krypt0nian
Banned
marrec said:
Now that's some serious game table drama...
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Dungeons and Dragons: Who still plays?
- Thread starter hoverX
- Start date
- Status
Now that's some serious game table drama...
krypt0nian
Banned
It's funny. My group of two years imploded spectacturaly this summer, although not due to romantic issues. The host decided to take matters which up until then had always been democratic into hs own hands and disinvited a friend to bring in someone he wanted. He had just prior promised he wouldn't do this exact thing. He was called on it, and went ballistic.
He now games with the DM alone as the other 5 members ran for the hills when he showed his true colors. Bizarre stuff.
He now games with the DM alone as the other 5 members ran for the hills when he showed his true colors. Bizarre stuff.
The longer a group is together, the more common these stories get. We had a similar situation in which some in the group tried to have someone be let out of the group. It was very awkward... We all understood their reasons (he didn't really fit in with the rest of us and he was a rather horrible player) but some people didn't agree with the way they... conspired against him and it all imploded.
This was sometime ago though - now I play with pretty much the same people and it's going fine.
This was sometime ago though - now I play with pretty much the same people and it's going fine.
lastendconductor
Put your snobby liquids into my mouth!
I play with a home made retro compatible 1st ed D&D system. Played some White Plume Mountain with friends last sunday, fuck yeah.
ended in TPK
ChiTownBuffalo
Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
I think why this happens in D&D is because some of the players are just weird as fuck. We have one dude who comes to my Encounters session. He's been banned from every other game store in Chicago. I'm close to kicking him out as well. Dude is like Urkel grown up. However, he looks like Omar from the Wire. So, dunno if he'll kiss me then whip out a.double barrelled shotgun.
And, gah, there's the "Drama Club." Bunch of douchey D&D elitests who won't help new players or those that don't want to always be in character. They don't seem to think D&D shoukd be fun anymore, but serious business.
Oh and Wizards gave Encounters DM's a rejiggered module from 1980. Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. Wow, that module is a mofo.
And, gah, there's the "Drama Club." Bunch of douchey D&D elitests who won't help new players or those that don't want to always be in character. They don't seem to think D&D shoukd be fun anymore, but serious business.
Oh and Wizards gave Encounters DM's a rejiggered module from 1980. Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. Wow, that module is a mofo.
krypt0nian
Banned
Chitown, do you ever get to Dice Dojo?
I fucking love that place. Cool staff.
I fucking love that place. Cool staff.
CornBurrito
Member
I fucking hate Lawful Stupid/Stupid Good characters.
Yes fellow party member, PLEASE give the fucking Macguffin to some very untrustworthy individuals because you gave them your word.
Yes fellow party member, PLEASE give the fucking Macguffin to some very untrustworthy individuals because you gave them your word.
Like the hat?
Banned
I play pathfinder. It's my first time playing this type of thing, but it's pretty fun.
Got call of Cthulhu for a Halloween special and ran the haunting, the lads have been really enjoying it. It is our first real departure from dnd or saga systems. Went down a treat. One of the investigators got dominated and just blow the brains of another player out. That player just barely survive by some quick first aid rolls by the dominated player. Very satisfying. 
krypt0nian
Banned
Vagabundo said:Got call of Cthulhu for a Halloween special and ran the haunting, the lads have been really enjoying it. It is our first real departure from dnd or saga systems. Went down a treat. One of the investigators got dominated and just blow the brains of another player out. That player just barely survive by some quick first aid rolls by the dominated player. Very satisfying.
Very cool. We did an impromptu Werewolf session with scraps from a about three gaming groups. Good fun!
ChiTownBuffalo
Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Yeah, I like that place. Never gamed thete though. I DM at Cat & Mouse.
krypt0nian
Banned
ChiTownBuffalo said:
Ah cool. I'll have to check it out after we get back in town in the Spring. Nice that they do D&D for Kids. More stores should.
krypt0nian said:
I've never ran a whitewolf game. I'm not sure how compatible that style would be with my group. Although they have shown a new side to themselves with Call of Cthulhu, they are usually a kick-down-the-door-slay-everything-inside-and-let-Pelor-sort-them-out type of group.
I stopped playing when the new editions came out about 5-10 years ago.
The fact that people are now enumerating versions FRACTIONALLY (4.5? WTF?!) like it's a fucking OS or something has not increased my desire to return to it. WotC are trying to make it a renewable monetary resource like Magic the Gathering, but getting people to re-purchase their core books like they have been doing just isn't something I'm game for.
World of Darkness man now, and haven't looked back.
The fact that people are now enumerating versions FRACTIONALLY (4.5? WTF?!) like it's a fucking OS or something has not increased my desire to return to it. WotC are trying to make it a renewable monetary resource like Magic the Gathering, but getting people to re-purchase their core books like they have been doing just isn't something I'm game for.
World of Darkness man now, and haven't looked back.
White Wolf aren't much better, with all those goddamn source books for everything.Terrell said:
When it comes to D&D, I found Pathfinder to be the best, but I still needed to heavily house rule it.Teddman said:
If you're willing to try something a bit different though, you should try the Fabled Lands RPG I mentioned some posts above. It really has this classic RPG feel to it, and it's very easy and light. The technical part of the character creation took like 10 minutes in average and there's literally no rule that's more than 2D6. My group made the switch to it from Pathfinder for our new adventure, it, we made some small changes (the bard is sort of silly and there's a level up mechanic that's sort of wonky) but so far we're loving it.
krypt0nian
Banned
Terrell said:
Well there is no 4.5. They haven't rewritten the game since 4E came out. Refreshing the game every 5 years or so it s fantastic thing. People can still play the former editions, and gamers who are looking for something new can sample the new edition. No one is being forced to upgrade so it's only a "money grab"if you decide to jump in.
If you want to play D&D, you have several editions to choose from. Just like White Wolf.
Expecting them to never rewrite is not realistic.
krypt0nian
Banned
hoverX said:
Oddly enough I was wondering the same thing today.
Amibguous Cad
Member
krypt0nian said:
It's pretty difficult to find a game running older editions, though. My main concern is one of upkeep: learning such a drastic rules change like there was from 2e to 3e or 3e to 4e takes a lot of time, and now that I'm not a college student anymore, I don't have the time to put into the hobby that I used to. The end result will probably be my dropping out of D&D playing for good when the next edition rolls around.
krypt0nian
Banned
Amibguous Cad said:
Meetup.com, man. Depending on your area it's easy to find a group. Then suggest to play 2E or whatever. Chicago burbs have a decent amount of people in meetup groups and then once you start networking you can find people playing most anything, or at least up for it.
Orlando area seems to be even more active. But if you live in a smaller area, I could see it being harder.
White Wold also rewrite their system once every couple of years. And new edition are just as optional as new sourcebooks - Nothing is stopping you and your group from playing the older editions.Terrell said:
My point is that both companies aren't exactly philantropical - White Wolf are not less greedy than WotC. I usually prefer White Wolf to WotC too, but it's quite clear they're milking everything they've got for what it's worth.
Terrell said:
Well WotC are trying to move to a subscription model in concert with selected book releases. I've subbed for DDI and it was worth it when I ran a weekly game, some of the software tools were very useful. The dungeon/dragon articles were like icing on the software cake.
Currently 5e is being worked on, possibly in the early stages of development. But tell me how exactly do you expect them to stay a float if not to release new DND product? And the sad fact is that nothing sells as well as the core books.
krypt0nian
Banned
Vagabundo said:
I'm shocked that WoTC keeps their character builder behind the subscription. Quite dumb IMO as it's a potential gateway drug for new players. I used to sub to DDI, but in the last year, the Dungeon/Dragon content is sparse and not worth the fee anymore.
Then I find that the Pathfinder SRD is free on their site, while WoTC's Compendium is locked up tight too. They are so backwards.
On the 5E front, I'm excited by all the talk of older editions and the rehiring of Monte Cook, presumably to work on the new ruleset.
krypt0nian said:
I think the character builder should be free for levels 1-3 at the very least. There needs to be a free level, as you say, to get people hooked. Re-revise the Keep on the Shadowfell with more exploration or release a revised Thunderspire labyrinth sandbox for levels 1-3 and you'd have an electronic starter kit. Actually package it up on DungeonsAndDragons.com would be a big help to getting people interested.
And it looks like they might be cancelling their current Redbox. That set doesn't really lead anywhere, not to essentials or to 4thcore. They miss out on so many opportunities.
On the plus side their VTT seems to be off to a good start.
I've been really enjoying Mearls' and, now, Monte's mad ravings on game design in Dragon. I like the idea of a modular system. Monte seems to be suggesting that it will be per player modular rather than per game. I'm not sure how that would balance out, but I'd love if they can pull it off.
Once other interesting bit that came up in the Rule of Three article was about power sources and the duplication of powers. They are saying if they could do it again they would have the powers tie into the power source rather than the class. That's how I always thought it should have worked. The billions of different powers just give me a headache. I'd love if the fighter had access to the martial powers and the paladin had access to the martial and divine. obviously the class could alter how the powers work, adding keywords or extending them. I wish they would get rid of Feats too. Replace them with class talents, similar to SW Saga.
Harry Dresden
Member
We play Pathfinder now.
I like Paizo as a company a lot more than WotC.
I like Paizo as a company a lot more than WotC.
Mystic Theurge
Member
krypt0nian said:
I'm not. 5E shouldn't go backwards in a vain attempt to try and bring back people who left. It should forwards and do something new.
The last two campaigns my friends and I have been in is Pathfinder. It's like D&D 3.75. They tightened up the old rules and balanced things out more. We're enjoying it.
I bought the 4e core books and while I like the game itself it just isn't D&D. Too much was changed. It's really nothing more than a branding exercise.
So now they're going back, huh. I don't think they will ever regain the momentum again. They must rue the day they went with that OGL. Their property has effectively been taken from them.
I bought the 4e core books and while I like the game itself it just isn't D&D. Too much was changed. It's really nothing more than a branding exercise.
So now they're going back, huh. I don't think they will ever regain the momentum again. They must rue the day they went with that OGL. Their property has effectively been taken from them.
Teddman said:
Pathfinder looks pretty cool. But I've been playing Labyrinth Lord -- a D&D Basic Set retro-clone -- off and on for a few years now. And I think I'll stick with it, for now.
I love it, because it's so quick and easy to get new players initiated into a campaign -- especially people who've played little or no D&D before. Creating characters is cake. You don't have to worry about getting hung up on the mechanics of gameplay (though that can be a negative, if you like that stuff). And the PDF rulebook is free at RPGNow. I'm the only one in the group who has a paper version, for easy reference during sessions.
Plus, my brother gave me all his old D&D modules from the early 80s, so I can always play one of those, if I'm not up for making my own adventure.
BattleMonkey
Member
Pathfinder Society is also so much better than the Living crap WotC is doing. Much better written scenarios, and it's just a much friendlier system that best of all supports home groups as well instead of being something to attempt to get people into stores.
We are finishing this week a year long campaign in Pathfinder finally and from there we are going to do a short Deathwatch campaign. For Pathfinder we are going to be doing on and off Pathfinder society stuff which is helpful for folks dropping in and out.
We are finishing this week a year long campaign in Pathfinder finally and from there we are going to do a short Deathwatch campaign. For Pathfinder we are going to be doing on and off Pathfinder society stuff which is helpful for folks dropping in and out.
ChiTownBuffalo
Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
Staccat0 said:
Check out a local game store and see if they host games?
krypt0nian
Banned
ChiTownBuffalo said:
Yup, between DnD Encounters and Pathfinder's Pathfinder Society programs he may have some luck.
Also, I'm a huge proponent of Meetup.com for finding role play groups. Also he can check http://www.penandpapergames.com/ and it's player registry.
One of the biggest DND websites has a gamer seeking gamer sections with google maps:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/gamersseekinggamers.php
http://www.enworld.org/forum/gamersseekinggamers.php
PhoenixDark
Banned
Vagabundo said:
Dungeon Findr
krypt0nian
Banned
Vagabundo said:
Oh hell yeah. Gotta check that for Central Florida.
krypt0nian
Banned
Any great Pathfinder websites/blogs I should be reading?
BattleMonkey
Member
krypt0nian said:
Megacon in Feb will have alot of Pathfinder Society going on at, as well as Metrocon in the Summer. The group that runs the LFR and PFS stuff at those cons also does events are Hurricon and Recon which are around Central Florida area.
krypt0nian
Banned
BattleMonkey said:
Definitely hitting Megacon next year. When are Hurricon and Recon?
I passed on Megacon last time and regretted it. =(
Staccat0 said:
I've never heard of anyone paying for a DM so I can't really help.
BattleMonkey
Member
krypt0nian said:
Hurricon and Recon are part of the Historical Gaming Society in Florida. Largely historical gaming along with random miniature/board gaming going on. They usually have a small area running LFR and PFS games, run by the same folks who run the large rooms at Megacon/Metrocon
krypt0nian
Banned
BattleMonkey said:
Very cool. It's odd though. The nearest PFS Captain is in Tampa as far as I can see.
I did make contact via Meetup.com with some cool sounding people playing Pathfinder so I'm a bit hyped.
- Status