(OT) I am still here: greetings to all my friends here! And, I would say ...

[Edena_of_Neith]

Hey there, folks.
Edena_of_Neith here. I'm still around.

A friendly greetings to everyone on the ENBoard.

To all my friends here, I wish you health and happiness, and I say to you: cheers!

And to any who think upon me poorly, I say: My apologies and regrets for the past.

- - -

I wish to comment that D&D, as it is now, is a bit overwhelming.

However, that is good, really, in my opinion.

It is really good to see so many supplements and modules out there, and so many expansions - there are more Campaign Worlds available for D&D now (known as the D20 system, but I think of it as D&D) than ever in history, and more are being produced every day.

We have Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk.
We have Oriental Adventures and the other WOTC settings (what are the names?)
We have the hugely detailed setting of Necromancer Games.
We have Call of Cthulu and we have Ravenloft back.
Soon, we will have Dragonlance back.
And we have Melnibone, and Hackmaster, and Heaven knows how many other settings up there on the Hobby Store shelves.

It is a good thing.
Our Hobby is flourishing, and Dungeons and Dragons is being sponsored by many gaming companies.

The only real problem is figuring out just what books and supplements to use in one's game.
There are so many, from so many companies, with their unique Feats and Skills, unique spells, unique Prestige Classes, unique cultures and races ... a wealth of material that could descend on player and DM alike in an avalanche.
Of course, then there is all the Online Material, a considerable addition to the material in print, and a new dimension in the Gaming World (as the Internet is, indeed, a new thing.)

One could pour over and agonize over what Feats and Skills to take for a character for hours, days, or weeks, there is so much material at hand, so many options and choices.

When I started D&D, elves were fighter/mages, halflings were thieves, dwarves were fighters, and you could put the whole game in a booklet.

How things have changed!

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

Never really knew you, but you certainly had a reputation around here--and I haven't seen you since God knows when. So welcome back!

 

[William Ronald]

Welcome back!!!

Hello, Edena_of_Neith:

Welcome back. I was wondering where you are. I hope you are well.

Thanks again for all the hard work for the 3rd IR.

I do agree that the choice of products is a little overwhelming.

I went to the recent EN World Chicago Gameday. I was a little overwhelmed with the choice of products for D20 alone at Games Plus in Mount Prospect (site of the event.)

I thought back to high school, and the little hobby shop near the school. Back then, there was a single small rack of D&D products and other RPGs (Traveller, Top Secret, Gamma World, Star Frontiers, Marvel Superheroes). Occassionally, you would find a product by an independent company such as Judges Guild.

This seems to be the true Golden Age of gaming. There are wonderful settings and products. The Open Gaming License has released a flood of creativity, and I am generally impressed by what I see.

Some years back, I feared that gaming would die out. I had a vision of myself in my golden years, holding a battered Player's Handbook, playing an old game that confused my grandchildren. Now it is likely that role playing will remain around in the future.

While many veteran companies, such as FASA, folded and others such as TSR were bought by new comers to the hobby, many new companies have risen to satisfy what appears to be a growing hobby.

Why the change? The players and the Open Gaming License have done a world of good. Fan sites, such as the inestimable www.canonfire.com have helped keep old settings alive. (Indeed, the fans of Greyhawk saved the setting.)

So, I think our hobby is in good hands.

Edena, again, welcome back.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Hey there William, Trevalon!



B.A.D.D?
You mean: Bothered About Disposable Dragons?

I thought disposable dragons disappeared when they went to 3rd edition.
From what I've seen of 3rd edition dragons, they are terrifying and hardly disposable ...

 

[William Ronald]

Additionally, dragons are generally very smart opponents.

So, have a little dust that can be whipped up by wings to blind opponents. Or several charmed monsters serving the dragon. Or the infamous crush attack. (Reflex save or be crushed by several tons of dragon flattening your character.)

I always assume that monsters will use all their abilitie and wits in a battle. Dragons can and should be dangerous opponents.

Edena, good to hear from you.

Any thoughts on the setting search by WotC and some of the other recent events?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Welcome back mate!

I hope you; the family and Tazebo are keeping well!?

 

[kreynolds]

To be honest, I don't have a clue as to who you are Edena (I haven't been here that long). What kind of reputation did you have?

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Hey there, Kreynolds. A pleasure to meet you.

Nice to see you again, Upper Krust! I hope your gaming supplement went over big.

- - -

What reputation did I have?

Well, if many knew me period - if I had any reputation on this worldwide message board at all - I would be very surprised.
Gary Gygax or Ed Greenwood I am not.
Just a gamer.

However, I'm a gamer who has strong views on some aspects of gaming.

For example:

I believe every player ought to try playing evil characters.
Playing evil characters can be fun.

Playing evil characters is not a green light to abuse the other players in the game (although it would appear many think this so ...)
And a gamer who plays evil characters, is not somehow bad or destined to be bad, somehow.

I believe every Player Character who is worth his or her salt should have a chance at that Carte Blanche status I mentioned long ago.
Whether because the NPCs of the campaign world are afraid of the PCs, or because they can do nothing about the PCs, or because they need the PCs, they afford this ultimate honor to them.
Carte Blanche ... that post caused a minor uproar here, on the ENBoards, when I posted You Should Give Your Players Carte Blanche. (sits, remembering that)

I believe gamers should be tolerant of other gamers and their style of play.
My article, You Should Be Tolerant, caused an unintended Flame War here, long ago.

I am known for the three IRs. Industrial Revolution threads (or series of threads.)
A what if scenario. What if gnomes brought the industrial revolution to Faerun on Toril? Meant as a fun aside ... although the 3rd IR turned into a massive series of threads, in which - I hope - a fair number of people had some fun for a while.

I thought for a while the Hobby was dying. My article on that caused an argument.
I think the Hobby is flourishing now ...

(shrugs)

I believe that Forrester is right, for the most part, in his assessment of elves (but not of their IRL players).
My elves, in my campaign world, are unusual - they eat leaves, insects, and slain opponents (including humanoids) as their primary diet, and they are immune (as per 2nd Edition Agnakoks) to the horrors of the natural environment around them.
I mean, after all, if elves are supposed to be flighty and frivolous, then they should live in an environment that permits that, no?
And the reality of forests, especially subarctic or tropical forests - but any forest, is that they are hideously hostile places for human or demihuman types to live in.

As for my SN, Edena_of_Neith, it is based on my greatest and oldest (someone tried to steal my copyrights on that! ) character, Edena, who is a 160th level cleric, in 2nd edition terms.
Now, as for what he is in 3rd edition, I cannot say ... although I am betting he is a 20th level cleric (single class, no prestige classes) in 3E.
Why?
Simply because he cannot employ any Epic Level Feats. If you look at 2nd Edition, a cleric of 160th level is effectively a 19th level cleric with an unusual number of spells and hit points. He cannot walk on clouds or throw spells with a DC of 63!
Edena is one of those people you dread - he is solidly good aligned, not afraid to take his case into battle, and is in general a rabble-rouser of the worst sort.
In other words, most people think he is quite evil (most NPCs who enjoy quiet, stable lives tend to think of warmongers, troublemakers, and rabblerousers in hostile terms ...)

 

[RangerWickett]

I recall hearing something about multiple clonings, ressurections, reincarnations, and sex-changes in there somewhere. Or was that somebody else's character?

 

[Teflon Billy]

....I believe every player ought to try playing evil characters.
Playing evil characters can be fun.

Playing evil characters is not a green light to abuse the other players in the game (although it would appear many think this so ...)
And a gamer who plays evil characters, is not somehow bad or destined to be bad, somehow...

Hmm...maybe I'm thinking of someone else, but I thought I was part of that conversation, and that you had said when you played an evil character you just immediately started killing everything for no IC reason and proclaimed the experiment a failure because of this.

Or am I thinking of someone else. It's a possibility that I am.