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2016-10-27, 07:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
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2016-10-27, 10:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I've read Menage3 up until, I think, one of the guys demonstrated some "super kiss" on someone else. Then I got cut off from internet for a long time and just fell out of reading it. I also read some early parts of Erie Cuties, but it was never my thing.
I used to absolutely love QC though, but I fell out of due to the drama around Martin and... Can't remember her name, but Faye's boss, Dora? I think. Was never that fond of how the Faye/Martin thing came down, especially how she immediately jumped Sven right after.
If you're interested in some gaming themed ones, there is, of course, the famous Order of the Stick, but then there is also Looking For Group, a mix of D&D, WOW and nerd culture,;and, another great one, is Darth's and Droids. D&D... Huh, never thought about how appropriate that is. Anyway, D&D is a retelling of Star Wars, beginning with Phantom Menace as if it were, basically, a Dungeons and Dragons game told from the perspective of the players and GM both in character, and out. Absolutely brilliant and hilarious, it is by far one of the best and most enjoyable webcomics I've ever read. Especially since they were able to make Jar Jar a likeable character.Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-10-28, 04:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I personally read way too many webcomics to list. I read most the ones Ashiel said. Some of my current favorites are http://www.valsalia.com/comic/prologue/01/ , http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/48 , http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdsh...of-hand-cover/ , And http://somethingpositive.net/sp12192001.shtml .
Some of these are pretty damn long now though heh. Particularily the last one.
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2016-10-28, 04:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2006
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- Weston-Super-Mare, UK
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Hello, haven't been back here for a bit. I actually came back to find an old signature. Er, so...
What do you play at present? I'm a huge fan of D&D 5E which I find nice and simple to use, as one of my biggest gripes with D&D is character generation. Going to 5E's rather streamlined system means I can't go back to 3.5 or Pathfinder these days because I find it clunky.
Okay, not really a question... but I did ask one!GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING: Exposure to this .sig can be hazardous to your health.
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2016-10-29, 06:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
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2016-10-29, 07:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Oh my god, I forgot how bad PFS writers are. Local Hobby store asked me to replace a GM that dropped out of a PFS event last minute and gave me the scenario he was running. The scenario has a Glabrezu bound by ancient summoners and left forgotten in their secret lair. With the magic decaying, a Ghaele Azata seeks out the Glabrezu to destroy it.
For those who don't know, a Ghaele Azata is a creature that is OP for its CR and can, and will, whip the snot out of most things several CR higher than she is.
The scenario implies the Ghaele does this because the Glabrezu is too overpowering for her to face normally. In fact, even bound by magic, and left weakened in its imprisonment, the Ghaele is too weak (I call BS on that!) for her to destroy the Glabrezu, but the Glabrezu is unable to destroy her as she collapses out of his reach and she lies their, unconscious and needing help.
I mean, despite the fact the Ghaele is both a better martial, and a better caster, than the Glabrezu, and has better DR the Glabrezu can't bypass while she can easily bypass his, and is wielding a +2 Holy weapon, making it a +4 weapon that deals an extra 2d6 against the Glabrezu... She loses the fight while the Glabrezu is, basically, shackled to the wall.
I mean, what the hell? I only read the first paragraph and I'm already hanging my head against the wall. I haven't read anything else yet, so maybe there is some sort of justification for this... Like maybe the Ghaele spent 5 years under a Geas, cursed herself with Blindness and Deafness, both, and also only fought with fists and no magic... Maybe then I could believe it. But the Ghaele should have no trouble killing the Glabrezu, it's brother, father and mother all at the same time.
Maybe this is why the other GM dropped out?
[Edit] Yeah, so, it doesn't get any better. Neither the Ghaele, nor the Glabrezu are special in anyway, literally just run of the mill versions. The Ghaele is depicted as being left at negative HP for weeks, and incapable of healing her own wounds, while the Glabrezu ruthlessly dominated her in martial combat. The scenario also doesn't mention what happened to her badass sword of demon slaying, so the party isn't able to use it to take down the demon or anything. They just banish it, because, again, the Ghaele is took weak and can't tend to her own wounds even after the party saves and revives her.Last edited by Tels; 2016-10-29 at 08:25 PM.
Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-10-29, 08:30 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Ugh, that's horrible. Don't people even glance at the statblocks when they're writing things? This nonsensical creature selection seems a running trend sometimes (a certain encounter with pseudodragons and imps jumps to mind). My heart goes out to you and the former GM since PFS GMs aren't allowed to tweak or modify the adventure, so you're stuck running whatever it says, even if it's terrible.
At the very least, why didn't they, I dunno, use a Hound Archon or maybe a Lillend Azata? The lillend even has the side benefit of being more of a support creature so she can cheerlead the party when they help her.
EDIT:
[Edit] Yeah, so, it doesn't get any better. Neither the Ghaele, nor the Glabrezu are special in anyway, literally just run of the mill versions. The Ghaele is depicted as being left at negative HP for weeks, and incapable of healing her own wounds, while the Glabrezu ruthlessly dominated her in martial combat. The scenario also doesn't mention what happened to her badass sword of demon slaying, so the party isn't able to use it to take down the demon or anything. They just banish it, because, again, the Ghaele is took weak and can't tend to her own wounds even after the party saves and revives her.
Especially since ghaele azatas recover 13 hp / day, minimum.
EDIT 2: In fact, given the glabrezu is trapped, it would be very easy for the ghaele to custom select the spells she needs explicitly for the purposes of destroying it. She casts 7th level spells as a cleric. That means she could casually make herself immune to anything bad the demon intends with spells like spell immunity, which allows her complete safety against spells like unholy blight. She could just sit outside his bindings and blast him with her light rays. Counting divine power and righteous might, she could literally just beat him to death with her fists (she does bypass his DR with anything). It's worth noting that she can also cast planar ally to get backup as needed as well. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-10-29 at 08:39 PM.
You are my God.
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2016-10-29, 10:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Yeah, it's actually not a fight they are intended to win at all. The adventure is designed for APL 1 - 3, or APL 3 - 6, fighting the Glabrezu is never am option. If you save the Ghaele, she "imbues one character with a remnant of her power, allowing that PC to banish the demon, instead of slaying it" and the bindings on the Glabrezu are so good, it strips them of will saves vs magic and their SR. If I were playing I the game, I would absolutely be studying those circles. That's the real treasure.
On a different note... this adventure explicitly says that the Thessalonians mages who bound the Glabrezu originally did so because they wanted to force the Glabrezu to cast wishes on their behalf each month and that they did, in fact, use the Glabrezu for their intended purposes. Using wishes to do things like enslave a dragon into their service or weave protections into their research facility.
So this is now 3 Paizo products that expliticly call out binding outsiders and forcing them to grant wishes. I still don't know why people think that this isn't a valid tactic.Last edited by Tels; 2016-10-30 at 12:40 AM.
Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-10-29, 11:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I see stuff like the first half all the time in products. High level bard goes into place, somehow losses to 3 cockatrices and ends up petrified.
Also for the record, they fixed that imp encounter in the rewritten version by making a new subspecies of pseudodragons called House Drakes who evolved from pseudodragons who kept exposing themselves to silver, and likely foreign magical influence.
As for the wish thing, the answer will be only dms are allowed to do that. If players do it, it's cheating. It's why only evil creatures can grant wish easily. Because if anyone else does it, they twist and abuse it and seek vengeance or to enslave you afterwards. Basically any way to not let pcs be allowed to play with the "gm's toys."
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2016-10-30, 02:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
So, I just realized I made an error; the Glabrezu can defeat the Ghaele, and pretty easily too if he's lucky, but only if the Ghaele doesn't take appropriate action to stop the Glabrezu's one and only chance at doing so. How?
Power Word Stun.
The Glabrezu has that spell as a SLA use able 1/day and Ghaele have less than 150 hp. Granted he has only aan approximately 50% chance of making the SR check (CL 14 vs. SR 25), but its possible. Then the Ghaele just tears into her or does a coup de grace.
Granted, this is only possible because, apparently, a CR 3/CR 6 enemy manages to bull rush her into the circle with the Glabrezu... 'Cause, you know, that's easy to do. /sarcasm
So, only because the Ghaele got knocked into the circle, and then only if she didn't prepare countermeasures vs. the 1 and only SLA the Glabrezu has that will really hurt her, and then it has to make the 50% chance to stun the Ghaele... Well then it can actually win the fight.
So, since the fight happened in the narrative, this is exactly what happened.Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-10-30, 06:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
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2016-10-30, 10:54 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
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2016-10-30, 12:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
The Legacy of Fire AP, and the Seven Swords of Sin module. These are just the instances that I, personally, have come across. If don't know if others out there exist, and this is mostly a reference to a certain debate in which Ashiel was challenged to find proof of outsiders being bound to exploit their wishes in a published product.
The Night March of Kalkamedes. If the an interesting enough scenario, relies more on creativity and skills than combats but large aspects of the premise are inherently faulty. Even disregarding the Ghaele vs Glabrezu, the Ghaele is left unconscious, but stable, at negative HP for weeks before the party can rescue her and she can't finish off the demon because she is unable to heal her wounds enough to do so (has CLW as an at-will SLA and multiple Cure spells prepared, including heal).
It's very classic in many ways. Has a smidge of possession, exploration, bandits, dragons, puzzles, a powerful magical sword, ancient evil wizards, demons and a damsel in distress.Last edited by Tels; 2016-10-30 at 12:20 PM.
Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-11-01, 05:11 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Am I a glutton for punishment? Why do I keep finding myself wandering into discussions/arguments with people who seem to have no idea what they're talking about? Conversation I just abandoned was with a guy who doesn't like weapons with high critical damage because you "waste damage" if you overkill the enemy. He thinks it's more efficient, and better damage, to do, basically, deal less damage more often, because that way there is less damage that gets "wasted" when you kill someone.
So killing an enemy with 100 hp in 3 hits by dealing 200 points of damage is less useful than dealing 120 points of damage over 6 hits, because less damage is wasted.
Why do I keep finding people like this? Someone asks for some advice, I chime in, and next thing you know, I'm in an argument with a guy who says you can't auto-succeed a skill check because you critically fumble on a 1...Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-11-01, 05:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Because, unfortunately, the vast majority of people lack reasoning skills. Lack of reasoning ability largely correlates with apparent stupidity.
Or you're just really unlucky. I've met enough, however, to realize your odds are probably pretty good if you're trying to run into people who know nothing, yet think they know everything.
It's for this reason, always make sure to do your research. If someone claims something you didn't know, validate the claim. If wrong, learn from your newfound knowledge. If unsure, experiment. Never argue out of anger, nor pride if you can help it, rather in a search for truth. If so, you win either way, because you will find it whether your argument is beaten or if it isn't, since really all the argument serves is to challenge the validity of the subject.
And people really need to read the darn rulebooks if they're going to argue them. There's a part of me that wants to whack people over the head with the core rulebook whenever they mention natural 1s or natural 20s being automatic anythings with skills.Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-11-01 at 05:32 PM.
You are my God.
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2016-11-01, 08:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2012
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Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I mostly agree with that guy... I generally prefer consistency over high-spikes of damage. Kinda like I'd rather deal 50 damage every round than 100 damage very 2 rounds, even if it's mathematically the same. IMO, a x4 crit multiplier is pretty much the same thing as a x3 one. Besides, not every enemy will require x3 damage to hit... And a high multiplier grows less and less valuable with each hit you land before that crit finally comes.
I have no problem with math (In fact, it's a HUGE part of my career of choice), but sometimes it can be misleading. The classic example are DPR calculators... They are a fun and useful tool (I even made one of my own in Excel ), but not an exact representation of "reality"... Unless you're fighting a single with infinity/really-freaking-high health and using rules where every single hit connects, but deals only a percentage of damage (5~95%).Homebrew Stuff:- Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System! - (D&D 3.X and PF)
Not all heroes wield scimitars, falchions and longbows! (I'm quite proud of this one ) - Lemmy's Homebrew Cauldron
You can find all my work here.
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2016-11-01, 09:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Nah, the examples he was giving were under the assumption of the same attack bonus, and attack damage, only the other weapon has a smaller threat range and higher multiplier. I pointed out that, theoretically, the higher multiplier results in a higher DPR. But he's convinced that any damage above the threshold is "wasted" and the core lower critixL weapons are better because they don't waste as much damage.
Then he used an example of paying $100 for something that costs $50, wasting $50, and said it was, "literally the exact same thing with damage." It was at this point I told him his comment was stupid and now I've got a 3-day ban from Reddit :)Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-11-01, 10:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Uh... Actually, a 19-20/x2 weapon should have higher average DPR than a 20/x3 one (even if we ignore the "threshold"), unless I'm missing something (and not considering DR). Besides... There are things that push things in further in favor of wider critical threat range: abilities, class features and feats that are activated by critical hits, such as Grit/Panache and the always fun, but overpriced Vorpal enhancement... Not to mention critical-denying abilities are a bigger pain in the ass if you're less likely to score two crits on the same round.
In any case... The problem isn't really the "wasted" damage. That's just poor phrasing, I believe. The problem is the opportunity cost: you lower your chances of achieving a critical in order to make them more damaging... But the increased bonus damage from the higher multiplier will likely not matter a lot of the time. Specially if the critical hit doesn't come on the 1st hit...
Yeah... "literally the exact same thing" is usually a pretty dumb oversimplification.Last edited by Lemmy; 2016-11-01 at 10:43 PM.
Homebrew Stuff:- Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System! - (D&D 3.X and PF)
Not all heroes wield scimitars, falchions and longbows! (I'm quite proud of this one ) - Lemmy's Homebrew Cauldron
You can find all my work here.
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2016-11-02, 02:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
We were talking about 18-20 vs x4 weapons in the discussion and were only talking about damage, and nothing else that triggers on crits.
On a different note, I did end up running that PFS scenario and it went pretty well, though no one told me it's be for all brand new players so I had to teach them the game as well as make the characters for them :(
Afterward, I challenged 3 other players to a little display to show why I thought the scenario was dumb, and I ran a Ghaele vs a party of 3 Glabrezu and won the fight fairly easily.Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-11-02, 03:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I didnt know the PFS scenarios was that bad.... Is it the DMs of the tables that write them or are they "PFS approved" scenarios that is being ran?....
Personally PFS confuse me and just seem like a "competetive D&D" to me due to how strict the rules around it are.
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2016-11-02, 10:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
It's my understanding - anyone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - that all PFS games are ran using PFS approved adventure modules, and they cannot be altered by the GMs in any way. The restrictions on GMs and what they can run are very tight in PFS, though I can understand why (it's meant as a form of quality control, and I've seen enough bad GMs to know that leaving your average GM to their own devises is a good way to set PFS on fire).
However, I admit that given the trouble of keeping such a tight leash, it's all the more bothersome when the quality of the adventures you're expected to run aren't as tight.
But I don't play or GM PFS games for a variety of reasons, so I don't have a dog in that fight.You are my God.
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2016-11-02, 08:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Like Ashiel said, PFS is ran with pre-written modules only. A PFS GM is akin to a video game console, pop a scenario into the GM and play through, fully knowing there will not be any changes to the layout of the game that isn't already scripted in the game itself.
In this scenario, I ran it for the players as written, nearly killed them too as they almost fell for the lies of the trapped Glabrezu to free him.
After the scenario was over, I asked 3 other players who were more experienced than my group to run a mock fight, and pitted a Ghaele up against 3 Glabrezu, with the caveat that the Ghaele is expecting to fight them and prepared accordingly. So this was not part of the PFS scenario at all.
PFS itself is not inherently bad, it some ways it can be extremely liberating for players because the GM can't tell them, "No, you can't take that feat/class/spell/item/etc." so they can play what they want as of ng as it's considered PFS legal. But at the same time, it's also extremely limited as PFS tends to script out everything, and if it's not covered by the scenario, you really can't do it.
For example, one of the players in the previous scenario wanted to capture some bear cubs after killing a momma bear so he could sell or train them, but the scenario doesn't account for this possibility, so it can't happen. Bear cubs are not listed as a treasure item, so they can't sell them, nor would it carry over into a single credentials session.
It's like when you're playing a video game and the game says "go from A to B" and you have to walk, but there are cars everywhere and you think, "why can't I just take one of these abandoned cars and drive?"
The game doesn't say you can, so you can't.
Conflict wise, PFS prohibited party conflict at all. Like, if someone tries to steal from or kill a party member, their character is immediately marked as dead and is no longer playable.
So while the rules are strict and binding, they're also freeing and loose at the same time. As you can do almost anything within the limits of the rules.
As a player, for the most part, I wouldn't mind playing in PFS as it turns I to a major Monty Haul style game, as you get the wealth of the scenario (which is already above normal WBL) and you gain prestige points which can be used to buy services, including items. So characters that depend on specific magical items or combinations of magical items are easy to play in PFS as you can be certain you will, eventually, get that item.
Now granted, most all of these problems are solved by a good GM as a good GM will give players what they need, but not all GMs are good, and, as such, PFS is really attractive to many players. It's also attractive to many players on the go, as they can always be assured certain things will be available to them, no matter where they happen to be.
But as a GM.... God, I hate PFS. I hate being so limited in what I can do. I hate it. So I won't run PFS unless I really need, like this scenario, as it drives me up the wall.Last edited by Tels; 2016-11-02 at 08:29 PM.
Founding member of the Cult of Ashiel
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2016-11-02, 09:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Figured I'd share these prototypes I wrote this afternoon. I've had precious little time to work on D20 Legends lately, but I told Klara I was going to lock myself in my room, turn off all the phones, and cut myself off from civilization soon and just write. In any case, this is part of a skill reworking system where investing ranks into skills allow you to get skill-associated abilities and powers.
You are my God.
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2016-11-03, 01:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Well, it should work that way. However, there are some PFS GMs who claim that they intentionally harass players with certain character options as a way to effectively ban players from using characters with those options.
And some of the people who brag about how they harass players for using PFS-legal content have "Venture ___" titles. Fostering a friendly community is not something the PFS leadership puts much effort into
Interesting, I'll have to try them out later.
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2016-11-03, 01:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2012
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Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Yeah... The reason I don't play PFS is because I hate the house rules they adopt and how rigid it is. The one thing tabletop RPGs have over their electronic counterparts is freedom of choice and action. If that is removed, I might as well spend my time playing Dragon Age or something like that. The horror stories I've heard from several people about how GM, specially Venture Whatevers act as spoiled celebrities don't help either...
Best case scenario, PFS is like a fire extinguisher for me... I'm glad it's there for an emergency, but I really, really hope I never have to use it. Worst case scenario... It's an awful community with bad house rules and bad GMing policy. Either way, not something of which I want to be part.Last edited by Lemmy; 2016-11-03 at 01:57 PM.
Homebrew Stuff:- Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System! - (D&D 3.X and PF)
Not all heroes wield scimitars, falchions and longbows! (I'm quite proud of this one ) - Lemmy's Homebrew Cauldron
You can find all my work here.
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2016-11-03, 02:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Well, TOZ participates in PFS so it can't be all bad, even if it's just 'cause TOZ is out there somewhere.
You are my God.
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2016-11-03, 10:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2009
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
I'd register for PFS if I needed to do so for the chance to play with TOZ
Same goes for pretty much everyone on this thread. Although, if it came down to it, I'd probably have an easier time running an ad-libbed one-shot non-PFS game than figuring out how PFS works just to play with one or more of ya.Last edited by 137beth; 2016-11-03 at 10:51 PM.
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2016-11-04, 04:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
Ashiel team game go! We will undergo a grand quest, to revive the fallen Ashiel our cult is around after being struck down by the dreaded Ba'hmmer wielded by the dark forces of Moder! Along the way we will find support, understanding and bagels, cus I want bagels.
Yes.
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2016-11-04, 05:24 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
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Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
We should make a Pbp game here in the world of Ashiel.
But i got a interesting idea for a setting in another thread:
Originally Posted by Re: PATHFINDER Lvl 20 duel: Colossal vs Fine character
Or a extremly creepy version of mouseguard.... what have i done?!
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2016-11-04, 05:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2016
Re: Talk to Ashiel About Anything Mark II
You may want to look into metro 2033 novels. Series of organs connected by blood vessels would be quite similar to a bunch of underground stations connected by tunnels.
Though personally, my next plot-heavy campaign would probably be heavilly modified Hell's Rebels.Chief Librarian and Chronicler of Ashiel