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Dungeons and Dragons: Who still plays?
- Thread starter hoverX
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I found a group of people that play where I live. I was a little apprehensive at first but I eventually joined in. It is a lot of fun and we have a good group. We only get together every month or month and a half and two of us usually stay up drinking the night before so we don't regret sitting around for 6 hours doing nothing. We had a great group but some people came in and others went out... so now we have a few npc's and my bard was crippled by a half giant so I'm playing a druid. Druids are a pain in the ass to play if you don't know the game to well, like me.
It's fun though.
I can turn into a tree, or a bear and I can shoot lighting. What more could you want in a character? He seems really over powered and my DM has said he really hates magic users because it makes his job a bit harder so I try to go easy on him.
(We're playing 3.5 by the way.)
It's fun though.
I can turn into a tree, or a bear and I can shoot lighting. What more could you want in a character? He seems really over powered and my DM has said he really hates magic users because it makes his job a bit harder so I try to go easy on him.
(We're playing 3.5 by the way.)
BronzeWolf
Banned
Koshiba said:
Ferrio said:
Get new friends, like srsly. We had 2 girl regulars at our DnD campaign. Girls are a welcome addition, they come up with some amazing shit hahaha
shoplifter
Member
I've been playing since Red Box D&D. Honestly, I'm pretty much done with D&D though. I'd rather be running something else when I run a game. I'd *play* in a 4e game though.
Right now on my reading stack:
WFRP 3rd - seems good so far, but the books are pretty disorganized. FFG did put up an index on their site though. they managed to get the tactile feel of lots of 'bits' from their boardgames and incorporate them all in an RPG as part of the at the table bookkeeping. I like the dice pool mechanic quite a bit as well.
Kerberos Club for Wild Talents 2e (victorian era superhero gaming - it's great so far)
Vox
Eclipse Phase
Hero 6th
Barbarians of Lemuria legendary edition
Right now on my reading stack:
WFRP 3rd - seems good so far, but the books are pretty disorganized. FFG did put up an index on their site though. they managed to get the tactile feel of lots of 'bits' from their boardgames and incorporate them all in an RPG as part of the at the table bookkeeping. I like the dice pool mechanic quite a bit as well.
Kerberos Club for Wild Talents 2e (victorian era superhero gaming - it's great so far)
Vox
Eclipse Phase
Hero 6th
Barbarians of Lemuria legendary edition
What's the breakdown of you all between GMs and players? And which do you all prefer?
I'm personally playing in one campaign and running another. DMing is a lot of fun and it feels really great when everyone has a good time at your session, but it is really nice being able to just show up to a game with a character sheet and not have to worry about hours of prep work.
I'm personally playing in one campaign and running another. DMing is a lot of fun and it feels really great when everyone has a good time at your session, but it is really nice being able to just show up to a game with a character sheet and not have to worry about hours of prep work.
Scalemail Ted said:
That only makes it more attractive, for me at least. I just got home from a 14 hour session of our main 3.5 campaign and i still don't see the need to completly switch to 4ED.
IMHO, the two versions should kinda co-exist.
4ED does some things rather nicely, but some others it tackles competely different than 3.5, and not always in a way I like.
(Another reason might be that i just completed my Forgotten Realms 3.0/3.5 library a few weeks ago, and that i hate the new version of the Realms)
BattleMonkey
Member
I used to hate D&D but think 4th edition is a step in the right direction. The game seems more board game like, but it's also less munchkin friendly and less about power gaming and more about balanced group dynamic.
I also play and GM Star Wars Saga Edition.
For more narrative game I like stuff like World of Darkness and currently looking into Cthulhutech for something completely different.
Have done some Heavy Gear as well.
I also play and GM Star Wars Saga Edition.
For more narrative game I like stuff like World of Darkness and currently looking into Cthulhutech for something completely different.
Have done some Heavy Gear as well.
lordfroakie
Member
I played D&D a long time ago with my friends, choose the magician class because it had more cards :lol
ultron87 said:
I used to DM and play. I love both sides really. Playing a character is wonderful for me because I get to let the "detail" side of my brain go whole hog. I almost always end running back to cleric, and it got to the point where I would write up little 2 minute sermons just to have in the chamber should I be called on.
I think I lost most of those notes though
On the flip side, running a game is probably more rewarding creatively just because of how much you get to be in control of. I loved making memorable NPCs, I'd really get into the role, changing my posture and such to get into character. It's exhausting work though, and I usually get burnt out if I don't watch myself too carefully.
I'd really love to try to run a session one day. Our DM is really into it without being a dick. He sort of goes with the motions and what he thinks should work rather than what is in the book. His encounters are always fun but I've read every single plot twist so far. I keep my mouth shut because the rest of my group always seems to be in amazed every time he does his big reveal.
How do your DMs handle plot developers that are supposed to take place with players that 'aren't with the group'? We've been using our laptops and sending private messages for things like that. It sounded kind of lame but it worked out really well.
In our last session my character was following this NPC we thought was kind of crooked into the catacombs of a church. Meanwhile she slips past me and goes back to take the rest of my group off to die. My character is snooping around and finds a giant airship below the church that eventually takes off and destroys the building. After they escaped they really were wondering what happened to me because they had no clue what I had been doing since we split up.
The rest of the encounter was spent with my typing away until I came into view. It really worked out well because they had no clue what was going on with me and it really added some suspense to the encounter.
Unfortunately when I did finally emerge I was being torn in two by a half giant... They managed to save me but my character was crippled. On the bright side he is now a hero in our world with a tavern in the city we saved, a giant statue of him ripping the half giant in two, and the best gay bar/tavern in town.
I fucking love D&D!
How do your DMs handle plot developers that are supposed to take place with players that 'aren't with the group'? We've been using our laptops and sending private messages for things like that. It sounded kind of lame but it worked out really well.
In our last session my character was following this NPC we thought was kind of crooked into the catacombs of a church. Meanwhile she slips past me and goes back to take the rest of my group off to die. My character is snooping around and finds a giant airship below the church that eventually takes off and destroys the building. After they escaped they really were wondering what happened to me because they had no clue what I had been doing since we split up.
The rest of the encounter was spent with my typing away until I came into view. It really worked out well because they had no clue what was going on with me and it really added some suspense to the encounter.
Unfortunately when I did finally emerge I was being torn in two by a half giant... They managed to save me but my character was crippled. On the bright side he is now a hero in our world with a tavern in the city we saved, a giant statue of him ripping the half giant in two, and the best gay bar/tavern in town.
I fucking love D&D!
I'd love o play a casual game with my wife, but I don't know anyone else who would be into it and I'm afraid that strangers would play it too "nerdy" for me.
I'd like to find a group who would play like the Penny Arcade group. Thats a nice atmosphere. I'm too old to be doing voices arguing about rules with players (I DM mostly, I've never had a chance to be a player)
I'd like to find a group who would play like the Penny Arcade group. Thats a nice atmosphere. I'm too old to be doing voices arguing about rules with players (I DM mostly, I've never had a chance to be a player)
Scalemail Ted
Member
Staccat0 said:
IMO, 4th edition is by far the most casual friendly. Its practically a crossbreed between an rpg and a board game.
BattleMonkey
Member
From my experience D&D 4E is still not as friendly a game as some other RPG's. It's still a rules heavy game though with right set up and tools it can be easy for rpg newbies.
If your looking for something to get someone into a RPG who does not play games often, you might want to try a rules lite game like a narrative based rpg which is more about actual ROLEplaying and not ROLLplaying.
If your looking for something to get someone into a RPG who does not play games often, you might want to try a rules lite game like a narrative based rpg which is more about actual ROLEplaying and not ROLLplaying.
Staccat0 said:
Almost every single DnD game I've played in has been just like the PA game. I'd laugh the DM out of town if he started doing funny voices, I think.
Oh, and I play 4e bi-weekly with some friends. I love it so much more than I ever did for 2nd or 3rd/3.5 Ed. During the tail end of 2nd and the beginning of 3rd I was more of a Stroyteller System guy anyway.
Maybe if its people who are all on the same page, but my geekier work friends or wife (who all love a comlicated board game) are most intimidated by the RP aspect of things.BattleMonkey said:
I listen to a few D&D podcasts, and it seems like the consensus is that 4e is the best version of D&D for normal people who basically want it to be a board game.
I've heard Mouseguard is a really good alternative for complete noobs who don't have a lot of intense board game experiencethough... I'm sure there are others.
That said, 4e kind of sucks for making a unique character. It definitely feels like it encourages min/max players and it has some "right" choices and "wrong" choices as far as class, race and power combos are concerned. I've heard this is improved if you buy the expansion books...
Y'know, if there was an official D&D thread where people recounted their sessions I would read that shit weekly.
Me too really, but I have known people who play "the other way" and with my luck thats the randoms I would end up meeting through my comic shop or whatever... that or some power gamers who would get mad at me from playing the "wrong" character and play in dungeons a few levels over their heads.Chorazin said:
Favorite character time!
Mine was from 3.5, and his name was Cryell. He was a True Necromancer, a Necromancer class that could be Neutral. (I forget which book it was from, it but it was official. And crazy overpowered!)
He travelled the land extolling the virtue of making Zombies out of dead loved ones, instead of paying an extreme fee to have them Resurrected. Stupid Clerics charge too much! Peasants couldn't afford to Resurrect dear old dad to till the fields, so why not make him a zombie!
Hilarity ensured over the course of the game. We started at pretty decent levels, so my guy could control a goodly sized horde of undead. Everything we killed ended up as part of the horde. Good times, good times.
Mine was from 3.5, and his name was Cryell. He was a True Necromancer, a Necromancer class that could be Neutral. (I forget which book it was from, it but it was official. And crazy overpowered!)
He travelled the land extolling the virtue of making Zombies out of dead loved ones, instead of paying an extreme fee to have them Resurrected. Stupid Clerics charge too much! Peasants couldn't afford to Resurrect dear old dad to till the fields, so why not make him a zombie!
Hilarity ensured over the course of the game. We started at pretty decent levels, so my guy could control a goodly sized horde of undead. Everything we killed ended up as part of the horde. Good times, good times.
BattleMonkey
Member
Staccat0 said:
I would disagree on characters being right or wrong in 4e, the whole system is designed around making the character classes more focused and for specific tasks. In 3rd and before it was a MUCH MUCH bigger difference where character creation can go totally wrong. The previous versions were much more vague in character creation and more open to customization which if someone didn't know what they were doing, often would make shit characters. The more narrow focus of character creation in 4E takes away freedom of customization and cuts down on the cheese factor some players could do, but it makes the game as a whole more focused and makes each character unique based on class.
This was also to help fix the issue of some classes being much less useful than others since players could achieve better results with another class and customizing it. Now in 4E each class has a much more unique feel. MMO style of RPG's is the obvious inspiration of 4E.
You all may like to check out HackMaster! The new edition is being rolled out, but it is such a fun system, and not at all a joke, despite being based on a comic book fabrication. The original game is a beefed up version of AD&D 2e (plus I had a module published by Kenzer & Co. for it! ).
).You say you don't agree, but it seems like you are saying that the game DOES now have right ang wrong builds.BattleMonkey said:
Still, I see what your saying, but when I would DM 2e or 3e back in the day I would design the dungeon for my party. A good DM provides everybody a chance to shine. 4e is decidedly combat focused (which is nice) and cuts each class down to its sweetness (which is fine) but flavor wise, it feels kind of like a bunch of (boring) kits for 4 basic classes. I'm not big into RP or any of that shit, but I do like players to feel like they can put a stamp on their character. For me, 4e characters always just design themselves (3e did this too, but to a lesser degree)
The DM guide basically tells you to go fuck yourself if you want to run a party that doesn't include one of each role and all of the tips and tech that the books provide are based on this idea. I totally understand why they did this and what the benefits are, but I kind of feel like some of the charm gets lost in the mix.
Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, I don't know. I DO like how they got rid of die rolling pretty much completely with character generation and leveling. That was always kind of arbitrary and frustrating.
Still, I had a player who once purposely made a character with a wisdom of 4 just because he imagined the character would be more fun to play that way. Had a lot of people play class/race combos that were really odd and not optimal but were just fun to talk about and see in action.
I'm not saying you CAN'T do that in 4e. It just seems to push you harder in the other direction than previous editions and the DM guide is more about templates and structure than creative bullshitting.
I totally get it and think its better for a lot of people, but I miss the kookiness of older editions. But yeah, 4e feels a little like an MMO to me and no one wants to hear you describe your MMO character.
krypt0nian
Banned
Damn your eyes! I've had the 4E main hardbacks for ever, but this thread made me buy a new Chessex 1" grid battlemat and markers.
I'm going to try and get some noob friends into running a few combats to see if they are interested.
I'm falling back in!
I'm going to try and get some noob friends into running a few combats to see if they are interested.
I'm falling back in!
krypt0nian
Banned
I love how 4E especially with the DMG2, espouses that the players create as much as the DM.
Interactive, contribution based storytelling. Kind of a nice way to rub the faces of those who cried that 4E "lacked roleplaying"
Interactive, contribution based storytelling. Kind of a nice way to rub the faces of those who cried that 4E "lacked roleplaying"
Eh, you could do it with any edition, in our group we see the game as a story we're all working on together, I built the world with the help of some players for example. A lot of games other than D&D are built upon the idea that the group (including the game master) are building a story together, like Nobilis and WoD. This is not something that is special to the 4th edition, and it does not give it any more focus on role playing. 4E doesn't lack RP more than any other edition of D&D, but all that bullshit like character "builds" and the like take away from what's actually fun about playing role playing games...krypt0nian said:
krypt0nian
Banned
dude said:
You don't have to use any builds though. I still make characters that fit a concept. The builds are there for noobs new to character creation, and to help DMs throw together something on the fly easily.
And you're right about doing it in any edition but that they emphasize it makes all the "no rpging" whiners have to put a stopper in it.
EDIT: amazing avatar btw.
krypt0nian
Banned
Setting up a couple quick combat only demos for myself and a couple others who have never played anything pnp. Each will emphasize a different aspect (movement, opp. atks, ranged, flanking, cover, etc.)
Should be interesting.
Should be interesting.
DigitalDevil
Member
ronito said:
this is my problem. I played a few times as a kid but could never get a good group going. I've still got between 40-50 books that hardly ever even got used. I got the most use out of the Cthulhu game. That was fun.
Political intrigue doesn't mean RP, as dungeon crawling doesn't mean a lack of. I mean, the fact that you're talking more does not measure how much everyone is into the game. Imagine the situation, you're deep in the dungeon, you're just waking up after some 6 hour of sleep, stiff from sleeping on the hard rocks, the cavern is rather chilly and the small fire warms the skin - but not the bone. Your friends are already up, you don't especially like them - not the foreigner wizard and not that stuck up cleric, you never needed spells or the gods, you're almost angry they rely on both so damn much. You eat quietly, catch up on what happened during the night shifts and quickly pack up the improvised camp to move on. After the battle, still wounded from the ogre's blade, as the cleric say "Hold still, you scoundrel, let mighty Tyre heal you" you only answer with a cold "It's nothing", even as the cut sends pulses of agony through you arm.hoverX said:
Slowly, as they must learn to depend on each other to survive the characters will grow closer, or drift farther apart until a bloodbath. Role Playing depends only on the one's playing the game - the tone of the campaign does not dictate how will the players play their characters.
Thanks, it was quite unappreciated in the rate the avatar threadkrypt0nian said:
damn i've got game invites coming out the ass now! I posted on craigslist and joined a few groups on meetup.com now i've got all kinds of potential games.
Someone invited me to a Star Wars game. Anyone play that? Sounds kinda interesting but i was really hoping to play Shadowrun for my sci-fi fix.
Someone invited me to a Star Wars game. Anyone play that? Sounds kinda interesting but i was really hoping to play Shadowrun for my sci-fi fix.
BattleMonkey
Member
hoverX said:
Star Wars Saga edition is basically D&D 3.75
It was the test bed for much of 4E D&D actually though it also still retains much of stuff from D&D 3.5, as well as ideas from the SW miniature game.
I haven't played D&D on a physical tabletop since high school. Well, actually, back then it was called ADVANCED Dungeons & Dragons, uhuhuhuhuhu.
I've tried playing in online campaigns (on IRC or some similar program) several times, but somehow they never lasted more than a few sessions, unfortunately.
I've tried playing in online campaigns (on IRC or some similar program) several times, but somehow they never lasted more than a few sessions, unfortunately.
krypt0nian
Banned
hoverX said:
Where on CL did you post? All the Chicago meetup groups are across the universe from me.
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