So I am an adamant believer against preplanning characters. Instead, I level up based off what experiences I've had. My character is a religious Aasimar Ninja (1 level dip into oracle), who is chaotic good. He grew up in the streets, and is very... flamboyant. His main skills are stealth, disguise, and acrobatics ( 12 in each, plus 13 in acrobatics). He carries around a journal in which he writes notes about all the religions he encounters (he is part of a religous heresy of Desna which believes all other deities are facets of Desna, and that all should be equally worshipped), as well as notable people.

And as of last session, my close partner and friend, the party ranger, ended up committing mass murder (is pyrocide a word? He set a ton of people on fire) for "the greater good", but when he realized it was to no avail, and he'd killed a lot of people for no reason, he plunged an arrow into his heart, and fell into the mile-deep flaming pit he'd created. How do I respond? Taking out my journal, sitting down, writing an entry on him, then drawing a sketch of the scene, ripping it out, and dropping it in the pit, before walking away.

This was our first PC death and our most emotional session (we seriously had to take a 2 hour break).

We managed to continue for a while. It skipped 4 days till I returned to the local village, riproaring drunk. I take the special wine I'd been saving for my wedding day, took a swill, and spilled out half in honor of my friend. I then proceeded to go to the famous local warrior, and pick a fight with him, getting the absolute shit beat out of me, and being knocked unconcious. At this point, the guy who played the ranger's new PC, a mercenary, showed up and offered to escort me back to the wall.

Varis, the ninja, is broken. He's done. His typical smile and cheerfulness are gone. In an effort to save his friend, he'd also done some very immoral stuff. He blames himself for his friend's death, and he took his friend's animal companion with him.

In all aspects, going Mad Dog makes PERFECT sense now. I'm just wondering if there's any way to not be royally fucked over and underpowered.