Players should play, and not be heard: Campaign Edition

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lowkey13 said:

You keep using that word, "awesome." I do not think you are aware that the proper word is "smug."

Despite the perfidy of paladins, the two words are not synonyms.

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They're smug because of how awesome they are.

I totally agree with the premise behind this thread. There are certain settings that I would simply refuse to run games in, as the tone of those settings is of no interest to me whatsoever - Spelljammer and Eberron being 2 of those. Equally though, I'd probably choose not to play in games using those settings, as the cross-genre style does not appeal to me.

When a recent 5E campaign ended I simply told my players - next up we'll be trying some 1st Edition AD&D using some of the classic modules from the 70s and 80s. They had a choice, it was 'play' or 'don't play'. I do sometimes suggest games to try though for a change of pace, eg I fancy running a Paranoia or Call of Cthulhu one shot next week, are you guys up for it, or would you prefer to continue the regular D&D campaign? Almost invariably the answer is yes. But as regards the main campaign, the one I have to invest many hours preparing for, no, they don't get a choice.

My other group runs with various DMs, and each has a favoured style or favoured systems - and runs something they are comfortably with and they themselves enjoy. This makes for a MUCH better game, Antonio loves his Swords and Sorcery so we know he'll run a great classic D&D game in that type of setting, he also ran some highly entertaining sessions of Fear Itself - he can also lend his hand to TOR, any version of D&D, 13th Age and Dark Sun and run them all with aplomb. Kris is a total Tolkien nerd, so whether it's his own game (Age of Shadow), or more recently AiME, it will be filled with authentic Lore - he was even talking in Elven last session. Then there's Dave who has recently been giving a lesson in how to run Call of Cthulhu, with a dark, dry sense of humour, and mastery of plot twists and turns. 3 very good DMs, running what they want to run, and providing great gaming for us.

lowkey13 said:

You keep using that word, "awesome." I do not think you are aware that the proper word is "smug."

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The aura of protection and the aura of warding are super effective.

They have nothing to do with moral superiority, nor are they appropriate grounds for smugness. A paladin receives the Aura as a way to protect teammates, and a way to stay alive while doing the difficult, dangerous work of protecting innocents. A paladin who becomes arrogant, just because she has tools to better fulfill her missions and purpose, is treading on dangerous ground, and might end up following the horribly tragic example of Miko Miyazaki.

One of my main characters, Boris the Green is a paladin, Oath of Ancients. Puritanical killjoy grimness is the *opposite* of his oath. He has the Folk Hero background; when the other PCs stay in a fancy tavern, he seeks commoners who will let him sleep on a couch, and he eats whatever simple fare (and drinks whatever cheap wine) they share at their dinner table. He learned the Oath of Ancients from a dryad, and when he cast Find Steed, a horse-shaped tree-creature appeared, his loyal mount "Sawhorse". Aristocrats can brag about the pedigree of their warhorse stallions; Sawhorse isn't fancy, but Sawhorse gets him where his duty calls.

If he ever gets smug, then he's due for a reminder that his oath-given abilities are tools of the trade, and they are only granted to him insofar as he uses them to serve and protect. The foundational abilities of a paladin are Divine Sense, and Lay On Hands. Warning, and healing. Only later on the path, do paladins get the ability to smite, and that is a wise, appropriate order of ability development.

I mentioned Miko Miyazaki. Seriously, there's a reason why she is a cautionary tale, an example of how NOT to serve as a paladin. May no paladin PC at your table follow in her footsteps.

Hussar said:

Huh, funny, that's only post 62 for me. Wonder who's got me blocked. Haven't pissed anyone off recently that I know of.

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Iunno, but it wasn't me. Your declaration "My setting is never, ever more important than the players at the table" rather impressed me. Seems to me, you bring your moral compass to the table, as well as to the story told at the table.

lowkey13 said:

Imagining a gnome that was so cool that the person playing him wasn't ridiculous?

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I know of one case. The player was named "Noam", and there was someone in the Fantasy Gaming Society who went almost a semester thinking that everyone was addressing him as "Gnome" even when out of game. He was clever, very well-educated, emotionally intense, and funny, and also he was a decent DM, which is to say, he had the personal qualities necessary for playing a gnome PC who actually makes the table more fun for his fellow players.

I always poll, because my table is full of DMs, and fortunately if no one likes the 2 or 3 campaign premises I submit, someone else is more than happy to take the reins for six months to a year while I play.

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lowkey13 said:

To mix the streams a little, do we (the royal we? the colloquial we? the me we?) consider a TTRPG session a party?

As in, "Killer party last night, brah, I advanced a level!"

Or is it more ... entertainment? Like going to a movie or a restaurant or playing sports or going out on the boat with friends?

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A lot of social gatherings can be called parties without being officially parties; bridge night, multiplayer games, even sitting by a campfire with some brews. They don't necessarily need invites and decorations. If you said "I was partying with my friends last night." And you were playing d&d, no one but a pedant will correct you.

Besides, they're called "a party of adventures" for a reason. ;-)

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