RPPR Episode 48: Under A Dark Sun

11 Comments

1. 

   Sandrock is a Gundam, from Gundam Wing, so it would be a Toonami reference if Aaron is the sort of Otaku who watches dubbed, American TV anime. I asked him about this very thing at the table at GenCon, how do you guys miss that? It’s my favorite gundam because he’s piloted by a whinner, the only one who keeps henchman around, and doesn’t use a god damn gun. What kind of giant robot has no firearms at all?! Sandrock, that’s what kind. It’s fucking stupid and I love it. That’s the one of only like two things I’ll defend for you, Aaron. The other is Hawaiian shirts.

   Cody, bummer you don’t like the 4E approach to Dark Sun. I am surprised at what you thought you’d be getting. 4th Edition has had the approach, from day one, of being addative and making sure that all of their side settings work with basic D&D. In short: it’s all skin. The entire gameline is skin to wrap around the core book.

   Dark Sun game sounds like it will be amazing. Can’t wait to hear it.

2. 

   Wow! Totally looking forward to the Dark Sun AP, but first I gotta react to the scintillating friction between Cody and Ross during the DS reaction segment! Seriously, I personally like a little sparring, sniping and rolling for damage in my reviews. Who says the internets are only an echo chamber!

   Having said that, I totally agree with you. About everything.

3. 

   I figuredit was a Wing reference; but of all the Gundams to name youself after, why Sandrock? Why not Beyond Zeta, Beyond Hi-Nu, Beyond Burnning/God, or Beyond Turn A. Hell, you can keep it in Wing and call yourself Beyond Heavy Arms or Beyond Deathscythe Hell.

   Though,give Aarons role playing habits, Beyond Strike Freedom would probably be most appropriate

4. 

   The user name is a creation that spans back almost to the beginning of high school for me. Wing was literally the first giant robot franchise I watched, so the name has stuck with me since then. Mainly I keep using it because it is a unique name. Although if my role playing habits did reflect anything presented in MSG: SEED, all I would be doing every gaming session is participate in one fight and then flashback to that fight for the rest of the campaign.

5. 

   I cant waite to here cody doing some GM. Gonna be good!

6. 

   I appreciate the way you guys do things; it’s apparent you guys actually go through a product with a critical eye and bring well informed and presented arguments to explain your reviews of the product. It helped appreciate you guys even more when I use to listen to other podcasts and heard the host flounder to get any pertinent statements about the product they were supposed to be reviewing. I’m tired of co-hosts using non-sequitur responses as feeble attempts of comedy to mask the fact they didn’t read the material and are only on the podcast to provide an extra voice. It blows me away even more that podcasts like that get Ennie nominations.

   Again, thank you guys.

   As for Tom’s cop out at the end of the show, after he spent a good amount of time bagging on Aaron for playing a selectively “good” character, that response fits Vashek’s MO to a T. 😉

7. 

   Actually, a Warforged (Although a obsidian plated one) with a Primal or Psychic power source makes just as much sense as anything else in a Post-Apoc setting like Dark Sun. Some entity desired to take on a mortal form to interact and fight against whatever cause it feels is the source of whatever problem is bothering it at the time. When PH3 (which was unskinned material to make Dark Sun viable) comes out and drops Shardmind as a PC race, it’s not a hard stretch.

   The larger issue with Aaron’s character design is trying to play his stereotypical “Boy Scout” in a setting that makes it painfully difficult. Lawful Good with 8 (9) city-states all with a different interpretation of what Law is makes for a minimum of 9 variations of what is Lawful. And in a setting where the Primordials won and the prime material takes a sadistic joy on dumping on as many people as it can, “Good” in the traditional sense is not possible. You literally have to define Good as a more utilitarian/pragmatic perspective, where some things are NOT worth fighting over due to the overall gains vs potential losses. You do what good you can, when you can, and if you let evil slide, who cares? The gods are dead, you can’t be punished eternally for it. Dark Sun shifts so many assumptions and standards of 4th ed around, why does alignment get to be an immutable constant across all multiverses, especially in a system where alignment now only serves as an RP tool, not part of the mechanical design?

8. 

   Because it is way easier to track “alignment” as a constant, dude. A lawful good character is Athas certainly shouldn’t be held to the same standards as one in a conventional setting. Their alignment serves as a goal for their ideals. A lawful good character should strive to spread their ideals while surviving as practically as possible. They will have to make moral compromises as a matter of course in order to survive but if they continue trying to live to their virtues when possible than I’d say that is their alignment. Alignment doesn’t compell a character to act: their actions reveal their alignment.
   So we’re clear, this is not a defense of Aaron’s action as described by the other players. Aaron, man, your character sounds like a wack-job straw man for lawful good which is both sad and maddening.

9. 

   The song used in this is like a mashup between The Sex Pistols and the Halloween III silver shamrock commercial.

10. 

    Author

    Uh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

11. 

    Loved all the ‘fag’ jokes. Way to elevate the discourse.