Now with that said... Once in a great while, I just want to smack the guy who came up with the outlander concept on the back of the head!
Especially as a replacement character, they are hard to work with if not thought out. 9 out of 10 times when a character doesn't fit in or is crazy in Ravenloft without a failed madness check he is an outlander or he is Chaotic Neutral.
Here's one example of two such characters in the same game that were both...
I now here describe a replacement outlander character from a player that had roleplayed exquisitely with his other characters the last being a Boritsi nobel aristocrat/wizard that was perfectly played mind you. I had seven players in this campaigne and he was by far the best even with the two previous character deaths which he said he was fine with.
The other was a first time D&D player who had been in other games and was new to the group.
In this campaigne I had a complete batch of problems as the parties new outlanders. A Druid (The first one!) began in his year of downtime traveling to the wildlands, taking the leadership feat and trying to teach monkeys, DIRE APE GORILLAS, and orangutangs <-spelling? that he enlightend how to shoot fire arms. On top of that another new outlander character (The second one!) who was a Fighter/Ranger who as his back story is supposedly tracking his fathers killer through the mists decided to also help him train them since he knew ranged feats and had the proficency to teach the gorrilas how to use gorrila size greatswords.
Now Im all for excentricity if done well but it seem's that these characters thought that Neutral after Chaotic = Chaotic Stupid the single worst alignment ever.
I take some blame in the fact that I thought that they would not try to drown the game in pointless side ventures or crazyness... Like for example... getting the party almost lynched because The Druid in cat form and his Dire Ape with the aid of the above mentioned fighter/ranger wanted to do a comedy/pet trick/magic act, routiene in a bar durring a murder investigation in Stc. Ronges. Which as amusing as it sounds is not fun roleplay when in a seven player game something like this happens and slows it to a grinding halt.
I was the DM and I could have destroyed the characters at anytime. But the Druid was that unfortunate players third character and the Ftr/Rng was starting D&D with my game.
Sufice it to say... I got rid of both the characters with a stroke of luck!
As he was in get this PERRADACTYLE FORM <-spelling and carrying said other outlander character who was way out of character by this point attacking an artillery emplacement.
A desperate ground seige crew shot him with a direct hit from a bombard. At which point he fell nearly 80ft to the ground on top of supply crates (that he had set on fire with a fire wall spell) filled with oil.
Now someone may accuse me of fudging the dice or steering them as they fell into the fire but with a d% roll with 80% normal ground 20% firery doom as odds, I must say that behind my screen, I saw Karma at work.
The 14th lvl CN Druid worshipper of the goddess Eris in Perradactyle form who was raising a ape army to crush humanity by transplanting apes to MORDENT, had managed to score himself and his unofficial PC cohort a whopping 8d8 from the bombard which knocked him unconcious but not dead yet, and 20d6 from both the landing and the fire wall and the oil in the crates.
Of course the Ftr/Rng was not hit with the bombard but since he got an extra 3d6 as an unconcious dinosaur dropped on him and they were both retreating to recover from battle it was very fatal.
That's a good day for the watching Darkpowers of Ravenloft.
To this day neither has ever run an inappropriate outlander character again and they laughingly accuse me of utterly destroying them.
So has anything like that ever happend in your games?
I like Ravenloft. It is far and away my favorite setting simply because it emphisizes both a weath of detail on the world and the fact that the players will face mysterious horror's that may not have a clear answer. And Outlander characters are a good staple...
Now with that said... Once in a great while, I just want to smack the guy who came up with the outlander concept on the back of the head!
Especially as a replacement character, they are hard to work with if not thought out. 9 out of 10 times when a character doesn't fit in or is crazy in Ravenloft without a failed madness check he is an outlander or he is Chaotic Neutral.
Here's one example of two such characters in the same game that were both...
I now here describe a replacement outlander character from a player that had roleplayed exquisitely with his other characters the last being a Boritsi nobel aristocrat/wizard that was perfectly played mind you. I had seven players in this campaigne and he was by far the best even with the two previous character deaths which he said he was fine with.
The other was a first time D&D player who had been in other games and was new to the group.
In this campaigne I had a complete batch of problems as the parties new outlanders. A Druid (The first one!) began in his year of downtime traveling to the wildlands, taking the leadership feat and trying to teach monkeys, DIRE APE GORILLAS, and orangutangs <-spelling? that he enlightend how to shoot fire arms. On top of that another new outlander character (The second one!) who was a Fighter/Ranger who as his back story is supposedly tracking his fathers killer through the mists decided to also help him train them since he knew ranged feats and had the proficency to teach the gorrilas how to use gorrila size greatswords.
Now Im all for excentricity if done well but it seem's that these characters thought that Neutral after Chaotic = Chaotic Stupid the single worst alignment ever.
I take some blame in the fact that I thought that they would not try to drown the game in pointless side ventures or crazyness... Like for example... getting the party almost lynched because The Druid in cat form and his Dire Ape with the aid of the above mentioned fighter/ranger wanted to do a comedy/pet trick/magic act, routiene in a bar durring a murder investigation in Stc. Ronges. Which as amusing as it sounds is not fun roleplay when in a seven player game something like this happens and slows it to a grinding halt.
I was the DM and I could have destroyed the characters at anytime. But the Druid was that unfortunate players third character and the Ftr/Rng was starting D&D with my game.
Sufice it to say... I got rid of both the characters with a stroke of luck!
As he was in get this PERRADACTYLE FORM <-spelling and carrying said other outlander character who was way out of character by this point attacking an artillery emplacement.
A desperate ground seige crew shot him with a direct hit from a bombard. At which point he fell nearly 80ft to the ground on top of supply crates (that he had set on fire with a fire wall spell) filled with oil.
Now someone may accuse me of fudging the dice or steering them as they fell into the fire but with a d% roll with 80% normal ground 20% firery doom as odds, I must say that behind my screen, I saw Karma at work.
The 14th lvl CN Druid worshipper of the goddess Eris in Perradactyle form who was raising a ape army to crush humanity by transplanting apes to MORDENT, had managed to score himself and his unofficial PC cohort a whopping 8d8 from the bombard which knocked him unconcious but not dead yet, and 20d6 from both the landing and the fire wall and the oil in the crates.
Of course the Ftr/Rng was not hit with the bombard but since he got an extra 3d6 as an unconcious dinosaur dropped on him and they were both retreating to recover from battle it was very fatal.
That's a good day for the watching Darkpowers of Ravenloft.
To this day neither has ever run an inappropriate outlander character again and they laughingly accuse me of utterly destroying them.
So has anything like that ever happend in your games?
Some of that sounds like what my group would try to do when we started. The closest thing off the top of my head is having 6 Dark Sun outlander characters running from a stampede of man-eating cows in G'Henna (hey, it's not my fault that they were on the random encounter table). What made it even more fun is that the more experienced players were still in character (bovines don't exist on Athas): "What are those things and why are they trying to eat us?!"
I like Ravenloft. It is far and away my favorite setting simply because it emphisizes both a weath of detail on the world and the fact that the players will face mysterious horror's that may not have a clear answer. And Outlander characters are a good staple...
Now with that said... Once in a great while, I just want to smack the guy who came up with the outlander concept on the back of the head!
Especially as a replacement character, they are hard to work with if not thought out. 9 out of 10 times when a character doesn't fit in or is crazy in Ravenloft without a failed madness check he is an outlander or he is Chaotic Neutral.
Here's one example of two such characters in the same game that were both...
I now here describe a replacement outlander character from a player that had roleplayed exquisitely with his other characters the last being a Boritsi nobel aristocrat/wizard that was perfectly played mind you. I had seven players in this campaigne and he was by far the best even with the two previous character deaths which he said he was fine with.
The other was a first time D&D player who had been in other games and was new to the group.
In this campaigne I had a complete batch of problems as the parties new outlanders. A Druid (The first one!) began in his year of downtime traveling to the wildlands, taking the leadership feat and trying to teach monkeys, DIRE APE GORILLAS, and orangutangs <-spelling? that he enlightend how to shoot fire arms. On top of that another new outlander character (The second one!) who was a Fighter/Ranger who as his back story is supposedly tracking his fathers killer through the mists decided to also help him train them since he knew ranged feats and had the proficency to teach the gorrilas how to use gorrila size greatswords.
Now Im all for excentricity if done well but it seem's that these characters thought that Neutral after Chaotic = Chaotic Stupid the single worst alignment ever.
I take some blame in the fact that I thought that they would not try to drown the game in pointless side ventures or crazyness... Like for example... getting the party almost lynched because The Druid in cat form and his Dire Ape with the aid of the above mentioned fighter/ranger wanted to do a comedy/pet trick/magic act, routiene in a bar durring a murder investigation in Stc. Ronges. Which as amusing as it sounds is not fun roleplay when in a seven player game something like this happens and slows it to a grinding halt.
I was the DM and I could have destroyed the characters at anytime. But the Druid was that unfortunate players third character and the Ftr/Rng was starting D&D with my game.
Sufice it to say... I got rid of both the characters with a stroke of luck!
As he was in get this PERRADACTYLE FORM <-spelling and carrying said other outlander character who was way out of character by this point attacking an artillery emplacement.
A desperate ground seige crew shot him with a direct hit from a bombard. At which point he fell nearly 80ft to the ground on top of supply crates (that he had set on fire with a fire wall spell) filled with oil.
Now someone may accuse me of fudging the dice or steering them as they fell into the fire but with a d% roll with 80% normal ground 20% firery doom as odds, I must say that behind my screen, I saw Karma at work.
The 14th lvl CN Druid worshipper of the goddess Eris in Perradactyle form who was raising a ape army to crush humanity by transplanting apes to MORDENT, had managed to score himself and his unofficial PC cohort a whopping 8d8 from the bombard which knocked him unconcious but not dead yet, and 20d6 from both the landing and the fire wall and the oil in the crates.
Of course the Ftr/Rng was not hit with the bombard but since he got an extra 3d6 as an unconcious dinosaur dropped on him and they were both retreating to recover from battle it was very fatal.
That's a good day for the watching Darkpowers of Ravenloft.
To this day neither has ever run an inappropriate outlander character again and they laughingly accuse me of utterly destroying them.
So has anything like that ever happend in your games?
Hahahaha, a player of mine tried to do the exact same thing almost. He was a Ranger/Black Powder Avenger, and tried to teach his Dire Ape companion how to be his Powder Monkey.:P
Originally posted by Tykus
Some of that sounds like what my group would try to do when we started. The closest thing off the top of my head is having 6 Dark Sun outlander characters running from a stampede of man-eating cows in G'Henna (hey, it's not my fault that they were on the random encounter table). What made it even more fun is that the more experienced players were still in character (bovines don't exist on Athas): "What are those things and why are they trying to eat us?!"
I will have to try using man eating cow's... Sound's like a great ambush...
As you wander through the pasture you smell the bovines first and soon they are all around the road you travel. Extremely malnourished looking you pity the poor beasts on the near barren plane. They appear to be wondering free and they look at you curiously. Then you notice that every time you look at them, they seem to be closer.
Thanks for sharing Tykus. If you don't mind, that would definitely be a good low encounter for them next game! ;)
Originally posted by kwdblade
Hahahaha, a player of mine tried to do the exact same thing almost. He was a Ranger/Black Powder Avenger, and tried to teach his Dire Ape companion how to be his Powder Monkey.
Yes it is very similar... Disturbingly similar even. But of note that Druid was probably crazier. Not trying to one up ya, but he used to, every once in a while, eat the corpses of people he killed as an Anaconda. Even once on a city street. I had a hard time figuring out if he would die when he changed back with the corpse inside, but since I ruled that it was very morbid and that he did it as a ritual for power that he would not die. Just make powers checks. Beside's it didn't do him much good in the staying alive department anyway. :evillaugh
Thanks for the reply kwdblade.:D
Hey how do you guys do that little blue square with the white arrow thing next to the name of the quote.
