![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So, I've been talking about getting together an online gaming group pretty much since 4E was launched, back when the Virtual Game Table was looking a lot less like vaporware. After our recent marathon of marathons came to an end, I was pretty much ordered to find an alternative so we can keep playing at a more moderate, reasonable pace instead of going months without gaming and then cramming a frantic amount of it in.
My criteria were pretty simple - I wanted something I could just pick up and go with. An actual D&D branded program with full integration to their compendium and character generator would have been perfect for that purpose. With that unavailable... well, there are lots of programs out there that have complex scripting and such that could be used to simulate such things, but my second choice would be something simple that's quick and easy to use.
One of my players mentioned Screen Monkey, and I checked it out. It's definitely simple. The game master is the only one who needs to install a program... players use a web browser instead of downloading a client program. The interface on their side is very simple: when they put their character into the game, they fill out a field for HP, one for Armor, and a big long text field where they can post character info. After that, they just click where they want to move. The system doesn't regulate or officiate or moderate... that's all up to the DM, who can thereafter look at their sheet and modify their HP and set custom status flags as appropriate.
On the DM's side, mousing over a character or NPC pops up their full info. It's a very easy thing to copy and paste a monster stat block from the compendium or the monster builder, and if a player takes the plaintext summary from the character builder and puts it in their character info, you can see all the relevant stats (defenses and skills in particular) at a glance.
Movement can seem kind of kludgy on the players' side until you get used to it... because it needs to refresh the view every time you move, it's better to use the mouse cursor to count out squares and then click on the destination then to try to move your character square by square. Because it doesn't snap to grid, it takes practice to get your token centered on the square. It's a little bit easier on the DM's side, since things are running on my end... I fully expect to be getting some requests that just say, "Move me to the door." or "Put me just south of the priest." When we game tabletop, that inevitably happens as not everybody can reach the whole board comfortably, anyway.
All in all it's not the most robust gaming solution, but I basically need two things from it: a way or marking everyone's position relative to each other where we can all see it, and a way of doing "dice rolls" that everyone can see, and it does that. It's as quick to draw up and save encounters in it as 4E will let you, which is very quick indeed. We don't need a board and miniatures and rule simulators for non-combat situations, just a chat solution. It has one of those, but we'll probably also be using Ventrilo.
I'm saying "we" meaning my gaming group that includes people in Kansas, but now that I've located and like this tool, I'm looking to do more gaming. I'm still going to have to work around my friends' work schedules, which are less flexible than mine. I know some of you have expressed interest in playing D&D with me, so, here it is: I want to do this as much as I can. This is my favorite hobby. I have a lot of time and money invested in it compared to how often I've been able to indulge in it. It's great for me in terms of keeping my creativity flowing and giving me a framework in which I can interact with people. Who's interested? We may be starting with some one-shots to give people a chance to get used to the interface, my style, and the system... they may turn into campaigns. It may depend on who's available how often.
Participants will need a web browser (duh), a Ventrilo client (free) and a microphone and speakers/headphones, and access to the D&D Character Builder... the demo version that covers levels 1 to 3 is currently free. If you've got that, you don't even strictly speaking need the books, especially if you've got any familiarity with 3rd Edition. I don't believe in penalizing players for not knowing the rules.
Let me know if you're interested, and then I'll start getting things organized.
My criteria were pretty simple - I wanted something I could just pick up and go with. An actual D&D branded program with full integration to their compendium and character generator would have been perfect for that purpose. With that unavailable... well, there are lots of programs out there that have complex scripting and such that could be used to simulate such things, but my second choice would be something simple that's quick and easy to use.
One of my players mentioned Screen Monkey, and I checked it out. It's definitely simple. The game master is the only one who needs to install a program... players use a web browser instead of downloading a client program. The interface on their side is very simple: when they put their character into the game, they fill out a field for HP, one for Armor, and a big long text field where they can post character info. After that, they just click where they want to move. The system doesn't regulate or officiate or moderate... that's all up to the DM, who can thereafter look at their sheet and modify their HP and set custom status flags as appropriate.
On the DM's side, mousing over a character or NPC pops up their full info. It's a very easy thing to copy and paste a monster stat block from the compendium or the monster builder, and if a player takes the plaintext summary from the character builder and puts it in their character info, you can see all the relevant stats (defenses and skills in particular) at a glance.
Movement can seem kind of kludgy on the players' side until you get used to it... because it needs to refresh the view every time you move, it's better to use the mouse cursor to count out squares and then click on the destination then to try to move your character square by square. Because it doesn't snap to grid, it takes practice to get your token centered on the square. It's a little bit easier on the DM's side, since things are running on my end... I fully expect to be getting some requests that just say, "Move me to the door." or "Put me just south of the priest." When we game tabletop, that inevitably happens as not everybody can reach the whole board comfortably, anyway.
All in all it's not the most robust gaming solution, but I basically need two things from it: a way or marking everyone's position relative to each other where we can all see it, and a way of doing "dice rolls" that everyone can see, and it does that. It's as quick to draw up and save encounters in it as 4E will let you, which is very quick indeed. We don't need a board and miniatures and rule simulators for non-combat situations, just a chat solution. It has one of those, but we'll probably also be using Ventrilo.
I'm saying "we" meaning my gaming group that includes people in Kansas, but now that I've located and like this tool, I'm looking to do more gaming. I'm still going to have to work around my friends' work schedules, which are less flexible than mine. I know some of you have expressed interest in playing D&D with me, so, here it is: I want to do this as much as I can. This is my favorite hobby. I have a lot of time and money invested in it compared to how often I've been able to indulge in it. It's great for me in terms of keeping my creativity flowing and giving me a framework in which I can interact with people. Who's interested? We may be starting with some one-shots to give people a chance to get used to the interface, my style, and the system... they may turn into campaigns. It may depend on who's available how often.
Participants will need a web browser (duh), a Ventrilo client (free) and a microphone and speakers/headphones, and access to the D&D Character Builder... the demo version that covers levels 1 to 3 is currently free. If you've got that, you don't even strictly speaking need the books, especially if you've got any familiarity with 3rd Edition. I don't believe in penalizing players for not knowing the rules.
Let me know if you're interested, and then I'll start getting things organized.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 12:53 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:01 am (UTC)For the moment my first two ideas are a human (subject to change) sorcerer- though tiefling stormsoul sounds interesting- and a goliath paladin. But I'm pretty sure I can come up with quite a few more dependent on what people want to play.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:12 am (UTC)I'd like to play, unfortunately I've never been able to get a microphone to work on my computer.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:47 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 03:03 am (UTC)I'd love to play
on 2009-07-20 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 02:27 am (UTC)online gaming
on 2009-07-20 04:50 am (UTC)I'm throwing my hat in the ring, if you'll have me. I'm in Chicago, but if it helps, I'm originally from Kansas. ;-)
I meet all tech needs, and I'm 4e "fluent."
Re: online gaming
on 2009-07-20 05:56 am (UTC)Things'll be back to normal tomorrow.
Re: online gaming
on 2009-07-20 06:20 am (UTC)Also, I was linking directly to the story page. My bad. Now to read the guest works.
Re: online gaming
on 2009-07-20 06:00 pm (UTC)Re: online gaming
on 2009-07-20 06:10 pm (UTC)Please, let me know if you have space in the 4e online game. Thanks.
no subject
on 2009-07-20 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 08:15 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 12:48 pm (UTC)Also, wow, that character builder thingy sure makes the process easier.
no subject
on 2009-07-21 02:03 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 04:11 pm (UTC)I got my hands on the 4e manuals, I'll start looking at them once I've done maps for the campaign I'm running.
Definitely Interested
on 2009-07-20 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-20 07:16 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2009-07-21 11:05 pm (UTC)I unsubscribed from the MU feeds a few weeks ago when I found that I was looking forward to all your other stories, other than those two. So, I can still look forward and read the various pieces you write that I still very much enjoy, and not have to endure the ones I don't like much of the time.
Thanks for having variety in your writing. :)
no subject
on 2009-07-21 11:17 pm (UTC)The system works!
no subject
on 2009-07-21 11:24 pm (UTC)Anyway, that was my point, the system works. :)
no subject
on 2009-07-21 11:27 pm (UTC)