Ask Me Anything: C1NDER

- Do you like Stephen King's book? If yes, which one is your favorite?
- Do you like legacy and/or campaign board games? Have you heard of or played Betrayal at House on the Hill or Betrayal Legacy?
- What do you like in Call of Cthulhu the most? I don't know much about this system, but I'm curious of what draws people in it. :D
- Is that LoTR on your avatar?
- Did you ever have any characters that met their demise in claws of some inhuman monsters? Or triumphantly defeated some horrific abomination in battle?
- What do you think of survival horror video game genre?

(I feel like I focused too much on the horror part of your interests, but I hope that's alright. I like horror. :D)

-Favorite personal fantasy/scifi book recs that aren't Tolkein, RR Martin, 1984, F451, or Frankenstein? Especially if it's more modern (past 20 years or so)? I'm just starting to get back into reading a good amount, and though I have a decent-sized backlog, I am looking for more to add to it :)
-Favorite class in PF2e?
-What brought you to GP?
-Is there a reason behind the username C1NDER?

What are your feelings about roleplaying in well established literary universes with one iconic set of characters, such as LotR?
Do you feel like your story has less relevance than the book one?

What do you specifically like about Pathfinder games?

Who are you in real life? Is there anything you feel especially obliged to share, or something you think we should know? How would you describe yourself?

Food Questions! What's your favorite food? You can save two fast food/convenience restaurants from oblivion, which two are they? What's the best breakfast? What's the best dessert?

ohoh, this so calls for a weekly question like: "What would be your DnD character sheet like?"

What's your Guilty Pleasure film? So bad, but you just have to watch it every time it's on...

@Adam asked me a bunch of questions like that using 5e as a framework. It's damned hard to answer!

I know 😈

What was the worst book you remember that you actually read all the way through and finished?

Okay, wow, what a great start! Okay - let's see...
- I DO like both legacy and campaign games. Betrayal at House on the Hill is both mechanically flawed and one of my favorite games. I haven't picked up/played Betrayal Legacy, but I would certainly like to. I do have Pandemic Legacy Season 1 & 2 that I need to play through, and have played a significant amount of Gloomhaven (another of my favorite games).

- Favorite thing about Call of Cthulhu..hmm...I will say my first experience with it has been in the last year when I joined one of Knifesedgegames's campaigns. I really like how well the mechanics of the system support cosmic horror. The sanity rules are brutal, but do a good job of portraying a slow (sometimes not so slow) spiral into madness. I enjoy that while combat exists, it has so far taken a back seat to solving mysteries. Character creation is great, too - even if you roll really well on stats, there's no way to be great at everything and the system really encourages players to lean on each others' strengths and support one another.

- It is! It's just a stylized black/white emblem of the Argonath. I like the simplicity of it.

- Not quite yet :| I expect it to happen any day now lol

- I do enjoy survival horror. I've been a fan of the Resident Evil series since it first started back in...1996? somewhere around there. I've played several Silent Hill games. There are a lot that I haven't played though. I've found that as I've gotten older, when I play video games I want to relax in a way that nail-biting, anxiety-driven jump scares can't let me do.
- Oh boy! I recently read Dune and loved that. More modern books - I cannot recommend Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and Stormlight Archives books enough. They're very well written and fun to read. Sanderson is a master at creating magic systems. Very worth reading if you like high fantasy. Sci-fi, I read through the John Scalzi series that starts with Old Man's War a couple years ago and really, really enjoyed that. I've started the Expanse books, also very worth your time!

- Favorite class for PF2e is hard for me to pick yet. I've only built two characters that have seen play, a rogue and a monk. Both were really fun to put together and play. I'm not sure if the mechanics support it well, but I'm really drawn to the idea of the Investigator class, mostly because I love the idea of using with and knowledge to outsmart my enemies in a non-magical way.

- I came to GP because I needed a home after taking a long hiatus from PbP gaming. I played for many years, from around 2006 to 2015, mostly on a site called PbPHouse. When I decided to get back into PbP last year, that site was defunct. I looked around and found 3 sites, signed up for all 3, and found the community at GamersPlane to be the best match for me. I also really like how clean the site looks and the resources available to support games.

- I have used Cinder as my username for a long time, all over the place. That's what I was known as on PbPHouse. I wanted to reuse it here, in case any of my friends from that old site found me here. I think one of the other 2 sites I signed up for first wouldn't allow me to use just 'Cinder' so I had to make a variation, then used it here too for consistency.

- Have you ever played a Call of Cthulhu game that wasn't set in the default 1920s? If so, when was it set and if not, which era would you like to play in?
- What's your opinion in regards to Shadowrun? Seattle plays a big part in the game's world and I'm always interested in what people think of games set around the area where they live.
- How do you feel about being in a game that happened to revolve around a city-wide plague and lockdowns just as a real life pandemic went down?

- I haven't play in any such games, and now that I'm answering this question I think its because I'm not all that interested in the idea. I don't mind playing in established literary universes, but NOT with iconic characters - I would much prefer, personally, to play a unique character in the world while the events of the established story unfold around me. No judgment for people that like to play iconic characters, just not for me :)
- Oh fun! Reminds me the opening to a job interview lol I am married, have 2 daughters. I'm an auto insurance claims adjuster for a large insurance company. I studied German for 12 years and lived in Germany for a short period. I would describe myself as easy-going and friendly, but quiet. I find it difficult being social and am rather introverted, though I've made a severe effort to break out of that over the last several years. Covid and now, permanently working from home, has not helped that much.

- Favorite Food: Nachos

- 2 Fast Food restaurants to save? gahh....I'd have to say Qdoba and Quiznos. Quite quaint, both start w/ 'Q'.

- Best breakfast for me is hashbrown potatoes, bacon/sausage/both, a couple of over-easy eggs, and a side of toast. Bonus if there is french toast involved, or pancakes.

- Best dessert? probably any kind of fruit pie.

Keep 'em coming! This is fun!
- Even though it won an Oscar, I feel like Forrest Gump is still a guilty pleasure. I can't quite see why. I guess because it's a thoughtful drama stuffed with malarkey. Stuff like Shawshank Redemption I will also watch if it happens to be on, but if I explain that one most people nod their heads and agree. Most people look at me funny when I say I like Forrest Gump. It came out when I was like 9 years old, and the historical fiction aspect of it captivated me, so much so that I became very interested in history and ended up studying it a great deal later in life.
- This is really hard for me. I tend to find the good things in almost anything I read. I always finish books I start, and usually am quite certain I'll like something before I start it due to reviews and word of mouth. This is digging really far back, but I remember not caring for Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz.
- The setting and rules are comfortable for me. I'm open to trying new stuff when I can, but I came across Pathfinder early and really fell in love with the world setting of Golarion. Like many, I chose Pathfinder over D&D 4e due to Pathfinder's similarity to D&D 3.5. I absolutely love the absurd breadth of character creation options that are available in Pathfinder 1e.
- Missed this one from earlier. Yes, I like Stephen King. As a writer, his memoir 'On Writing' is probably my favorite overall book of his. Of his fiction, could be a tie between 'It' and '11/22/63'. 'The Stand' would be up there but I feel the second half falls apart for me.
- I have not! Oh, I hadn't really thought about this until now. I think for contrast I'd want to go far back or far forward. Maybe Medieval Cthulhu? or Modern could be fun, sans high powered weapons and such. I could absolutely get down on a modern Call of Cthulhu game centered on a group of people that go hiking and come across some terrible stuff, for example.

- Unfortunately for me I don't know much about Shadowrun. I like Cyberpunk as a genre, and have several of the games on PC, but haven't actually dug into any of the material yet.

- Haha I don't feel too negatively about it. Interestingly, there's so little we can do in real life except being mindful of our own actions, it's a sort of therapeutic escape to be a character in a game where I get to have an active part in solving the problem and curing the city.

@KCC ran a medieval Cthulhu game last year. It was really fun

Wasn't it part of a set of games that when like Romans, Medieval England and Space? If I remember those have quite a good reputation.

Betrayal Legacy is pretty fantastic, the legacy mechanic works wonders in it! I played through it alone (which is not how it supposed to work, but no one I know could play a game in English with me), and I enjoyed it immensely. So highly recommend it! :D It's one of my favorites.

Did you ever try Gloomhaven the video game? Do you have any interest in video games based on board games, or vice versa?
Also, when you play board games that have you make characters (but aren't primarily RPGs), do you get invested in them? Like thinking of their background, personality, etc.? :D

Is Betrayal Legacy basically the same as the Ravenwraith game, @FlyingSucculent? Because that's how I imagine it 😄

@bowlofspinach
It was the inspiration, yes. :D Though in Betrayal you have multiple families, and usually one of the characters ends up as the traitor and fights all the others. So, Ravenwraiths if they tried to fight every single NPC (or had a rival family). XD

If I remember the names correct, there's Cthulhu Invictus (Ancient Rome), Dark Ages Cthulhu (Medieval), Gaslight Cthulhu (Steampunk/Victorian era) and another set in space that I can't recall the title of. Plus there's Delta Green for modern era Cthulhu, kind of an X-Files vibe to it.

- What are a few highlights of Golarion for you? Favourite region/organization/deity etc
- Which RPG would you say is on the top of your list to try out sometime?

Good to know! I really do like Betrayal a lot, I'll look at picking up Betrayal Legacy for my collection. I have so many things to play lol

- Yes, I've played quite a bit of the Gloomhaven video game. It's a wonderful adaptation. I'm certainly interested in either type of adaptation, as long as its done right. I do prefer to play physical games, but sometimes the allure of having no setup or cleanup is awful nice.

- Sometimes? I think it depends on the group I'm playing a game with. If I'm with the right people and playing a lengthy game of Arkham Horror or Zombicide, for example, I tend to roleplay the character a little bit and get into their head.
These all sound fun, I'd like to give those a shot at some point.

- I've always been drawn to the Golarion version of Gnomes - their connection to the 1st world, their natural wanderlust being a condition linked directly to their vibrancy and health (the bleaching). I just think its wonderful.

- Otherwise - I like the feel of the Shackles, but have spent most of my time in the River Kingdoms. The Hellknights are cool I guess, but rather dogmatic. I dig the whole idea behind the Pathfinder Society, as on-the-nose as that is. Favorite good deity - Erastil. Favorite Evil deity - Zon Kuthon.

- I think...The Expanse RPG is probably at the top of my list. Close second would be the Witcher RPG (I played a quick start, but I would like to play more) and Monster Hunters Club

If you're open for a very fast-paced game, @Dr_B is running an amazing Monster Hunters Club game here in GP that currently has an open slot!

Come join us C1NDER!

What would you say makes a great villain? You can answer separately for different types of media if need be.
You know how sometimes movie that are really similar are release at the same time? Are there any you can think of where both of the movies are good?

These are really fun questions!

- Easy for me, I've had an opinion on this for a long time. A good villain is one that has clear motivations and personal stakes in plot, just as much as the protagonist. A great villain, for me, has all that plus casually subverts the narrative and/or casually seduces the reader/viewer/player to sympathize with them...even root for them (though not necessarily more than the protagonist).

- This will be really objective, but I enjoyed both Deep Impact and Armageddon, though Armageddon was certainly better. Zootopia and Sing both came out the same year and have some overlapping ideas - both of those were pretty good. I liked both Orange County and Stealing Harvard, but I was of an age to enjoy that kind of movie when they came out.

Keep the questions coming everyone!

I appreciate the invitation, and trust me I continue to be tempted. I just can't commit to the post rate & learn SWADE right now, gotta keep things light until after I get my game launched.

Which of your fandoms that doesn't have an RPG yet deserves to have one?

Lol, I'm reading Dune right now! I'm almost done with it (planning to finish it this weekend), and I've loved it so far! Mistborn and the Stormlight Archives look awesome! I'll have to add them to my Books to Consider list :D, though, I am usually a little afraid to start an unfinished book series. For example, me and my dad really want to read the Song of Ice and Fire books together, but don't want to start them if they never get finished (staring daggers right now at GRRMartin, who is doing everything but finishing those darn books! lol).

Hmm...tbh I think all of them have one now. Seems like just about anything worth its salt has had a game made of it. Since I can't think of any specific IP, I can think of a couple that are more genre-based that I haven't seen done (though there is most certainly a system out there designed for it I don't know of) -

One would be slasher horror. A game system set up and designed around creating a teen that must gather with their friends to overcome the overwhelming odds against a dangerous slasher-style enemy.

Another would be true-crime - players create law enforcement officers that work together as part of a team to unravel a mysterious case, be it taking down a narcotics ring or catching a serial killer.

If a system exists that is designed for these, please let me know!

This is not a genre I generally watch or have even the slightest bit of interest in playing, but I know the question comes up on the r/rpg subreddit occasionally, maybe you could find a suitable suggestion in these posts.
This sounds like fun, but any reason in particular that you can't just flavor a "normal" investigation game like that?

I think Gumshoe works well for that. @Falconloft ran a game of that a while ago

Yeah, Gumshoe is specifically designed for that, although their settings tend to be a bit more fantastical. You can easily take Mutant City Blues or Trail of Cthulu and run them as straight crime though, all the tools are there.

That's good to know! I did play one Trail of Cthulhu game a while back, but otherwise was unaware of those systems. Glad to hear there's a system that would work for it though. It would be fun to play something like the show True Detective, or the game Heavy Rain.

"There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story." Frank Herbert

What was your favorite ending to an RPG campaign? TV show? Song? Movie?

RPG Campaign? Can't say I've actually gotten a chance to END a full campaign yet. Before kids and life got in the way, I was able to manage one final session as GM for the Pathfinder AP Curse of the Crimson Throne and it was JUST enough to cap off the first adventure of the campaign. That was satisfying, but I'd like to get back to it with the group when able.

TV Show? I'll get flack for this because its very divisive, but I really liked the ending for How I Met Your Mother

Song? Sorry, I don't have an answer for this one! My mind focuses on the hook/beginning of the song more than the ending, so it's not something I've thought about before.

Movie? I've always been a big fan of Donnie Darko and love how that movie ended.

In hindsight that may be a bad question, most songs just fade out.

But it is so satisfying when the end of one song leads or bleeds into the next. I love it when artists do it. Such as:
-Billie Eilish's bury a friend -> ilomilo
-Janelle Monae's Violet Stars Happy Hunting -> Many Moons, and Dance or Die -> Faster (in fact now that I think of it, a lot of Janelle Monae's do lol)
-Gorillaz' Dirty Days -> Feel Good Inc
-Pretty sure this happens on every Panic! at the Disco album

Those are just a couple I remember off the top of my head

What unusual item do you often have in pocket?

What phrase or idiom is particular to you?

If you were born in medieval times, what would your job have been?

What's your favorite nation in Golarion that you haven't yet gotten to explore?

HAH! I have a replica of the Twin Peaks hotel keychain that I guess is unique. The hotel featured in the show is about 2 hours from me, my wife took me there for a brunch last year and I bought it there.

Phrase or idiom...hmm...it's not unique to me in general, but its unique for where I live. I say 'Genau' a lot, German for 'Right'/'Exactly!'/'I agree'.

If I were born in medieval times, I'd like to hope I'd be a castle cook!...though by law of large numbers, it's more likely I'd be a serf.
I'd like to play a game set in Cheliax proper. It's an interesting region and I haven't played around in that sandbox yet.