So that's why you like it

[Fallen Seraph]

Thanks, FS. I suspect that part of my unappreciation of Gith is that Planescape just didn't turn my crank (I got into D&D around 1998, after Planescape had crested and fallen). So I didn't grow to like them because I wasn't intrigued by anything planar.

Now that you mention elans, that is really giving me a Dollhouse vibe. Not only that, but you can have the "Wolf in SHeep's Clothing" without resorting to shapeshifters. (Granted, I really like shapeshifters).

In fact, I imagine you can also get the "created" feel to elan; they're not human, but artificial (in the sense that they are "made", even though they used to be people). So it can raise issues of identity, if that sort of dilemma does it for you.

Yeah Planescape isn't for everyone, I like the New Weird genre so Planescape (specifically Sigil) is gold to me.

As for the identity issue, while that is a concept I find awesome, it doesn't quite fit in the Dollhouse fasion. In that a Elan does remember his/her past as a Human. BUT! This is something that can be easily altered, one particular change I made is that the Elan ritual gives the Human a old Elan mind, so they get flooded with memories and have to fight to keep their own, usually making a weird mix (or losing it entirely).

Now in the idea that they are identified as Humans but are something else and must begin to understand what it is to be something else (this works with keeping the past memories) definitely good concept building there.

Also, Dollhouse back for season 2 awesome!

Edit: Also just thinking, you could have the ritual mess up and screw up how memories/identity works as well so not entirely mess with the fluff.

 

[Bumbles]

So, why do you like Xorn?

I like Xorn because he's got a star for a head! Or he's pretending to be Magneto...or...um, yeah, wrong Xorn.

Seriously, never got that either.

But what about the Giff?

Heck, does anybody like them?

 

[Vegepygmy]

Encumbrance?

First of all, I like the realism of it. (Yeah, I said it. Wanna make something of it?) I just think it's cheesy when people try to pull this: Twenty Sided » Blog Archive » DM of the Rings LXIX:New Dimensions in Storage

Secondly, I like the added challenge of having to make some hard decisions. I'm currently playing an elven ranger (3.5) with Str 11 who wants to stay lightly encumbered. To do that, I have to give up carrying all of the weapons and gear I'd really like to have on hand. I often find myself in situations where I don't have "the right tool for the job," and I have to get creative to solve the problem. That's a lot of fun for me.

Now for something I don't get: impossibly oversized weapons. They just look silly to me. And frankly, it seems like overcompensation, if you know what I mean (and I think you do). What's the appeal?

 

[Lidgar]

Gnomes.

I think gnomes are popular because gnome thief/illusionists with prankster personalities are fun to play. Outside of that, there is the great imagery provided in this children's book:

 

[Lidgar]

Double posterrooni.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Encumbrance?

I don't like most of the mechanical implementations of this, but I understand why they are there.

Encumbrance exists in order to try to avoid the situation where everyone is literally carrying around tons of coinage and equipment without penalty. It is a simulationist attempt to avoid situations that simply seem implausible and immersion-breaking. Also, the strength-dependence of Encumbrance is an attempt to prevent Strength from being a total dump stat for the characters who don't need it for their main schtick, and to make characters with high strength seem a bit more, well, strong. It is one way of letting high-strength characters perform feats that other characters can not.

Material Components?

I think material components exist to provide some answers to the question of "how do Wizards actually perform magic?". It implies that wizards do something other than just will their effects into existence, but rather rely on fancy rituals and such. This actually has its roots in a lot of older ideas of magic and wizards from history and folklore, though not all, of course. Basically, it is something added to the game so that, rather than the game's magic system feeling like nothing more than a set of rules for the game, it actually seems to function like the rules of the world.

(This one should get some response...)

Psionics?

Psionics are interesting because of the way they contrast with magic. As I just described, the rules of how magic worked pre-4e gave certain flavor implications, and the very different way that Psionics worked pre-4e gave them a different flavor. Psionic rules and flavor implied innate power and power born from the user's will, rather than training and rituals. That flavor of innate power is something that enables different characters and stories than what you could get with a wizard (the sorcerer messes with that a bit, I guess).

Also, the simple fact that the pre-4e psionics rules provided alternate mechanics for the people who didn't like the Vancian spell-memorization magic rules is fairly important. As someone who grew up playing videogames that use MP systems rather than anything resembling the Vancian system, I liked psionics for that fact alone (well, that, and the 3.5e Psionic Focus system).

(and finally...)


California?

We get nice weather here. There are lots of beautiful trees, you get beautiful stretches of orchards and farmland when you go on long drives, and as a whole people tend to be laid back, relaxed, and less formal. Also, growing up here helps. Of course, I live in the Central Valley, so I can only vouch for that region.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Thanks to Rechan and SKyOdin for the anthro explanation. I guess I just never read or heard anyone portray them as anything but people with animal skin. I've seen plenty of people portray elves as nothing more than humans with pointy ears, but I've also seen demihumans portroyed differently. [Come to think of it, I know a guy who recently came out as a furry and is now running an anthro campaign. Rechan is wise beyond his post-count.]

EDIT: Thinking about it, I actually have a related question: Why do so many people get so fanboyish about elves? For some reason, I have never really understood the appeal. While I can understand the appeal of a race that lives much longer than a human, I can't figure out why people would want to play one. I have never actually played an elf character, in part because I could never figure out why it would be any different from playing a human.

I'm not a certified elf fanboy, but my best friend and I can get pretty touchy over Tolkien elves. D&D elves are kinda disspointing, but Tolkien elves are awesome because:

1. They're immortal. This is one of the top one ways to captivate me. I love the idea of living forever.
2. They're just plain better than humans. They're more patient, they know more, they're more graceful and just generally more capable. There's probably a name for the complex that I have, but there ya go.
3. They're mysterious and sad. They know magic, they live in magical places, they're one with nature, and they're dying out because the other races breed like bunnies and behave like rabid monkeys. There's probably a bit of angst there, but it appeals to people like me who feel surrounded by beings of questionable intelligence.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Psionics

This is always tpoic I will talk about.

First, psionics was strange and unusual in 2e and such, but vastly overpowered. Some of the stronger powers you could get as pure luck of the dice were ..... awesome.

But in 3.5 Psionis was a great spell system. Instead of having monsters summoning I - IX, you had one power. And could put more power into it to get more effect. Beautiful especially for a pseudo-sorcerer with limited spells known. Add in changing energy types and psionics worked far better than sorcerers and wizards.

Elan[/]
This is the only race where you can literally say, "I was born yesterday" and have it make sense. Very cool and interesting way to have a character interact with otehrs.

 

[Rechan]

I think gnomes are popular because gnome thief/illusionists with prankster personalities are fun to play. Outside of that, there is the great imagery provided in this children's book:

Also Dragonlance made Tinker Gnomes (silly gnomes that make various fantasy technology that leads to hijinx) popular.

 

[Rechan]

I wanted to give my take on psionics, since what makes it fun for me hasn't been touched on:

I'm a psych grad student. So thematically it's something I"m familiar with, and fun to daydream about. I'm sure everyone also dreams about going "You didn't see me do that", or otherwise messing with folks' heads. Most of the various magical effects in the game didn't touch on this: A lot of the telepathy stuff is perception-based. I just liked that flavor. You're not actually invisible, you're just tricking someone's mind. The Jedi mind trick of suggestiveness is neat. Where the rogue is tricky because he's clever, the psion is tricky because he uses the target's own mind against them.

Wizards and arcane magic users struck me as scientists (ala Order of Hermes). Magic and the effects it could produce were measurable and quatifable. Wizards had Labs where they Researched. The fireball spell is just an equation of "Latin for Fire + Somatic Component / Latin for Explosion + Bat Guano = 20' Radius of fire". In comparison, Psionics felt fluid and unspecified. Like Vulcan mind melds, or being able to "read" the emotional impressions that have tainted an object/place. That's a little less measurable and quantifiable.

Psions could also sculpt their bodies. Aside from Alter Self, Polymorph, and Shapechange, there aren't any magic spells that let you alter your body. Psions could graft weapons to their arms, turn two dimensional (in 2e), make themselves light enough to run over water or run up walls, and a mass of other crazy stuff. These powers came packaged with Eastern Mysticism fluff of Kung Fu legends. The "If I meditate, my chest can deflect arrows and I don't have to breathe." That appeals to me greatly.

I also just like telekinesis. Although 3e didn't let you punch people with your mind from level 1, which would've been nice. But the 3e system was very, very solid and good and sexy and I liked it.

And like FS said, there are just some stories that are more able to be told using mental stuff, than with magic. Not to mention that the mind is a strange, mysterious place, so this makes psions like explorers in the uncharted territory of the self.