Author Topic: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation  (Read 45739 times)

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BackHandOfFate

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #100 on: March 22, 2011, 03:39:16 AM »
This thread really helps to put things in perspective.  I have a history of cancer in my family that has claimed a few relatives that I can remember.  It looks like your niece has alot of people giving her the moral support she needs to get through this.  I add my well-wishings and prayers to those already given. (I.. Fortythird that notion? or something like that)

Anywho, to adress the issue at hand.  You were wise to withdraw from this game.  It's nice to see someone who tries their hardest to use diplomacy to resolve issues.  Sometimes the knee-jerk reaction isn't the best way to handle things.  I applaud your responsible handling of this situation.  It's never easy to walk away from a game when it's so hard to actually find people in your neck of the woods who share such interests.  

If you ever find yourself without a place to play, come on over to my neck of the woods:  s7.zetaboards.com/salin
We're a small pbp community.  We tend to play relatively high-powered games and would always welcome anyone who feels like a good game.  I've a few games open, myself if you're interested.  You seem like the kind that I would enjoy having in one of my games.
« Last Edit: March 22, 2011, 04:02:33 AM by BackHandOfFate »

wotmaniac

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #101 on: March 22, 2011, 03:01:50 PM »
My DM immediately simply declared that this would not work.
this guy is a douche bathes in massingill. 
it's "wrong headed" because he likes to crush creativity and joy.
he probably also enjoys kicking over sandcastles and dropping turds on hopscotch boards.
this guy doesn't, by chance, drive a beat-up van with "FREE CANDY" spray-painted on the side, does he?

[spoiler]
If you stop ignoring 289 pages telling what the intent is to stretch "more power" in your own god complexion of your interpretation trumps all to cover ability adjustments from aging then I will ignore a quarter page of rules that exist within a sidebar.
I think in this case the grammar is less important than whether the Str and Dex bonus provided to your created undead scales.

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archangel.arcanis

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #102 on: March 22, 2011, 03:19:58 PM »
If you wish to pray for my family Amerchra feel free to, the power of prayer/positive thought/good vibes may be impossible to measure but it certainly does exist.

Your newer story Saeomon seems to just reinforce the fact that this guy is a poor DM that simply can't handle things that don't fit into his very narrow view of things.
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Gods_Trick

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #103 on: March 22, 2011, 03:33:48 PM »

A real RP choice and he squishes it why? ??? Not game-breaking move, a nice tie in of class and concept, and its just, "No!"  :banghead

I respect the efforts you've put into leaving on a respectful note sir.

On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.

wotmaniac

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #104 on: March 22, 2011, 03:41:36 PM »
On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

[spoiler]
If you stop ignoring 289 pages telling what the intent is to stretch "more power" in your own god complexion of your interpretation trumps all to cover ability adjustments from aging then I will ignore a quarter page of rules that exist within a sidebar.
I think in this case the grammar is less important than whether the Str and Dex bonus provided to your created undead scales.

Greenbound Summoning RAI
Expanded Gestalt
More Savage Progressions[/spoiler]
Report any wrongs I have done here.

Gods_Trick

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #105 on: March 22, 2011, 03:44:43 PM »
On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

I'll give it a day or so, gives people who'd powerfully disagree to chime in.

RelentlessImp

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #106 on: March 22, 2011, 04:00:54 PM »
On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

This is the Min/Max board. We should be able to figure out a way to optimize the POWER OF PRAYER(TM) that doesn't involve "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".
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zioth

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #107 on: March 22, 2011, 04:20:49 PM »
I read the descriptions of the other party members, and noticed a pattern -- all of them are either inexperienced, or have created highly under-powered characters. You, on the other hand, have gone to great lengths to give your character "no discernable weaknesses." You feel that D&D should be played a certain way, where you get to use your wide knowledge of character choices to make an optimized character. But doing that in such an unoptimized party puts you in a position where you overshadow everyone else, and make things difficult for the DM. Each time the DM creates an encounter, he has to think, "What will challenge the party? Now what will challenge both the party and Saeomon, without killing the party?"

I play with someone who has a similar attitude. He's a good guy, he's fun to play with, and he contributes both in and out of combat. However, he can be a pain to the DMs, constantly trying to get away with things and to slip in overpowered options. He creates characters with "no discernable weaknesses," who also have at least one stregth which is so overwhelming that every encounter must be skewed to accomodate him. A side-effect of this is that, whenever he asks for something, even if it's reasonable, the DM has to wonder if he's up to something.

This player does NOT deliberately try to make life hard for the DM, but his play style has that effect anyway. He does not believe that his characters are particularly overpowered. He believes that, with every character, he has deliberately reduced the power for role-playing reasons. However, he's so much better at optimization than the rest of us, that all his good intentions are for naught.

You say you've played with this DM for 10 years. It's possible that the DM has had this difficulty so often that he always assumes you're up to something. This could be what makes him reject even your most reasonable requests.

If you ever return to this group, I suggest you try something which may be quite difficult, given your preferred play style: Create a character using nothing but the PHB. Maybe even choose one of the less powerful classes, like ranger or monk. Don't make any special requests at all. It's possible that your DM will still be a jerk. It's possible that you won't have any fun with the limited choices. But it might be worth a try, to resume a relationship with a DM you've enjoyed playing with for ten years.

zioth

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #108 on: March 22, 2011, 04:42:52 PM »
I wrote my last post after only reading the first page of this thread. Clearly, you've already thought of my suggestions, and after trying to reconcile with the DM, were shouted down. I'd say you were right to leave the group. Ah well.

wotmaniac

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #109 on: March 22, 2011, 04:47:27 PM »
On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

This is the Min/Max board. We should be able to figure out a way to optimize the POWER OF PRAYER(TM) that doesn't involve "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".
:lol
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[spoiler]
If you stop ignoring 289 pages telling what the intent is to stretch "more power" in your own god complexion of your interpretation trumps all to cover ability adjustments from aging then I will ignore a quarter page of rules that exist within a sidebar.
I think in this case the grammar is less important than whether the Str and Dex bonus provided to your created undead scales.

Greenbound Summoning RAI
Expanded Gestalt
More Savage Progressions[/spoiler]
Report any wrongs I have done here.

Saeomon

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #110 on: March 22, 2011, 06:33:55 PM »
Hi, Zioth. :) I want to take the time to reply to your post, just to give a little insight about the group in which I was playing. I didn't take anything you wrote personally, and I read your second message that says you posted your first one after only reading the first page of the thread. Nevertheless, I just want to point out a few things that might shed some light onto the group dynamics.

I read the descriptions of the other party members, and noticed a pattern -- all of them are either inexperienced, or have created highly under-powered characters.

In the grand scheme of things, my experience at gaming compared to the rest of the group was rather less than the average. I wasn't the least experienced player, but I'd say that everyone else at the table had either roughly the same amount of experience as I do or more. There was one guy at the table who had been gaming for longer than some of the rest of us had been alive.

In fact, the only person I'm sure had less experience than me was the person playing the Half-Orc Fighter. The person playing the Ranger/Sorcerer may have had less experience, but I dunno.

As for their creating under-powered characters...save for the Druid, of course...yeah, I noticed. I even brought it to my DM's attention. I was always told to play the character I wanted to play. There were no up-front restrictions, even on books. Nevertheless, the DM reserved the right of rejection.

Because everything was allegedly fair game, but right of rejection was reserved, everything had to be run by the DM first. I suspect that the others who've suggested DM burn-out is the culprit are right: my DM was tired of having to deal with how the psionics system worked in the context of this campaign.

Quote
You, on the other hand, have gone to great lengths to give your character "no discernable weaknesses."  You feel that D&D should be played a certain way, where you get to use your wide knowledge of character choices to make an optimized character.

Heh...it turns out that making an optimized Psion isn't all that difficult, so I didn't go to great lengths really. :) The choices I've made with my character really aren't all that different from the ones I would've made was I unfamiliar with optimization theory and practice. I really think it's more of a matter of comparative power levels.

I really don't think that D&D should be played a certain way. What I do think is that a DM needs to be forthright about the kind of game he or she intends to run. Looking back, and putting matters into terms of the Tier system, my DM appears to have intended a Tier 3/Tier 4 campaign. But on the occasions I offered to tone down my character, at best I got rebuffed. As you can see by the email conversation I posted, my DM even got mad.

Players can't be expected to read the DM's mind. At a certain point you have to take the words "play whatever you like" at face value.

Quote
This player does NOT deliberately try to make life hard for the DM, but his play style has that effect anyway. He does not believe that his characters are particularly overpowered. He believes that, with every character, he has deliberately reduced the power for role-playing reasons. However, he's so much better at optimization than the rest of us, that all his good intentions are for naught.

This is a very good point, and it's given me some food for thought. I empathize with this guy.

I still think that it all comes down to communication, or lack thereof. There needed to be better communication between my DM and me. I'm a reasonable person. If I had been approached in a reasonable manner I would have responded in kind. Instead, it seems, things were allowed to fester on my DM's end.

Quote
You say you've played with this DM for 10 years. It's possible that the DM has had this difficulty so often that he always assumes you're up to something. This could be what makes him reject even your most reasonable requests.

This was actually the first extended campaign I'd been in with this DM for a long, long while. We've known each other for over 10 years, but the last time we gamed together on a regular basis was back in college and shortly thereafter. It's been roughly 8 years since we had a regular campaign going.

It was also my first time getting back into gaming, period, after a lengthy hiatus during law school.

So, while I do see the point you're trying to make, that particular point doesn't apply to this situation. There just hasn't been enough recent history to build up a pattern of behavior on my part or on my DM's part.

Quote
If you ever return to this group, I suggest you try something which may be quite difficult, given your preferred play style: Create a character using nothing but the PHB. Maybe even choose one of the less powerful classes, like ranger or monk.

It's hilarious that you mention a PHB-only campaign using only Ranger or Monk. I had been planning on implementing a PHB/SRD-only campaign with this group in the not-too-distant future, before things went to crap. Though many have shown that even Core isn't balanced, at the very least going PHB/SRD-only rules out the vast majority of the most egregious methods of breaking a game.

Also, Ranger and Monk are my favorite classes. I've played more Rangers than anyone has a right to, and there is a soft spot in my heart for the Monk, which is my second-most-often-played class.

If I was a gestalt character, I'd be a Ranger/Monk and I'd be damn proud of my suckitude.

Quote
Don't make any special requests at all. It's possible that your DM will still be a jerk. It's possible that you won't have any fun with the limited choices. But it might be worth a try, to resume a relationship with a DM you've enjoyed playing with for ten years.

It remains to be seen how things work out. There's still a lot going on in my life and my family's life. Fortunately, things are getting better. In one area, there's been enough improvement to warrant a separate post. :-)

Thank you, again, for your constructive criticism. You've definitely given me a number of things to think about.

Saeomon

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #111 on: March 22, 2011, 06:39:56 PM »
My niece is going home, today!!! I believe these smilies best capture how I'm feeling right now:  :birthday :jumping :D :dogpile :pie

Thank you, everyone, for your many good thoughts and prayers! She still has a long road ahead of her but this is a huge first step. I know that both she and her mom and dad will be so much more comfortable at home than at the hospital.

KellKheraptis

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #112 on: March 22, 2011, 06:45:14 PM »
My niece is going home, today!!! I believe these smilies best capture how I'm feeling right now:  :birthday :jumping :D :dogpile :pie

Thank you, everyone, for your many good thoughts and prayers! She still has a long road ahead of her but this is a huge first step. I know that both she and her mom and dad will be so much more comfortable at home than at the hospital.

That is AWESOME news, Saeomon!  I've had this page on my browser and refreshed it every time I'm at the comp waiting to see the updates, and I think I speak for everyone here that that's the news we were hoping to hear.  Give her a hug from me and my family, and her family as well.

And for the record, a Mystic Shooting Star Ranger of the Arcane Order//Monk can kick plenty of asses :P
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archangel.arcanis

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #113 on: March 22, 2011, 06:56:35 PM »
My niece is going home, today!!! I believe these smilies best capture how I'm feeling right now:  :birthday :jumping :D :dogpile :pie

Thank you, everyone, for your many good thoughts and prayers! She still has a long road ahead of her but this is a huge first step. I know that both she and her mom and dad will be so much more comfortable at home than at the hospital.
This is wonderful news. I'm so glad to see a step in the right direction for her.
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Retire the character before the DM smacks you with the Table as the book will feel totally inadequate now.-Hazren

Lycanthromancer

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #114 on: March 22, 2011, 07:00:17 PM »
Oh, GREAT NEWS!

I'm so glad your niece is getting better.

Make sure that both you and her parents give her plenty of love.

As for the monk/ranger thing, try going monk/kensai and turning your body into a throwing/distance/returning weapon, so you can flurry up to 100' away! And you can effectively teleport as an attack action, 'cuz you don't have to use returning if you don't wanna.
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Amechra

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #115 on: March 22, 2011, 07:01:07 PM »
That is the best news I've heard all day!
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On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

This is the Min/Max board. We should be able to figure out a way to optimize the POWER OF PRAYER(TM) that doesn't involve "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".
[/spoiler]

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Gods_Trick

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #116 on: March 22, 2011, 07:04:39 PM »

Kell speaks for all of us, thats what we've been hoping to hear  :birthday Awesome news!

Drull

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #117 on: March 22, 2011, 07:10:44 PM »
Indeed, best of luck!  :bounce

Bloody Initiate

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #118 on: March 22, 2011, 07:15:27 PM »
Sweet  :)
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Saeomon

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Re: My DM Just Banned Psychic Reformation
« Reply #119 on: March 22, 2011, 07:15:36 PM »
Thank you so much, everyone! :D

Gonna suggest to my wife that we go out and have a drink to celebrate after I get home tonight. It's a huge relief to know they're getting out of there. Hospitals aren't restful at all.

As for the monk/ranger thing, try going monk/kensai and turning your body into a throwing/distance/returning weapon, so you can flurry up to 100' away! And you can effectively teleport as an attack action, 'cuz you don't have to use returning if you don't wanna.

That's a really amusing idea. I like it. :)

If I had to say what I'd WANNA be, and if we were to dip outta Core, it'd be something more along the lines of a gestalt Unarmed Swordsage//Seer Psion/Slayer. Think "medieval wandering investigator/judge who can kick your ass with his blade, his body, and his mind." Not that I'm capable of doing any of those things IRL. And not that that build is necessarily a good build or even a legal build...

But that's neither here nor there. I'm just rambling. It's because I'm feeling happy. Today is a good day.