Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sotha_syl 03-21-07, 12:21 AM	My friends and I have been playing D&D pretty much regularly for about two years now, and we've only made it through a few campaigns. None fully, though we are about to conclude out 14th level characters (I DM for that one in particular) soon, so we can move on to new characters. Those were the first that we had ever made, and they tended to be based off of the actual players in real life, because thats how we made characters back then... I never put a character in, I'm aware some DMs do, but I have too much fun making NPC personalities, and I would find it difficult to effectively Roleplay a character with all the DM knowledge I have. My real issue is that I'm now playing in a campaign for the first time. I enjoy writing up characters for one shot things, So I have about 5 or 6 characters stored away in my DM notebook for use. Or just enjoyment. But we just started this campaign, level one of course, and it was going to be just a 4 person, kind of core campaign. Trying to get the Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Rogue roles filled. Obviously a Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, Scout or whatever else would work out, and then we were going to add a fifth if anyone else was interested, a Bard or something supportive. I made a Gnome Fighter named Namfoodle Stumbleduck out to prove that short folk can fight just as effectively as taller folk. Name was totally taken from the PHB, I love the gnome names in there :D At any rate, the -2 strength really wasn't something I wanted, but I loved the character idea and the +2 constitution and things seemed to pretty much make up for it. I use a Bastard Sword (which is a bit ridiculous for a gnome to be holding in one hand, but it works) and a tower shield, a heavy crossbow for when the need arises, and a Glaive for a reach weapon, just in case. Anyway. Everyone kind of wanted to do gnomes, and so we started what we like to call the Gnome Campaign, with my friend Matt DMing. He's big on Paranoia if you've ever played that, its a really strange d20 RPG based around 1984 style dystopia things, and its a bit wacky. So his DMing style is a bit looser, even if he is a rules lawyer, he tends to play a lot of jokes and make things humorous. Thing is, we have a bunch of house rules for this campaign. For example, we simply removed the rule where Gnomes and Halflings use smaller weapons. Yes, its in the PHB but it seems imbalanced, and doesn't make much sense. They aren't THAT tiny. And we added special rules about receiving experience for pranking and joking other players and NPCs, if you pulled it off really well. So the group now consists of exclusively Gnomes of the Stumbleduck clan, out giant hunting and trying to bring glory to our family name, as our humble abode in the hills of the town maraing was raided by a small group of giants, and our entire family was killed by a specific giant wielding a massive Maul, aptly named Gnomesmasher. We don't much trust anyone that appears too tall, especially large or greater, and we simply love to humiliate and play pranks on our foes before we defeat them. We're ranging from good to neutral, and we aren't murderers by any means, but we will defend ourselves. However, we are looking for the one giant who murdered our family and laid waste to our homes. There's me, the fighter. I'm the tallest, the oldest, and likely the strongest of the group. I take care of the others, and Im a bit defensive about my brothers and sisters, especially the smallest one, Waywicket. Played by my friend stiles, Waywicket is the runt, and is short even for a gnome. The youngest and the smallest, he's a rogue who uses a scythe and a small crossbow, and doesn't talk much. Then there's our crazed sorceress, the only of our sisters. She wears goggles and a ridiculously large collar, and has scraggly and almost made scientist-esque hair. She has a weasel familiar named shamus, and is obsessed with constructs of all sorts. Then there's our faithful Paladin, (not sure on his name, sadly) who is lawful, but can appreciate the odd prank or well-mannered joke. Though he does disapprove of some of our behavior, we try to abide by his code to a degree. He's the only lawful one of the bunch. We have yet to add a fifth, we have a couple friends interested in playing either a bard or a barbarian or a monk or something, not sure though. At any rate, down to the point. I want a few suggestions on the campaign as a whole, what do you think we could do with the bunch we have, what kind of tricks I could play on the others ( I really need some good ideas, we're all trying for the most clever and intricate trick, and I have a solid 5 ranks in craft trapmaking now, which will assuredly come in handy. ;) Our first trick was rather simple. Our Paladin was sitting by a fountain/well, flirting friendly-like with three gnomish ladies trying to pry some information out of them about a giant and our rival clan, the Bimbles. He said he was thirsty, so the sorcerer and I ran up to him, and the sorcerer used Prestidigitation to turn him blue, and I pushed him into the fountain. At the inn later on, he got us back by rigging a simple bucket trap filled with meat above the door to our room, and putting wild raccoons in our beds. We haven't played much, and I thought I'd ask all of you for any fun ideas on the matter. Sorry for being so long winded, haha...:D
Sotha_syl 03-21-07, 12:41 AM	Wow. I completely neglected to mention our cleric, who's new to the game and has only played like twice now, in fact... I haven't played with him at all. I've been gone for a while. (We just pretty much said since I couldn't show up no matter how hard I tried, my character was off chasing a half-orc who insulted his height in the tavern we were in, trying to trick him and defeat him... need to come up with something along those lines.) Anyway. I hardly know anything about his character, but I don't think he does either. He's still fully grasping the concept of attack rolls, I think. Any ideas on how to get him into the game a little more? Eh?
Azezel 03-21-07, 08:40 AM	Gnomes aren't that tiny, you say? They are at best 42" tall - your Bastard Sword is - wait for it 54" long, and that's just the blade the handle adds another good 10"-12". You say that the weapon size rules are imballenced, and don't make much sense - well I disagree. I think that a 3' 6 person swinging a 6' 6 sword is just silly (Hell, even Cloud Strife's sword wasn't twice his size). As for unballenced - as a small character, you get +1 to attack (which you may say is ballenced by your -2 to STR, but this is why most small mellee characters use Weapon Finnessee) and +1 to AC (which is a significant help to anyone) - as well as bonusses on a slew of checks, and the only penalties you suffer are a -10' to speed and a -1 to average damage. Yes, that's right, the penalty for using a small weapon is a single smegging point less average damage. Now - since everyone in your campaign is Small sized - I suppose it is not that critical, but if I were playing a Medium Sized character, and the DM said that Small characters could use Medium weapons without penalty, I'd feel pretty gypped.
MourninStar 03-21-07, 08:51 AM	Wow, a game where all the PCs are the same race? I thought it was just an urban myth...;) . First, Giantbane weapons all 'round. :) As far as ideas for direction, I'd say put serious effort into finding any giants you can. Gather Info checks, Survival, etc., to track down any of those overbearing behemoths. Before you go a-hunting, start a pool at the local tavern as to how many Giants your group can kill. You're likely to get good odds - being as how you're all Gnomes - and this can dovetail well with your "prankster" group; i.e., don't bet gold, bet pies-in-the-face, chicken dance in the town square, and the like. As far as general pranks go, pantsing never gets old :). Shoelaces tied together. Shaving cream gets replaced with itching powder - or maybe Sovereign Glue. The old hand-in-warm-water trick. Pranks to play on Giants: knock 'em out with subdual damage, then bury them to their necks. With their shoelaces tied together. And shave their heads. Grease + Bigby's Hand.
Sotha_syl 03-21-07, 01:32 PM	Gnomes aren't that tiny, you say? They are at best 42" tall - your Bastard Sword is - wait for it 54" long, and that's just the blade the handle adds another good 10"-12". You say that the weapon size rules are imballenced, and don't make much sense - well I disagree. I think that a 3' 6 person swinging a 6' 6 sword is just silly (Hell, even Cloud Strife's sword wasn't twice his size). As for unballenced - as a small character, you get +1 to attack (which you may say is ballenced by your -2 to STR, but this is why most small mellee characters use Weapon Finnessee) and +1 to AC (which is a significant help to anyone) - as well as bonusses on a slew of checks, and the only penalties you suffer are a -10' to speed and a -1 to average damage. Yes, that's right, the penalty for using a small weapon is a single smegging point less average damage. Now - since everyone in your campaign is Small sized - I suppose it is not that critical, but if I were playing a Medium Sized character, and the DM said that Small characters could use Medium weapons without penalty, I'd feel pretty gypped. Small characters receive: +1 to attack rolls +1 to AC +4 to hide -10 to speed - to carrying capacities -4 to grapple checks AND their weapons deal less damage We thought that the weapons dealing less damage was a bit much, and that yes of course halflings and gnomes would use slightly smaller weapons, but that they wouldn't deal any less damage than a weapon that is just slightly bigger proportionately. Plus it averages out to 2 points of less damage, not including str penalties. But that's just how we work things, I don't remember the gnomes and halfings dealing any less damage in 3.0 or before, but I may just be hallucinating. That was a loooong time ago. :D
Gamili 03-21-07, 02:59 PM	So large creatures shouldn't deal more damage than medium? What about Huge, and larger?
holylink718 03-21-07, 03:09 PM	It's called a HOUSE RULE, people! I don't believe the question was whether or not you thought that their house rule was "acceptable" or not...he(or she) was asking about practical jokes and/or pranks they could play on each other and/or other people. Geez, you'd think some people had never heard of a house rule before. Azezel and Gamili, go somewhere else if you want to argue about which house rules are "acceptable." If the players and dm are happy about it, let 'em be.
Prator_the_Legendary 03-21-07, 04:33 PM	Ummm... I MIGHT be wrong about this, but I was under the impression that, while small characters are fully capable of using weapons like bastard swords, a Small person using a Medium weapon must wield that weapon with two hands. Nothing wrong with that, really. I'd allow you to wield a sword double your height as long as you use two hands. Seriously. Still, you might want to keep that in mind, if only because it means you don't get a shield and you multiply your strength modifier by 1.5 for attack and damage. Also, I'm sure there are feats that allow you to get more AC bonuses and attack bonuses against foes that are bigger than you. They might not be in the PHB, but they're out there, and since nearly everyy enemy you'll ever fight is bigger than you, you stand to gain much from taking those.
Whisper_Swiftblade 03-21-07, 05:43 PM	sound like fun. For pranks and whatnot there are alot of things you can do, particularlt if you get ahold of some glue, or paint. One idea is to wate until your victum as not playing attention in a bar, set up a portible hole behind him filed with old rotting fish (or whatever) have your sorceror cast greese on a bar stool, let hilarity begin. another prank is to simply use an illution to make the biggist, uglyist person you can and make them look like an attractive member of the opposit sex to the victum, tell the victum you thing that whoever it is, is checking them out, watch the violence move a bookshelf in front of the doorway, turn it invisible, wake up the victum by yelling "fire!" and watch him run for the door. for a realy simple trick take some of the nails out of a chair (or saw at the legs so they break)
Sotha_syl 03-21-07, 08:11 PM	I'm not here to discuss the validity of our house rules, hell, I didn't even make the rule. The fact of the matter is, is that we didn't think gnomes and halflings would use MUCH smaller weapons, and even if it is bending things slightly we just wanted them to deal the same damage. This is not a debate about whether gnomes and halflings wield smaller weapons. Of course they do. Its not even a debate about whether or not the smaller weapons deal a noticeably smaller amount of damage (And thats how we justify it, is it's simply too small of a difference to be noticeable at all. We get str penalties AS IS.) Thing is, it isn't even UP for debate! But good ideas on the two people who actually replied. Keep em coming, if you can ;) And as a recent development, the sorcerer and I are trying to get revenge on the Paladin for soaking us in raw meat and then letting rabid raccoons jump us as we went to bed, because we reeked of meat. Any ideas on suitable revenge that won't **** of a Paladin who has a code, albeit a loose one.
Sotha_syl 03-21-07, 08:13 PM	I'm not here to discuss the validity of our house rules, hell, I didn't even make the rule. The fact of the matter is, is that we didn't think gnomes and halflings would use MUCH smaller weapons, and even if it is bending things slightly we just wanted them to deal the same damage. This is not a debate about whether gnomes and halflings wield smaller weapons. Of course they do. Its not even a debate about whether or not the smaller weapons deal a noticeably smaller amount of damage (And thats how we justify it, is it's simply too small of a difference to be noticeable at all. We get str penalties AS IS.) Thing is, it isn't even UP for debate! But good ideas on the two people who actually replied. Keep em coming, if you can ;) And as a recent development, the sorcerer and I are trying to get revenge on the Paladin for soaking us in raw meat and then letting rabid raccoons jump us as we went to bed, because we reeked of meat. Any ideas on suitable revenge that won't **** of a Paladin who has a code, albeit a loose one. Hrm. Wasn't aware p!ss was censored. Oh well.
Brotter_Lutgehr 03-21-07, 08:17 PM	Well the way I see it is, it isn't a gnome pratical joke unless half the population of an area is killed and the gnome says "Well it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Sarrazon 03-21-07, 08:25 PM	Un-shoe his horse? oh, wait just got a good one. Take his sword, and shear the blade off the handle (do while hes sleeping) then strap the handle back on the sheath, and watch the fun. Might not wanna do if theres gonna be a serious combat tho.
Prator_the_Legendary 03-21-07, 08:32 PM	Hey now, I was TRYING to help with the two-handed weapon thing. Still, as long as you're houseruling that, why not ask your DM if you can have a greatsword? It'll look even funnier, and you don't need to get Exotic weapon proficiency for it... Never forget Prestigitation, the ultimate pranking spell. Use it to: 1. Soil all of the paladin's laundry shortly after it has been washed. 2. Make his armor spontaneously turn pink in public. 3. Make his food incredibly spicy just before he eats it. 4. Give him something flavored to taste like food that isn't actually food. 5. Make a breeze lift up the skirts of any tall women the paladin happens to be standing near. 6. Make a fart noise and a nasty smell with the paladin as the source. 7. And many more! And the best part is that, it's a cantrip, so EVERYONE in your party can use it...
This_Dude 03-21-07, 10:43 PM	Every night, at 3:00 AM (ish), steal his underpants. Mutter frequently, "step 3 is the profit".
Sotha_syl 03-22-07, 12:20 AM	Good Stuff. Keep it coming.
Zumarai 03-22-07, 06:32 AM	Will this campaign take place entirely in a garden?
FrostWolf 03-22-07, 06:49 AM	Hmm... I wouldn't feel too comfortable with the weapon thing, but it ain't my game so go nuts! PRANKS! A tiny dash of black powder (Alchemy equivilent can be found in some Faerun book. Don't remember what one) in ones pipe can lead to some funny after dinner relaxation hyjinx. Sleeping poisons in ones food (ONLY in small ammounts) will keep one asleep till noon, giving you much time to place their hand in a bowl of warm water, shave their eyebrows, and fill their hand with horse dung (Then tickle their nose with a feather). Fill the pallys helmate with gruel. Then fake an ambush (Dawn hastily situation) Hide the contents of the sorc's Spell component pouch when they are off gathering wood for the evening fire, then mention that you used their all their "spices" while making the stew for the night. Cut the stingers off of scorpions, then hide them in the bed rolls (The scorpions, NOT the stingers. Poison some arrows with those or something). Make sure to put a few in yours, but leave someone elses pest free.:D Sew someones backpack shut. Laxitives in the evening meal. If you had a wizard, you could swap his spell book for a coloring book. Hope these are what you want. And for the wee sorcerer, Monster Manual 4 has a few low level construct she can make at low levels, of particular note is the Clockwork Mender, witch she can have as a familiar, craft as a homunculus, And summon in swarm form. The are construct that repair other constructs, something she will find useful if she wants to go into Effigy Master.
Xavorin 03-28-07, 03:42 PM	My friends and I have been playing D&D pretty much regularly for about two years now, and we've only made it through a few campaigns. None fully, though we are about to conclude out 14th level characters (I DM for that one in particular) soon, so we can move on to new characters. Those were the first that we had ever made, and they tended to be based off of the actual players in real life, because thats how we made characters back then... I never put a character in, I'm aware some DMs do, but I have too much fun making NPC personalities, and I would find it difficult to effectively Roleplay a character with all the DM knowledge I have. My real issue is that I'm now playing in a campaign for the first time. I enjoy writing up characters for one shot things, So I have about 5 or 6 characters stored away in my DM notebook for use. Or just enjoyment. But we just started this campaign, level one of course, and it was going to be just a 4 person, kind of core campaign. Trying to get the Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Rogue roles filled. Obviously a Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, Scout or whatever else would work out, and then we were going to add a fifth if anyone else was interested, a Bard or something supportive. I made a Gnome Fighter named Namfoodle Stumbleduck out to prove that short folk can fight just as effectively as taller folk. Name was totally taken from the PHB, I love the gnome names in there :D At any rate, the -2 strength really wasn't something I wanted, but I loved the character idea and the +2 constitution and things seemed to pretty much make up for it. I use a Bastard Sword (which is a bit ridiculous for a gnome to be holding in one hand, but it works) and a tower shield, a heavy crossbow for when the need arises, and a Glaive for a reach weapon, just in case. Anyway. Everyone kind of wanted to do gnomes, and so we started what we like to call the Gnome Campaign, with my friend Matt DMing. He's big on Paranoia if you've ever played that, its a really strange d20 RPG based around 1984 style dystopia things, and its a bit wacky. So his DMing style is a bit looser, even if he is a rules lawyer, he tends to play a lot of jokes and make things humorous. Thing is, we have a bunch of house rules for this campaign. For example, we simply removed the rule where Gnomes and Halflings use smaller weapons. Yes, its in the PHB but it seems imbalanced, and doesn't make much sense. They aren't THAT tiny. And we added special rules about receiving experience for pranking and joking other players and NPCs, if you pulled it off really well. So the group now consists of exclusively Gnomes of the Stumbleduck clan, out giant hunting and trying to bring glory to our family name, as our humble abode in the hills of the town maraing was raided by a small group of giants, and our entire family was killed by a specific giant wielding a massive Maul, aptly named Gnomesmasher. We don't much trust anyone that appears too tall, especially large or greater, and we simply love to humiliate and play pranks on our foes before we defeat them. We're ranging from good to neutral, and we aren't murderers by any means, but we will defend ourselves. However, we are looking for the one giant who murdered our family and laid waste to our homes. There's me, the fighter. I'm the tallest, the oldest, and likely the strongest of the group. I take care of the others, and Im a bit defensive about my brothers and sisters, especially the smallest one, Waywicket. Played by my friend stiles, Waywicket is the runt, and is short even for a gnome. The youngest and the smallest, he's a rogue who uses a scythe and a small crossbow, and doesn't talk much. Then there's our crazed sorceress, the only of our sisters. She wears goggles and a ridiculously large collar, and has scraggly and almost made scientist-esque hair. She has a weasel familiar named shamus, and is obsessed with constructs of all sorts. Then there's our faithful Paladin, (not sure on his name, sadly) who is lawful, but can appreciate the odd prank or well-mannered joke. Though he does disapprove of some of our behavior, we try to abide by his code to a degree. He's the only lawful one of the bunch. We have yet to add a fifth, we have a couple friends interested in playing either a bard or a barbarian or a monk or something, not sure though. At any rate, down to the point. I want a few suggestions on the campaign as a whole, what do you think we could do with the bunch we have, what kind of tricks I could play on the others ( I really need some good ideas, we're all trying for the most clever and intricate trick, and I have a solid 5 ranks in craft trapmaking now, which will assuredly come in handy. ;) Our first trick was rather simple. Our Paladin was sitting by a fountain/well, flirting friendly-like with three gnomish ladies trying to pry some information out of them about a giant and our rival clan, the Bimbles. He said he was thirsty, so the sorcerer and I ran up to him, and the sorcerer used Prestidigitation to turn him blue, and I pushed him into the fountain. At the inn later on, he got us back by rigging a simple bucket trap filled with meat above the door to our room, and putting wild raccoons in our beds. We haven't played much, and I thought I'd ask all of you for any fun ideas on the matter. Sorry for being so long winded, haha...:D Before I finish reading the rest of the posts, I just want to say one thing: That is THE most fun-sounding campaign EVER. I mean, all Gnomes? Wish I had thought of that.
Onikani 03-28-07, 05:40 PM	Before I finish reading the rest of the posts, I just want to say one thing: That is THE most fun-sounding campaign EVER. I mean, all Gnomes? Wish I had thought of that. Same here. Sounds like they have a good group to do it with too. <---------Jealous. :) Pranks: Any of the illusion spells can do wonders. Mirror image + a night of drinking can really mess with someones head. Gnomes get speak with animals? The fun things you can do by paying of a squirrel with a few acorns... An army of squirrels assisting in pranks? Evil. Whatever your mind can imagine, the fact that squirrels are doing it makes it worse. :D Prestidigitation turns Copper into Platnium. the possibilities are endless, i need to stop thinking about it...
yellowdingo 03-28-07, 11:27 PM	"Giants!!!" Frezni ran back to the party. "They's Giants ovr thar!" They went to look. There were several elves standing in a group... "Theys Dwafs, ya burk!" Burnick was unimpressed.