Zarpaulus

Writer of sci-fi and horror

Underemployed biologist and creator of the Para-Imperium setting. Currently writing the webcomic "Joanna: Ghost Hunter."


fwankie
@fwankie

I think a lot of why I prefer pathfinder 1e/D&D 3.5e over 4e/5e is that basically all of a character's power in the later is just from leveling up which kinda just happens as you go or is tied to the plot, and the plot is generally about doing heroic things or adventuring for the sake of adventuring.
But the former has a lot of gear based progression, which does have a lot of balance issues, but allows for more pulp fantasy type stuff since you can be motivated by that previous stuff, or by loot either from greed, need, or curiosity. And that means the GM can give you weird magic items and abilities you didn't expect to have, and the players are more incentivised to poke around at things and explore. Just never let your players craft



fwankie
@fwankie

Like you've gotta slap some of the power gaming out of some players if they have 10 levels of feats and gear planned out before the game starts and tell them you're not going to give them exactly what they want and not going to let them just create it, and trying to get their hands on a specific magic item is a good adventure hook anyway.
For PF1e in particular I like the automatic bonus progression rules because it means you don't need any of the boring +1 to not dying items the encounter design assumes you have, so any magic items that show up have more room to be weird https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/unchained-rules/automatic-bonus-progression


VixieMoondew
@VixieMoondew

oh god ABP saved my interest so hard

it is exhausting when the entire party is like "well obviously i need a +1 cloak and a +1 sword so those are my first goals" rather than letting people focus on that one cool cloak that makes you summon bees whenever people do piercing damage to you or whatever

(my old group is finally dissolving to "Real Life Too Busy" and i need to find a new group one of these days aaaaa i miss it)


Zarpaulus
@Zarpaulus

Is that better or worse than PF2's modular runes?



Codarobo
@Codarobo

listen. I just think it’s good as hell when micros and macros live side by side in a Society and it’s just normal and people are not that weirded out by it. And macros (like anyone else) are expected to live by something resembling a social contract that accounts for their being big (they do their best, anyway). And it’s challenging and awkward sometimes but somehow everybody is able to make it work, and hilarious hijinks ensue and all that.

…is this just me creating the conditions where this society has businesses like a Macro Wash/bath house type situation you can go to where micros attend to your entire body and it’s very luxurious and posh?

…Yeah. So what


Emmniscient
@Emmniscient
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geckonori
@geckonori

I've been thinking a lot (LOT LOT LOT) about this kind of thing for the sake of my own world-building but haven't yet had the chance to draw any of it out. But HEY it's incredibly fun to think about how mid-size and micro-size folks would co-exist. The same way it's fun to think about how chairs should have a notch cut into them to slide in a tail when sitting, as opposed to a small hole that forces one to awkwardly slot their tail inside.

Someone recently talked about how cars are stupid (they are) and how folks shouldn't be putting them in their furry worlds when there's infinitely better options. You have to think about accessibility! Even if your world has trains, you can't make them all like the BART (unless discomfort is an intentional part of your setting). Where would taurs sit? What if someone is 8ft tall and their two friends are 4ft and 6in? How do you solve this kinda thing?

Well, one solution already exists in our world. Sleeper trains! Look at this!

image showing the inside of a sleeper train room

another image showing the inside of a sleeper train

A taur or quad could lie down here easily. Friends of all sizes could sit together. Easy to carve out a cozy, safe zone for micros. Now just put a bunch of these rooms on all trains and make this the primary mode of transport. Who would even want a car if you could travel like this?

As much as I love scenarios where large folks use small things not meant for them, I feel like that would be a very harsh world. Realistically, there would be untold amounts of accessibility baked into all aspects of life to make visiting your macro friend a chill experience.

I would also like to experience one of these all-size spas that y'all are talking about......



huldratigress
@huldratigress

My followers should be thankful that polytheistic religious institutions don't really exist, because if they did I would be the most insufferably pious former-theology-major you'd ever see. You know those Christian camp counselor types who are like "you know who else had a fight with her older sister? Ištar." That would be me. Need to vent about your bad day? I hope you're ready for me to quote Babylonian theological poetry at you. "Oh some people are just religious because they need to feel superior to others" yeah and I'm Some People