tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post7092032144461335524..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: SuicideAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-1122816026900500942010-05-28T06:22:25.718-06:002010-05-28T06:22:25.718-06:00I'm currently playing an ad&d campaing, wi...I'm currently playing an ad&d campaing, with friends back in italy.<br />we use skype and our google accounts to share our character sheets..<br />for dice rolling instead, our master (who's a IT engineer) has cooked up a clever dice thinghy (bow before my mad IT language skills!)...it's on an IRC chat and once we're all logged in, everybody can see the results of every dice roll each of us attempt.<br />so..all above board..and no issue during character creation (or indeed gameplay)<br />thought I'd say it, since you mentioned the issue of "wanting to see the dice rolls" whilst playing online.<br />in other words, it IS possible.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07679491946763178402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-40071652073685903772010-05-10T01:38:37.459-06:002010-05-10T01:38:37.459-06:00Last time I created a character far from the dm, I...Last time I created a character far from the dm, I used this <br />http://www.rpglibrary.org/software/securedice/<br /><br />It's the next best thing to "watching, personally, the six rolls a player makes to create a character"Guillaumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04703267532902777032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-5257717414936683472010-05-07T17:40:02.145-06:002010-05-07T17:40:02.145-06:00The trick here is finding the balance in terms of ...The trick here is finding the balance in terms of fairness. Players want the chance to be distinctive, and a system in which everyone is equally special means no one is special. But they also want a minimum safety net and certainly the relative deprivation you speak of stings deeper than if all PCs are equally afflicted.<br /><br />In other words, social-economic policy writ small.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-3616390664916784672010-05-07T15:04:42.041-06:002010-05-07T15:04:42.041-06:00I don't have anyone try the suicide thing any ...I don't have anyone try the suicide thing any more - that refers to campaigns years ago, when I played with highly challenged people.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-77573920050810437712010-05-07T14:35:26.403-06:002010-05-07T14:35:26.403-06:00Mmm...the low stat/anti-play thing can be a dilemm...Mmm...the low stat/anti-play thing can be a dilemma in long running games, I know. It's an interesting challenge.<br /><br />These days, as a very "by-the-book-B/X" DM, I find it less a serious issue. The minor adjustments allowed for prime requisites generally ensure quality PCs, despite 3D6 rolls. But stats are much more important in AD&D (and later editions).<br /><br />When I was running long term (multiple year) AD&D campaigns, we generally started with "what class-race do you want to play?" and then made sure the character met the ability requirements, using one or more of the several dice rolling techniques presented in the books. Similar to Matt (above) the important thing for fun was that everyone had a character they wanted to play.<br /><br />During my short stint with D20, I generally had everyone split 78 points over their six attributes...no dice rolling at all.<br /><br />The "suicide by orc" thing seems a little extreme to me...can't they simply "retire the character" and make a new one? Or is there a minimum retirement age (65?) in your campaign?<br />; )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-39981533822791535262010-05-07T14:14:45.823-06:002010-05-07T14:14:45.823-06:00I'll admit I am an offender. In one game with...I'll admit I am an offender. In one game without random stats, I made a character that was a great asset to the team. As long as they didn't face threats immune to their core abilities. Around the fifth encounter in four sessions this occurred, I basically nuked the character along with another character who felt too bound by their mental disadvantage.Oddbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12091924105175846386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-54440206961019017242010-05-07T11:39:46.691-06:002010-05-07T11:39:46.691-06:00I can certainly see this coming about, but I'v...I can certainly see this coming about, but I've never see in first hand. Truth be told, I prefer to keep games a little bit looser than most. If I'm GMing, I don't care how you came up with the stats your character has... Roll them, re-roll ones or twos, hell, don't roll at all if you want. The object is to have fun and do something you want to do... If you wanna just write in your stats, go nuts. all 18s? not such a big deal in the grand scheme of the game. There's always a bigger fish, there's always obstacles that have nothing to do with your ability check modifiers etc... <br /><br />I'd rather see everyone at the table excited to be playing what they've created, even if it is a bit self absorbed or egotistical to have a perfect character. <br /><br />Perhaps my group is a little bit more relaxed than most, but we all have very busy lives that tend to get in the way, so getting us all together can be difficult. sometimes it's once a month, sometimes it's less... If someone can't make it, we just sorta put their character in stasis, and no one notices that they're not there... when they come back, it's as if nothing happened, except that they miss out on the XP... It's a little non statndard, but it suits our needs.Matt Conlonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02616567498642991754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-89196663564154378112010-05-07T11:08:07.857-06:002010-05-07T11:08:07.857-06:00Speaking as the player in question, to any who mig...Speaking as the player in question, to any who might think this is an issue about my stats, it's not. I took Alexis's post as a reference to the more common situation (in his experience) that causes a suicidal approach.<br /><br />The reason I've gone down this road is through the character development that has happened "in my head" - this particular situation is a first for me and I'm still trying to articulate the motivations and thoughts that have come to this point. Suffice it to say that I'd much rather be bummed that my stats were low.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-60949901016899657962010-05-07T11:02:30.996-06:002010-05-07T11:02:30.996-06:00Hah. Thanks R, but I described this as 'a pro...Hah. Thanks R, but I described this as 'a problem.' I'm not actually having an issue with this. I'm only describing the circumstance.<br /><br />Does everything I write sound like a rant?Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-45170236284753919302010-05-07T10:58:03.986-06:002010-05-07T10:58:03.986-06:00This is certainly a troubling issue. I haven'...This is certainly a troubling issue. I haven't had players actually want to kill themselves, but I have had them become so apathetic that they just skip sessions until everybody's dead and it's time to roll up new characters.<br /><br />Have you considered keeping their stats secret from them? It's not like any person in the real world could judge their strength on a rating from 3-18 anyway. Maybe just let the players know if they're "pretty strong" or something along those lines. It's not a perfect solution, and it'd involve a lot more bookkeeping on the DM side, but it might mitigate the attachment to ability scores (though, eventually, I'm sure the PCs would be able to figure out what their stats were - it would just take longer).Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00433823836676600019noreply@blogger.com