To Protect and To Serve

@wearewatchman

When the sun goes down, the city needs brave men and women to keep her people safe. That's where we come in. Member of the We Are Adventurers collective.

1,228 posts

the-greentext-guy

here's a transcript:

>walking home from a party late one evening >several guys were following me, as my drunk ass managed to piss them off by existing >try to walk faster, to no avail, as I'm drunk as shit >catch me in some random student neighbourhood >oh shit, my ass is about to be beaten >still in talking phase >lights flick on in a house >three guys in full musketeer garb walk out >leader is some blond guy with a beard, eyepatch, and some weird-ass accent >"What sort of ruffians would be accosting someone outside our residence? Stand and deliver!" >guys start yelling at them to fuck off, that I deserved to get my ass beaten >"Very well, then. Draw steel, you blackguard!" >all three of them draw rapiers on their belts >guys run >"I know not why those foul men sought your harm, but come and tell us the tale, stranger!" >spend remainder of evening drinking mulled wine with lunatics >bunch of Swedish re-enactors live there >blond guy is actually missing an eye; lost it in an machine shop accident >stagger home completely drunk with a hat

I had no idea people like that existed. Or had the money to rent a house.

in addition to two comments reading "FUCKING EPIC" and "THIS A THOUSAND TIMES THIS" op elaborated further in another post:

Holy shit, is this still being posted?

I figure I owe /tg/ a bit of an update on these guys.

Their leader, O he of one eye and little common sense, nearly had his visa revoked for these kinds of shenanigans. One too many arrests meant that his right to stay in the country was contested, and he had to go to court to defend himself and prevent his visa from being revoked.

I was his ride to court, and had to testify to the board that he shouldn't be deported for lack of common sense or social normality.

His defense? A written speech, about three pages long, about the rights of man, the education he has received here, and the opportunities for a one-eyed machinist. The spirit of his crimes were all in defense of people who would otherwise suffer. For other witnesses, he had some of the random people he'd helped out, including one memorable point where a woman, nearly on the verge of tears, pointed out how he'd taken on a guy threatening to rape her and carrying a knife by whipping out a fencing saber, disarming him, and mocking him in his thick Swedish accent so that the girl could call the cops. Something like a dozen people all showed up, explaining how this dude, despite his eccentricities, made the country better.

He was not deported, and lives here to this very day, stalking the streets in musketeer garb, rescuing drunks, and dispensing his own brand of justice.

The superhero we deserve

All for one and one for all gents.

No cops only one eyed sweedes with rapiers

@wearevigilante

gluttonousgoddess

I never got this. You wouldn’t expect someone rolling to pickpocket an NPC to pickpocket you. Not everyone is good with words or knows just what to say, and that’s the beauty of roleplaying games, in that you can have your character be the exact opposite of you and have it work.

If you’re going to play a Charismatic character then you’re gonna have to learn to get outside of your comfort zone and be charismatic. D&D isn’t a, “I just do it,” kind of game.

bardicknowledgeblogger

I mean… I don’t agree with that.

I certainly want my players to try describe what they’re doing with any mechanic, and I even give them bonuses to the roll if they do a really good job. I ask them to do more than just say “I seduce them” but it can be as basic as “I’m going to try and compliment them see if I can steer that in a flirtatious manner” or whatever. But they don’t have to lean over the table and give me bedroom eyes and start trying to woo me.

It’s really not fair to lock your players out of a Charismatic character if they don’t have the skills to be that in real life. It’s not like being charismatic and charming is just something everyone can do if they are “comfortable” enough - it’s a skill like everything else in life. If the player knows what their charismatic character would do in a situation, then it shouldn’t matter if they can actually step by step go through it - that’s actually, literally the point of having the stats in the first place.

If you’re going to enforce your players being Charismatic and being able to perform the character as such regardless of the assigned stat numbers and dice rolls, then you had better be applying that same expectation to everyone else at the table. Do you make your Fighter swing a sword for every attack to show you how he hits the enemy? Do you make your Barbarian actually break down the kitchen door to show how she throws herself into it? Do you make your rogue actually lockpick a box you prepared for the game in front of you?

Part of the fun in an RPG is the storytelling and character dialogue. But another part is getting to play a game and tell a story with a character that isn’t you. If all people are “allowed” to play in a game like this are characters that can do what they can do, then what’s the point?

It does raise an interesting problem--and by "problem," I mean something to be solved, not avoided--in that being particularly seductive or persuasive can bleed into the character's personality in a way being a skilled pickpocket or acrobat does not. Although players are not their characters, and do not need to be, they are the actors who portray their character to the rest of the table. So, if a player can't convey their character's actions effectively, it can effect everyone's experience.

So, the problem is, how does an "uncharismatic" player portray a highly charismatic character?

Tell, don't show; this is probably the easiest solution, and it will play better than you may think. Saying things like, "I will attempt to appeal to her logical side," or "I'll try to flatter him into coming with me," gives everyone an idea of what you're going for, without the need for impromptu soliloquy.

Play to your strengths; nobody is totally devoid of charm. If you know that you have something going for you, apply it whenever possible. Do you have natural comedic timing? Use jokes to break the ice. Have an above-average vocabulary? Use big words to sound sophisticated. You aren't playing yourself, but if you have applicable talents, use them!

Steal lines; most people who play TTRPGs are avid consumers of storytelling: Books, plays, films, TV, etc. So steal your favorite speeches and one-liners wholesale. Nobody in the fantasy world should know or care that you're quoting flirty dialogue from a RomCom, and it will give everyone a sense of the kinds of things your character would say.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of solutions, but maybe it will help somebody who isn't a Casanova, they just play one on game night.

Polite reminder that if this offends you, unfollow me. To anyone else, like and reblog if you would burn them too!

The only places these should exist are behind glass at a museum.

weareadventurers

A Vigilante Joins The Collective

Many are those who seek to further the cause of righteousness. But to some, this is more than a cause… it is a calling. Whether for justice or for revenge, these figures work outside the law, living double lives and fighting for what they think is right. Though some may question their methods, few can deny their effectiveness.

Everyone, please welcome @wearevigilante to the Collective!

I’m keeping my eye on you…

And I you, Officer.

“ @wearewatchman , if you can work with me, you can work with our new friend.”

"Never said I wouldn't. But y'don't wear a mask unless you've something to hide, and I don't want t'be caught off guard if their secrets are more sinister than we presume."

Bolin has gotten his tongue stuck to a pole during winter

*every winter

oldmemesandhelpandthings-gone

Send Me Your Assumptions About My Muse

and I’ll respond with “Correct”, “Nope”, or “Kinda”.

weareadventurers

A Vigilante Joins The Collective

Many are those who seek to further the cause of righteousness. But to some, this is more than a cause… it is a calling. Whether for justice or for revenge, these figures work outside the law, living double lives and fighting for what they think is right. Though some may question their methods, few can deny their effectiveness.

Everyone, please welcome @wearevigilante to the Collective!

I'm keeping my eye on you...

weareadventurers

Hey there, everyone. We're back. I'm going to be completely honest, I don't have a whole lot of information for you right now. I'm still trying establish contact with various people. Paladin will probably have a more official and much more informative post later, but for now, I just wanted to let y'all know that we're not dead to hopefully help ease any worries people might have. More information to come!

-PC

weareadventurers

...It appears that our deaths (the WAA’s and mine) were exaggerated. Don’t ask me how it happened, I have no idea either. I will now run to urgently back up everything, and get back to you later. Thanks for your patience and support.

~ Rogue

Hell yeah!

i need “Happier than a necromancer in a natural history museum” to become a known phrase immediately

@the-tao-of-fandom: #sir if you touch the fossils exhibit i will personally kill you

Nothing would be left, they should be respected and observed. And I think many of the big displays are actually molds

Necromancer: *retreats into the museum* “HAHAHA! Rise my army of prehistoric monsters!!”

Murphy: “…”

Bolin: “…”

Necromancer: “… None of these are real bones, are they.”

Murphy: “They are not.”

Bolin: “Why didn’t you go to the cemetery?”

Necromancer: “D'oh!”

How often do they have to deal with shenanigans like that?

Less than you’d think, and more than you’d hope

“Maybe you could use them to set up traps for necromancers?”

"It's not necromancers specifically... let me explain.

Government funding has gradually been sucked away from the Mage's College, which means tuition's gone up, but th' quality've th' facility and number've faculty members has not. What this ultimately means is more dropouts.

Now, imagine bein' a twenty-somethin' with a partial understandin've wizardry, but no certification and very little money. You've heard stories from two valleys over about a dark mage who terrorises folk into givin'em whatever they please. And your bitter, and probably had a bit to drink, and y'think t'yourself, 'how hard could it be? I have spells,' but y'don't have any real expertise, or a plan, and this is where y'end up.

Luckily, most've these dumb kids don't accomplish much here in Winchester, since safeguards against low-rank magic are fairly common. That necromancer will probably get one year--considerably less if he opts for a rehabilitation program.

I'd like t'help these folks out a little more, but their only real skills are usually magic-related, and I certainly don't have th' means to finish their education. Maybe someone in our organisation knows a low-cost wizard school?"

#this got a little real for what started as a dumb joke #but i had an interesting idea and so

I will announce more later because I’m at work, but the WAA main page was unceremoniously deleted without my consent, and it appears Rogue was targeted and their blogs terminated as well.

So, if there is no objection from the Collective, This evening I’ll begin the process of rebuilding what was destroyed as a leadership figure. I’ll need a list of all active collective blogs, as the original list is no more, and I will have to start from scratch.

We are first and foremost a community that will support each other in times like this. Whatever help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I’ll speak again soon.

Since my initial post, I’ve filed a request Support in the hopes that something can be done to recover what has been lost. As of yet, no response. In the meantime, I’ve started making a new list based on who’s responded or otherwise contacted me, and will be part of the new archive listing active collective members. Rogue, sadly, has informed me that they will no longer be among them, as this latest debacle has convinced them to retire. My anger and sorrow at this cannot be understated, for the Collective as we know it would simply have never existed without Rogue’s help.

For them I send my love and hope, and the faith that whatever they do now, they will help make the world better.

It’s late, but here is who I have thus far. If there’s anyone missing, please inform me. I am also looking particularly for those who were recognized as official members, though I suppose by the end of things we’ll have room to recruit. My list thus far includes

@we-are-artificer

@we-are-artillerist

@we-are-avenger

@we-are-fighter

@we-are-guildmaster

@we-are-horizon-walker

@we-are-illusionists

@we-are-knight

@we-are-lawyer

@we-are-monk

@we-are-ninja

@we-are-pirate

@we-are-ranger

@we-are-scarlet-corsair

@we-are-spore-druid

@we-are-trickster

@we-are-viking

@we-arerevolutionary

@weare-druids

@wearealchemist

@wearebarbarian

@wearebard

@wearebeguiler

@wearebloodhunter

@wearecelestialwarlock

@wearecleric

@wearecooks

@wearecowboy

@wearedark-knight

@wearefavoredsoul

@we-are-guildmaster

@wearemage

@wearemercs

@wearenecromancers

@weareoracle

@wearepaladin

@weareplanarchampion

@weareseeker

@wearesorcerer

@wearesoulbinder

@wearewarpriest

@wearewatchman

@wearewitchslayer

Who does things like this? Is their life truly so meaningless?

I'm sorry to hear about Rogue. I don't know if anybody put as much effort into this humble group project than she did, and it's sad to see her go, though I don't blame her in the slightest.

I will announce more later because I’m at work, but the WAA main page was unceremoniously deleted without my consent, and it appears Rogue was targeted and their blogs terminated as well.

So, if there is no objection from the Collective, This evening I’ll begin the process of rebuilding what was destroyed as a leadership figure. I’ll need a list of all active collective blogs, as the original list is no more, and I will have to start from scratch.

We are first and foremost a community that will support each other in times like this. Whatever help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I’ll speak again soon.

Well, that's fun.

i need “Happier than a necromancer in a natural history museum” to become a known phrase immediately

@the-tao-of-fandom: #sir if you touch the fossils exhibit i will personally kill you

Nothing would be left, they should be respected and observed. And I think many of the big displays are actually molds

Necromancer: *retreats into the museum* “HAHAHA! Rise my army of prehistoric monsters!!”

Murphy: “…”

Bolin: “…”

Necromancer: “… None of these are real bones, are they.”

Murphy: “They are not.”

Bolin: “Why didn’t you go to the cemetery?”

Necromancer: “D'oh!”

How often do they have to deal with shenanigans like that?

Less than you'd think, and more than you'd hope

i need “Happier than a necromancer in a natural history museum” to become a known phrase immediately

@the-tao-of-fandom: #sir if you touch the fossils exhibit i will personally kill you

Nothing would be left, they should be respected and observed. And I think many of the big displays are actually molds

Necromancer: *retreats into the museum* "HAHAHA! Rise my army of prehistoric monsters!!"

Murphy: "..."

Bolin: "..."

Necromancer: "... None of these are real bones, are they."

Murphy: "They are not."

Bolin: "Why didn't you go to the cemetery?"

Necromancer: "D'oh!"

The more I think about it, the more I think detect magic and prestidigation should not be spells, but functions of the Spellcraft skill and fluff, respectively (maybe requiring a caster level).

I prefer giving all casters unlimited 0-level spells. Then casters can do minor things like this whenever they please, but the rogue who doesn't have any magical qualities can't.

“One last attempt at glory to impress a master who has no further use for you.”

AHSOKA - E.K. Johnston

Pffffft

I get it

What would you say if i said i worked it out and you can't be just AND kind. Justice doesn't have room for kindness.

I would say you’re a fool. Justice without compassion is cruelty.

Kindness is not the same thing as being nice.

True kindness knows when to say "Enough is enough, and if you won't stop causing harm, then I will stop you, because I love you, and I can't let you continue to destroy yourself."

this is the thumbs-up percy

that’s it that’s the post

I don't have a problem you have a problem

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