Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Neratos 11-27-06, 06:27 PM	So i am gearing up to play this blighter, when reading the deforestation ability that the blighter can designate certain plants that can grow in the area of the deforestation, and nothing else can grow there. It dawned on me, farmers would pay a good deal for this. Just think, i go up to a feild or wooded area that is slated for crop growth, deforest designating the crops the farmers want to grow, and that is all that can grow there. No weeds of any kind will ever crop up. Well, this got me thinking, what other class abilities could be used to benifit the commoners outside of saving them from the BBEG? Oh, and how much should i charge farmers for my services? And would Druids still hate me if this is how i use my evil powers?
TheAnthroDM 11-27-06, 11:34 PM	Yes the Druids will still hate you, but that's okay, Druids hate everyone.
runestar 11-27-06, 11:49 PM	That sure would be a neat solution to the haze today...:P
Archangel62 11-28-06, 12:32 AM	So i am gearing up to play this blighter, when reading the deforestation ability that the blighter can designate certain plants that can grow in the area of the deforestation, and nothing else can grow there. It dawned on me, farmers would pay a good deal for this. Just think, i go up to a feild or wooded area that is slated for crop growth, deforest designating the crops the farmers want to grow, and that is all that can grow there. No weeds of any kind will ever crop up. Well, this got me thinking, what other class abilities could be used to benifit the commoners outside of saving them from the BBEG? Oh, and how much should i charge farmers for my services? And would Druids still hate me if this is how i use my evil powers? They will hate you, but so will farmers, according to deforestation the whole area is still infertile...then again I just got an idea for developers hiring blighters to clear areas, then adventurers go and kill the blighters, and the developers take the cleared land and build on it.
Neratos 11-28-06, 12:44 AM	it says, certain types of plants designated by a blighter can grow there. Doesn't that mean that say, corn could grow but nothing else Except for plants selected by a controller, nothing can grow in a deforested area until it has a hallow spell cast upon it and it is reseeded hrm, now i am confused about this controller blurb. or do they mean the blighter. Also, nothing about the soil be infertile, just that nothing can grow. So it seems to be a magical affect.
Reversefigure4 11-28-06, 04:16 AM	Even assuming this would work, I don't think farmers would be eager to be hated by both druids and nature deities. Sure, you might be able to put that corn in the now-cleared ground, but good luck growing it when a freak storm swoops up every day and destroys everything on the land, along with your house.
CryoSilver 11-28-06, 05:09 AM	I don't think a blighter would agree to this sort of arrangement anyways; they'd just kill everything and laugh at the now landless farmer.
allenchan 11-28-06, 08:34 AM	Even assuming this would work, I don't think farmers would be eager to be hated by both druids and nature deities. Sure, you might be able to put that corn in the now-cleared ground, but good luck growing it when a freak storm swoops up every day and destroys everything on the land, along with your house. Nature dieties dont necessarily promote abundant harvests and teeming wildlife. Nature is about balance. This is why nature dieties such as Incabulos and Talona exist to prove a counter balance. and I could totally see a blighter doing this, they dont have to be chaotic stupid, after all.
Neratos 11-28-06, 11:21 AM	Well, my blighter i am playing is one that believes nature has had its time in the sun and now it is the mortals time. Natures is there to serve our whims and better our lives, not the other way around. Warped i know, but i am a blighter after all......a fey blighter at that hahaha.
pmurray@bigpond.com 11-28-06, 10:00 PM	Even assuming this would work, I don't think farmers would be eager to be hated by both druids and nature deities. You clearly have never seen footage of farmers from Queensland clearing native bushland by dragging huge chains strung between a couple of tractors. Or for that matter going nuts with insecticide. It strikes me that one could make an interesting story around farmers that use blighters to "prepare" the ground and then face consequences - various nature deities applying hideous crses to their crops. How about a city built on land that was blighted in order to clear it? Sure - you can build on it, but what's causing all these birth defects? How about kingdoms using blighters against one another? Epic blighters doing the equivalent of "plough the earth with salt"?
Archangel62 11-28-06, 11:12 PM	You clearly have never seen footage of farmers from Queensland clearing native bushland by dragging huge chains strung between a couple of tractors. Or for that matter going nuts with insecticide. It strikes me that one could make an interesting story around farmers that use blighters to "prepare" the ground and then face consequences - various nature deities applying hideous crses to their crops. How about a city built on land that was blighted in order to clear it? Sure - you can build on it, but what's causing all these birth defects? How about kingdoms using blighters against one another? Epic blighters doing the equivalent of "plough the earth with salt"? I just had an amusing mental image of the wheat fields attacking people...or of the druids doing some curses through the food...heroes of horror ideas...
Neratos 11-29-06, 12:02 AM	My blighter lays low most of the time....for obvious reasons. But if my blighter had been active everyday for his life time, he would have stripped 20,000 square miles of nature hahahahahaha. I think someone would have noticed
Krusk 11-29-06, 12:49 AM	Better idea for the blighter might be to show up, and demand money or else you will allow every crop EXCEPT his to grow there. And of course you demand much less than any reasonable adventurer would charge, so they cant find anyone of challenge to fight you. Seems to me though either way, mine or yours, you do this the druids would hate you. cause of how your perverting nature to only grow what you want.
Archangel62 11-29-06, 03:11 AM	Better idea for the blighter might be to show up, and demand money or else you will allow every crop EXCEPT his to grow there. And of course you demand much less than any reasonable adventurer would charge, so they cant find anyone of challenge to fight you. Seems to me though either way, mine or yours, you do this the druids would hate you. cause of how your perverting nature to only grow what you want. Wow, farmers could even use blighters to clear the land of rivals to ensure good harvests...so many evil ideas.
Neratos 11-29-06, 10:01 AM	Hmmmm, will have to figure out a way to keep a low profile while still blighting hehehe. Could always blight the orc lands, no one would care then
Orchomenos 11-29-06, 10:59 AM	The problem would come when the rest of the Kingdom has a good Corn year. You know, everyone who grew corn had a great production. So next year, most farmers will grow something else than corn. Save the poor farmer who have a blighted land, where nothing can grow save corn... In RL, a land can't continually grow the same plant year after year. For example, soja fields sometimes develop parasites that specifically attack soja, so you can grow soja two years in a row, but you need to grow something else the third year, to end these parasites. Or corn need a large amount of Nitrates, which can be naturally created by other plants. Perhaps your blighter know all that, but doesn't tell to the farmers; the farmer are happy the first few years, but after that, even the specific plant can't grow, litteraly cursing the farmer for his laziness...
Kitaki 11-29-06, 11:10 AM	The problem would come when the rest of the Kingdom has a good Corn year. You know, everyone who grew corn had a great production. So next year, most farmers will grow something else than corn. Save the poor farmer who have a blighted land, where nothing can grow save corn... In RL, a land can't continually grow the same plant year after year. For example, soja fields sometimes develop parasites that specifically attack soja, so you can grow soja two years in a row, but you need to grow something else the third year, to end these parasites. Or corn need a large amount of Nitrates, which can be naturally created by other plants. Perhaps your blighter know all that, but doesn't tell to the farmers; the farmer are happy the first few years, but after that, even the specific plant can't grow, litteraly cursing the farmer for his laziness... Ya, but how many commoners are going to know that? All they will hear is "You pay me, i'll clear all this land in a hearbeat and the only thing taht will grow is waht you tell me you want to grow." The heartbeat timespan being relative to normal means of clearing. In fact if the Blighter knew this they could leave after getting paid and laugh the whole time because they just screwed the farmer over.
Neratos 11-29-06, 02:18 PM	Also, a blighter can designate more than 1 plant to grow. I could say Corn, wheat, and Carrots for example.
bitnine 11-29-06, 03:13 PM	Makes sense to me. A blighter might, for example, be a character who believes that nature is a powerful force that exists to serve themselves, or a certain class of creatures (say sentient beings). Those sorts would show little respect for nature as an entity or a 'natural system', rather working to shape (or warp) that system to better serve its purpose. Depending on their shortsightedness or caring, this may or may not be done with an eye for sustainability. But given their knowledge of nature and their powers, they could likely do so without wanton destruction or immediate negative impact if that suited them.
Kresalak 11-29-06, 04:11 PM	Druids should be able to believe that too, but people seem to like them as tree huggers. After all, nature isn't just plants and animals-it everything. Knowledge (Nature), however, will only do what the description tells you it does. Sorry. Blighters who want to do this should have ranks in Knowledge (Nature), and first survey the land and neighboring lands to find out what kind of crops can grow in the environment. They then clear the area, leaving it possible only for those crops to grow. Charge per square meter (or foot, since D&D uses that system) and you'll get a large amount. Since farms are really big, people will have to pay you for a great number of uses. You'll never run out of customers in your lifetime, since people will always need to clear out new land to feed increasing populations.
bitnine 11-29-06, 05:57 PM	Druids should be able to believe that too, but people seem to like them as tree huggers.I dunno, I'm pretty sure that I read something in the class description that mentioned that there were all hippies, each and every one fixated by antianthropocentric views and the biotic whole.
pmurray@bigpond.com 11-29-06, 06:32 PM	Wow, farmers could even use blighters to clear the land of rivals to ensure good harvests...so many evil ideas. In England in the 18th and 1th century, landowners started booting farmers off their land (whose families had been there since the dark ages) in order to farm sheep, which were more profitable. Now, in some countries where property rights trumps everything, this would not be a problem. But in others, where landowners and peasants have ancient reciprocal rights and duties - the brash upstart son who has just taken over from his father would not be able simply to kick people out and run sheep, or mine it for coal. Unless ... unless, for some mysterious reason, the peasants became unable to pay the customary rent ... Of course, he might hire adventurers to investigate - just to be seen to be doing the right thing. But he wouldn't want them to find the real cause. He might even plant false clues implicating a neighbour. Will the adventurers find the real cause? Or will they accuse the neigbour before the King's Magistrate? The adventure should be designed carefully so that the players have a genuine chance to find the real culprit. Full XP for exposing the lord's dastardly plot. Partial XP for exposing the Blighter but not making the link. Some plot XP for following the false clues.
a_psh 11-29-06, 11:18 PM	Does it refer to TYPES of plants or INDIVIDUAL plants? "Only these specific corn plants I just picked out can grow here" means you can't reseed the terrain.
green_yawgmoth 11-30-06, 01:26 AM	why not a blighter farmer? I think that would be quite amusing. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
Neratos 11-30-06, 01:30 AM	Does it refer to TYPES of plants or INDIVIDUAL plants? "Only these specific corn plants I just picked out can grow here" means you can't reseed the terrain. I beleive it refers to a type. For instance if the blighter wanted some poisonous plant or carnivorous for instance a blighter might say only assassin vines may grow here lol
MechMage 11-30-06, 03:26 PM	All that junk about the nature deities smiting the farmer is a load of bull s###. When a wizard casts "dispell magic," is Bocabob upset? When a farmer takes his ax and cuts down all the trees on a plot of land, and weeds all the natural vegitation, does Obi-han care? If a clerc casts "raise dead," does Nerul smith them? No, of coarse not. A cleric of any of those deities might be upset, but druids would only be mad at the blighter for "unnateral" blighting. As if "plant grouth" is natural. The blighter has found a loop hole that expends no resources, as he had to blight any way, and gets him money and positive alinement for helping the farmers. Every one but the trees and druid win. Go for it every time you use a blighter.:bravo: