I think it's D&D tradition that 10-11 is dead average, so 8 is a liiiittle bit slow. Like the dumb kid in Trigonometry class who will never understand SOHCAHTOA.

Fuckin' hell, I don't understand trigonometry I bet my real life D&D stats would just be pretty pitiful in general, haha.

Clearly my IRL stats would be glorious with my natural 20 Charisma~

So Rainbow/Exigence is at like 6?!

I think Solstron will be like this. So a pretty dumb but charismatic and tough dwarf. Read a guide about paladins and they said INT is the dump-stat so... My other character is smart though!
STR 17
DEX 10
CON 15
INT 8
WIS 12
CHA 14

I wrote this short backstory for now.

As a worshipper of Moradin, the head of the dwarven pantheon, Solstron was the captain of a ship called the Magic Anvil of the Hammer of Moradin, a military order. Since his kingdom is at peace, the ship was usually used as a transport of important people and also for religious pilgrimages. The Magic Anvil (the 4th ship to bear the name) has been commanded by the Silverpearl family for 10 generations and it was time to give the captaincy to Bronka, Solstron's eldest daughter as it's the usual deal when the captain reach 150 years old (the captain is usually taking command at 50 or 60 years old). Since then, the paladin has been adventuring, something he wanted to for a while. Armed with hi greataxe, the priceless family heirloom and a mighty rapier he once won against a notorious pirate, he's ready to kick some butts in the name of Moradin.

Bronka is just begging the DM to have some terrorists/cultists take her hostage and lure you into a deathtrapped fortress. Which means you'll have to turn around and get on The Boat. And sail over the murky waters wherein the Undead Lake Monster nests. DMs can be so cruel sometimes. :V

As we speak, I'm brainstorming with some friends a D&D parody based around sea puns, called Koasts & Krakens (fuck you, "K" is a badass letter. Just ask Kreator ). You could play as a sorcereel or a squief, among other lame things based around sea animals.

I have far too much free time.

I would make so many Spongebob references your group would want to kill me.

Update: someone came up with "squidbard" and offered to use it instead of squief.

Great minds think alike, rexxz.

I would make a druid/bard multiclass character named Krusty Krab, he could change into a big ass crab and sing crust punk.

*furiously writes down idea and claims it as his own*

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I could make you an NPC character and house husband to the character if you want.

OK but you have to include the Deck of Many Things in my equipment.

Spoony's RPG stories are usually pretty great, but the one about sticking a Deck of Many Things into his D&D campaign is among his best:

hehe .. me, too. Eyesight: wtf is that over there. Endurance: absolute bullshit. Strength: meh. I have a wood working feat, but it takes me forever to make good things and no one will wait for me.

I would have a proficiency in breaking chairs by sitting on them and +3 in metal history.

Haha finally, something we can agree on.

I need to know what this is all about. Funny RPG stories are the best.

Your knowledge checks would be a formality.

A guy called The Spoony One makes video reviews of movies and games. He also has a show called Counter Monkey in which he recounts funny stories from table top games he's played. Here is the episode referred to:

Interesting second game of the campaign. We killed a deranged wizard using infernal dog men as minions and I stole his spellbook. This spellbook could make me mad but it's full of spells,I rolled a 16 intelligence saving throw and my character got wide eyes and started to drool a little.

Starting a 2nd campaign next week with my dwarf paladin I described. I'm thinking of multiclassing into a fighter or a sorcerer too. Probably more fighter though since it's easier to justifiy but we'll see.

Newest addition to my very small board game collection



As an old warhammer player (who doesn't play anymore) I'm really looking forward to giving this a go. Seems like I'm going on a weekend trip with some buddies soon where we're just gonna play board games, drink, smoke and talk shit, yeah.

Anyone tried it? All the reviews are really positive.

Haven't played it, and likely won't get to for some time to come yet. My friend gets a straining chub every time the game is mentioned, but he likes games with tons of shit to keep track of. I will likely think it's pretty cool. How much replay it gets remains to be seen. I played Forbidden Stars and didn't really like the mechanics/theme combination. One of those games where if you fuck up you're basically just sitting there killing time while the other person steamrolls you. This is very likely on the first few games. So that wasn't fun. Very plodding game play.

I'm really looking forward to Blood Bowl, however. I have a feeling I could take a beating at that game multiple times over and still have fun.

Yeah, it seems like there is a lot of different mechanics and tokens and models to juggle around, but then again, it's supposedly a 1½-2 hour game, so it can't be -that- complicated.

I've been losing a lot in Blood Bowl Team Manager lately for some reason, but it is a fucking great game. Most times the games are pretty tight, but even when you can see that you're way behind on tour 2/3 already (it's a 5 turn game), it can both unexpectedly turn around or be really funny while you get a kicking because it's full of carnage or dirty tricks.

Soooooooo, I'm starting up my first D&D campaign this weekend. I've never done any sort of RPG that wasn't forum-based or used a gamepad, but there's going to be plenty of whiskey and herb to keep me going. Anybody have tips for a self-professed noob?

Nice, just have fun. Are you DMing or playing a character? I want to know everything.

So we had a bit of a situation in the last game. The DM asked us to make non-evil characters but a player did something shocking. So we fought this evil wizard and his dog men minions and won. He also had slaves (armed and ready to obey his orders) but they surrendered to us. While the 3 other characters were doing stuff in other rooms, the half-elf bard decided to interrogate the 2 surviving slaves. Unbeknownst to him, they were mute since they had no tongues and were scared shitless. The bard then threatened to kill one of them if the other didn't answer his questions, he didn't since he only understands Scandic so the bard killed the other with a dart... After this, we came back to the room and the half-elf fighter (ex-slave, overall good guy) was pretty pissed. My character is a noble from a lawful good society but she's like neutral good and was also pretty horrified at what the bard did. The game ended shortly after this.

The DM then contacted us (the half elf fighter and myself) to get our reactions. We could do something about it like asking the bard to pay some sort of restitution/penance for his action. We'll see! I don't think it was a true neutral move to kill an unarmed slave who couldn't even talk.

Character. My only real experience with D&D comes from the (amazing) Community episode and watching the awful Jeremy Irons movie. Going with a half-orc fighter, chaotic neutral. House rule is you must talk like your character.

@Tony: yeah, that was pretty much evil as fuck. I can imagine a more ruthless, kinda anti-hero sort of character threatening innocents, yet never actually going through with his words, but that? Yeah.... shit's fucked up, mang.

I'm thinking of going to Gencon next year, anyone here been there? I've only been to a small local con a long time ago, so this would be like going to Wacken or something.

I went to GenCon in 2011, and it was a lot of fun. Personally, since my love for anime supersedes that of tabletop gaming, I spent more time over in the little golden butthole where all the anime events were taking place (and were way more fun than even what Otakon typically offers), but it would've been sinful if I hadn't partaken in some of GenCon's unique gaming events.

4e was big back then, so there was a Player Deathmatch event where you bring a (RPGA legal) 1st-level character, and it was a 6-way PvP match over instant-death pits; either you whip out a tricky build to slaughter the others in a single hit, or you pull colossal dick moves and simply shove others off the sides and hope they fail their saves. I had no idea these death-pits were a thing, so I had brought Malrissa--my Warlock/Executioner hybrid who, while fairly balanced overall, is RIDICULOUS for the first few levels--and found myself flying off the platforms left and right, but fortunately Eldritch Strike allowed me to return the favor every respawn. It was fast-paced and ridiculous, but fun as hell. I don't know if that event is still around, or if there's a shiny new 5e equivalent, but that was chaotic fun.

I also did a plain ol' Encounters-style one-shot with Malrissa (Be environmentally-conscious and use the same character sheet, kids!), and that wasn't very exciting. Obviously, I love me some combat, but I also love playing a unique and interesting character outside the arena as well, but nobody at the table even tried to add any spice or life to their characters and just wanted to get into a fight as quickly as possible; having a Charisma-based character was really disappointing at that particular game. I mean, come on, guys--part of the fun of doing D&D at a convention is goofing around with wacky or quickly-irritated-by-wacky-characters characters! Liven it up a little!

Then I participated in a non-D&D roleplaying event where, in a group of 10 people, somebody is the werewolf. And you've gotta figure out who the werewolf is before you die. Unfortunately I was the 2nd to die, so I didn't get to do much in the end, but like the 4e Deathmatch, it was another case of chaotic fun for all.

And then I sat through some super-fun anime panels and even got in a three-way tie for 1st Place in the Anime Name That Tune event, where I won a DVD of Otaku no Video! :'D

I'm pure gamer so I'd be looking for a lot of D&D and such. I don't do any AL gaming or any of that, so hopefully they still do classic style D&D tournaments with pre-made PC but I would not be shocked if that was over and everything was AL these days. It sure looks fun so I'm going to look into it.

My big sticking point would be can I get any of my gaming buddies to go. They are a real collection of shiftless cheap fucks so its doubtful.

Was that basically the classic Mafia/Werewolves game or something different? Last summer a big group of friends and I would play that any time people got together for camping/bbqing etc. Great fun, though I always had a hell of a time making a convincing argument again being a werewolf.


I had a rather fun encounter at this week’s D&D session against a group of Githyanki street thugs. It was in a rather nasty area filled with low lives and criminals who gathered around to watch the fight hoping to take advantage of the losers. I shoved one of the githyankis into a particularly vicious-looking trio of Dwarves who proceeded to shank him to death, steal his possessions, then run back off into the crowd. Good times!

We also set a trap for some shady dude who had been spying on us. I pretended to get excessively drunk while at a bar and then stumbled into the streets bellowing a lewd song in Giant (which I did actually sing, deciding it should sound something like Klingon). When he followed me into an alley one of my comrades was waiting to get the drop on him, then we proceeded to shake him down for information and just for good measure, took all his money. That’ll learn him!

Haha shady dwarves! What kind of character are you playing, Corpse?

There's possibly some drama in my campaign (see last post), hopefully it can get resolved. Regardless, the DM is open to kick out the fighter (but then his girlfriend who is playing a monk would probably leave too) and get some other players or continue the campaign with the 2 of us.

Gary Con looks fun, cheaper, and more in line with my old school likes but Gen-Con seems like something every gamer should go to once.

I've been to Gen Con in 2014 and 2015, and had a blast both times. Even while volunteering four hours a day (chiefly for the free badge), I still felt that I got to see all I wanted to see and play the games that I wanted to lay-- that being said, even if volunteering didn't take up those four hours each day I still could've found heaps of activities to occupy my time.

D&D 5e was launched at Gen Con 2014, so there was a big hoopla over that and subsequently I played in many 5e sessions (ranging from intro-level hour long sessions to four hour ones) over that con and next year's. I was surprised by how easily role-playing with complete strangers came to me-- both times I went to the actual con with friends from school, but our scheduled activities rarely lined up-- but some of my favorite RPG memories ever are with fellow gamers I randomly fell in with at Gen Con.

A lot of the bigger games cost a small amount to get a ticket ($1 to $4), but there's a lot of free games you can partake in, ranging from playtesting indie games to werewolf/mafia in the hallways (up until the wee hours of the morning) to unlimited Cataning over at the Mayfair Games exhibit area. Lots of free writing/genre seminars as well.

Man, those Gen Cons sounds neat!


Yeah, that's not great man. Too bad, some conflicts can be alright if they can be resolved in-game but it sounds like this has gone well past that point. Hopefully it gets sorted!

I'm playing a Goliath Barbarian. To get away from the RAH SMASH/berserker style barbarian, the semi-nomadic people he comes from are a matriarchal society. Due to the wild magic in the mountain ranges they inhabit, males are born with greater frequency than females, but the women possess strong inclinations to magical talent. The women govern and lead the tribes using protective magics and divination while the males train as warriors and hunters, attempting to accomplish feats of strength and fighting skill to prove themselves worthy of being mated. My character has a more spiritual and introspective bent than most of his people, and he felt he would never have the aggression and strength to gain status as a warrior and be selected as a mate, so he decided to leave his people to explore the world beyond their homeland. His greatest ambition is to find an object of unique magical power which he can take home to present the council of Great Mothers, proving his worth to his people.

To justify his Rage mechanic, instead of being interested in fighting for glory or sheer bloodlust, he is fiercely loyal and protective of his friends. So if anyone threatens them harm, it provokes his Rage which allows him to tap into his warrior skills in a way he never was able to back with his people.

He's been really fun to play over the last year! I only went with a Barbarian because everyone else had made a character and our group needed a tank, but I think it forced me to be a bit more creative with my thinking and playing.

Oh that's a great character! Hopefully he can find an AK47 or a Game Boy Color to bring to the council of Great Moms What kind of players the rest of the group is playing? Barbarians are pretty cool, almost did one myself. A Goliath barbarian must truly be a big badass.

And yeah I hope so, I'm meeting the bard guy this weekend since we have another game planned together with a different DM. Hopefully everything can be solved. I would like to play my dwarf paladin!

Tony, I'm getting all invested in what happens in your game at this point. Kind of cool that he went off script a little. I don't really know if neutral prevents you from doing rash things. Kind of refreshing to have a hairpin storyline turn like that. What was the table like while this conversation was going on? I know the characters didn't know it was happening; how does your group handle in-game/out-of-game interaction like that?


Wack. I hate being forced to perform.

Yeah there are a few good write-ups that show the distinction between acting and roleplaying. Talking in the voice of your character, using pantomimes, etc. is the former, the latter is about making choices that are appropriate to your character and the situation you are in. I think that definition of roleplaying should be mandatory, at least to some degree. Acting is really fun and cool if whoever is doing it is really into it. It can elevate the enjoyment of a game for everyone involved, and others might also get into it if they feel inspired. I've also seen it bomb horribly too, so it shouldn't really be forced if a player is feeling it or isn't confident.

Good point. House rule abolished.