|
I've recently had some changes in my schedule that make getting out to a weekly in-store event (for PFS) difficult. I'm thinking of trying to GM some scenarios either by play-by-post or by play-by-chat.
What do any of you folks out there use to distribute materials? Dropbox, e-mail, etc.? How do you share maps? Some might be too large for me to scan to pdf's at work. And how do you track players' movements? Do you number each square, for instance?
I'm going to read a few play-by post threads to get a feel for the style, but any general pointers in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
|
|
So I see a similar thread already exists dealing with PbP combat. There are also some links with map building tips. I apologize for not exploring further first, but I did have some questions these other threads did not address:
1) If using Flip mats (with dry or wet erase markers), how do you share these with your players? I haven't got the time to do maps on my Mac.
2) About how long does it take to run the average PFS scenarios via PbP? A couple weeks? Longer?
3) How much can you fudge combats if you are running the scenarios for Society credit?
Thanks!
|
Society games cannot be done PbP because they take too long to complete. However many people still play online using simple online tabletops. My favorite is Roll20.net. It's free and easy to use.
If you're looking for games, people host regularly through this site: Pathfinder Society Online Collective
|
We use a yahoo group to distribute material (it has a 5M limit per file though) but dropbox is probably a better choice.
We have a few Mac users as well as Windows users, and we use Roll20, which is really great. The free version has more than enough for you. But there's a pay version with more.
You can also use Roll20 with Google Hangouts.
To get into Roll20 as a dm, well there's nothing like diving in and trying to create maps. They have some map creation software, but you can also import images of maps already created. They have a number of instructional videos posted on their site and YouTube.
Previously we all chipped in to buy WebEx, sharing Excel for the map, which worked pretty well, since it also allowed the DM to share pdfs or other files over the session. But, you know, other choices are free :)
|
|
Whats the best way to get into a Roll20 game and learn to use it?
There are a few online tutorials and the best way is to practice setting up a scenario. You can simply copy and paste the maps from the scenario into roll20, then use a tool to size the map correctly with the squares. When working through the google group I posted, plenty of players are happy to set up a time to help you out if you're planning on GMing a scenario (GM's can be hard to come by). You can learn everything you need in about 15-20 minutes if that. Setting up a scenario takes some time though, for me around 2 hours depending on how many maps there are and how many bells and whistles I want to add.
|
Check out www.pfrpg.com.au, there's a link on the front page to join a chat room that talks Pathfinder near-constantly.
(Tip, though: if you join for 2 minutes, see nothing being said, don't say anything yourself - you'll get nothing out of it).
Besides that, register and you'll get invited to any games you haven't marked off as already played. These days you can join a game even if you're not specifically invited, unless it's invite-only (which PFS never is).
|
|
You can simply copy and paste the maps from the scenario into roll20, then use a tool to size the map correctly with the squares.
What tool? This is the biggest thing stopping me using roll20; I've tried setting up a map with an image before and can't for the life of me get the grid to align using the 3x3 method.
2) About how long does it take to run the average PFS scenarios via PbP? A couple weeks? Longer?
Based on a very small sample (3 PFS PbPs I've been in*), between eight to ten weeks, but I've heard of others that were faster. Oddly enough, the one module I've played as a PbP took 15 weeks, less than twice the length of the scenarios. Make of that what you will. Recruitment's another week or so.
If you want a shorter game, here's my advice. Emphasize in the recruitment thread that you plan to go fast and that you expect a certain posting speed, say 1/day. See if everyone's willing to let you temporarily NPC people who haven't posted and are holding up the game. See what other games people are in and how fast they post. If you're willing to disappoint people, you could take four instead of six players, since 'fewer players = shorter game' is just as true in PbP as IRL.
* There was a fourth, but it was very atypical. The GM took a vacation in the middle of it, then disappeared entirely and we finished it with another GM. That drug it out to 15 weeks.
You can simply copy and paste the maps from the scenario into roll20, then use a tool to size the map correctly with the squares.What tool? This is the biggest thing stopping me using roll20; I've tried setting up a map with an image before and can't for the life of me get the grid to align using the 3x3 method.
Have a look at this wiki page: Aligning Maps Especially the subsection "Further tips on aligning" deals with the fine tuning of map alignments.
Hope that helps.
|
|
You can simply copy and paste the maps from the scenario into roll20, then use a tool to size the map correctly with the squares.What tool? This is the biggest thing stopping me using roll20; I've tried setting up a map with an image before and can't for the life of me get the grid to align using the 3x3 method.
Use White Direwolf's suggestion and if that doesn't work right clickon the picture, go down to advanced, then select "is drawing". This lets your freely tweak the picture.