Where is all this hate for Justin Bieber coming from ? I keep hearing it, but no one has ever told me Why it is there. It makes no sense. His music is good, and other than the haters I have not heard anything bad about him.
So why all the hate ?

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 2407):

6128: One shall not feign ignorance about pop culture issues when they are brought up at the table as an integral part of one's new character.
This message was last edited by the user at 14:38, Sun 24 May 2015.

In reply to kouk (msg # 2408):

what pretend, I am serious - I Don't know.

ShadoPrism, if you think Justin Bieber and his ilk are 'good' music, you are either a teenager, or need to get out and actually listen to more music. The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Queen, Moody Blues, Snoop Dogg, TLC, Nightwish... All of these are 'good' music, from a variety of genres.

To wit, here is an excerpt from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, followed by one from Justin Bieber's Baby.




The difference? Bohemian Rhapsody was written by one man, Freddy Mercury, who did lead vocals, backing vocals, operatic vocals, and piano for the piece. Justin Bieber's song took five writers, and he plays no instruments.

Or... to answer without making a personal attack....

There is a significant difference in a certain type of 'quality' between musicians that has become more and more apparent over the decades:

1) In short, as was noted above: few 'artists' develop/write/compose their own music anymore.  Instead they are replaced by committees of marketing managers who design buzzwords, phrases and other 'hip' slogans that will be catchy.

- This is not in and of itself wrong; it's just less organic, creative, and shows very little of the artist in it.

2) The behavior of some of these persons (Miley Cyrus) and (Justin Bieber) being two of the most notorious - is downright filthy.  They're antics are so beyond absurd, they even make the 'hair bands' look like upstanding gentlemen.

3) The technical skill required for the difference in these musical types is night and day.  'Modern' (last 15 years-ish) music shows very little need for actual skill, let alone the ability to read sheet music.  Whilst if you examine say.. anything ever developed by Burt Bacharach (think: "Raindrops keep falling on my head"), you would realize that this requires INCREDIBLE amounts of skill, talent, and discipline.

In reply to GamerHandle (msg # 2411):

As well said (and true) as this is, this thread isn't for music interpretation ;-)

6129:  I am no longer allowed to have any characters based off of Richard (http://www.lfg.co/page/646/) to deliver severed heads to gangers, nobles, assassin's guilds, or anyone else liable to react poorly.  It usually ends up with too much on fire...unless this is the GM's goal, of course.

6130:  If specifically requested to make said deliveries, any Richard-based character is not allowed to speak or be the face of any said delivery.  Unless it's the GM's goal to reduce entire buildings to ash in the process (along with their inhabitants).

6131: Just because Curt Smith said it; doesn't mean I am allowed to constantly hide Tears for Fears references in my games, nor am I allowed to include them as answers to every single puzzle in the game world.

In reply to GamerHandle (msg # 2411):

Ok, last bit from me on this - I Don't Care, I know what I like and don't see why there is all this crap about this guy or his music. That strikes me as petty and pointless and just plain mean - he can sing, he has a good voice, so his choice in songs may need work, fine. (I am 49, I am a grumpy old gamer, but I know what I like and don't like)

6132: In Robotech 2E, I am no longer allowed to rip the arm off of an ally's Battloid and then begin beating the dog snot out a mutant Genesis Pit Harvestman (Daddy Longlegs spider).

6133: I am no longer allowed to justify said action with a deadpan delivery of "I hate spiders."

In reply to Prowler.Jeff (msg # 2412):

I Like Richard, Richard is easy to understand - he like's killing things, with imagination and style (and fire, lots of fire). If your making a Neutral Evil character he is a good role model.

6134.  GM breaking is not a valid playstyle for myself and my associate. Despite the fact that we are very good at it, we must strive to only inflict semi severe mental scars on any GM we come across. If we insist on finding a cute orphan girl to adopt, warnings of our homicidal, apocolyptic, and genocidal tendencies against the forces of Good and Evil must be made to the GM well in advance.  The same goes for superhero games where for the sake of group unity we are both required to play a batman and superman esquie character to ensure group harmony. We will never be allowed to divert from this, disaster strikes when we do.

6135: My arch-villain's motive for being villainous need not be elaborate. But it should consist of something more than "The Lulz."

The Lulz are a perfectly acceptable motivation.  Without the Lulz and the Evulz, we'd lack fine upstand citizens such as The Joker and Harley Quinn.  ;)

My sister and I co-GM a Pathfinder game. Now, our campaign didn't start out as "Evil", but my character is a Lawful Evil Half-Elf Gravewalker (Witch Archetype), while her's is a Chaotic Neutral Dual-Classed Thief/Reanimator (Alchemist Archetype). "Deranged" is how our SOs often refer to our adventures, especially now that we work for our game's Big Bad. If one of us is giggling, they know to be horrified because something's about to be brought back to life in a mentally-scarring, but ultimately hilarious way.

Why? "Because it's funny."

In reply to Sulenth (msg # 2419):

The GM never specifically said it couldn't be *part* of the motivation.... just not the *entire* motivation.

And I still must protest this grave injustice. The Lulz are a time honored sole  motivation for arch villains and insane monsters everywhere. To deny such is trampling on the foundation of the great foundation of villainhood and will ruin our great gaming society if allowed to stand.  ;)   /Amusement and sarcasm.

In reply to Jordan Task (msg # 2421):

In accordance with Criminals, Crimes, and Cruelty, Possible motivations for a villain include:

Corruption
This sinister, often horrific villain works to debase all that is good in humanity. His or her methods are customarily subtle and insidious. A single defeat does not spell the end of this villain's threat. Such villains may not necessarily be very powerful, but are truly as evil as they come.

Evading Capture
The bad guy has already seen Ryker's Island or Stronghold and has no desire to visit again. This motive is usually transitory, lasting for an adventure or two until the bad guy reestablishes a headquarters and begins plotting afresh.

Ideology
This catch-all category describes villains who do bad things for reasons of personal belief, derangement, or just pure nastiness. The belief can be a twisted version of an accepted ideology, such as Nuke's super-patriotism. Or the belief can be straightforward hostility to human beings' continued existence. This category also includes those under the authority of higher agencies that support a specific ideology. For example, the SLJ is nominally controlled by the US Government, and the Red Doom usually follow the Kremlin's orders. Note that super-powered villains are independent types who seldom follow orders without question.
An ideological or crazy villain works best in one of two ways:
1. A horrific expression of man's darker side. The villain throws away all notions of civilized conduct and the brotherhood of man because of a narrow, distorted doctrine. Play the fanatic carefully; keep him or her scary, not just contemptible.
2. A total bozo. Some of these guys can be funny, in a twisted way. In a humorous adventure, you stress the bad guy's distance from reality, instead of his or her potential threat. Don't let the bad guy kill anybody, or the adventure suddenly turns grim.

Mischief
Life is boring! Time to pep it up a little. And those PC heroes-they're such stiff-necked popinjays. Maybe they should have their lives stirred up a little, or a lot ... just for laughs.

Power
These villains all want to conquer the world, the universe, or at least a part of New York City. In general they have the power to reach their goals, and a single-minded drive that motivates them to remove potential obstacles to conquest. Such as the PCs.

Pride
The villain with this motivation thinks he or she is the best in the world at a chosen pursuit. Anyone in the PC group who shows ability of the same kind becomes vulnerable to this villain's challenge.

Scouting for Invasion
This bad guy is just the point man (or point thing) for a whole lot of similar bad guys. They all want New York, or America, or Earth, but they want to see how tough the opposition is. When the PCs fight an invasion scout, they must defeat the villain decisively, or the invasion force will just send in another scout later.

Self Preservation
Some villains do what they do just to survive. This sometimes, though not always, lends them a tragic air-that usually depends on how much the bad guy enjoys his or her work. Remorseful villains can arouse heroes' compassion even as the two sides square off. Frequently the general public is unaware of, or not sympathetic to, the villain's self-preservation motive. This can mean that, once the immediate threat is defused, the heroes end up protecting the villain from an enraged mob.

Suicide
This extremely offbeat motive makes for a tragic, downbeat adventure. For some reason the villain is unable to die. Tormented by existence and longing for release, this villain dupes the heroes into attacking, in the hope that they can marshal enough force to kill him or her.

Vengeance
The all-purpose villain motive. Every bad guy the heroes have ever fought . . . enemies of NPC heroes that have turned to fighting the PCs as a kind of dress rehearsal for their revenge on their NPC nemeses ... figures from the forgotten past, attacking friends of the PCs for some barely remembered offense. All of these long-held grudges are typical of the villain mentality. Anyone who gains power and decides to throw it around becomes bitter and vengeful when that power is foiled.

Wealth
Almost as much an all-purpose villain motive as vengeance (above), this indicates that the bad guy is just greedy for money, treasures, equipment, Van Gogh paintings, or what ever the villain views as necessary for the good life.

---

It should be clear that The Lulz is a perfectly acceptable villainous motive, and it can be made the entire motivation without worry. Unless, of course, you abuse the freedom so bad the GM takes it from you, which is exactly what this thread is about.

Lulz are for Chaotic Evil villains in my opinion. They can often be the most difficult to deal with, pretty much for just that reason. Fun though!

6136: In Pathfinder, I am no longer allowed to play any divine character that worships Cayden Cailean. Apparently fighting those who fight the fun is not reason enough to become an adventurer. I still wholly disagree, and often have an Inquisitor of The Accidental God as an NPC in my campaigns!
This message was last edited by the user at 15:36, Wed 17 June 2015.

6137: My Warlord is no longer allowed to use Commander's Strike to force the party Barbarian (who has a strong rivalry with said Warlord) to take a swing at an enemy - he will miss out of spite.  Every time.

9001: Play.

In reply to Alexei Yaruk-Mundhenk (msg # 2427):

Me thinks you jumped ALLOT there Alexei - like almost 2900 Other misadventures and strange things. (Yes I read your leaving note to spend time with your children - but if you play right you can RP with them. My step father used to play dungeons and dragons with me from time to time when I was younger.)
This message was last edited by the user at 00:01, Wed 24 June 2015.

6138: I am no longer allowed to play any character with a defective root chakra.

He listed that as 9001 so it counts as invalid. For Alexi Yaruk-Mundhenk must play, his character portrayals of ninja companions are legendary.

On Topic.

6139. I am no longer allowed to play sidekicks because they always steal the spotlight from the hero/villain they are with.

6140. I am not allowed to weave my various games together so that the final act becomes a Star Wars/Battletech/Pathfinder confusing free-for-all.

6141. If my players do not want to play in an unholy amalgamation of games, settings, and systems I am not allowed to literally throw it back in their face, flip the table and lament about 'time wasted creating seamless translation tables'.

6142. I am not allowed to do #6140 subtly. There are no giant robots in Pathfinder, there are no elves in Battletech and even though both of those do exist in Star Wars I am not allowed to use them.

OR the space faring pirate giants because honestly those were very dark days in the expanded universe...