Don't feed the trolls.
BUT WE'RE SOOOO HUNGRY!!!!!
Don't feed the trolls.BUT WE'RE SOOOO HUNGRY!!!!!
*Oink*
NOOOOO!!!!!!!
*Oink*
Left winger here. I disagree with you. Completely. And just for the record, I CAN'T wait till a Democrat becomes President. Maybe we can put our white hats back on and stop being pre-emptive badguys. Maybe even be proud to be called Americans again. Besides, domestic drilling isn't the answer; let's find alternative energy sources and get the monkey off our backs permanently. And not that it needs to be said, but all of the above is in my opinion only; since they haven't found a way to completely stop that yet.Having said that; let's keep politics out of gaming boards if at all possible. It ticks off Sebastian and it distracts from the important stuff: like championing Pathfinder and dissing 4th Edition.
Hate to tell you this but we're not the bad guys. Extreme Islamic fundamentalism is. Yes, drilling is the answer. We can't conserve our way out of this situation and alternative resources are a few years away. The best plan is to keep using oil until alternative technology catches up. I agree with you on one thing though. Long live Prpg!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Hate to tell you this but we're not the bad guys. Extreme Islamic fundamentalism is. Yes, drilling is the answer. We can't conserve our way out of this situation and alternative resources are a few years away. The best plan is to keep using oil until alternative technology catches up. I agree with you on one thing though. Long live Prpg!
The best (i.e. cooked) estimates for getting oil out of ANWAR are 5 years, ten years or longer is more likely. Even then, there won't be enough production to really offset the price increases. Coastal oil may have more potential - there's more there than in ANWAR. Coastal rigs take 3-4 years to get going.
Basically, we're not going to produce our way out of today's crunch, though we might be somewhere in a decade.
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Well, I wavered back and forth for a while, and there are still things that I'm going to heavily houserule for 4th (specifically, non-combat skills -- I want more of them, not less). But some things have finally gotten to me and I'm off.
1. Upper levels still look hellish in Pathfinder. Since I usually DM, the idea of suffering through all those modifiers and cross-references for a monster that's going to die anyway is just too much.
4E is going to have even more spot modifiers, as powers and magic items give bonuses on a turn by turn basis to other PCs, and monsters will have auras and effects that trigger based on the location of other monsters and the bloodied condition.
2. The mess of iterative attacks is still there. Ugh.
Check the 4E PHB a bit more closely. It sill has iterative attacks all over the place, it just shifts them to being multiple attacks that only take a standard action to use. Fighters have burst powers and rangers have two weapon technique and more.
3. Spellcasters are still going to reduce the melee classes to sidekicks. And worse, the fighter is still as boring to play as a brick. "I miss, I hit, I miss, I hit." Yech.
4E will only "fix" that by reducing every class to "I miss, I hit, I miss, I hit." I hope that works for you.
4. Vancian casting is still haunting the scene. Enough said on that point.
Vancian casting is alive and well in 4E too. The primary manifestation is called "healing surges" which are a limited resource that controls how long you can adventure. It also shows up as daily powers as well as magic item uses.
5. Exception-based design is a lot better than the 'rules depict everything' design, IMO. I like the idea that there might be non-human magical traditions which can cast spells that humans can't -- and that can't cast spells which humans can -- for example. And it's damn fast to whip up an opponent, too.
Except 3.5 uses exception-based design as well. The "core" rules provide the framework, while the spells, feats, and class abilities provide the "exceptions". All 4E has done is state that more openly.
A for non-human magical traditions, all that takes is adding a racial requirement to a spell for casting it.6. And this is the real kicker that finally pushed me over the edge -- 4th edition, it turns out, is being printed in the U.S., while Pathfinder is being printed in China. If given a choice, I will support a company which supports American families rather than the People's Liberation Army slave-labor sweatshop factories.
Then I hope you do not buy any of those D&D Minis that WotC sells to help keep track of where everyone is on he battlefield.
Likewise I hope you are avoiding those Dungeons Tiles that WotC sells to make all those cool tactical maps they are using these days.As the saying goes, I will give you one guess where both are made, and any answer other than "China" does not count.
Have fun with Pathfinder.
Have fun with 4E.
Hate to tell you this but we're not the bad guys. Extreme Islamic fundamentalism is. Yes, drilling is the answer. We can't conserve our way out of this situation and alternative resources are a few years away. The best plan is to keep using oil until alternative technology catches up. I agree with you on one thing though. Long live Prpg!The best (i.e. cooked) estimates for getting oil out of ANWAR are 5 years, ten years or longer is more likely. Even then, there won't be enough production to really offset the price increases. Coastal oil may have more potential - there's more there than in ANWAR. Coastal rigs take 3-4 years to get going.
Basically, we're not going to produce our way out of today's crunch, though we might be somewhere in a decade.
I see your point. What I think will happen though is the minute we open drilling, you will see the price of oil drop like a rock. The only reason prices are high is because the Middle East is sticking to us because they know they can. I don't think free market forces are in play here.
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Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
Actually you want the Spanish more for distributing disease. They are the ones who depopulated most of the islands of the Caribbean, as well as starting the epidemics that appear to have killed about 90% of the population of the Americas at the time Columbus arrived. That includes destroying the Mississippian Mound Builders culture of North America even though they only managed to conquer the Aztec and Inca empires.
Your next main culprit would default to the French, who spread disease and picked sides in the wars on the St. Lawrence River.Then you finally get to the English who managed to spread plague to the people who tried co-existing with them before defaulting to mutual genocidal wars.
Then you finally get to the Americans.
Also, while the Chinese did invent ink, paper, and binding, the key associated technology of the alphabet has always eluded you, giving Americans via their Caucasian ancestors the technological supremacy we enjoy today.
By the way, how many local cultures and languages did the Chinese destroy while unifying all those centuries ago? And how many times did Chinese emperors order all accumulated books of previous reigns destroyed so that history could "begin" with them?
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Personally, I view the pulp fantasy roots of the game as a feature and not a flaw, and I'm glad that there is an edition of the game for people who don't, because that is not a version of the game I am very interested in publishing.And there was MUCH rejoicing.
-DM Jeff
And dancing! But not by me. I have three left feet. (Oh, the irony for a political right-winger. I may have to disown them.)
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Actually you want the Spanish more for distributing disease.Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
And what wasn't killed by disease was done in by fire, sword, and vicious, half-rabid attack dogs. No, seriously. And then there was the Inquisition. (In fact, the Inquisition helped fund Columbus's expedition vi siezed assets.) The Spaniards of the 15th & 16th centuries were almost stereotypical fantasy villains. Nasty bastards.
And people say you can't find anything useful to gaming in history. ;)
6. And this is the real kicker that finally pushed me over the edge -- 4th edition, it turns out, is being printed in the U.S., while Pathfinder is being printed in China. If given a choice, I will support a company which supports American families rather than the People's Liberation Army slave-labor sweatshop factories.
Not to sound too snarky, but, ya'know, since DDM seems to bring in most of the D&D income to Wizards... I guess they are also being produced and painted in the US... no wait! They are ... well ... not. But them sweatshops are ok for that I guess...
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Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
*sigh*
nice potshot.I'd rather get smudgy newsprint than tainted heparin and power steering fluid in my toothpaste though.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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I see your point. What I think will happen though is the minute we open drilling, you will see the price of oil drop like a rock. The only reason prices are high is because the Middle East is sticking to us because they know they can. I don't think free market forces are in play here.
With the industrialization of India and China, demand for fuel is going to increase, not decrease. There are indeed a lot of factors in play, and ultimately it does come down to market forces this time. It's not like oil is sitting unsold, after all, and there isn't really an artificial shortage in production or refining either. There is something of a self-inflicted shortage in refining here, though.
Ultimately, I'd rather we face up to the idea that the past few generations have sucked up most of the world's oil, and start working on ways to use less. We can try and produce ourselves out of this mess, but it won't work - and we'll just be out the oil we could have saved by being less wasteful. Let's sit on reserves for a while, since that's the one source we can control. Right now we're actually seeing a healthy trend for a change - people caring about fuel economy and carpooling is a big positive. The economy should get through this, and its good practice for the real end of easy-to-recover oil, coming in a generation or less to a world near you.
Sorry for the political rantings :)
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Back on topic: to the OP. I have not heard any proof that 4e will be any better at high levels. Combat takes just as long or longer for the same reasons that 3.x does...some players have a hard time figuring out what to do.I'm not a 4e supporter, but 4e does present fewer options. Therefore, it's easier to decide what to do.
Not in my experience. The mobs have more hitpoints and move around the battlefield a lot more. From the player's side anyway it does not seem edition specific. In our group its the same players who took forever figuring out what their warblade should do and in 4e what their warlord should do.
I see your point. What I think will happen though is the minute we open drilling, you will see the price of oil drop like a rock. The only reason prices are high is because the Middle East is sticking to us because they know they can. I don't think free market forces are in play here.Hate to tell you this but we're not the bad guys. Extreme Islamic fundamentalism is. Yes, drilling is the answer. We can't conserve our way out of this situation and alternative resources are a few years away. The best plan is to keep using oil until alternative technology catches up. I agree with you on one thing though. Long live Prpg!The best (i.e. cooked) estimates for getting oil out of ANWAR are 5 years, ten years or longer is more likely. Even then, there won't be enough production to really offset the price increases. Coastal oil may have more potential - there's more there than in ANWAR. Coastal rigs take 3-4 years to get going.
Basically, we're not going to produce our way out of today's crunch, though we might be somewhere in a decade.
Really-the bigger point that people miss, is that there isn't any option that is going to take less then several years to implement and have any real effect. To say that we shouldn't take an action that can help just because it take to long to help is foolish. Doing nothing now WILL make the problem worse. If it will take 5 years to help, then 5 years from now will be less crappy than it would have been if we didn't do anything. I not just saying drill for oil, I'm saying we need to do as much as we can to being down the price of oil and energy in general. That includes alternate energy as well as more drilling. We need to do everything we can NOW to fix the problem so that in 5 YEARS (or more) we don't have the problem anymore. Not contemplate our navels until 5 years come around and we complain about how bad things are then.
tl;dr- We shouldn't say that we won't take...
I agree. We had a chance to stop this problem before it got started under Clinton. He said no to all drilling in Anwar back in the 90's. If we had started drilling then we'd be in great shape now.
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Personally, I view the pulp fantasy roots of the game as a feature and not a flaw, and I'm glad that there is an edition of the game for people who don't, because that is not a version of the game I am very interested in publishing.And there was MUCH rejoicing.
-DM Jeff
*Cue, Anvil of Crom from the Conan Soundtrack*
I see your point. What I think will happen though is the minute we open drilling, you will see the price of oil drop like a rock. The only reason prices are high is because the Middle East is sticking to us because they know they can. I don't think free market forces are in play here.With the industrialization of India and China, demand for fuel is going to increase, not decrease. There are indeed a lot of factors in play, and ultimately it does come down to market forces this time. It's not like oil is sitting unsold, after all, and there isn't really an artificial shortage in production or refining either. There is something of a self-inflicted shortage in refining here, though.
Ultimately, I'd rather we face up to the idea that the past few generations have sucked up most of the world's oil, and start working on ways to use less. We can try and produce ourselves out of this mess, but it won't work - and we'll just be out the oil we could have saved by being less wasteful. Let's sit on reserves for a while, since that's the one source we can control. Right now we're actually seeing a healthy trend for a change - people caring about fuel economy and carpooling is a big positive. The economy should get through this, and its good practice for the real end of easy-to-recover oil, coming in a generation or less to a world near you.
Sorry for the political rantings :)
Russ, we tried that during the 70's. It didn't work then and it won't work now.
Actually you want the Spanish more for distributing disease.
YES! AND THEY STOLE OUR CUP! STOLE IT! SNEAKILY TAKING IT AWAY FROM US IN A FAIR MATCH! I HATES THEM! OUR PRECIOUSSSS!!
Wait a minute: I'm not a soccer fan, I'm not in the team, I would never have gotten the cup, anyway, so why should I want it? On the other hand, a lot of Spaniards apparently said that they'd shave their head if they became champion, so this is actually the funnier outcome.
Plus, I won't have to correct people.
"WE WON!"
"No, THEY won. YOU watched. And no, they didn't hear you chear them on all the way to Wien, either"
Actually, we did have an edition war between 1st and 2nd. I remember it vividly. We just didn't have the internet then, so all of the wars were local. They were there, though.we didn't have this ridiculous edition war at the time.
- AshavanYep, I even stopped playing D&D when 2nd edition came out because I didn't like what they did to my game. Of course, that meant that I started a game company instead, went on to help create Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade, before returning to D&D with 3e. So in some ways, 2e was a very good change for me. :)
-Lisa
Holy Crap you helped create Vampire the Masquerade!
Loved that game, got most of the books excecpt for city books, never saw the need for that. But damn you helped with one of the greates games ever. One Question though, always wanted to ask someone in the know.
What was Mark Rein-Hagen's obssison with Chicago anyways? I mean you can still see the legacy of Chicago today with the new WOD.
BTW whatever happaned to Mr. Rein-Hagen anyway, last I heard he went to San Fransicao, after Chageling the Dreaming came out?
TTFN Dre.
Actually, we did have an edition war between 1st and 2nd. I remember it vividly. We just didn't have the internet then, so all of the wars were local. They were there, though.we didn't have this ridiculous edition war at the time.
- AshavanYep, I even stopped playing D&D when 2nd edition came out because I didn't like what they did to my game. Of course, that meant that I started a game company instead, went on to help create Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade, before returning to D&D with 3e. So in some ways, 2e was a very good change for me. :)
-Lisa
Holy Crap you helped create Vampire the Masquerade!
Loved that game, got most of the books excecpt for city books, never saw the need for that. But damn you helped with one of the greates games ever. One Question though, always wanted to ask someone in the know.
What was Mark Rein-Hagen's obssison with Chicago anyways? I mean you can still see the legacy of Chicago today with the new WOD.
BTW whatever happaned to Mr. Rein-Hagen anyway, last I heard he went to San Fransicao, after Chageling the Dreaming came out?
TTFN Dre.
Yeah just looked it up you are on the credits. Now I know I'm sticking with Pathfinder.
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The politics on here is depressing - how can we get more oil, how can we get cheaper oil?!
Um, isn't our consumption of fossil fuels driving the global warming that's set to completely undermine human life on this planet? Aren't there bigger factors than price to consider here?
Straying back on-topic...
I'm not overly concerned about the system, I'm here for the great adventures and sourcebooks.
You're right. I apologize, I've been one of the culprits stirring everything up
Yep, I even stopped playing D&D when 2nd edition came out because I didn't like what they did to my game. Of course, that meant that I started a game company instead, went on to help create Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade, before returning to D&D with 3e. So in some ways, 2e was a very good change for me. :)-Lisa
Thought this post was in jest until I read the sn.
I treat the OP's statements as much interest as they warrant and think other folks ought to do the same.If you can't use your real name as your sign in or in your profile, that lends even less credence to your statements, in my opinion. It's easy to lob spitbombs behind the annonimity of an alias.
This is off-topic, but see, I view it the opposite way. I think that going anon is what a gentleman does (letting your opinions stand alone, so to speak), while using your real name (and pretending it means something) could make you look like a blowhard.
Unless of course, your name is "Erik Mona", or the like. Then you're sort of a local celebrity.
Nettiquite is slippery business, occorse. I never think less of people for using their real name but it's always weird when I see someone claiming that's the upright thing to do.
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1. Upper levels still look hellish in Pathfinder. Since I usually DM, the idea of suffering through all those modifiers and cross-references for a monster that's going to die anyway is just too much.
4E is going to have even more spot modifiers, as powers and magic items give bonuses on a turn by turn basis to other PCs, and monsters will have auras and effects that trigger based on the location of other monsters and the bloodied condition.
2. The mess of iterative attacks is still there. Ugh.Check the 4E PHB a bit more closely. It sill has iterative attacks all over the place, it just shifts them to being multiple attacks that only take a standard action to use. Fighters have burst powers and rangers have two weapon technique and more.
3. Spellcasters are still going to reduce the melee classes to sidekicks. And worse, the fighter is still as boring to play as a brick. "I miss, I hit, I miss, I hit." Yech.4E will only "fix" that by reducing every class to "I miss, I hit, I miss, I hit." I hope that works for you.
4. Vancian casting is still haunting the scene. Enough said on that point.Vancian casting is alive and well in 4E too. The primary manifestation is called "healing surges" which are a limited resource that controls how long you can adventure. It also shows up as daily powers as well as magic item uses.
5. Exception-based design is a lot better than the 'rules depict everything' design, IMO. I like the idea that there might be non-human magical traditions which can cast spells that humans can't -- and that can't cast spells which humans can -- for example. And it's damn...dang couldn't quote the enitre post. oh well. I just want to say WELL SAID!
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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The Vancian issue is divisive, sure. But Pathfinder has a lot more to offer than refuge for the Vancians alone, as the publisher I should hope you would be open to the rest of us.
You know, you're right. The folks who have been posting about alternative spell point systems and the like are on the right track, I think.
I can understand why people would want a different system, and I can see us producing something as an add-on option to facilitate that style of play.
But before we do that, we're going to focus on the traditional approach and make sure that is as awesome as can possibly be.
--Erik
You know, you're right. The folks who have been posting about alternative spell point systems and the like are on the right track, I think. I can understand why people would want a different system, and I can see us producing something as an add-on option to facilitate that style of play. But before we do that, we're going to focus on the traditional approach and make sure that is as awesome as can possibly be.
I think most everybody would rather have Beta (and Final) out than waiting until the uber-system is done.
That said, for whenever such fanciful things are attended to, I second that spell points are a really interesting/ promising way to take the 3.5/P ruleset, particularly when things like metamagic are taken into account.
(The Spell Point rule about damage dice/level is already Meta-Magick-y)
I posted a bit on them in another thread here, where some were discussing how low level spell DCs don't scale (without a Metamagic Feat.) I think an interesting way to "Paizo-fy" the OGL Spellpoints would be to have non-spontaneous casters still need to memorize spells each day, but using a Spell Point Pool, allowing choices like: extra damage die (fireballs, etc) or Metamagic effects, even applied to School/Domain SLAs. It even feels like Rage Points :-)
(choosing between simple rounds of rage/# of spells vs. rage powers/extra damage & metamagic)
(in the thread I also suggested Heighten Spell shouldn't need a Feat at all)
so Erik... Any hints on Metamagic in Beta? :-)
(I've started a PbP with Lilith here using the PRPG rules w/ Spell Points. I'll post how it goes once it's gone further.)
OP-Didn't know you and really won't miss you. If 4E is your game-enjoy!
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Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
Oh. Chinese students work harder, and are more respectful, than the Mexican children who work picking fruit in California, and they are generally better at science and mathematics than the poor children in America that believe dinosaurs and humans co-existed, just before the ark.
** spoiler omitted **
Perhaps the best piece of satire I have read in years.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
I know it's satire, but I wouldn't think anyone would want to be standing on the quality of the "made in China" label right now, what with all the lead paint and falsely labelled toxic "wheat gluten" :) Not that made in the US is great shakes, either.
I heard there was cake...? I like Recipes & Legends! :D
6. And this is the real kicker that finally pushed me over the edge -- 4th edition, it turns out, is being printed in the U.S., while Pathfinder is being printed in China. If given a choice, I will support a company which supports American families rather than the People's Liberation Army slave-labor sweatshop factories.
It may have been printed in the U.S., but I'd venture to say the directions for the machinery used at Ye Olde American Printing House had to be translated from Chinese. Where do we draw the line? And more importantly, what can we use to draw the line because most pens, pencils, and markers are made in China. Ahhh...my blood...all American, clear, and distinct. Plus the U.S. government has been squeezing it out of me for years....
I think of vancian casting as one of the joys of playing a wizard. You're powerful, but rigid, and trying to pick just the right spells for the coming delve is an interesting and satistfying challenge.
I also like how it being the baseline really highlights the gung-ho style of the sorcerer, which is both more flexible and less. It's almost like a microcosm of law vs. chaos.
I'm also a big fan of psionics, as different as it is.
Now, divine and part-time casters? I can see wanting something different as the "baseline" to handle them, but vancian casting to me is distinctly wizard-y, and even if I adopted spellpoints for some I think I'd leave them as-is.
It's always fun to have varied choices when building a character.
Maybe we just need a separate forum area just for snarky farewells.
Hydro, re-read my post.
It's actually STILL ABOUT making non-Sorcerors choose their spells in advance,
But it takes the 'extra' points from the Spell Point system, and let's you choose whether your Fireball damage scales, you get a Quickened Teleport, or Heightened Silence (or just more low level spells)
I'd say it's more about a more flexible Metamagic system than anything else:
I think it'd make Metamagic used more often. Which might make Fighters sad.
...Until they 'interrupt' that Meta-maxed spell you spent half your spell points on.
You know, you're right. The folks who have been posting about alternative spell point systems and the like are on the right track, I think.I can understand why people would want a different system, and I can see us producing something as an add-on option to facilitate that style of play.
But before we do that, we're going to focus on the traditional approach and make sure that is as awesome as can possibly be.
--Erik
For what it's worth, I think your designers could do a LOT better than the Unearthed Arcana version. If it should find its way into some later version, that would be great.
Even the purists should at least understand why people want an alternative. I want something that takes less paperwork but still feels like Truncheons & Flagons. But I don't want to spoil the party for people who like Vance, either.
Quandry: You are exactly right. I have a post running in the "new rules" forum, and while I don't consider it a candidate for Pathfinder per se, I would appreciate yours and anyone else's feedback as I am using the rule in my playtests.
Hydro, re-read my post.
It's actually STILL ABOUT making non-Sorcerors choose their spells in advance,
But it takes the 'extra' points from the Spell Point system, and let's you choose whether your Fireball damage scales, you get a Quickened Teleport, or Heightened Silence (or just more low level spells)
I'd say it's more about a more flexible Metamagic system than anything else:
I think it'd make Metamagic used more often. Which might make Fighters sad.
...Until they 'interrupt' that Meta-maxed spell you spent half your spell points on.
Oh yea, it wasn't a direct response to you, sorry. Just vancian casting as a general topic.
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Perhaps being printed in America is what causes all those problems with the ink and paper in fourth edition. Here in China, we have no problems with printing, having, after all, invented ink, paper, binding, and associated technologies a thousand or so years before the first caucasian Americans were distributing smallpox and syphillis to the new world, and spelling "creature" as "critter".
Just a thought.
*sigh*
nice potshot.
I'd rather get smudgy newsprint than tainted heparin and power steering fluid in my toothpaste though.
Read spoiler. Open foot. Insert mouth. "mmmm....tasty," said James Watt.
I've started a PbP with Lilith here using the PRPG rules w/ Spell Points. I'll post how it goes once it's gone further.
Since this whole topic is basically off-topic (seriously, what's up with a guy with 8 posts starting a farewell-and-screw-off thread?), if You don't mind my asking, what are the mechanics You guys are using for this magic system?
Also, now that I've finally concluded my Red Hand of Doom campaign, I'm looking to begin a Play by Internet campaign for my friends once the PfRPG beta rules are out. (Meeting in person is simply too difficult as we're spread-out from Philadelphia to Atlanta.)
Lilith: I've seen Your PbP campaign and the DMTools site. I was wondering if You (or anyone else) had any experience running a Play by Chat campaign (i.e. IRC). If so, do You have any wisdom to share on the differences between PbP and PbC? Specifically, I'm wondering about potential pitfalls that might not be obvious at first glance.
Part of the reason I would prefer PbC is the social element of folks gathering in real-time. The last time I ran a PbP, it was waaaay too time-consuming for me as DM (compared to meeting in real-time).
Also, what sort of tools and DMing techniques might be required?
In terms of technological tools, I already have a website setup with some SMF message boards (attachments, private messaging, RSS, etc), MediaWiki, and an IRC chat portal with dice-roller bots, etc. Likewise I have access to both TeamSpeak2 and Ventrilo servers but I suspect my group will prefer text-based chat since it's easier to "catch up" if You have to step away for a snack or bathroom break.
I'm hoping to find an application that will allow me to "web cam" specific applications so that I can have a running view of a battle grid in Photoshop (or some other app). Know of any such broadcast tools or a client-server app that could do the same? WotC's game table isn't an option since 2 of my players are Mac-users. (I guess they never considered that even if only 1 in 10 users aren't on Windows, that it still botches an entire group if one of the players is that "1".)
Anyhow, thanks for any insight You can provide.
Actually, we did have an edition war between 1st and 2nd. I remember it vividly. We just didn't have the internet then, so all of the wars were local. They were there, though.we didn't have this ridiculous edition war at the time.
- AshavanYep, I even stopped playing D&D when 2nd edition came out because I didn't like what they did to my game. Of course, that meant that I started a game company instead, went on to help create Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade, before returning to D&D with 3e. So in some ways, 2e was a very good change for me. :)
-Lisa
Whoa! I second the question about whatever happened to Rein*Hagen. White Wolf is a poo-fest these days. I loved all the 2nd Ed White Wolf stuff, most of the 1st Ed, too. The writing and the art were the best of the time (along with Kult).
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This is off-topic, but see, I view it the opposite way. I think that going anon is what a gentleman does (letting your opinions stand alone, so to speak), while using your real name (and pretending it means something) could make you look like a blowhard.
Unless of course, your name is "Erik Mona", or the like. Then you're sort of a local celebrity.
Nettiquite is slippery business, of course. I never think less of people for using their real name but it's always weird when I see someone claiming that's the upright thing to do.
Ah, it's the context that's important. If someone jumps on a board with an alias, with few pasts posts, and blasts a product, I do think less of them. Posting behind the safety of an alias seems to bring out the worst in some people. I feel that they're more likely to say something that they wouldn't normally say to someone's face. That's been my experience anyway.
And this isn't just confined to Paizo boards, this was true when I was still bouncing crap off ihnp4 using uucp and Usenet. Years and years of dealing with Nettiquite peoples. Like, being the Usenet admin for the company kind of stuff. ("No, actually, you can't post the notice about *that* sort of party using the company computers. But can I come?")
So if I see a random negative post from "Joseph Rightman" vs. "Meat-Eating Legume Guy" which one will I think more of? The first one. It's just a gut reaction.
But, I will say that some amount of experience with the poster also sways that. If I see someone consistently posting useful, interesting information or opinions (whether I agree or not) then if they want to be "Grim Cleaver" or "Erik Mona" (both of which I'm assuming are really aliases) then it doesn't much matter to me.
Wait, dinosaurs and humans never coexisted?
No. They lived in seperate valleys.