Oh and I'd ban Oriental Adventures before you start. 3d10 damage through armour is quite game breaking.

Fenixius:

Then we're playing Play-by-Post with the aid of MS Paint :\

Grids aren't THAT hard to work with. If someone scans a map or something, I can just play with Photoshop and add in icons to represent characters and other objects in the game-world.

That's a pretty good idea.

..you know, I have some interest in this. Friends are milling about deciding on a game to play around here anyways :p

No preferences to what we do, though. I don't have anything specific in mind for a character..gimme a setting, and I'll think up something. Though I'm leaning towards a cleric for the next game I'm in.

I play with an online organization, playing through a chat room (two chat rooms, actually. One for OOC talk and die rolls and the other for in-game dialog). It's great for when a DM has to quit the game because a new one can get assigned pretty fast. I run a halfling rogue/swashbuckler/shadowdancer in one game and DM another.

I also play a face-to-face game at a local gaming store where I run a human ranged fighter. We also tried the 4e preview module last week. I liked it

I've always wanted to play D&D, but I could never find anyone else to play it with.

The_root_of_all_evil:
Oh and I'd ban Oriental Adventures before you start. 3d10 damage through armour is quite game breaking.

I never saw anything in Oriental adventures that impressed me, how are you dealing 3d10 through armor? I say that because I've built horrible things that can compete with the tome of battle, without cheating, or having a weapon over a +3 total bonus.

I'm a DnDer! Or something, I'm not sure what the adjective would be for that. I play mostly online now because coordinating 5 schedules is ridiculously hard.

4e is way better than 3.5. It takes the complicated ruleset of the previous edition, packs it up into a nice little box and kicks it through the rafters. (Penny Arcade, Gabe, news 5/30/2008)

Back on Page 1 I saw someone asking what kind of new rules veterans had made up, and a few that I like to use as a DM to add realism are:
1. Vitality/Wound system. Vitality damage is treated as a near miss; adds both realism (you get shot, you go down) and a certain cinematic feel that I am always striving towards.
2. Armor as damage conversion. The AC bonus of armor, instead of making you harder to hit, converts damage you take from lethal into nonlethal. Thus, if you get beat up a lot it may not kill you but it will knock you out.
3. Don't tell the players how much total vitality or wound points they have, and don't tell them how much damage they take. I do tell them their basic bodytype, e.g. fragile, hardy, average, superhuman, pathetic, ect. You would be surprised how much your players calm down and observe before running into a situation when they only know approximately how much damage they can take.

I have a problem with not knowing how much damage I've taken since (I know bringing the real world into this is against DA RULEz but I'm going to anyhow) I know when I'm about to collapse and when I'm just hurt a little, and when that pathetic excuse for a sword swing barely broke my skin and has only made me mad.
Keeping track of 2 different stats for considering how much damage I can take before falling down is tedious at best and a pain in the butt at worst.
The armor rules can be translated a dozen different ways let's just use theirs for simplicities sake, please?

Plus Vitality and Wounds get REALLY confusing when Non-Lethal Damage is brought into the mix. Also, the new Condition Track implimented in Starwars SAGA edition does an excellent job of keeping the game dangerous.

BeeL:
If we want to play at the 4h edition when it comes out wy don't we just use the Virtual tabletop??

That's a good idea, esp. given the 4e's apparent reliance on miniatures, but the virtual tabletop, online rules compendium and chara builder will only be free until the end of the beta period (which starts at the launch). After that it goes by a D&Di subscription fee.

PedroSteckecilo:
I'm not a fan of their "Pasty-Goth" games (read: Anything WOD) but I LOVE their poor neglected Trinity properties, especially ADVENTURE! which is greatly underappreciated, even by its creators.

I hear ya, Vampire is definitely my least favorite out of WoD. I love Werewolf. Adventure! looks pretty sweet, and I have the rulebook for Aberrant (I think they're related?). I also have a bunch of the books for Exalted, never actually played it though.

unangbangkay:

BeeL:
If we want to play at the 4h edition when it comes out wy don't we just use the Virtual tabletop??

That's a good idea, esp. given the 4e's apparent reliance on miniatures, but the virtual tabletop, online rules compendium and chara builder will only be free until the end of the beta period (which starts at the launch). After that it goes by a D&Di subscription fee.

A fee?!?! Like hell that i'm going to pay that! As soon as I get my books I'll start to program my own online tabletop.

Let's hope 4th Edition is simple enough for me to pick up and learn. I also hope the rulebook isn't the size of a small country.

Blayze:
Let's hope 4th Edition is simple enough for me to pick up and learn. I also hope the rulebook isn't the size of a small country.

At least according to those preview books that reveal some of the designer's logic and some of the playtest impressions, it's actually quite streamlined, particularly for DMs.

Here's a link to a PVP/Penny-Arcade podcast session:

http://webcast2.wizards.com/podcasts_dandd/DnD_PA_Episode1.mp3

It might require you to register though.

The PHB for 4th ed is huge (320 pages) and it has all the rules, the reason behind this is that each class takes up 10 pages and the magic items are in it. the system itself though is fairly simple, they took 3.5 made the CRs on normal items more reasonable, tossed out the size category rules aside from "they get reach and occupy more space" the HP system changed some you don't die at -10 hp you die at -1/2 your max hp total, the saves system is different it basically changed to what can only be an altered AC system and the spells that do have "saves" you are successful on a 10+ normally. There is some other stuff I don't want to type it out.

Yes, there's that, but it's saves in particular, as well as some difficulty class checks that were drastically changed. One of the examples they put up was what they've done with "Dispel Magic" spells.

Also, each class gets "powers", i.e. per-encounter abilities to make things interesting, is more capable of healing itself through minor "healing surges" and "second wind" abilities, and the game more formally introduces the concept of party roles, talent builds and the like.

Some folks whine about how it's like an MMO now, but I don't really see why that's such a huge problem. The roles things was always there, just not formally discussed, and talent trees and builds and whatnot work quite well to streamline the experience. Not every game group can afford to spend the whole session rolling through a single encounter.

If your group can't afford the amount of time it takes to roll through an entire encounter then you need to rethink your time-management, because there are clearly issues there. Granted combat is alot smoother now than in previous games.

ThaBenMan:

I hear ya, Vampire is definitely my least favorite out of WoD. I love Werewolf. Adventure! looks pretty sweet, and I have the rulebook for Aberrant (I think they're related?). I also have a bunch of the books for Exalted, never actually played it though.

Adventure! is the 1930's of the "Trinity Universe", Abberrant is Modern/Near Future and I think Trinity is the far future.

I liked the D10 system for awhile then I realized that the groups outside the one I started in were usually freaks, and it doesn't help that my d10s only believe in 3 numbers 10 9 and (barely) 8, which when you are rolling 5 dice and you have to pick up 3 of them because they were 10s gets kind of boring after awhile since you know you will succeed unless the GM has made it so stupifyingly high that no one can make it. I've only failed 3 rolls in my time while playing that system two of which were rolling my character's will save(?) which didn't leave me any choice but to run away and the other was to shoot my friend which I also failed at but he failed harder (no successes and one critical failure still hits 0 successes and 2 critical failures) so I made him swiss cheese as my dice don't skimp on any damage in that system.

EDIT: D10 is usually WoD or a related product.

I find that whenever my group inducts a new player we spent a couple of sessions aclimatizing them to our rules-loose madness heavy games. Hence I have determined that other groups outside my own are substantially more boring.

Most of my groups make house rules to fill in the gaping holes in their system of choice. Depending on who runs the game it could be as close as humanly possible to all of the rules, or it could be like the pirate code, just guidelines, however one of the current GMs who is running rules loose doesn't quite get that it isn't about him having all the power, the players are the ones who gave him that power and he doesn't quite get that, I left his game because when I made a change to my character, becoming more cautious because I had accidentally endangered party members on several occasions, they thought I wasn't playing the character which I was but the character had grown up just a little.

EDIT: leaving that game pissed me off though and I couldn't quite figure out why until about a month later when I had poked that GM enough times to get what information I needed out of him to figure everything out, I was mad because I was roleplaying really well and enjoying it, but for no reason he thought I had stopped acting the part and was punishing me for it which even the other players couldn't understand and had gotten fed up with it. They are still playing and I wish I could take part, I do occasionally by running the NPCs that are saddled with the party from time to time but I'd really like to play my character.

For the game we're setting up...when are we going to start it? Are we going to set up characters and backstory here? Because if we are, we should get some background on the world we're going to be wandering around in first.

Do we need background? I'm sure a brief overview of a characters' past is necessary, at least but really it's up to whoever runs it on how much information needs to be traded.

Arright.
So, when are we starting? (asking the DM)

EDIT: Nevermind, I just found the thread where it's starting. Moving there now.

I know this is the DnD thread (which I created ^^) but I dont see why it cant be a rpg thread in general.

I had my first experiance with Call of Cthuhu on thursday. I was keeping an adventure from the book with two close friends. It was hilarious, frustrating, terrifying and awesome all in one. I highly recomend this game to everyone!

Also

My regular game group (we play on fridays) have taken a break from DnD and moved onto Shadowrun. This is a cyberpunk with magic rpg set in the 2070s. The characters are more or less criminals for hire doing odd jobs for people who pay them =)

Last night we had to get this stuff from an armored van. We had a sniper waiting a while down the road, me, the hacker, the guy with the assualt rifle and the sneaky guy in my car chasing this thing and the two guys with explosives on the bridge (just incase). The hacker took out their comm systems then the sneaky guy hung out my window and unloaded into the back of the van. Then we had the awesome idea of driving really close so the sneaky could board it. Before we could, the sniper took out one of the tires and the engine making it almost crash into me.. I made a driving test and passed (probley saving all of us from crashing into a tree..) then pulled over to try to take all this gear before anyone nasty showed up..

It was pretty exciting stuff!

Le Bump!!

So whats the word on 4th ed now that its out? I've read both sides.. On one end they say that it is a lot simpler and easyer to swallow making gameplay smooth.. On the other end I've heard people say its pretty much a complex boardgame instead of an RPG

Personaly I am gonna stick to 3.5.. Mainly due to the fact I cant afford 3 more books but also because I dont want to play a boardgame.. I like DnD the way it is and I see 4th as a way for Wizards to cash in on the MMO (mainly WoW) trend thats sprung up over the last few years. There is also a lot of changes I really dont like (which I have expressed earlyer in this thread)..

So can anyone give me a more educated oppinion of 4th? I guess I should try it one day.. One day

4th Edition has basically taken D&D full circle. It grew out of a war game and it's pretty much turned back into one. Each class has a massive list of attack powers now, the skill list has been cut down and the game is almost impossible to play without some sort of 'battle grid'. That said, it also has features that make more sense now. For example, your Armour Class is now affected by your level, meaning the more experienced you are, the harder you are to hit.

But the thing is with D&D is that it has always been an anachronism in modern gaming. Despite what people try and tell you, it's always been about fighting monsters and getting loot, 3rd Edition just didn't want to admit it.

To say it's not a role-playing game though is ridiculous. It's as much of an RPG as any other edition of D&D.

i play D&D whenever i get the chance but i can only play a watterd down simpler verson with the pepole i hang out with but evry now and then i run in to some pepole who play for real but in the real game im way to inexpireanced to be a DM i also dont know the rules by heart so i need help i have a low level fighter

i have that problom to

yeah me to

aliassavarias:
yeah me to

I'm not quite sure who you're talking to, but don't triple post please.

I have been playing DnD for approximately 17 years now. I actually started at about the age of seven or eight, but it included no paper or dice, just the DM's imagination and what not. I still miss V2.0 because of how broken it was and some of the changes that they made in 3.0 and 3.5, but 3.5 is more well rounded.

As far as my experience, i played for about 6 years and I have been DM'ing ever since. In fact, my last campaign that I wrote, in short, was about a vault of legendary weapons needed to kill a specific creature who was going to bring about the end of humanity as the PC's knew it. The catch was that throughout the entire campaign, there are plenty of riddles they had to figure out to get them to the weapons and hands on puzzles. I LOVE to keep the game constantly mixed up for the PC's to be able to keep them involved instead of pure RP or hack and slash.

My favorite things to do as a DM are to involve the back-story of the characters into my campaigns as well as having a campaign that is real time/ever changing to what the PC's choose to do. ie: next to no restrictions at all.

Favorite background story I ever had form a PC was "My character has anmesia". needless to say, by the end of the campaign I had him cry, get pissed, laugh, ect over the TRUTH about his character.

Also I believe that being able to Improvise on the stop is a HUGE AND NECESSARY tool for a DM to have!!!

Just recently converted to 4e, and started my own campaign (I'm DM) My wife and two best friends play.

We've been playing for about 6 years.

Dalric:
Also I believe that being able to Improvise on the stop is a HUGE AND NECESSARY tool for a DM to have!!!

I've made up entire sessions on the spot.

"Hey Lachlan.. Wanna play some DnD?" "I..I dont really have anything to go on" "Naah thats allright" "Ohh..kay.."

Good times

I started in 2005 as a dm and stopped in 06. I recently joined a group and i'm instead a player now (Sorceror)