tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post4992857269185707501..comments2024-03-26T22:17:42.458-04:00Comments on Semper Initiativus Unum: On the Starting Player CharacterWayne Rossihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11347401495298367324noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-70916256798009863752014-07-06T00:37:10.982-04:002014-07-06T00:37:10.982-04:00Thanks for the info! 8^)Thanks for the info! 8^)Confanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361443460498670841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-63622540824071718672014-07-06T00:36:02.454-04:002014-07-06T00:36:02.454-04:00Mr. Anderson - whatever works for you is great, fo...Mr. Anderson - whatever works for you is great, for you. I'm not saying that you can't start a character as a blank slate and define them entirely through play - I'm just saying that doing so isn't the only way to have a good game. No?Confanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361443460498670841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-52093065928333314032014-07-04T14:00:53.149-04:002014-07-04T14:00:53.149-04:00Here are the first seven Fafhrd & the Gray Mou...Here are the first seven Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser stories to be published:<br /><br />1. "The Jewels in the Forest" (AKA "Two Sought Adventure) Aug. 1939<br />2. "The Bleak Shore" (Nov. 1940)<br />3. "The Howling Tower" (June 1941)<br />4. "The Sunken Land" (Feb. 1942)<br />5. "Thieves' House" (Feb. 1943)<br />6. "Claws from the Night" (AKA "Dark Vengeance") (Fall 1951)<br />7. "The Seven Black Priests" (May 1953)<br /><br />All seven stories are in my copy of Swords against Death.Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-90193284344708928872014-07-04T13:28:30.806-04:002014-07-04T13:28:30.806-04:00We don't characterize our pawns before they st...We don't characterize our pawns before they start. The closest thing we do is assign a hierarchy to those areas they have had experience in: urban, rural, wildlands and noble. Their story starts with adventure. Characterization is terse and efficient. Deeds define them. This does not detract from the story they tell nor who they become. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-13787583904165348702014-07-04T12:23:16.117-04:002014-07-04T12:23:16.117-04:00Thanks! 8^)Thanks! 8^)Confanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361443460498670841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-8990918528722426042014-07-04T12:06:46.987-04:002014-07-04T12:06:46.987-04:00Start with "Jewels in the Forest" (eithe...Start with "Jewels in the Forest" (either in Swords against Death or Ill Met in Lankhmar, depending on which collection you have) and continue through "Lords of Quarmall." That will have you read either Swords in the Mist with Swords against Wizardry or Lean Times in Lankhmar. Then you can double back to Swords and Deviltry. That covers all the really essential Fafhrd and Gray Mouser material.Wayne R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04118962136054206381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-2490242977511836822014-07-04T12:00:59.371-04:002014-07-04T12:00:59.371-04:00That said, I do see the appeal of character backst...That said, I do see the appeal of character backstory, even elaborate character backstory, and of starting at level 0 and working your way up to "veteran" over the course of a starting adventure. It all depends on what you want to get out of play. In practical terms, I've used both and gotten some fun character arcs out of it - the former as player and DM, the latter as DM.Confanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361443460498670841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-62394469365164339452014-07-04T11:59:01.720-04:002014-07-04T11:59:01.720-04:00This is kind of tangential, but would you be willi...This is kind of tangential, but would you be willing to share the recommended order for reading the stories in question? I feel like I tried to get into Leiber at one point but bounced back out, and it may be because I simply started in the wrong place in the wrong mindset.Confanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10361443460498670841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-66441491403987864252014-07-04T11:10:53.652-04:002014-07-04T11:10:53.652-04:00I think some like more guidance on how they should...I think some like more guidance on how they should act in game, and some are comfortable seeing what comes.<br /><br />You can get good performances as a method actor and good ones as an improv artist. I'm not always willing to put much work in beforehand, and I know the tropes well enough to play whatever comes so I don't feel like I need a BUILD<br /><br />A class, a couple of items, I'm golden. I think too much info up front can clot up the discovery but not everybody is into that kind of thing<br /><br />As you appear to be saying already.Noah S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00334330076709008756noreply@blogger.com