sigh...
So, my group has mulled things over and most of them want to try a remote session Saturday night. Only one person has any experience with Roll20 or Discord and my bunch of cranky old people (early 50s in age) doesn't want to take the time to learn how to do something new. I'm serious. So, we decided to use Google Hangouts because Skype is sometimes kind of sketchy and no one wants to subscribe to Zoom so we'll have unlimited time online with it. I sent out an email yesterday morning for everyone to please set up a Google ID (Gmail will suffice) and we'd try out Hangouts to see if it will be something we can use. Not a single person replied to the email.
Despite some of the gang saying over and over that they've finally decided to try remote gaming (and not at my urging, but theirs) no one has taken any steps toward making it happen. I decided to use the pandemic as downtime and not even think about gaming, which has actually been kind of nice, but with the group saying they're suddenly on board with it no one is taking any steps to prove it. Consequently, I've not had any desire to work on an adventure because of it. So, it'll probably be either canceled due to lack of real interest or it'll be a disaster as I improvise a game. I guess we'll see.
What about everyone else? Are things a-poppin' with you?
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My injuries are healed and I have the weekend off. So I'll probably get a whole new set of injuries.
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Game tomorrow! Hopefully.
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The Splinter Group played (Tyrant's Grasp) last night. I'm skipping out on the The Rules Menagerie for today.
I canceled my game because no one ever got back to me on what platform they wanted to use, no one made any attempt to let me know of their availability, and the final straw was my not sleeping any last night because of my pain levels. When I got in touch with them all today they all seemed really disappointed and it took a bit of reserve to not tell them if they were so disappointed they should have spoken to me sooner about things. I'm a little put out with them right now. If we're not gaming face to face in two weeks I'll try to rally the remote option again, but I'm not holding out any hope for it now.
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=(
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Sorry Cal.
That's a real bummer, Cal.
It's really frustrating when your friends expect you to do all the work or organizing a game, don't provide any feedback (or even respond at all), and then get snippy when you back out. It sends the signal that they're not interested enough to really care. (And that's totally happened to me before, too!)
If you're itching to play some Pathfinder in the near term, check out PaizoCon Online 2020, which is next week. It's mostly Organized Play events. I am running two of my hippy story-games, but they're both full already. Most of the games are organized play (PF1e, PF2s, and Starfinder), so you'd need to create a society-compliant character, but that's not too hard. (I'm not much of an organized player myself, but I've put together a PFS2 character to play at this event.) There are still plenty of tables with openings.
If your looking for other play opportunities...
We don't really play Pathfinder/D&D, but if you're itching to play something else online, I would really recommend The Gauntlet online gaming community. We play a wide variety of RPGs, including OSR systems, indie RPGs, and story-games. We skew pretty heavy toward "Powered by the Apocalypse" (e.g. Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, Monster of the Week) and "Forged in the Dark" (e.g. Blades in the Dark, Scum & Villainy, Band of Blades)games, but there are people playing Fate, GUMSHOE system games, Old School Essentials, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Cthulhu Dark, Trophy, Troika!, Swords Without Master, For the Queen, Lady Blackbird, and lots of others.
If you're interested, check us out!
gauntlet-rpg.com
In addition to our online gaming calendar (our main focus), we have a blog, our own dedicated forms, and we produce a number of podcasts (currently 4). Our currently-produced podcasts are:
The Gauntlet Podcast, which discusses The Gauntlet itself, interesting recent RPG experiences, game reviews, and other general items of interest to TTRPGers.
+1 Forward a podcast about Powered by the Apocalypse RPGs. Most episodes are an interview with the designer of a specific PbtA game, a discussion about that particular game, and a short (10-15 min) actual play of that game.
Fear of a Black Dragon, a podcast about OSR games and adventures both classic and new.
Trophy: A podcast about The OSR/story-game hybrid RPG Trophy, which is published by The Gauntlet.
We also have archives of a number of shows that ended, including "Discern Realities" (Dungeon World), "The Farrier's Bellows" (story-games), and two actual-play podcast series, "Pocket-Sized Play" and "We Hunt the Keepers".
Very cool! Thanks! This coming weekend my GF is coming to visit so I won't be doing any gaming, but I'll try to check out the links you sent before then.
GF is still planning on coming down this weekend so any gaming with my group will likely be next weekend.
How about the rest of us?
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NWN Quest tonight
Savage Tide with PF group tomorrow
Eberron game with 5e group on Tuesday
Another NWN Quest Sunday night
Continuing to job hunt and get acclimated to new place
All in all, business as usual =)
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The Tyrant's Grasp group played tonight. I know Aiymi wants to drop out of the 10 person mess on Saturdays. I'm thinking about it too. It's just aggravating.
Yeah, that's a lot of people. Too many people.
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I'm off work this week, so I'm playing a LOT online, mostly through PaizoCon Online.
Tomorrow: I'm in a PFS 2e quest in the afternoon, followed by my regular "Monster of the Week" game in the evening.
Wednesday: I'm playing in a PFS 2e game in the morning, and then I'm running a session or "Fall of Magic" in the afternoon/evening."
Thursday: Three online games in a day! Too much? Probably! AM: Playing in vanessa Hoskins' PF2e take on "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Afternoon: Playing in a Starfinder game Night: I am running the tragic fantasy/horror game "Trophy Dark".
Friday: I am playing in a playtest session of a game called "Laser Metal", which seems to be an OSR-style science fantasy game.
Saturday: Playing in a Starfinder adventure that was written and will be GMed by GM Hmm.
I have a few open slots here and there, and may end up trying to muster an unofficial game or two as well...
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So far: not having a great time at PaizoCon Online, TBH.
Tech issues torpoded both of Pathfinder 2e games I was to have played in so far: I didn't get any actual play in either game before I had to withdraw.
I attempted to add another game to my Friday morning schedule, but there's nothing I have a character for.
I then asked if I could add a game to the time slot, but was told "No, but you can try to muster players in the "Looking for Game" channel." I guess we'll see what happens, but I'm not super-inclined to put something together only not to get players.
I am looking forward to the game I'm running later this afternoon, though!
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Two successful scenarios down, two to go. My housemate got to play Waking Rune last night in the midnight slot. I stayed up almost until they finished, then got a good five hours of sleep. Thankfully, today was a simple, straightforward adventure I've run plenty of times before. Nearly killed the animal companion twice, but otherwise it was a breeze.
Well, I've got at least four of my group available this weekend. I finally just told them we're using Google Meet (what used to be Hangouts), we start at 7 pm, and that's the only reminder I'm giving them. So we'll see how that goes.
How about the rest of youse guys?
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Been jobhunting, no bites yet. One possible, but we're doing the phone tag thing.
Playing NWN and working on my PnP campaigns, business as usual there. And getting around in Breath of the Wild from time to time.
Have a lot of small projects needing to be done, chipping away at this or that here and there.
Also cooking, which is probably something I should start doing soonish if we're going to have dinner at a reasonable time tonight. ^^
My PaizoCon Online experiences have definitely improved. I ran Fall of Magic Wednesday afternoon, and it was spectacular.
I ended up having to drop a Starfinder game yesterday due to a schedule conflict. I did run in Vanessa Hoskins' playtest adventure for her take on the kineticist class for PF2e. I had fun, but the adventure was just three big combats with no chances for roleplaying, puzzle-solving, or exploration, so I left feeling rather dissatisfied.
I ran an absolutely amazing game of Trophy Dark last night. The players really leaned in to the premise that their characters were doomed, but the characters themselves didn't realize that... yet. I really, really, love Trophy. It's absolutely my favorite new game of 2019.
And today, I played in one game: An OSR science-fantasy game called Laser Metal. We were a metal band from the year 2285 on the postapocalyptic planet of Brutalia, charged with being the opening act at the Battle of the Bands at the Arenadome. I played Lita Benatar: a Doom Wailer, who could control the mysterious force called The Metal... I was also the lead singer and the bassist of our band, Lords of Cosmic Chaos. (Basically, I was the caster.) We had to recover three artifacts: the Pick of Destiny (made from the tooth of the demon lord Krokus), the lost Bass of Meister Lemmy, and the Amp of Time. So much fun!
One more game tomorrow!
Another session of Tyrant's Grasp tonight. The gnome alchemist (grenadier and wild experimenter archetypes) can't make a will save to save anyone's life.
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And today, I played in one game: An OSR science-fantasy game called Laser Metal. We were a metal band from the year 2285 on the postapocalyptic planet of Brutalia, charged with being the opening act at the Battle of the Bands at the Arenadome. I played Lita Benatar: a Doom Wailer, who could control the mysterious force called The Metal... I was also the lead singer and the bassist of our band, Lords of Cosmic Chaos. (Basically, I was the caster.) We had to recover three artifacts: the Pick of Destiny (made from the tooth of the demon lord Krokus), the lost Bass of Meister Lemmy, and the Amp of Time. So much fun!
OMG...this is the game I was born to play.
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And today, I played in one game: An OSR science-fantasy game called Laser Metal. We were a metal band from the year 2285 on the postapocalyptic planet of Brutalia, charged with being the opening act at the Battle of the Bands at the Arenadome. I played Lita Benatar: a Doom Wailer, who could control the mysterious force called The Metal... I was also the lead singer and the bassist of our band, Lords of Cosmic Chaos. (Basically, I was the caster.) We had to recover three artifacts: the Pick of Destiny (made from the tooth of the demon lord Krokus), the lost Bass of Meister Lemmy, and the Amp of Time. So much fun!OMG...this is the game I was born to play.
SIGN ME UP \m/ >o< \m/
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Gastrointestinal issues.
It's my fault for eating three pieces of pan pizza.
I am destined to never game again. I finally got all my available players on board to do remote gaming via Google Meet and had the time set and an adventure-ready to go. Then a spasm of pain in my left hip caused me to collapse and really, really bork up my back. And my pain specialist was closed Friday when I tried to get a refill on them, so it will be at least Monday, maybe Tuesday, before I can get them. I'm pain-sad.
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SIGN ME UP \m/ >o< \m/And today, I played in one game: An OSR science-fantasy game called Laser Metal. We were a metal band from the year 2285 on the postapocalyptic planet of Brutalia, charged with being the opening act at the Battle of the Bands at the Arenadome. I played Lita Benatar: a Doom Wailer, who could control the mysterious force called The Metal... I was also the lead singer and the bassist of our band, Lords of Cosmic Chaos. (Basically, I was the caster.) We had to recover three artifacts: the Pick of Destiny (made from the tooth of the demon lord Krokus), the lost Bass of Meister Lemmy, and the Amp of Time. So much fun!OMG...this is the game I was born to play.
Laser Metal is a stripped-down game in the OSR tradition. The printed book is the size of a 3×5 index card. It only uses d6.
And the Laser Metal PDF is only $4 on DTRPG!
(The publisher also makes a game called "DnDizle", which is hip-hop themed. It's the same format and uses the same game mechanics.)
So, after a rocky start, my PaizoCon Online 2020 experience was really good. The two games I ran were OUTSTANDING, and I had a blast in both the "Laser Metal" game run by Mark Orr, and the Starfinder game "The Wandering Water Bear" run by adventure author Hilary Moon Murphy (GM Hmm on the boards). If you play Starfinder, I would urge you to pick up a copy of the adventure: It's included in Wayfinder #20, which is free.
Last night, I was supposed to run my "Monster of the Week" game, but given my general despair at what's going on around the country right now, I just was not in the right head-space: I'd planned a creepy "who's the hunted and who are the hunters?" scenario in a dark forest at night, loosely based on The Blair Witch Project. I just couldn't do it, so I cancelled. I'm thinking about putting that campaign on hiatus and running a Star Trek game for a while: Given the real-world bleakness right now, I want to play in a space that's hopeful about the future.
And speaking of Star Trek, I got a last-minute invite to play a special guest-star tonight in a friend's ongoing online campaign of Mophidius Entertainment's Star Trek Adventures RPG. I've asked my Pathfinder game if we could run on an alternate night this week so that I can play in this game.
The ongoing Friday night 5e game I'd been playing in has wound down, and now I'm looking at maybe starting up another short game series. I'm thinking of maybe running Trophy Gold... and instead of a private game, I'm thinking of running it through The Gauntlet.
Oh: And The Gauntlet has announced its next Open Community Gaming mini-convention! It will be July 16-19. If you might be interested in signing up for a game, more information is here! I am planning to run a game or two, although I haven't yet decided what.
I always wanted to play a Star Trek RPG. Back in the day I borrowed a friend's FASA boxed set and then found out I was going to have to be GM. Because no one else would. So, it never got played. Some time later in the 90s I worked up a homebrew ruleset for Star Trek from the ground up. I even used a very slight variant on the d20 system before that came out. Convergent evolution, baybee. But we played two games and never got beyond that. The problem wasn't with the rules but again, even back then, no one wanted to play something new. Jump ahead a few years into the early 2000s and one of my guys surprised me by buying the Unicorn Games Star Trek game. He had us all create characters with the promise that was Session Zero and we'd play the next weekend. During that week he decided it was too much work to come up with adventures. So again, I am Star Trek-less...lol
The Mophidius' Star Trek Adventures RPG uses a modified version of their 2d20 system, which is a bit on the crunchy side for my taste.
I'm working on a version I can run using Fate Condensed.
I am planning to run a Star Trek one-shot at Gauntlet Open Community Gaming next month. Not yet sure which system.
Cal: If you're interested in giving it a shot, let me know, and I'll reserve a slot for you!
The Mophidius' Star Trek Adventures RPG uses a modified version of their 2d20 system, which is a bit on the crunchy side for my taste.
I'm working on a version I can run using Fate Condensed.
I am planning to run a Star Trek one-shot at Gauntlet Open Community Gaming next month. Not yet sure which system.
Cal: If you're interested in giving it a shot, let me know, and I'll reserve a slot for you!
Remind me when it gets closer to the date!
Remind me when it gets closer to the date!The Mophidius' Star Trek Adventures RPG uses a modified version of their 2d20 system, which is a bit on the crunchy side for my taste.
I'm working on a version I can run using Fate Condensed.
I am planning to run a Star Trek one-shot at Gauntlet Open Community Gaming next month. Not yet sure which system.
Cal: If you're interested in giving it a shot, let me know, and I'll reserve a slot for you!
You're on!
Well, it's Friday once again. It looks like my group might actually get together (well, some of us and remotely) but maybe maybe maybe we'll get to game this weekend.
How about everyone else?
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I guess I should do my taxes.
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Tyrant's Grasp group didn't play last night. Maybe tonight.
I've officially dropped from the Rules Menagerie.
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Savage Tide today.
NWN Dwarfquest tomorrow.
Hopefully 5e on Tuesday, DM was sick last week and some other players working and unwell (two different players, to be clear) so both the game and the backup one-shot didn't happen.
No Tyrant's Grasp tonight.
Aiymi fell asleep.
The other two players ended up working today and aren't up to it.
I'm on call for my job and I have put in more hours for work than I should have had to.
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Final planning for tomorrow night's conclusion of this chapter of our Monster of the Week game. After that, I need to finish up the first draft of the rules modifications for running a "Star Trek" game using Fate Condensed as the base ruleset. I'm looking at both Fate of Cthulhu and iHunt for rules elements, and will also be using some adventure seeds from Star Trek Adventures published modules.
The game will be set in the ST:TNG universe, with one major change: Under command of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, the USS Enterprise-D was lost with all hands aboard at the Battle of Wolf 359. After an unsuccessful attempt by the Borg to capture Capt. Picard, the crew of the Enterprise sacrificed themselves to destroy the Borg cube through a combination of their experimental deflector-array weapon, the Picard Maneuver, and a deliberately-triggered warp core breach.
The PCs will play the command crew of the Sovereign-class USS Dauntless.
Another thing I'd like to explore is how events/episodes from TNG and DS9 would play out differently with a different crew and without the Enterprise being around...
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Putting together something for tomorrow night, depending on players. Really need to sit down with my 2E character and make sure he's ready for next weekend.
Oh, and I get my braces off Monday morning, so that'll be great.
Every time I see "2E", my mind immediately goes to AD&D 2nd Edition. It will take some getting used to the idea of another system having a 2E. Otherwise I was going to commend you on your THAC0 computations.
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Every time I see "2E", my mind immediately goes to AD&D 2nd Edition.
I doggedly respond to posts that do that with something that includes PF2, which is what Paizo asked us to use way back when it first launched.
I ran our first game since March 14th this past Saturday night. We did it via Google Meet and we had mixed success. I had four players and there was constant microphone noise that made it hard to understand one another sometimes. We turned on automatic captioning and that was hilarious. Hardly anything we said was what appeared on our monitors.
Hopefully, we can all get together in person soon. That was kind of a hassle.
Every time I see "2E", my mind immediately goes to AD&D 2nd Edition.I doggedly respond to posts that do that with something that includes PF2, which is what Paizo asked us to use way back when it first launched.
Even if they hadn't it just seems like the obvious default abbreviation.
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I ran our first game since March 14th this past Saturday night. We did it via Google Meet and we had mixed success. I had four players and there was constant microphone noise that made it hard to understand one another sometimes. We turned on automatic captioning and that was hilarious. Hardly anything we said was what appeared on our monitors.
Hopefully, we can all get together in person soon. That was kind of a hassle.
I've been playing TTRPGs online over videoconferencing for a few years now. It's a very different experience from playing in person.
Some observations...
1. Everyone needs to agree to keep their mic muted when they're not talking. Otherwise everyone else hears the ambient noise around them. After you get agreement from everyone at the start, it's OK to interrupt the game and say, "Hey, Pete-- please mute your mic!"
2. Video generally gives a better remote gaming experience than audio-only. Without video, you can't use body language or facial expressions at all, and those cues are really important. There's a lot lost when you go audio-only. That said, audio-only is better than not gaming at all!
3. Shorter sessions. It's hard to stay focused on a video conference for more than three or hour hours. Those all-afternoon sessions don't work nearly so well on the Internet.
4. Fewer players. I find the ideal number for online play is one GM and three players. Four players can work, and I'll run with five as a hard upper limit. Once you get to five players, it gets harder and harder to manage the spotlight.
5. Never throw a question to the whole group. Instead, go around the table and ask each player/character individually, and don't start resolving anything before everyone has chimed in. Otherwise, you'll get everyone talking over each other, followed by a long pause as everyone waits for everyone else to speak.
6. Pay extra attention to your quieter players. Players who let the louder/more boisterous players do most of the talking get even more so when online. Be sure to shine the spotlight individually on such players.
7. Take regular breaks. I try to schedule a 5 minute break on the hour, and a 10- or 15-minute break at the scheduled halfway point. Also: Make a ground rule that anyone can call for a break at any time.
I have one player who almost never gets to join us in person and has been using Skype for a couple of years to game with us. Skype is kind of sketchy at times so we thought we'd give Google Meet a try.
The session was a little shorter than normal. I had planned for it to be. The player I have who is the quietist is the son of a long time friend and player. He's in his mid-20s now and is on the autism spectrum so I sometimes struggle to keep him engaged. If I try to use his PC's name to get his attention or ask what he'd like to do in a round he never responds to it, so I have to use his actual name every time.
Muting the mics was sort of arrived at without discussion. A couple of the players did it and one of the ones who didn't was using his phone to join in. But his wasn't one of the ones causing the mic noise, we think.
We usually take a 20 minute break somewhere in the middle so I can walk my dogs. Taking a short one every minute might or might not be good for this particular group.
I'll have to work on not tossing the question to the whole group at once. That's just a habit ingrained from 35 years of gaming. It's a tough one to break!!
Thanks for the advice!
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As for the videoconferencing service: I've been using Zoom, and I find that it works really well. That said, I do have a paid account, and am not sure how well it would work if everyone is using the free version.
When we're playing a game that requires a map, I tend to use a shared Google Slides or Google Drawing document. I have a paid Roll20 account, but I find that it's too easy to get caught up in Roll20's bells and whistles: Google works just about as well for a shared map.
For dice, I use the free web-based shared dice rolling application, Roll For Your Party. When you hit that site, it generates a unique persistent instance, so you can share the full URL of the table with your friends.
Zoom's free service is unlimited for a one on one conversation, 40 minutes for 3 or more people, and after that, it's a subscription.
I have a couple of complete Luddites in my group. Training them to use something like Roll20 would be like teaching a dolphin to tapdance...LOL
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Zoom's free service is unlimited for a one on one conversation, 40 minutes for 3 or more people, and after that, it's a subscription.
I have a couple of complete Luddites in my group. Training them to use something like Roll20 would be like teaching a dolphin to tapdance...LOL
I think you just need to play a couple Fred and Ginger movies for the dolphin and they'll pick it up pretty quickly.
No game this weekend here. I had wanted to but even after taking so much time away and getting back to it the first time last weekend, I just can't seem to work up any enthusiasm. I wonder if it's my time to journey into the West and leave it behind. I hope not. The prospect makes me very sad.
What are you all up to?
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Got my phone interview for a tech position with P.F. Chang's in about a quarter of an hour. If that goes well, I might get a haircut tomorrow before heading over to my friend's place for drunk night now that AZ no longer has the evening curfew. Then on Sunday we continue Fall of Plaguestone, which I REALLY need to finish my character for.