my neighbor) like that. But really, the guy had attempted to murder me, raided my duchy and attemtped to steal all the trade. He didn't deserve it.
After being given a duchy he started greeting everyone with the now classical "Hello neighbor!"
This ofcourse annoyed the group to no end and they were ready to punch me in the end when I didn't greet the neighboring duke (who really was my neighbor) like that. But really, the guy had attempted to murder me, raided my duchy and attemtped to steal all the trade. He didn't deserve it.
That's odd, Pinkie Pie in frame 3 has her cheeks puffed out but the cupcake isn't in her mouth. I wonder if that's how she eats things, speculate on such a process!, my theory is she eats like a grouper fish but in reverse ... somehow.
either way, these screenshots and this comic is showing me a lot of adorable imagry I managed to miss.
I think she lunged at the hovering cupcake (with enough force to knock all those things off the table), expelling air from the exertion, but then the cupcake covered her mouth, sealing it, so she ended up blowing air into her cheeks.
Hooray for thinking too much about simple things.
Hooray for thinking too much about simple things.
I had a character once who was basically one of those "Anything That Moves" types. Well, more like "Anything That Exists"... Erm, make that "Anything". He seduced a king once, right in the middle of negotiations. We went into another room, had a very vigorous 'debate', and when we exited I'd secured some excellent terms for the party. I spent that night in the Royal Suites (cough). The king wasn't even gay to begin with.
Real World Example! (Best time for that, eh?)
Doesn't anyone remember how Trudeau (Cdn Prime Minister), when he met the queen, shook her hand enthusiastically, then when she turned her back, mouthed words at her and did a piroette behind her?
Good times for Canadian newspapers, since the whole thing was live on camera.
In RPG, I usually DM nowadays, so I'm usually the royal. For some reason, my group doesn't ever mess with me when I'm doing my "royal", though I've heard I have quite a force of personality. They mess with me all the time if I'm doing a deity or a major villain, so I dunno.
Doesn't anyone remember how Trudeau (Cdn Prime Minister), when he met the queen, shook her hand enthusiastically, then when she turned her back, mouthed words at her and did a piroette behind her?
Good times for Canadian newspapers, since the whole thing was live on camera.
In RPG, I usually DM nowadays, so I'm usually the royal. For some reason, my group doesn't ever mess with me when I'm doing my "royal", though I've heard I have quite a force of personality. They mess with me all the time if I'm doing a deity or a major villain, so I dunno.
I'm told he was also caught on-camera sliding down banisters. I don't remember exactly which government building that happened in.
This is why I loved having a talking weasel familiar who firmly fell into the "Weasel Mascot" trope. Whereas the rest of the party would bow to the king (Including my wizard), the weasel would say something like "Hey king dude! We got the magical mcguffin, it was totally awesome! High fives!"
There's probably a reason his repeated requests for a nature reserve for weasels in the city (Which is totally not a harem for him, no, perish the thought!) never was granted.
There's probably a reason his repeated requests for a nature reserve for weasels in the city (Which is totally not a harem for him, no, perish the thought!) never was granted.
You know, the moment where Celestia smiles at Pinkie's antics, and the moment where she pretends to drink the tea so that it overflows and says a quiet, amused "gotcha"?
They're two of my favorite moments from the first seasons of FiM, for the amount of character they portray in such a small amount of time.
I can see Celestia having a foal sneak into her chambers, beep her nose, and then play hide and seek with her or even say they're better at headbutting than her and plow into her a few times, much to the dismay of her parents/the guards when they find out, and much to the amusement of Celestia herself.
They're two of my favorite moments from the first seasons of FiM, for the amount of character they portray in such a small amount of time.
I can see Celestia having a foal sneak into her chambers, beep her nose, and then play hide and seek with her or even say they're better at headbutting than her and plow into her a few times, much to the dismay of her parents/the guards when they find out, and much to the amusement of Celestia herself.