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I have noticed over the course of the story that the thread goes into very strange places as soon as someone mentions Bards. As both players and DM's we have got to have had some very strange encounters. :ogles:

Love the story keep up the good work.
 
The Maddog said:
I have noticed over the course of the story that the thread goes into very strange places as soon as someone mentions Bards. As both players and DM's we have got to have had some very strange encounters. :ogles:

Love the story keep up the good work.
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It's more that bards typically have the highest charisma stat (and thus get considered the most beautiful characters). And gamers can be rather randy, with roleplaying being the main outlet for a fair number of hardcore gamers. It's a bit of a sterotype, but it's one that gamers do have a tendency to live down to. There's a reason why every edition of D&D so far has had (at least) one unofficial "night encounters" source book. Some treat the subject seriously, others are very much silly nonsense. But regardless of what TSR then later Wizards of the Coast desired, said source books keep getting made. Even if it's just an amateurish text only PDF.
 
The Maddog said:
I have noticed over the course of the story that the thread goes into very strange places as soon as someone mentions Bards. As both players and DM's we have got to have had some very strange encounters. :ogles:
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No, no, no, I said SLAY the dragon! With an S!

Hey, all those half breeds gotta come from somewhere.

Fortunately for me, none of the games I've been in tended to degenerate all that much, but Bard's totally have a reputation, though I think some of that is pop culture. Like any other stereotype, once embraced as the stereotype it only grows with the telling.

Kinda like naming your dwarf Hammer McAxeBeard and speaking in a horrible Scottish accent(yes I've done this), at a certain point the existence of the stories drives the generation of even more silly stories, its a positive feedback loop.
 
Think of it this way. If a dragon is going to burden herself with eggs (and future half-dragon wyrmlings) sired by a (demi)human, it makes the encounter less scandalous if said (demi)human happens to be a Rock Star.
 
Re: The Bard

I have managed to go through all of Frederik K.T. Andersson's DeviantArt archive, and I suspect the Bard in question is High Charisma, low intelligence and wisdom. He is also (probably) wealthy enough to support his children properly, if only because his various 'girlfriends' would probably break him into many small pieces. Of even greater concern is that they all manage to get along... Except for the Elven Ranger, who wants to kill him (I actually think she has a crush on the bard, too).

While it's not particularly hard to find, I'm not posting the link to it, because most of it is Adult(???)/Mature(facepalm) humor.
 
The Maddog said:
I have noticed over the course of the story that the thread goes into very strange places as soon as someone mentions Bards. As both players and DM's we have got to have had some very strange encounters. :ogles:
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You have no idea... Well, maybe you do, actually, given the subject.

Ehem, some of the more... interesting things i've seen in D&D campaigns are:

Warhammer of +5 Vs Perverts (Akane's Favourite)
Armor of Indecent Exposure
Longbow of Lactation
Batman Helm
Hand-Catapult of Custard

and so on...
Somehow, I don't think its the thead that goes into strange places, but the Verse that's part of it.
 
It's important to remember that roleplayers are all nerds to one extent or another. Which tends to mean we were socially akward while growing up and often ostracized by our peers. Especially in high school. We gathered together with others of like interests and hobbies both for the social contact we craved and for a bit of herd protection. This goes a long ways towards explaining how strange campaigns in our favorite games can get.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
It's important to remember that roleplayers are all nerds to one extent or another. Which tends to mean we were socially akward while growing up and often ostracized by our peers. Especially in high school. We gathered together with others of like interests and hobbies both for the social contact we craved and for a bit of herd protection. This goes a long ways towards explaining how strange campaigns in our favorite games can get.
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No it doesn't.

That just feeds a dumb-ass stereotype dating back to the satanic panic idiocy.

The need to paint every negative trait you can as common, or a prerequisite to enjoy something just so its easier to demonize. Thanks for assuming we were all social outcasts just becuase we can hold a conversation on a table top game and its history.

Fifty fucking years later we still can't escape Jack Chick.
 
TypoNinja said:
No it doesn't.

That just feeds a dumb-ass stereotype dating back to the satanic panic idiocy.

The need to paint every negative trait you can as common, or a prerequisite to enjoy something just so its easier to demonize. Thanks for assuming we were all social outcasts just becuase we can hold a conversation on a table top game and its history.

Fifty fucking years later we still can't escape Jack Chick.
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That's because the stereotype is entirely too true. It's only within the last couple decades that 'nerd' pass times are considered cool. And only in the last 10 years or so has roleplaying gotten to the point where 'jocks' would consider participating. Then there's the fact that children are cruel and merciless. Anyone who doesn't fit into the "in crowd" gets mocked and ostracized at best, and actively bullied at worst. Even worse, popular culture for decades encouraged such behavior.

No, not all gamers were social outcasts. But a large number of us were, and that's because we didn't fit in with what society said was "normal". For a teenage "cool kid" it was considered social suicide to do things like play chess, play video games, and have 'nerd' hobbies in general. If they were interested in that sort of thing, it had to be kept secret. Right or wrong, until very recently being a nerd has been synonymous with being a social pariah. And even now, kids are still merciless when it comes to 'nerds'. It's just that video games are no longer considered the domain of young children and nerds anymore.
 
@TypoNinja... You keep thinking I am making assumptions. I'm not. Personal experience of myself, my family, and many others I've known over the years. People from all over the USA, and in other countries. Media has spent at least 50 years encouraging the ostrization of 'nerds'. Our hobbies have been called devil worship, and accused of producing mass murderers. And the general public keeps buying into those claims. The stereotype exists because it is actually real. The media examples are often exagerated, but the fact remains that regardless of what you want to believe... the stereotype exists because it actually does happen.

Hell, I personally was bullied initially because I needed glasses to see. Eventually I managed to make a few friends, who all shared similar interests as me. We got bullied mercilessly because of those interests. When I decided to read a book to learn how to play chess better, the "cool kids" in my school decided the best thing to do was to shove me face first into a locker. My sister was part of the "cool kids" crowd, right up until her friends learned she enjoyed watching anime and playing D&D. At which point she became a social pariah, with only 2 or 3 long term friends sticking by her.

My cousins either were bullies, or got bullied because they didn't fit into social norms.

A friend of mine who lives in Aulstrelia has had similar experiences.

Hell, even Will Wheton admits that he was a social pariah growing up because he was a nerd. For that matter, his character in Star Trek TNG regularly had problems due to being nerdy. Just because you didn't experience it, don't assume it never happens.
 
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TypoNinja said:
And here you are repeating and reinforcing the vile stereotypes, thanks for all your help.
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Right back atcha. You've been consistently ignoring the very real claims that Fairy has been making. I can confirm them, I LIVED THAT LIFE. And if you haven't heard about it yet, go look up what happened around the Colombine Shooting. Part of the original story around that involved a massive crackdown on violent videogames, because the shooters were found to have played call of duty or something like that. I think they made custom maps for some videogame based on their school's layout or something. The point is that this was right around the time that the contraversy over GTA was heating up, and things got dicey for the videogames industry as a whole.

The point is: THIS SHIT HAPPENS. Don't like it? Tough. Reality has no obligation to bend to your warped worldview. If something doesn't fit neatly into your view of the world, maybe your view is flawed. Especially when basically everyone is agreeing and you're the odd man out.

(Ten Minutes Later) Sorry if this came across as ranty, I just very much dislike people treating my life as if it weren't real, or didn't have any significance. That's exactly the same bullshit that leads to kids ostracizing the "weird kids" in school in the first place.
 
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So, the point seems to be going over both your heads here.

The part I take issue with is the claim that all table top gamers have to maladjusted social rejects.

There have been groups in the past that had an interest in demonizing what is at its core harmless fun, for bullshit ideological reasons, and bullshit stereotypes helped them.

I'm offended that you want to sit there and help those idiots by supporting that demonizing portrayal, and want to foist your own insecurities onto the rest of us in the bargin. I'm not disputing that horrible stereotype exists, I'm contesting its accuracy.

That's not how it is, and that's never how it was.
 
TypoNinja said:
So, the point seems to be going over both your heads here.

The part I take issue with is the claim that all table top gamers have to maladjusted social rejects.

There have been groups in the past that had an interest in demonizing what is at its core harmless fun, for bullshit ideological reasons, and bullshit stereotypes helped them.

I'm offended that you want to sit there and help those idiots by supporting that demonizing portrayal, and want to foist your own insecurities onto the rest of us in the bargin. I'm not disputing that horrible stereotype exists, I'm contesting its accuracy.

That's not how it is, and that's never how it was.
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You are the only one making that portrayal dude, so please stop with your extremely problematic accusations that someone has to be maladjusted to be one of the bullied/unpopular kids. Ultimately the only one helping "those idiots" here is you.
 
TypoNinja said:
So, the point seems to be going over both your heads here.

The part I take issue with is the claim that all table top gamers have to maladjusted social rejects.

There have been groups in the past that had an interest in demonizing what is at its core harmless fun, for bullshit ideological reasons, and bullshit stereotypes helped them.

I'm offended that you want to sit there and help those idiots by supporting that demonizing portrayal, and want to foist your own insecurities onto the rest of us in the bargin. I'm not disputing that horrible stereotype exists, I'm contesting its accuracy.

That's not how it is, and that's never how it was.
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The only thing being unpopular means is that you're unpopular.

That can be for something as silly as not having a phone when your classmates do. Or simply not liking the same games.

Saying anyone without a million friends is 'mal-adjusted' is just really insulting.
 
If I may offer an alternative view on why "sexy shenanigans" tend to pop up in tabletop RPGs? No personal stereotypes required?

Role Play, at it's core, is all about exploring activities without directly experiencing negative consequences. Therapists use it to help patents explore their thoughts and feeling in a safe manor, couples use it to spice up their sex life, and those playing Tabletop RPGs do it to have fun.

Notice I said Directly up there; the characters will face all the consequences the player avoids for their actions. Using one of my more memorable errors as an example, just because a Paladin I was playing tossed a lit torch into the private library that held a scroll we had just stolen form Asmodeus, doesn't mean I'm the one stuck in a birdcage suspended over a lava pit for eternity.

Get a bunch of hormone fueled teenaged boys who couldn't find a girl's panties with a flashlight and a roadmap together to play some Tabletop RPG or another, and sooner or later one of them will try to bring sex into things. Depending on the group, this may never get past the thinking of it stage, or it can lead from flirting to bedroom with just a few die rolls. Meanwhile, from an outside perspective, it seems this RPG stuff is all about sex and killing things...

This would be the end of it, save for three things: First, Tabletop RPGs gave rise to Computer RPGs and MMORPGs, which tend to have a lot less "sexy shenanigans" so they can appeal to a larger user base. Second, the Internet, and particularly the Web, has allowed enough anonymity that the exploration of sexual content has moved from the tabletops to the web browser. Finally, what shenanigans do happen are no longer strictly private, due to said anonymity allowing people to post stories about the games they were in without fear of reprisal.

End result: a perception of sex charged adventures that exceeds what is actually out there, but with enough still happening to justify the perception. That certain classes tend to draw players that prefer such activities is only somewhat incidental.

As to the view that Nerds play RPGs.... there are two things one must be reasonably good at to create a character in any Tabletop RPG: Reading and Math. That the idea of Reading and Math for Fun is a trait for Nerds is an old one, as is the view that Jocks dislike both Reading and Math. I for one try not to judge one's personal preferences regarding academics based on how athletic they are, but back in the 70's and 80's that was a very popular view; the rise in popularity of personal computing diluted the view in the 90's, and nowadays even the Jocks use Smartphones whenever they can...

I will not comment on anyone's personal social experiences, not even my own.

Now, back on topic. Dennis is listed as a Dragon Bard. Dragons can bonk anything alive to have kids. Bards often will bonk anything attractive that moves. Dennis has stated he's only interested in Hlal. Any guesses as to how many centuries it will be before the consort of the Draconic Goddess of Pleasure tries for a threesome? (Don't answer that; I expect the answer would be "not in this story.")
 
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Indeed all, lets cool down before some gets annoyed and whips out the 'BanHammer of Moderation +5'. ;)

Jacen1, i'd think the threesome would be rather unlikely, because i seem to remember (again, this could be just my lousy memory) something about how 'Mated Pair' Dragons were more-or-less monogamous. Seems that dragonic 1-nighters only last until they find the right pair of slit-pupils to gaze into...
 
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*Reads/skims, and then completely ignores the last page or so*
Kryslin said:
It requires something special in the person. Something that Taylor, Amy, Dennis, Dragon, and Emily all have in common if you go far enough back in their family trees...
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I realize that magic doesn't necessarily care about such plebian things as biology, but I must question the existence of Dragon's family tree.

Besides, if you allow swapping between sexes (which you should, unless the thing you are tracking is Y chromosome or mitochondria genetics), then everyone is directly descended from a staggeringly large proportion of the global population if you go far enough back.
 
TypoNinja said:
So, the point seems to be going over both your heads here.

The part I take issue with is the claim that all table top gamers have to maladjusted social rejects.

There have been groups in the past that had an interest in demonizing what is at its core harmless fun, for bullshit ideological reasons, and bullshit stereotypes helped them.

I'm offended that you want to sit there and help those idiots by supporting that demonizing portrayal, and want to foist your own insecurities onto the rest of us in the bargin. I'm not disputing that horrible stereotype exists, I'm contesting its accuracy.

That's not how it is, and that's never how it was.
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I never said it happened to everyone. But it does happen, it's been happening since the 70's at least, and it's happened to a very large number of roleplayers because we didn't fit in with accepted social norms. Roleplayers are, and always have been, nerds to one degree or another. And this means that by and large, we tend to get the short end of the social stick. And the "nerdier" you are, the more likely you are to get bullied and socially ostracized. Don't like it? Tough, because it has happened, does happen, and is probably going to continue happening. Is it right or fair? Hell no. But that doesn't make it any less real. Hell, there's a fairly large number of posters on this forum and Space Battles that have gone through it. Kids are merciless and cruel, and that doesn't look like it's going to be changing in my lifetime.

Don't like the fact that popular media is still portraying that it's socially acceptable to pull that crap? Tough luck there, cause it's still happening. Yes, some popular media is now starting to glorify being a nerd. And yet, even then it does so using the absolute worst stereotypes out there. That's one reason I despise Big Bang Theory. Occasionally a movie or tv show tries to show that it's wrong to pull this sort of crap. But such media often doesn't do very well, or it uses the worst stereotypes. which just end up telling kids said behavor is okay if their victims aren't extreme nerds.

Of course, the irony is that often the people who get shafted by their peers in school... are also the ones that end up running successful businesses.

EDIT:
One of my biggest complaints about Big Bang Theory (other then it's not being funny) is that you are suppose to watch it and laugh at how socially inept and hopeless the nerds are. The main cast are almost all the absolute worst stereotypes about nerds. And we're suppose to laugh about how bad they are at "being human".
 
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Alert: This is a story thread. This is not the thread to discuss the mistreatment of roleplayers in society.
  • Staff Post
    • this is a story thread. this is not the thread to discuss the mistreatment of roleplayers in society.
    If you wish to discuss this in greater detail make a thread about it in the proper subforum. Otherwise, focus on the story and the events surrounding what's going on in the story.
     
  • Staff Post
    • ForestGardener said:
    I realize that magic doesn't necessarily care about such plebian things as biology, but I must question the existence of Dragon's family tree.
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    mDna is usually what's tracked, and that is inherited from your mother. My mDNA tracks to the Caucus Mountains in Asia Minor.

    I dunno if its fanon or not, but Dragon's biological processors were reputed to have some of Richter's DNA in the mix.

    FaerieKnight79 said:
    (Ranting about Big Bang Theory and Mistreatment of Nerds).
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    Aaaaand Imp'd by the Mods.

    I had something here to go with this, but It's not relevant after the warning.

    Anyway, enough of the derail, please?
     
    Jadesteele said:
    Jacen1, i'd think the threesome would be rather unlikely, because i seem to remember (again, this could be just my lousy memory) something about how 'Mated Pair' Dragons were more-or-less monogamous. Seems that dragonic 1-nighters only last until they find the right pair of slit-pupils to gaze into...
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    May I remind everyone please that a mated pair is made up of two dragons, a species known for its... let's call it "possessiveness".

    Does anyone really believe they would share their own partner with anyone?
     
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