meta user
network profile
| bio | website | |
|---|---|---|
| location | ||
| age | ||
| visits | member for | 2 years, 8 months |
| seen | 42 mins ago | |
| stats | profile views | 799 |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? Again, comparing real life figures to leaders in a DnD world doesn't seem the best idea because of DnD's way less ambiguous alignments, with similarly aligned and unquestionable deities and afterworlds (let alone the existence of visibly working magic.) The head of a (worldwide) lawful good church of a lawful good deity will not & can not be anything else but lawful good. Try to usurp that position and it's actual angels knocking on your door to ask a question or two, with all the fluff (like flaming swords and divine wrath. :)) Otherwise you get Armageddon, end of your game world. |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? @BBlake: My problem with all these real world comparisons is that they don't account for the DnD reality of magic. Hiding behind straw dolls is much wiser if you can't cast Mass Dominate or can't call Lighting upon your enemies (for example), indeed. But DnD clerics and wizards needn't be so defensive. Also, there are quite a number of real world counter-examples. See the Popes in medieval Europe, or Henry VIII (who made himself supreme head of the Church of England.) Now give these figures actual, visible spellcasting power & manifest, explicit divine support, in all aspects of their rule... |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? I think that may be negative stereotyping of mages, them being socially so challenged. To balance it out, think of all their charisma-, wisdom and whatever-boosting spells, their mind-influencing capabilities, their exceptional IQ - which stereotypical fighter or aristocrat could hope to compete with those? If I conjure the picture of an archetypal lv20+ mage, I think of figures like Gandalf, Saruman, Ged (from U.K. Le Guin's Earthsea books), and so on. Add an army of loyal, a bit lower level wizardly followers... and you get an organization more than capable of dominating humanoid societies. |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? With respect, I don't find this convincing. Clerics not ruling because their gods don't want them to sounds like... a deus ex machina solution. :D Kind of "just because." Okay, some gods may prefer their clerics that way. But all of them? For example Hextor, god of tyranny not wanting his best and most capable followers to rule? Come on. :) As for the medieval Europe model: consider how much power all the various religions held during the period, barely held in check, if at all, by worldly powers - add to this actual, DnD-like spellcasting, precognition and real divine interventions... See? |
|
Jan 22 |
revised |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? trying to clarify the question |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? I know they do exist. :) What I don't really get (see my question) is why they are not the dominant governmental forms. (Good clerics and mages not seeking to rule seems a shabby official stance to me. Given their powers and/or actual divine guidance, these two groups could prevent tons of evil by taking the lead. And being good, they probably would act to help their societies.) |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Optional rules to replace various XP costs in DnD3.5? another excellent answer. thank you. (in general I'm not into switching to Pathfinder (yet?), but taking-adapting useful bits and pieces is quite okay.) |
|
Jan 22 |
asked | Magocracies and theocracies in Dnd? |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Is there a pen and paper rpg adaptation of Half Life? Thanks. :) HL2 is what I'm primarily interested in, just like you, but HL1 would also be better than nothing - that's why I tried to word the question to include the whole series. Thanks again! |
|
Jan 22 |
comment |
Optional rules to replace various XP costs in DnD3.5? Thank you very much for having brought this series to my attention, it seems simply awesome at first glance. I'll read through it asap, as time permits. As for accepting your answer: I'll wait a bit more, to give others a chance as well (some may know / have other working options), but this seems to be a very good contender. Thanks again. |
|
Jan 22 |
revised |
Is there a pen and paper rpg adaptation of Half Life? Fixed a sentence. |
|
Jan 22 |
asked | Is there a pen and paper rpg adaptation of Half Life? |
|
Jan 22 |
asked | Optional rules to replace various XP costs in DnD3.5? |
|
Jan 19 |
answered | Fantasy adventure modules with naval adventuring |
|
Jan 15 |
accepted | Flanking while using Total Defense? |
|
Jan 15 |
comment |
Flanking while using Total Defense? So, since total defense takes away your chance to attack (since it's a standard action which leaves only a move action in which you can't attack) and you can't make AOOs either while using Total Defense, you're not threatening? Sounds reasonable, yet flanking seems to rely on the flanked opponent having to divide its attention, and it may not be aware of the fact that one of its attackers is using TD. (I hope that makes sense. :)) Would require some kind of roll on the flanked(?) opponent's part to realize it's not really flanked? |
|
Jan 14 |
asked | Flanking while using Total Defense? |
|
Jan 10 |
accepted | Which Mage: The Awakening sourcebook (if any) has info on mages' daily, non-adventuring lives? |
|
Jan 9 |
asked | Which Mage: The Awakening sourcebook (if any) has info on mages' daily, non-adventuring lives? |
|
Jan 8 |
comment |
In Call of Cthulhu, what would you roll to search a room? -1 for omitting crucial info about which edition of the game the question was primarily about. (its being crucial is apparent from a comment only.) had that info been included, knowing I do not know 2nd ed CoC I wouldn't have wasted time looking up specific page references for the 5.6 rules (having found Jmstar's answer somewhat unconfident, with the question mark and its lack of detail.) also note please that I have deleted my own 5.6-based, duplicate (but more specific) answer as you requested. |
