Low Magic Campaigns?

[Ebony]

I don't think he was implying that the DMG is off limits to them, although in earlier editions of the game it expressly was.

I think he was implying that if it is in the DMG, it is the province of the DM, and as such, during play, if a player tried to impose the DMG on the DM he would be guilty of the same breach of good faith that a DM would be guilty of if he tried to play the player's character (telling the player what his character would or would not do). The player has no business telling the DM during play how much experience or treasure he should recieve, or how the campaign world should be structured and populated, or anything else of that nature.

When he responds we'll see if your guess was right!!

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[gizmo33]

When he responds we'll see if your guess was right!!

I'm looking forward to it.

Well, hmmm, the alternative is that I think the locks on the DMG are real - so it can't come as a big surprise that Celebrim understood what I meant.

 

[Celebrim]

You keep saying that.

Are you trying to make some sort of point?

Yes.

You'll have to be more explicit, because I'm just not getting it.

Please explain.

I'll try. In another post, you wrote:

If it weren't, the author wouldn't bother to write it down.

This suggests that you believe that the only reason people write is to ego trip. Now, not only is all role-playing nothing more than an ego trip in disguise, but apparantly all literature and by extension I suppose all art is merely 'showing off'. (No one would bother to paint if it wasn't about thier own ego?) Pretty soon, we are going to reach the point where no one does anything except to have thier ego stroked.

Suppose I deny that that is true. Suppose I suggest that Tolkien was not writing in order to feel proud of himself and that he might have had other motivations. I'll snip a long discussion of Tolkiens motivations since that's not really relevant here. What is relevant is that no matter what I wrote about anyone's motivations, no matter what sort of work anyone created, you could always respond to thatby saying that, "No really, its always about ego. Even when people say its not about ego, they are just lying." And of course, then by extension I too would be lying.

I find this particularly funny, because its exactly where I was going with my earlier analogy about paraphilia that I didn't want to elaborate on. People who have a paraphilia usually believe that everyone has a paraphilia, and those that don't are lying. A fetishist always believes that everyone secretly shares thier fetish (or a similar one), and that anyone who says other wise is lyinrg or simply repressing it. But I didn't want to make that explicit, because such subjects probably don't pass the Eric's grandma test, so I instead said, "Riiiighhhttt", to show that I thought the conversation had reached a point where it was pointless to disagree even though I did.

Clear now?

 

[Ebony]

And another.

 

[Celebrim]

Based on your previous posts, and seeing as you don't seem to be capable of responding yourself, I'm pretty sure you really are that stupid.

How long did it take for you to realize there wasn't a key?

A few posts back, I had the desire to respond to you by saying that I hope you realize that the locks on a thread are real, because you seem to be doing your best in your first few posts to get something locked - either your account or the thread.

I hope you realize you've now gone from pushing the line to jumping over it.

 

[Mallus]

Of course you do. But how does that turn into a universal truth?

You know, if I wanted empty sophistry, I could just listen to myself talk... Do you agree or disagree with me vis a vis: the appeal of heroic-type fiction?

I think "inevitable" is an extreme overstatement. Unless your some kind of vampire, there are groups out there for which you don't have the life-span to reach demi-god status.

You're being a little too literal, and I was using hyperbolic language. Characters around 10th level start resembling the demigods and/or the classic heroes of myth, ie, really, really powerful-type people, that's all I was saying...

There's a lot of difference in beer vs. whisky unless all you're looking for is alcohol.

Of course. But at some level, every drinker is looking for the alcohol, and a drinker that claims not to be is lying. Trust me on this. I drink...

The game is just a board and some carved tokens. The only evil that you'll find there is what you bring.

With an attitude like that I so would have thrown you off of my high school chess team...

I'll remember this the next time I'm at a loss for words when trying to explain the concept of an RPG to someone.

Thanks... I think. Maybe not...

It's about showing other people how smart I am until they beg me to stop. Anyone who doesn't experience that thrill of power and victory when they type is just deluding themselves.

And??

 

[Darklone]

Too bad D&D has no rules for "witty banter dueling".

 

[Ebony]

This suggests that you believe that the only reason people write is to ego trip.

No.

This suggests that one of the reasons people write is to express themselves.

"Ego" is the Latin word for the first person singular, and has been used as a shorthand to describe the solipsistic urge in all of us.

If that were all it were about, it wouldn't be worth much.

If the urge for self aggrandizement didn't exist, there would be no motivation to complete any project, build a house, or raise a family.

The implication you are making is that there is an all or nothing quality to the universe and that people are even capable of taking themselves out of an equation that necessarily must require self-knowledge and self-expression.

Roleplaying is an expression of a fantasy.

A person who is playing chess doesn't care how the pieces feel.

He merely moves them according to the rules to defeat his enemy.

Roleplayers ideally have motivations that require them to try and experience what their character is experiencing.

That's fantasy.

Fantasy can be about suppression of the "ego," meaning the self, but only in order to replace it with something else, which in itself is an expression, an invention of the self.

Without that desire to express one's self, the motivation for creation dies.

 

[molonel]

Of course. But at some level, every drinker is looking for the alcohol, and a drinker that claims not to be is lying. Trust me on this. I drink...

No! You're lying! I drink tequila because ... because ... because of the TASTE! That's it! It tastes good!

Too bad D&D has no rules for "witty banter dueling".

If it did, you'd be a shoe-in for that Droll Commentator prestige class.

 

[Ebony]

And a third.