Starting an AdventureGamers D&D Group?

Jeysie · 03-16-2006, 07:16 PM

Karmillo and I were talking today in IRC about trying to form a group of AdventureGamers denizens to play D&D or some other dice-based system once or twice a week. Mainly because he wants to try D&D, and I wouldn't mind joining a second group in addition to my current group.

The main problem I can think of (well, other than finding a time when everyone interested could meet each week) would be finding a DM who wants to think up lots of story ideas. I already have experience RPing online, so I'd know how to handle the mechanics of it.

Anyone else want to chime in some thoughts in on this?

Peace & Luv, Liz

cardician · 03-17-2006, 02:54 AM

Oooh, I might like to play. Always wanted to play old school D&D but only really did it a few times in college. It just never really happened that often, but when it did, it was a lot of fun. And now I have no friends and none of the people that I'm friendly with are even into that kind of thing. It's like D&D has some sort of geeky stigma attached to it or something...

Jeysie · 03-17-2006, 05:00 PM

Well, that's one more person.

Worse comes to worse, I could try finding a "canned" scenario or two somewhere and being the DM myself until everyone figures out how the whole thing works.

But, c'mon folks, it's all free (although an optional $30 investment in a hard copy of the Handbook would be recommended, since I've heard the free version of the handbook is a bit unwieldy), and I've got you covered on where to get the things you need... all you need to do is bring a desire to spend 2-4 hours a week online doing some storytelling and improv acting.

If we can find about 2-3 other people who want to do this, we'd be in good shape.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Karmillo · 03-17-2006, 05:03 PM

Well im obviously in

...is Pirate a class?

Manhunter71 · 03-17-2006, 05:42 PM

I'd love to play although it probably isn't very feasible considering I'm in the UK

I played paper D&D for a year with a group of friends in my last year at school(maybe that's why I crashed & burned in my A-levels

), and then I found another group who were playing AD&D a couple of years later, but eventually we went our separate ways.

Since then I have only played pc RPG's (Baldurs Gate, NWN) but I do have orginal (1970's) copies of the D&D handbook and the Monster's Guide.

Jeysie · 03-17-2006, 05:50 PM

Well, location isn't an issue per se, since we'd be doing it online. But time zones might be an issue, trying to find a time that would work for everybody.

And... we might need to update you a little bit.

I was planning on using the 3.5 rules, at least in the beginning.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Manhunter71 · 03-17-2006, 05:59 PM

I'm sure it wouldn't take long to get me up to speed - I'm sure the basics aren't that much different?

Anyway, my offer is still there - it's something I have wanting to get back into for a while now,, although I'm not too sure about the dynamics of playing this type of game online?

Jeysie · 03-17-2006, 06:19 PM

Manhunter:

You can check out the SRD (the "free" version of the 3.5 handbook) here: http://www.d20srd.org/

As for the dynamics, I've been RPing online for almost a year now with my current group, it's not too hard.

For the actual RP we just use IRC... we have one channel for in-character stuff and one for out-of-character stuff. We use DarkMyst, which has a built-in D&D dice macro service.

For character sheets/stats, I have a nice spreadsheet-based sheet I cooked up that does a lot of the math for you; it'll work in either Excel or OpenOffice.

For maps/combat, there's a Java-based free program called GameTable that works as a virtual whiteboard of sorts.

I've never RPed offline, so I don't know how it would compare, truth be told.

On the one hand, the timing of making sure you don't "tread" on someone else's actions is something you have to be careful of (since it's harder to tell if someone's in the middle of typing/responding), and you obviously don't get to have voice/visuals in your "acting".

On the other hand, it's very handy having a written log to refer to from one session to the next, and it's easy to be very in-character in terms of dialogue and actions. (I can think of several bits of dialogue/action I've said/done in-character in text that I just can't imagine bringing myself to declare if I was playing offline...)

Peace & Luv, Liz

Out2lunch · 03-19-2006, 11:13 AM

oh! I want to play! I've been wanting to give paper and dice a try for a while, but none of my friends are into this kind of thing. Not just that, but playing with a group of AGers sounds like great fun.

Jeysie · 03-19-2006, 11:26 AM

Well, unless there's 1 more person who wants to chime in (any more than that would get unwieldy), a group of myself, Karmillo, Cardician, Manhunter, and Lunchie would work well.

We should start discussing when we'd want to meet, then. I'm free any night except Wednesdays and Saturdays (although Saturdays will likely change to Fridays at a later date) from 6PM to midnight EST.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Karmillo · 03-19-2006, 12:55 PM

Well im not in a job or in collage atm so im free any night, but thatll probably change soon...

Out2lunch · 03-19-2006, 07:28 PM

Wait. So can I play or not? it was kind of rude to just ignore me

Karmillo · 03-19-2006, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Out2lunch

Wait. So can I play or not? it was kind of rude to just ignore me

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeysie

Well, unless there's 1 more person who wants to chime in (any more than that would get unwieldy), a group of myself, Karmillo, Cardician, Manhunter, and Lunchie would work well.

Should we light a couple of Flares next time?

Jeysie · 03-19-2006, 08:58 PM

Yes, my summary does include you playing too, Out2Lunch.

Sowwy for the mixup! *sheepish look*

Peace & Luv, Liz

Cellardoor · 03-20-2006, 02:24 AM

Hey Liz,

Excellent idea. I'm guessing you're talking about a chat-based game here... Not sure if that'll work for me, but you can definitely count me in for a forum-based game, if there still is room for one other to join.

Oh, did I mention my years of D&D experience?

Jeysie · 03-20-2006, 08:38 AM

Yes, sorry, Athelas... er, Cellar...

it's chat-based.

I've never really understood forum-based RP stuff whenever I've looked at it... and even if I did I'd just set it up and let anyone who was willing to "play by the rules" come and romp.

But we could use at least one D&D vet, especially if they're willing to DM the first few games (*cough*), so if you're willing to give chat-based RP a try, you'd be our last person.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Cellardoor · 03-20-2006, 08:45 AM

I'd love to give a chat-based game a try. However, living in the Netherlands may complicate things a bit...

Karmillo · 03-20-2006, 09:15 AM

What time zone is Netherlands in?

Huz · 03-20-2006, 10:43 AM

Only an hour ahead of the UK, but Cellardoor might not be nocturnal like some people!

Out2lunch · 03-20-2006, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Well, unless there's 1 more person who wants to chime in (any more than that would get unwieldy), a group of myself, Karmillo, Cardician, Manhunter, and Lunchie would work well.

gee, I'm sorry.

I'm not used to being calles "Lunchie" and it didn't even cross my mind that you ment me. (I'm not the most observant person)

Quote:

Should we light a couple of Flares next time?

Why yes! Flares would be very helpful

03-16-2006, 07:16 PM	#1
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Starting an AdventureGamers D&D Group? Karmillo and I were talking today in IRC about trying to form a group of AdventureGamers denizens to play D&D or some other dice-based system once or twice a week. Mainly because he wants to try D&D, and I wouldn't mind joining a second group in addition to my current group. The main problem I can think of (well, other than finding a time when everyone interested could meet each week) would be finding a DM who wants to think up lots of story ideas. I already have experience RPing online, so I'd know how to handle the mechanics of it. Anyone else want to chime in some thoughts in on this? Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-17-2006, 02:54 AM	#2
cardician Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 123	Oooh, I might like to play. Always wanted to play old school D&D but only really did it a few times in college. It just never really happened that often, but when it did, it was a lot of fun. And now I have no friends and none of the people that I'm friendly with are even into that kind of thing. It's like D&D has some sort of geeky stigma attached to it or something... Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ "It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy. Let's go exploring!"

03-17-2006, 05:00 PM	#3
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Well, that's one more person. Worse comes to worse, I could try finding a "canned" scenario or two somewhere and being the DM myself until everyone figures out how the whole thing works. But, c'mon folks, it's all free (although an optional $30 investment in a hard copy of the Handbook would be recommended, since I've heard the free version of the handbook is a bit unwieldy), and I've got you covered on where to get the things you need... all you need to do is bring a desire to spend 2-4 hours a week online doing some storytelling and improv acting. If we can find about 2-3 other people who want to do this, we'd be in good shape. Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-17-2006, 05:03 PM	#4
Karmillo woof Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOT REALLY RIGHT HERE Posts: 4,750	Well im obviously in ...is Pirate a class? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ "I've got nothing to lose! Except for...well everything."

03-17-2006, 05:42 PM	#5
Manhunter71 Pink fluffy Xmas bunny Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lancaster, England Posts: 1,591	I'd love to play although it probably isn't very feasible considering I'm in the UK I played paper D&D for a year with a group of friends in my last year at school(maybe that's why I crashed & burned in my A-levels ), and then I found another group who were playing AD&D a couple of years later, but eventually we went our separate ways. Since then I have only played pc RPG's (Baldurs Gate, NWN) but I do have orginal (1970's) copies of the D&D handbook and the Monster's Guide. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English! And the English are best at everything!

03-17-2006, 05:50 PM	#6
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Well, location isn't an issue per se, since we'd be doing it online. But time zones might be an issue, trying to find a time that would work for everybody. And... we might need to update you a little bit. I was planning on using the 3.5 rules, at least in the beginning. Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-17-2006, 05:59 PM	#7
Manhunter71 Pink fluffy Xmas bunny Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lancaster, England Posts: 1,591	I'm sure it wouldn't take long to get me up to speed - I'm sure the basics aren't that much different? Anyway, my offer is still there - it's something I have wanting to get back into for a while now,, although I'm not too sure about the dynamics of playing this type of game online? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English! And the English are best at everything!

03-17-2006, 06:19 PM	#8
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Manhunter: You can check out the SRD (the "free" version of the 3.5 handbook) here: http://www.d20srd.org/ As for the dynamics, I've been RPing online for almost a year now with my current group, it's not too hard. For the actual RP we just use IRC... we have one channel for in-character stuff and one for out-of-character stuff. We use DarkMyst, which has a built-in D&D dice macro service. For character sheets/stats, I have a nice spreadsheet-based sheet I cooked up that does a lot of the math for you; it'll work in either Excel or OpenOffice. For maps/combat, there's a Java-based free program called GameTable that works as a virtual whiteboard of sorts. I've never RPed offline, so I don't know how it would compare, truth be told. On the one hand, the timing of making sure you don't "tread" on someone else's actions is something you have to be careful of (since it's harder to tell if someone's in the middle of typing/responding), and you obviously don't get to have voice/visuals in your "acting". On the other hand, it's very handy having a written log to refer to from one session to the next, and it's easy to be very in-character in terms of dialogue and actions. (I can think of several bits of dialogue/action I've said/done in-character in text that I just can't imagine bringing myself to declare if I was playing offline...) Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-19-2006, 11:13 AM	#9
Out2lunch LM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: America's wang Posts: 32	oh! I want to play! I've been wanting to give paper and dice a try for a while, but none of my friends are into this kind of thing. Not just that, but playing with a group of AGers sounds like great fun. Share Share this post on Twitter

03-19-2006, 11:26 AM	#10
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Well, unless there's 1 more person who wants to chime in (any more than that would get unwieldy), a group of myself, Karmillo, Cardician, Manhunter, and Lunchie would work well. We should start discussing when we'd want to meet, then. I'm free any night except Wednesdays and Saturdays (although Saturdays will likely change to Fridays at a later date) from 6PM to midnight EST. Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-19-2006, 12:55 PM	#11
Karmillo woof Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOT REALLY RIGHT HERE Posts: 4,750	Well im not in a job or in collage atm so im free any night, but thatll probably change soon... Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ "I've got nothing to lose! Except for...well everything."

03-19-2006, 07:28 PM	#12
Out2lunch LM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: America's wang Posts: 32	Wait. So can I play or not? it was kind of rude to just ignore me Share Share this post on Twitter

03-19-2006, 08:58 PM	#14
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Yes, my summary does include you playing too, Out2Lunch. Sowwy for the mixup! sheepish look Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

03-20-2006, 02:24 AM	#15
Cellardoor Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 413	Hey Liz, Excellent idea. I'm guessing you're talking about a chat-based game here... Not sure if that'll work for me, but you can definitely count me in for a forum-based game, if there still is room for one other to join. Oh, did I mention my years of D&D experience? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ ...life under Calico Skies...

03-20-2006, 08:38 AM	#16
Jeysie Diva of Death Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 1,402	Yes, sorry, Athelas... er, Cellar... it's chat-based. I've never really understood forum-based RP stuff whenever I've looked at it... and even if I did I'd just set it up and let anyone who was willing to "play by the rules" come and romp. But we could use at least one D&D vet, especially if they're willing to DM the first few games (cough), so if you're willing to give chat-based RP a try, you'd be our last person. Peace & Luv, Liz Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Adventures in Roleplaying (Nov. 19): "Maybe it's still in the Elemental Plane of Candy." "Is the Elemental Plane of Candy anything like Willy Wonka's factory?" "If it is, would that mean Oompa Loompas are Candy Elementals?" "Actually, I'm thinking more like the Candyland board game. But, I like this idea better." "I like the idea of Oompa Loompa Elementals."

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03-20-2006, 08:45 AM	#17
Cellardoor Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 413	I'd love to give a chat-based game a try. However, living in the Netherlands may complicate things a bit... Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ ...life under Calico Skies...

03-20-2006, 09:15 AM	#18
Karmillo woof Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NOT REALLY RIGHT HERE Posts: 4,750	What time zone is Netherlands in? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ "I've got nothing to lose! Except for...well everything."

03-20-2006, 10:43 AM	#19
Huz Kersal Massive Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Manchester Posts: 1,430	Only an hour ahead of the UK, but Cellardoor might not be nocturnal like some people! Share Share this post on Twitter