Comments on: Chatty's D&D Online Game: Trial game report

By: ChattyDM

ChattyDM — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:17:43 +0000

Thanks Jeffrey. There are several ‘old School’ forums you can trawl.

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/ comes to mind as a A D&D forum.

For the original D&D game, I propose you give Grognardia a look:

http://grognardia.blogspot.com/

You’ll find plenty of resources and you might find a group of remote players.

Good luck!

By: Jeffrey Horn

Jeffrey Horn — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:43:52 +0000

Great post! I always enjoy reading about experiences with online tabletops. Do you know where I could join an OD&D (or S&W, Microlite 74, etc.) game online? The standard fora (rpg.net, rpglife,com, etc) seem to be dominated by current games.

By: Friday Link Adventure - Nov 28 « Jonathan Drain’s D20 Source: Dungeons & Dragons Blog

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:14:21 +0000

[...] Chatty DM: Chatty’s D&D Online Game: Trial game report [...]

By: fire damage

fire damage — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:36:19 +0000

yeah hang in there with VT playing. I am sure after sometimes things will move pretty fast.

By: ChattyDM

ChattyDM — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:26:39 +0000

@Yax: I resisted calling the dragon Expy… I really did!

@Daniel: Thanks, I will very likely take you up on the offer. We really want to explore all tools.

By: Daniel Rivera

Daniel Rivera — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:39:10 +0000

Great post, ChattyDM! Hang in there with VT playing. Once you get used to whatever application you are using, things move much more quickly.

I’d like to invite you to try out d20pro, and I’ll even be willing to host a game for you and some friends. There have been several major updates in the last few months (including some 4E support). We are very open and generous to bloggers and playtesters, and offer a fully functional 14-day trial.

By: Yax

Yax — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:24:50 +0000

That red dragon is funny. Yaxs last blog post..What's your D&D culture code?

By: ChattyDM

ChattyDM — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:27:54 +0000

@Bart: Actually the Warforged fighter took its two missed turns as soon as we noticed.

But yeah, a TPK was my plan all along! MWa HA HA HA!

By: Bartoneus

Bartoneus — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:25:04 +0000

Did the 2 skipped Fighter turns end up leading to the 26hp remainder of the dragon?

I smell DM trickery!

Bartoneuss last blog post..YouTube Tuesday: 20XX Edition

By: BOB

BOB — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:33:25 +0000

Klooge has a trial version that only allows you to test setup and such for I think 30 minutes before resetting itself. Klooge does have a reputation similar to Campaign Cartographer by Pro Fantasy – works out of the box, but with learning you can customize to your heart’s content.

I use Klooge because it works for my game, as I run a totally different rule set than most people. Fantasy Grounds, D20Pro and several others work great for some groups. If you are playing 3, 3.5 or 4th editions of D&D there are lots of options. It is when you need cross platform or other game systems that the choices become more restricted.

But I did not to highjack comments about the Virtual Table top program you are using. It is much more important to be able to play and have fun with old players what ever way it works for each person’s group. Having people play with us from 15 years ago that moved away or new players in Europe and Japan made me a convert 5 years ago.

Very glad your group can get together again this way.

BOB

By: Mdonle

Mdonle — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:11:01 +0000

i’m telling ya, D20Pro is where it’s at. If you liked gametable, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about D20Pro.

By: ChattyDM

ChattyDM — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:58:19 +0000

@Kevin: Let us know how this works out for you! We’re most definitively going to stick with voice chat as most players chimed in with a preference for that medium.

@Dave: yes mext session we’ll try to do other things. I’m curious about the application of Fog of War to a dungeon map, roleplaying and Skill Challenges. There’s a lot of stuff to cover… methinks this project may get an extension past the January game.

@Bob: I will give each application a look. A large part of the project is exploring just that. Having fun playing our favorite RPG is just a collateral thing Can KloOge be used (fully featured) for a time without paying? If not, anyway I can reach the owners to talk buisness?

@TME: I’ll put a link to your excellent discussion on status aliments man. I agree that this was totally brutal… and I now appreciate the Cleric’s Sacred Flame Power for what it’s worth…. 2 saving throws a turn is gold.

By: TheMainEvent

TheMainEvent — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:43:04 +0000

As mentioned in the report, some my saving throw failures with my swordmage were pretty brutal. Playing by text/IM is way too slow paced... I definitely end up surfing the internet and IMing random people to pass the time. Overall, a fun experience and looking forward to the next one. TheMainEvents last blog post..Online Game Wrap Up: Status Ailments and Saving Throws

By: BOB

BOB — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:25:24 +0000

I run my game using KloOge as our Virtual Tabletop program. I like it because it handles all those things such at Init, combat variables, map sharing, etc. for me. The archive of chat is a great addition to our website, helps keep the history flowing much easier.

Some of my players use voice to chat behind my back during the game, but all of our roleplaying is done in the chat room. It can take some getting used to for some players, but I get the chance to game with some great people scattered over the globe this way.

Chatty if you (or anyone else for that matter) wants to see what a KloOge game can look like feel free to grab me in email or IM and we can talk about details.

BOB

(full disclosure I am a moderator over on the KloOge boards as well)

By: Online Game Wrap Up: Status Ailments and Saving Throws | Critical Hits

Online Game Wrap Up: Status Ailments and Saving Throws | Critical Hits — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:24:09 +0000

[...] Our first RPG bloggers adventure is in the books, and despite a TPK it was a really fun time. The party was thrown into a CR: 6 encounter followed up by a rolling skirmish into CR: 9 encounter. Considering our healer had mostly blown his surge wad, that the party was riddled with wounds, that I forgot one of my better magic items, and the lingering status ailments, the fact that we had the big bad Dragon down to his last 20 hit points wasn’t bad. However, this brings up a 4E mechanic that I have decidedly mixed feelings about: saving throws and ongoing conditions (which I’ll just refer to as status ailments.) [...]

By: Dave T. Game

Dave T. Game — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:48:13 +0000

I've played text chat online games (both in 4e and other systems) and really dislike it. I'd rather do play-by-email at that rate... totally un-engaging for me. That's why I was fairly insistent on voice chat, and I'm glad all the players came to consensus on Skype. This all may be because I'm fairly outgoing in an RPG game, and also really enjoy 4e combats. (Though not when Phil skips my turn, obviously.) I'm really looking forward to the next game as a full session, with more exploring (one of the big strengths of online play, IMO) and roleplaying. Dave T. Games last blog post..Inq. of the Week: 4th Edition Settings?

By: Kevin Richey

Kevin Richey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:41:55 +0000

@Chatty, thanks for the welcome.
I was just thinking about the text vs voice issue yesterday. The physical separation of text and voice could be used to clearly distinguish between in-game and meta-game play. Imagine using voice exclusively for out-of-character meta-game talk and using IM chat for in-game descriptions and dialog. I’ll probably try that soon. Could be interesting!

By: greywulf

greywulf — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:17:27 +0000

Over-ambition will be your downfall, my dear Holmes

We found Gametable very acceptable, though went with using chat rather than voice as it makes for a much more measured, well paced experience – and the chatlogs are great for post-game analysis. We might move to VOIP when we’re comfortable with one new technology first. Gametable + voice + a dragon = ouchie.

Just, as ever, my own slightly warped thoughts. Better luck next time, ol’ boy.

greywulfs last blog post..If you can’t beat them, eat them

By: ChattyDM

ChattyDM — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:13:24 +0000

I stand corrected… that TPK was a total party KOed. Since the dragon already used its Healing Surge for the day, it was still sitting at 20 hp

Group saved!

By: Beatdown Machine

Beatdown Machine — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:10:56 +0000

I protest profusely! I just happened to be knocked below 0 HP... that doesn't mean I bleed to death like the other fleshy things in the party. Afterwards, I sat inert, biding my time until I rolled a "20" on my death save, and waited until the dragon least expected it to start moving again... then BAM, executioner's axe to the face. Hoard liberated, which I then used to resurrect the weak meatsacks in the party. When will everyone learn that Warforged are invincible? Beatdown Machines last blog post..Inq. of the Week: 4th Edition Settings?