Say most of DnD was realworld. What would you choose to practice?

[randomhero00]

Personally I wouldn't risk the low levels of casters. Since this is "real world" I'm assuming I'm not traveling with a party, in other words I'm going solo. So I'd pick a melee type class, probably crusader (healing would just be too nice) from ToB. This is a choice you must make without knowing who you may end up with, or how it may change the world. Assume some DnD players get the same choice though. So major overhauls in power and economic stability. But you can't guarantee that you'll fight with a party (since not everyone would be selected).

Basically assuming you're rolling solo most to of the time what class levels would you pick? (early on)

NO MONSTERS just normal people, normal animals, and class levels.

Non-lethal = no exp

If you decide to play the more intelligent type (i.e. wizard) and group with other similar individuals expect betrayals for experience gain. Unless you can think of a real reason for creating some good organization for such, as well as how to advertise for such without being taken out by the evil/neutral sources for experience. .

SOME other DnDers are selected as well, but only about 10% at random. So you have no idea who is and who isn't. Who might be evil and want to kill you vs you might be an ally.

[Kobold-Bard]

Warlock.

I see the world as not going above level 5 so unlimited resources at a 250ft range would be nice. And Beguiling influence gives +6 to Diplomacy, which at lower levels is huge.

[randomhero00]

Warlock.

I see the world as not going above level 5 so unlimited resources at a 250ft range would be nice. And Beguiling influence gives +6 to Diplomacy, which at lower levels is huge.

Yeah but in real life, how would you know when to attack? Unless you're playing evil. You're not attacking first. Which means the range advantage is pointless. Unless you're planning on taking out a bunch of people. In which case snipers = way way better than 250 ft (as far as taking you out). Real world does not equal normal encounters. You wouldn't start at normal ranges in real world.

[Force]

Play a Cleric and take Touch of Healing. In my profession, being able to stabilize someone in the ER with a touch and a standard action would be huge.

[Kobold-Bard]

Yeah but in real life, how would you know when to attack? Unless you're playing evil. You're not attacking first. Which means the range advantage is pointless. Unless you're planning on taking out a bunch of people. In which case snipers = way way better than 250 ft (as far as taking you out). Real world does not equal normal encounters. You wouldn't start at normal ranges in real world.

I figured if we were getting class levels we'd be seeing monsters. Mercenary work ftw.

Though, depending on levels I might go Telepath into Thrallherd http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z257/kerisrain/other/evil.png

[Eldan]

Archivist or Bard.

Not even for the spells, really, though I'd love to have even low-level ones.

For the Lore and Knowledge skills. I love semi-useless trivia, and bards get tons of that.

And, of course, spells. Scholar's touch. Do you know how much time I spend reading textbooks? Even just reading one per day with a touch would be huge.

[Tyndmyr]

Personally I wouldn't risk the low levels of casters.

I would. Wizard, absolutely. With all sorts of delightful munchkining, and ur-priest/MT later on.

I would also seek power rapidly, and attempt to find others like me. I'd probably be ruling the world or dead inside two weeks. Possibly both.

[randomhero00]

Play a Cleric and take Touch of Healing. In my profession, being able to stabilize someone in the ER with a touch and a standard action would be huge.

I suppose you might help a ton of people but would you level up? You'd never be able to take on the evil people that rise to the top. Also, how would you hide the fact you could cast a spell and magically stabilize someone?

Still, that's probably the most altruistic answer, nice job.

But I think the evil people would soon find you out and kill you for experience.

[Curious]

+1. Wizard for the win, arcane might and tentacles. :smalltongue:

[Chess435]

I would. Wizard, absolutely. With all sorts of delightful munchkining, and ur-priest/MT later on.

I would also seek power rapidly, and attempt to find others like me. I'd probably be ruling the world or dead inside two weeks. Possibly both.

Agreed. I'd either go Wizard due to my nice IRL Int score, or artificer and get rich! :smallwink:

[randomhero00]

I figured if we were getting class levels we'd be seeing monsters. Mercenary work ftw.

Though, depending on levels I might go Telepath into Thrallherd http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z257/kerisrain/other/evil.png

No monsters in this scenario. Just other people and players. Assume military goes up to level 4, sometimes 5.

So you'd never level past 6 or so.

[randomhero00]

Agreed. I'd either go Wizard due to my nice IRL Int score, or artificer and get rich! :smallwink:

Assuming you really do have a high int score. Its something like 90% of people think they are above average. Although I'll give you that D&Ders probably are above average.

[Force]

I suppose you might help a ton of people but would you level up? You'd never be able to take on the evil people that rise to the top. Also, how would you hide the fact you could cast a spell and magically stabilize someone?

Still, that's probably the most altruistic answer, nice job.

But I think the evil people would soon find you out and kill you for experience.

I'm a nurse. Nothing stopping me from touching the patient in the course of my duties. I might not be able to pump in enough energy to actually fix wounds but being able to stabilize a patient (which in medical parlance probably means stop hemorrhage) would be enough.

As for leveling, nothing's stopping me from kicking butt when I'm off duty. ;) And heck, if I use my powers to heal, that's gotta be worth some roleplaying XP.

[Eldan]

Elephants are CR7. A tiger is CR4. An anaconda is somewhere around 5. Whales are 6 and 7.

Sure, Greenpeace would try to crucify you, but you're a mid-level wizard now, so they are welcome to try :smalltongue:

[randomhero00]

I would. Wizard, absolutely. With all sorts of delightful munchkining, and ur-priest/MT later on.

I would also seek power rapidly, and attempt to find others like me. I'd probably be ruling the world or dead inside two weeks. Possibly both.

How would you level past 1?

[Eldan]

Shooting cats. I think I can take one or two per day. They give me 75 XP a piece, if I kill two a day, I'm level two in a week. Then I could move up to dogs.

Hypothetically speaking, of course. I love animals.

[Kobold-Bard]

No monsters in this scenario. Just other people and players. Assume military goes up to level 4, sometimes 5.

So you'd never level past 6 or so.

Need to put that in the OP.

[Tyndmyr]

No monsters in this scenario. Just other people and players. Assume military goes up to level 4, sometimes 5.

So you'd never level past 6 or so.

No, no...I can pick a country and start killing my way through them. You don't stop getting xp till what, 4 levels over the encounter? So, I'd be like level 8 or 9 before I had to take on encounters with multiple soldiers at once.

Taking on multiple soldiers at once when you have access to Lesser Ironguard and can fly is fairly trivial.

I'd start out level 1 with power word:Pain, btw. Being able to nuke and hide/run gets me good odds on getting to level two. Combine this with charm person and mage armor.

[Chess435]

Assuming you really do have a high int score. Its something like 90% of people think they are above average. Although I'll give you that D&Ders probably are above average.

MENSA says I have an INT score of at least 17, if you factor in the statistical distribution of rolling 3d6 for stats. :smallwink:




@ Tyndmyr: Once we get to level 9 or so, we could take a trip to say, North Korea and level all the way to 20 from there. :smallcool:

[randomhero00]

Need to put that in the OP.

done....................

[randomhero00]

MENSA says I have an INT score of at least 17, if you factor in the statistical distribution of rolling 3d6 for stats. :smallwink:

Really? How does mensa figure D&D scores? i'd be really interested in that test. When I took mensa tests I was borderline genius personally. Somewhere in the upper 130s.

[Curious]

Mm, yeah. Sleep would be good. Just find some unsuspecting bugger and slit his throat. A few weeks of that, then level five, and you're golden. After level five or so its smooth sailing. Hypothetically that is. :smallwink:

[randomhero00]

No, no...I can pick a country and start killing my way through them. You don't stop getting xp till what, 4 levels over the encounter? So, I'd be like level 8 or 9 before I had to take on encounters with multiple soldiers at once.

Taking on multiple soldiers at once when you have access to Lesser Ironguard and can fly is fairly trivial.

I'd start out level 1 with power word:Pain, btw. Being able to nuke and hide/run gets me good odds on getting to level two. Combine this with charm person and mage armor.

errrrr so you're evil irl? :D

[Eldan]

Actually...

Given that ECL is calculated with 4 people, a single person can still get a lot of XP even at high level for an elephant.

Solo level 14 characters still get 350 XP from something that's CR7. So, you can get up to level 15 as a big game hunter. That's plenty enough.

Edit: not evil. Just pragmatic. Just imagine what a level 15 wizard could do for this world. I'll improve all their lives. Necessary sacrifices!

Bwahahaha!

[Alleine]

No monsters in this scenario. Just other people and players. Assume military goes up to level 4, sometimes 5.

So you'd never level past 6 or so.

Until all the powerhungry wizards stage nonlethal duels with each other and begin gaining xp that way. Hey, its an encounter, and you beat it! Congrats, you're on your way to world domination.

I'd probably go artificer. That way I could build all sorts of fun and useful things. And more importantly, I'd have a chance to escape from the planet before the wizards take over. Helloooo stronghold builders guide. :smallbiggrin:

[randomhero00]

Elephants are CR7. A tiger is CR4. An anaconda is somewhere around 5. Whales are 6 and 7.

Sure, Greenpeace would try to crucify you, but you're a mid-level wizard now, so they are welcome to try :smalltongue:

Best point so far. Youre at best good, at worst neutral for leveling up that way. Big game safari here I come!

[Cespenar]

Mystic Theurge. Unlike D&D, being able to cast lots of low level spells would actually be a good thing in real life, I'd guess.

[randomhero00]

Until all the powerhungry wizards stage nonlethal duels with each other and begin gaining xp that way. Hey, its an encounter, and you beat it! Congrats, you're on your way to world domination.

I'd probably go artificer. That way I could build all sorts of fun and useful things. And more importantly, I'd have a chance to escape from the planet before the wizards take over. Helloooo stronghold builders guide. :smallbiggrin:

nonlethal=no exp IIRC as its not really considered a challenge.

[Chess435]

MENSA scoring is based on what percentile of the general population taking the test you fit in. Membership is determined by the top 2% of the test takers. Assuming everyone rolls 3d6 for all their INT score, you end up with the following distribution:

3: 0.5% (actually 0.46, or 1 in 216, but rounded off for this table)
4: 1.4%
5: 2.8%
6: 4.6%
7: 6.9%
8: 9.7%
9: 11.6%
10: 12.5%
11: 12.5%
12: 11.6%
13: 9.7%
14: 6.9%
15: 4.6%
16: 2.8%
17: 1.4%
18: 0.5% (as 3’s note above)

So in theory, the lowest INT score you can have while still qualifying for MENSA is a high 16.

[Eldan]

Right. Can you give us the IQs for that as well? I'm too lazy to track them down right now.

[Chess435]

Right. Can you give us the IQs for that as well? I'm too lazy to track them down right now.

All IQ tests are different, which is why MENSA uses the percentile scale.

[randomhero00]

Shooting cats. I think I can take one or two per day. They give me 75 XP a piece, if I kill two a day, I'm level two in a week. Then I could move up to dogs.

Hypothetically speaking, of course. I love animals.

Cats are not a challenge IRL therefore give no exp.

[druid91]

OP there is one very important detail you have neglected... Are we the only ones with this choice?

Because face it. A handful of people following D&D rules could tear through the current power structures on earth like a superheated chainsword through tissue paper.

[Chess435]

OP there is one very important detail you have neglected... Are we the only ones with this choice?

Because face it. A handful of people following D&D rules could tear through the current power structures on earth like a superheated chainsword through tissue paper.

Or one high-level wizard. :smallbiggrin:

[randomhero00]

OP there is one very important detail you have neglected... Are we the only ones with this choice?

Because face it. A handful of people following D&D rules could tear through the current power structures on earth like a superheated chainsword through tissue paper.

SOME other D&Ders (say 10%) are selected to gain class levels. So its rare, but they're out there. And its tough to distinguish who's who.

Edit: I would imagine most would be paranoid. Not wanting to be subject to government testing or whatever. So most would probably keep their identity secret.

[TheGeckoKing]

Death Master (Dragon Compendium) with Precocious Apprentice as my 1st level feat. Animate Dead at 1st level, booya! (Go Dragon Mag and it's poor balance!)

[Chess435]

Edit: I would imagine most would be paranoid. Not wanting to be subject to government testing or whatever. So most would probably keep their identity secret.



Until we decide to take over the world.

Or Galaxy.

Or Universe.

Or - you get the point!

[Amiria]

I'd be a bard.

Making music is fun and bards are usually welcome in most places. Good skill points, nifty spellcasting and Inspire Courage (probably +4 at low level with that spell, that feat and that item).

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j179/Kotzgeist/Amiria_GOTH.gif

[randomhero00]

Until we decide to take over the world.

Or Galaxy.

Or Universe.

Or - you get the point!

at level 1? How would you level without showing your cards before they're meant to be?

[Curious]

Nobody notices another poacher, or serial killer, or cat-murderer. It's just a matter of time.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Druid. Healing is really nice, goodberry is awesome, and I'm sure I could level-up easily enough. Ecoterrorism ftw.

[Land Outcast]

Bard, know it:
Perform (string instruments) plus Diplomacy plus Bardic Knowledge...
And I even got spells! I can even cast healing spells!
What's not to like?

Non combat encounters, here I go!

[Kobold-Bard]

at level 1? How would you level without showing your cards before they're meant to be?

How many people are murdered every day? If most people are Commoners or Experts they have at most 8HP. Any PC class can get through that easy without taking injury. Just go wandering around your country of choice, murdering at random.

[Kris Strife]

Dragon Flame Adept, go fight wild animals to level up. :smallamused:

[Eldan]

Cats are not a challenge IRL therefore give no exp.

They sure do. CR 1/4. For a single character, as I said, 75 Xp.

[Pentachoron]

Really I'd take any class necessary to get to me to being able to be a Lich (LA doesn't really matter in the real world and when you have eternity), just not a Dread Necromancer, don't need to be waiting til level 20 if I can just max out Knowledge (Arcana) and figure out how to do the ritual at really low levels.

[randomhero00]

Let's add in the fact that the government would be sending the NSA after you. If you aren't willing to cooperate they kill you from miles away with a sniper.

They'd be very interested in this new power structure. Do not underestimate what money power can buy.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Haha, just saw the "animals for exp" posts. I think it supports my choice of druid that I went the exact opposite route.

EDIT: How does the government know who we are or where to find us?

[randomhero00]

They sure do. CR 1/4. For a single character, as I said, 75 Xp.

Cats do not give experience in the real world. Maybe in the game they do. But not IRL. Anything that is not a challenge does not give experience. Period.

[Curious]

If the government in already involved, then sure, I would cooperate if I could not escape them. Then, after I've done enough experimenting or whatever to raise my level, I would blast my way through them without a care in the world, on my way to conquering the universe.

[Obscurejones]

Are Races allowed if they're relatively near the human norm?

[druid91]

But anyway... I'd go psychic warrior myself.

And then level up by applying laser technology to deer cranium. Once that was no longer enough for XP I'd move up to something tougher but equally easily dispatched with appropriate tactics.

I'd take expanded knowledge for true mind switch. And clone myself....

[Eldan]

Cats do not give experience in the real world. Maybe in the game they do. But not IRL. Anything that is not a challenge does not give experience. Period.

You do know that, if we follow D&D rules, cats have a very good chance of killing a commoner?

[Tyndmyr]

errrrr so you're evil irl? :D

Good, evil, I'd be the guy with all the xp. And hey, I'd have to qualify for Ur-Priest anyhow, so I might as well enjoy my trip to the deep end of the alignment pool.

And hey, I'd at least pick targets that I figured were generally badish to start with. You need an environment that is target rich, but not too target rich, though. IE, so you can pick your encounters. You ideally want to have as many as you have level 1 spells for the day, as with PW:Pain, there is no real chance of failure against targets with <50 hp. Sure, I'd have cantrips to back it up, and abrupt jaunt for survivability, but you don't want to run too close to dry, and firearms do a lot of damage.

So, I figure I'd hit level two in 2-3 days. Level 3 in 1-2 days after that, and a slowly increasing leveling rate afterwards as I grow increasingly capable of large, back to back encounters.

I'd probably pick up Craft Wonderous Item early on, too, and go nuts with crafting eternal wands. Truly limitless power would be the goal, naturally.

[Morph Bark]

So in theory, the lowest INT score you can have while still qualifying for MENSA is a high 16.

...nice knowing that my Int modifier is either the same or one more than the other members of my family.


EDIT: Also, Locate City Bombing maximum security prisons, totally on my to-do list. :D

[Ajadea]

Generalist Wizard. MENSA bookworm here, so I'd be good at it too. I'd prefer cleric to heal things, but my Wisdom is crud.

Considering my lack of willingness to kill things, roleplaying XP would be my only source of leveling. Doesn't matter. Unseen servant deals with chores, scholar's touch does my reading for me, expeditious retreat will keep me from being late to school, mending repairs all the spineless books I have, and prestidigitation can make D&D minis.

[drakir_nosslin]

Druid, going with the cat-killing route. Then moving on to swarms of rats or something that a blasty spell can take care of.
A wolf companion will be all the meat shield I need.

Or wizard... :smallamused:

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Really, it's just nonsense unless one absolutely conforms to the other; in the real world, there's no such thing as HP and getting shot in the head will almost definitely kill you. A critical hit from a 2d6 or 2d8 weapon stands a pretty good chance of not killing you after a couple levels, in D&D.

[Tyndmyr]

Honestly, you know that the first three words after discovering this(by a lot of us) would be "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".

[Morph Bark]

He's going to be a busy demon...

[Tyndmyr]

Now, pun pun won't work since presumably no Sarruks exist on our earth, it not being FR, but I'd be cool with, yknow, asking for a feat or something. Even if it's toughness.

[Chess435]

The deep end of the alignment pool is tempting, but I'll probably work out a way to level up while staying NG. It'll probably be a bit more difficult than If I went CE, but less chance of getting killed, at least until those on the deep end of the alignment pool come to power.

[Curious]

I think this is actually an excellent social experiment; how many people would just burn the world around them if given the power and the opportunity? A lot, it seems. Can't say I blame them either, the lure of infinite power is probably enough for me to take a dive down the deep end.

[druid91]

Let's add in the fact that the government would be sending the NSA after you. If you aren't willing to cooperate they kill you from miles away with a sniper.

They'd be very interested in this new power structure. Do not underestimate what money power can buy.

Ok. well let's tackle this problem.

At low levels I would be extremely hard to find out. How many murders go unsolved all the time?

Once I get to mid levels is whe they might find me. and the the snipers have the unenviable task of killing someone Just as good as they are who has the added advantage of being abe to pull rifles and even nukes out of thin air.

Heck a psi-warrior could pull that threat as early as first level.

[TheGeckoKing]

To go further with my Death Master/Animate Dead at 1st level, I think i'd Pazuzu myself into an Elan, and just go "Forget it, i'm hiding until everyone else with powers is dead."

[Chess435]

The rest of us Non-CE people would have to find a way to defend against the use of eschew materials and major creation in order to create anti-osmium method of destroying the world, among others.

[Curious]

Hm, I bet your average elite sniper would probably be a third or fourth level fighter. Probably some pretty good xp there. Actually, now that the thought crosses my mind, you could just join the military and ship over to Afghanistan or someplace and earn your xp legitimately.

[kestrel404]

This has been done before. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168990) I still say that Spell-to-power Erudite is the ideal choice in this circumstance, so long as others who have chosen arcane spellcasters are available to steal spells from.

[Tyndmyr]

I wouldn't just burn the world. I like the world. But I'm ok with the sacrifices of others for me to gain ultimate power. At least, under certain situations. IE, people I don't know that are working for somewhere baddish to begin with. Already in the military, so Im sure I could arrange to find some targets.

The one spell that would be a real problem is Mindrape, though. That's like the nuclear bomb of the magical world.

[Chess435]

To go further with my Death Master/Animate Dead at 1st level, I think i'd Pazuzu myself into an Elan, and just go "Forget it, i'm hiding until everyone else with powers is dead."

Unless someone found a way to ascend to godhood, in which all of us, including you, would probably be screwed. Not to mention how much it'd tick off the major RL religions.

[druid91]

Hm, I bet your average elite sniper would probably be a third or fourth level fighter. Probably some pretty good xp there. Actually, now that the thought crosses my mind, you could just join the military and ship over to Afghanistan or someplace and earn your xp legitimately.

I don't know about you. but I'd be staying away from anything gvernment if I had powers.

[The Endbringer Xaraphim]

I'd be a wizard, kill my way up the chain until I was offing elephants, etc.
You can get XP from something 7 levels below you, so if you hunt down enough giant squid (CR 9) then you could get to level 16 (assuming that many giant squid exist on Earth).

Around that point you could just start summoning things and ordering them to kill you, then defend yourself.

[Curious]

True enough. I'd be bust killing cats and such, until ultimate arcane power was mine. Then of course, I would have to contend with Tyndmyr and his diabolical genius, but I'm game. The rewards are definitely worth it.

[Chess435]

I don't know about you. but I'd be staying away from anything gvernment if I had powers.

Agreed. As much as I trust the government, I've seen far too many movies to try to work for them.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Now, pun pun won't work since presumably no Sarruks exist on our earth, it not being FR, but I'd be cool with, yknow, asking for a feat or something. Even if it's toughness.

Oh, really? (http://www.truthism.com/)

[TheGeckoKing]

Unless someone found a way to ascend to godhood, in which all of us, including you, would probably be screwed. Not to mention how much it'd tick off the major RL religions.

You imply I didn't attempt to gain Godhood via a Pazuzu'd Candle of Invocation. :smallbiggrin:

Actually, thinking about it, I could make money in a circus!

"Watch The Amazing Gecko King, as he starves himself for an entire year!"

And forget the religions. Nerull is the only god I serve now :smallamused:

[Thrawn183]

Play a Cleric and take Touch of Healing. In my profession, being able to stabilize someone in the ER with a touch and a standard action would be huge.

In a world where everyone bleeds out in a maximum of a minute, that's probably not going to be of much use.

[Magic Myrmidon]

I'd go beguiler, wizard, or psion. Enchantment focus on all of them. Seems most useful in real life. Plus I love all of those classes.

[Forum Explorer]

Which class lets me take Craft: Genisis? Than I would create all the monsters for fun.

Or go as a wizard and troll atheists with celestial summons.

I would get XP as an exterminator. Rat swarms, spider swarms and such are good xp for low levels.


Also would I get XP for not killing someone and defeating them if they are trying to kill me?

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

As for bleeding out, that is what I mean about the rules of one needing to be subjugated to those of the other.


Am I the only person who would rather level-up by killing people who deserve it than randomly slaughtering animals?

[Chess435]

I just got a mental of image of someone using a shocking grasp handshake on various world leaders. :smallsigh:

[Tyndmyr]

True enough. I'd be bust killing cats and such, until ultimate arcane power was mine. Then of course, I would have to contend with Tyndmyr and his diabolical genius, but I'm game. The rewards are definitely worth it.

I'd be ok with other people having ludicrous power...as long I was fairly certain they were not a threat to me. Even if I ascended to godhood, I wouldn't try to kill off everyone at level one. Oh no. I'd much rather put in place a hierarchy to help people acheive a reasonable level of power in return for adherence to reasonable rules.

I suppose I'd end up LE. That's cool. Some order will be the first thing people probably want after people start busting out magic all over the place.

It strikes me that the giant squid thing is probably difficult. They live quite deep, and are fairly rare. You could do it, but it'd be time consuming. I'd rely on the "two CR x creatures in an encounter results in one CR X+2 encounter" instead. Because taking out 16 level ones is quite doable, and much, much easier to find.

[Eldan]

I think this is actually an excellent social experiment; how many people would just burn the world around them if given the power and the opportunity? A lot, it seems. Can't say I blame them either, the lure of infinite power is probably enough for me to take a dive down the deep end.

I don't want to burn the world. I love animals, and I'd hate myself for killing endangered ones. But the benefits the world could have from just a single level 15 spellcaster...

Example:
Find a way to bump your craft skills into the 30s. Take heap of raw materials. Cast Fabricate. Create supercomputer.

Create food out of nowhere. Or fuel. Or rare metals.

Use Control Weather to fight climate change. Irrigate the Sahara desert with control water and a few storm spells of some kind.

[Pentachoron]

I think this is actually an excellent social experiment; how many people would just burn the world around them if given the power and the opportunity? A lot, it seems. Can't say I blame them either, the lure of infinite power is probably enough for me to take a dive down the deep end.

I actually don't think many of the people that were taking more evil routes, myself included, had any intent to burn the world down, just to acquire large sums of power and live comfortably.

[Telonius]

So, a small number of people upgrading to D&D classes, no actual monsters to fight, and no XP from anything but lethal combat.

First thing I'd do would be to find and kill Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul. Clearly they'd be the two biggest threats. :smallbiggrin:

I'd probably go for Cleric (Maybe of Sune). Even if I did stay at level 1 my whole life, there are some really useful things on the Cleric spell list. And the opportunity to mess with other religious figures is just too great to pass up.

[Eldan]

Problems with randomly killing animals?

I'm a biologist. I can probably get access to lab rats who need to be killed anyway. Maybe become a veterinary and put down dogs.

Edit: randomly chosen D&D players... suddenly I'm afraid of Vin Diesel.

[Kobold-Bard]

I don't want to burn the world. I love animals, and I'd hate myself for killing endangered ones. But the benefits the world could have from just a single level 15 spellcaster...

Example:
Find a way to bump your craft skills into the 30s. Take heap of raw materials. Cast Fabricate. Create supercomputer.

Create food out of nowhere. Or fuel. Or rare metals.

Use Control Weather to fight climate change. Irrigate the Sahara desert with control water and a few storm spells of some kind.

Create Food traps.
Teleportation.
Curing disease.

Essentially this game leads to the Tippyverse. People like Tyndmyr become Tippy because they got their first, all other people with power who had the sense to pick a caster class become the next rung of society, other people with PC classes below them, then big game to keep the casters going, then everyone else.

[Forum Explorer]

As for bleeding out, that is what I mean about the rules of one needing to be subjugated to those of the other.


Am I the only person who would rather level-up by killing people who deserve it than randomly slaughtering animals?

Who deserves it becomes the question. Plus you get less XP for commoners than say a bear that it causing problems.

[Eldan]

Actually, the one who first manages to dominate or mindrape other casters wins.

[calar]

Wizard, unquestionably (I basically am one already :smalltongue:). I'd be a transmutation specialist with necromancy and enchantment banned. Probably aiming for Swiftblade prestige class. Id roam around the country training and seeing the world.

Id make it past level one with my uncanny high dex score. :smallbiggrin:

[Stallion]

For practicality and keeping my head down, I'd either go fighter/ninja/shadowdancer and work for the military covertly or go pure cleric with the travel and trickery domains and quite possibly do the same. Being able to be truly unseen in this world is invaluable, especially in that kind of work, where leveling up would be legitimate and quite possibly very quick.

[Tyndmyr]

Actually, the one who first manages to dominate or mindrape other casters wins.

My one of my ultimate goals would be to dispose of mindrape. Dominate is detectable, and not permanent. It's still powerful, but mindrape is really the holy grail. I would need to make that spell not exist. If this means burning every spellbook containing it, Im ok with that.

Presumably everyone with 8th level+ spells would be making use of Mind Blank constantly, though.

For those who have read Wanted, I see evil casters as ending up like the evil ruler of the Americas. They have whatever they want...but they end up using that power to build supertech and so forth. Sure, terrible things are done by people lower on the totem pole, but they're not that horrible in the end. Evil, but not a jerk about it.

[Eldan]

I absolutely agree. The spell is not only totally broken, it's an abomination against everything I'd like to believe in.

However, it's just so powerful that, well, whoever gets it wins. That's the sad truth, really.

Edit: Wanted not that bad? What about all the rape and murder?

[Lord.Sorasen]

Cats do not give experience in the real world. Maybe in the game they do. But not IRL. Anything that is not a challenge does not give experience. Period.

Dogs then. Train them for war. Then put them with you in a cage and blow them up. Continue as needed until you can move up a level.

There's no way an attack dog isn't a threat. Sure you're confident you can win, but there's still a chance you could err and die, and that's all it takes.


Now, on topic: I would be a cloistered cleric. The ability to learn more easily (since knowledge is not a class skill for commoners, which is what I assume I am now.) combined with the ability to heal people with my cure light wounds (which, note, is d8+1. If we're talking ordinary people with character classes, that could heal people fully pretty easily.) You might ask "What about stronger people!?" I don't care. Not at all. Legendary people get legendary doctors with their legendary cashflow. For the ordinary person in the ordinary non-awesome world, I would have a comfortable position.

[Tyndmyr]

Oh, sure, there was that. But you'll note that none of that was actually done by the character I'm referencing...and can't think of the name of. Nah, he was busy with superweapons, dealing with elaborate plots to win the support of the others at his level of power, and planning interdimensional heists.

The bad things that happened to everyday people were a result of those lower on the totem pole. People that were new to power, and were overcompensating. Or, in the case of the notable antagonist, were irredeemably evil in a psychopathic way.

Edit: Lord.Sorasen, you've got a solid idea. Certain people will always be comfortable. Healing types. Magic item creators. Yup, the only problem you'll have is dealing with the demand.

[Forum Explorer]

My one of my ultimate goals would be to dispose of mindrape. Dominate is detectable, and not permanent. It's still powerful, but mindrape is really the holy grail. I would need to make that spell not exist. If this means burning every spellbook containing it, Im ok with that.

Presumably everyone with 8th level+ spells would be making use of Mind Blank constantly, though.

For those who have read Wanted, I see evil casters as ending up like the evil ruler of the Americas. They have whatever they want...but they end up using that power to build supertech and so forth. Sure, terrible things are done by people lower on the totem pole, but they're not that horrible in the end. Evil, but not a jerk about it.

Haven't read Wanted but I agree with the disposal of mindrape. It is a horrible spell. At high levels I might start hunting after people who were misusing their power in order to level up. I would also collect as many other people who agreed with me to help in this.

[Eldan]

As I said... if we go by D&D rules, the cat has a good chance to get a drop on you, between it's great stealth (+16 hide!) and high initiative. It's attacks deal one damage, sure, but it has three per round and most of us have a handful of hit points only. If we can't kill it in the first round (not that easy, with AC 14), we're pretty dead.

[Tyndmyr]

Not worried. For instance, cats don't attack me, generally speaking. I assume cats wont suddenly become rabid and hostile.

Also, you can initiate combat with them from range, if you're a cat-hunter(though that seems an odd choice). That shifts the odds significantly.

[Handsome Pete]

All IQ tests are different, which is why MENSA uses the percentile scale.

Most IQ tests are standardized, with the mean at 100. And if you go by the bell curve, 68% of the population are within 1 standard deviation, 95% within 2 sd's, 99.7% with 3. On a test like the Wechsler, the mean is 100, the standard deviation is 15. Someone else can do the math, I'm just busy enough right now not to.

[Chess435]

Now THAT, Forum Explorer, seems like a decent way to level up. If I ever somehow become a 1st level wizard, I'll give you a call. :smallwink:

[Force]

After hitting level 3, I submit we all join up and officially begin instituting the Tippyverse. Pick one of the countries currently in turmoil, head on over, and make use of the turmoil and our various arcane/divine abilities to level up continuously until the country is secured. Rinse, wash, repeat until we control half the world, then, well, Dominate here we come.

[calar]

Im pretty sure sparring, despite it not being life or death, would give experience.

[SamsDisciple]

Returning to the concept of most people are low levels then I would probably be a paladin and work for an organization because I wont have any non explainable powers that can't be adequately attributed to my faith in God and I will get my experience in legitimate ways. Though the whole nonlethal=no exp really doesn't add up because real life black ops have a significantly higher chance to hit than the difference between level one commoner and level 4 warrior

[Chess435]

After hitting level 3, I submit we all join up and officially begin instituting the Tippyverse. Pick one of the countries currently in turmoil, head on over, and make use of the turmoil and our various arcane/divine abilities to level up continuously until the country is secured. Rinse, wash, repeat until we control half the world, then, well, Dominate here we come.

Egypt anyone?

[Tyndmyr]

Im pretty sure sparring, despite it not being life or death, would give experience.

I believe it does, as per RAW. There are non-lethal dueling rules for magic, certainly. IIRC, it grants half xp, but it's been a while since I've read it. It also states that accidents do happen, though it does not give rules for the details of that.

So, presumably there is some risk of death involved, though certainly lower than in many situations.

[Chess435]

Once people got to be high-enough level for resurrection magic, things would get interesting......

[Eldan]

The question is:

Can we clone enough elephants to get the entire playground to level 15?

[Tyndmyr]

Yes. If the ability to bring people back from the dead doesn't have grave implications, I don't know what does. I do hope you'll forgive the pun.

For one thing, you could sell an entirely different form of life insurance. Let's just say that high level divine slots would be worth a *lot* of money.

Also, PETA is gonna hate the playground so much...

[Lord Vampyre]

I would stick to Archivist/Wizard/Mystic Theurge. At 20 I'd have 9th level spells in both classes, plus the additional versatility would be helpful.

As for xp, with all of the Tier 1 casters around, it wouldn't be long before creatures other than the standard stock started showing up, especially undead. I would probably spend my time killing the creations of others, and only kill their creators if the need arose.

[Kobold-Bard]

...
Also, PETA is gonna hate the playground so much...

Eh, someone just homebrews a Raise Animal spell, shouldn't be too taxing. Could probably even be free. Then you just kill the same elephant over and over.

[Pentachoron]

Eh, someone just homebrews a Raise Animal spell, shouldn't be too taxing. Could probably even be free. Then you just kill the same elephant over and over.

Pretty sure PETA would still hate us for even that.

[Kobold-Bard]

Pretty sure PETA would still hate us for even that.

Eh, who cares what PETA think when you can shoot fire out of your backside.

[Chess435]

The Mystic Theurge does seem like a good idea, though I'd probably want to find an INT-based divine casting class due to the fact that my WIS is horrible and my CHA mediocre at best.

Also, I bet there would be a frenzy to get AMF's on important places. Which is why I'd take Initiate of Mystara the first chance I get.

[Morph Bark]

I wonder who, in this universe, would be the homebrewers. :smallamused:

[Tyndmyr]

Eh, someone just homebrews a Raise Animal spell, shouldn't be too taxing. Could probably even be free. Then you just kill the same elephant over and over.

That does sound like a bad deal from the perspective of the elephant.

[Chess435]

I wonder who, in this universe, would be the homebrewers. :smallamused:

Good question...... how would that work? Probably the simplest situation is that homebrew doesn't function, but still........

[Callista]

Non-lethal=no exp?

In that case, Expert 1 and a job as a town healer or craftsman somewhere. I'm not gonna go murdering random people for XP, thank you very much.

If there was actually a reason to fight and kill things, rather than incapacitating them and dragging them to the town guard, I'd go Wizard. It's the only class I really have the stats for, having dumped both charisma and dexterity, and with only an average strength score. And, unlike more physical classes, I'd actually have the drive to excel at it because of the intellectual challenge. I'd get utterly bored learning to use a bow or a sword after the novelty value wore off.

Actually, come to think of it, I'd be just as likely to go for Artificer; I already have the knack for gadgetry that comes with being an engineer, and combining that with the laws of nature in the new reality (i.e., magic) would make Artificer.

Other likely classes... hmm, well, at first I thought cleric because I've got the Wisdom score for it and am a pretty religious person, but then I realized--no way would I switch deities. So if I had to go for something religious, it'd have to be paladin or cleric of a cause; I have the alignment for paladin, but definitely not the stats. So, something wizardish, most likely.

But that's only if there's actually a reason to fight. I'm not the sort of person who will go adventuring just for the fun of it. I have to have a darn good reason to take my nose out of my books--usually something to do with people getting hurt or killed, or needing help some other way. The promise of riches and fame just won't do it for me--neither one is worth getting killed or killing others for.

[Chess435]

I'm tempted to put together a 20 level build of myself now. One question: Can I use archivist levels to qualify for Initiate of Mystara?

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Who deserves it becomes the question. Plus you get less XP for commoners than say a bear that it causing problems.

Well, yeah, but deciding becomes the answer. =P

Also, a ship full of level 1 whalers is worth more exp than one bear. =D


Eh, who cares what PETA think when you can shoot fire out of your backside.

Druids can, too. That's who cares.

[Eldan]

Well, one too many "I decide who lives or dies, and in my eyes, you have lost the right to live! Die, fools!" and you are evil. And probably lawful.

That said, going insane is probably not a bad idea.

[Lord Vampyre]

The Mystic Theurge does seem like a good idea, though I'd probably want to find an INT-based divine casting class due to the fact that my WIS is horrible and my CHA mediocre at best.

This is the reason you go Archivist. Archivist is the Wizard's version of a Cleric, and works pretty much the same way. It also has the added benefit of being able to prepare any Divine spell, if they can find a scroll of it somewhere.

[0Megabyte]

The world has changed. And yet I only found out about it on accident. It's ridiculous how that works, right? One day the laws of nature work the way they always have, and then -BAM- people on the giants in the playground forum are talking about gaining the powers of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition classes.

At first, of course, I thought it was a joke. Some elaborate ARG or something that was being played. Maybe even an actual campaign going into overdrive. It sounded really fun.

However, as I surfed the web, and read the New York Times as I always did, strange things kept coming to my attention. The news was getting strange. Talk of people doing extraordinary things. A guy actually walked in to James Randi's office and took his million dollar prize for proving the supernatural exists. I was annoyed. If the supernatural was real, I kind of wanted that million dollars!

So, I made my decision. If the world was really changing -if Dungeons and Dragons classes were really real now- then I had to get in on this. There was no way I was missing out. I would become something powerful. Something useful.

But what? I knew that at the moment I didn't have the physical stamina to be some sort of fighter. Of course if that had been the case I would have chosen Warblade. Of course, even if I had chosen it, how would I get the class? I'm 23! You need years of training, don't you?

I kept going down the list. I started with the core classes. Rogue? Not sneaky enough. Paladin? I'm an atheist. Barbarian? No thanks. Sorcerer? Maybe... Wizard? I could do that, too. I went on to non-core. Warlocks? If I had a soul, I'd rather not lose it, thanks. Dragon Shaman? Archivist? Dread Necromancer?

As I dilly-dallied and thought on it, the world was turning. The revolution in Lybia had changed gears, as people with strange powers appeared and started fighting on both sides. China had instituted a state of emergency. President Obama went on television and started talking about the strange events, telling people not to panic.

There was no time to lose, and if I wanted in on this I needed to get in now. Something quick. Something easy. Something that could get me both the power and the flexibility I needed to live in these chaotic times, even without a group of allies. Speaking of allies, a member of my own D&D group had already become some kind of necromancer. Dread necromancer, I guessed. All I knew was that he was killing people, and summoning freaking skeletons, and I was sitting here thinking of what class I was going to choose.

So, I walked into the university library and started looking. It took me hours. It took me days. I stopped working on my schoolwork, it didn't matter. I searched, and searched, researching the vital components. It took time. I had to piece together hidden fragments of knowledge. I had to use my intuition to read between the lines. I had to guess, and experiment. But, finally, I found my own source of power. One that was easy. One that didn't require me to do any training, once I knew how to do it. One that gave me unprecedented flexibility.

As the world outside me continued to spiral into chaos, I made my first seal. And, as I stood outside of it, I uttered the right words for the first time. I was startled as it began to glow. My heart began to race, faster than ever before. When the vestige appeared, I felt like I was going to pass out. But, I steeled myself, and made my first pact.

As the vestige was bound to me, I felt its power flowing in my body. I'd succeeded. I stepped out into the world, looking like a completely different person. (Literally, for today I had bound Naberius.) With my handgun at my side, I headed towards the stronghold of the dread necromancer terrorizing my school. I was going to make him an offer he couldn't refuse...

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah. I've gotta actually do the build.

First off, Im human. That's clear enough, and I probably wouldn't change it if I could. Twenty level build is as follows:

1. Wizard. Spec Conjurer for Abrupt Jaunt. Banned schools: Necromancy, Abjuration. Yup, I know abj isn't traditional. Don't care. Feats: Iron Will, Spell Focus(evil) Known spells: Charm person, True Strike, PW: Pain, mage armor, w/e for the rest.
2. Moar Wizard.
3. Moar Wizard. Feat: Craft Wondrous Item. Yup, I can now make eternal wands, so every day, my endurance will be extended via items as well as by leveling up.
4. Wizard
5. Sorc.
6. Ultimate Magus Feat: Practiced Spellcaster-for sorc, obviously.
7. Ultimate Magus
8. Ultimate Magus
9. Ultimate Magus Feat: Improved Init
10. Ultimate Magus Bonus Feat: Invisible Spell
11. Ur-Priest
12. Mystic Theurge Feat: Quicken Spell
13. Mystic Theurge
14. Mystic Theurge
15. Mystic Theurge Feat: Extend Spell
16. Mystic Theurge
17. Mystic Theurge
18. Mystic Theurge Feat: Persist Spell
19. Mystic Theurge
20. Mystic Theurge

This gets me 9th level spells for both wizard and cleric(effective 17th level wizard, though CL 18...19 for evil spells.), and I'm an effective 4th level sorc(albeit casting at CL 9). Furthermore, my sorc spells will be drawn exclusively from the banned schools, which together with divine casting should most overcome such limitations. I will have a ridiculous volume of casting available.

Edit: Going into Epic, I'd almost certainly jump back into Ultimate Magus. But, yknow, it's epic. Everything gets silly at that point. Invoke Magic would be learned at the first opportunity.

Edit2: Taking two levels of ur-priest is tempting. I still get dual nines if I change around the order of my sorc level so I can pick up practiced spellcaster for it earlier, but I also have turn undead, which means I can use DMM. Seems like a reasonable trade for losing second level soc spells.

[Doug Lampert]

Personally I wouldn't risk the low levels of casters.

Why not? If you really think the extra TWO WHOLE HP ftr1 gives over Clr1 is the difference between life and death, take toughness for your feat.

Done. You're now tougher as a cleric than you would be as a fighter.


Mystic Theurge. Unlike D&D, being able to cast lots of low level spells would actually be a good thing in real life, I'd guess.

It would be if you actually got more useful spells.
Wiz3/Clc3/Mt3 gets 19 spells of level 1 or higher (plus 6 bonus spells from abilities assuming Int and Wis are both 16-19).
Clc9 (same level character) gets 19 spells of level 1 or higher (plus 6 bonus spells from abilities assuming Wis is 20).

Notice anything about those numbers? And the Cleric 9 has MASS versions of things the MT casts one at a time, and longer durations, and higher save DCs.

Try it yourself for other levels, the MT passes slightly ahead at even character levels, and falls back to roughly even or behind at most odd levels. By the time a MT actually has substantially more spells the Wiz is NEVER actually running dry.

And the MT SUCKS at levels 4-6.

DougL

[Eldan]

Damn. Why didn't I think of Randi first.

[Kobold-Bard]

...

:smalleek:

That.

Was.

AWESOME!!

:biggrin:

[Eldan]

So, assuming that only playground people were affected.

Would we found a shadowy cabal of elephant-hunters and secret world-improvers, or would we go public? I think the people here are, on average, mature and reasonable, so I think we should be able to cooperate, at least initially.

Then I will mindrape everyone into cooperating forever and mindrape myself into forgetting I had done it, and forgetting the mindrape spell.

[0Megabyte]

If it was something like this, I'd assume that everyone was affected. The entire world. However, only those like us who know how this new world works are able to take advantage of it.

It would make a great story, though. I was surprised nobody else had put their transformation into narrative form yet! :smallbiggrin:

[Tyndmyr]

See, that's the exact reason I wouldn't be a fan of working too closely with anyone outside my usual gaming group(assuming they also got powers). At least, until I have mind blank. Then any attempt to affect my mind would be met by a horrible, horrible fate.

[Curious]

Awesome.

Holy crap. You. . . Are. . . Amazing. You sir, deserve an award.

[0Megabyte]

See, that's the exact reason I wouldn't be a fan of working too closely with anyone outside my usual gaming group(assuming they also got powers). At least, until I have mind blank. Then any attempt to affect my mind would be met by a horrible, horrible fate.

to be fair, I wouldn't trust anyone within my RL gaming group. Remember how I made one of them into a villain? He really is that way, I believe. One of the others is in ROTC, and he might be an ally... for awhile. But I'm not sure how real power would affect him. The third is potentially a force for good, though I don't have a good read on him. The fourth would probably take the power and run. He's rather mild mannered, so I'd not be surprised if he hid.

Anyway, in the initial battle against our CE Dread Necro, I could probably get them to join me in fighting him. I'd bind Savnok for that battle, though, hoping that AC works the same way, even against guns. Then again, that's some REALLY heavy armor... maybe I could wrangle kevlar instead of full-plate from Savnok? :smallbiggrin:

Anyway, after that things might get sketchy. I'm not sure what would happen, but we might be able to work together. At least that's what I'd hope.


Holy crap. You. . . Are. . . Amazing. You sir, deserve an award.


:smalleek:

That.

Was.

AWESOME!!

:biggrin:


Why thank you, guys! I hope I'm not the only one to do something like this, though. It's too good an opportunity for creative writing.

[Curious]

Heck, put that way, how can I say no! Give me a little while to get something down and I'll post it gladly.

[TheGeckoKing]

By the time anyone's got Mindrape, i've got immunity via Necropolitan-hood. Because i'm EEEEEEEEEVIL like that :smallbiggrin:

Hell, I might take the Lich template instead, as this is more themed about surviving than real power. Make my phylactery a grain of sand, and take a few Reserve Feats if I don't want to burn up spells on trivial tasks. Because going around blowing up deserts to get me is just asking for trouble from nicer folk who don't like their deserts blown up.
I'd call myself "The Specter of the Sand" :smallcool:

[Sinpoder]

Well....... just because I think Paladin/Grayguard are the most badass thing on the planet that is what I would most likely become. I would walk the earth, or fly or whatever and I would kill all evil and then use my Epic Staff of Necromancy to seal their souls away.

[TheGeckoKing]

I've just had a thought........Wightapocalypse.

So guys, how is everyone going to protect themselves/loved ones from the antics of an idiot necromancer (Probably me :smalltongue:)?

[Sinpoder]

Easy....... Kill you and put your soul in my staff..... :smalltongue:

[TheGeckoKing]

Scroll of Disjunction. Your staff goes *poof*, and the Wights come to get you.

[0Megabyte]

Simple. Get an artificer who can make wondrous items, and have him make that weapon crystal with ghoul strike or whatever on it, and slap it onto my gun.

Then bring alot of ammo. I think my gun's a masterwork, too. So I'd try to get it improved once I had the cash.

This is to fight the wights. To fight you, I'd go on craigslist and ask for a divination specialist wizard, get his help with promises of a share of your loot, and gather a team specifically to take you down via scry and die tactics. This is of course not assuming we're all still first level.

[Sinpoder]

....... I got it Postive Energy Aura.... Wights go poof

I WANT TO COME!!!!

[dark.sun.druid]

Sorcerer. I tend to be more like a Wizard IRL, but I would hate the thought that I might not have the perfect spell prepared. So Sorc, and load up on useful spells, with a few good damage spells (Magic Missile for one) to defend myself.

In any case, I would seek out like-minded individuals and try to put together a party. The numbers would mean that we can easily take on some of the lower level evil doers, and as we slowly increased in power we would become harder and harder to kill (besides the fact that we would also be able to destroy more powerful baddies). Of course, I would watch out for betrayal... Perhaps attempt to find a Cleric to cast Magic Circle against Evil (and Chaos) for me and ask party members to walk into the circle, to make sure there's no risk of a betrayal. That seems like it would work.

Plus, being able to cast spells would be awesome! I want to cast Prestidigitation on a piece of rawhide and make it strawberry favored! Like gum, but when the flavor fades you just cast the spell again! :smallbiggrin:

[Tyndmyr]

If it was something like this, I'd assume that everyone was affected. The entire world. However, only those like us who know how this new world works are able to take advantage of it.

It would make a great story, though. I was surprised nobody else had put their transformation into narrative form yet! :smallbiggrin:

I can't pass this up.

So...I wake up. I feels tingly, and realize somehow that I can pick a D&D class. I figure Im probably crazy, but I obviously pick wizard. I test out a cantrip. Mage hand, see? It works. Odds of crazy climbing. I rig up a video camera, and see if it still works, being careful to use a nondescript household object in front of a white wall. Video seems to work. I load it on the laptop and drive five minutes to the library. From there, I upload it to youtube, claiming it's a mysteriously floating object. I figure if Im crazy, I'll have comments complaining about the fact that nothing's floating within seconds. Instead, I get stupid people saying it's obviously a fake, and they can see the wire. Definitely not crazy.

I then google the hell out of it. I get this thread, and chuckle a bit. I print it out, making sure to print out the profiles of those that promised to be helpful and or dangerous, scribbling a few notes on each. I then google up a few crazy countries with chaos. I also prepare the spell "familiar pocket". I don't actually have a familiar, but I do have a handgun, and it should fit. I book the first available ticket to a crazy country, and go home to pack a few things. I ask my friends what they're up to, but get no unusual responses. Body armor, gas mask, camping supplies, fatigues, about a weeks worth of food all go into the bag. It might raise eyebrows at the airport, but it's nothing a military ID won't solve. The laptop comes too, with all the PDFs on it. I'll need that. I stash a note inside the apartment. My friends will worry enough about my vanishing to find that in about a week. Then, a quick drive to the airport, stashing the gun in the pocket while in the car. I call in to work while doing so. I tell em I'll be out for a week, family emergency. I might be evil, but I don't wanna be a jerk about it.

Mid-flight, I take a stop in the bathroom to recast the spell. Six hours is good, but it ain't THAT good. I have to do this once more before going through security. I'll crash at the most expensive, secure hotel I can find. Day one comes to an uneventful close. In the morning, I prep my spells, while staring at the handwritten copy of the phb spell section I'm slowly building up. I wonder about the necessity of using an entire page to write simply "PAIN", but get over it. I prep it four times, and mage armor once. I hail the first cab I see, and drive to another hotel nearby. There, I change cabs. I have no idea what the drivers saying, so I hand him a map, draw my desired route on it, and shove him a very large stack of bills, while doing the "shh" sign with my hands. His eyes get big for a second, then he nods emphatically. We drive until we see guys by the side of the road with AK-47s. I mutter the words for Mage Armor, ignoring the looks of the driver.

I phantomime for the cabby to drive slower, wishing I'd taken comprehend languages. I then roll down the window casually, and wait till we're passing a single person with a gun. I mutter "pain" in a dead language as we drive past, and watch him twitch in agony. He has no idea what just happened to him, really. I do it three more times in all, repeatedly assuring the cabbie that everything's alright. Turns out, the mage armor wasn't important after all, though the last one did start firing the gun wildly in the air. No biggie. One actual day in country, and already I've leveled up. As I get back to my actual hotel, I feel a new spell tugging at my mind. Yup, Comprehend languages is getting written down. I spend the afternoon scribing a scroll of detect magic. Just in case. I spend a fair bit of money on the ink, as the paper just seems to suck it up for some odd reason. Strange. Must remember to buy it in bulk when I get back. I fall asleep with a smile on my lips, mentally counting the men I'll need to kill to level again.

Edit: Yeah, Im not worried about necromancers. My goal is to simply outlevel them. A wight is only CR 3, and a mere 26 hp. I'll be able to slaughter them in a matter of days.

Edit2: Oh, plenty of my gaming group would likely also turn for the evil side as well. Fortunately, with only on exception, they fall well on the lawful side of the spectrum. Should they be lucky enough to get powers as well, we would have no issues working together.

[Eldan]

See, that's the exact reason I wouldn't be a fan of working too closely with anyone outside my usual gaming group(assuming they also got powers). At least, until I have mind blank. Then any attempt to affect my mind would be met by a horrible, horrible fate.

But see... the only way I can think of to permanently remove Mindrape from the world is Mindraping everyone not to use it. Someone has to.

[Sinpoder]

Well it looks like it is offical!

WIGHTS ARE USELESS AGAINST VETERAN PLAYERS!

[TheGeckoKing]

Simple. Get an artificer who can make wondrous items, and have him make that weapon crystal with ghoul strike or whatever on it, and slap it onto my gun.

Then bring alot of ammo. I think my gun's a masterwork, too. So I'd try to get it improved once I had the cash.

This is to fight the wights. To fight you, I'd go on craigslist and ask for a divination specialist wizard, get his help with promises of a share of your loot, and gather a team specifically to take you down via scry and die tactics. This is of course not assuming we're all still first level.

I use a scroll of Travel Through Time to get you.

However, if i'm feeling nice, i'll use my wight companion (No, srsly, Death Masters can have a Wight "familiar" at 10th level. Srsly) to order the endless
armies of the damned to come get you. If that fails (dang Diviners), your going to have to find ONE GRAIN OF SAND in a desolate land filled with minimaxers, the dreaded Munchkins, and some fool that summoned Dagon to the RL.

I think I might try this storywriting in a min. Let me think up some stuff.


Well it looks like it is offical!

WIGHTS ARE USELESS AGAINST VETERAN PLAYERS!

Well, i'll cull the weak, at the very least.


But see... the only way I can think of to permanently remove Mindrape from the world is Mindraping everyone not to use it. Someone has to.

And for those immune to Mindrape by one way or another?

[Tyndmyr]

But see... the only way I can think of to permanently remove Mindrape from the world is Mindraping everyone not to use it. Someone has to.

Nah. Destroy any scroll of it. Make it known that anyone who chooses it as a known spell will be destroyed by a team of scry and die wizards with mind blank up. Follow up. Divination is horribly powerful, and while mind blank counters it if used directly on a caster....you can still find all sorts of useful information with it.

I think the fear of mindrape being used on people would be enough to get at least the vast majority of people to band against it.

I wouldn't hunt necromancers on principle, but I'd have little interest in raising undead myself, and would most certainly hunt down people bent on wightpocalpse styled tactics once I had levels. I like the world. I don't want to see it ruined. If I have powers like raising people from the dead and creating wealth, I don't need to crush humanity with brute force. They will clamor for my leadership, as I distribute wands that will feed you twice a day from now until the end of time.

Edit: I also feel like all us prepared casters would want to, albeit very cautiously, trade spellbook access.

[Eldan]

So I'm a Wizard now. Archivist too, I picked up my second level already, preparing for Theurgehood. (Note to self: make a wish for this to be a real word when you get 9th level spells).

It was strange. I woke up, and I knew. Luckily, I always carry a small book in my jacket pocket, bound in green cloth. Furiously, I scribbled down the first spells, creating the character I would be. Grinning all the while.

Knowing people, at least some of them would immediately start fighting, do stupid things. Try to fight tough animals, or go into warzones. Find criminals to kill for XP. I knew that would only get me killed or injured. There's a reason I've lost every fight I've ever been in. My dexterity must be, what, six? All my physical stats were at least a few points below average.

Not that it mattered. This magic business required careful preparation. Usually, I slept through the one-hour train ride to university. Today, I was sketching out builds and preparing my spells. Feats. Prestige classes. Should I be versatile? Pick up Incantator (No way I was using the female class name)? Maybe get some stealth in there? Gish it up. I decided on as much magical power as possible.

Three slots for my first day. Not much, but it got me started. Scholar's touch. Level one, but oh so useful. Prepared twice. I headed into the library. So. I was a biologist. Ecology. Nice, and interesting, but now I needed different things. I never really "got" the higher maths. Hah. I leaved through the section on Quantum Physics, grabbed one that seemed promising, along with a book on higher calculus, checked them out, headed to the toilet, started casting. Afterwards, I'd see about getting some levels. Get Fox' cunning, and soon.

Oh, they would see how real power worked. I had a real goal now, and the will and means to realize it.

[Curious]

On the first day, I was alone. I was only sixteen, at the time, painfully young to be given the kind of powers that I would wield, and arrogant in my bearing. It was a small thing at first; flickers of light that danced a the corners of my vision, licking about the edges of my perception in a mocking manner. Then, as my suspicion grew, a dangling thread of my frayed jacket caught alight, burning with a waxy stench. Startled, I raised my hand to extinguish the flame. With a spasmodic explosion of energy, my fingers suddenly began to writhe and twist against my will, tracing twisting patterns through the cool air. Frightened, I opened my mouth to do something; scream or swear or exclaim in surprise, I no longer remember. Instead, a harsh word of power tore itself from my throat, and a fan of scarlet flames swept from my outstretched hand, igniting the wall of my home.

But I did not feel the heat from the smoldering fire, as I stared, dumbfounded, at the treacherous digits that now curled within my fist, pretending innocence after their display. Then, I began to laugh. It was not a sound of mirth, but of primal joy, and triumph. Finally I had power! Real power to change the world as I saw fit, to throw down those who opposed me. I left the burning wreck of my house then, my fingers already twisting through the motions of another spell, and the world was never the same again.

[Amador]

Dread Necromancer, once I hit 8th level, I'll be an unstoppable force against any mundane group. But mostly, I'd be a neutral zone. You can buy anything I can produce with my nigh innumerable skeletons. Undead farming will allow for a nice ordered place for the masses to hang while the rest of you fight it out for dominance. I like my peace and will be content with my internet, food, water, shelter, and girl. Not necessarily in that order.

And, if my girl was powered up as well, she'd be a druid. So double or triple the food output of my land.

[0Megabyte]

Just remember: Don't trust the DM of this world! :smallbiggrin: It's very possible that it follows the RAW, at least when it comes to some of the things like taking time to level up.

Anyway, I kinda felt like continuing:

---

Pain. Intense, unimaginable pain ran through my arm. My eyes were blurry. Was I crying? I could barely tell, because as of this moment I was badly hurt for the first time. I could barely function. I was bleeding terribly, even through the kevlar I'd summoned thanks to Savnok. Hell, that was probably the reason I wasn't dead yet.

My gun had fallen between my legs when I'd fallen. I was leaning against the wall as I heard fighting continue in the distance. I saw a flashes of light I could barely comprehend in my distracted state, and watched as gunfire continued into the distance. The town was a warzone. And I was bleeding out.

3 Hours Earlier:

I stood in full body armor for the first time with this group.

"Wow, it actually fits you," the Artificer said. He looked enviously at the craftsmanship, and nodded. "I'll have to make you some armor that you don't have to summon."

"I'd appreciate that," I said, smiling at the guy. The artificer was everyone's best friend. And why not? He was the guy who could make any and all magic items. And in this new world, nobody was better than he was yet.

"It sure beats full-plate, doesn't it?" The Cleric grinned as he patted me on the back. I smiled at him and looked him over. He had an actual suit of full-plate armor somehow. Was it a replica piece? I wasn't sure.

"Regardless, we don't have a lot of time," said the wizard, as she glanced at her watch. "You said the necromancer and his buddies are coming through here soon, right?" I nodded gravely.

"Yeah. He'll be here." I lifted up the cellphone -my friend's cellphone- for emphasis. "He thinks K's still alive. He trusts him more than he trusts me. At least, he does after our last fight." It had gone badly. Save-or-sucks are not to be underestimated, apparently. Especially when my dear fellow player had already gathered allies. But now I had allies, too.

The Warblade entered the room. She was fully prepared for battle, of course. She had a sword in her hand, as well as an M16 strapped to her back. It was a pity, I thought, that warblades weren't really designed for archery. However, guns weren't quite as strong against D&D characters as I had thought. They were suddenly following the rules, and it seemed that the reason that they were so deadly in the first place was mostly because everyone was low level NPCs, none higher than level five or so. And even then a critical hit was all it took to take that higher level person down. Experts were common in this city, though commoners were by far more common. It was surprising, really, how many there actually were.

"Hey," she said, and glanced at everyone. "The others are in position." She meant, of course, the psychic warrior, the psion, and the factotem. Everyone looked at me, and I nodded.

"Alright," I said. "Does everyone have what they need? The lesser vigor scrolls? The weapons? Good." I smiled, and pointed at the blackboard.

"We're going for the element of surprise, everyone. This guy is dangerous, and he's somehow gathering allies. That's probably the beguiler's fault. Honestly, she's the bigger danger of the two. We need to take her out first. But what I'm really worried about is his entourage. None of us are strong enough yet to outpace a couple of firearms. We all know this. But these guys have already subverted a group of soldiers. They're armed, and will open fire if they see us. That's why you," I said, pointing at the warblade, "are going to be firing from the window. Full auto. We need the covering fire. The factotem -Gary?- has one too. With everyone pinned, we'll proceed as planned."

"We aren't going to kill them, right? The soldiers?" The warblade asked.

I nodded at the wizard as a grin grew on her face.

"I guess that means I'll just have to put them to sleep," she said.

"I've got a scroll of sleep prepared too," the artificer said proudly. "I'll use it if it looks like yours didn't take them out." I nodded at both of them.

"Alright, so-" I stopped. I heard a voice in my head saying, simply, "they're here!"

"I got a missive from Angelo. They're coming. Let's go!" I grinned as we all ran into position. What could go wrong?

---

The Present:

Plenty could go wrong. For one, I hadn't counted on the fact that there were more than two people with class levels among our enemies. I hadn't counted on the fact that counterspelling could actually be useful. I hadn't counted on a number of things.

As the battle raged around me, I felt myself beginning to black out. Was this the end? Who'd even shot me, anyway? I didn't know. I couldn't know. A shadow appeared in front of me. Death, surely. Death had come from me. Was reaching down to take me. Touching me. I could feel my body begin to-

Heal. I blinked. The pain was mostly gone. My dizziness, too, as though my bleeding had not only stopped but reversed. I looked up, and saw the cleric, his face covered in blood where he'd been grazed by a bullet earlier.

"Why haven't you healed yourself yet?" I said as I pulled myself up, glancing around. I didn't see the cleric's frown.

"Because it's magic, dude. It's not like it's going to get an infection because I waited five minutes longer. I could only smile at that.

"That's true, I suppose. What's the situation?" The cleric glanced over. The battle was over.

"Well, while you were bleeding out we finished up here. Amazingly nobody was dead yet. I had to heal the artificer, Richard, though."

"What about the necromancer? The beguiler?" I was focused again. We had to stop them. The cleric shook his head slowly.

"I'm sorry. They ran." Then he continued, acting perky as though in consolation. "The soldiers are all alive, though. But we're not completely out of healing spells, so as long as we're quick we'll be okay." I simply nodded. I walked over towards the battleground. Bullet-holes everywhere.

"So, how many did we get, in the end?" The warblade glanced at me, a look of relief on her face as she responded.

"They had a wizard. And a rogue, I guess. At least, that's what I figure from the lock-picking set." I nodded. We'd made progress. That was good.

[TurtleKing]

Considering my all of my stats tend to hover around 14 give or take a few. Would probably go either Factotum or Favored Soul. I tend to get moments of inspiration that would work well for Factotum. I may not be as devout as I used to be, but I can still rise.

Strangely enough Rage Cleric could work quite well since it takes a lot but when I am really mad all senses leave me and I foam. This also works for getting divine casting as well.

[TheGeckoKing]

I saw it on the news, on the radio, and in the streets. Ur-Priests wreaked havoc, Artificers shattered the skies with wands of power, and Pun-Pun was too drunk on power to do anything except watch.

D&D was real.

My dream of being a spellcaster, no, a magic man (As I call them) would be true. Awesome. I rushed away to my laptop to choose my class, while the family was panicking. But no god delusions, because that's what always trips up BBEG's "OMG! TvTropes is useful in RL!" I screamed.
"WHY IS HE ON HIS LAPTOP?"
"I'm going to be a magic man, mum. Like the crazy people out there. I'm going to be a magic man."
"You...but....what......I'll......just go....."

I searched for my favorite class, picked it, and ran with it.
Death Master. It's like a Dread Necromancer which I adore, only based on Int, not Cha. Good god, I have too much troubles with Cha to use that. Int. Perfect. Plus, High Int means less chance of Godhood Delusions. Or was that Wis? God knows I lacked Wis.

Funny thing, the Death Master class. You get a nice undead servant to carry all your books (I called my Zombie Troglodyte Skully Bones), and you can instantly speak the evil tongue of demons. Or something. My notepad was full of guesswork. How to cast Prestidigitation, how to cast entropic shield, and........and.....

Well, being a character, I got my feat. Precocious Apprentice. The 1st step to hell. The 2nd was choosing my 2nd level spell, ironically.

Animate Dead.

2nd level spell for them. Death Masters are cool like that.
I didn't feel like fighting with my single digit Str, so I waited, and waited, and waited. I had my zombie servant fetch me stuff to do. And I waited some more. And then my Alarm spell went off. Some poor Fighter kid trying to be clever. Toughness for every feat? That's not bloody clever.
Skully Bones finished him quickly. 2nd level in Death Master felt good.
Step 3 to Hell.
I readied myself. I knew this could be an utter waste of time, but what could I lose?
Nothing.
I just stood there. I had no bloody idea what to do. I took 5 minutes of floundering to get it right, when in anger I screamed "GET UP CORPSE!" in Abyssal.

It answered.
And I knew, evil or not, I was a necromancer. A magic man, like in my dreams.
And as I stared at the start of my undead legion, I stared in awe.

And I deemed it good.

[Eldan]

I had absorbed the books, and then I began thinking. What did I actually want with all this power? I could already hear someone laughing maniacally out in the hallway. I had never met any other D&D players at the university, but I figured there had to be at least some. Guess I had been right. But this? All the madness and the fighting, the clumsy attempts at ruling something?

It was silly. Ruling anything was never a primary goal to me. I sat down on the toilet seat again, draw out my little booklet, the diary I had written something in about once a month, when I actually thought of it, now a spellbook too, and made a list.

a) Immortality. I underlined it, then thought it looked ugly. Rubbed out the underline again. "First priority", I wrote. "Integral for other plans."

b) Making improvements. Increase stats, mostly mental. Get immunity to diseases and means of regeneration. Get alternate senses and modes of transportation.

c) Find reliable means of long-range travel. Teleport boring but possible, travel by flying preferred, more landscape to see that way. If possible, find way to survive extreme environments. Go volcano diving and mariana-trench climbing.

d) Learn everything. See everything. When it gets boring, see what society has done in the last 300 years. Bound to be interesting.

I leaned back and smiled. This would be so good.

[woodenbandman]

Incarnum

Why have points in one skill when you can have points in EVERY SKILL

+6 bonus to craft checks on day, ability to walk on water the next!

[Curious]

My first challenge arrived in the form of another one of the gifted; not surprising that, in the early days everyone was mad with their new strength. As I stalked along the street, the ruins of my collapsed home still smoldering behind me, my fingers played through patterns, memorizing the feel of the arcane ley lines that filled the air. Then, as I walked, absorbed in my task, a man stumbled from between two sheltered houses. His head hung low, and blood matted his hair. Curious, I shuffled closer. He lifted his head then, and I stumbled back a step in fear. His skin was corpse white, with trails of dried blood staining his face, and his eyes were dead.

Then, with a speed I could not have imagined, he flew at me, claws ripping into my chest and teeth snapping before my face. Stumbling back, I stuttered a word of power, and a bolt of arcane force blew a hole through the mans chest. Seemingly uncaring, he leaped at me again, bearing me to the ground beneath his weight. His putrid breath froze my blood as his long tongue lapped at my face, and for an instant, I saw death in his blank eyes. With a sudden, terrified strength, I threw the monster over me, my hands already weaving through the air as he whirled at me. With a barked command, flame once again leaped from my fingertips, engulfing the ghoul. With a screech of agony, the creature dropped to the earth, flailing as it's body was destroyed. Breathing heavily, I stood over the mewling creature as it finally, mercifully, died. Wiping a streak of blood and saliva from my face, I leaned carefully over the monster, and spat on it's smoking corpse.

That was my first victory.

[Ajadea]

I've got to try writing a scene for this now:
--
If there is one thing I know about my dreams, it is that I would never doubt that they were reality while in them. So apparently, I am a diviner, I banned Evocation, and I really do have a spellbook with a load of cantrips in it. I can pick my own feats, my own skills. I seem to have 18 Intelligence and 'severe allergic reactions to plants' appears to be a valid flaw. Note to self, if there are plant creatures around, stay the hell away from them, being nauseated around them is really not cool.

In this spellbook is every single cantrip every published by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 3.5, as far as I can tell, depicted in words and small diagrams that seem to interpret my thought process far better than English does. It's, what, five AM? Least I got that 8 hours of rest last night. I have a hour to pick...seven first level spells, four feats, and seven skills. So, about the same amount of time it takes to draft a semi-coherent paper.

Comprehend Languages, Scholar's Touch, Unseen Servant, Expeditious Retreat. Easy decisions. But, hey, I'm a writer. I think about how people think for fun. And I was on that thread yesterday. It's obvious that there are going to be people who think the best thing to do is murder others for XP. I won't risk dying. I'm too much of a coward. I'd rather not risk my friends dying. Alarm. Color Spray. And...Power Word: Pain. My hands shake as I write the IPA symbols necessary for me to remember exactly how to say it, and I remember something I had never thought about before. Being truly 'good' requires the chance to do otherwise. If nothing else, that spell would be a test for me. It would be so easy to prepare that, kill someone, level up because of it. And I wasn't going to pretend to myself that I didn't have a sadistic streak, that the idea of that power over someone else didn't thrill me in a twisted way, because I did, and it did.

I'm probably gonna try to go into Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil, even though I'm not big on rainbows. Feats are easy. Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus (Abjuration), Able Learner. Skills: Heal 2 ranks, Tumble 2 ranks, Concentration 1 rank, Speak Language (Chinese), Speak Language (Japanese), Speak Langauge (German), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Decipher Script, Spellcraft. All done.

I prepared Prestidigitation, Detect Magic twice, Scholar's Touch twice, and Color Spray. The prestidigitation did the dishes as I ate breakfast, then I went downstairs, piled up my textbooks, and cast scholar's touch once. Some made sense, some did not. But it grants raw knowledge, not comprehension. What did I expect?

Dropped some messages on Facebook and GitP. I need to find who else got these powers. Swap spellbooks, maybe? Considering some of the people who could be out there, with new manuevers or something, it sounded like a good idea. I'll see. Right now, it still feels like a dream. I'm not sure if I want to wake up.

[Lord.Sorasen]

I kept going down the list. I started with the core classes. Rogue? Not sneaky enough. Paladin? I'm an atheist.

This actually raises a pretty important point. In this real world D&D, what is the state of the pantheon? Would it mean the gods are guaranteed real, with physical evidence provided?

Because this completely influences my being a cloistered cleric, it turns out.

[Force]

It was another day in the nursing home, another clinical. I double-checked the clipboard I was carrying with my assignments and cringed when I noticed the one heading the list. "Change Mrs. S's dressing". Three little words, but, well... Mrs. S was a diabetic drug addict. She'd gotten picked up off the street with an enormous diabetic ulcer on her foot that had eaten the flesh almost down to the bone, and thanks to her drug addiction the amount of pain meds we could give her was limited. Thus, changing Mrs. S's dressing amounted to doing it carefully and quickly, before her screaming in pain caused your professional conscience to force you to commit seppuku on the spot.

The fact that I was only a student nurse and the assignment was specially marked with the "do it without instructor supervision" symbol made it just dandy.

And for icing on the cake, did I mention that I'm SUCKY at wound care?

Gritting my teeth, I fetched the appropriate equipment, knocked on Mrs. S's door, and entered at the moan. My assessment revealed she wasn't very lucid, which was good, and I had a syringe with a tiny bit of pain medication to make her even less so. Soon the meds were in, the sterile field was ready, and I started peeling away the dressing. Mrs. S started first wimpering, then moaning, and as I took away more and more gauze progressed to screams. I felt numb. I could hear my voice, with its professional calm, trying to soothe Mrs. S, but it wasn't working. I was working as quickly and as skillfully as I could-- more than I ever had-- but it just wasn't fast enough. I got into this to heal people, I thought. Not to make them feel like they're dying.

Did you? The voice that rang in my head was anything but my own. Student of healing, wouldst thou swear to serve humanity, to heal her wounds, to exorcise her cancers, for as long as thou shalt live? Wouldst thou forsake mate and friend and peace in your service until thy dying breath shalt pass thine lips? Wouldst thou, truly?

I blinked, hearing Mrs. S's screaming redouble. Darnit, I thought. I'm going crazy. Complete with way too many thee's and thou's.

You are not "crazy". Wouldst thou swear?

I shook myself, then instantly regretted the motion as it brought my hemostat into contact with the wound. To stop this, I'd do anything. I swear.

Then heal. Say it.

I'm definitely going loony, I thought, but opened my lips to say the word. What issued from my mouth was nothing like the English word for heal. It writhed in the air with Power, and the wound glowed with a sudden golden raidience. I lifted my tools just in time, as the wound filled itself, new tissue packing inside it with unearthly speed, and flashed golden. When the glare left my eyes, I could only stare. Where they had once been a gaping wound, there was only new flesh. Where the needle-marks on her skin were, there was nothing but clean skin.

Still think thou art crazy? The voice asked.

No, I managed to answer at last. Not quite.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

Well, one too many "I decide who lives or dies, and in my eyes, you have lost the right to live! Die, fools!" and you are evil. And probably lawful.

That said, going insane is probably not a bad idea.

D&Devil (it's a portmanteau when you say it aloud >.>), maybe. I would say random elephant slaughter is more evil than well-intentioned peoplekillin', in my moral system. Then again, I like to think that it's the thought that counts.

[The Cat Goddess]

Cats do not give experience in the real world. Maybe in the game they do. But not IRL. Anything that is not a challenge does not give experience. Period.

Climb into a sliding-door shower (not a curtain one) with a cat.

Futher, IRL you can improve your skills with nothing but practice... you can't do that in D&D.

Also, a tournament of some sort would be a "challenge". Whether it's an Archery tournament, a track & field tournament, even a chess tournament. All of them involve challenges that have to be beaten, thus would provide XP in D&D.

Unless, of course, you're using AD&D 2.0 rules... in which case, I would go Rogue/Cleric. 100xp times spell level for every spell you cast and 1xp per gold piece equivalent you steal.

In 3.5... I'd go Dragonfire Adept. Humanoid Form Invocation at 3rd level FTW!

[Gnaeus]

Lacking a 3.5 only rule? Pathfinder Witch. Get the healing hex, which lets you Cure light wounds at will (once per person). Make a ton of money as a healer. Fight things to level. Once you hit level 3 (Slumber Hex) you're on easy street.

Sure, a wizard or archivist is more powerful on paper, but with no scrolls or spellbooks to buy, the Witch actually gets more spells known, and unlimited use of hexes blows them out of the water at low-mid levels.

[TechnOkami]

Druid >:3 ...after that, Planar Druid to MoMF to (Nature's Warrior?) to Warshaper to the rest of my Druid class. My plane is the realm of dreams.

[zorba1994]

To anyone who doesn't believe this hasn't already happened... Rasputin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasputin)


:smallwink:

[Silverlich]

Psion. Shaper discipline. Astral constructs, awesome powers, I don't need to rely on spellbooks, I have enough power to defend myself against lunatics trying to kill me for some strange substance called "XP", and I am genuinely useful in non-cobat situations

[TurtleKing]

A few spells that are nasty when you get them, and get lead to rapid leveling are the "Fog" spells. Most notably Kelgore's Grave Mist from PHBII. Has almost no visual effect in the 20ft radius area fatiguing and dealing 1d6 cold damage for 1 round per level. Find ways to increase the duration and distance for rapid leveling. Once you have started a panic drop more where they run too to catch even more.

[UndeadCleric]

I wasnt the most popular kid in school but neither was I an outcast. Always living in the shadows, thats me and happy with it. So no one noticed when I started acting like someone else. It was like something had taken over my body, I couldnt restrain myself. As cliche as it sounds, a whole new whole of opportunity had opened up and it felt like if I didnt take advantage of it, the world would lose a great deal.
And so my quest began. I devoted myself to comprehensively learning all I could about these new abilities and the effects they had. While others were learning how to do flashy new spells, I was studing the spell themselves. While other were wondering the wilderness or stealing magic artifacts, I was holed away, learning. Although I didnt start my training immediately, I know ever-so much more than you about this plague. And yes, I would call it a plague. It is a curse upon this world and will undo the fabric of space itself. I now begin my actual journey, my mission to destroy all magic users and all things magic. No one, not even you, will escape me.

[Scarlet-Devil]

My first thought is warlock, 'cause that would be insanely badarse, particularly if I could make it to level 6+. Imagine being able to speak with animals, throw dangerous magical energy at will, see in the dark, climb up sheer walls effortlessly, make the ground surge up and form a giant hand that can grab people... and then of course at level six it's either perpetual flight or invisibility. I would be a real life super hero. Not to mention that even DR 1 would make an enormous difference in real life, particularly if I'm just getting into scuffles involving fists or knives/improvised weapons.

Another thought though is monk or fighter (or one of the TOB classes I suppose), because how cool would it be to be a really badarse martial artist in real life? And how great must it feel to be even a first level fighter or barbarian?

Edit: If I could choose my feats, and if I reached 3rd level I'd probably take improved resilience and those fey-touched feats to pump up my DR as high as possible (good luck finding cold iron, suckers), and maybe improved unarmed strike. Improved grapple might be good if I could spare the feat too.

[Tyndmyr]

So I'm a Wizard now. Archivist too, I picked up my second level already, preparing for Theurgehood. (Note to self: make a wish for this to be a real word when you get 9th level spells).

Honestly, if you have dual nines, I don't think anyone is gonna challenge you if you say it's a real word.

Hell, I even like it. I'd back you on this.

Honestly, even a relative lack of other wizards and scrolls isn't that big of a hindrance. Every wizard can make scrolls. You can exchange them by courier if you wish. All manner of paranoia can take place that doesn't entirely prohibit the exchanging of spells. While this and research is costly....casting has all manner of ways of breaking WBL. Selling your spell slots to interested mundanes is probably one of the easiest ways of doing so, available to everyone.

[Tvtyrant]

Probably a Binder, so that I can publish an actual Necromonicon.

[Ravens_cry]

Wizard. All I got going for me is brains, and little enough of that, so all the other classes are out, leaving me with looking into the whys and wherefores of magic. Does a Bulls Strength give you bigger muscles or does it augment your strength more directly? How does a Magic Missile find its target? How does a teleport spell compensate for different frames of reference?
Also, spell research sounds like fun.

[houlio]

I'd be a ranger, because, like me, a ranger is ruggedly handsome

[Lord Raziere]

Sorcerer.

everyone choosing the wizard? watch out. I'm making myself nocturnal and coming for you in your sleep.

[BobVosh]

Druid. Troll the big game hunters by pretending to be the big game while my friend big game comes and show you the way. With enough time and elephant treats I will show you ALLLLLLL.

*ahem* Or possibly a beguiler. Hmm. Or a bard. How early can you win with bard diplomacy?

[Epsilon Rose]

If it's allowed, I think I'd go Witch from AEG's Magic book (mainly because I'd almost definitely go magic and because I would rather design my own spells as I need them rather than simply pick them from a list) and my starting feats (two because I'm a human:smalltongue:) would probably be proficiency:handguns and proficiency:snipers(or whatever covers them).

I'd also probably take a level of mind bender and ardent followed by an arcane/psionic duel prc.

I'd lv as a merc in Africa and maybe moonlight as a warlord at higher levels. Once that's no longer efficient I'd probably take a turn down love craft lane (assuming it exists) and that'll probably take me well into epic levels (if I don't die).


Finally, the all important question, what will I do with this power: First I'd create an R&D firm for the rp xp, power base, shiny swag, and political influence. Both my merc work and ceo persona would use different (from each other and me) alter self.
Once I'd accumulated enough power and contacts I'd probably go the wanted rout. While I have no interest in actually ruling the world (to much work) the ability to get my will enforced among the general populace and prevent wight-pocalypses, mind rape abuse, and the like would be of invaluable benefit to my ability to enjoy my toys.
-----------------------------------

I'll probably try to write a story sometime over break (after friday).
Also, we should definitely turn this into a campaign sans BBEG (unless one of us ascends to the role), fixed party, and possibly GM.

[Chess435]

Hey guys, we should look for a DM so we can Roleplay this out. Sounds like a lot of fun!

[Major]

I'd be a factotum then chameleon and try to make sure I never become too much of a threat with high level spell casting. However at the same time I'd hope my skills and versatility would be useful so that neither of you good, evil, or guy with the XP sides want to kill me.

Good guys, I'm not evil. Hell I'd be willing to help you most the time. Don't hurt me.

Evil guys, I got uses. Thing of the things I can help you do. I'm sure there is SOMETHING in the entire world I can do to help you so you don't need to kill me. Ya know...I'm sure if I looked I could find something that a spell can't do...maybe?

Guys with the XP, I'm useful somehow I'm sure. I can probably help you get XP some way.

I don't know to be sure, but I'm hoping you'll find me more useful alive since I'm not going all "POWER!"

[Shyftir]

Favored Soul of AO. (I'm a Christian and AO is the only DnD diety that sounds much like what I believe in. Except He'd be NG instead of TN)

Favored Soul because just having the natural gifts to do a select set of things some defensive some offensive would be great.

After taking out a few terrorists or murders, I'd move up to hunting down lower level "Players" who are consorting with dark forces to destroy our world. I'd team up with any others of similar goals. Eventually I'd grab a level or two of Crusader for the increased skill with weaponry and survivability. Then go Ruby Knight Vindicator because after all I believe that my God is sovereign over Death and pretty much everything else.

Just so you know, Those Who Would Turn To Darkness. There are some who will go into total gray-guard territory to bring you down.

That said I'd make the offer that any who were willing to renounce their evil ways and serve the Way of Truth & Life, can instead receive forgiveness and join me in my quest to oppose darkness. I'll have at least one cohort with detect evil to make sure they really repent.

(Note: In any normal situation this would not be anything like what I believe that Christians, or anybody for that matter, should act.)

[TurtleKing]

I would be a Cleric/Warmage or Sorcerer gestalt (no one said you couldn't gestalt) destroying all these undead popping up everywhere. All of these power hungry necromancers running around just creating undead left and right makes some great xp gain for the anti-undead characters. Likely to get a better reception by the masses if you fight for their side. So everyone don't worry me and my posse of undead hunters will keep them necromancers in check.

[Chess435]

Wait a second: Couldn't you do Pun-Pun if you PMA'd something into a Sarrukh?

Edit: PMA wouldn't work, but shapechange would. I'm a little scared now....

[Epsilon Rose]

Ooh, I sorta like the Idea of a gestalt. Especially if most of this take place at lower levels.

I think I'd throw in a bit of swordsage or the dragon version of warlock.

[BobVosh]

Hey guys, we should look for a DM so we can Roleplay this out. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Was about to volunteer until I realized this would be a world wide version of PvP heroes. With even MORE nerdiness. Now I'm intimidated.

*edit* Although I'm definitely willing to be an assistant DM 100% percent of the way. I just don't want to attempt to run this madness as lead honcho.

(assuming assistant DMs would be needed as there will be everyone in solo mode. Never split the party? The party will never be made depending on how this goes.)

[Zaydos]

Wait a second: Couldn't you do Pun-Pun if you PMA'd something into a Sarrukh?

Edit: PMA wouldn't work, but shapechange would. I'm a little scared now....

Nope. Has to exist for you to shapechange into it. Sarrukhs don't exist in setting, or in any setting other than FR or homebrewed ones that the DM introduces them into.

[Major]

Hmmm on a side note I realized my post sounded very neutral when I actually lean more towards good. I'd not use my powers for evil and mostly for good and would try to stop bad guys most the time, but at the same time I make it sound like I'm neutral so the bad guys don't go after me.

Then again I sound like a coward when I'm merely hoping that the bad guys will underestimate me, let me live, and I can backstab them when its least expected.

[Eldan]

Can we all scan our spellbooks and share them online?

[TurtleKing]

Don't think the magical aspect would transfer through, but the writing should still be readable. Might be the safe way of giving others the Explosive Runes spell.

[golentan]

Binder (tome of magic) please.

Pursuit of hidden knowledge, relatively easy access to awe inspiring supernatural powers (from my perspective at least, wot). I probably wouldn't level often if at all (I absolutely refuse to kill sapient creatures except to save the life of other sapients, not counting my lonesome self), but the appeal of the idea and the chance to walk the earth and maybe right a few wrongs? Priceless.

[Eldan]

Don't think the magical aspect would transfer through, but the writing should still be readable. Might be the safe way of giving others the Explosive Runes spell.

Well, better hope Explosive runes don't transfer electronically. Or some jackass will upload them to youtube. You thought Rickrolling was bad?

[Epsilon Rose]

I believe D20 modern had something to say about that sort of thing.

[X15lm204]

Wriiite.
-------
Power.

Suddenly the world has changed - there is empirical evidence that the will of a single individual can overwrite the laws of reality. Many examples of this evidence roam the world, leaving chaos in their wake.

All for a little bit more of that power.

But I know that power is just a means to an end - worthless in and of itself, if it does not bring you what you want. So. What do I want?

I want to *know*.

Know what? The answer to that question.

If anything I believe about how the world works is true, I already do. It's just a matter of finding it. So. Who am I?

In a single evening's meditation a lifetime of introspection finally crystallizes. Both figuratively and literally - a massive emerald the size of my palm slowly builds itself in my hands, and I can tell at a glance that it is as much a part of me as my own body. Through it I gain a mental map of my *self*. Only a slight shift in thought patterns is necessary to view it in the terms the world has taken on, rules I agreed to abide by in taking this leap - for now, at least. Thus I begin my existence as a first level Psion and Seer.

I look over my "character sheet," seeing myself judged in numbers, and find them to be not far from what I expected. Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 8. I'd have more points to spend had I opted for point buy instead of dice rolls. Pity. The Con seems high considering how often I get sick - ah, it seems I've taken Flaws: Meager Fortitude and Vulnerable. Ouch. I'll have to make them worth it. Besides the obviously already chosen Psicrystal Affinity, three empty spots call out to be filled. My psicrystal feels incomplete, so I focus on it further; to no great surprise on my part it fractures instead of blending, but its voices still hum in unison of mastery and understanding . Turning my contemplation to my body, I listen and feel until the drumbeat in my head matches the heartbeat in my chest [Psionic Body]. I get up to move, and soon find the perfect running flow to match my rhythm [Speed of Thought].

I consider disciplines as I slow to a jog. One choice is easy and immediate - within moments I am glancing ahead, and I don't like what I see [Precognition]. A sinister man wearing a blasphemous symbol eyes me speculatively, even greedily. I let pragmatism decide my second choice and prepare to tear his mind apart if he tries anything [Mind Thrust], but it seems I've done an adequate job of seeming to be just another jogger and pass him without incident. Still, the encounter reminds me that I have enemies just by nature of existing, and that I have no clue how to dodge; with a bit of concentration I learn to halt rapidly approaching objects in their tracks [Inertial Armor].

I have my weapons and my tools - perhaps not the best but they are [i]mine - and I have my goal.

As luck - or perhaps fate, or whatever god decided now would be a good time to throw magic at the world - would have it, I am not the only of my friends to find themselves as I have. My friends now call themselves artificer, spellthief, paladin, and ranger. I am not sure they have not gone mad with power, as have so many others, and I am not certain I truly trust them with my life, but I know they know what it means to be a party. They'll have my back, I'll have theirs. I don't know where we're going or how we'll get there, but we go together.

Chances are we won't make it out of this alive. But I have a feeling...

[BobVosh]

Well, better hope Explosive runes don't transfer electronically. Or some jackass will upload them to youtube. You thought Rickrolling was bad?

Hmm, could lead to an interesting mechanic. What if reading it remotely (a la scry, video cameras, etc) blew them up remotely? Or if it didn't, you trap your spellbook with it like 30 times. Then you only prepare by reading through a say a camera that updates a video screen live. Could be amusing.


Chances are we won't make it out of this alive. But I have a feeling...

I've got a feeling....that tonights going be a good night! *sings off tune*

Ahem, sorry. Sidenote: Love these stories.

[rakkoon]

So many people with access to cantrips, the world would change and stay the same. I would most definitely become a paladin since 90% of my characters in (heavy role play) LARPS were. Even when I was an NPC they chose me for that role.

[Morph Bark]

Can we all scan our spellbooks and share them online?

I call dibs on the position of CEO of Wikispells.com! :smallamused:

[Eldan]

What happens if it's outlawed? I mean, it's basically weapon trading.

Guess we'd have to limit ourselves to nonviolent spells. That's pretty few, if you get creative. But hey, they can't really say anything if we share Scholar's Touch and Comprehend Languages, two spells every modern wizard needs.

[snikrept]

In the real world, charisma is the best stat by leaps and bounds. I'd be a bard or something with boatloads of diplomacy.

[Silverlich]

Psion. Shaper discipline. Astral constructs, awesome powers, I don't need to rely on spellbooks, I have enough power to defend myself against lunatics trying to kill me for some strange substance called "XP", and I am genuinely useful in non-combat situations.

[0Megabyte]

The section third. (Maybe I should write a whole story, and not just snippets?)

---

The aluminum baseball bat smashed into the skeleton's skull. I could feel the bone crunch underneath my hands. It fell, defeated, and I grinned.

"That's two!" I yelled out to my allies. The Warblade Kendra glanced over to me, and caught my eye. She waved her hand freely, a simple gesture. She'd destroyed five.

"Ahh! Damn it, it's too close!" Marie glanced at me, nervous as the skeleton approached. Her back was to me. I nodded, and I drew on Savnok's power. The two of us switched places as through teleportation, just in time for me to parry the skeleton's blow. It was a simple matter to begin my attack. I wasn't terribly strong, but I was getting stronger. All this fighting was improving me.

I was fairly sure I hadn't "leveled up" however. I knew I'd be able to choose a pact augmentation if that was the case, and I didn't have one yet. What I did have, however, was a skeleton right in front of me, trying to claw my eyes out. I grinned and struck it. Once to deflect its blow. The second time it deflected mine. But the third time, I struck true. The skeleton's skull flew off its body, and it fell to the ground.

"You know, I much my gun, but this isn't so bad either." I looked at the others. Marie was preparing a spell. She smirked.

"Well, let me help you out with that." She touched my shoulder, and activated her spell. I grew huge! Seven feet tall. Eight feet tall. Nine feet tall?! My baseball bat grew along with me. I laughed, and shook my head.

"Is it too late to say 'inuk-chuck'?"

"Yes. Yes it is." So chimed in George, the cleric we had with us. We both laughed, as a few more skeletons approached.

"Geez, how many of them are there?!" That was Kendra again. I shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. We have to fight them as long as we can." I glanced at Marie. "Do you have another of those enlarging spells?" She shook her head.

"Damn," I said. "You should get one for Kendra next time. She's better at this than me."

So, I stepped forward, and attacked the nearest skeleton. I struck it square in the shoulders, breaking one of its arms. The wrong arm, though, the one not wielding a large hammer. And it attacked right back. I winced as it struck my side. Pain shot through me again, as though it broke one of my ribs. I stepped back and hit it once more, from below. It's entire sternum cracked off, and it collapsed from the force of the blow.

I looked around, to see how everyone else was faring. And there were no more skeletons left.

"Okay, good. Next time, I'll cast that spell earlier..." Marie nearly mumbled it as she adjusted her glasses. She grasped her notebook -I had marveled when she revealed her spell-book was a mere college-rule notebook!- close to her, and sighed in relief. George looked at us all, as though deciding who to heal, as I crumpled down to the ground, grasping my side.

"Geez. I got hit that time. Hard." I smiled at him, and he ran over, placing a hand on me. The pain started fading.

"You know, I'm starting to get concerned," George mused. "It seems like we're taking life-threatening injuries way too calmly lately."

"Is it any surprise? We've got people like you who can fix them in an instant." Kendra dropped her hammer, and drew a sword. I took the cue, and set my baseball bat to the side. I drew my gun.

"True, but, remember when 0Mega here got shot in the arm two weeks ago? He was white as a sheet. But just now he got a rib broken and he's smiling!" He turned to me and shoved me lightly, a grin on his face. "Just smiling, see?"

"Yeah, yeah, I see." I waved him off, and sighed. I wished I could change from Savnok to Leraje right then. That vestige played to some of my strengths: I had a gun, its focus was ranged combat. And I could pull off some amazing tricks with it. Ricocheting a bullet through an enemy so that it bounced off and struck another... an improvement on my ability to hide. Good stuff.

"Hey, the others are coming." Marie had spoken up, as she adjusted her glasses. The other four indeed came, looking ruffled but unhurt. I took the opportunity to address everyone.

"Okay, so it looks like we took care of the skeletons, right?" I saw nods, so I continued. I pointed on, past the buildings. "The graveyard is past there. I'm guessing this is some sort of manifest zone now, or maybe some kind of eldritch machine." The artificer Richard nodded.

"Probably. I've heard a few other reports. It's the only thing that explains this many skeletons this soon. It's only been three weeks, right? Not many people have had enough time to level up lately." He felt proud of this knowledge, and why not?

"Yeah," I said, scratching my head as I returned to normal size. "It looks like almost all the rules in the book are in effect. Even if you get enough experience -and how are you supposed to measure that anyway without a DM?!- you have to spend time training. I don't think anybody's level 2 yet.

"But," Marie said, speaking up louder than I'd ever heard, "there are more first level players every day. It looks like it wasn't just us. We were just the luckiest. Others, with the right talent, can gain levels too. Even if they don't know the game."

Everyone nodded gravely. The unspoken thought on everyone's mind, or so I presumed, was the obvious fact: There were more of them than those of the first group. Luckily, many of them had little knowledge of their powers, or which were best. But still, there was more competition. And more chances for things to go wrong.

"Still," I said, walking forward, "we have to move on. We haven't done this well in awhile. We need to find the source of this. We have to stop it from raising anymore undead."

"We certainly don't want a 'Return of the Living Dead' situation, right?" George said, nodding. I simply smiled, and started moving. The rest followed.

This little group had grown in the last few weeks. I'd managed to gather them together, but we hadn't had much in the way of victories. We knew how dangerous the situation was, and how dangerous it was to go it alone, so we worked together. We all knew people who'd gone drunk with power already. But knowing them, and knowing where they were, were different matters.

So, for a couple of weeks we'd looked up info online, trained together, and prepared. And then this disaster began. Skeletons rising from their graves. Even though they were mostly six feet underground, too. It was obvious something was pulling them out. Or... digging?

As we reached the graveyard itself, we saw it for ourselves. Graves were dug up. And in the distance, we saw figures with shovels, digging new graves. They, too, were skeletons. The psion, Julie, nodded.

"We have to go," she said. And so we ran towards the actual building, ignoring the skeletons in the distance. I opened the door, my gun to the ready.

Inside it was a nightmare. The entire place was twisted by darkness. In the distance -a far greater distance than the actual building could hold- was a pulsing green glow. The walls were strange, too. Dark. Curved. Were they moving? Could they be alive? I felt fear. Greater fear than I'd ever felt before. And yet I stepped forward anyway. I glanced back. The rest had followed. I sighed.

"Don't worry, you're right behind me." It was a reassuring smile I gave them. Or at least, so I told myself. In truth, in a mirror, the smile looked brittle like badly cracked glass. But still, they followed. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure if we could stop this thing. I wasn't sure we could get out of here alive. To tell the truth... I fully expected to die.

[some guy]

Some sort of commotion outside. Whatever. I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm out of milk. Outside I get ready to pet the neighbour's cat. A voice full of rage screams: "It's mine!" I look up. Some dude foaming at the mouth brandishing a small wood axe. Oh great. I need to run, but I'm frozen with... Fear? Indecision? Probably fear though. Great, I'll be dead in a few seconds.
The madman charges and slashes his axe into the cat. "DING!" he screams, still foaming, "Level 2, dork! No rogue's gonna sneak attack me now." He laughs and walks away swiftly.
Oh, wow. Crazy cat killer. Yeah. Maybe I will just stay inside today. My heart is still skipping some of it's beats. I wash the bloodspatters of my face. Back into my room I check my phone. A message from W. 'What powers do you have now?' When I compose a message asking what he's talking about, the doorbell rings. I check from a window if it's not another crazy axeman.
It's M. "What time is it?" He asks in a tone I recognize. "Adventure time!" I yell and pound his waiting fist. Before I can ask what he's doing here, he aks me what kinda magic I got. I ask him what magic. He tells me he always thought I was the cleric type, if not that's cool too. I ask him what he's talking about. He speaks some language I don't understand, probably Finnish or such, M. is always flaunting his languages around. Suddenly his clothes change color. Presti-he stops in the middle of the word, whatever, he says, it's magic. What do you got?

No magic. No smite. No tracking. No rage. No sneaking. Everyone's got powers and is killing dogs and cats for experience. I'm a commoner, an expert at best. My friends don't even ask me anymore to DM. They've got their own adventures. I look at those three books, I hardly openened them the last few weeks. Then it hits me. I call M. "You're a molecular biologist, right?" "Yeah, well, was, actually. Why?" "I've got a quest for you. Gather a group of adventurers and take over the biological centre. No casualties! We will need them alive." I call more of my magical ex-biology buddies. Their knowledge of science, combined with magic... I start to laugh. Almost maniacally. I can make myself needed again. I know what those adventurers need. And soon I can give it to them. Bear and owl DNA couldn't be hard to get, after all.

A few years later and I own most of the amusement parks in Europe. Soon my corporation will take over some in America and the east. I didn't add much to the rides. Some knives there. A pit trap here. Pendulum axes in the hallways. Replace the mascots with owlbears, chuuls and cloakers. Besides my transmutologists, I have hired some necromancers. Zombies and skeletons are a cheap workforce and add a certain atmosphere.
We ask reasonable admittance fees for adventurers to enter our parks. Few get out alive. But those that do, get out rich with levels. They tell their buddies what great leveling grounds we've got. In the mean time, we take the gear of their fallen comrades. It's a great system. And I've got a purpose again.
In my parks, I am the DM. It's me.

[Eldan]

"Gentlemen, we have a problem."
"Oh, what is it?"
"We have a DM on the loose."

[0Megabyte]

Btw:

Everyone, I am so glad you've all decided to do this too.

[Eldan]

It got worse, and I had to get creative.

Carrying books became dangerous. Or large containers of any kind, backpacks, paper bags, anything that could hide books.

Why?

Two reasons. First of all, for now, every wizard and archivist only got the spells he started with. Most didn't have intelligence 16, and so it was only a handful. Some had started to level by slaughtering animals, so they get two more spells. But everyone was selecting the same handful of spells. Comprehend Languages and Scholar's touch were big favourites. After all, we were all Nerds. Then came buffs, because we were also paranoid. Few people used damage spells, guns were better at that, still. I had magic missile, now, guns weren't easy to get here.
And so, there were wizards, those who had gotten to second or third level, mostly, standing behind trees, or in the entrances to dark alleys, hitting everyone walking by with a book in their hands with sleep or hold spells. They were hoping that there would be spellbooks, containing a spell they didn't have in their own books yet. Something exotic, maybe. Spell Compendium spells.

And then there were the madmen. Barbarians carrying baseball bats and wood axes. Fighters with polearms, selfmade from broomsticks, kitchen knives and wires. And the re-enactors. You carry a book? You're squishy, but still worth XP. You could get severely beaten, even killed, for holding a book in the wrong place. The libraries weren't save anymore. We had the internet and google for books, sure, but Scholar's Touch didn't work there.

And this was Switzerland. Where most people had never heard of D&D, or nerds. I shuddered to think what America had to be like.

I knew a Beguiler, a guy I had seen once or twice at the Warhammer shop, who could charm and sneak his way into libraries. He'd get me books in exchange for long-term buffs and money.

Still, I couldn't rely on that. I had made extra copies of my little spell-booklet. That had consumed my entire budget for the next two months and many an evening spent copying, sure, but only having one meant that it took one lucky rogue and you were magic-less. I started to envy sorcerers, though I didn't know any. I debated moving out into the wilderness, but that idea was pretty stupid. I could barely stand camping and probably wouldn't survive a week out there. Plus, I had no chance against rangers and scouts, for now.

There was a guy I knew who used an obscure variant rule to tattoo grease on his belly. He had to charm the tattoo guy afterwards, so he didn't sell him out. I hated tattoos. Some people ripped out pages out of books and hid them in their shoes when they raided libraries. Can't do that, I love books too much.

There was an alternative method. Technically, it was never said just how big a spellbook had to be. Mine? Let's just say mine's only three centimeters tall and I need a magnifying glass to read it. That's a little over an inch, for you non-metrics out there. It seems your system is coming up again. No one wants to go the way of the German Translation of 3.0 and calculate everything in 1.5 meter steps.

Hopefully, us casters would get to the higher levels soon, and make our libraries safe.

[hewhosaysfish]

I know this thread is supposed to be about what we would be but this ...


In a world where everyone bleeds out in a maximum of a minute, that's probably not going to be of much use.

...stuck out and made me think about how truly bizarre things would be.
Yes, the now-superpowered geeks running around would eventually change the world but the first thing anyone would notice would be how their own lives mysteriously changed.

I mean, we've all seen the list of "Stupd DnD rules".
Well those are now real!


Wounded people bleed out in under a minute.
Drowning can undo the above.
No-one can see the moon because it's too far away.
Ordinary people can't identify a dog.
Joe average has around a 1 in 8 chance of out-jumping an Olympic long-jumper.
House-cats are now a deadly threat.
A slaughterman has to try 3-4 times to kill a cow to be sure it fails it save vs coup-de-grace (or dies from damage).
No athlete at practice, no student at his books, on army recruit at training, no-one can learn anything, ever, unless they go out and slaughter 3 or 4 wild animals (or people) first. And what they learn doesn't have to be in anyway tied to what they've been practicing, or to murder, but could potentially be anything.
No-one becomes more knowledgable or more skilled in a craft or profession, without also becoming slightly better at hitting things and surviving danger and injury.
As long as you're not unconscious, you can still run/jump/climb/fight/dance equally well regardless of how injured you are.



Even before you start figuring in the PC-classed people with knowledge of the rules, things have taken a turn straight to crazy town.

[Eldan]

Actually, you'll find that the DM of this world gives you RP XP for doing mundane tasks instead of adventuring, which is how most people get better at them

[Earthwalker]

Had to skip some pages but I would have to go Bard.

Charm person myself into TV and set myself up as a TV evangelist and try to get worshippers following me and my word. Next step godhood (I hope)

[Tyndmyr]

What happens if it's outlawed? I mean, it's basically weapon trading.

Guess we'd have to limit ourselves to nonviolent spells. That's pretty few, if you get creative. But hey, they can't really say anything if we share Scholar's Touch and Comprehend Languages, two spells every modern wizard needs.

Right. Like none of us would break the law to gain ultimate power. Or we'd be worried about law enforcement after gaining ultimate power.

I do see people being more willing to share non-violent spells, though.

Cha probably is the best stat to have, yeah. That said, I'd probably only peg my cha as a 12. I'm fairly likable when I want to be, but I don't do diplomatic things or the like. Not a politician, etc. No, int is my strong suit, by miles, with wisdom as a second. Strength is likely the dump stat.


Here's what my code would be, as soon as I achieved enough power. I'd want to gather as many lawful and neutral people as possible to agree to this.

1. No mindrape. Ever. Anyone who learns it or uses it is killed. No exceptions. This includes good/neutral versions of mindrape.
2. No uncontrolled undead.
3. No wide-scale killing. I don't much care if you kill a dozen people on the road because they cut you off, but a locate city bomb is bad.
4. No attacking other members of the group or their families unless they violate the rules.
5. Submit a list of spells you are willing to make scrolls of. This need not be complete, but the lists will be used to arrange trades of spells between prepared casters via scrolls, so a more complete list will be beneficial to you.
6. No allowing people outside the group to get 7th level spells or higher. Why? Because we shall remain in power, and once someone gets mind blank, it's a lot harder to track them down.

I believe the above is all the rules actually necessary.

If someone wants to actually DM this out, I'd love to play. I took a wack at DMing a similar campaign a while ago, and while it unfortunately suffered the usual pbp fate, it was fascinating until then. It will probably consist of a number of single player campaigns that'll eventually meet up.

If it's gestalt, oh, I'll be terribly happy. The only thing better than dual nines is triple nines. Ok, that's not entirely true. I might be able to pull off quad nines. I think I could qualify for Ur priest and sublime chord using my non-prc side, and with theurge classes, I could truly rock. At a minimum, it would be triple nines with some extra casting.

I agree that ending the undead threat is a great way to power if people are letting them roam about.

[Urist]

I had seen many wizards, a lot of clerics, and yet so few psions. Kind of sad, that: even when given a chance, few seemed to want to learn how to use psionics. The roleplaying community always had been resistant to alternative rules. Better for me, I suppose. No one expects someone wandering around without a spell book or robes to suddenly boil their brain in their head.

The change took only a little while. A quick nap, I thought. Maybe the last I ever got, if some crazy decided I was worth enough xp to bother murdering. After that, I would jump in my car and head north. Fewer people, fewer Gifted, right?

Instead, on the border between dream and reality, I felt a sudden expansion, a widening of consciousness. I could sense the people around me, their thoughts singing through the air. The sensation is impossible to describe, but if I had to use a metaphor, I would probably use color. The thoughts of the non-gifted invariably feel gray, a morass of fear of the super powered hooligans pillaging and looting. Their biggest difference was in texture, from a smooth, rubbery gray to the rough denticle studded gray of sharkskin. The Gifted, though… Their thoughts almost blinded me with their intensity. An Evoker, a deep blood red, tinged with orange. A Lawful fighter, the glare of sun off of polished steel. The Clerics, they were the really strong ones. Whether the blinding white-yellow of a cleric of Pelor, or the matte-black of a priest of Vecna, they stood out, supernovas of conviction.

I heard the whisper only a little while after. It took me a second to respond, immersed as I was in the swirls of color, but its insistent tone necessitated a response. “Beautiful, isn’t it? All of these minds, all of these thoughts?” . And it was right: the mindscape really was beautiful. “All of them are so fragile. Even the Gifted. You can see it, can’t you?” They were. Each field of color had a fracture point, a plac where, if prodded, they would fall apart. But would I be able to take the guilt? “They would do the same to you! You must ask yourself: them or you? Whose life is more important?”

As I woke, the dream stayed with me. Crystallizing, it seemed. Was I one of the Gifted? Was I going insane? As I questioned, the feeling of crystallization faded. NO! I grabbed on, tugged with all my might. If I wasn’t one of the Gifted, I mind as well be dead! This was my chance! I imagined my will as a press, as a weight of rock, pressing on my mind, compressing it, as coal is compressed into diamond. I felt a dam behind my eyes, holding back a well of something. I gathered my will into a hammer, pounded at the dam until it broke.

First a crack, then a stream, then a torrent of energy flooded through my mind, energizing my mind, flowing through my body. An awareness of things I hadn’t been able to see before, numbers, a sheet of mental paper, my self summarized in a few simple figures. An Intelligence of 17. Not bad. Charisma 15-also not terrible. Wisdom 6-A worrying thought. Strength 6 and Con-13. Dexterity-14. Some severe weaknesses, but perfectly set up for levels in Psion. I can always get meat shields.

First level was going to be an issue, though. Maybe go after people who are sleeping? I had to level up, I had to! As a Gifted, I would be the first target for higher level people looking to gain experience! I had to chose powers, too. Looking at my discipline selection, I found telepathy as my favored discipline. Lucky for me. Without constructs or undead, telepathy would be very useful. Psionic Charm, Mindthrust, and Inertial Armor called heavily to me. If, for some reason, I needed to kill something after all of my power points were gone, or my powers failed, a gun would have to suffice.

But all of that would have to wait. I needed to sleep, get power points, replenish my body. Tomorrow, though… Tomorrow would be a difficult day.

[druid91]

Maniacs log: part 1 ('cause lets be honest here I'd go mad with power.:))

The power... the sweet, sweet power.

All my life I've idly dreamed of the power, never hoping, never expecting anything but an interesting Idea for aa character...

And now I had it. Or a taste of it at least. But I needed more... had to have it.

At any cost... Currently the cost was leaping into animal cages at the zoo and slaying the various creatures within.

"Blood for the blood god! Skulls for the skull thone! Ia Ia Cthulhu Ftaghn!"

"Hey frank some loon has busted into thecages and is killing the animals!"
"WHAT!? How?"
"I don't know get off your butt and come on!"

"Hey you! Get outta there... Hey what are you doing!? Stop or I'll.."

Tzoov...

And he had a hole the size of a softball burned into his chest.. His partner started to draw but was too slow..

The next day the zoo was devoid of life. Except for the crows.

[Tyndmyr]

Maniacs log: part 1 ('cause lets be honest here I'd go mad with power.:))

Well yeah, there's no point going mad without it.

[druid91]

Well yeah, there's no point going mad without it.

Yeah noone pays attention to you.:smallbiggrin:

[Combat Reflexes]

I'd be the best basketweaver that ever walked the (d&d) earth!

[TheGeckoKing]

(Part 2 of the Dead Man's Log)

Life was good in wet, wet Wales.

It turned out next to nobody knew about D&D, and the few that did were a group that got lucky with Teleportation spells and went FAAAAR away, and a few groups of Fighter/Ranger/Rogues.

Pathetic.

I had easily made it to 9th, but it seems my target - 10th - was taking FAAAAR too long. Everyone feared me, and I couldn't get any XP because even the animals ran for it because of the undead. I was lamenting, and spent many-a-day sat on my plastic throne scribing more spells into my spell book. I hated having to write in a spellbook in Abyssal, but a Death Master can't have everything his own way, I guess.

And then it struck me. The Paladin, that is.

He burst into my latest den, and generally made a mess of things. Smite a dead man here, and some sub-par turning there. He seemed like a really nice guy, being LG enough to keep his powers while in the mental den of madmen we called the world.

He didn't make a sound when Skully Bones killed him. Must be that immunity to fear.

And then I felt it. That mental nudge that told me i'd leveled up. Level 10, the gamebreaker. Skully Bones took an hour to turn into his new form, but It was worth every second.

I had a pet ghoul.
A permanent pet ghoul that would happily do suicidal actions for me.

Forget morality, I thought. Come hell or high water, there would be a Wightapocalypse, and i'd be the Monarch of Ghouls, ruling over a dead world.

[grimbold]

i would probably be a wizard as that is what my RL stats would suggest i should be
i dont have the wisdom to be a cleric
i mite be a good barbarian

[Curious]

You know, a pbp game with this premise sounds like it would be a lot of fun. But before we get too involved with the idea, how about we see how many people are interested. After that, we could hash out whoever's going to DM. Show of hands? :smalltongue:

[Tyndmyr]

*waves hand wildly* Oooh, ooh, me, pick me!

[druid91]

I'd be in as long as my summoning of firestrikes isn't nerfed.

Who am I kidding I'd bein anyway.

[Sinpoder]

You know, a pbp game with this premise sounds like it would be a lot of fun. But before we get too involved with the idea, how about we see how many people are interested. After that, we could hash out whoever's going to DM. Show of hands? :smalltongue:


*waves hand like an idiot * ME ME PICK ME!!!!

[Curious]

Thats three right there; sweet! I'm going to assume that there will be several more interested members once they check this out, but right now we can discuss things without them. Okay, so what kind of game do you guys want? Extreme realism, with no monsters other than those created by players, and no in-game discussion about things like feats or levels. Or a more tongue-in-cheek kind of game where, yes we realise levels exist, and other things involving characters are understood.
As a side-note to this; do you prefer a basic 'party' arrangement, where the characters are all basically one (dis)functional group, or a free-roam style, where each character is free to wander and get up to their own shenanigans?

[Amador]

*shows hand* Me, I would totally be in on this.

[Amador]

free-roam style, with no monsters but people. or those that people make.

[Tyndmyr]

Honestly, I'd prefer fairly realistic. That's not to say there will be no discussion of feats or levels. In real life, I have D&D books. I'm going to try to figure out my stats to the best of my ability, even if it means trying known DC actions over and over again and keeping statistics. You're welcome to draw on an older campaign I did that was somewhat similar to this called "A new beginning" for ideas if you liked. I pulled from D20M for firearm stats, for instance. I also had a magical character sheet that appeared next to each person displaying their stats, simply to bypass the entire testing-phase and explain leveling. This certainly isn't the only approach to take, though.

Note that D20M firearms stay threatening for quite a few levels, especially en masse. For instance, a .50 cal sniper rifle does 2D12 damage. Smart players will avoid head to head conflicts with large numbers of law enforcement or military for a while.

Free roam. I would prefer that monsters only appear when summoned, raised or otherwise introduced by people with D&D powers. The exact nature of the planar relationships resulting from this is an interesting mystery to be explored at higher levels, IMO.

[Reficule]

If I could get in on this as an Archivist, I would love too.

[druid91]

I'd say realistic.

And free roam.

[balistafreak]

Seconding that. I'm interested now. :smallamused:

[Curious]

So, the consensus so far seem to be for a free-roaming, realistic game with in-character knowledge of stats. Sounds good. I'll check out the D20M firearm rules shortly, but they sound fine. As for classes; anything from 3.0/3.5/Pathfinder you can think of. The whole point of this is unrestrained, madcap fun, right? :smallbiggrin:

[Tyndmyr]

Oh, goody. I'm going to have to dig into the pathfinder books some. =)

Pathfinder or 3.5 skills and feats?

[Amador]

What about races and/or templates. I'm thinking of Necropolitan specifically but there might be others that people might want.

[Urist]

I would be very interested as well. A more realistic system would be wonderful, but with the gradual introduction of monsters(summoned, called, etc) as a result of the actions of gifted people.

[Kobold-Bard]

Is the game going to be a team of elephant hunting full casters, or will variety be enforced?

[Curious]

Mm, I'm partial to the Pathfinder feats, but most people here seem more familiar with 3.5. So as a temporary measure, I'll say that any 3.5 feat is replaced if it has a Pathfinder equivalent, but otherwise they will all be available. Specific exceptions could be made if it is required for a build.

[Tyndmyr]

Screw elephants. People are the most dangerous of game. Also a lot less endangered. Folks will notice if all the elephants start being massacred. Nobody's gonna care about a somewhat higher death rate in an already violent area.

*evil chuckle*

What rate of progression are we using? Every other level as per PF, or every third as per 3.5?

[Curious]

Races are restricted to human, and templates- hm. You might be able to gain templates by your own in-game actions, but you can't start with one.

[Curious]

Feat progression is as Pathfinder, every odd level.

[Reficule]

Sounds good to me, and I will totally be looking to share spells. What sources can we use by the way? Are things like flaws allowed?

[Amador]

point buy or roll or some other method for abilities?

[Curious]

I'll be generous; 40 point buy.

EDIT: Also, I'll have to take a short leave of absence. I'll be back on soon.

[Tyndmyr]

Regular or Gestalt?

[Amador]

Question: How does point buy work? While I have heard of it I've never used it.

[Reficule]

Question: How does point buy work? While I have heard of it I've never used it.

You have a pool of points to spend on stats. All stats start at 8 (no cost)
8-0
9-1
10-2
11-3
12-4
13-5
14-6
15-8
16-10
17-13
18-16

So a 14 CON will cost you 6 points out of your total of 40, this makes is to that moderately high scores will give the most bang for buck, but a class that wants one particular score like INT will still want that to be high

[Tyndmyr]

Plenty o' calculators (http://www.roletohit.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=92) exist. They're the easiest way to pick it up rapidly.

Yeah, I'll probably stay with the 3.5 wizard. I pass up some nice bonuses that way, including an extra spell/level known and the specialization bonuses...but I prefer the 3.5 specialization. Argh....more hp as well, and unlimited cantrips. So tempting...

[Chess435]

I think I'll put up a thread in the PbP recruiting forums so we can RP this. :smallwink: We'll just need to find someone willing to DM it.

Oops. Another whole page appeared when I reloaded the page...

[Kobold-Bard]

Question: How does point buy work? While I have heard of it I've never used it.

Point Buy Calculator (http://emrilgame.netau.net/Dmstuff/pointbuy.html) with total costs for easy use.


I think I'll put up a thread in the PbP recruiting forums so we can RP this. :smallwink: We'll just need to find someone willing to DM it.

Didn't Curious already volunteer?

[Chess435]

Looking at artificer. I'll be everyone's best friend. :smallwink:

[Tyndmyr]

Looking at artificer. I'll be everyone's best friend. :smallwink:

Yes. Yes you will be.

How is money/gold going to be handled? A specific exchange rate perhaps?

[Kobold-Bard]

Yes. Yes you will be.

How is money/gold going to be handled? A specific exchange rate perhaps?

d20 Modern wealth rules perhaps?

Psion. If we get Gestalt Psion//Warlock.

[Amador]

Looking at Dread Necro. If gestalt DN//Cleric

[Tyndmyr]

d20 Modern wealth rules perhaps?

I'll warn you now, those mesh very poorly with inexpensive magical items, like scrolls. As in, infinite amounts of them poorly.

[Kobold-Bard]

I'll warn you now, those mesh very poorly with inexpensive magical items, like scrolls. As in, infinite amounts of them poorly.

Fair enough. Only game I played using them was no PC-magic Urban Arcana.

[Sinpoder]

Ok Awsome! I will most likely just be a cleric or something and I will be back soon so I need a thread for his thing to happen and stuff.......

[UndeadCleric]

Totally in!! Wizard, artificer, or factotum...hmmm. I'll have to think.

[Shademan]

rogue. seems like the perfect class for me...

[Tyndmyr]

Fair enough. Only game I played using them was no PC-magic Urban Arcana.

Yeah, it works pretty solidly then. I've played under those rules, and then it's handy abstraction because nobody wants to count the coupla bucks for another box of ammo.

[Curious]

For magic items, I'll just convert 'gold' right to dollar. I'll start up a thread in the pbp recruiting section in just a min (read: like, an hour). Can someone explain what gestalt is, please? I've never used it before.