First, thank you for referencing goblins, one of my favorite comics on the web by far and away. If you're ever in Reno, swing by. I owe ya some cookies, Tzur.
Second, godo to see a name I remember, Cocytus, and yes, as before, your rant on algiment is justified. If they can make alignment shot to hell and keep the game mechanics for behaviour and consequences from beign totally screwed, i'd be happy, even if they just ripped off a workign system from another game for it. Still hate having to re-buy everything, though.
I'll be the first ot admit alignment sucks. However, playing 3 ed. without it is beyond difficult. You think good and evil are hard, just try beign lawful, Monks can be such a nuisance to play in alignment, so I basically say lawful is defined as consistency and self-discipline and leave it at that.
As for Hobgoblins, that's why I love the Sarlya setting, where hobgoblins indeed did very well, even beating out the other races of the underdark (again, the drow's issue iwth sunlight made a few hobgoblin druids more than enough to contain the situation) and maintining control. Also, I think comapring Hobgoblins to Spartans is better than Nazis, but that's a moot point.
And yes, High-magic high Fantasy is by its very nature, an unrealistic setting. However, you can in a way play a race semi-accurately. Although a race itself is not an appropriate guideline, there are both Racial adn cultural identities, and those will in some way affect your character, even if your character concept has a backgroudn and identitiy not fitting with that race.
As for how magic is "regulated," I alwasy figured the gods and extraplanar entities that define the majority of "magical" sources had ah abit of regualting one self. And as for wehther or not civilizations could be built in such a chaotic time, yes. advanced past medieval in many ways, probably not, but you could have soem semblance of civilization at the time.
As for why "monstrous races" particularly the Mind-flayers and Hobgoblins, both of whom are nigh-unstoppable after a few levels are added, have yet to conquer the stnadard fantasy world, the character flaws that make a man a good conqueror tend to make that same man (or abberration) a poor administrator. Hobgoblins are prone to pride and self-destructive behaviour, as are most good Lawful conqueror types. Chaotic leaders are jsut too unstable, while lwaful rulers are too infelxible. Neutral conqueroros are rare, but I suppose if you foudn a man with a both a great tactical knowledge ad a n even greater sense of balance, they might become the dominanat power. but again, I woudl argue that magic is kinda like nuclear missiles, everybody's got enough to know they don't want to invade unless they are totally sure thye can both defeat all oppossition without giving enough reaction time to let the wizard's know what's happening, and they are defintely certain a victory coudl be achieved. I think that maybe a magical "cold war" is a very good method of explaining why the "monsters" havent' got the world yet.
Also, I think that the gods might interfere on bhealf of the huamns (again going very mythopoeic here, bt that's how high-fantasy always feels to me), because it certianly seems like msot of them favour humans, dwarves and the otehr "civilized" races while otehr races have smaller, less powerful or well-revered gods, and usually lack more than one.
I play a relatively reasonable campaign, in Sarlya (custom setting I currently fiddle) where the current king of the gods witnessed the einevitable collapse of the Forgotten Realms setting, and the death of the Gods but himself. He then reinstated the whole pantheon.
It seems more liek your issues are for forgottne realms than with the actual game mechanics, Tzuriel. That's why I prefer to make my own campaign setting. More fun anyway. Liek we have been fiddlign with in the forums.
First, thank you for referencing goblins, one of my favorite comics on the web by far and away. If you're ever in Reno, swing by. I owe ya some cookies, Tzur.
Second, godo to see a name I remember, Cocytus, and yes, as before, your rant on algiment is justified. If they can make alignment shot to hell and keep the game mechanics for behaviour and consequences from beign totally screwed, i'd be happy, even if they just ripped off a workign system from another game for it. Still hate having to re-buy everything, though.
I'll be the first ot admit alignment sucks. However, playing 3 ed. without it is beyond difficult. You think good and evil are hard, just try beign lawful, Monks can be such a nuisance to play in alignment, so I basically say lawful is defined as consistency and self-discipline and leave it at that.
As for Hobgoblins, that's why I love the Sarlya setting, where hobgoblins indeed did very well, even beating out the other races of the underdark (again, the drow's issue iwth sunlight made a few hobgoblin druids more than enough to contain the situation) and maintining control. Also, I think comapring Hobgoblins to Spartans is better than Nazis, but that's a moot point.
And yes, High-magic high Fantasy is by its very nature, an unrealistic setting. However, you can in a way play a race semi-accurately. Although a race itself is not an appropriate guideline, there are both Racial adn cultural identities, and those will in some way affect your character, even if your character concept has a backgroudn and identitiy not fitting with that race.
As for how magic is "regulated," I alwasy figured the gods and extraplanar entities that define the majority of "magical" sources had ah abit of regualting one self. And as for wehther or not civilizations could be built in such a chaotic time, yes. advanced past medieval in many ways, probably not, but you could have soem semblance of civilization at the time.
As for why "monstrous races" particularly the Mind-flayers and Hobgoblins, both of whom are nigh-unstoppable after a few levels are added, have yet to conquer the stnadard fantasy world, the character flaws that make a man a good conqueror tend to make that same man (or abberration) a poor administrator. Hobgoblins are prone to pride and self-destructive behaviour, as are most good Lawful conqueror types. Chaotic leaders are jsut too unstable, while lwaful rulers are too infelxible. Neutral conqueroros are rare, but I suppose if you foudn a man with a both a great tactical knowledge ad a n even greater sense of balance, they might become the dominanat power. but again, I woudl argue that magic is kinda like nuclear missiles, everybody's got enough to know they don't want to invade unless they are totally sure thye can both defeat all oppossition without giving enough reaction time to let the wizard's know what's happening, and they are defintely certain a victory coudl be achieved. I think that maybe a magical "cold war" is a very good method of explaining why the "monsters" havent' got the world yet.
Also, I think that the gods might interfere on bhealf of the huamns (again going very mythopoeic here, bt that's how high-fantasy always feels to me), because it certianly seems like msot of them favour humans, dwarves and the otehr "civilized" races while otehr races have smaller, less powerful or well-revered gods, and usually lack more than one.
I play a relatively reasonable campaign, in Sarlya (custom setting I currently fiddle) where the current king of the gods witnessed the einevitable collapse of the Forgotten Realms setting, and the death of the Gods but himself. He then reinstated the whole pantheon.
It seems more liek your issues are for forgottne realms than with the actual game mechanics, Tzuriel. That's why I prefer to make my own campaign setting. More fun anyway. Liek we have been fiddlign with in the forums.
From Sarlya with love and wildly yours,
Theo