GrrlPower III: Crisis Of Infinite Filler Comics

[-D-]

I agree with the Kender idea. In the original DragonLance Chronicles, the Kender were loathed by much of the fan base for their Chaotic Stupid tendencies. In case it isn't obvious, I'm in the "Kender Are Too Dumb to Live" camp.

I'm in the "Everyone is allowed to play Kender*" camp.

*However Kender dies in first 15min of the adventure. Usually by having a chest-burster, burst out of their skull, and then their body is swallowed by a volcano.

[Leewei]

Or at least float around in her shield. In fact that is what she should do most of the time when on a job no reason not to have ambush protection. Though I guess the author doesn't want her semi permanently in a flying bubble.

Pretty much this.

[Leewei]

I'm in the "Everyone is allowed to play Kender*" camp.

*However Kender dies in first 15min of the adventure. Usually by having a chest-burster, burst out of their skull, and then their body is swallowed by a volcano.

Heh heh.

Any character in an RPG with kleptomania is a danger to the game. The PC will steal from NPCs, getting the party into trouble, and from other PCs, inconveniencing and angering them. They're enormously disruptive.

And the creators of DragonLance, an otherwise awesome realm, saw fit to make an entire race with this trait.

[-D-]

And the creators of DragonLance, an otherwise awesome realm, saw fit to make an entire race with this trait.

I assume the DragonLance creator either did enough drugs to make them think, this would be good, -OR- DragonLance creator's mentally disabled brother asked to design a race and they forgot to remove it at the last minute.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Neither. Tracey Hickman is a Mormon, and found the concept of a race of thieves (aka hobbits halflings) problematic for a lot of reasons. So they created Kender, and things just kept snowballing. Janet Pack's responsible for a lot of the saccharine super-cutesy stuff, and Roger Moore did most of the rest of the damage with his DRAGON editorials (ditto gully dwarves and tinker gnomes--RM is the guy who condemned all three to comedy race status instead of refugee analogues, research scientists trying to replace magic with Science! and the Lost Boys/Lord of the Flies expys).

Then jackhole players got a hold of them and played it to the hilt.

[Drascin]

Count me as never knowing that the heck got people so up in arms about Kenders. They're amusing, their complete lack of self-preservation is honestly just how every PC acts anyway so at least they have an excuse for being as dumb as the rest of the party already is, and the kleptomania is called out constantly as them being basically magpies - a properly played Kender will not steal the Bloodsoaked Mace Of Smashing +3 in your bag. They'll take the bauble next to it because it's way shinier and more interesting than a ball with spikes or a sharp stick.

[Forum Explorer]

I agree with the Kender idea. In the original DragonLance Chronicles, the Kender were loathed by much of the fan base for their Chaotic Stupid tendencies. In case it isn't obvious, I'm in the "Kender Are Too Dumb to Live" camp.

As an aside, I hated Jar Jar in the Star Wars prequels. I can still accept that he was there for kids to enjoy and relate to. Similar ineptitude just doesn't work well in a webcomic featuring succubi and gore-drenched magical vaults.

Back to the teleorb: If Sydney cannot use this for any contrived reason, she simply should not enter a room soaking in biohazardous once-human jelly. Given her abilities, placing her nearby to help in an emergency is ideal.

Were they? I actually don't know, when I read Dragonlance for the first time, it actually predated my access to internet forums. I know RPG players get up in arms about them, but for people who are just fans of the books, I have no idea. Personally I quite like the Kender in the books.

Though, I'm also in the camp of being the sort of person who can play a Kender, and do a good job of it to boot. It's really not hard to do. You just have to not be an *******. Not acting like an ******* is (or at least should be) a basic skill.

I assume the DragonLance creator either did enough drugs to make them think, this would be good, -OR- DragonLance creator's mentally disabled brother asked to design a race and they forgot to remove it at the last minute.

I think they weren't designed with the intent to let players play as them but as characters for a fantasy book.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Nope. They were designed for the Dragonlance modules and were thus open to players from the get go. The novels only came about because someone in editorial demanded tie-in fiction, due immediately and Weis and Hickman basically wrote up the Let's Play of the playtest. Which is why things get a little wonky by the start of the third book--they hadn't played those modules yet.

It's really not hard to do. You just have to not be an *******. Not acting like an ******* is (or at least should be) a basic skill.

But then you are failing to play the character according to the race stereotype in the book and you loose 25% of your XP.

The unquenchable curiosity of kender drives them to investigate everything-including other people's possessions. Kender appropriate absolutely everything that catches their eye. Physical boundaries or notions of privacy are both alien concepts to them, while the monetary value of an object means nothing to them. Kender are never happier than when their hands are in the pockets, pouches, or backpacks of those around them.

That's from the official rulebook for Dragonlance. Nothing about pretty being preferred, just they take everything they want.

[Qwertystop]

Nope. They were designed for the Dragonlance modules and were thus open to players from the get go. The novels only came about because someone in editorial demanded tie-in fiction, due immediately and Weis and Hickman basically wrote up the Let's Play of the playtest. Which is why things get a little wonky by the start of the third book--they hadn't played those modules yet.



But then you are failing to play the character according to the race stereotype in the book and you loose 25% of your XP.



That's from the official rulebook for Dragonlance. Nothing about pretty being preferred, just they take everything they want.

It does say that monetary value isn't meaningful to them, though. So there's still plenty of room to say that they're unlikely to steal valuables unless they've got some other reason to want them - so they might steal a magic weapon they know how to use, if they need one, but not one that they can't.

[Forum Explorer]

Nope. They were designed for the Dragonlance modules and were thus open to players from the get go. The novels only came about because someone in editorial demanded tie-in fiction, due immediately and Weis and Hickman basically wrote up the Let's Play of the playtest. Which is why things get a little wonky by the start of the third book--they hadn't played those modules yet.



But then you are failing to play the character according to the race stereotype in the book and you loose 25% of your XP.



That's from the official rulebook for Dragonlance. Nothing about pretty being preferred, just they take everything they want.

Interesting.


Why? You can play a humble elf, a claustrophobic dwarf, or a dieting halfing if you want. They don't take penalties. (At least, not in any edition I played in, though admittedly, I started in 3.5). Anyways, I took my cue on how to play a kender from the books.

[Rogar Demonblud]

AD&D had a lot of bad ideas. Bonus XP for high abilities and losing XP for not following the One True Way were arguably the worst.

It does say that monetary value isn't meaningful to them, though. So there's still plenty of room to say that they're unlikely to steal valuables unless they've got some other reason to want them - so they might steal a magic weapon they know how to use, if they need one, but not one that they can't.

And if the reason to want said item is because it's cool?

According to the rules, it's perfectly in character for a kender to steal your arrows and shoot them all away trying to see which will go furthest. Or to decide they want to be a wizard and nick your wands and scrolls and use them up (if they pass the skill check, natch). Or decide to try to take up music by blowing a bugle when you're trying to do anything quiet.

They were pretty much deliberately written to be a magnet for jackholes, and they're given plot immunity as well, since you can't even scold them without drawing negative karma. Actually harm (or worse, kill) them and you start the slide to CE.

I've seen any number of re-writes that work so much better, starting with the 3E halfling.

[Kantaki]

They were pretty much deliberately written to be a magnet for jackholes, and they're given plot immunity as well, since you can't even scold them without drawing negative karma. Actually harm (or worse, kill) them and you start the slide to CE.

Look at my sig. See if I care.
As long as I raise them* afterwards it's just a little lesson about boundaries.
My stuff and your stuff; life and death- same principle, really.
Being CN is awesome. So much flexibility.

*as a zombie**
**temporarily

[Drascin]

They were pretty much deliberately written to be a magnet for jackholes, and they're given plot immunity as well, since you can't even scold them without drawing negative karma. Actually harm (or worse, kill) them and you start the slide to CE.

I've seen any number of re-writes that work so much better, starting with the 3E halfling.

Truth be told, I have literally never had a kender in my parties that was a jackhole. I had, however, had players that made big shows of hating kenders in kender-less parties be so. Anecdotal data and all, but for now as a GM I tend to fall squarely in the camp of "the player who makes a big show of wanting to see all kender dead in some kind of revenge porn fantasy is far more likely to be a problem than the one who wants to play a dumb*** kender".

[Kantaki]

New comic

For once Sydney is entirely justified in resorting to violence.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Yeah, there's something that even those of us with Lower Planes ancestry can get behind.

Plus, Dabbler was about due for another comeuppance.

[Leewei]

Given her predatory tendencies, I'm surprised Dabbler is allowed into the locker room, let alone the showers. She should either be magicking herself clean, or else using private facilities.

[lord_khaine]

For once Sydney is entirely justified in resorting to violence.

Nope.. not in the slightest.
She straight up asked for magical help to keeping warm after her own latest act of stupidity.

[Celestia]

Nope.. not in the slightest.
She straight up asked for magical help to keeping warm after her own latest act of stupidity.

She asked for a spell to make her warm, and Dabbler gave her a spell that made her horny. I'm sure that even a novice lawyer can argue that as being a form of sexual assault.

[Traab]

She asked for a spell to make her warm, and Dabbler gave her a spell that made her horny. I'm sure that even a novice lawyer can argue that as being a form of sexual assault.

She asked someone whose entire magical arsenal and power supply comes from sex to cast a spell on her. Side effects should be expected. Especially after seeing her cast stuff like the cleanliness cantrips which come with sexy makeup job as a side effect.

[Celestia]

She asked someone whose entire magical arsenal and power supply comes from sex to cast a spell on her. Side effects should be expected. Especially after seeing her cast stuff like the cleanliness cantrips which come with sexy makeup job as a side effect.

Okay? If I ask a prostitute for the time, I don't expect her to feel me up after. Unwanted sexual actions are wrong no matter who's performing them or what the context is. Period.

[lord_khaine]

She asked for a spell to make her warm, and Dabbler gave her a spell that made her horny. I'm sure that even a novice lawyer can argue that as being a form of sexual assault.

She asked for a spell to make her warm, and got one that brought the sensation of warm air blowing over the "entire" body. I think you would need a novice lawyer to think that could be shaped into sexual assult anywhere besides a madhouse.

[Traab]

Okay? If I ask a prostitute for the time, I don't expect her to feel me up after. Unwanted sexual actions are wrong no matter who's performing them or what the context is. Period.

If you watch a dog stop to sniff everything all day, then send it to fetch an item, you shouldnt be surprised when that dog stops to sniff it first. Seriously, outside of actual combat, everything dabbler has done, magically speaking, has involved sex or sexiness in some fashion. Even some of the combat! She is a freaking succubus, sex is her nature. Expecting her to do something in a nonsexual manner is like saying, "Dude, I asked you to bring me that plate, I didnt ask you to BREATHE while doing it!"

[Forum Explorer]

If you watch a dog stop to sniff everything all day, then send it to fetch an item, you shouldnt be surprised when that dog stops to sniff it first. Seriously, outside of actual combat, everything dabbler has done, magically speaking, has involved sex or sexiness in some fashion. Even some of the combat! She is a freaking succubus, sex is her nature. Expecting her to do something in a nonsexual manner is like saying, "Dude, I asked you to bring me that plate, I didnt ask you to BREATHE while doing it!"

Sure, if the dog isn't intelligent. Dabbler is almost certainly capable of a non-sexual version of that spell. Or just using a frigging heater from her lab. Or conjuring a blanket. Point is, Dabbler likely had a thousand and one solutions to feeling cold and went with one that's half arousal spell.

Besides, my basic response to the whole 'it's my nature to sexually harass,' is 'well it's my nature to punch whatever sexually harasses me.'

[Celestia]

She asked for a spell to make her warm, and got one that brought the sensation of warm air blowing over the "entire" body. I think you would need a novice lawyer to think that could be shaped into sexual assult anywhere besides a madhouse.

If you watch a dog stop to sniff everything all day, then send it to fetch an item, you shouldnt be surprised when that dog stops to sniff it first. Seriously, outside of actual combat, everything dabbler has done, magically speaking, has involved sex or sexiness in some fashion. Even some of the combat! She is a freaking succubus, sex is her nature. Expecting her to do something in a nonsexual manner is like saying, "Dude, I asked you to bring me that plate, I didnt ask you to BREATHE while doing it!"

Huh, men who don't understand what consent is and are making excuses for sexual assault. How shocking.

[-D-]

I don't understand how is this even debatable. If you tell a prostitute you need to get warm, inside a what was just a few seconds ago a scene of crime, her first action should not be to disrobe and start rubbing against you...

But this is wacky succubus shenanigans.

[Ibrinar]

Btw even if that was her only spell option she could and should point out the side effect and ask whether she wants it anyway.

[-D-]

Btw even if that was her only spell option she could and should point out the side effect and ask whether she wants it anyway.

Or, you know give her a blanket.

[halfeye]

Or, you know give her a blanket.

Blankets retain the heat you have, they don't actively produce heat (electric blankets are different).

[Kantaki]

Knowing Dabbler the blanket would molest whoever wraps up in it anyway, so the outcome wouldn't be any different.

[Chives]

I don't understand how is this even debatable. If you tell a prostitute you need to get warm, inside a what was just a few seconds ago a scene of crime, her first action should not be to disrobe and start rubbing against you...

But this is wacky succubus shenanigans.

I think the closer simile would be "asking a known pyromaniac with a penchant for setting people on fire to help you get warm".