Is it allowable to run a Pathfinder Society group online (via online tabletops like Dungeonhelper and RPTools)? If not, it should be. It would be a great help to players like myself who could never get into a face to face Pathfinder group due to geographical location. Not many interested gamers in the Knoxville, TN area. :-(
If it's already allowed: Which kind DM would like to run one? I'd take it upon myself, but I'm already DMing a Savage Tide Eb conversion. I want to PLAY! :-D
You know what would be unbelievably crazy awesome? If someone on the Paizo staff DM'd it. James Jacobs, I'm looking your way. ;-)
Me too, please!
(I believe the technical sticking point is the requirement of having a signed adventure record sheet, in case you want to take your home game character to a convention to play.)
Director of Brand Strategy
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At this point any online PFS play would be unofficial, but there's nothing stopping you from setting up a small campaign or series of one-offs using the PFS adventures. This has been requested before, but I believe the focus for Season 0 has been on perfecting the rules of the society with the intention to add to it once a working system is established for season 1.
I'd be happy to DM such games, but would prefer some kind of voice and IM interface, such as Skype to handle gaming rather than PbP or PbEM.
Well, the only problem that presents is that VOIP services like Ventrillo don't have a whiteboard for maps and minis. And text based gaming is actually extremely fun, but in a completely different way. The analogy I like to use is that while in person gaming has the feel of acting out a story, chat based gaming feels like cooperatively writing a book.
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Well, the only problem that presents is that VOIP services like Ventrillo don't have a whiteboard for maps and minis. And text based gaming is actually extremely fun, but in a completely different way. The analogy I like to use is that while in person gaming has the feel of acting out a story, chat based gaming feels like cooperatively writing a book.
Voice is mainly for time contraints, (and PbP tends to lose people quickly), I'll use some kind of whiteboard if anyone knows of a good one, but VOIP makes it possible to get near that 4 hour slot they're normally allotted.
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You could always use something like Skype as well as a virtual tabletop program for combat maps, images, etc. And there are also online whiteboard type sites, too, though offhand I don't know any in particular.
But completely text-based works, too. An online game is effectively a home game in that it's not restricted to the convention-style 4 hours. PbP games are another matter entirely because one could run for months, people can drop out, and so on, but the type of online games I play/run are basically live games, but with everything done in text... so it's entirely feasible like that, I would think. Same if you were doing a game via Skype with a VTT or whiteboard.
Hopefully Season 1 allows this...
You could always use something like Skype as well as a virtual tabletop program for combat maps, images, etc. And there are also online whiteboard type sites, too, though offhand I don't know any in particular.
But completely text-based works, too. An online game is effectively a home game in that it's not restricted to the convention-style 4 hours. PbP games are another matter entirely because one could run for months, people can drop out, and so on, but the type of online games I play/run are basically live games, but with everything done in text... so it's entirely feasible like that, I would think. Same if you were doing a game via Skype with a VTT or whiteboard.
Hopefully Season 1 allows this...
How do you do everything in text? I run an email game and a PbP game (which is virtually the same) and both are draining me for time, absent players, etc.
Also, I know nothing about these programs you're talking about - Skype? VOIP? VTT?Any help is appreciated.
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Skype can be found at skype.com, it's function is known either as 'internet telephony' (very old name for it), or 'Voice Over Internet Protocol' (VOIP).
Skype allows for calls from computer to computer fairly easily, with several advanced call features in addition to your standard options.
I've heard of the other things mentioned, basically the majority of them are 'whiteboards' or 'vitual gaming tables' which allow multiple people to see and manipulate an image. WotC's DnD insider has similar functionality built in for a price (I'm not willing to pay).
Skype + VT = Gaming revolution :)
Skype + VT = Gaming revolution :)
I'm not willing to pay for it either, NotMousse - but I did find this link to a free online whiteboard: http://www.scriblink.com/
Has anyone used this before?|
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How do you do everything in text? I run an email game and a PbP game (which is virtually the same) and both are draining me for time, absent players, etc.
Also, I know nothing about these programs you're talking about - Skype? VOIP? VTT?
Any help is appreciated.
It's quite easy, really.
Admittedly, I come from a long background of text-based roleplaying. I started roleplaying on forums, chat rooms etc yeeeears ago, far before I knew of D&D. It seems natural to me to do it this way.
Organising players can be a bit of a pain at times, but it's really just like getting a group of people to a home game on time--we discuss our schedules, figure out a time and come online then.
VTT = virtual tabletops, check out Maptool -- that's the one I use. There are plenty of others but I'm short on time atm so I'll let someone else link you. :)
Well, I don't have a microphone, so I couldn't play in a VOIP game. :-(
Perhaps I'll just DM a text-based VTT game (I'll just never PC ever again /sob). Late night game (starting at 11 PM EST). Rise of the Runelords, PFRPG Beta ruleset maybe? Would anyone have interest in this?
Maybe the mods should move this thread to the Gamer Connection forum.
Edit: Just forget all that. :-P I stopped to seriously consider what I was saying and realized it was a bad idea. DMing two games a week and potentially playing a cohort in another is too much gaming. :-/ I'd still like to PC, though.
I'm in much the same boat as howard; There aren't a whole lot of gamers around here, either. I've been DMing using IRC and Maptool (mostly the latter) for about six months now, and most of my background is with PbP roleplaying during my formative years so text-only comes naturally to me. Admittedly a virtual table-top is a slightly different beast, but it works.
To be honest though, I prefer text-only primarily because I also live in a rural enough area that my Internet choices break down to dial-up and obscenely expensive satellite, so VoIP is at best sketchy and at worse unusable.
Anyway, that said, you could count me in if you need another player. I'm DMing two (mostly) homebrew games myself, and that's maddening enough.
I was also curious as to the general experience of those of you who've done text-only. We generally take 4-to-6 hours which is broken down between about maybe two or three combat encounters (usually horribly mangled by the Barbarian in a few rounds) and some RP/exploration, varying depending on the player's moods. (One time, a player decided he wanted a new character - They wound up RPing meeting him for an hour and a half, which was a blessing as I got to use the time to shore up the actual adventure).
The main problem I notice is sometimes peoples attention wanders during combat and it takes longer than it should, and then often leads to a sort of fatigue and 'when is it going to be over' for everybody involved, making climactic fights a little... Difficult. (At least until the cleric rolls two consecutive twenties on an Empowered Searing Light vs. something weak to such things. He's powdered three undead like that from full thus far. Karma gets him back by not letting him roll in the double digits on anything else, though.)
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To be honest though, I prefer text-only primarily because I also live in a rural enough area that my Internet choices break down to dial-up and obscenely expensive satellite, so VoIP is at best sketchy and at worse unusable.
I'm in a similar situation, though I do have an ADSL connection.. albeit a poor one. If I use Skype, and then try to do something else, my connection very quickly starts to complain.
I was also curious as to the general experience of those of you who've done text-only.
Your experience seems similar to my own. Depends what's going on though--dungeon romps obviously have more combat than normal. And I've DEFINITELY experienced that long roleplaying meander... well, that's part of what I love about text-based D&D, anyway. It's fun to do that sort of thing. :)
And lagging combat? Yes. Yes. Yes. More than once I've simply ended a fight because it's going to drag on far too much and people are getting impatient. The only thing I've found to help with this is lots and lots and lots of preparation. If you're playing in a VTT game, get those tokens completely set up (but set to invisible) before the game starts. If your program allows it, get some prewritten code to automatically calculate their attacks and dice rolls. Think about probable strategy, make sure you know exactly what all the monsters' feats and abilities do, and write notes for yourself so you don't have to look anything up mid combat. (I tend to have a word document open with the stat block on my 2nd monitor, along with some bolded red reminders, like "DON'T FORGET SNEAK ATTACK DAMAGE!!!"...)
Also, encourage the players to stay focused as much as you can. I know I've had players in the past who space out, then take forever to make their turn...it just slows things down further. Make sure you ram it into their minds that they should think (and, even better, type!) while everyone else is taking their turns. I guess it's nothing particularly different to how you speed up combat in IRL games, but even the smallest increase can help to avoid that combat slump.
As for games... well at the moment I'm not actually running anything (plans to run SD have fallen through somewhat...), but I'm getting ready to DM LoF when it comes out, and am playing CotCT, but I'd totally be up for playing if anyone's interested in DMing! If there's room in my LoF game (my usual crew gets first preference..), though it wouldn't begin until April, I'll remember you two though.
Of course, I'm on AEST (GMT+11), which could cause scheduling issues, but I thought I'd put this out there anyway.
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I've been literally DYING to find a Pathfinder online game using one of the virtual tools.
As near as I can tell, there are no role players or serious gamers within about a 200 mile radius of me.
I already have an open online game request on the gamer connection category with one response.
Online play for Pathfinder seems the best way to go for me too. There's a society group in Raleigh, NC but that's an easy 90 minute + drive during the week and I'm just not willing to do that kind of traveling for gaming anymore (those college days in the early 80's are long past! LOL!). Whether it's text-based (which I don't completely understand yet) or PbP I'm up for it. I'm not interested in doing the long Pathfinder campaign arcs, but the short society adventures sound really nice. Wish we could get credit for it somehow. Else, the only way my character will advance will by a once a year con trek somewhere.
When we say 'text-based', what we mean is that it's done entirely through a chatroom-like interface without the aid of any sort of voice chat (for varied reasons as we've mentioned, ex. bad Internet connections, no mic, et cetra). Sort of like PbP in real time. The way I think of it is being accompanied by a Virtual TableTop to replace battlemats and such (in my particular case Maptool.
I was also curious as to the general experience of those of you who've done text-only.Your experience seems similar to my own.
(Lots of text about VTT DMing compressed into the spoiler button)
Spellcasters, though, have traditionally left me combing through books or PDFs, desperately trying to make sure I get it right. (there was a nasty incident involving Hideous Laughter and my not realizing it was a single target spell. Imagine my shame when I also realize I missed the +4 to saving throws against different types!) I've alleviated this somewhat lately, using the PFRPG beta PDF to make a handy 'card' that I can alt-tab to for the spells that aren't no brainers and hopefully take my turn in a reasonable time. (Said card is just cropped screenshots of various spell descriptions, but it's faster than even the bookmarks.)
The second monitor is a great 'why didn't I think of that?' idea, though. I once tried to do stat blocks on index cards but between my abysmal handwriting and having 80% of all relevant information at my fingertips in Maptool anyway I gave up on it. (I do prefer having something tactile, though, hence why I always have my hardcover Monster Manual on hand, and have dozens of cheap spiral notebooks filled with notes I only grudgingly condense into Word documents).
My secondary game is actually 4th Edition and one of the players and I made up several similar 'cards' listing all the powers, class features, etc. of each character so they could check out their options at-a-glance. The same might be doable for 3.5/3.P, but hasn't been a priority since we're all fairly familiar with the system.
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Having a second monitor has been the best investment into increasing my productivity in gaming *ever*. The fact that it helps everything else is just icing on the cake. ;)
Spells are a pain no matter where you are though, online or off. *grin* I think you could make cards like your 4e powers pretty easily, too. I saw on the maptool forums that there is some kind of macro system built up around 4e power cards, I wonder if that could be tweaked for this purpose? (Or you can stick to writing it out yourself, for your own notes.) This wouldn't really work for me though, because even if it's something like cure light wounds, I obsessively quickly check the spell description anyway. I think I have a phobia of something like your hideous laughter scenario...
In any case I'll try not to derail this thread too much more and just say, "let us play online in Season 1! We can do it, see?" :)
When we say 'text-based', what we mean is that it's done entirely through a chatroom-like interface without the aid of any sort of voice chat (for varied reasons as we've mentioned, ex. bad Internet connections, no mic, et cetra). Sort of like PbP in real time. The way I think of it is being accompanied by a Virtual TableTop to replace battlemats and such (in my particular case Maptool.
Okay...I get it now (light comes on!) I suspected it was "like PbP in real time" but I needed to see that in print for it to sink in. Thanks!
As a player that's not so intimidating, but as a DM...oooh boy. Must have everything ready to roll or the game could seriously become bogged down. I love the idea of two monitors. Our tech person at work has two on his desk and with the prices coming down, I have considered getting another monitor. I'll pick his brain this week to see how it all works together.
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As a player that's not so intimidating, but as a DM...oooh boy. Must have everything ready to roll or the game could seriously become bogged down. I love the idea of two monitors. Our tech person at work has two on his desk and with the prices coming down, I have considered getting another monitor. I'll pick his brain this week to see how it all works together.
I tend to prepare a fair bit, but I think you *could* just go with the flow fairly easily... well as easy as adlibbing is for you. You can even draw up simple spontaneous combat maps in a way, using the area drawing features... "the green square is the forest, the brown area is the path you're on", and so on. Nothing fancy, but if you're winging it that much, I don't think it's a biggie.
Having two monitors rocks! It's very easy to make work, too. Most recent graphics cards (and even a fair amount of older ones) have two outputs; all you really have to do is plug the other one in, and possibly tweak with some settings in your graphics drivers or display options. I'd definitely ask the tech guy first, though, to make sure your PC is compatible. :)
Another option is Fantasy Grounds. I've been wanting to do some sort of virtual tabletop game for awhile now, and would absolutely be interested if the day & time were right.
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I'll run a couple VOIP/VTT/TXT (Skype if you can, whiteboard, and IM if you can't) slot 0's, but I fear it'll take too long.
If you're interested (since I don't see any forbiddance as of yet) please email me (yes, that's me up there, use it everywhere) at my gmail account with [slot 0] in the title, scenarios needed, and your time slots available.
I suppose you could also post here assuming J doesn't have any problems with the thread mutating into some Akira monster.
We're in talks with a company that specializes in online RPG games about becoming our official online product for Pathfinder Society OP. While I have no time line to announce, I can say that we're thinking about and working on it.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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We're in talks with a company that specializes in online RPG games about becoming our official online product for Pathfinder Society OP. While I have no time line to announce, I can say that we're thinking about and working on it.
This is excellent news. Hope your talks go well. Can you say if it will be cross-platform?
The company we are talking to is, indeed, a cross-platform solution. Nothing is set in stone though and nothing has been signed--we're still just talking.
That's good news. I'd only just now (well, last night) looked into the actual rules for PFS and saw some mention about online play (more accurately lack thereof in Season 0), which lead me to believe that the issue was at least being acknowledged as a possibility for Season 1.
I'm curious about whether there'll be any associated cost with the product Josh mentioned (either for GMs, players, or both), though it may be a bit early in the game for anything so specific.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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I'm curious about whether there'll be any associated cost with the product Josh mentioned (either for GMs, players, or both), though it may be a bit early in the game for anything so specific.
I imagine there would be the cost of the software, or possibly a per game fee for using the hosts servers. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
I don't have any cost information, yet. I don't *think* there's going to be a cost associated, but I'm also on the perimeter of the discussion and not in the heart of it, so I may very well be wrong.
You just ninja up on threads don't you?
Err, what?
This is pretty much my thoughts as well - all of them. :)
Hm... while I approve of the idea of official online PFS play, I'm not sure I'll be happy if I have to use a specific program, and pay for it, when there are plenty of free options out there...
Oh well. I won't cast judgment until the details are out there. Hooray for online PFS (eventually)!
It's important to remember that private eyes are watching you--they're watching your every move.
We're in talks with a company that specializes in online RPG games about becoming our official online product for Pathfinder Society OP. While I have no time line to announce, I can say that we're thinking about and working on it.
This is precisely why I'm a Paizo loyalist. You guys actually respond to your customers instead of keeping info in a vice like WotC. It's why I pay money for Paizo and pirate everyone else. You're like an open source company. I love it. :-D
We're in talks with a company that specializes in online RPG games about becoming our official online product for Pathfinder Society OP. While I have no time line to announce, I can say that we're thinking about and working on it.This is precisely why I'm a Paizo loyalist. You guys actually respond to your customers instead of keeping info in a vice like WotC. It's why I pay money for Paizo and pirate everyone else. You're like an open source company. I love it. :-D
Me too - I love the "down-to-earth" feel of the Paizo community and admins. It's like ALL of us are a part of this, making this work together.
Well, thanks for the kind words. :-)
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Yeah, I'm totally on the Paizo bandwagon. The products are good quality, and I don't feel like I'm being cheated for content vs. price. Customer service is fantastic, and any time I've had some questions, I've gotten a quick reply, and never made to feel like I'm wasting someone's time--yeah, I'm looking at you, Josh.
It obvious that Paizo understands one very important concept in business: take care of your customers, and they'll take care of you.
And not to entirely hijack the thread:
online gaming would be fantastic. I'll probably be relocating this summer, and it would mean I'd be able to keep running for my current PFS group.