I have a few of Mr. Ford's Pyramid Posts and Sig lines on file - things that were e-mailed out to friends when they appeared. Since they were on a public forum originally and I am in no way claiming credit for them (who would believe me?) I have nno qualms about sharing them here.
It’s Friday; let’s sit in the dining room And tell big stories of the deaths of kings, And palace guards and thieves and half-elf bards And herds of orcs, and hordes of palace guards, And giant rats and bats and cats and stuff, All hit points spent -- for in that wound-out sheet That reckons up the values of a soul, Stochastics rule, and probability Falls as it may, and dances where it will, Allowing them a session to campaign, To dress in plate and poke the puissant pike, Pick tougher traps, cast more unlikely spells, And down the page the plaintext numbers flow, Until the odds align like hostile stars; They load an engine with a sided stone And lob that sucker; time to roll again!
Figure the breaks and choose no skill nor quirk For story relevance: pick instead Berserk, Katana, Cool, and 10-point Sense of Duty, For you have put your points in skills for naught: I have 16 IQ, half points In Guns, in Bard: creatéd thus, How can you say to me, I am not kewl?
My friend, good players choose those stats, That interest the GM in their fate. For NPCs need balance not one whit, But merely numbers and attack 15, And then the bell curve kills us one by one. Minimax thou not; but build on hooks And your disads be free with GM thanks; For if he kills you off, his campaign tanks.
It’s Friday; let’s sit in the dining room And tell big stories of the deaths of kings, And palace guards and thieves and half-elf bards And herds of orcs, and hordes of palace guards, And giant rats and bats and cats and stuff, All hit points spent -- for in that wound-out sheet That reckons up the values of a soul, Stochastics rule, and probability Falls as it may, and dances where it will, Allowing them a session to campaign, To dress in plate and poke the puissant pike, Pick tougher traps, cast more unlikely spells, And down the page the plaintext numbers flow, Until the odds align like hostile stars; They load an engine with a sided stone And lob that sucker; time to roll again!
Figure the breaks and choose no skill nor quirk For story relevance: pick instead Berserk, Katana, Cool, and 10-point Sense of Duty, For you have put your points in skills for naught: I have 16 IQ, half points In Guns, in Bard: creatéd thus, How can you say to me, I am not kewl?
My friend, good players choose those stats, That interest the GM in their fate. For NPCs need balance not one whit, But merely numbers and attack 15, And then the bell curve kills us one by one. Minimax thou not; but build on hooks And your disads be free with GM thanks; For if he kills you off, his campaign tanks.
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timeasmymeasure
First John M Ford Archive
Date: 2006-09-26 12:16 pm (UTC)It’s Friday; let’s sit in the dining room
And tell big stories of the deaths of kings,
And palace guards and thieves and half-elf bards
And herds of orcs, and hordes of palace guards,
And giant rats and bats and cats and stuff,
All hit points spent -- for in that wound-out sheet
That reckons up the values of a soul,
Stochastics rule, and probability
Falls as it may, and dances where it will,
Allowing them a session to campaign,
To dress in plate and poke the puissant pike,
Pick tougher traps, cast more unlikely spells,
And down the page the plaintext numbers flow,
Until the odds align like hostile stars;
They load an engine with a sided stone
And lob that sucker; time to roll again!
Figure the breaks and choose no skill nor quirk
For story relevance: pick instead Berserk,
Katana, Cool, and 10-point Sense of Duty,
For you have put your points in skills for naught:
I have 16 IQ, half points
In Guns, in Bard: creatéd thus,
How can you say to me, I am not kewl?
My friend, good players choose those stats,
That interest the GM in their fate.
For NPCs need balance not one whit,
But merely numbers and attack 15,
And then the bell curve kills us one by one.
Minimax thou not; but build on hooks
And your disads be free with GM thanks;
For if he kills you off, his campaign tanks.
It’s Friday; let’s sit in the dining room
And tell big stories of the deaths of kings,
And palace guards and thieves and half-elf bards
And herds of orcs, and hordes of palace guards,
And giant rats and bats and cats and stuff,
All hit points spent -- for in that wound-out sheet
That reckons up the values of a soul,
Stochastics rule, and probability
Falls as it may, and dances where it will,
Allowing them a session to campaign,
To dress in plate and poke the puissant pike,
Pick tougher traps, cast more unlikely spells,
And down the page the plaintext numbers flow,
Until the odds align like hostile stars;
They load an engine with a sided stone
And lob that sucker; time to roll again!
Figure the breaks and choose no skill nor quirk
For story relevance: pick instead Berserk,
Katana, Cool, and 10-point Sense of Duty,
For you have put your points in skills for naught:
I have 16 IQ, half points
In Guns, in Bard: creatéd thus,
How can you say to me, I am not kewl?
My friend, good players choose those stats,
That interest the GM in their fate.
For NPCs need balance not one whit,
But merely numbers and attack 15,
And then the bell curve kills us one by one.
Minimax thou not; but build on hooks
And your disads be free with GM thanks;
For if he kills you off, his campaign tanks.