Where's Vorpal, you ask? She's where any dog worth her salt would be: asleep in the kitchen. :)
It had to happen: someone's character in my gaming group got killed.
Let me be clear, though: I didn't kill him - I wasn't the DM this time around. The character of my brother-in-law's brother Vern (not his real name), Chang, got killed by a HORDE of undead swarming into Baldur's Gate while the rest of us were able to safely escape the city via the catacombs. For the purposes of this discussion, a horde is defined as "more than 250."
Why did Chang have to die? He didn't. He died because he didn't want to leave his cart behind. You read that right: his cart. That we would ride in and carry loot in. The cart wouldn't fit into the catacombs, so he wasn't going to budge. Chang went down with his ship cart. It wasn't so much like he was killed as he committed suicide by stubbornness.
I think Vern just wanted to make another character because when he rolled Chang up, the dice were not kind. Chang was a Fighter with a 9 Strength and a 10 Constitution. His Dexterity was a 13 and was his highest score. Thus, he specialized in crossbows. Chang would go into combat with a tower shield in front of him and his crossbow poking over the top or around the side. Yes, it was hilarious each time he did it, but as a player and DM, I can see how the humorous appeal would quickly wane.
Maybe he'll make a halfling monk next. I understand they're pretty bad-ass.
See you next week for the 6th anniversary of MeatShield!
~Rob
There are good reasons why you don’t open doors that you’re told not to open. Unfortunately there is a lot of curiosity to go around.
OK, I may have been spoiled in recent decades by point-based character systems like GURPS and Hero System, and the point-buy instead of dice rolls that the RPGA has been using for D&D since at least the days of Living City, but I do recall that when I did roll for attributes, I’d see what I had rolled before choosing what class I’d play. Chang likely would’ve been happier as a
thiefrogue. ^_^Yeah, this is why I don’t like rolling dice for attributes, at least not without some significant safety nets (“roll six times and arrange the scores as you please” at least). It’s far too easy to end up with a character that’s not fun for anyone, or that doesn’t allow you to play what you wanted to play.
And it becomes ESPECIALLY not fun when the player next to you rolled up a character whose lowest attribute is a 15…
Adventurers being Adventurers I am completely surprised that nobody in the group has yet asked “Why?”. @_@
Yeah, that’s the reason I don’t believe in randomly rolling for stats. Our group has always had a house rule of “pick whatever stats you want, as long as they’re not completely ridiculous.” Why should you get stuck playing a character you hate? I’ve got better things to do with my time.