The Index of the Giant's Comments V―On a Saner Forum, We Wouldn't Need this Index

[Jasdoif]

Well I guess my surprise at the lack of discussion was warranted, it just hadn't happened yet Here's a reminder for anyone who hasn't seen it yet:

CALLING FOR CONFIRMATION VOTE ON A QUOTE

The inclusion of the entry Vampire Durkon can Cast Spells has been challenged; on the basis that the implied explanation of "Vampire Durkon" being a deity-less cleric does not in fact apply, and the general existence of deity-less clerics has since been confirmed in the comic. This vote will determine whether it remains in the Index or not.

Since we've had confusion on this before, the vote will be for keep or remove, rather than yes or no.

• Please bold your vote, it'll make it easier for me to notice when I go through and count everything.
• The usual suggestion to avoid discussing quotes during the vote does not apply in this case.
• Per Rule F4, inclusion by vote requires a quote to have two more votes to keep than votes to remove.

Voting will be open until July 1st, 9PM EDT.

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The topic is bout how Rich's interpretation of the SRD interacts with the rules he establishes for his setting. Without the quote, we can assume. With the quote, we can know.

I realized a particular complicating factor here is what the Giant said about the post later:

Well, there was no proof of that until this point. Giant said Durkon was a nontheistic Cleric,

No, I didn't. This is what I said:

Tell you what, you read the vampire template entry, particularly the part where it explicitly says that vampire clerics can still cast spells just with different domain access, and you tell me where it says anything about gods or temporary loss of access there. It doesn't. Vampire clerics do not need to worship a god to cast spells, because NO cleric needs a god to cast spells. The rules specifically allow for "non-theistic" clerics, and explains exactly what the effects of turning into a vampire has on a cleric: Rebuke instead of Turn, different domains. Period.

All of that is 100% true in a game of Dungeons & Dragons.

Which this comic is not.

I can certainly see the possibility for walking away from that quote with the impression that the key paragraph in the earlier quote shouldn't actually apply to the comic...just as I can see the possibility that the "not 100% true" part might just be the integral role of deities of undeath in the process, especially since deity conversion might not be guaranteed.


But ultimately, the vote comes down to whether the community as a whole finds the entry worth keeping or not...and we have no strict guidelines for what makes an entry worth having in the Index, hence the vote.

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Also, I want to apologize to the banana for making you keep posting a summary of what were voting over. Frankly, this debate should have happened when people were proposing the thing for removal.

But it didn't, and I don't want to see a post removed by default.

I've specifically exempted the "avoid discussing the quotes during the vote" on removals for precisely that reason; without any established timing procedure (or procedure in general) there's no advance notice on when these removal discussions could happen, and cutting off discussion because of mind reading failure on the part of our contributors (one of the Plant traits is immunity to mind-affecting effects after all, which many mind reading effects are) rather than because people didn't know there was a discussion going on...isn't a risk I find comfortable.

Requoting myself for the summary doesn't really rise to the point of inconvenience for me; and it certainly pales in comparison of the possibility of undercutting everyone who wanted an entry included in the first place on the basis of my timing.