Your guilty pleasures: >opposing factions are required by

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>>50430675
Characters getting horrifically wounded but keep standing back up despite seemingly lethal injuries. Related to getting beaten down to absolute basics and still fighting.

>the ruling church is corrupt
>the town is infested by a cult
>both at the same time
>they're not the same faction

Does it count as guilty if I'm completely unashamed of and revel in it?

>>50430675
>the antagonist group is a mirror of the protagonist

Whether they're just people with the same skills or straight up alternate versions. I love it.

The BEBG happens to be the Hero of the last Five Man Band to save the world. Bonus points if he hasn't done anything differently than the current hero would in his position.

IE - He rose to fight because his people were oppressed, then naturally chose every choice that benefited his people, even if it meant stomping on the civilians of the old villain faction.

Just keep switching who's the resistance/rebellion/insurgents/terrorists forever and ever unto eternity.

Crumpled on the floor, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, tossing the crown at the new guy's feet and cackling as they boldly claim he might as well start wearing it now.

>>50430675
Every single person the PCs have helped shows up to return the favor and help them in the final battle against the BBEG's army in some way.

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>the hero humbly moralfags despite it being a shitty world. No grand gestures. Just things as simple as refusing payment for jobs, helping people to safety, or even something as simple as getting a lost girl back to her folks.

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>Huge, hulking badass has an adorable sidekick he protects with his life

>>50430675
>Hoping that Sisters of Battle are removed as a playable faction, but not squatted.
Because Squatting implies that they'll be removed from the setting, never to be mentioned again.

>>50431457
I hope they are squatted. They're shit and the only reason anyone cares is boobies.

>>50430866
This is so fun.

>>50430782
This is also very fun.

>>50430764
Read Gash Bell man. It's chock full of that good shit.

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>>50430675
Laughing at fags like >>50431457

>>50431486
Just like how the only reason people care about Space Marines is their toned and chiseled abs, right? :^)

>big strong guy/small fast guy that always fight as a team

>>50431571
>mfw this was me and my best friend in an underground Mexican luchador fight club because of his massive debts and my inability to say no
Good times

>>50430675
Psychological shit. Hallucinations, indoctrination, insanity, psychosis. My favorite games are when the antagonist is often not some shadowy figure or a big threat, but rather themselves.

My only other guilty pleasure is splitting the party. I intentionally make them fight and have collision points.

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Do Anything The Plot Demands Robot.

While R2 should not fly, I do enjoy his technobabble skipping versatility.

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>>50431206
Seconding because I love the fuck out of this.

Social into Investigation into Combat Encounter

It's very satisfying to earn my adventure and then earn combat against the big bad

>>50431589
Storytime.

>When a character with a rigid world view has their convictions challenged
I don't care if they double down on their beliefs or if they change how they think. I just love these types of conflicts, especially if it happens between party members.

>>50431793
Alright but I haven't pretyped it or anything so there may be a gap between posts.
>Be four years ago
>Living in Mexico City with best friend
>Both working for a local tourism agency
>Friend can't go back to Canada because that fucker somehow pissed off the triad or the Mafia or some shit.
>I don't know and I don't want to know.
>Decide to go out for drinks one night
>Get pretty tipsy, though I handle my alcohol way better than my piss drunk friend
>Dip into the toilets, come out to see my friend nowhere to be found.
>Ask around, he went to the gambling parlor next door
>By the time I walk in he's already bet all of his money on roulette.
>Loses everything. Drunkenly tries to formulate a plan to get some more.
>Bartender in the parlor overhears us and beckons us over
>Tells us to meet him in the basement after hours if we want to make some quick cash.

>>50430675
Those two guys. You know the ones.
Easily replacable, one a well-meaning bumbler who has flashes of insight and the other a snarky guy who thinks himself too smart for his own good.

>>50430782
That sounds awesomely grim.

Two questions:

How corrupt is the church? Supernatural or just mortal evil, and if so, how bad?

How evil is the cult? Supernatural 40k horrorfest, mortal but horrifying culty evils, also how bad?

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>>50430675
The boss fights very similarly to yourself, 1v1, in a duel, no tricks, no goons, no traps.

>He draws his sword, taunts, then waits for your move. After 10 seconds, he starts slowly walking towards you.

The recurring quirky mini-boss squad.

>>50431942
The appeal to me is being caught between a rock and a hard place, but if we're going by my preference:

>church is well meaning, but sanity is slipping away and members lose touch with reality. The law of the church is more important than the intention
>supernatural, willing to kill and mutilate people to appease the gods, connected to grotesque, monstrous beings that they worship, harmful because they prioritize worship over the people and so end up sacrificing them (figuratively and literally)

>cult is more amoral than specifically evil, but at such extremes that they're willing to sacrifice all aspects of their own humanity and the lives of individuals are trivial
>supernatural, conducting experiments on people and turning them into monsters, attempting to gain knowledge/power, do things like routinely kidnapping people or summoning demons haphazardly and don't clean up after themselves, mostly harmful because they're stirring shit up

In a metaphor, one is scrubbing the pot too hard and wearing a hole into it, and the other is just letting grime build up.

>>50431918
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j73gYxsxRrs

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>>50430675
Quixotan figures that relentlessly pursue what's right, even if the world is set against them.

>>50431206
I did that once. They ended up with a domineering vampiress and her daughter plus a legion of vampire knights and skeletal warriors, the ice witch queen Erika with her frost-heart Phoenix and her 100-ft ice colossi, and Gwyndolin the sorcerer who can transform into a dragon.
It was a silly campaign.

>>50432129

I found it interesting that when I read Quixote, the characters who ended up coming across as the most reprehensible were the Priest and the Barber; for two people claiming to be trying to cure Quixote of his madness, they sure did like to mock him and push him further down the rabbit hole.

Silly characters in otherwise gritty universes or vice versa. It shouldn't be too often else it loses its effect. My two favourite examples are orks and Lich prank wars

>>50430675
>It was ancient ayys

My guilty pleasure is npcs that appear helpful but will ultimately fuck th party over. I don't do it often, cause if you do your players hate your ass, but I love doing it.

>>50430764
This. Even better if they endure so much that their enemy starts to get panicked and slowly grows more afraid or angry each time they refuse to stay down.

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>Climatic scenes accompanied by pop music.
Its like my favorite fucking thing in the world. I always throw something on for myself whenever anyone is going clutch mode in some character arc/plotline finale.
I don't even do the "Character theme song" stuff but still I love doing this.
https://youtu.be/9cnBxSB1jUE?t=1m21s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfM5rHH_xTs

>>50430866
I try to do this with every game I run.

>Rival Group
>Ancient advanced technology or aliens in a dungeon
>Dinosaurs
>Hookers with hearts of gold
>Cute boys
>Letters home found on dead NPCs, whether villainous, friendly, or neutral
>Old people are retired high level adventurers
>Plot- or character-relevant vision quest brought on by hallucinogenics

I have a veritable harem of guilty pleasures, and I'm running a wild west game now, so they're all in my bag of tricks.

The "I've had enough" or disillusioned hero.

>Party saves the town/kingdom/world from catastrophe
>powers that be repeatedly act against their interests
>fear/greed/stupidity time and again
>party grows more jaded and bitter until they eventually turn

This goes for any big bad. Hell in ME my headcannon is still Shepard laughing on earth while the reapers roll in

>>50431310

This.

A character with sort of a nihilist attitude that just wants to be left alone by the goverment or anyone in power. It turns out the character values friendship and liberty. And he/she would fight to the death for his friends and the freedom of others.

>>50430764
Try her adopted father for example.
Grey Voice had a psychic compulsory in his brain to extract massive amounts of pain if he ever ensued violence, and STILL went full-toucan on Mother Brain and Ridley.

>>50430675

I am sick of animated Star Wars! Give me a tv series with actual human beings playing a character.

Please see Marvel Superheros, Star Wars.

I love:
>old guy rouge with more tricks up his sleeve than sand on the beach
>grizzled old general that laughs, smokes, and bullshits with his men
>happy go lucky rouges
>fighters that lose their shit and are found standing in a bring of bodies covered in wounds
>"IM TOO STUBBORN TO DIE!!"
>death defying jumps.
>Warrior monks
>enemy, that was once a friend who believes he was abandoned, seeks revenge
>finding out your family/clan/hometown leaders were planning on betraying you to the bbeg

The corrupt Church of evil/ Evil Empire/ Corrupt merchant guild/ Soulless megacorp are actually well intentioned. It's just that at the start of the game the PCs have no idea what is really at stake and why they're doing what they're doing.

Also: The good guy that the PCs think will turn evil/be revealed to having been evil all along (the shifty, mysterious court wizard, the ambitious general, the second son of the king) not only is actually a good guy but he's been secretly helping them from the shadows from day one and he'll be their strongest ally by the end of the game, of they don't murder him in a fit of paranoia.

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>>50430675
>Sci-fi without aliens
>Sci-fi with very limited FTL travel

>>50433086
Same.

I also tend to make at least one of them really interested in the PC group for some sweet "Romeo and Juliet" style of trouble, and inevitably have them work together at some point, by choice or force.

It helps that I rarely have more than 1 campaign with the same people twice, so no one ever actually notices the trend.

Worst case is bad though, still had this one group where I had 3 female players, who was all instantly stricken by the rogue from the antagonist group. The remaining guy was desperately trying to keep the group on track, while the 3 girls tried everything from recruiting the guy, to straight up joining him.

Had to kill the poor bastard to avoid derailing everything too hard, mostly because we had a sudden influx of highly lethal PvP, when they started fighting over him.

>thicc leather belts
>witch hunters in great coats
>black powder rifles, pistols, and shotguns
>down on their luck detectives
>1v1 boss fights
>the "Civilized Savage" who is known as a traitor
>witch cults!!!!!!
>magic that has side effects
>soldiers that idolize their "Boss" for no other reason than " HE'S SO GREAT! I WANNA BE LIKE HIM." Bonus points if the "boss" doesn't care about them till they get into trouble before he saves them.
>constant in game bantz
>PCs are invited to the BBEGs resort, castel, mansion so he can toy with them
>PCs having to work outside their fields to afford supplies to continue their adventure.
This always works wonders for RP when its a 1920s or later CoC game. Had them in a big box store trying to make enough money to rent a shitty apartment and chase down a mook. But little did they know, there was more than milk to clean up on isle 3.

>>50434255
Hello have you heard of the Energeos setting because I have.

>>50430675
>Using the PCs friends and families as way to drag them deeper into the game.

Not using the typical "the BBEG murders your parent" but have PC actions affect the lives of the people they know.

>>50432219
The whole book revolves around how everyone is a cunt except the absolute madman and the guy mad enough to follow the madman.

>a hero gets turned into a horrific monster
>when the time is right they regain some of their sanity and self control and absolutely wreck shit

>there's a scatterbrained or otherwise incompetent ally
>they turn out to be incredibly strong in a fight, sometimes to ludicrous degrees
>bonus points of they are genuinely that bumbling, and weren't pretending to be; they were just really strong and really not good at what they do

Edgy dark costumes.

Bonus points if the ones who wear them are just normal or even nice guys.

>the absolute good guy, all about doing the best he can for the world he lives in, knowing it's fucking hard and likely to fail, but does not compromise the justice he strives for
>the true bastard that lives to get what they want, and will burn everyone that stands in their way

>>50434203
Holy fuck, so much yes for general, old rogue and enemy.

Also:
>Immortals actually enjoying their immortality.
>Casual looking fighter who is always calm turns out to be master swordman.
>Legendary heroes who retired and do normal, everyday shit with their families and time to time do something fucking badass.
>Smuggler who actually turns out to be smuggling supplies for poor people and medicals for wounded.
>Wizard of the court turns out to be young and inexperienced, but extremely powerful guy who is also a bro in terms of personality.
>PCs searching for Thieves Guild ask around the time and are sent to various other people until they almost snap and during revelation it turns out that all of people they met were actually members of the guild playing joke on them.

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>>50434203

>Women in positions of power and respect.
>Factional genocide and open racism
>Criminal cartels in control and corrupting every layer of society.
>Turbo-fanatic religious orders that take everything to the extreme.
>MMO-like bossfights with area of effects, cast times and adds.
>Inflicting scars and wounds on my PCs to make them understand their mortality.

And my favorite of all

>Upgrading and naming useless goons the PCs fail to kill after several initiative passes.

>recurring enemy group who is basically a Team Rocket clone

>>50434467
>a hero gets turned into a horrific monster
>when the time is right they regain some of their sanity and self control and absolutely wreck shit

I too do like Ludwig the Holy Hunter

>>50434501
So, Dark Heresy?

>>50434499
around the town*

>>50433926
this is exactly how i play my berserker

>>50434525
Star Wars The Old Republic actually.

>>50434521
Everything about that fight was great.
Pretty much the entire main gane Ludwig gets hyped up as a badass in the item descriptions, which you are bound to see on the loading screens, and when you finally fight him he's that pitiful looking horse thing.

Then halfway through the fight he turns right back into a powerful swordsman, cementing the fact that he's just THAT cool, and while wielding the Holy Moonlight Blade no less.

>>50434580
>PLAYING LS sith warrior female who isn't retarded bitch and actually want to do good for people of the Empire.

Feels great. Any other playstyle I should try? I just freshly subbed.

>>50434607
I rolled with a smug, bored looking and bare-chested body type 3 pureblood male. What should of been the mindless bruiser Baras dispatched to reset shit ended up being a well-spoken and reasonable bastard. Enjoyed bants with his bosses's minions, took the time to actually solve problems and likewise worked to be less sith when it came to failure beyond other's control or any reasonable effort.

Never killed any of my one men who didn't truly deserve it. To this day I'm annoyed that the betrayal has to happen

My favorite trope, that I have only pulled twice, is the time travel trope.

I love the idea of the PCs having to time-cop meets Bill & Ted through an adventure that THEY created.

its kinda hard to do without them knowing, since the first half of the game sets the pace for the second half (When they time travel) but its usually great. Very Orciana of Time-ish

>>50434607
The honor-bound BH route is pretty good. You get to take DS and LS choice to keep your honor.

Trooper choices are also good, you can be the dirty spec ops guy who does shit for his superior or this super-patriot.

>>50434673
Do you actually get a chance to kick Brass in his fat, masked ass?

>>50434770
At the end of the class story you and him duke it out in front of the council. He is stripped of his newfound role, his pride and life while you are anointed with the kind of role that- depending on the era is either a singular honour, or a pointless bit of ceremony

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>the power of friendship saves the day

Completely guiltless.

>>50434712
Are you me?

>>50434795

>Beat Agent chapter 1

Well that was an obvious twist I wonder where Intelligence will send me nex--

>Beginning chapter 2

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHThank you, I am fine. Awaiting further orders.

>>50431918
And now I want to play the old Thief games again.

"Going to the bear pits tomorrow. You wanna come with?"

>>50434795
You drive Nomen Karr to the dark side by pointing out that you're better than him, that he and Darth Baras are just two old men fighting out an old grudge and quoting the Jedi code at him as he slowly descends into insanity. When Jaesa shows up, the Warrior asks her to look into her master's heart and see the truth, showing how far Karr's fallen. Then the Warrior asks her to look into their own heart, showing only fairness, mercy and compassion. You can top it all off by sending Nomen Karr back to the Jedi Council so they can 'rehabilitate him', which comes across as an epic troll and final humiliation.


Holy fucking, that is KOTOR 2 tier of badass.

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>>50431159
Dammit I was basing my BBEG on this and I hadn't even realised it. I'll probably even use the last sentence literally.

>>50434673
The whole of chapter 2 builds towards the betrayal. Conflict with Baras was inevitable.

They just dropped the ball in how it all goes down.

>>50434883
yeah the agent story is pretty good. It and warrior are far and away the best. after that BH does well after a somewhat..rocky start while the sorc story is just abject trash.

>>50434929
swtor has some moments, yes. However now I need to fire kotor2 back up and hear kreia's voice again

Destiny and cycles, beyond anyones ccontrol. I love that shit, I could eat "rage Against the dying Light" all day and still come back for seconds.

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>>50431871
Holy shit, I thought you meant it happened in a campaign but this is even better

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>massive brutal melee fighter is actually the friendliest and most agreeable member of the party

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>>50430675
>Old, crumbled and spent hero rises up to the challenge, if not to win, but at least to fight one last time

>>50430675
Why is Anakin not in the middle of that? Symbolism opportunity lost....

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>>50435018

Keyphrase: onomatophobia

>>50435120
where is that from?

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>>50435156

r8 my agent

The Evil Entity of the Apocalypse chooses an innocent child as it's vessel.

Veteran Vampire/Monster Hunter NPC still searching for the monster that ruined his life.

The Spaceship is a hunk of junk barely holding together

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>>50430675
>>Women in positions of power and respect.
Bruh
>>Factional genocide and open racism
Bruhhhh
>>Turbo-fanatic religious orders that take everything to the extreme.
Some of my favorite characters are ones who took an order too seriously, and regret it. Making them jaded and a bit spiteful, but on their own path to redemption
>>MMO-like bossfights with area of effects, cast times and adds.
Best boss fights
>>Inflicting scars and wounds on my PCs to make them understand their mortality.
My players love this. One rped when his character cutting out stitches using a pail of water as a mirror and a dagger while another character leaned against the door way asking if he wants to talk about it.
>
>And my favorite of all
>
>>Upgrading and naming useless goons the PCs fail to kill after several initiative passes.
Bruuuuhhhhhhh

10/10 would play the hell out of.

Advanced technology indistinguishable from magic.

Bikini armor and fantasy nudity.

Weirdly erotic demon cults.

Heist plots.

Willpower as magical force/power.

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>the tank/melee-powerhouse is thin as a rake
>the quiet character has a berserk switch
>blood-based powers
>redeemed villains
Basically everything about Crona's design is a guilty pleasure for me

Taking magical items and spells and using them to create technology.

>>50430675
>the hero/ine and the villain/ess fall in love
In the same vein,
>the hero becomes a villain for love

>>50434203
>grizzled old general that laughs, smokes, and bullshits with his men
>fighters that lose their shit and are found standing in a bring of bodies covered in wounds
>Warrior monks

These are gold, my favourites are
>The old grizzled veteran, maybe mentor, that sacrifices himself so the party can escape from the BBEG

>Last Stands, those back to back moments when the party is surrounded and instead of fleeing they chose to go out in a bang. And probably be saved at the last moment by a group of NPCs that they helped during their travels.

>The BBEG liutenant that follows his master for a noble cause, like protecting his children from serving evil.

>Honourable bad guys, they do evil yes, but they still hold to their honour. Be it healing the party before fighting or not killing anyone who can't defend himself.

>>50434499
>Casual looking fighter who is always calm turns out to be master swordman.
Love this so much.

>playing in a game where we are traveling with a caravan most of the time. It makes week long stops at every major town, and has a lot of new faces every time, except for a handful of regulars like ourselves.
>this one hobo type of dude, always playing on this flute of his.
>he's okay, but overall it is just his friendly and carefree attitude that makes him likeable.
>never seen him fight, we just know he was the hired sword originally, before we joined in. Lazy as fuck kind of guy.
>A fight went sideways later on, these dragons giving us massive troubles because one is old as fuck, and they are still 3 against 4, and we are like level 9.
>suddenly guy joins in
>tanks a dragon breath to the face, and cuts the dragons jaw open, before mounting it as it tries to escape.
>wrecks its shit hard
>we manage to deal with the two larger ones
>dude is just frowning, didn't really wanna fight.
>asks if the fighter, wielding a mere +2 longsword, wants to trade it out for his +5 longsword of fuck you (it don't have enough space to describe what it does, it's nuts.)
>we are left bewildered, while the guy just goes back to playing his shitty flute, chilling in the back of the caravan.

>>50435307
0/10 not in uniform.

>>50432782
>Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.
>STOP SAYING THAAAT!

>>50435432
It's a real shame he got sidelined so hard.

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>Genuinely awful villain joins good guys for reasons even he isn't entirely sure of, becomes part of core cast.

>>50434501
>>50435405
Was supposed to be to you.

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>Character has genuine connection, something they'd go against their other traits or values and die for, whether they're a benevolent paladin breaking their oath, scheming selfish rogue dropping their big score or evil mcdoombad saving the rest of the world til he gets to it later
>Character has some kind of power or panic mode where they sacrifice other resources for bursts of martial power
>Character is fuckable
>Abilities are cool and flashy, whether the character plays off these techniques and showboats or is gruff/prefers to hide their trump cards
>Sentient armor/weapons that are helpful but banter
>Saving the one-use macguffin orl boost item by completing the objective it was intended for without it and then pulling it out in a situation where it's totally unexpected but terribly useful
>>50435432
My guy, right here.

>>50435636
>tfw love this too
>tfw every time I try to do it in a roleplaying game the characters just kill the dude, even if he surrenders
>even if he's another PC
>"We can't trust that guy, the risk is not worth it!"
>"He was too hard to beat to leave him alive!"
>"Even if he's honest in his butthurt towards BBEG, the enemy of our enemies doesn't have to be our friend!"

The worst thing is that they make plenty of sense.

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>>50430764
This, plus:
>squishy character puts himself in harm's way to protect even squishier character(s)
>especially when it's because the tougher character(s) are preoccupied
>especially when it ends badly for him
It drives me fucking insane when the DM just has all the enemies wail on the tank.

>>50430675
I love it when the heroes are beaten by the villains because the villains used the power of friendship.

>characters are not some boring five man band of specialized one-trick suckers
>instead they're all versatile and skilled people able to face most situations by themselves
>they collaborate not because they're dependent on each other but because they understand that teamwork is always benefical

>>50435717
You have to give players a bright enough setting that they don't need to worry about it. And lots of plot armor.

>>50435717
Vegeta- and indeed every villain who joined the good guys in DBZ- only really worked because Goku was the only one who could kill them and Goku would never allow himself to. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, they all hate and/or fear Vegeta for the majority of the Cell saga, but they can't get rid of him because only one person can and that person is an idiot. It's less a gradual friendship and more stockholm syndrome.

>>50435823
>>50435717
>>50435636

To be honest, I loved that trope in the fucking Dragon Age part I and expansion. There is even fucking foreshadowing of that when you import your char to awakening and meet kid of Howe.

When you ask him to join the Wardens, he is like "But I just tried to kill you."

Response is fucking always cracking me up. "Some of my best friends tried to kill me before."

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>>50435213
Grant Morrisons Bat-epic

In that arc Batman is meeting with international club of crimefighters, a gold->silver age plot point resurrected. They meet on a secret island and a mysterious murderer attacks them.

The person in question is the Legionaire, Italian member of ICCF who lost his touch, accepted bribes from rome-themed italian jokerish- guy and spends his time eating snacks and being out of shape in the background, until the pic related happens. The scene is actually IMO enchanced by that foretelling.

My words can't do justice howerver, the plot also includes insane death-traps, daddy issues, crazy supervillains, hypercrisis level continuity and other things that happen when Morrison is allowed to write these things.

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>>50431206
This so hard. I especially like the idea because it shows that everything they did in the campaign had some sort of impact. My dream is to run a campaign as a sequel to a previous campaign.

>old NPCs show up, see how time has changed them
>finale has them assisted by previous PCs or their children

>>50431290
>the hero does all of this until the shitty world wears him down to nothing and he nearly gives up The Quest
>those he helped find him in this time of need and prop him back up, showing that he was making a difference all along

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>Monks, or other similar styles, that are untouchable in combat and wait for the right opportunity for a single, fight- ending strike.
>Characters with weird physical traits (weird colors hair, hectachromia) that ACTUALLY influences how people perceive them.
>Characters having a legitimate good time at a fair or party.
>That moment when a cowardly, timid character confronts their fears. Becomes badass, if even for a single moment.
>Costume changes.

This is good thread.

>>50430675
>Riding off into the sunset
>Mystery solving Teenagers
>Mysterious Old Mentors
>Wandering Wizard

>>50431310

I have always had a weak spot for the adorable enormous hulk trope. I know it's cliche as shit, but it always makes me smile.

>>50430675
> Magical girls
> Kemonomimi
> Re-using NPCs from other games
> Re-using settings between campaigns/groups
> Racist elves getting their comeuppance

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>Bitter and Fatalistic team member
>Always there with a biting comment and generally does morally rehensible things for the group
>Keeps himself at a distance emotionally from the group
>Sacrifices himself for the group while touting the merits of being a real hero

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>That one joke of a PC who turns out to be a badass when needed most
>They also die saving their friends by using an unknown and unforeshadowed power
I could watch this anime a thousand times and still feel motivated by it

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>>50435432
>Berserk switch
>be playing warframe. Valkyr prime (berserk/feline frame)
>description "a proud fighter unscarred by time or malice"
>recent changes have hurt her ability to berk out
>also recently acquire a space-cat pet
>bondedforlife.avi
>gets killed mid-mission
>hysteria_online.exe

>>50435892
Well what other friend tried to kill him ? Zevran ?

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>the womanizing smooth-talker finally realizes he's fallen for a fellow party member that doesn't put up with his shit

>>50436268
Zevran, Loghain (depending on the route)

Some non-party member NPCs depending on the routes, as well.

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>>50436158
>tfw I was that character
>tfw my next character was a past enemy that was moved by his sacrifice

>>50436015

Wew lad YES

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>powerful moralistic character gets pushed too far
>abandons morals, becomes far more powerful as a result
>bad guys are wholly regretful of earlier decisions

>>50436362
Yeah I could never bring me to not kill Loghain, that's a shame since I'd like to know what it's like

>>50430675
rivals developing romantic relationships 3700 atm

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>the hero is abandoned by the party then either broken or tricked into becoming a bad guy
>the hero doesn't get the girl and decides that the best path is to walk alone
>the party dusts themselves off after the pyyrhic victory over the BBEG and join each other to face the dawn of a new day

>>50436545
He's okay, but he's not great, it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to spare him, and you have to lose best companion to get him. Plus Alistair ends up as a drunk which is fucking terrible.

>>50436582
capcha, why you no right text box?

>>50436192
TTGL was possibly the best thing ever made by man.

... Okay, that's a lie. Best anime, though.

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>the male and female lead are sparring
>the usual sexual tension is through the roof, and there's back-and-forth banter
>one disarms the other and has them pinned to the wall
>they spontaneously start kissing
OR!
>tsun female lead has suave male lead pinned to the wall
>so close together, the suave male lead kisses the stun female lead
>shocked and blushing, the tsun female lead is distracted and loses the upper-hand

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>>50436015
Similarly
>The PC is all alone, BBEG says he's done nothing and everything he being doing is for nothing
>PC begins to break
>Cue montage of all companions and people he's affected along the way giving him support
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGYT0NFWSQk

These scenes never fail to make me tear up

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>>50435823
>TFW you just realized the same thing could have easily happened with fucking Freeza.

> Matriarchy because women are stronger than men in some magical or pseudoscience way. Bonus point if there has been a masculism movement in the past and the society is now mostly gender-equal with some occasional slips.
> Wacky goofball characters who turn out to be very wise and have a tragic backstory. He isn't forcing himself to be cheerful, silly and amicable; he is that way because he is wise. Bonus point if the party eventually discover that he has appeared in the setting's background information as a legendary, almost mythic, figure under a different name, who was supposed to be bloodthirsty/arrogant/cruel as well as mighty.
> Orphaned adult character and an older adult character with no kid form a parent-child bond during the course of their adventures.
> Epic failures and the people who made them. "Cynric the Sorceress did not make merely human errors. Her mistakes were more on the epic scale, her failings those of demigods."
> Everyone are scholarly mages.

>>50436594
You can actually get King Alistair and have Loghain survive, but you have to harden Alistair first.

>>50436838
I aint giving that ungrateful bitch any 15 fucking gold, only to get chewed out like we just gave her pennies.

>>50430675
>Having PC's leading an army. No 1V1 grand duel that will decide the fate of the battle, just down to earth motivational speeches and strategies.
>Non-flashy character using historical fighting techniques being a match to the ultra flashy fantasy-like character. Be it PC > Villain or Villain > PC, this shit is always good.
>PC interacting with characters from an other PC's background, like a mother, a mentor figure or a love interest.
>Family relationship driving a character's motivations.

>>50436827
> Matriarchy because women are stronger than men in some magical or pseudoscience way. Bonus point if there has been a masculism movement in the past and the society is now mostly gender-equal with some occasional slips.
>>50434501
>Women in positions of power and respect.

I'm partial to societies that are Matriarchal because management and leadership are considered effeminate. Mothers raise their sons to be aggressive and leave anything that requires planning to their wives.

>>50436923
>PC interacting with characters from an other PC's background, like a mother, a mentor figure or a love interest.
I once had a PC that (unknowingly at the time) seduced the mother of another PC, does that count?

>>50435821
They normally kill them anyways if they perceive them as a possible threat.

Like >>50435823 say it only works if they're unable to kill the dude, but I don't like to threaten my characters with death.

My characters usually try to ally/recruit everyone they find, even obvious villains or harmless victims of whatever conflict there is, but once swords are crossed the word "forgiving" disappear from their vocabulary. They've joined the "bad guys" countless of times in my games, but only if they had not taken the opposite side before.

>>50436827
>When your leaders/gods/almighty figures are exactly as, if not even more petty and selfish as the common man.

>when the big bad is a good guy whose purpose has been corrupted (aka the morrowind)

>>50436777
I dunno. Frieza didn't work to get where he was, he simply was powerful. I think Frieza's dominator personality would have lead to him killing Goku or at least Z-Fighter friends pretty swiftly.

>>50434434

It's ironic because that's the opposite of what Cervantes was getting at; all those who beat Quixote are supposed to be (more or less) good men showing up the follies of this madman obsessed with chivalry, when instead they come across as morally dubious at best and outright evil at worst.

>>50437020
Cervantes taught us a valuable lesson, just not the one he set out to.

>>50436123
Cliches and archetypes exist for a reason, there's nothing bad by itself with using them.

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>Previous villain teams up with the heroes to beat a newer, more powerful villain
>old villain becomes accepted by the heroes, finds redemption
>Doesn't die in some sacrificial bullshit
>Goes off on their own, shows up whenever the party calls for their help

I did this once with a party, previous villain was a kid sorcerer that never aged who was willing to sacrifice all life on earth to a demon in order to age (Demon had tricked him, was going to turn him into an old man on the verge of death).

New villain was the kids mother and father seeking to open a portal to basically hell to kill the game worlds satan and take his place. Kid wound up holding both of them off so the players could escape, only for the players to say "Nah fuck that" and helped him kick his parents asses. I hadn't planned on them doing that, so just had the kid travel with them for a while. He got a lot more development than I had planned, and began to see the party as his new family.

>>50436963
Yes

>>50435573
Even better than that ending would have been if they switched weapons to reveal that his sword was an entirely normal, +0, unenchanted longsword.
>Tfw veterans that are so badass they use normal or suboptimal equipment despite its flaws is my fetish

>>50437020
>>50437037
No, that's not what Cervantes wanted. The Quixote stopped being a chivalry parody the second Cervantes decided to make it something else than a comic tale (in-book after the first escapade).

That's why the book is so well regarded, the parody part is just a pretext to examine human condition.

>>50431871
Sorry for the massive wait guys, I fell asleep at my computer. I guess that's what 2 hours of sleep a night will do to you.

>Friend agrees without hesitation before even consulting me or asking what we had to do
>Get tossed into the back of the room and handed a rack of outfits
>We could change if we didn't want to get blood on our clothes. We were on in five minutes.
>I'd built up a good reputation and didn't want anyone to recognize me so I grabbed a lucha mask.
>Red and yellow with two green snakes curling over the eyes. It was actually pretty nice.
>Friend sees this and decides to grab one as well.
>Barkeep comes back to get us.
>Throws us in the ring with these two beefy guys in red wifebeaters.
>Bell rings
>At this point I should talk about our appearances
>I'm the king of manlets. Four feet, eleven inches. Stocky and wide, long beard. I practically look like a Dwarf.
>Friend is a tall gangly fucker who looks like you could snap his arms like a pencil. Despite his looks though he's been in kickboxing for at least fifteen years. Has been ever since I met him.
>So the two beefcakes are barrelling down on us
>Manage to get behind them somehow thanks to some fancy footwork and a bit of luck
>Friend is going to town on one guy, other is getting ready to help
>Kick him in the back of the leg and just start wailing on him while he's down.
>Friend comes over and kicks him in the ribs everytime he tries to retaliate against me
>Fight gets called, arms held up as the winners. Feels surprisingly good despite how terrified I am.
>Barkeep/ref gives us a thousand dollars American each. Tells us to come back anytime if we want to make some more cash.
>We would go there every Wednesday until last year when we moved back to Canada.
>Eventually became known as the "The Dwarf" and "Knockout" in the community.
>Patrons would always buy us drinks and shit after a match. Never had to pay for anything there myself once we had made a name for ourselves.

>>50436582
>rivals developing romantic relationships
I really wanna do this with a character sometime.

>>50437249
>>50431871
Wasted potential: the post
Seriously Anon, why would you give up the chance to go legit and become the mightiest dorf in sports entertainment.

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>Rotten corrupt nobility, church, big organized crime - all the things that are already being called in this thread
>The players are the servants of the "bigger evil", or they're themselves the villains. Something in this spirit.
>PCs need to make a use of them, ally with, take them over or punish them
I found that i always liked a good villain stories, don't know why.

>character that is usually a serious has a happy/humorous moment

>character that is usually a jokester has a serious final moment

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>>50436015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ZJp_mILAI

I fucking love scenes like that, the good karma paying off. It doesn't matter if it's literally a scene like link related or just one, where the hero is simply helped in need by all the people he's helped over the years with small, yet immensely helpful little things like a pair of shoes, a backpack, some rations until the guy is well equipped by all the small things and can keep going because of the morale boost.

>>50437344
To be honest anon I wasn't the best fighter. I'd use my height to my advantage to get a few lucky punches off and then my friend would kick the fucking shit out of them.
I had a few solo fights here and there but they'd always end with my face bloodied and bruised.
My friend carried us through the ladder. I was mostly a distraction with fists and a very recognizable appearance.

>>50430675
Old timer knights that run into other old timers and remain friendly, even across factions.

I just love the idea of these ragged old adventurers that have WIS out the ass but would rather watch the young 'uns learn on their own, and when they cross paths they prefer to let the others sort it out while they go on a walk and catch up.

>>50437249
Thats bullshit but I belive it

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>>50437181
nice

>>50437234

Huh, guess I misinterpreted the second half entirely then.

>>50430675

Many of the things already mentioned are cool but I also like:

>Two BBEGs fighting eachother, instead of the 'good guys'.
>'Cross settings', like a modern guy sent into a fantasy world or similar where there is a huge clash of technology/culture.

>>50437549

Do keep in mind that Cervantes was noticeably annoyed at points of his writing the second part, because part of the reason he had to give it a completely definite ending is that after he released the first part, there suddenly were a huge amoung of fuckers releasing their own Quixote fanfic continuations while claiming to be selling the real new book from Cervantes.

Turns out, fanfiction writers were faggots even in 1500s Spain.

So his annoyance kinda shines through in places. But by and large the book is about people.

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>>50437619
>Here be school of wizardry and stuff
>Here be some order of elite warriors
>They don't like each other
>Really don't like each other

>>50437865
>Turns out, fanfiction writers were faggots even in 1500s Spain.

Some things never change, do they ?

>>50430675
For my part I really like the idea that good always gets corrupted and paragons become monsters. I like broken and tragic heroes

>>50438078
Silly we already talked about Ludwig

>>50431310
PROTECT HER SMILE

>>50437455
>two notable past heros stand on opposite sides of a battlefield.
>they recognize each other, shake hands, joke around, and ask how the family/estate/old wound is doing
>standing off to the side as the nobles bicker under a tent
>the nobles talks start going south
>old warriors stop one of the nobles about to do something rash
>noble tells him to stay in line and to remember his place as they leave
>warriors stay behind and share a drink before mounting up and heading back to their lines.
I hope your years for lordship haven't made you soft.
>Ha! You're the one who with the grape vines, you drunk! I can smell it from over here!
Well, he says scratching his chin as he smiles, there was once a time you drank it with me.
>That time after the ogres in...Wool something or other I want to say.
Fleece vale. They were trolls. Ogres were from when you broke your ankle and I carried you to that abby.
>then Filo got us chased out by the matron after she caught him with two of her nuns!
Haha! That was some good fun! The look on her face like he was the devil in flesh!
>*sigh* how the years pass. Best be on our way. With the war and all
Tired already? You always enjoyed your beauty rest. Truely at home among these types, eh? I could smell how pretty they were before they even took off their helms
>not everyone is blessed with such humble beginings, old man.
Ha! I have half a mind to spill your guts here.
>Don't let the war stop you!
>more laughing before they settle into a silence, nod and start heading back
>one turns around in his saddle and says "If you find yourself in need, look for my banner. I'll ransom you back to your wife for a crate of wine and a feast after you help with a goblin problem. Bring the lad and we'll make it an occasion."
Agreed. But I want to see the whole clan if I find you under mine. The little one misses her Uncle's famous bed time stories.

>mercenary keeps switching sides as the war goes on
>either fights with or against the heroes
>will always laugh everytime he comes back even if he was close to kill one of them the time before

I like people who keep it simple

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>>50430675
I like it when the villain wins despite everything the heroes have done. Its so rare that the few times it happens I'm ecstatic.

>>50432129
Grammar nazi here, the proper term is quixotic.

>What can one mage do? If he flies, we will shoot him down with bows. The same if he attacks from far away.
>What can one man do anyway, even if he's a magic user. Those stories of wizard kings who change the battlefield by themselves, or those warriors who alone can fight entire armies are just that, stories!
>Magic is a useful tool, but even it has a limits. The same is for the martial powers of one person. None of this can win alone against the sheer power of numbers we possess...
Guess what happens next.

>>50438220
This, but both of them know there will be no prisoners here. Neither one wants to say anything, but this battle will claim one of their lives.

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>>50438807
Why does it have to go like this ?

>>50435510
>the hero become villain for love
This, more of this

>>50438402

Looks like we got That GM right here.

>>50431626
R2 is the real hero of the rebellion

>>50431486
I like them because the Ecclesiarchy is fucking hilarious and the Ecclesiarchy having its own army of psychotic pyromaniac zealot battle-nuns makes it even more hilarious. The ridiculous baroque boobplate just contributes to the po-faced silliness.

It'd work about as well if they had psychotic zealous battle-monks instead, but the Space Marines already fill up that slot without actually being an arm of the Ecclesiarchy (to the point where the Black Templars are literally Crusaders IN SPACE!), so I'd prefer to keep the Sisters around.

>>50435510
>>50438893
>Tragic Villian
Absolutely the best.
I remember a long time ago I brewed up a setting where the BBEG was a Lich, in the setting Gods were kept alive by their devotees, and there were popular and unpopular Gods, the less popular ones risked dying if they lost their faith. The Lich became a lich so that he could eternally worship his Goddess, as he was among the last of her followers and she was long forgotten.

>>50430675
>Your guilty pleasures
40k lore.
I'm still a fan even today. I don't like to bring it up much because how I tend to depict the 41st millennium and interpret cannon tends to get other fans pretty rankled.

>>50439120
>how I tend to depict the 41st millennium and interpret cannon tends to get other fans pretty rankled.
Out with it, then. How do you depict the 41st millennium and interpret canon?

>>50439073
Couldn't he have solved the problem by just setting up a church in her name and overseeing it, rather than threatening the world or whatever?

>>50439144
>Out with it, then. How do you depict the 41st millennium and interpret canon?
not nearly grimdark enough to make newer fans happy, and too seriously to make old school fans happy.

so it's less some world where everyone is some dark and brooding asshole purely for the sake of being a brooding asshole, and more this desperate scramble for survival with a few shining lights of chivalry and virtue (like the space marines).

In other words, I treat it less like a dystopian cyberpunk setting crossed with WoD, and more like the actual dark ages.

Good example of this is how I treat the Adeptus Mechanicus, at some level they realize the ritual and superstition surrounding technology is bunk, even if the rest of the Imperium doesn't realize this, but they don't have any better ideas so they continue to perform the rituals while simultaneously do research into old technology to better understand how it actually works so they can do away with any unnecessary rituals to allow them to build more advanced devices more efficiently.

as one example.

It's less everyone acts like a asshole and more that 90% of the imperium is comprised of mostly good people stuck in the mother-of-all shitty situations.

>>50439356
That sounds more acceptable to me than standard modern-day 40k.

>>50439120

I enjoy 40k lore too but I actually like the Tempestus Scions and though of old storm trooper lore as nothing but them being Inquistorial attack dogs.


Scions would be good IF GW DIDNT FUCK IT ALL UP YOU COULD HAVE EXPANDED ON STORM TROOPERS BUT WE GET THIS SHIT

>>50436594
>Lose worst companion
>Get best girl
I get other playthroughs, but human nobles should be marrying anora and broing it up with loghain

>>50439156
That's not tragic enough anon. Also he probably wanted to worship her by himself, call that love or something

>>50439156
>>50439524
Pretty much this, also churches aren't free to build or particularly lucrative. The setting idea was that there was a small clique of popular and extremely rich gods and a lot more just scraping by, it's hard to find followers who would want to support a minor god.

>>50431206
I really like this as well, both as a player and GM. As player it's nice to see that the friendships and alliances you've made over the course in the campaign matter, and as GM it lets you bring back some NPCs the players liked and show that there's more people involved in the fighting than just the 3 to 5 adventurers.

Too bad the Rogue Trader campaign I was running ended up going on permanent hiatus due to schedueling issues (i'm far too buyse with studying to GM now), as this was exactly what I'd have planned as the final. Footfall would be attacked by a Chaos fleet led by the BBEG, and initially only defenders would be the PCs and some random ships that happened to be around. But as the battle would go on, everybody they've helped over the course of the campaign (other rogue traders, the Imperial Navy, even the Dark Eldar the PCs dealt with at one point) would show up to the fight, evening the odds so the PCs would have a chanse to strike at the BBEG's flagship.

It also ties to another cheesy trope that I like. In one sessions the players found the wreck of the Light of Terra, a battleship that had been lost in the Warp centuries ago, and helped the ship's captain (still alive due to being more machine and man and directly hooked onto the ship's systems) to restart the ship's systems. After they did that, the captain warped the ship off to go fight "one last battle" and die in glory.
In the final battle, one of the things I planned to happen was that at the climax of the battle a gold-armoured battleship would warp in right in the thick of it and proceed to lay smackdown on the Chaos ships, diverting significant amount of the BBEG's escorts away from the PC's ship. Said battleships broadcasts only one message: "This is the battleship Light of Terra of the Imperial Navy, reporting for duty. Tell general Drusus we are sorry for being late."

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>>50430764

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>>50439691
>Tell general Drusus we are sorry for being late

Dammit anon

>Globalization is effecting the world/galaxy (depending on the setting) slowly but surely, with all the fun moral and societal arguments that come with.

1 on 1 duels (I love GMing 7th sea for this reason specifically)

>villainous monologues (Too bad one of my players always tries to interrupt them.)

>Villans being surprised by how strong the players are (I get to use this a lot. I'm bad at making villains that can actually stand up to the party and I consistently get awful rolls)

>>50430675
sexy orcs

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>>50440051
male or female?

>>50440270
Yes.

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>Characters get a little help from beyond the grave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EAZlArfDOw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w34fSnJNP-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh1m0eC1004

This is my shit.

>Lovecraftian eldritch gods
>Body horror and weird gribbly monsters
>Said eldritch stuff is not necessarily evil, even if it is extremely dangerous.
>Villains who believe themselves justified, not in the "I'm doing it for the greater good" way, but in that they have an internally consistent and believable reason for their actions (like declaring war on another nation because of resource conflict or religious differences).
>The villain faction is not monolithical, but has individuals or sub-factions with slightly different goals, some of which might be convinced to switch sides.
>A person with considerably power, but doesn't normally use it to its full potential because they're not taking things seriously. At some point they do, and you don't want to be in the vicinity.
>Each major faction having a distinct and easily recgoniseable aestethic style that ties their stuff together.
>MMO-style bossfights, with different phases, special abilities, and boss yelling his lines when making special attacks (which I think usually actually works better than the standard monologue, since giving the boss some quotes during battle lets you give some information on their personality without putting the whole battle on halt while he monologues at you).

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>>50432898
>Climatic scenes accompanied by pop music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3kdyR2deJM

>>50439391
Doesn't it?
but try presenting this version on any 40k general board and see what happens. Oh god! the rage you will get!

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>>50430764
It's such a great storytelling device, the defiant fuck you whilst getting an absolute beating.

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>>50439356
Reminds me of this

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>Inheriting weapons
>Talking enchanted weapons

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>>50440570
It really is.

>>50440355

>The villain faction is not monolithical, but has individuals or sub-factions with slightly different goals, some of which might be convinced to switch sides.

I feel like I may have gone a little too far in my current game with this.

Starts out as an alliance between a Drow conspiracy and a Rakshasa whose pretending to be an old God and a businessmen.
The exiled Drow Matriarch in control of the faction wants to take an army back to Underdark because he intrigue politics were shite and got kicked out, The Rakshasa wants to destroy the city the game takes in to tank the budding industrial movement he foresee's will overthrow the importance of the monarchy before killing and impersonating the prince.

Meanwhile, the business he's in believes their only going to be destroying all their competitors in the city, and the Cult believes the city is just step one in the destruction spree across the world.

I had other subplots, like lieutenants and other people in the Drow conspiracy that wanted to take over the factions for their own purposes, but decided that things were getting a little to convoluted as is.
As for my own guilty pleasure:

>Full groups of trained, powerful NPC mooks that all have names and react to each other's deaths at the hands of the party.

>>50433926
That's a CYNICAL attitude, not NIHILIST, you STUPID TWAT.

>>50433926
He's just an anarchist

>>50440599

Talking enchanted annoying weapons that make puns about "staying sharp" and "being edgy"

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>>50440355
>Villains who believe themselves justified, not in the "I'm doing it for the greater good" way, but in that they have an internally consistent and believable reason for their actions (like declaring war on another nation because of resource conflict or religious differences).
>The villain faction is not monolithical, but has individuals or sub-factions with slightly different goals, some of which might be convinced to switch sides.
>Each major faction having a distinct and easily recgoniseable aestethic style that ties their stuff together.
Love this ones too, the stories about good old war between nations should be done more. But they don't seem to be that much of a guilty pleasures.

>Elfs are xenophobic and don't trust outsiders. Any unwelcome guest will be met with arrows
>Good race have an equivalent Evil race. Wood Elfs - Dark Elfs, Dwarfs - Dark Dwarfs, Seelie and Unseelie Fairies and etc

>>50440731
Weapons that will signal your presence to the ennemys just so it can drink blood

>>50438930
I can see Anon as being That GM, but you also have to admit that the rare villain mentioned in this thread (Noble Intentions or even good where the party is evil), it can make for a very interesting ending.

>>50440753
>>Good race have an equivalent Evil race. Wood Elfs - Dark Elfs, Dwarfs - Dark Dwarfs, Seelie and Unseelie Fairies and etc
Humans and Dark Humans?

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>>50441072
No, it's a humans and High Men.

>>50441072
Humans are always both

>>50441072
Humans are the dirty neutrals.

In b4 /pol/ claims niggers are dark humans

>>50441072
>Humans and Dark Humans?
You mean like the real world?

>>50441118
Well, they sort of are. Unless night time, then both are dark...?

>>50441118
>>50441139
Just made it.

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The Black Knight is a former hero who disappeared in a previous crusade

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>>50441118
>niggers are dark humans

Jesus I'm still so naive, I didn't even think about this

Convincing tribes of historically evil mobs (Orcs, gnolls, goblins, etc.) to join the heroes side. This can happen due to tribal disputes, the slaying of a particularly fearsome chief and taking his place, saving the tribe while their warriors are away, and other methods.

Also owning/improving a business using character abilities and becoming a fixture of a fantasy town/city.

>>50441260
Fucking this.

Killing the goblin king and taking his place is a million times more interesting than goblin genocide.

>>50441359
In my campaign, there are large populations of gnolls who became civilized basically by learning that you can make booze from agriculture.
Now they're the Loupgarou; a bunch of peaceful, jovial, pseudo-french gnolls who make the best wine in the entire setting.

>>50441162
>Sorceress BBEG
>Her lieutenant is a huge knight who never removes his helmet or speaks a word
>He was the first major villain they faced at the very start of the campaign
>His helmet is knocked off in their final confrontation
>Face is lashed with scars, mouth sewn shut, eyelids removed
>Still barely recognizable as the party's Paladin form their last campaign
>Sorceress had been controlling his body like a puppet against his will the entire time
>Dies resisting her final command of triggering their doomsday device

When the player said he wanted me to get rid of his character off-screen because he was sick of him and wanted to play something else for our next adventure I'm sure he didn't expect I'd do something like this.

>>50441383
meant to link to >>50441260

>>50441391
Isn't that just Darth Vader?

>>50441415
Pretty much, but none of my players called me on that until several years later.

>>50430675
>some of the party is willing to stand against other party members in what they think is right
Party I DM for does it a lot, because half of them have jaded morals and think they're right, while the other half think they're right but instead they're doing super evil things
>person who was going to betray party for any reason gets killed off by enemies while the unknowing party tries to save him
This also happened, the fucker was gonna ruin our happy ending

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>>50441391
you glorious son of a bitch, maximum respect.

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>>50435101

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>>50439691
>"This is the battleship Light of Terra of the Imperial Navy, reporting for duty. Tell general Drusus we are sorry for being late."

I didn't know I wanted this feel, but it is a strong feel.

>>50435307
Imperial Miles O'Brian/10

>>50435636
You'd love my WoD.

Literally Satan has become one of the core cast somehow.

>>50430675
>"Don't Worry, I'm trained for this!"

Anytime an obscure ability on your character sheet that seemed useless becomes of vital importance.

>>50440581
>Reminds me of this
In what way?
That's not snark! I genuinely want to hear this, Seems to me this can still lead itself to my interpretation of events...
Also, is this cannon?

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>>50437249
fucking brutal

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>>50440305
Dammit, I forgot how hard "Riding with Private Malone" hit me. Fuck.

Take this for making me feel that again. A double feature of "Camouflage".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXKIBYnM_9Q

https://youtu.be/Ie9EjtXw1g8?t=18s

On another note, I've had the idea to use the plot of this song if I were to GM Only War with a trooper in a Camo-cloak nicknamed "Cameleoline". Describe how lasbolts and bolter shells seem to miss him even though they tear rents though his cloak.

>Genuinely evil, spiteful, cruel, and extremely petty lieutenant of a reasonably motivated villain
Example: The lieutenant saw a PC going to a bakery. They cut in front of her and bought all the pastries so she couldn't have any.

>Recurring friendly rivals
>Ancient aliens that fit the cosmology
>PCs hiring help to tend to their horses/row their boat/etc
>Creepy people just being misunderstood

ballinbrooks

>>50430675
>Crusty Military guys
>Little girl sidekicks
>Characters with genuine, hideous deformities. Hunchbacks, amputees
> Alternatively, characters who are legit ugly or possess traits that would make them undesirable. Scars dont count unless theyre gruesome. Smells, pug noses, unsightly body hair, horrible table manners, etc.

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>>50441999

> Alternatively, characters who are legit ugly or possess traits that would make them undesirable. Scars dont count unless theyre gruesome. Smells, pug noses, unsightly body hair, horrible table manners, etc.

10/10 would fuck

You, not them.

>>50441538
>literally Satan
>WoD

Storytime?

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>>50435432
It's the first time i use pic related unironically.

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>>50442215
>Crona
>Edgy

>>50442282
>the tank/melee-powerhouse is thin as a rake
>the quiet character has a berserk switch
>blood-based powers
that's quite edgy.

>>50442349
I'l admit that blood-powers are a bit edgy, but the rest of that is fine.

>>50436015
>it's a wonderful life

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>The power of love.

I'm the worst.

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>>50432003

>>50437249
>>50431871
I wouldn't believe you if not for the fact that I'm a tall twig limbed fuck who's done a lot of martial arts and if my tiny best bro got drunk as fuck and roped me into an underground fighting ring the only thing I'd have to stop and consider would be whether or not to wear a mask.

>>50439515
Anora is the kind of person who would stab you in the back for the last slice of pizza and you know it.

>>50432064
Thanks anon I'm stealing this, it's a really interesting idea.

>>50432064
Isn't this just the Healing Church vs the Byrgenwerth Scholars?

>>50442764
A little. But Bloodborne is hardly the first to use these ideas.

>>50435127
Symbolism opportunity lost is true, but it's the chain of teaching
Dooku->Qui-Gon->Obi-Wan->Anakin

>>50441102

>AoW

My negroid companion.

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>>50434607
I have to say that aside from playing a LS sith warrior that did really want to help her Empire, my favorite character was my LS JK whose only dark sided action was to reassure her padawan that she'd protect her and despite being always doing the good and merciful thing, was exacerbated by general Jedi council and code shit a fair bit. Also she has additional conflicts with the jedi order as she's in an interracial lesbian relationship with Lena, who is a high ranking sith in the Empire. Hell before the Emps showed up again and she got frozen in carbonite, all she wanted to do was leave the order to go live on Rishi where her master used to live and hopefully bring Lena with her.

Back on topic of the thread, I really enjoy star-crossed lovers or forbidden loves that are combo forbidden loves due to hitting several traits that would cause a relationship to be forbidden. Especially when they work out.

>>50439073
I love it

>>50432064
What is every goddamn Megami Tensei?

>>50440762
Weapons that are prissy and can't stand getting blood on them, or cowards terrified of battle.

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>>50431290
>Hero didn't become the hero because some bad guy killed someone he loved
>Hero was roped into the adventure
>Hero's real profession is modest as fuck


>Shit starts hitting the fan
>Cool classical/jazz starts playing as hero saves the day
I CAN'T LOVING YOUUUUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrb3EqGEI_E

>>50430764
>>50436015
>>50431290
Theses are awesome too

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>>50432782
I love this

>>50443566
you accidentally words there, anon

>>50430764
>>50432782
reminded me of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpVOXITW-Xc

>>50443601
Whoops!

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>>50435754
Thank you Mumen Rider!

>>50431159
>tossing the crown at the new guy's feet and cackling as they boldly claim he might as well start wearing it now.
I fucking love this

>>50434499
>>PCs searching for Thieves Guild ask around the time and are sent to various other people until they almost snap and during revelation it turns out that all of people they met were actually members of the guild playing joke on them.

isnt this SOP for thieves guilds

>>50433274
Getting rather edgy there, friend.

>>50441999
I like this.
>Legitimately ugly or terrifying bad guys, the sort of folk who look like they took a chainsaw to the prom

>amoral bastard grows a conscience

It's so fucking hard to do organically, because by the time the turn actually comes, the DM is so willing to treat you like a murderhobo.

>>50444898
It's easier to do as "amoral bastard had a conscience all along"

>>50436044
fuuuck, how could I forget costume changes?

https://youtu.be/qaLeO-2Fytg?t=19

>>50438862
Because one of them is going to charge across a great big fucking field against fixed gun emplacements

>>50430675
>when the main character dies
>self sacrifice
>robots
and that rare moment when I get all 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRoFdv1NDpM

>>50445036
All i remember about KlK is everything being over the top and lesbian incest.

>>50443177
Good point, Good sir

>>50445084
>This not being your goto example
https://youtu.be/D4dT2eBWI2M?t=42

>party stalemates the enemy lieutenant
>he/she questions the validity of his position
>chooses to aid/not impede them at a critical junction

>>50440570
kikofuckyourself

>>50443566
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIscL-Bjsq4
TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN

>>50434203
>fighters that lose their shit and are found standing in a bring of bodies covered in wounds
I once had a game where the god damn Paladin did that. We were up against a group of absolute monsters, the worst kinds of people you can possibly imagine. The group got split up. GM did separate mini-sessions for each of us.
When we found the Paladin he was covered head to toe in blood, and had rescued prisoners following behind him.

>>50445638
I never liked that show but goddamn it for having a great song

I'll never forgot you, moot!

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>>50430675
When your group encounters a tough enemy and your teammate goes "you guys go on ahead I'll handle this guy"
I fucking love that shit

>>50434345
asounds like Warhammer Fantasy is cut out for you

>>50445956
One of the (very) few good bits of Naruto

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>>50445956
>"you guys go on ahead I'll handle this guy" happens
>It's the cannon weakest teammate facing off with the second strongest bad guy
>He barely survives but wins like a boss

Bonus points if teammate finally confess to the girl that he loves before/during/or after the fight

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The really over-the-top Kamina style party face is always my favorite. Bonus points if they can back it up.

>>50432064
That's cool, I like it. Your explanation is very different to what I expected, but it reminded me of the witcher 1's Act 1. Basically you have to choose between helping a hot but maybe evil witch or helping the crazy townies kill her. Turns out she has actually been cursing them, but also turns out they fucking deserved it.

>>50446177
This post just made me go back and rewatch the first episode of Gurren Lagann. Just as awesome as I remember. I'm basically playing that character now, got to start putting some explicit Kamina quotes in there.

>>50445956
YES YES FUCK YES

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>Hardcore soldier (child-soldier mostly) who starts breaking out their shell
>Either through simple exposure to places outside a battlefield or guided by party members
>Develops quirks, starts showing clear likes and dislikes
>Still grates hard with social life
>Possible emotional breakdown after close call
>The one guiding them starts developing feelings

Fucking hell, I want to write about it but there's so much shit on my plate.

Cycles of revenge are possibly my favorite trope to use as GM. They're just so easy to work with. They range from petty disputes between neighbors to wars between nations. They can be simplistic or amazingly difficult to unravel. Rarely is anyone completely innocent. The PCs have to start taking sides and weighing their priorities over looking for perfect solutions. Huge potential for character growth.

They need to be used in moderation though - people want the occasional direct task with clear moral lines.

I have a mix of classic ones and really stupid ones that never get scratched.

>Kickass electric guitar plays with an orchestral backing during the final boss fight
>Hero outwits a much stronger enemy while sprouting cheesy one-liners
>Power of friendship/love saves the day
>Enterprising business owner who doesn't turn out to be evil/fights with the party once he realizes what his subordinates have done with his company's resources
>Extremely weak character under the main character's wing winds up saving the day with some bit of cleverness or hidden (but previously established) ability
>Member of evil society turns to good after heroes spare his/her life
>Antagonist realizes the error of his ways and dies in a self-sacrifice against a greater threat
>Character who looks like they should be extremely weak turns out to be ridiculously powerful when pressed into a corner

>>50433125
This is a good list. Especially if it turns out the Rival Group isn't even bad; they just want what you want, but for themselves.

>>50436266
Loved the deluxe skin that showed Valkyr before she was tortured/experimented on. Adds to the tragedy.

>>50446886
>Rival group includes a rival for an NPC's affections
How is this best done?

>>50447039
>not having rival on party member romantic tension
Shit taste.

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>>50447064

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>>50436044
>That moment when a cowardly, timid character confronts their fears. Becomes badass, if even for a single moment.

fucking Bannon, man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ypVZGntVg

Everything about bloodborne
>"vampire hunter D" style fighters
>gothic/victorian architecture
>cosmic alien horrors with goals and minds that can't be understood by humans
>blood having magic properties
>blood being treated as a drug that you can become addicted to
>plagues, insanity, curses
>clinics, hospitals, cathedrals, churches, universities, libraries, workshops
>skinny characters with insane strength
>crazy doctors, crazy pastors
>weapons being named after famous users of said weapons
>monster hunting being treated as a profession (see The Witcher for another good example)
>there's a horrific monster, and information implying that it is just a child of its species
There's also a >>50433125 hooker with a heart of gold

>>50447451
oh yeah and
>unarmed strikes where you use your fingers as a cutting edge/piercing point

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>>50431310
this so much.

I had so much fun with bioshock 2.

>>50433274
Indeed, when you can go full Ron Paul on catastrophes you and your party did everything to prevent, and warned everyone against it, but they just shooed you away.

>>50430675
collect the Macguffin(s)

>>50433274
>in ME my headcannon is still Shepard laughing on earth while the reapers roll in
Since I quit playing ME3 about ten minutes in, I thinks that's my ending now.

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>>50447451
There is plenty to love about Bloodborne.

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>>50431310
>writing something for fun
>MC is a mostly normal guy implanted into a mechanical golem
>have the main character save a small fae kid as one his first heroic acts to get him into the action/give him an immediate objective besides 'marvel at scenery'
>neither of them have anyone else
>MC tries to find somewhere safe for her to stay
>region is embroiled in war, nowhere is really safe
>promises to look after her until things blow over
>two of them become attached to one another
>basically adopt each other
>their relationship becomes a larger and larger part of the story
>mfw this was never the plan

This has been pretty much the most interesting thought exercise I've ever done, but I'm facing the very real possibility of killing her off to light a fire under the MC's ass. On one hand I'd feel like a gigantic prick. On the other, it's hard to find a motivation better than 'Chokeslam the gods into returning your daughteru'

OT: >>50430675
>Honest, pious cleric
>Evil rolls up
>"Give us all your stuff."
>Cleric takes up his holy symbol.
>TIME_FOR_SMITING.jpg

I love me a good holy warrior. Particularly when they aren't portrayed as full-retard jihadists.

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>>50447727
>Particularly when they aren't portrayed as full-retard jihadists.
You mean a fanatic who's fundamentalist in his goodness? The kind who spends his downtime fanatically aiding the good? The kind who prepares meals under loud cries of DEUS VULT to hand them out to the less fortunate? The kind who jumps through windows and smashes through doors (always repairing them afterwards) to remind children to not play with their food and eat their veggies? The kind who helps old folks do groceries by carrying them on his back and carrying two grocery baskets in his arms, muttering Deus Vult under his breath as he runs from market stand to market stand?

I actually want to play such a character now: one autistically devoted to goodness in all forms.

>>50441577
The way you said Adeptus was doing its best with what they had because the world is so fucked you can't do anything else anyway.

>Also, is this canon?
No idea it's an anon who posted this in an adeptus mechanicus thread. I'm familiair with 40k lore but still a newbie compared to /tg/

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>>50445048
But why ?

>character insisting he's not a hero up until the moment of his heroic sacrifice, because he genuinely believes he's not good enough to be one

>>50438220
Actually battles were often quite similar to this.
During battle of Grunwald - Poland against Teutons - almost all teutonic knights got killed. But their various allies suffered rather light losses. To the point where there were too many prisoners to effectively imprison them. So they were sworn to go to the Polish royal castle at some particular holiday with their ransom and left free.
Substantial part of them actually did it.