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MonsieurChoc posted:I also want to play a Mind-FLayer Paladin one of these days. You see, he only eats the brains of really evil people, and only as a last resort! Dead is dead, and it's not like it's all that common for a Paladin to go a week or two without killing something sentient anyway!
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Dec 2, 2016 20:31
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megane posted:"Detect Evil" is literally just a Geiger counter. It would seem that the simplest way to keep the drow, if you must, is to just drop the skin tone thing entirely. If they retain a sobriquet of "dark elves" it's due to all the spider worship and everything.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:33
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Nessus posted:It would seem that the simplest way to keep the drow, if you must, is to just drop the skin tone thing entirely. If they retain a sobriquet of "dark elves" it's due to all the spider worship and everything. Make them green. And give them stretchy arms.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:12
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Honestly I think Spider-gods get a bad rap so the next D&D campaign I run the Spider god will be the Lawful Good patron of a nation of Paladins (Who honor him because a spider once saved the paladin-king's heir from traitors by spinning a web over the door of the room he was hiding in, thus making the villains looking for him not bother to look in there, thinking it long-abandoned.)
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Dec 2, 2016 21:29
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Don't forget the chaotic evil god who is his nemesis. Oh'eld shu.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:33
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Kurieg posted:Don't forget the chaotic evil god who is his nemesis.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:35
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unseenlibrarian posted:Honestly I think Spider-gods get a bad rap so the next D&D campaign I run the Spider god will be the Lawful Good patron of a nation of Paladins (Who honor him because a spider once saved the paladin-king's heir from traitors by spinning a web over the door of the room he was hiding in, thus making the villains looking for him not bother to look in there, thinking it long-abandoned.) Give him a strong jumping spider theme. They're pretty adorable for spiders. Maybe also make him the inventor of the loom.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:42
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Spiders are pretty chill bros.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:48
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Doresh posted:(Though this does give me a weird idea about a possible Heartbreaker where there are only elves. And every elves is its own sub-race. The metaplot will make sure that all the popular ones are already taken.) I had an idea vaguely in the same vein- elves being descended from beings of pure magical energy, they will naturally adapt to whatever environment they're in- if they live on the shore, they grow gills; if they live in the mountains, their skin will toughen; etc. Two consequences of this: first, rich elves can make their bodies really cool-looking or exceptionally dangerous in combat by a careful regimen of exercise, diet, and geomantic sculpting of their house. Second, poor city elves look horrible and end up with bodies perfectly adapted to the mana of a slum, tannery, or abattoir.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:58
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Nessus posted:Please, it would be a Geigax counter. And if you need to detect horror-warped erotic imagery, it's a Giger counter.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:38
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Ratoslov posted:I had an idea vaguely in the same vein- elves being descended from beings of pure magical energy, they will naturally adapt to whatever environment they're in- if they live on the shore, they grow gills; if they live in the mountains, their skin will toughen; etc. Two consequences of this: first, rich elves can make their bodies really cool-looking or exceptionally dangerous in combat by a careful regimen of exercise, diet, and geomantic sculpting of their house. Second, poor city elves look horrible and end up with bodies perfectly adapted to the mana of a slum, tannery, or abattoir. This sounds like the perfect settinf for elfpunk. Have Dirt Farmer Elf and Hobo Elfe rebel against the system that made them who they are. Zomborgon posted:And if you need to detect horror-warped erotic imagery, it's a Giger counter. Not to mentin the Gainax counter for when the anime overtones go way overboard.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:47
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PurpleXVI posted:Hence why Drow are stupid and hamfisted, but not necessarily racist by design. The fact that some weirdo nazi fucks see something racist in them is an entirely different matter. They'd probably see a call to power for proud aryans in a box of cornflakes. dude this is not hard to understand "black hats = evil" -> probably not racist! "black skin = evil" -> totally loving racist!
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Dec 2, 2016 22:51
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For those as enchanted with Spellbound Kingdoms as I am, sounds like there's going to be a Kickstarter for a second sourcebook.Frank Brunner posted:The kickstarter for the new book will be up very soon! In the meantime, feast on these tantalizing morsels from Book Two. Also: more magic, raptor hordes, new combat styles and more. Honestly, I'd rather kickstart a revamped main book than an extra sourcebook, but hey - more Spellbound Kingdoms is a good thing.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:45
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unseenlibrarian posted:Honestly I think Spider-gods get a bad rap so the next D&D campaign I run the Spider god will be the Lawful Good patron of a nation of Paladins (Who honor him because a spider once saved the paladin-king's heir from traitors by spinning a web over the door of the room he was hiding in, thus making the villains looking for him not bother to look in there, thinking it long-abandoned.) I agree, spiders are terribly maligned in fantasy and fiction in general. No one ever decides to focus on the whole creative and crafting aspects. Also, jumping spiders are great and an incredibly easy reskin of thri-keen.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:22
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Admittedly part of that is because arachnophobia is a fairly common fear.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:27
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Night10194 posted:Admittedly part of that is because arachnophobia is a fairly common fear. But only in predominantly European societies. It's relatively rare in other cultures.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:39
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Kurieg posted:That is explicitly how Elves work in Golarion..... with the added caveat that if they turn evil their skin turns black to match their soul.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:39
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Obligatum VII posted:I agree, spiders are terribly maligned in fantasy and fiction in general. No one ever decides to focus on the whole creative and crafting aspects. Snakes, too. How many evil snake cults do you see in Sword & Sorcery? In my last D&D game, I subverted it by having a cult of benevolent yuan-ti who worship a Neutral Good snake god of healing and knowledge, a bit of Quetzalcoatl mixed with the serpent imagery of Aescalpius. Next time I'm going to introduce an evil cult that worships something like pandas, or the slow loris.
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Dec 3, 2016 01:30
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Stay tuned this weekend for the next part of Slayers d20 where we explore such classes as -Rogue with friends -Keeper of secrets -A princess -Chun-Li -A dude with a gun -Punch paladin I am also not entirely sure how to do the two chapters after classes, because they are simply lists of altered and new skills and feats and, well, I can't make that interesting. Waffleman_ fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Dec 3, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2016 01:36
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Kavak posted:Mulhorand, Unther, and I think Chessenta were artifacts of 1st Edition Forgotten Realms, which were literally realms that Earth had forgotten how to get to (Except for Elminster's bestest drinking buddy Ed Greenwood), hence the abducted ancient cultures. I guess that was more acceptable in the late '80's. Serious in the sense that I do not know the answer question: I have gleaned that the 5e Realms had the new continent Aber that magically appeared magically go away again, and all the floating sky-islands fell back to earth, and I assume the spellplague just petered out, but what happened to the Texas-sized chasm and the changed sea level (Chult being island instead of peninsula, etc) and some countries being gone? Did Elminster wave his magic wand and all the new-to-4e nations were transmogrified into their 3e antecedents?
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Dec 3, 2016 02:45
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drunkencarp posted:Serious in the sense that I do not know the answer question: I have gleaned that the 5e Realms had the new continent Aber that magically appeared magically go away again, and all the floating sky-islands fell back to earth, and I assume the spellplague just petered out, but what happened to the Texas-sized chasm and the changed sea level (Chult being island instead of peninsula, etc) and some countries being gone? Did Elminster wave his magic wand and all the new-to-4e nations were transmogrified into their 3e antecedents? When last I checked, "everything went back to how it was in 3e" was a fair summary, although I haven't paid huge attention.
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Dec 3, 2016 02:46
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Simian_Prime posted:Snakes, too. How many evil snake cults do you see in Sword & Sorcery? They worship nature's silent assasin - cats.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:02
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I love the idea of making a creator overgoddess a Spider - like how the spider in the Last Unicorn was convinced she was weaving worlds and galaxies within her web (and the art of weaving/sewing is semi-sacred in that society)
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Dec 3, 2016 03:26
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Say Hello to Glorantha: Arachne Solara
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Dec 3, 2016 03:30
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Evil Mastermind posted:This is one of the things that bugs me the most about what D&D (or at least Basic-era D&D) used to be like and what it is now. yeah say what you will about pathfinder (it sucks) but it's kept closer to that early spirit than 5e has. I like being able to crack open a Bestiary and see rules for goblins, alien robots, literally cthulhu and a ghost ship made of skeletons with a giant spectral energy cannon side by side
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Dec 3, 2016 03:44
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New Sgt Nerd post up. I'm open for topics for more columns.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:58
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Kavak posted:That's like...taking two steps forward, then running back the way you came screaming. I mean, we are talking about Pathfinder.
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Dec 3, 2016 05:24
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Robindaybird posted:I love the idea of making a creator overgoddess a Spider - like how the spider in the Last Unicorn was convinced she was weaving worlds and galaxies within her web (and the art of weaving/sewing is semi-sacred in that society) Pretty sure Ehdrigor has spiders play a major part in creation and maintaining it. I also think giant fuzzy spiders are domesticated in setting. I need to read more of it to be certain.
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Dec 3, 2016 05:54
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Exalted's Pattern Spiders tend to the Loom of Fate that controls all destiny, but do tend to bite if you screw up that destiny as a Sidereal.
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Dec 3, 2016 06:23
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Really, spiders are great paladin mascots. Patient, diligent, observant, hunting flies and vermin. Gonna play a paladin who wears crazy spikey black armor with spider designs all over it, and constantly has to explain to people that no, really, they're very misunderstood animals, here, have a pamphlet
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Dec 3, 2016 07:19
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megane posted:Really, spiders are great paladin mascots. Patient, diligent, observant, hunting flies and vermin. Gonna play a paladin who wears crazy spikey black armor with spider designs all over it, and constantly has to explain to people that no, really, they're very misunderstood animals, here, have a pamphlet A web works decently as a metaphor for moral/ethical behavior, too. Lots of paths, many intersections with different choices, but on either side of each narrow path of virtue, there's a pit of vice.
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Dec 3, 2016 07:29
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megane posted:Really, spiders are great paladin mascots. Patient, diligent, observant, hunting flies and vermin. Gonna play a paladin who wears crazy spikey black armor with spider designs all over it, and constantly has to explain to people that no, really, they're very misunderstood animals, here, have a pamphlet
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Dec 3, 2016 07:32
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Robert The Bruce and the Spider is yet another thing to point to for cool knights and their arachnid inspiration.
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Dec 3, 2016 08:01
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If you want to play a spider-themed hero, there was a pretty decent Marvel Superheroes game recently. The closest thing to an IRL RPG quest is the Australian government paying people $50 for funnel web venom, so people go out and catch these deadly spiders for money.
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Dec 3, 2016 08:02
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PurpleXVI posted:A web works decently as a metaphor for moral/ethical behavior, too. Lots of paths, many intersections with different choices, but on either side of each narrow path of virtue, there's a pit of vice. There's at least one fantasy book out there where the dwarves have a great love of spiders and have bred them as their standard battle mounts. Who expects a cavalry charge coming down from the ceiling, after all?
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Dec 3, 2016 12:27
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Night10194 posted:Admittedly part of that is because arachnophobia is a fairly common fear. Though considering that the average D&D dirt farmer has to live in constant fear of getting mauled by a flying lizard that can cast spells and set you on fire, a floating ball with way too many eyes (each of which can kill you in a whole different way), a weird rage bear with a bird head, or an unholy combination of a mole and a friggin' shark, arachnophobia strikes me as a First Fantasy World Problem. The best part is that thanks to all the clerics and other divine spellcasters around, spider venom is essentially meaningless. Unless you're in an old edition world where each and every type of venom or poison is Save-or-Die. megane posted:Really, spiders are great paladin mascots. Patient, diligent, observant, hunting flies and vermin. Gonna play a paladin who wears crazy spikey black armor with spider designs all over it, and constantly has to explain to people that no, really, they're very misunderstood animals, here, have a pamphlet I wonder if you can make enchanted chainmail out of spiderwebs. Is probably some Drow prestige class. drunkencarp posted:Serious in the sense that I do not know the answer question: I have gleaned that the 5e Realms had the new continent Aber that magically appeared magically go away again, and all the floating sky-islands fell back to earth, and I assume the spellplague just petered out, but what happened to the Texas-sized chasm and the changed sea level (Chult being island instead of peninsula, etc) and some countries being gone? Did Elminster wave his magic wand and all the new-to-4e nations were transmogrified into their 3e antecedents? This is really puzzling to me. Are the people so adamant about keeping the Realms in eteranl stasis actually running campaigns in there? Is everyone in the group on board with never being allowed to change the official canon? What's going on there? If the Realms weren't so shackled to their GMPCs disguised as metaplot dudes, they could really open up the whole place by offering different eras and what ifs. (I also love how they didn't just turn back the 4e "sins" via time travel.) Cythereal posted:There's at least one fantasy book out there where the dwarves have a great love of spiders and have bred them as their standard battle mounts. Who expects a cavalry charge coming down from the ceiling, after all? Spiders are really the best mounts for dungeon-crawling murder hobos. Doresh fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Dec 3, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2016 13:26
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Jeb Bush 2012 posted:dude this is not hard to understand I think the real problem is that we just don't have nuance in our terms of racism. Somebody who does something racially insensitive or ignorant and literal racial supremacists get the same term, and that's what the argument boils down to. I don't think anybody's arguing that equating dark skin with evil qualities is problematic, but just on the original intent of such. Of course, there are other issues with drow as well, like S&M = eeevil, the demonized depiction of matriarchy, ritualized rape, female sexuality as an aberration - there's a lot of garbage in the concept as it is. The general idea of "underground elves" is far from unsalvageable but the traditional depiction is pretty damned awful.
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Dec 3, 2016 14:07
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Zomborgon posted:Exalted's Pattern Spiders tend to the Loom of Fate that controls all destiny, but do tend to bite if you screw up that destiny as a Sidereal. Those poor pattern spiders are the hardest workers in Creation and they get no respect. Every bitten Sidereal has it coming.
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Dec 3, 2016 18:36
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Alien Rope Burn posted:f course, there are other issues with drow as well, like S&M = eeevil, the demonized depiction of matriarchy, ritualized rape, female sexuality as an aberration - there's a lot of garbage in the concept as it is. The general idea of "underground elves" is far from unsalvageable but the traditional depiction is pretty damned awful. And what do eeevil S&M guys usually wear? Leather. I tell you, the hunting god is the real villain.
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Dec 3, 2016 19:25
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drunkencarp posted:Serious in the sense that I do not know the answer question: I have gleaned that the 5e Realms had the new continent Aber that magically appeared magically go away again, and all the floating sky-islands fell back to earth, and I assume the spellplague just petered out, but what happened to the Texas-sized chasm and the changed sea level (Chult being island instead of peninsula, etc) and some countries being gone? Did Elminster wave his magic wand and all the new-to-4e nations were transmogrified into their 3e antecedents? Specifically it was Ao who fixed it since he was sort of the one who allowed the spellplague to happen in the first place. Doresh posted:This is really puzzling to me. Are the people so adamant about keeping the Realms in eteranl stasis actually running campaigns in there? Is everyone in the group on board with never being allowed to change the official canon? What's going on there? There's a strong contingent of FR fans who absolutely abhor anything unless it has Greenvatore's fingerprints on it, and unlike 3rd edition, Greenwood had almost nothing to do with the 4e FR guide. It doesn't help that the rules of the realms were codified to such a spectacular degree that it was mostly incompatible with the Realms as a whole unless they did the massive shakeup that they did. The fact that their answer to "Well then how should have they adapted FR to 4e" is "4e should have been designed so that FR didn't have to change" just makes the whole thing all the stupider. Where as Eberron 4e was just "Huh? Yeah sure whatever." and Dark Sun 4e went "Just reflavor it so you're hurling around psychic bolts rather than arcane bolts who gives a poo poo."
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Dec 3, 2016 22:09
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