Brother Shatterstone
Dark Moderator of PbP
You can play without meeting in a tavern...? 
Done most, missing only 4.
Done most, missing only 4.
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How cliché are the clichés?
- Thread starter der_kluge
- Start date
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
Used almost all of them, way back when... 
I mention in another thread that using any of these ideas isn't cliché. Overusing them is. I think the best thing anyone can do with any of these, if they plan to implement them, it to twist them or turn them on their ear in some way that either makes them unrecognizable or different enough to feel new. For instance, in Questus - The Whispering Woodwind the adventure begins at a tavern.
I mention in another thread that using any of these ideas isn't cliché. Overusing them is. I think the best thing anyone can do with any of these, if they plan to implement them, it to twist them or turn them on their ear in some way that either makes them unrecognizable or different enough to feel new. For instance, in Questus - The Whispering Woodwind the adventure begins at a tavern.
bwaha!!
I have, in my many (re: since @1985?iirc) years of gaming done all of that except-
We have actually never met in a Tavern, or had the scary wizard walk into the bar.
And we have never been thrown in jail, or have been falsely accused.
I have played in a campaign where the group playing, Before My group started played with that dm, had been duped by a pitiful old man coming into the bar they were hanging out in trick them into unleashing the forces of Chaos onto the world.
Turns out the "pitiful old dude" was a major demon bound into human form and they went and found an artifact that ends up setting him free!
Then he kicks their butts but does't kill them.
What do they do?! The bone heads find this artifact that can stop the entire process, and they decide to "toss it in the ocean!?" (wtf?!)
"Because the ocean is deep and no one could ever find it there so it can't be used to complete the process...!"
Of course that Dm loves Cthulhu, and Sahuagin -btw...so it didn't take long until nasty slimy stuff never before seen by the eyes of man on that world started slidding ashore.." (Bone heads!) and then they Quit playing....
So we come in and the story line has advanced over the few years that the campaign had been left to sit, and We got to try to fix it.
Sadly....that group fell apart too! (conflicting personalities
)
And then @ another year later I got back with that Dm again and continued the battle.
We never did get to stop it though, so he skipped a few years ahead and said that Somehow, Somewhere, Somebody stopped it but no one alaive knew what happened.
And the new game started to build on the remains of that world.
My new character was related to my old charatcer though so....
Only time I have gotten to play a Grandfather- -Grandson generational thing before! kinda cool...
And we have rescued the princess, and played a drow party before (pretty sad...didn't last long) , and played Eviil Characters (also didn't last long; bwahaha!!)
And yes it is fun to play all the cliches Together! If you are going to do it, do it big!
I have, in my many (re: since @1985?iirc) years of gaming done all of that except-
We have actually never met in a Tavern, or had the scary wizard walk into the bar.
And we have never been thrown in jail, or have been falsely accused.
I have played in a campaign where the group playing, Before My group started played with that dm, had been duped by a pitiful old man coming into the bar they were hanging out in trick them into unleashing the forces of Chaos onto the world.
Turns out the "pitiful old dude" was a major demon bound into human form and they went and found an artifact that ends up setting him free!
Then he kicks their butts but does't kill them.
What do they do?! The bone heads find this artifact that can stop the entire process, and they decide to "toss it in the ocean!?" (wtf?!)
"Because the ocean is deep and no one could ever find it there so it can't be used to complete the process...!"
Of course that Dm loves Cthulhu, and Sahuagin -btw...so it didn't take long until nasty slimy stuff never before seen by the eyes of man on that world started slidding ashore.." (Bone heads!) and then they Quit playing....
So we come in and the story line has advanced over the few years that the campaign had been left to sit, and We got to try to fix it.
Sadly....that group fell apart too! (conflicting personalities
)And then @ another year later I got back with that Dm again and continued the battle.
We never did get to stop it though, so he skipped a few years ahead and said that Somehow, Somewhere, Somebody stopped it but no one alaive knew what happened.
And the new game started to build on the remains of that world.
My new character was related to my old charatcer though so....
Only time I have gotten to play a Grandfather- -Grandson generational thing before! kinda cool...
And we have rescued the princess, and played a drow party before (pretty sad...didn't last long) , and played Eviil Characters (also didn't last long; bwahaha!!)
And yes it is fun to play all the cliches Together! If you are going to do it, do it big!
CRGreathouse
Community Supporter
I've never had the party meet in a tavern, thankfully.
My character was the scary wizard that walked into the bar.
One of the PCs in the group I'm running has a wizard's tower, so I checked that one, too.
My character was the scary wizard that walked into the bar.
One of the PCs in the group I'm running has a wizard's tower, so I checked that one, too.
Dark Jezter
First Post
Great list, Die Kluge! I found four cliches from that list that had appeared in my campaign.
If I could, I'd add these cliches to the list as well...
Those are just a few I can think of right now, and yes, my own campaign has many of those cliches.
If I could, I'd add these cliches to the list as well...
- The party encounters a good-aligned drow (two points if there is actually a good-aligned drow in the party).
- The party finds a treasure map.
- One or more of the party members family was killed by orcs/goblins.
- The party contains any of the following: A brooding elf ranger, a kleptomanical halfling rogue, or an aggresive dwarf fighter with a scottish accent.
- Druids who are pacifistic vegans.
- Magic items with silly names (Shadowblade, Demonbane, Infernohelm, etc)
Those are just a few I can think of right now, and yes, my own campaign has many of those cliches.
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Dark Jezter
First Post
Pants said:Does the name Elfbiter count?
Or how about the Sword of Wang +1?
Sword of Wang? Is that from the latest strip of Penny Arcade, or the Book of Erotic Fantasy?
