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I am looking for advice on creating an interesting one session game based on the following general description:

Intelligence for the Kingdom of Northron indicates that Lord Wolfsbane of the rival Estron Kingdom has come to resent his king intensely due the King's failure to follow through with a planned marriage of a prince to his daughter. With the right inducements and guarentees, he might be convinced to switch sides, swear allegiance to the Northron King, and allow Northron troops to occupy his lands and thus gain control of a strategic point on the river. The PCs must seek an audience with the Lord and try to convince him to switch sides. The PCs are a mercenary party, selected for "plausable deniability" reasons.

A planning session at the inn followed by a few hours of parley with Lord Wolfsbane doesn't sound too exciting. I'm looking for better ideas to spice this up.

The ideal game would lots of opportunity for roleplaying and also involve a little combat or threat of same.

Does Paizo pay for Pathfinder Society scenarios? If so, how much?
(Forgive me if this is answered somewhere else on the site, but I can't find it if it is...)

I am one of a group of gamers who are investigating the possibility of an running online MMORPG done pen and paper style through VTTs as a profit making venture. We are studying the economics of running such a game to determine if it could be economically viable, and that is what this survey is about - please read on. We are veterans players of MMOs as well as tabletop living games and rpgtonight's experiments in an online living game a few years ago.

Here is a brief description of the concept:

This would be a persistent world, similar to those found in conventional MMOs. One major difference between this world and conventional MMO worlds would be that it is even more persistent than they are. For example, if someone removed an item from a dungeon, it would be gone from the dungeon and no one else would ever find it there. A second major difference is an outgrowth of the first - there would be no repeatable quests. The modules that players went through would effect the world permanently. A bad guy could be killed only once, a treasure stolen only once, etc. A third major difference is that the action in the game - the modules that the players play and GMs run will be determined by a group of paid admins and GMs, who will be playing the game in their own way as representatives of major political entities and other factions (i.e. kingdoms, guilds, at least one big time evil bad guy, etc.), and who will be hiring PCs as mercenaries or followers to advance their causes.

The game would be played online, mostly through a browser based VTT (virtual tabletop), but individual groups could play most modules through their own favorite VTTs or at face to face play sessions, reporting their results to admins. The official game system would probably be a new totally software based system being developed by a third party for use with VTTs, though Pathfinder or D&D are not out of the question.

For now we are investigating a monthly subscription model, with a Kickstarter campaign and a few "insider" investors providing the start-up capital. The beta would be launched in late 2014.

Our goal would be to create opportunities for players to play in at least one game per week, with more being possible for players who want more.

Here is the survey - you can just copy the questions and type your answers after them; you can post them here or email them to penfieldgamer@gmail.com:

1) Would you be interested in playing in such a game as a player if Pathfinder was used as the official game system?

2) Would you be interested in playing in such a game as a player if the aforementioned automated VTT based game system was used (assume that it lets you do what you want to do in an RPG, is pretty much bug free, and is as easy/difficult to learn as a typical RPG system)?

3) If you are interested, and if only one game was available per week, how much would you expect to pay per month to play?

4) How much would you actually be willing or able to pay?

5) If you are interested, and if you could play in as many games as you wanted per week, how much would you expect to pay per month
to play?

6) How much would you be willing or able to pay?

7) How many games would you be like to play in per week?

The following questions relate to interest in becoming a GM or admin. There would be three levels of GMs/admins in the game, with the highest two levels being paid positions:

The first level GMs would run most of the game sessions. These game sessions would consist of both modules supplied by admins and by player or GM instigated explorations of pre-existing dungeons and other sites of interest. The first level GMs would not be paid for their time, but they would get to play for free. GMs would also be allowed to play as PCs most other games. Their PCs would be granted some choice items in echange for their services as GMs. These GMs would not represent any particular political entity, they would just be normal GMs. Level 1 GMs would also have the opportunity to be promoted to level 2 GMs when openings arise.

8) Would you be likely to play as a first level GM under these conditions?

The second level GMs would be expected to run some games, and would have to act a special NPC on occasion, but would spend most of their time playing as a certain political entity or faction. They would be responsible for conceptually devising most of the scenarios that the level 1 GMs run, but not necessarily writing them. Player's success or failure in these scenarios would determine the GM's success or failure in their goals. Second level GMs would be part time (20 hours per week) paid positions. Level 2 GMs would also have the opportunity to be promoted to level 3 GMs when openings arise. Level 2 GMs would be hired as contractors, meaning they would not be employees or receive benefits, would be responsible for payment of their own taxes. etc. We believe that Level 2 GMs could reside outside of the United States without us running afoul of US labor law - for now assume that this is the case. There would be a very limited number of level 2 GMs compared to normal GMs.

9) Would you be likely to play as a level 2 GM if offered the chance?

10) What hourly rate (in USD) would you expect to be paid? (if from another country please convert to USD using any online source).

Each third level GM, a GM/administrator, would represent very high level factions - including a Big Evil bad Guy Who is Trying to Take Over and Enslave the World. When they aren't cooking up plots for their factions, they will be developing modules for the lower level GMs. Third level GMs would be employed full time (40 hours per week). It is likely that they would work as salaried employees, with taxes and social security withheld, and with health benefits. Only a very small number of level 3 GMs would be employed.

11) Would you be likely to become a level 3 GM under these conditions?

12) What hourly rate (in USD) would you expect to be paid?

We will need module designers. People who will have to write most of the modules that the GMs will be running. Most of these will be very simple, things like stealing a key item,ambushing a caravan, defending a fort against bad guys, etc. but some will be more complex. And of course even the simplest scenarios will benefit from embellishment and background. We expect that module designers will be freelancers.

13) If you are an experienced adventure designer, how much do you currently charge for developing a simple one-game-session adventure, OR, how much do you get paid on average from companies who buy your adventures?

14) Same question as 13 for a string of one game session modules constituting a longer adventure?

15) How long does it typically take you to develop a single session game adventure?.

16) We will also need freelance artists as the game is being developed. They are not a part of this survey, but if you are an artist who does freelancing please email us for future reference.

The second round of playtests for the RPGtonight Living Game are currently getting into full swing with several games every week. We have 9 GMs with a few admins acting as additional GMs, and we have decided we need more players (though we won't turn you away if you are interested in being a GM instead!). RPGtonight.com itself is an online virtual tabletop site.

This is a playtest for a unique online tabletop style "living game," that began in January and will run for several more months. The living game is a persistent "sandbox" world where multiple GMs and dozens of players all play and interact within the same game world. It is quite a bit different from traditional living games like Living Greyhawk. The GMs, as well as the players, play the game, taking the part of noble houses who must hire adventuring parties of players to accomplish their goals and work against a menacing evil that is slowly rising up to threaten their kingdom. GMs can occasionally become players in the admins' or other GM's games, going on various missions. Think of it as an MMO game done tabletop style.

If interested please take a look at the information on the main page of our site and in the Living Game Information and Recruitment section of our message boards (www.rpgtonight.com, then use the "text bulletin board" button near the top of the left column). Then post in the Living Game recruitment thread or PM "Living Game". Free rules sets are emailed to GMs and players promptly.

Game times depend on the schedules of the GMs and the players. The playtests use the D&D 4e system, simply because that is what most people in the world are playing right now.

We also run beginner's games on most Saturday nights, starting at 8PM Eastern time US. These are intended for people who are new to tabletop roleplaying, and also for people who are new to RPGtonight and want some practice in using the system. If you are interested in getting into a beginner's game, please post in the beginner's game thread.

RPGtonight (a virtual tabletop site www.rpgtonight.com ) is looking
for several more
GMs and a many, many more players for the second round of playtesting
for a unique online tabletop
style "living game," scheduled to begin on January 3rd and run for 3 - 4 months. The living game is a persistent "sandbox" world
where multiple GMs and dozens of players all play and interact within
the same game world. The GMs, as well as the players, play the game,
taking the part of noble houses who must hire adventuring parties of
players to accomplish their goals - and can occasionally become players in the admins' games, going on missions on behalf of the higher ups in
the kingdom. If interested please take a look at the information on
the main page of our site ( www.rpgtonight.com ) and in the Living
Game Information and Recruitment section of our message boards (http://www.rpgtonight.com/freegames/phpBB2/index.php ), and express interest there. Free rules sets will be emailed to GMs and players promptly.

Games will occur on different nights, depending on the schedules of the GMs and the players they happen to be running for a given session.
Scheduling is thus extremely flexible. The playtests
will use the D&D 4e system, simply because that is what most people
in the world are playing right now.

RPGtonight is a free online virtual tabletop that works in your
browser. You do not have to download anything, just sign up with your
friends, get on, and play at www.rpgtonight.com

RPGtonight, an online virtual tabletop site, is hosting beginner's games every Saturday night for people who are new to tabletop style roleplaying. Games run from 8PM Eastern Daylight Time US to (?) We use the 4e system. All you have to do to join in is create a first level 4e character and send it in. See the beginner's game thread on our forums at www.rpgtonight.com for instructions on creating characters, a process which we will help with. Click on the "text bulletin board" link on the left side of the main page then look for the Beginner's Game section in the forums.

RPGtonight is a free online virtual tabletop that works in your browser. There is nothing to download.

PS: We are not 4e centric - if there are GMs out there who would like to hold sessions to introduce new people to Pathfinder we would love to hear from you.

PPS: For more experienced players, want more 4e games every week? Join our extended Living Game playtests in an online "sandbox" setting with multiple GMs and dozens of players. Again, see the Forums.

There used to be a thread here called "What Conservatives Believe."

What I want to know is what progressives believe, because I honestly don't know. What is a progressive? Can progressive's beliefs and ideology be condensed into a handful of talking points, like the conservatives? What's the difference between a progressive and a liberal?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Up in the gamer connection section, I posted a notice about an online "Living Game" playtest that a website I am involved with is doing. In it I stated that D&D 4e was being used for the playtest because it is what most people seem to be playing nowadays. This sentence elicited many expressions of surprise and incredulity.

It is my impression, from both the net and my local area, that more tabletop gamers are playing D&D 4e than anything else, and that the majority of tabletop gamers are playing 4e. Obviously that is not true of people on this board, but it seems to be true in the English speaking world in general. And yet...I keep seeing indications that D&D no longer holds the commanding lead it once had in sales or player base. I keep hearing WOTC and Paizo mentioned in the same breath as the market leaders, with everyone else behind. And there seem to be a lot 3.5er's out there who are still very active with that system.

So what are the figures like? Does anyone know? Does anyone else have different impressions?

The first functional playtest of the RPGtonight Online Living Game is about to start up. We are still accepting players and GMs. The more of each the merrier! Players are organizing themselves into parties and GMs will soon start recruiting parties to perform adventurous and nefarious deeds on their behalf.

If interested please take a look at the information on the main page of our site (www.rpgtonight.com ) and in the Living Game Playtests section about midway down our message boards, and respond with an email to admin@rpgtonight.com if you are interested. Players and GM's manuals will be sent to will be sent out promptly. Please state whether you are interested in testing as a player or GM. We particularly need more GMs.

The playtests will use the D&D 4e system, simply because that is what most
people are playing right now.

This living game is unique and quite a bit different from other living games. There are no pre-planned scenarios or adventures. Instead, the GMs themselves are playing the game amongst themselves, with characters of their own instead of random NPCs, and using the actions of adventuring parties to advance their interests and thwart the goals of others. The rules set that we have devised to make this happen is what is being tested.

RPGtonight (a virtual tabletop site) is looking for at least 10 more GMs and a large number of players to playtest a unique online tabletop style living game. If interested please take a look at the information on the main page of our site ( www.rpgtonight.com ) and in the Living Game Playtests section of our message boards, and respond there. The playtests will use the D&D 4e system, simply because that is what most people are playing right now. Currently we are just recruiting. Rules sets will be sent to GMs and players in February and playtesting will probably start in early March.

RPGtonight (an online virtual tabletop) is hosting 4e beginners games on most Saturday nights, from 8PM - (?) US Eastern time. These sessions are mainly intended for people who are new to tabletop style RPGs, but people who are just new to D&D 4e have also joined in. More information is available on the home page at wwww.rpgtonight.com and on the site's message board. Players must roll up characters and have them approved before game night. People at the site can help with character creation.

Scientists at the Univ. of the West of England are to design the first ever biological robot using mold.

Researchers have received a Leverhulme Trust grant worth £228,000 to develop the amorphous non-silicon biological robot, plasmobot, using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould which lives in forests, gardens and most damp places in the UK. The Leverhulme Trust funded research project aims to design the first every fully biological (no silicon components) amorphous massively-parallel robot.

This project is at the forefront of research into unconventional computing. Professor Andy Adamatzky, who is leading the project, says their previous research has already proved the ability of the mould to have computational abilities.

Professor Adamatzky explains, “Most people's idea of a computer is a piece of hardware with software designed to carry out specific tasks. This mould, or plasmodium, is a naturally occurring substance with its own embedded intelligence. It propagates and searches for sources of nutrients and when it finds such sources it branches out in a series of veins of protoplasm. The plasmodium is capable of solving complex computational tasks, such as the shortest path between points and other logical calculations. Through previous experiments we have already demonstrated the ability of this mould to transport objects. By feeding it oat flakes, it grows tubes which oscillate and make it move in a certain direction carrying objects with it. We can also use light or chemical stimuli to make it grow in a certain direction.

“This new plasmodium robot, called plasmobot, will sense objects, span them in the shortest and best way possible, and transport tiny objects along pre-programmed directions. The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will be controlled by spatial gradients of light, electro-magnetic fields and the characteristics of the substrate on which it is placed. It will be a fully controllable and programmable amorphous intelligent robot with an embedded massively parallel computer.”

This research will lay the groundwork for further investigations into the ways in which this mould can be harnessed for its powerful computational abilities.

Professor Adamatzky says that there are long term potential benefits from harnessing this power, “We are at the very early stages of our understanding of how the potential of the plasmodium can be applied, but in years to come we may be able to use the ability of the mould for example to deliver a small quantity of a chemical substance to a target, using light to help to propel it, or the movement could be used to help assemble micro-components of machines. In the very distant future we may be able to harness the power of plasmodia within the human body, for example to enable drugs to be delivered to certain parts of the human body. It might also be possible for thousands of tiny computers made of plasmodia to live on our skin and carry out routine tasks freeing up our brain for other things. Many scientists see this as a potential development of amorphous computing, but it is purely theoretical at the moment.”

Professor Adamatzky has recently edited and had published by Springer, 'Artificial Life Models in Hardware' aimed at students and researchers of robotics. The book focuses on the design and real-world implementation of artificial life robotic devices and covers a range of hopping, climbing, swimming robots, neural networks and slime mould and chemical brains.

Our website is giving away a one year Pathfinder subscription as a prize in a contest.

1) The winner prefers that their subscription starts with the first volume of the current adventure path. How do we do that? There doesn't seem to be an option for this in the online order page. Right now it gives the option of starting with #5 or #6.

2) We don't want to use the automatic monthly billing option. We want to bill the entire 1 year subscription amount to a credit card in one lump sum and be done with it. Is there a way to do this?

Thanks.

RPGtonight (a free browser based virtual tabletop) is sponsoring the May Mapmaking Challenge at Cartographersguild.com. This month's theme is "Cut to the Chase!" in which mapmakers vie to create a map, for use on virtual or real tabletops, that can be the scene of an exciting chase and running battle for RPG miniatures. The contest is run at Cartographer's Guild (www.cartographersguild.com). Members critique maps uploaded to the Challenge section of the site as they are tweaked and detailed, then the winners are determined by popular vote at the end of the month.

First prize winner gets to choose three game related items from a long list, totaling around $150 in value. Second prize winner gets to choose two items, and the third prize winner gets to choose one.

See the Mapmaking Challenge section in the Cartographers Guild forums at www.cartographersguild.com for details.

RPGtonight (www.rpgtonight.com) is a free browser based virtual tabletop that lets you play tabletop style RPGs with friends in remote locations. There is nothing to download.

There are currently - and always - several GMs looking for players at rpgtonight.com. D&D 4.0, 3.X, 2.0, Fallout, Traveller started recuiting recently. If you are looking for an online game you can check us out. RPGtonight is a free online virtual tabletop program that works in your browser - it has all the bells and whistles and there is nothing to download. Look in the "Games seeking players" and "Players seeking games" links on the left side of the main page, and check the Forums for more info on specific games. www.rpgtonight.com

There are currently several GMs looking for players and players looking for GMs at RPGtonight.com. If you are either you might want to check us out. RPGtonight is a free online virtual tabletop program that works in your browser - there is nothing to download. It features a map table with movable miniatures and fog of war, die roller, basic card deck functions (under construction), chat, onsite miniature, map, and sound effect collections, and more. www.rpgtonight.com

There are currently several GMs looking for players at RPGtonight.com, as well as players looking for games. If you want to try playing online, feel free to check us out. RPGtonight is a free "virtual tabletop" that lets you play any tabletop style RPG in your browser. There is nothing to download, just get on with your friends in remote locations and play.

To find players and games, go to www.rpgtonight.com and click on the "GMs seeking players" and "players seeking GMs" tabs on the left side of the main page. You can also look at the forums, since some people post more details there.

RPGtonight's weekly Saturday Night Rumble is starting today (11/17). The Rumble is a site game night where we encourage players and GMs to show up and get together to play games on the site's free virtual tabletop. "Saturday night" is defined as Saturday night somewhere in the world, so we will have a special chat room open (linked prominently via the home page) that will allow people talk to whoever else is online and hopefully hook up with one another for games. Most people are from N. America, so we expect that most activity will happen in the evening in those time zones. Admins will be available off and on through the day to run people through demos/tutotials of the VT features, and I will be seeking players who would like to do a special playtest of the site's future living game sometime during the evening hours of GMT-5.

Please feel free to stop in and say hi even if you can't play today!

For more info please go to www.rpgtonight.com

RPGtonight is officially kicking off its Saturday Night Rumble on November 17th. This will be a weekly site
game night where we encourage GMs and players to sign on, get together in a special chat window, and play their favorite tabletop style roleplaying games on our free online virtual tabletop. The Rumble will run during the evening hours of your own time zone, from Australia/East Asia to N. America and Hawaii, but most players will be from N. America.
GMs are especially welcome.

The RPGtonight virtual tabletop is free and works in your browser. There is nothing to download or install. Features include text and voice chat, map display, moveable miniature tokens, fog of war, customizable character sheets, an onsite collection of tokens, maps, and sound effects, storage space for your stuff, and more. You can check out - and try out - RPGtonight by going to http://www.rpgtonight.com at any time.

There are currently several GMs at RPGtonight.com who are looking for new players for their campaigns. Most are just starting out. One has been running for several months. Timezones are mostly North American. If you must feed your need for tabletop RPG, or just want to find out what virtual tabletops are all about, here's a good opportunity.

Just go to www.rpgtonight.com and click on the "GMs seeking players" button on the left side of the main page. There are others players wanted requests posted in the Forums. Take a look at the rest of the site too and don't be afraid to create a gameroom and try out the VT.

The RPGtonight virtual tabletop is free and it works in your browser, so there is nothing to download and install. All the usual bells and whistles are included like text and voice chat, map display, fog of war, moveable miniatures (thumbnail pictures), sound effects, customizable character sheets, an online collection of maps, miniature, and sound effects, and a storage area for your own uploaded stuff.

RPGtonight's second contest, "Name that Kingdom" ends in barely two days at midnight GMT-12 on Sunday 9/30 (that's midnight at the international date line, the lasest midnight 9/30 that there is).

RPGtonight will be hosting its own online living game. Our contest is to think up the best name for the kingdom where the living game will take place. You can read about the contest and the kingdom and its history at www.rpgtonight.com, via the "contest" link on the left side of the main page.

We will also soon be posting more information about the living game itself.

At any given time there are several GMs looking to start online games at www.rpgtonight.com, a free online virtual tabletop. Check out the GMs seeking players section via the button on the left side of the main page. Also check the Games/players/GMs wanted section of the forums which are also linked via the main page.

Also, our site is developing on online living game. Our second contest involves thinking up a good name for the kingdom in which the living game will take place. You can read more about it via the contests link, again on the left side of the main page. The contest ends in a few days - midnight on Sunday Sept. 30 at midnight GMT-12 (that's midnight on the international date line, the last midnight for anyone). The prize is about $150 worth of gaming stuff you get to pick.

The RPG Tonight free online "virtual tabletop" roleplaying site is now
officially open (I announced a preview of it here back in January). There is nothing to download, just get a group together and get on and play. We have all the things you need to play a game - die roller, map display, moveable miniatures (thumbnail pictures), character sheets, sound effects, built in text and voice chat, plus a growing library of maps, miniatures, and sounds. You can try it out at www.rpgtonight.com

I am involved in an online "virtual tabletop" project that should be fully up and running by mid January. It is cross platform and will have built in voicechat, maps, miniatures (tokens,) fog of war, etc. An online preview/demo is available at www.rpgtonight.com The sound features are not available for the demo, but you can create gamerooms, play around with the interfaces, and play a game if you don't mind type chat (or have Skype or some other voice chat program). It should be up and running without interruption for several days.

We are seriously interested in feedback from online rpg players and others after they have a look at it. Ex Ghostorb members may want to check it out.

The virtual tabletop will remain free after the site opens.

I've been meaning to try out GhostOrb for quite some time. I went to their website a few days ago (for the first time since last year), but found that the last "news" post from their admin was from last Christmas, and elsewhere it said that they were beta testing, which is what it said a year ago. Is the site still active? Is anyone playing there? If active, does the software work reasonably well (given that it's still being beta tested)??