[Sampi]

This is the OOC thread for Under the School

List of players and characters:

• Freebiewitz: Chappe Klerigo, Paladin
• AugustusGloop: Judit, Conjurer
• Shugyosha: Ceraphina, Cloistered Cleric
• Prince Zahn: "Gripin'" Gurlin Staklewriff, Fighter
• Grytorm: Chaff, goblin ranger
• Needle: Lyta, Half-Elven rogue
• Marker Mage: Niko Tezza, Rogue
• Man on Fire: Stinky, Kobold Illusionist

So I went with the full eight, don’t make me regret it. I’ll post as much as I am able to, but real life will sometimes get in the way. My aim is no less than five posts per week, but be aware that especially in July I might have trouble getting to a computer.

A reminder of my DM style:

Spoiler

I'm tactics light, roleplay heavy.
Tactics light: I dislike combat maps. They slow down everything and are more trouble than they're worth. I prefer abstract movement. While I realize the need for a common idea of the encounter battleground, I prefer to get over that difficulty with verbal descriptions rather than a map on a grid. I'll provide a general map of the area if that is required.
Roleplay heavy: I like to see the characters interact with the world in many ways, not just with the spearhead. Most of my encounters will have ways of solving them without resorting to violence. Some will not. (Because hey, this is D&D after all.) In combat situations, roleplaying will also be encouraged: choosing a hated enemy instead of the most dangerous one may be a good choice.
Creativity in resource use is encouraged and rewarded.
My tabletop game is aslo set in this world, the characters are all wizards. I reward them for finding new and inventive uses for their spells. Also, getting into and out of combat is a serious business for low-level wizards, so they need to think thrice before doing such things, and they better have devious plans.
If you can find a clever way of solving a difficult situation with an unexpected or devious use of your resources, I will reward that with something, most likely bonus XP.
Cool moves and spell use will often go over the RAW.
See above; describing your attacks and spell uses and doing the unconventional and creative will have a better chance of success than just "I hit it with me sword".
Players have minor diegetic power, while I retain control of the major lines in the world.
Diegesis is a word used by roleplaying scholars. In this context it means the narration of the world. In particular this means that while I wish to retain control of how the world works and what the NPC's and monsters do, players are free to input details, color and atmosphere even while in-game. (Players have great diegetic power with their character background, but often not in-game.) I find that giving some power to the players will improve everyone's immersion greatly.
This is especially true when combined with the above two points. Example: The group is fighting on a road of packed dirt. The fighter is bullrushed and falls prone, but retaliates: "I fling a handful of horse droppings in the brute's face and stand up while he's spitting and cursing." I will let this fly and the fighter takes no AoO from getting up. While I did not specify there's a pile of horse droppings next to the fighter, it's a reasonable thing to find on a road.
Use this power to enrich the world we're playing in, do not try to abuse it to get unfair advantages.

I guess all this can be summed up in: this is a game of imagination. Use it.

On alignment:

Spoiler

Alignment is one of the aspects in D&D I'm the least happy with. I think it's a copout from developing an actual personality, and instead picking a narrowly defined "morality" to guide your actions. However, since it's an integral part of the rules mechanics, I can't just dismiss it altogether. What I do instead is this:

You pick an alignment, but don't hang yourself with it. Find moral codes and behaviors that fit your character, and use those instead. Even a good character may be harsh towards some and even hate them, and an evil character may love someone and sacrifice herself to save that which they love. Use alignment more as a guidepost than a straitjacket, please.

The harsh end of the alignment spectrum is the outsiders and others that are supposed to embody the ideals. Those are indeed "always evil" or "always good" and so forth. Few mortals come close to that kind of absolute, and they should not either. Paladins may aspire to this kind of good, or law, or both - but their attempts are rarely quite the absolute.

Please use this thread for off-game comments and discussion, as well as background questions to me.