The Pink Dice Chronicles

It is an interesting tale that we weave when we play a character, a tale of our own life.  Ask a man to draw his fingers, and in the errors we add in the drawing, we reflect our own exaggerations of how we see our self -- a tall thin person will draw long, spindly fingers.  The person who sees themself as fat will often draw fatter, shorter fingers. But characters do not shine our flaws this way.  Look into the characters, and what we see are deeper reflections. Beginner players always start out the same.  They pick a character they already love and they try to copy them into the game.  For years I played in games with other characters named Ryu because of this.  Batman has popped up again and again in different forms.  And don't forget the always popular drow elf with two swords and a panther companion.  Their characters are always misplaced in the world, loners, unconnected, wronged, and for some reason, without parents. At some point player...

I am a big fan of Joss Whedon for a lot of reasons, with The Avengers only be a small recent reason.  This video delves into the question Joss gets asked over and over again:  So, Joss, why do you always write these strong women characters?  I can identify. In gaming, playing a strong woman character, I've been asked the similar question:  why are you playing woman character?  Joss gives all the right answers in this video. For me, the biggest woman character I play and explore in my fiction is Crayla.  Crayla is strong, slightly defiant, and has a complete psychological profile that I have worked on, pieced my way through, and tried to figure out.  In some ways, I never quite figure her out all the way, and that too, is part of the enjoyment.  There comes a unique perspective in playing a woman character that you just don't get with playing a male character, as either a man or a woman.  Joss explains that too. It is cool too, since...

So Vlad checks in.... Yeah, it has been a strange week.  I'm trying to do what I do and keep my nose clean. We had an incident getting away from the last job.  A couple in a black sedan was following.  I spotted the tail on the bus.  They stopped and the car hit them.  It was a bug plant, so the guys took care of it while I distracted them.  We nearly had a fire-fight with and angry dwarf carrying a shotgun as big as he was. We got to the drop off -- a used car lot.  We arrived just in time to seeing someone leave.  The guy there was dead, at least someone was sure.  I called Mr Fixit, we got directions to hide the loot, burn the joint, and grab the tapes of who did the hit.  Probably one of Big Tony's guys was the bad guy I saw leaving.  Zero copied the data so we have something of value.  Tyres about blew himself up.  That angry dwarf showed up again -- luckily I smooth-talked him enough to avoid getting shot. On...

As a father of 4 daughters, getting my daughters into gaming and ensuring they have a good experience has been a big part of my gaming life in the last few years.  This blog was really meant to capture my experiences along they way.  Without knowing it though, this blog wandered into a different idea completely.  The conclusion in gaming with my daughters is simple -- there is nothing special I need to do because I game with my daughters, because most all players want the same things in the game. Players want a safe, comfortable environment to interact with other players and explore their own characters in an interesting story.  Of course, there are a lot of little details that make up a positive gaming environment, and that is a lot of what I have explored.  The bottom line though is that there is no unique reason to change gaming to help girls have a better experience; instead there are a lot of broad reasons to change gaming to make sure everyone has a bett...

Ranier reports in this week for our 7th session: That stupid Thasillonian snitch was back this week and the news was not promising.  Pajar was back and the paladin got taken.  I was happy to see Pajar.  Another fighter appeared -- one that spoke Thassilonian and not common.  Interesting.  It seems she was stuck in there for 2000 years.  I hope Dante doesn't meet a similar fate. We started poking around the corridor when goblins attacked.  Sol took a bad hit and then decided to get out of the way.  Pajar seem to have quite the knack with magic, blasting away goblins with flames from his hands.  Jericho kept firing off shots and making progress against the enemies.  My scimitar served me well. Pajar has quite a sense of humor.  Our rotund oracle, after being missed by the goblins calls out "You can't hit the broad side of a barn -- that was my nickname in grammar school -- broad side of a barn." We found sleeping quarters for ...

Another report from Ranier: Well, we finished clearing out the dungeon space today we found below the glassworks.  It was good karma that brought the Oracle and Paladin back from the ether.  We finished searching the room where we killed the quasit.  Pajar found some gold and a scroll.  I couldn't get my eyes on the scroll.  Axle found a couple of potions -- a potion of hiding and a love potion.  Axle got the potion of hiding and Jericho the love potion.  We didn't like the look of the magic pool, so we covered it with doors from the room per Jericho's suggestion.  The doors disintegrated and fell into the pool.  We left it behind to finish exploring. Past the statue room we explored the last corridor.  Stairs lead to a room with a dark pool.  Past that we found a set of collapsed stairs leading up, that we reckoned probably lead up towards the lighthouse -- a set of local Thassilonian ruins.  Not surprising since these rui...

So here is this week's report from Ranier: We started with breakfast at the Red Rusty Dragon.  It was exploring day for the newly opened tunnel below the glassworks.  I stopped in at the temple to talk to Vasque.  He didn't seem to know much of anything about ruins that could be below the glassworks.  He pointed us at the man that lived left of the lighthouse. Strange thing happened... I noticed a glint off of this pillar in the temple as we were leaving.  It turned out to be an ancient Thassilonian pillar.  The point the glinted had a small stone spot sticking out slightly, perhaps.  I pushed on it, and a little golden fly ball appeared.  It floated about and then touched the paladin and oracle both on the foreheads and they disappeared.  After a moment even the gunslinger disappeared.  I tried talking to Vasque about it, but he seemed skeptical at best, and perhaps though me crazy.  While leaving the temple, Jericho reappeared...

So the rogue (Axle) and I (Ranier) has somehow lost the shiny armor (Dante whose player was absent).  There was a note that indicated that Amico was supposed to meet her brother, presumably at the glassworks the night before, but she had not returned.  We were going to check it out, but I wanted backup.  No way did I want to walk into another goblin ambush with just two of us.  The note indicated Amico's father, who owned the glass works, had something to do with what was going on, and that meant goblins. We went to the guard house / jail.  One lonely guard was left at the desk, keeping an eye on things.  There were no guards to be spared with the sheriff gone.  We headed on to the Hagfish where he indicated there might be a merc looking for some work. I'm not a big fan of mercs.  People that are paid just don't have the loyalty to the cause to keep the rest of us alive.  We walked in and approached the bartended and asked about the merc,...

I've joined a game as a player recently, and though getting enough players started out a little shakey, it looks like we are going strong now. In the first session, there were only two players, so we each played 2 characters each, a primary and a backup.  We've dropped our backup with the arrival of new players. My primary character is Ranier, a male human magus, who tries to portray himself as just a ranger.  When his powers first manifested, he accidentally shocked his sibling to death.  With this deep hurt heavy on his heart, he goes out into the world seeking redemption for what he feels is an unforgivable sin.  Under the weight of this legacy, he still isn't pulled completely into fighting for good and law.  Instead he is looking for things worthy to atone and in between follows a path of balance.  When a man has done something so bad, why should little bad or good things even matter.  More will come about Ranier. My backup character was a d...

An OOC (Out of Character) report: There was a new player tonight.  I found out at the end of the session that he was playing an overpowered NPC with ability scores all pretty much over 20 and a level higher than anyone in our group.  WTF? After a character death last week, one of our existing players had to rebuild a character for the session at the table.  This was the goblin.  I helped him do a good build -- a rogue that fit with the high dex of a goblin. It turned out the old character wasn't really dead, but was being pieced back together at the local temple. There was weird plot line that the new bard dragonrider tried to introduce about a beautiful woman asking about the goblin.  There was no info to let it influence anything or even for it to make any sense.  WTF? The bard dragonrider told us that Kooper was mauled by a bear.  We found the bear dead (how can a town that can't defend against golbins end up killing a bear?) Crayla went...

This post was made by an omniscient observer: So the party of 3, Pleon, Crayla, and Kooper, dragged the goblin in manacles back to the Sandpoint jail.  They healed him with a potion and gave him a thorough questioning.  Really all they found out was that he was from Thistletop (clan of goblins?  a mountain name?) and who his chief was.  Kooper went psycho when he mentioned the word clan and nearly killed the goblin.  They left the goblin in bad shape, unconscious and nearly dead. Crayla asked uncaringly for gold from the sheriff as the party was leaving the jail.  He brushed her off, telling her he was talk to them later, choosing to instead focus on his duties to calm the hysterical wife of the man the goblin killed. The party gathered and went on to the glass factory, trying to break in.  No such luck on Crayla popping the door locks.  Kooper tried setting the door on fire and breaking it down, but was too drunk to do any good.  They ...

A brief report from Crayla: I found out a lot at the local brothel.  The Kujitsu family is an interesting bunch with some dirty laundry.  The old man and wife had a half-elf son (both of them were human).  He was sent to the orphanage; the mother was kept away.  The father later pushed her off a balcony.  They have a duaghter who was a former adventurer and now runs a local inn.  The family made their money locally through glass making.  Also I got the name of the goblin tribe expert.  Man, I wish she were back in town about now.  Sheriff says several more weeks. The drawback of the brothel is now that Kooper visits there all the time.  He is just one vice on top of another. Met up with Mr. Foxglove who paid us a bit for saving him and took us hunting in the Tickwood.  We were able to take down a wild boar and a dire boar fairly easily.  It got us a feast back at the Rusty Dragon.  Foxglove was all over me with compl...

Playing a fantasy character true to their nature is a difficult undertaking.  Living in modern times gives us a background that isn't well suited to playing an elf ranger or a dwarf miner or a great paladin.  We would be much better to suited to play some hero from our own type of world. Still we can rise to the occasion if we take just a few simple things into consideration. A character has limited experiences.   In our modern world of technology people are exposed through print, broadcast, and other types of media so we can have a general idea of life throughout the world.  We can define normal by the media, and a large number of people can have very similar ideas. In the fantasy worlds we play in, media is limited, and in some places, nonexistent.  The definition of normal is limited to what our characters know -- perhaps locally, perhaps only in their own household.  The only religion they may know and understand is that of the local temple. ...

A light report from Crayla: Taking out the goblins impressed the local yocals.  Alderan Foxglove was happy to be saved by us.  I'll see what we can use him for. We visited the cathedral and the priest Father Zantas.  Everything seemed intact.  I really wish the other guys could allow us to make an appearance without making a negative first impression. We visited the jail to see if any of the goblins had been captured.  No such luck and the sheriff wasn't around.  We'd try to catch him in the morning. Ameko Kujitsu caught us in town.  She offered us a week's stay at her inn -- the Rusty Dragon.  Talking to her later I found out she was a former adventurer.  She might be a resource we can call on if needed.  And, her last name matches the biggest crypt in the cemetery.  There is money in that family. The gossip about the goblin raid showed the stupidity of the attack.  The goblins had no business attacking the town. ...

Report from Crayla: I met up with the guys today around noontime and set up plans to meet them back at the Rusty Dragon at nightfall.  I grabbed some grub at the festival.  Kooper had that gleam of trouble maker in his eye when he said he was going to the general store. I followed him and watched him stock up on lamp oil, lots and lots of lamp oil.  This isn't going to end well if he ends up burning down the whole town.  He doesn't seem to be smart enough to handle that stuff. I grabbed some rope, a grappling hook, and a crowbar for a reasonable price.  With these items, it gives me a few more options on pulling off a heist.  I mentioned to Kooper that if he could get me a potion of invisibility, I could double his return on it.  He slipped me one, trying to make sure the mage didn't see.  Pleon's (not Peelon) scruples seem to be a bit more bothersome than mine and Kooper's.  Anyway, it was a nice way to sweet talk a 300 gp potion, and I ...

So Crayla has a Stealth of +7.  According to the one source, guards ( this one or this one ) have perceptions in the +1 to +4 range which matches other places I have looked.  So given this, what is the probability of pulling off a heist? Some aspects to consider: How many guards will there be? How many guards will actually get a perception check against Crayla? What is an acceptable level of risk? What is the likely reward? If you check out the Opposed skill check reference sheet here , you can get the opposed skill check probabilities. For Crayla, I am +6 to +3 better than the opposing check skill level: +3 -- 60% chance of success +4 -- 64% chance of success +5 -- 68% chance of success +6 -- 72% chance of success However, each check is independent.  If the GM is fishing for failures by making me make multiple checks, the odds aren't as good: Advantage 1 Check 2 Checks 3 Checks 4 Checks +3 60% 36% 22% 13% +4 64% 41% 3...

On Saturday nights I am now playing in a Pathfinder game.  I'll be recording my adventures from the point of view of Crayla.  So let me tell you about Crayla. Crayla is a half-elf level 1 ranger.  She grew up with 10 brothers and a father who was away a good bit of the time acting as a guard for a merchant caravan.  She learned to be tough, quick, and emotionally caustic.  Though she is good looking (fair skin, fiery red hair) her charisma is only average.  She puts people off.  She is quick to insult and quick to anger. Crayla is a good shot with a longbow and can spin her short sword in and out of her scabbard and flip it easily across her wrist from side to side (weapon finesse).  She wears a shiny breastplate engraved with various animal markings made by one of her brothers.  It was his way of rubbing in that she had failed her druid training and relegated to just be one of those "woodsy rangers that helps find farmers lost cattle in ...

New characters are dominating my gaming life right now.  I've gotten a spot in a Saturday night Pathfinder game, so I am underway in building my new character.  The party currently consists of a sorcerer and a cleric, so rogue skills are needed.  I don't really want to play a rogue, though.  I don't even really want to play any class.  So my plan was to make up my own unique combination. I want to be able to tank. I need a moderate number of skill points, so I can cover rogue skills for traps. I need feats, because I want to get a prestige class early. Rogues really need dex, so I need to be a quick fighter (dex-based).  Fighter is THE class for feats.  Shadowdancer seems like a fun prestige class that one can hit the requirements for early. For race, I looked really close at elf and human.  Human's bonus feat is nice, but only a real advantage at first level.  Elf has nice ability boosts, but half-elf gets a lot of the elf stuff and ...