Cityscape ToC

[Jürgen Hubert]

But the druid is not a new class, its right there in my first-printing PHB.


glass.

He was talking about the "urban druid variant", so I'm assuming he meant a different version than the one in the PHB.

 

[Infernal Teddy]

Is this "post-modern"? Maybe. But when the alternative is having an idealized vision of nature more appropriate to 18th century philosophers writing effetimate poetry about the supposedly idyllic life of shepherds, then I know on which side of the fence I will come down.

QFT

 

[Mercule]

Which is fine, until someone shows up to your game, really excited about their new urban druid character idea. Then you have two choices:

1. Shoot down their idea in flames.

This would be the appropriate response. Characters should be limited by what the GM finds appropriate to his setting.

I also don't allow PCs who have plane/time hopped, carry a laser weapon, or have names I can't take seriously (puns, intensional or not -- like the psychiatrist named Luna Sai).

 

[GreatLemur]

It's like I first said, you have a nice little post-modern attitude, complete with an egalitarian outlook about filth-dwelling parasite being a perfectly valid lifestyle choice. Have fun with all that, but realize it's not for everyone. Some folks will always think of filth in a negative way.

Where do people get this weird idea that cities are filthy and the wilderness is clean? Or that parasitism and scavenging are unnatural? Whether a rat is chewing on a carcass in the woods or a french fry in a dumpster, it's all perfectly natural to the rat.

Still, I'm not sure how much sense urban druids make. While nature inevitably exists in cities (whether they've got vast parklands or not), there ain't exactly a lot of wilderness to be found. I suppose it depends on exactly what Druids are powered by in your campaign, and what they consider to be their mandate. I guess I could buy the idea of the city being a human ecosystem.

But, hell, what do I know? I think Druids are a dumb, anyway.

 

[Felon]

The DM has enough to do without telling the players how they can play their characters when he doesn't have to.

The fallacy of your statement is that it's based on circular reasoning. Specifically, the part where you say "he doesn't have to" is predicated on your opinion that the urban druid isn't a weak concept. If another DM thinks that urban druids are unsuitable for his campaign, that it portrays druids in a ways that detours sharply from how they are established in the world, then he's exercising his perogative appropriately.

I also don't allow PCs who have plane/time hopped, carry a laser weapon, or have names I can't take seriously (puns, intensional or not -- like the psychiatrist named Luna Sai).

QFT.

 

[Felon]

Where do people get this weird idea that cities are filthy and the wilderness is clean? Or that parasitism and scavenging are unnatural? Whether a rat is chewing on a carcass in the woods or a french fry in a dumpster, it's all perfectly natural to the rat.

The difference being that waste material in the woods tends to get reclaimed by the earth, whereas in a city, it tends to accumulate (especially if it doesn't have a good sewer system). The design of cities tend to thwart the reclamation process (a good reason for druids to have a beef with them, actually).

 

[glass]

The fallacy of your statement is that it's based on circular reasoning. Specifically, the part where you say "he doesn't have to" is predicated on your opinion that the urban druid isn't a weak concept.

No, its predicated on the notion that the DM has more things to worry about than the making arbitarary appraisals of the strength of the PCs' comcepts.

If another DM thinks that urban druids are unsuitable for his campaign, that it portrays druids in a ways that detours sharply from how they are established in the world, then he's exercising his perogative appropriately.

Indeed, if it differs from druids are already established to be, then that would be a good reason. But that is a world away from 'I just don't like the idea'.

In anycase, since this whole tangent started because of a misunderstanding that has since been sorted out, this will be my last post on the matter. You can have the last word if it is important to you.

Now, Cityscape. Anyone else like to share their impressions?

glass.

 

[Felon]

Is this "post-modern"? Maybe. But when the alternative is having an idealized vision of nature more appropriate to 18th century philosophers writing effetimate poetry about the supposedly idyllic life of shepherds, then I know on which side of the fence I will come down.

First off, when you get a chance, please let us know what "effetimate" means.

Secondly, you may not have noticed this, but D&D and the fantasy genre in general are all about anachronistic, antiquated, romanticised notions about the world. If you're playing D&D, stay on the side with the poets.

 

[Greg K]

However you dress it up, you are still banning a perfectly legal character because you don't like the concept.

Actually, if he is the DM, it is his right to ban a concept that he feel has no place in his campaign setting. You may not like it, but it is his right to do so.

 

[Greg K]

'Perfectly legal' in the sense that it is consistent with the rule of the game as written in the PHB and/or as houseruled by the DM or group.

Maybe an example would help: Say you and I are both coming to a new game, and it has been agreed that, mechanically, anything from the PHB is OK, but nothing else. So, coincidentally, we both bring 1st level half-elf druids with improved inititiative. The only difference is between our characters' attitudes to cities. You get to play yours, mine gets banned.

You can see how that could lead to bad feelings? And how avoiding that situation might be a good thing?


glass.

Assuming that the DM set down those ground rules and told you to go off and make a character, I would put most of the blame on the DM for not working with you to ensure that your character would fit his setting. However, I would place a much smaller portion of the blame on you for not checking with the DM ahead of time to ensure the concept would work.