Dungeons and Dragons, "My Favorite Classes"

Standard Introduction

            I have been writing about Dungeons and Dragons semi-regularly this year and in the course of writing those I found a 30-day blog challenge.  As I have done those a couple times before it seemed remiss not to jump on this one.

            If you want here is a link to my 30-day challenge on Disney Movies, here is a link to my 30-day challenge on Video Games, and here is a comically out of date 30-day challenge on Movies (it is old and the writing is rubbish).

Day 6- Favorite Class

            I am going to go ahead and be that guy.  I like playing as Bards.  I like playing as Paladins.

            I mentioned yesterday how I prefer to run games rather than be a player, but when it is time to play a character I inevitably end up being the group’s talker/spokesman, so I tend to just lean into it.

            Playing a charismatic guy who likes to help other people either by entertaining them or by being an assuring presence fits my real-life personality (or at least the one I try to have) and the mechanics about boosting the rest of the group fit with my world view.

            I prefer not to “play to win” because I have a rather nasty competitive side to me, and would much prefer to “play for everyone to have a good time”.  I prefer to run games for a reason.

 

Maybe the next time I play I will multiclass this class combination.
Wasn't possible in 3e and I multiclassed Warlock in 4e (that is a story for tomorrow).
Now I am feeling creative.

Players Who Won’t Take a Hint

            My attitude on this comes from some negative things I have witnessed from the other side of things and my general desire to help the GG out.  When you are a player, it helps the person running the game if you are two things,

1)     A team player willing to put the needs of the group ahead of the needs of their own (not a doormat, just someone who is willing to share the spotlight).

2)     Desiring to go on adventures, even if those adventures are not all about them (see “team player” above).

"Guys?  Anybody want to smile for the group photo?  No?  Nobody?  Okay..."

            You would be surprised how much help it is to the GG if you just make a character that isn’t a loner douchebag or someone whose dislikes following story queues.  I have had issues in the past where I feed people adventure hooks tailored to them and their response is to blow them off.

            Here is an example of the issue, “The leadership of your knightly order has made a pact with Mindflayers for power and have asked you to follow along with their plan; you can chose to join up with them obeying your oath to them but most certainly betraying the spirit of the Oath by dooming the common people to be food; you can challenge the leadership which will likely cause a civil war in the knight ranks, but will certainly keep the Mindflayers from helping them out too much or getting a foothold in the area; or you can try to play politics and gather support and resources first which means the leadership will have more Mindflayer provided assistance down the line but you will face them with all the help of your fellow knights.”

            He responded with, “I don’t care.” *shrug*

            “What?”

            “Yeah,” he replied.  “I took an oath to a regent that supersedes that oath and am too busy doing what I think my new regent would want to bother with all that.”

            Never mind the fact that the regent in question was a joke (literally she was a pampered princess who gave no shits about his oath or what he was doing and he knew this), and any sane person would not want an order of knights to be taken over by aberrations bent on enslaving the land.  He just didn’t want to bother.

"To serve the liege lord in valor and faith."
"To protect the weak and defenseless."
"To obey those placed in authority."
"To fight for the welfare of all."
Parts of the 'Code of Chivalry' from the "The Song of Roland"

            Why play a knight whose whole thing is about swearing oaths and following a code and then not?  Hey guys, if you want to play a lawful character, you have to still think.  I don’t think I was being railroading either, it is not like the option to be Evil wasn’t there, he had plenty of freedom to work within the bounds of a big quest line.  *shrug* I even gave him bad guys and reasons to hate them.  *shrug*

Resolving Some Issues

            It is experiences like that one which inspire me to say, “I’m gonna do my best to go with it”.  Farming is a noble profession and you are likely to live a long happy life with many children by doing it, but this is a game about fighting monsters.  When I play, I try to be the type of person who likes to help their group, likes to help NPC allies, wants to go on adventures either for the enjoyment of said adventure or to help other people, and I will TAKE A HINT ABOUT WHAT STORY THE GG HAS PUT SOME WORK INTO.

            It might be the GG’s job to provide adventures the players like to play, but it is also the job of the players to participate and roll/role with things.  Sure, the GG should try and understand the tone of the game the players want and explain the stories he is comfortable telling (if the players want high fantasy but the DM was thinking political intrigue there is going to be problems), but everyone there is trying to have a good time playing a game.

            You gotta play the game!

 

Also, this relates to nothing, but wat "Stranger Things" on Netflix.
I suspect it is going to help rejuvenate the hobby of RPG's and it is really good.
The second season is coming soon.

            I have in the past tried to give surveys to players to ask them about the type of game they want to play, but the often didn’t understand the nature of the question, “I don’t know, I guess I am down for whatever.”  But then they just don’t take bait, they don’t consider things, they don’t even do the hack and slash thing.  They negotiate every point and seem to resent the idea of going on adventures at all.

            Guys, this is DnD.  Go on adventures!

Coming Tomorrow

            Tomorrow I am going to talk about the character I most enjoyed playing.

            He’s a Bard.

            There will be less ranting.  Also, share your feelings in the comments, I do like to read them.  It also helps pull traffic to my blog from other sources, one of these days I would like to make actual money off of this hobby of "writing to keep my skills up while looking for work".

            Have Fun.

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