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Old 07-22-2021, 09:58 PM   #91
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Default Re: [DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

Hey Tymathee,

If you want to use your lich as a player, then for this matter you might need to categorize its features into “modules”. For example, “things you want the most”, “things you want, but not as much”, etc. The budgets, the skills, and the ideas you have might not fit perfectly in the setting planned by your GM. So, the modules might make it easier for you to tweak your character and at the same time have it comply with its purpose.

Changing topic, if you consider that designing/playing your character serves you as a means of self-therapy, but you also have a delicate condition, you might need to check that with health professional in the field; he might tell you if your idea and expectations are appropriate.

Take care!
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Old 07-23-2021, 07:43 AM   #92
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Default Re: [DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

Both the things Hide said just above sound good.

The things you said before sound contradictory at first, but do they boil down to something like

"I'd like to start this character out exactly as written, but doing things to him in play is definitely on the cards"

and

"Don't kill him outright, there are more interesting things we can do to him"?
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Old 07-23-2021, 05:17 PM   #93
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Default Re: [DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

This was something I thought ought to be apparent already, but like I've said before, it helps to be transparent. I suppose I'm logically asking for a campaign where the GM permits the players to create highly personalized, "built to concept" characters with worldbuilding hooks baked into them like Oswald does. The GM, taking into consideration all the worldbuilding hooks baked into each of these characters, then creates a setting that these characters would logically be able to exist in. I'm proposing a PC-centric campaign where the PC concepts come first and the worldbuilding comes second. I've discussed the collaborative nature of TTRPGs before in this thread where I quoted a post from another thread that I thought was relevant to this one. Another forumite, Farmer, even replied in that thread that this is something GMs can certainly do. It's highly unconventional, where in TTRPGs it is the norm for the GM to put the worldbuilding first and expect the PCs to be shaped around that secondly, but I am suggesting the total reverse. Oswald would be, in theory, a perfectly workable character in such a campaign.

What about potential interpersonal party conflict arising from differing moral perspectives of the characters? I mentioned the possibility of simply raising the stakes high enough to make such a party feasible; e.g., "Good" and "Evil must band together to even stand a chance against the impending doom of The Unthinkable Eldritch Horror that threaten to tear apart the very fabric of reality that "Good" and "Evil" are constantly battling over. Or we could do a Suicide Squad-esque campaign, or a straight up Evil campaign with interesting positive character development... there's definitely possibilities here.

My mental health is certainly important, and I am addressing in the most appropriate manner that I can. I'm working on developing a personalized team of mental health professionals to assist me with my recovery from my PTSD. A case manager, a dedicated psychiatrist, and specialized mental health therapist... things are getting worked on.

My frequency of posting may be erratic from here on out, as I'm facing certain pressing life difficulties. I'll try to respond to replies in a timely fashion.
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Old 07-23-2021, 06:16 PM   #94
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Default Re: [DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

I've been fortunate. In my decades of RPG, I early on met, and still play with, a group in GURPS where the GMs (myself included) have always taken characters to be a source of worldbuilding, initially and constantly. Of course, you need to have your own concepts and ideas and plots, but never, ever let a good character hook go unused.

In the current space opera, post-apocalyptic modern day Earth, rebellion/survival game (is there a better genre descriptor for that, less cumbersome?) my character is a 2,000 year old immortal. There was no warning or indication from the GM that such a character might even be conceptually available, but I built it and submitted it and then we worked on it and it all works.

GM and players have such a level of trust, that ad hoc additions to history or knowledge that Just Make Sense are thrown in by the players and absorbed and included by the GM on the fly. If there's a real issue, it can be changed, but the players are contributing from their own stories and concepts in ways that both help and hinder them. Not every moment of the game, not at all. But it happens.

When the GM wanted an NPC to fit something that was happening and thought they would relate to my character, he simply asked me to build one before the next session. Done. Fully fleshed out NPC at PC level detail. Was very fun, and now a significant NPC. It's played by the GM, but I can (and so) chip in when it makes sense or helps. So, yeah, players can and, in my opinion, should be contributing and the GM can and should be including - where it all makes sense and works.

In my newly kicked off Fantasy that I am running, with just 2 sessions run (and some discussion/play on our private forums in between, I have already created 2 NPCs and additional related plotlines based on comments and actions from the players.

So, yeah, Oswald should be considered by any GM and shouldn't present an issue where there is any reasonable chance to fit within a genre. The world doesn't need to change for Oswald to fit. Tension is a key plot device - welcome it in! By all means propose (as the GM) tweaks or interpretations and if they work for GM and player, then go. But the essence needn't be a problem, but rather an opportunity. So long as the game doesn't become about a single PC, I see no issue (and, trust me, my 2,000 year old immortal stands out, but does not outshine is companions overall and as often as anyone takes the backseat to the play at hand).
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Old 07-23-2021, 07:07 PM   #95
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Default Re: [DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

I wouldn't mind little tweaks here or there certainly (he is a bit of a avant-garde art project in a sense, so I'd cross my fingers and hope the GM doesn't need to totally gut the concept of the character). Particularly the nature of the modifier on his Magery, although I did my best to make that as generically applicable as possible. That -20% within the -80% for "social ramifications for wielding black magical energy with Magery" assumes a game world where Good can very well clap back hard at Evil. It's a incentive for creative roleplaying... and also as one of the hooks that leads to Oswald question the status-quo of Evil.

I greatly dislike spotlight hogging. I very much clearly remember a short-lived past campaign where a player, who was also usually the GM, always insisted on being the party leader and being in charge of making any and all decisions on behalf of the group regardless of what we had to say on the matter. I remember us trudging through a dank, dark cavern... and we came upon what appeared to be a fallen knight, bleeding out, his still lit torch dropped nearby. Our party "leader" took it upon himself to draw his sword and try to coup-de-grace the man. My character, being highly empathetic, stepped between him and the fallen knight. My character made a point that we don't know the nature of his situation and that we ought to at least question him if we don't intend to attend to his wounds. He was enraged by this and proceeded to attack my character. They fought long and hard, my character winning out in the end by knocking the weapon out of his hand and holding him at sword point. It was at this point, meta level, the player decided to throw a temper tantrum and say that I'm to never question his authority and that we ought to murder everyone we come across without question.

I can say I no longer play with that poor group. When it was his turn to GM, he'd railroad the heck out of our characters and if we didn't like it he'd do the "Rocks fall, you all die!" thing. I'd rather not be that kind of player, or even that kind of GM (railroading can work... if the PCs are willing to run down the rails because it's actually fun), so I think I can play Oswald fairly. He was some leadership skills, but from what I understand is that they're best used for hireling management. The other PCs are certainly free to disregard whatever Oswald has to say, although DF's Dungeons has some advise on how Leadership/Strategy/Tactics can benefit the other PCs in combat.
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