Red Mage: I've got a great plan. I have dubbed it Plan Awesome. Black Mage: Oh, don't tell me. You're going to trip and "accidentally" fall such that your neck just happens to be pierced by his fangs. Then you can become an undead blight for the sake of gaining all kinds of "stat bonuses". Those will be used to boost your already impressive and versatile array of abilities to defeat our foe. (Beat Panel)
Thief: Doesn't it worry you to be, you know, aflame? Red Mage: Are you kidding? This is great. This is like if burning hands was a seventh level spell. Maybe sixth. Red Mage: And it's auto hit to boot! I could hug you for 3D4 damage per turn. Red Mage: Per. Turn. No, I'd be an idiot to give this up. Thief: Of course. What was I thinking? Red Mage: *Almost dies but uses Life 2* Thief: Doesn't that hurt? Red Mage: Mmm? Thief: The spell that brings you back?
Red Mage: Oh, it's quite excruciating. But at least it's not as bad as the burning.
Half-Ogre: All I have to do is keep moving back every time it's my turn. Attack of Opportunity! Attack of Opportunity! Roy: Well, I have to admire your mastery of the reach rules, but don't you think it's unwise to continually use the same tactic, round after round? Shouldn't you vary your attacks?
Half-Ogre: Why bother? This combo is perfect, I'm telling you. As long as I move back 15 feet every-- [falls down a cliff]
The fun begins when the creators tell us that all the professions are "balanced", with none ultimately having a particular advantage over another.
I don't quite want to scream "bullshit!" at the top of my lungs, but it suffices to say that I have serious problems believing this. The way these professions work are just one of the many reasons Sen Zar's character creation alone should have had its own chapter in The Munchkin's Guide To Power Gaming.
The older players immediately smelled twink when Legolas revealed he was half snow elf and got to walk on the snow while everybody else had to trudge. When Gandalf wanted to see the rule, Legolas immediately whipped out his dog earred copy of Bastards and Bloodlines and tried to justify why he had two elven racial traits by blood, and a third set of traits because he was adopted per the rules in the Hero Construction Guide. Gandalf is just stunned, and never directly addresses Legolas for the rest of the adventure. Gimli takes a dislike, as he has been playing for ages and has a built in disgust for the power gamers. Legolas doesn't even notice, because he's just so cool like that.
Hairfoot: Interesting observation that "breaking" the game is what some players enjoy most. Bradford C. Walker: I love those guys. They are the best checks against shit design that any game or designer can have; they do your double-checking for free, so don't be stupid and shit all over them (like Paizo did in developing Pathfinder). Engage them at the first opportunity, make then your QA crew and they will lead you to design success every fucking time. Bradford C. Walker: At the table, they expose bad assumptions on the GM's part. The best will first fuck you over, and then show you how they did it after the fact. They make a GM better; they compel superior system mastery, superior group leadership and superior world building from their efforts.
