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Then we should just ban ravens, right? Either way, a choice is being made for "the abilities I think my character will benefit from".

CAVEAT I started writing this, got distracted and returned. Greenfield posted his next post between, so I'm amending to cover that as well, but will likely miss something. I think the perception is that the player is choosing an air elemental rather than a water elemental because he sees some...

By the book, any creature of similar size and power can be an appropriate familiar, and there may or may not be a restriction based on types or subtypes or alignment or something else. I think Greenfield`s table needs to set the rules for their games. For me, if there`s a half decent backstory...

To the Improved Familiar (now in two locations to serve you better), am I missing something in reading Improved Familiar? The initial chart provides six alignment-based choices. It then goes on to state The list in the table above presents only a few possible improved familiars. Almost any...

Under typical circumstances, I would agree. But I don’t think being “in a Necropolis ("city" that is nothing but burial sites) and has been attacked by undead” constitutes typical circumstances. “Halloo the camp that could be Heroes but seems more likely to be graverobbing murderhobos or a...

So how are you thinking he should have approached the party? Whistling and clashing cymbals through the Necropolis? His strange ability to track the party seems like something the DM has as much responsibility to explain as he does, if not more. Of course, the alternative is "you sit the game...

Have to admit an air elemental seems odd for an aquatic character. It doesn't seem like a big deal, though.

Funny how the two biggest cited reasons for sticking with 3.x are "I've spent too much on 3.x to spend more on Pathfinder" and "5e isn't giving me enough to spend my money on". To me, "sticking to 3.x" probably includes Pathfinder. If not, it has to exclude a lot of other 3pp support/house...

You seem to be looking for very specific answers to very generic questions. OK, the players want to sneak into the goblin camp. Is it written up as part of the AP? Then they are now sneaking through the goblin camp using an illusion, and I can adjudicate what happens using the writeup of the...

Much like maintaining party harmony, keeping a party on track requires some cohesiveness to the group. If the group has agreed that we will play this AP where we become pirates and sail the seven seas in pursuit of plunder, bringing in Percy the Pure Hearted Paladin without any reason or...

Actually, the Hitler example is a good one. The people love him, the country is doing well, and the Ruler's (government's?) darker side is a closely kept secret. When it comes out, it will be far too late (perhaps, at an extreme, he is planning to sacrifice the entire population of the country...

There's a divide between some games where the replacement character comes in matching the current party if the old character retired, but comes in a level lower if he replaces a dead character. I'm more inclined to a model that sets the bar the same for any replacement character, whether the...

I'm not sure why we feel the player needs to be "penalized" more for having a character die. "I just can't make a Paladin work in this game" seems a lot less in-game dramatic and fun than "and the bold Paladin remained behind to guard the bridge, giving his own life that his comrades at arms...

I'll add one more below, but this is a great analysis. This, and the examples that precede it, are all great examples of the classic trope of the shrewd dealmaker exploiting loopholes, delivering only as much of the truth as needed, etc. that the folklore associates with Devils. However, if...

I don't see players take levels in Commoner. I think, to the extent one has an objective to gain levels, it is to gain power. This is also a reason to gain wealth in 3e, where magic becomes commoditized. It was a reason, in 1e, to fiddle with the Artifact that had a 95% chance of executing...

Is it possible that you have seen few if any characters that weren't played as evil at least to some extent? I have seen many games where the primary, much less only, objective of the characters was not to kill things and take their stuff. If gaining power for its own sake, and not caring how...

If their sole motivation is money, I find them hard to classify as "good". The problem is that we don't want to label our characters as "evil", often because we somehow see that being labelling ourselves by extension. I'm thinking of games where the xp remained by the book, including xp for...

Viewed from another angle, Evil is about succumbing to temptation. If the lure of power causes the characters to greedily chase gold to gain more xp and advance more rapidly, they have fallen to the lure of the Dark Side's offers of easily gained power. Good isn't about taking the easy path...

First question to ask is whether we want realism or genre emulation. Everyone wants horses to travel in fantasy games. If we want the players to gravitate to horses in game, there must be an advantage to travel using horses. To me, the advantage isn't speed of travel, but carrying capacity...

If you initiate an action, you go first unless you provoke an attack of opportunity, in which case that is resolve first. Under the Sage house rule, if the Ogre attempts to Sunder the Elf's longsword with his Greatclub, and the Elf choses to Sunder, he provokes an AoO unless he has Improved...