Be Excellent To Each Other

I've started watching Critical Role on Geek and Sundry, which is a show where a group of voice actors who are best friends play D&D. It's awesome. It has also inspired me to want to play a game of my own. There are online platforms that help facilitate playing these games remotely, has anyone tried any of these?

Would there be any interest in playing an rpg, either a one shot or a more in depth longer campaign? I don't know for sure I would do it, but I'm tempted so would like to hear thoughts.

I never have, although I've a bunch of chums who do and seem to enjoy it loads. I guess it depends A LOT on the group - some dick could easily ruin it.

I've no idea about how to go about choosing rules etc - there seem to be a billion different games out there.

I did, a lot, back in the day. Three years running we've discussed having a game at the cottage but so far nothing has come of it.

How long does a game take? Can you sensibly chop one up into hour long sessions?

Potentially.

Especially if there's a train in the sky.

Realistically, I think you'd need to go at it in two hour chunks at a minimum.

I would love to play and it was one of the reasons why I went to the cottage last month. We should definitely do it next year, there seems to be a lot of interest.

In.

I played a lot in the past but a really really long time ago

FYI if you like Critical Role give Titansgrave a try (Laura Baily is also in it) : http://geekandsundry.com/shows/titansgrave/

The problem with doing it at the Cottage is that it will take a loooong time.

If only we were there all weekend?

I think you'd need to plan for two hour sessions. If I were to start one, I'd go with d&d 5e. It seems like the easiest to get to grips with, has a low cost of entry and can be played with or without maps and miniatures. My intention would be to start and see if it was something we enjoyed and then potentially start to invest more into it as time went on if it was becoming a proper hobby. D&d has some premade adventures as well which would help a first time DM.

There are a couple of ways to play online. The cheapest is skype or something like that. There are more bespoke platforms like Roll 20 or something like that(can't remember what it's called) and it lets you broadcast a shared screen so you could use maps and minis. If anyone is tempted who hasn't played before then I'd urge you to watch some Critical Role on YouTube to get a handle on what it involves. They do a great job of Role playing and therefore sometimes making a sub optimal move tactically because it's the honest rp and thematic move.

Let's give it a few days and see what interest there is, then I might just go for it and buy a couple of books off Amazon.

I'm all for this and if nothing else, it would mean that I finally get to use Skype/Kinect on my Xbox.

I've just told my wife that I'm going to get the mac fixed and start playing D&D online and she's given me her blessing with minimal eye rolling and I'm sure only a half second where she wondered how she'd ended up married to such a huge nerd.

I imagine I'll have exactly the same conversation apart from the bit about the Mac and it'll be my wife instead of yours.

My wife seems susceptible, maybe you should just ask her?

Ask your wife? Well, I could... but I don't really know her to be honest.

I think I'll stick with asking my wife if it's all the same.

Seriously though, yeah.. my wife puts up with my nerdy activities. I've seen her roll her eyes several times but I still carry on.

Because you're lovely.

Mac??

Do you say to her, 'don't roll your eyes, save that for the D20!'

D&D would be a start but I do wonder if you'd do better with a more basic game to begin with to see how ironing out the technical bits would work (so a tabletop game instead ?)

For campaign stuff there have been a few humble bundles which included RPG books plus campaign maps (if your quick you have 2 hours left for this weeks one : https://www.humblebundle.com/books/fict ... ook-bundle )

What we used to play a long time ago was MERP which was a slightly scaled down version of Rolemaster but set in middle earth (MERP = Middle Earth Role Playing) - they produced around 30 or so campaign packs which basically were all based around areas of middle earth and gave you flaura / fauna and notable NPC's in the area (the ones that i instantly remember are Mirkwood and Shelobs lair - http://www.icewebring.com/ice-products/ ... d%20Shelob - http://www.icewebring.com/ice-products/ ... ood%202700 )

A while ago I grabbed a torrent which was just PDF's created from these which i could dig out if you (or anyone else) was interested in them - the advantage of that is you start with a lot of the background data filled in already - most people know of the different creatures / races / etc and have a rough idea of how the politics and racial tensions fit

And Cheese??

Also D&D is really dull, both mechanically and in terms of setting.

I used to play once in a while, but it always ended up with 4-5 hour sessions, and I really struggle to maintain interest in anything for that sort of length of time. See also: Movie marathons.

Savage Worlds is supposed to be good.

I like White Wolf's World of Darkness games, have the advantage of modern day setting, and reasonably easy rules.

Cyberpunk 2020 is good, but horrifically lethal.

HeroQuest!

Only if you think D&D means Forgotten Realms.

Forgotten Realms is AD&D. As are the fun settings like Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Planescape, and Spelljammer.

I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how technically correct I am.

Not Really checked it out to much but, https://roll20.net looks useful. Also, https://battlebards.com for sound effects.

While acknowledging your technical correctitude, I'd suggest that you can probably substitute AD&D for every mention of D&D in this thread except yours.

I've played some episodic/campaign style tabletop games and I've played some one shots at my local gaming group. That, combined with watching Critical Role and listening to a couple of D&D podcasts has me in a pretty good place to start I think. I certainly wouldn't have felt the same way a few months ago!




They're all good ideas and I'd happily play another rpg, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable DM'ing another rpg. I wouldn't be confident enough in my knowledge and history etc of that world do it justice and that could be an issue if other players picked up on that. I like the fact that with the D&D ruleset it doesn't matter if you invent a totally new world and have a sandbox game. I played a Star Wars one shot and really enjoyed it but I wouldn't want to GM it.

That suprises me, what do you find dull about it? I played a horror one shot that I found really dull and boring and convinced me you can't make an rpg that genuinely scares or creeps people out, but then Matthew Mercer, DM on Critical Role, started the Briarwood sequence and I found that properly creepy. I also really like the simplicity of 5e rules. It's certainly not any more complicated than the other ones I've tried, which include Dungeon World, Dread and Star Wars. I hope my imagination is good enough to not let it be boring but that will probably be the scariest thing about trying to run something!

And just because it seems to fit here - the last RPG bundle finished and they have rolled straight into the next one

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/frog ... ook-bundle



$15 these days is around £12

And now I'm reading about the pathfinder starter box and getting excited because it comes with miniatures.

Forgotten Realms is acebest. The Dales! Elminster! Baldur's Gate! Driz'z'z'z'z't''t'!

Fucking Dragonlance is the shit stuff, Cras.

I have no objection to FR, but it's pretty much by the numbers fantasy compared to Spelljammer and shit.

Spelljammer was part of FR, FFS.

Also, FR, had a vast, VAST number of different types of cultures, settings etc. You're wrongy mcwrongface.

Spelljammer overarched most of the other settings in the official canon. You could fly from Forgotten Realms to Dark Sun to Ravenloft.

PART OF, NOT SOLELY IN. Sorry, I can't hear you over how technically correct I am.

FR was therefore a part of Spelljammer (and planescape)

It works both ways then.

Planescape was acestacebest. I think its manuals won awards or something. I've kept them as they're frankly works of art.

It's like you've all started speaking another language!

You to cast 'comprehend languages'

No need with a Halfling in tbe party.

Quite.

Anyway.

I tend to prefer dicepool systems rather than D&D style 'single dice with modifiers' style. Just because it's usually easier to grasp "you want to punch him? Add up the number of points you have in Dexterity and Brawl, and roll that many dice. Count up the number of dice that are higher than 7." Rather than "roll 1d20 add and take away a bunch of modifiers that you don't really understand yet."

For new players the dicepool tends to be a lot less complex to understand, but tends to require a little more effort on the DMs part (working out what skills are required when you do something obtuse and setting target numbers and what varying numbers of success actually mean).

Is that based on experience of 5e? I've not personally played it yet but from watching Critical Role it seems to be fairly straightforward and they all have their modifiers clearly stated on their character sheets. The only time there's a moments pause is when someone attacks with a weapon they rarely use as they check the modifiers.

The Star Wars one shot I played had a pool of dice but I think it took the full game to feel comfortable with what we could roll each time and since I'm probably going to end up being
the DM then I think I want it to be as easy on the DM as possible

Can anyone who wants to play please let me know? If there are too many people we will need to figure out how we organise it, probably based on availability. I'd intend to play for 2-3 hours one evening, probably once a week or fortnight. I probably won't start until after Christmas because we are close enough now that I've had a ban placed on buying myself things off amazing in case someone has already bought me it as a Christmas present.

Pathfinder/3.5 mostly. Oh and D20 Star Wars.

Writing down modifiers is fine, if you're brand new and don't know which to apply each time, it gets frustrating.

I am biased as dice pool are also generally point-buy (I hate classes)

Also, with dice pools, you're going to pass some rolls., no matter how epically badly you roll.

I'd Be interested, but struggle to meet a tome commitment, so put on the reserve list.