Tropes that need to die

[ProfessorCirno]

I suppose that depends upon what you mean by "fantastic".

I also suppose that depends upon what you mean by "Conan". When I say "Conan", I refer to nothing apart from the stories written by Robert E. Howard....as written by Robert E. Howard (as opposed to pastiches and poor, but perhaps well-meaning, edits after his death).

When you have a point to make and wish to stop typing gibberish, get back to me.

This has just gotten him booted from the thread. This post is an excellent example of how not to post. ~ PCat

Ah. I am sure I could do a webcomic that makes the same mockery of anything turned directly into an rpg. If that makes the ideas, settings, etc. (i.e., everything but that specific plotline) unusable as fodder for a rpg, I guess we got nothing.

That's it folks. Roll 'em up! No more rpgs! They are all a tabletop fallacy at this point!

When you have a point to make and wish to stop typing gibberish, get back to me.

And yes, ProfessorCirno or Raven Crowking, I remember those utterly mundane and non-fantastic characters, like the time Raven Crowking was dominated and controlled every time he fought a wizard, or the time he was stabbed and then bled out and died.

But....since those things never happened.....ProfessorCirno and Raven Crowking must be fantastic and/or magical! (Well, I have been told that I was, but I don't think it was in the context you mean. )

When you have a point to make and wish to stop typing gibberish, get back to me.

In this particular parlance, we are talking about "non-magical". You are implying that it takes some form of magic to resist magical influence, and that it takes some form of magic to engage in combat...to be wounded in combat, say...and not only survive, but triumph.

Conan was crucified and lived. That's just about that.

Now, I can't talk about what might be needed to resist magical influences, as I haven't encountered anything that I would claim to be so in the real world. However, either you are not a student of history, or you must believe that there have been many, many fantastic and/or magical people throughout human history. Or maybe you just want to make your point, and don't care about its accuracy.

It isn't.

RC

When you wish to make a hahaha no you will never make a point, let's stop fooling ourselves.

 

[Sunseeker]

Play 4th and use inherent boni? Suddenly you can do without any magic items and hand out as much money as you want.

Or simply make magic items cheaper. Cut a zero off the end of all the prices.

And certainly, treasure hunters find valuable treasure more often than they find currency, and usable equipment is often valuable treasure.

 

[jmucchiello]

I have an aborted 3e supplement detailing why graveyards exist. Reading this thread shows me I was on to something. The basic gist of the supplement was to show how bad other forms of burial were, complete with new undead monster templates (and ash/fire creatures were there). I just never really finished it before my RPG output stalled.

I have to say I'm kind of sad that some tropes are already eradicated. You don't see the "rescue the fair maiden from the dragon" any more. In fact if you did it, the party would spend the whole adventure wondering when the twist was coming. "I bet we have to rescue the dragon from the evil maiden." Amazing that a trope is so tired that even its opposite is banal.

I'm most guilty of the evil patron trope. And to use tvtrope-speak, my favorite campaign setup involves (one or more) evil patron(s) attempting a Xanatos Gambit with the party as the pawns.

 

[Saeviomagy]

In medieval Christian Europe, there was just the one church hierarchy so kings didn't have an alternative to bring in as a substitute if they didn't see eye to eye.

Well... until one of those kings created a second church heirarchy precisely because he didn't see eye to eye with the catholic church.

But that didn't really bring an end to things either: all kinds of problems arise when the majority of your population is (say) catholic while the king is protestant (or vice versa).

I'm most guilty of the evil patron trope. And to use tvtrope-speak, my favorite campaign setup involves (one or more) evil patron(s) attempting a Xanatos Gambit with the party as the pawns.

Just because the simpsons did it, doesn't make it an inherently bad plotline.

 

[jonesy]

I'm most guilty of the evil patron trope. And to use tvtrope-speak, my favorite campaign setup involves (one or more) evil patron(s) attempting a Xanatos Gambit with the party as the pawns.

I've been trying to plot out a campaign where everything that happens is a result of two BBEG's plotting against each other, and the PC's aren't even targets. Just bystanders who get caught up in the crossfire.

 

[Barastrondo]

I have to say I'm kind of sad that some tropes are already eradicated. You don't see the "rescue the fair maiden from the dragon" any more. In fact if you did it, the party would spend the whole adventure wondering when the twist was coming. "I bet we have to rescue the dragon from the evil maiden." Amazing that a trope is so tired that even its opposite is banal.

Not a lot of well-written dragons in recent sources of inspiration who have any real interest in fair maidens. Smaug has some great dialogue, but it's all about terror and flames and avarice and pride.

 

[jonesy]

Dragons sometimes take up human form. So where's the dragon prince who really needs rescuing?

 

[Mark Chance]

It isn't limited to it, per se, but it's an example where there was often a political dispute between one power and another, both of which wanted to wield ultimate authority. In medieval Christian Europe, there was just the one church hierarchy so kings didn't have an alternative to bring in as a substitute if they didn't see eye to eye.

That's not accurate, historically speaking. Kings could and did come up with alternatives to the Church's hierarchy, to include abducting popes, installing their own men as bishops, murdering clergy, declaring themselves local pope, et cetera. For example.

 

[billd91]

That's not accurate, historically speaking. Kings could and did come up with alternatives to the Church's hierarchy, to include abducting popes, installing their own men as bishops, murdering clergy, declaring themselves local pope, et cetera. For example.

I think it's fair to say they tried such things, yet typically kept coming back to the same old disputes with the same old hierarchy in Rome, hence the repeated deposing of popes and ultimate failure to prevail. And that's the point. They were in continual conflict rather than simply bringing in an alternative religion that saw eye to eye.

 

[Hussar]

I would really like to see the "random band of misfits thrown together by chance" trope, if not die, at least get scaled back a WHOLE lot. It would be nice if gaming advice focused on creating parties rather than individuals. IMO, it would solve a whole host of table issues.