Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Salla 07-20-04, 01:32 PM	Does this phrase bother anybody else? In a forthcoming game (tomorrow, in fact), the DM has mentioned that another player is going to be playing "An Elven Necromancer, the way he should be played". First, I can't help but feel that this may be a bit of a jab at me, the fellow who's playing a Lawful Good gonna-be-Exalted-next-level Necromancer in another game. It works better than you may suspect. Second, what does 'the way it should be played' even mean? According to rigid stereotypes? I don't think that's the way any character should necessarily be played. Your character should be played as who he or she is, not by arbitrary labels and stereotypes attached to classes or races. The downside is, if he plays this guy like your stereotypical necromancer, my CG cleric is either gonna lay him out or kick him out, one of the two ...
FireHeart 07-20-04, 01:55 PM	Originally posted by Salla Does this phrase bother anybody else? Yes!, said with great empasis and furious nodding of head. I hate that phrase. I tend to put a lot of thought into my characters and I know how and why they do the things they do. The one thing that will upset me faster than lightening from a stick is someone telling me how I should play my character. "Why wouldn't you're character just"...Ugh, that annoys me. (Sore point...can you tell?) Sympathies...if your DM lets the other guy bring in a "Necromancer" that is the stereotypical evil, nasty bad guy, your GC Cleric should smite them both! I guess I've never understand how someone can tell someone else how their character should be played. It's likely telling a person how they should think or react. I don't get it. I am curious though, exactly how are you doing the exalted necromancer?? ~Fireheart
Salla 07-20-04, 02:25 PM	Originally posted by FireHeart I am curious though, exactly how are you doing the exalted necromancer?? Pretty easily. There are only, like, six [Evil] Necromancy spells in core materials, so all I have to do is not cast those and I'm golden. :) Wizard(Necromancer)/Priest of Anubis/Mystic Theurge. Anubis gets the Respite domain (like Death but without the evil spells and Animation spells). Past that, it's just a matter of being Really Good(tm).
Ehlana 07-20-04, 02:26 PM	Um, yeah. There's no right or wrong way to play dnd. I get just as irritated with people who go out of their way to play something idiotic b/c "Standard combinations are lame" as I do with people that say all half orks have to be smelly barabarians with their brains in their pants. Or that all necromancers are creepy evil liches that lurk in dark moldy tombs. The only limit to dnd is your imagination. If you wanna play the archetypical dwarf fighter or half ork barbarian, that's cool with me. If you wanna play a halfling wizard or a gnome barbarian, that's cool with me too. There's no right way to play anything.
FireHeart 07-20-04, 02:40 PM	Originally posted by Salla Pretty easily. There are only, like, six [Evil] Necromancy spells in core materials, so all I have to do is not cast those and I'm golden. :) Wizard(Necromancer)/Priest of Anubis/Mystic Theurge. Anubis gets the Respite domain (like Death but without the evil spells and Animation spells). Past that, it's just a matter of being Really Good(tm). Wow. I never realized you could do that! Cool. Thanks. ~Fireheart
Enslaved DM 07-20-04, 02:45 PM	A mystic theurge/necromancer of Anubis sounds real cool Similar combinations could work for Odin and Osiris, but would be somewhat different to reflect their gods. I'm not a big fan of the phrase either, but there have been a few instances where a player has been totaly unable to live up to the character concept where I have thought it (uber cool drow death machines played as nervous, dumb shmucks and I know I'm not the only one who's seen that)
Beamup 07-20-04, 02:59 PM	"The way he should be played" = "Incompetently played according to ridiculous stereotypical caricatures because a dust mite has a thousand times the roleplaying ability I do"
nemafakei 07-20-04, 03:23 PM	There's no one correct way to play any given combination of race, class and alignment... but there are bad ways. The problem certain people have is that they assume that all lawful-good paladins behave in exactly the same way, and get into similar mindsets without questioning how one might come to be of a certain alignment, or a certain class, or what effects their race has.
Twisted Puppy 07-20-04, 04:36 PM	Originally posted by Salla Does this phrase bother anybody else? I've been around players who use that phrase and others, and it usually merely convinces me that I don't want them at my table. It implies a certain arrogance, and usually overlooks the fact that D&D is a GAME and is supposed to be fun for everybody. That doesn't mean your character fits someone else's preconception. Another phrase that truly annoyed me was, "I'm having concerns about the quality of play here." The individual was referring to games he was not even taking part in. He was also ignoring that in all of those games, the players were enjoying themselves. Like others have said, there is no right and wrong way to play a character. Your repsonsibility is to make the character interesting, and to play it in a way that the rest of your group enjoys having you at the table.
Nurgan_the_drunked 07-21-04, 11:09 AM	There's nothing too wrong with playing an archetype, but classes and subclasses mean next to squat when defining actions, attitude and personality. They're mechanics, and if you find a character best suited to those rules, but ignores the concept presented go with it. My next character planned is a NG barbarian on a crusader to help the weak and needy. "The way it should be played" sounds like he's telling you "You're playing it wrong", and belittling interesting ideas for characters. Ask him where it says "necromancers are evil" in the core books. Yes playing archetypes can be fun, but nowhere near as much as blowing them out the water
CzarGarrett 07-21-04, 12:47 PM	"The way he should be played" should be taken as meaning "However the player wants to play it, because the player makes the decisions about the character." Usually its not, but it should.
Burky 07-22-04, 01:02 AM	there is a certain person in my group that is constantly saying exactly that, and i hate it. but i guess theres always going to be those few people who feel like they have to run everything exactly how they want it to be done. Then again, those are the players whose characters are most likely to have their throats slit in their sleep...lol Because just like in real life, a person is going to react to each situation differently. They arent always going to do the smartest thing in the world, but thats part of it. If you can always make perfect decisions and never actually roleplay YOUR character, that defeats the purpose of the game. Roleplaying is what makes dnd what it is. Other players can NOT tell you how to run your own character. Do your friends always tell you exactly how to run your life and what decision you must make all the time? no, because thats not how things work. You have to see each character as an individual, with his own beliefs and his own way of dealing with situations.
Crossover-Chronicler 07-22-04, 01:33 AM	In your case, I think the term's rather asinine - after all, it's not written in stone that Necromancers must be evil, and Phoenix Fire and Sanctify the Wicked (both "Necromancy[Good]" spells )are among the most potent and admirable spells presented in the Book of Exalted Deeds. However, I do think the phrase "how it should be played" does have its uses in other contexts. "How a character should be played" is "Well." After seeing a long string of Lawful Stupid or just plain corrupt Paladins in a campaign, I might choose to roll up one and play it "the way a paladin should be played." Likewise the Chaotic-Evil-masquerading-as-True-Neutral Druid. While the character I present might not be the only way to play the character, it's likely more "correct" than the Knights of Toastytot. But none of that applies to an Elven Necromancer. Neither elves nor necromancers are bound to a particular code of conduct. And as the stereotypes regarding elves (Chaotic Good, revering nature/life/etc) and necromancers (evil, death-obsessed) are rather contradictory, I can hardly see how there is any one way the combination "should" be played even based on the stereotypes. I suppose there's a vague chance that the DM is disapointed by the way you play the character as far as strategy/tactics go, or by the overall build (there are a lot of folks who wish necromancers were more viable without divine magic). Personally, I can't wait 'til we get a web-supplement that allows us to create Deathless.
Mitchell 07-22-04, 01:45 AM	"The way it should be played" is a pretty broad statement, and usually subject to an individuals own history. However, I can tell you that making a 1st level elf wizard and burning your feat on martial weapon proficiency: Great axe, and charging to the front of every battle is the way it shouldn't be played.:) Just my thoughts.
Salla 07-22-04, 02:37 PM	Well, as it turns out, he's using the 'Skeletal Familiar' variant from Unearthed Arcana and has it walking around with him like a bloody valet, he's already talking about casting Animate Dead. His alignment is Neutral, but he doesn't get the whole 'If you keep casting evil spells, your alignment will shift' bit. Add to that the fact that I get the distinct impression that I just don't LIKE the player, I'm dropping.
JoshRodriguez 07-22-04, 04:00 PM	However, I can tell you that making a 1st level elf wizard and burning your feat on martial weapon proficiency: Great axe, and charging to the front of every battle is the way it shouldn't be played This is so wrong my spleen has begun to protest. Elven Axemages were a gret kit back in 2e and the character of Elfie Axemagus from the old novel "The Axe Elf Barbarion of Wizardington" was a true classic. Psh. I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger fanbase and a PrC built around him yet...
Drake Dragonslayer 07-22-04, 04:10 PM	It's fun to see peoples reactions when you go against the rules. Like when level 6 halflings whose primary calss is wizard do 55 points of damage in melee combat. Granted he was wiz 5/bar 1 who focused on self-buff spells and used a x4 crit heavy pick two handed :schemes:. and they accuse me of powergaming, bah. :P Going against steroetypes is fun though :D
eudas 07-23-04, 12:45 PM	Originally posted by JoshRodriguez This is so wrong my spleen has begun to protest. Elven Axemages were a gret kit back in 2e and the character of Elfie Axemagus from the old novel "The Axe Elf Barbarion of Wizardington" was a true classic. Psh. I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger fanbase and a PrC built around him yet... Spellsword, which actually can use whatever weapon it wants... eudas
eudas 07-23-04, 12:46 PM	Originally posted by Drake Dragonslayer It's fun to see peoples reactions when you go against the rules. Like when level 6 halflings whose primary calss is wizard do 55 points of damage in melee combat. Granted he was wiz 5/bar 1 who focused on self-buff spells and used a x4 crit heavy pick two handed :schemes:. and they accuse me of powergaming, bah. :P Going against steroetypes is fun though :D sounds smart to me. Extended bull's strength, True strike, and more... perfectly within the rules. buncha whiners. eudas
JoshRodriguez 07-23-04, 12:48 PM	Spellsword, which actually can use whatever weapon it wants... I see you were defeated by my lie-fu.
crazysamaritan 07-23-04, 01:25 PM	Originally posted by Salla Well, as it turns out, he's using the 'Skeletal Familiar' variant from Unearthed Arcana and has it walking around with him ... Even given this is Eberron, where the Red dragon is as likely to be lawful good as the Bishop of the Silver Flame is, (actually, more likely...) Why didn't your character try to turn/destroy the thing right away? (EDIT: I don't have UA, so I don't know if it's immune, and doubt your character did)
Salla 07-24-04, 02:06 AM	Originally posted by crazysamaritan Even given this is Eberron, where the Red dragon is as likely to be lawful good as the Bishop of the Silver Flame is, (actually, more likely...) Why didn't your character try to turn/destroy the thing right away? (EDIT: I don't have UA, so I don't know if it's immune, and doubt your character did) Mostly my personal desire for party coherency, because I've had many experiences where a game has been 'overtaken' by PC arguments of this nature. I kill his familiar, then he does something to me, then I do something to him, then he does something to me, and the game grinds to a halt while we have our spitting contest. I'm probably just going to drop. If I don't, well, guess who isn't getting any healing. :)