krypt0nian
Banned
Oh no no. One does not play their first session and get off that easily.
What characters did you all play? What was the story? Details, man, details!
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Oh no no. One does not play their first session and get off that easily.
What characters did you all play? What was the story? Details, man, details!
Heh, I still remember our session of Pathfinder we had a few weeks ago. Me and three friends played a round with the Beginners Box with me as DM. The warning signs that our group was a little bit...special came quite early. In the first room they find a chest after dropping some goblins that was guarding it and they immediatly proceed to try and open it. The elven thief fail his detect trap rolls, his lockpicking rolls and then just proceeds to try and smash the chest. One failed roll and we had a thief with a mild concussion trying to smash the chest open with his head.
The dwarf fighter immediatly tries to hack the chest down which goes a little smoothly and the thief decides to help again using his bow. The following result is a chest with lots of hackmarks and a load of arrows sticking out of it like a porcupine. Finally they get the chest open and find a steel dagger of good quality and a potion that broke during the commotion. The human cleric then asks if he can check the two hay matresses that are spread around the room and immediately find a small rusty iron key. They spent 10-15 minutes trying to crack that bloody chest open.
Second moment was more a moment of awesome. Our thief and cleric had entered a pitch black room to check it for traps while the fighter stayed behind to fix his gear. While searching the room, a huge ass spider suddenly drops in the middle of the two and bites the thief, which freaks him out and makes him leg it out of the room. He comes screaming out past the fighter who rushes in to see what is going on. He comes up next to the cleric and failed to notice the spider also next to him in his haste who hiss in his face, since he had already moved he couldnt draw his weapon so he punch the spider in the face, with a critical strike coupled with rolling high on all damage dice that dazes it a bit, he then looks at the cleric and goes "Where is the trouble!?". We had a good time with that.
The dwarf fighter immediatly tries to hack the chest down which goes a little smoothly and the thief decides to help again using his bow. The following result is a chest with lots of hackmarks and a load of arrows sticking out of it like a porcupine. Finally they get the chest open and find a steel dagger of good quality and a potion that broke during the commotion. The human cleric then asks if he can check the two hay matresses that are spread around the room and immediately find a small rusty iron key. They spent 10-15 minutes trying to crack that bloody chest open.
Second moment was more a moment of awesome. Our thief and cleric had entered a pitch black room to check it for traps while the fighter stayed behind to fix his gear. While searching the room, a huge ass spider suddenly drops in the middle of the two and bites the thief, which freaks him out and makes him leg it out of the room. He comes screaming out past the fighter who rushes in to see what is going on. He comes up next to the cleric and failed to notice the spider also next to him in his haste who hiss in his face, since he had already moved he couldnt draw his weapon so he punch the spider in the face, with a critical strike coupled with rolling high on all damage dice that dazes it a bit, he then looks at the cleric and goes "Where is the trouble!?". We had a good time with that.
Yeah, I'm with krypt0nian, we're gonna need some details, man.
It was pretty simple stuff, we used the premade characters that come on those dry erase cards, and we played a single encounter. It was newbie night at the comic shop we went to so he didn't dwell too much on the story, and treated it mostly as just a strategy/board game, which is the side ive always been more interested in anyway, so I didn't have much of a problem with that.
I played an Elf Rouge, my other friend a Human Fighter, another friend a Drow Ranger and then an Elf Cleric and a Dwarf Fighter.
It was just one encounter but it took about almost two hours to play. Although I imagine it would have taken less time had the DM not had to stop and tell us what everything means. It was a lot of information to soak up, so I think we're going to go to a session or two more before we attempt to run our own games.
The encounter we played was just a room in a small cave, three drow stood up on a ledge and were apparently pissed about last week's group killing her fellow drow. Suddenly a fourth drow emerged from a wall behind us and used a rope to drag our Dwarf Fighter halfway across the map. To make things worse, a giant spider jumped down in the middle of us and started poisoning everyone. Apparently no one in my group of friends are very good at rolling dice so before we even took out the lone Drow with the rope, we were all pretty heavily damaged and poisoned. Eventually two of the drow jumped down while the remaining one stood on the cliff firing spells at us. We killed those two, taking tons more damage, before even attempting the spider. Luckily our Ranger had Clever Shot, so he just kept knocking the spider over, and we killed him comparatively easily. And then as we moved on to the final drow, everyone else had finished their games so a bunch of people stood around to watch/ help us out with the rules. It was a lot of fun. We eventually killed the final drow leaving me a mere 2 HP (and that's after being healed twice lol) and the rest of our party at least bloodied (with the exception of our ranger, who took no damage at all). When everything was over everyone clapped (not like a dramatic applause or anything, just some small clapping an a barely audible "Yay!")
It was an incredibly fun experience and I can't wait to go back later today to play some more.
My roommate, one of our friends and I are trying to get together a game, so far we have two other players but they're both total newbies. We were thinking of running the Pathfinder Adventure Path: Kingmaker, but we've never run it before. How would it go with a couple new players?
I feel like a lot of arguments are going to be raised over who gets to be king as well.
I feel like a lot of arguments are going to be raised over who gets to be king as well.
krypt0nian
Banned
Well tons of adjustments will have to be made, and it really works better if you have more people to run the council. Plus it's not a simple concept AP since it's almost fully a sandbox so another point against it being a newbie storyline.
I'd suggest the newly converted to Pathfinder/rereleased Rise of the Rulelord AP. Amazing story, more straightforward progression for new players, and really one of their very best experiences. They even have a plastic mini, as well as a Pawn box releasing based on the AP next month, so if you like that sort of pay, you're covered. Oh and a Player's Companion on Varisia, the land it's set in out as well. It's the 10 year anniversary of that AP so they've gone all out.
New edition of RotRL AP: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8tc0?...ath-Rise-of-the-Runelords-Anniversary-Edition
Cardboard Pawn Collection and bases: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8tj7?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Rise-of-the-Runelords-Pawn-Collection
Prepainted plastic RotRL mini set: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8rqs?Pathfinder-Battles-Rise-of-the-Runelords
http://www.pathfinderminis.com/gallery3.htm
Pathfinder Player Companion: Varisia, Birthplace of Legends - http://paizo.com/products/btpy8tim?Pathfinder-Player-Companion-Varisia-Birthplace-of-Legends
Can you tell how much I love Rise of the Rulelords?
krypt0nian
Banned
Way excited for Sunday night! I'm gianlly getting to try out Fiasco, and I've suggested a fun Call of Chtulhu Playset that I found online.
Anyone have experience with either the game, or the setup?
Fiasco for those new to it as well.
Video review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TP2QmN1P1M
Anyone have experience with either the game, or the setup?
Fiasco for those new to it as well.
Video review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TP2QmN1P1M
Funnily enough, this has just recently featured on Tabletop.
Here's a link to a PDF of the cards featured in the show.
Better late than never, but hopefully this grabs someones interest who hasn't seen or played it before. I've been nagging my gaming group to play it, so hopefully sometime soon.
From what I have heard from other people who have played it, they have had a great time with the Dragon Slayers playset. If it's not immediately apparent from the name alone, it's a D&D themed playset; so it's easy to identify with, even for those who haven't played an RPG in their life.
While I'm here, yesterday I received an RPG I ordered through Kickstarter last October. I am yet to have a read through it, but the concept certainly interested me when I first saw it. The artwork throughout the book is incredible, I'm glad they were able to raise enough funds to print it in colour. I'm also rather impressed with some of the names they got involved; seeing Jason Morningstar (creator of Fiasco) and Jason L Blair attached got me rather excited. I'm keen to see what their scenarios are like.
The front and back cover of Don't Walk in Winter Wood.
Lonesome_Raod
Member
We're up to about our fourth maybe fifth pathfinder session now playing once every 3-4 weeks. I am enjoying running the sessions but hope to inspire one of the players to maybe DM in the future as I would love to play. Our campaign is set to last a while yet though. We keep things quite focused at the table due to limited sessions/time and other stuff unique to an individual that takes up time is done via online messages.
EndcatOmega
Unconfirmed Member
Well, not sure how many other people care, but Exalted Third Edition is go. And, well, some other White Wolf stuff, but I've never gotten into WoD. I'll be so glad for a game system that doesn't require 300 pages of errata!
Oh boy! Can't wait to try Exalted 3e! What did they change?
EndcatOmega
Unconfirmed Member
Just the announcement- it's not out till December, though hints suggest they've custom built the system to be more streamlined and more fitting for cinematic play as opposed to slavishly sticking to Storyteller, more emphasis on helping ST/GM/DMs actually run games and a new artifact/magical system for everyone that will hopefully make artifacts actually unique instead of everyone just having the equivalent of Daiklaves +2.
Sounds exactly like what Exalted needed. Can't wait till December
New Kickstarter alert!
Greg Stolze is a super awesome guy who writes incredible RPGs and stories. I can't sing his praises enough.
He has just launched a Kickstarter for his project Better Angels. The tagline it's been given on the site is: "A demon gave you superpowers and it demands EVIL. Maybe a little over-the-top, thwartable villainy will keep it under control. Maybe."
It uses his very own One Roll Engine (ORE) and will no doubt be amazing like everything else he has ever done.
He's made his $5,000 goal in the first day, which isn't unusual for his RPG projects. He's hoping to reach $15,000 because that means he'll be able to do it in full colour. Have a look, hopefully it interests you. The awesome stuff he has done with Wild Talents, which is his supers game, should give you an idea of how cool this will be. $15 for the PDF or, $35 for the full paperback including postage is a great deal for you lucky US residents.
Edit: Part 2 of Fiasco on Tabletop has been released today. I have added the link to the post #610 also, where I talk about the game ever so briefly.
Greg Stolze is a super awesome guy who writes incredible RPGs and stories. I can't sing his praises enough.
He has just launched a Kickstarter for his project Better Angels. The tagline it's been given on the site is: "A demon gave you superpowers and it demands EVIL. Maybe a little over-the-top, thwartable villainy will keep it under control. Maybe."
It uses his very own One Roll Engine (ORE) and will no doubt be amazing like everything else he has ever done.
He's made his $5,000 goal in the first day, which isn't unusual for his RPG projects. He's hoping to reach $15,000 because that means he'll be able to do it in full colour. Have a look, hopefully it interests you. The awesome stuff he has done with Wild Talents, which is his supers game, should give you an idea of how cool this will be. $15 for the PDF or, $35 for the full paperback including postage is a great deal for you lucky US residents.
Edit: Part 2 of Fiasco on Tabletop has been released today. I have added the link to the post #610 also, where I talk about the game ever so briefly.
Past two weeks my DnD group started a new campaign. Though this campaign is our first time playing online. We use roll20.net which has a pretty good virtual table. The first week used the integrated video chat that roll20 offers, but it was pretty bad. Lots of echoes and delays. Roleplaying was awkward so we just stuck to playing mechanically for the most part. The second week we tried using google+ hangout for voice chat and it worked like a wonder. It was like we were in the same room again and the second game was a lot more fun.
As for the campaign itself, we're playing a custom western setting where magic is illegal, much like the Dark Sun setting. In the first game we escorted this caravan and fought some bandits at an oasis. Second game we cleaned up more bandits pretending to be traveling merchants, got to an elf village (elves are in a pretty sorry state in this setting) got some info on this supply cache we're looking for in a canyon. Investigated one of the caves in the canyon and almost got eaten by the giant borrowing insects we ran into.
As for the campaign itself, we're playing a custom western setting where magic is illegal, much like the Dark Sun setting. In the first game we escorted this caravan and fought some bandits at an oasis. Second game we cleaned up more bandits pretending to be traveling merchants, got to an elf village (elves are in a pretty sorry state in this setting) got some info on this supply cache we're looking for in a canyon. Investigated one of the caves in the canyon and almost got eaten by the giant borrowing insects we ran into.
I love that feeling of new campaigns. And it sounds like a nice setting, I love it when people genre-bend and I like it even more when people challenge the idea that fantasy must take place in some proxy of medieval Europe.
Our Dark Sun campaign has been going very good. What I like the most about it is the way every session seems to include one "Oh god, how in the fuck are we supposed to get out of that?" moment. There's almost always that feeling of we either think of something fast or we all die horribly. The beauty is, though, that we never get out of it through deus ex machina or some cheap bullshit, it feels right. That's very hard to do, our GM truly knows his stuff.
The website for Prime Time Adventures is taunting me. With this being the only information regarding 3e:
Last Twitter update: 7th January, 2012. Last Twitter update reference to Prime Time Adventures: 17th August, 2011.
Also, an RPG I knew nothing about until recently is going to print a new 2nd edition. 1,001 Nights now seeking funds on IndieGoGo. They reached their $1,001 goal ages ago. I stumbled across it when looking where to get it from.
I've heard it referred to lovingly as the "Yo Dawg" RPG. You essentially roleplay characters, who roleplay other characters in a story within a story. Sound complicated? It's really not. The 1st edition was like 20 pages of rules, which are pretty straighforward. Everything I've read and heard about it says about how cool, funny and memorable it is. Thought I'd throw this out there as a heads-up in case anyone was interested, especially since some people here really like this type of RPG.
Last Twitter update: 7th January, 2012. Last Twitter update reference to Prime Time Adventures: 17th August, 2011.
Also, an RPG I knew nothing about until recently is going to print a new 2nd edition. 1,001 Nights now seeking funds on IndieGoGo. They reached their $1,001 goal ages ago. I stumbled across it when looking where to get it from.
I've heard it referred to lovingly as the "Yo Dawg" RPG. You essentially roleplay characters, who roleplay other characters in a story within a story. Sound complicated? It's really not. The 1st edition was like 20 pages of rules, which are pretty straighforward. Everything I've read and heard about it says about how cool, funny and memorable it is. Thought I'd throw this out there as a heads-up in case anyone was interested, especially since some people here really like this type of RPG.
DeadPhoenix
Member
Yeah, more I think about summoners, the worst they sound. Awesome spell list(despite getting only 6 spell levels total) and a disposable companion that acts like a full base attack bonus class? Also, even one of the guys who works on the pathfinder books doesn't allow the class in his campaigns. Kinda glad no one is using it in my campaign...
Speaking of, a while back someone suggested not doing Kingmaker as a starter campaign... and while my group aren't exactly green, they aren't pros either, but I decided to give it a shot anyways and we did our first session on Wednesday. They are off to a nice start, though the Cavalier and the Rogue are doing all the cool shit so far. I'll try and figure something out for the rest though.
Both of these news sounds awesome
I just might join in on that 1,001 Nights fundraiser...
EndcatOmega
Unconfirmed Member
I'm not too familiar with Pathfinder, but are Summoners really worse than Wizards? I thought unlike Druids they kept their position of near-godhood.
Lonesome_Raod
Member
Something I am always interested in hearing from others who play these games are how heavily based their games are with the use of miniatures/battle mats or the power of imagination/the mind?
EndcatOmega
Unconfirmed Member
Depends entirely on the game; 4e (and to a lesser extent, 3.5) dnd practically requires it, and I sometimes use 'em for more combat heavy games like Deathwatch, but other games I try to stay vague as possible.
I mostly run/play irc/skype games, now, though, so I stick to the latter, though.
Speaking of game pieces and dry-erase battle mats, does anyone know a good place to get those, plus dice, for cheap? I'm going to be starting up a campaign with a new group and I need to get my DM gear together. It's okay, maybe even preferable, if the game pieces are generic instead of official DnD stuff since we're going to be using custom rules to play an campaign in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra.
I've heard good things about the Paizo wet/dry erase maps. I haven't used one, but considering the amount of people that use it, I think they're on to something.
For the pieces, might I recommend just using tokens? Here's a tutorial on how to make some 1" flat tokens, it uses TokenTool which is easy to use and you can make your own tokens using whatever art you want and print them out. Google Image Search will be your best friend when making some encounters. This is what my current GM does for our 4e games, though he has some rubber type thing as the base for the tokens, I don't know what they are, though I can ask him. He doesn't use a lot of glue so they remove easily and are reusable. Maybe pick up some isopropyl alcohol so you can remove the paper and glue residue much easier, since it is a great solvent.
My GM uses the printer at his work to do this, so it doesn't cost him anything. If you want to cheap out, you can always just print out tokens with generic words on them: Minion, Human, Monster, etc. Then number them for damage reference: Minion 1, Human 1, Monster 1, Minion 2, etc. This way they're reusable and players can just use their imagination.
As for dice, I'm not too sure. I bought a lot of mine from The Dice Shop, which is in the UK; GameStation would probably be better for the US. I use GameScience dice, because they roll a lot more fairly than others, but that's a whole other topic of discussion. I buy them uninked and just ink them myself with a Sharpie or a paint marker according to the GameScience colour chart. They're probably not what you call "cheap", but I think they're worth it. Since you're after the cheap option and I'll assume you're looking for some dice "for the table" so everyone can use them, you could always grab a Pound-o-Dice from Amazon or another retailer, it should give you enough dice for a few people, otherwise just look around for "Chessex" dice sets which should come in your standard packs with 7 different dice for about $5+.
DeadPhoenix
Member
As mentioned above, I do skype games as well and while I have done some games using the power of imagination, I personally prefer to play them with some kinda mapping program(currently using MapTools), but I'm also a huge FF Tactics fan(and Turn based Tactical games in general) so that is a big draw for me.
Excellent, this is exactly what I needed, especially the pound o' dice for the table. Using the token sounds like it will work great. Having tokens with graphic of characters from the show will really get players into the setting a lot more than using random DnD figures. Thanks a lot!
ThLunarian
Member
The play-by-post campaign I started a few months ago is still going strong in the Off Topic Community forum. Check it out here http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=473824 if you're interested in reading it.
I wouldn't mind having a fifth player, though; it's always good to shake up the dynamic (and as a safeguard in case someone unexpectedly gets banned; I don't want to have a game with fewer than 4 players). So if you would like to join this campaign, send me a PM and I will get you hooked up!
I wouldn't mind having a fifth player, though; it's always good to shake up the dynamic (and as a safeguard in case someone unexpectedly gets banned; I don't want to have a game with fewer than 4 players). So if you would like to join this campaign, send me a PM and I will get you hooked up!
How legal is it to create and sell a software character creator for a role playing game? Does Lone Wolf (the creator of Hero Lab) have to license the property before creating a bundle for each game?
I notice they just call D&D 4th Edition. I'm assuming because they don't have to rights to publish a 4e character builder?
I notice they just call D&D 4th Edition. I'm assuming because they don't have to rights to publish a 4e character builder?
From their site:
The reason they have to obtain licenses would mainly be down to the fact that they charge for their product. They're profiting off someone else's work, it's only fair they pay for the privilege.
There are a number of character creator/generators out there that aren't licensed nor do they have permission from the creator/publisher (I'm assuming). Most RPG creators and publishing houses couldn't care less that someone made a free chargen program for their product, they're more likely to be quite pleased about it because they know the community loves that shit. I've seen quite a few community created things co-opted by the creators.
A great one for Call of Cthulhu for example is the Byakhee CoC Character Generator. This has been around for ages and I doubt Chaosium cares; Call of Cthulhu has been around for 30+ years, it's not going anywhere.
You'll notice that they don't charge for 4e support. It's only rather basic support, though it does allow access to DDI if you have an account, for which you'd already be paying WoTC a monthly fee to access. They can't use the Dungeons & Dragons name because they haven't licensed it from WoTC, who already have their own in-house character generator included in their DDI subscription.
Hope that helps. Are you thinking of making your own variation, or just curious?
Just joined a play by post Kingmaker campaign on another forum and I'm going to be rolling a Summoner for the first time. Should be an interesting experience. The character idea is a merchant who has always had the unusual power to summon creatures, but he forsook it in favour of being a merchant since it was what his family wanted of him. However, when his wife died a brutal death he couldn't take his old life anymore and began to dig deeper and deeper into his power, as he took out his rage on bandits and orcs.
His eidolon has taken on the form of ghostly version of his dead wife.
First time I've played a character with a tragic past.
His eidolon has taken on the form of ghostly version of his dead wife.
First time I've played a character with a tragic past.
Just saw the kickstarter for Numenera by Monte Cook . I like the premise and art style, very close to backing it.
It would be more interesting if the hardcopy wasn't so pricey. Better Angels by Greg Stolze is also full-colour hardcover and shipped internationally is still $10 cheaper than that book sans shipping. Granted Better Angels is half the size, but another of Greg Stolze's books, 'Wild Talents', is just shy of 400 pages, full-colour hardcover and is $10 cheaper too. Bitching aside, congrats to Mr Cook for a successful Kickstarter that reached its target in a day.
In other Kickstarter news, 'The 13th Age' will be launching a Kickstarter for their expansion book on 13th August. Whilst they're still playtesting the corebook, they've said they're doing this so they can hopefully go straight into making the expansion after releasing the corebook, so less downtime to get multiclassing, the Monk, Druid and Chaos Shaman.
The art style is incredible. Watching this like a hawk.
Had my first real experience of PnP today with my first session of Pathfinder. I had only randomly selectively experience of DnD from the computer games, so I spent god knows how many hours just pouring over character creation. Traditionally I love being the melee badass damage dealer but I came out a Human Cleric.
Unfortunately I'll only get to play every Friday since the DM needs time to create the scenario over the week. This leaves me quite anxious since I was so hyped just during the character creation.
It was fun to say the least and was done over Skype. There's something quite fascinating with having to imagine the environment in your head, as well as interact within your character's personality.
Unfortunately I'll only get to play every Friday since the DM needs time to create the scenario over the week. This leaves me quite anxious since I was so hyped just during the character creation.
It was fun to say the least and was done over Skype. There's something quite fascinating with having to imagine the environment in your head, as well as interact within your character's personality.
BattleMonkey
Member
Last week we tried a new game that a buddy bought and it was fucking hilarious, Fratboys Vs. You need serious roleplayers for this game as it's narrative heavy and you want creative people, not those guys who will say one or two lines "in character" a whole game.
http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=16695
Essentially follow classic college teen movies but with the twist of things always going bad and charts are used to help create unique experiences each time. We set up a huge campus party where the strippers turned out to be werewolves.
http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=16695
Essentially follow classic college teen movies but with the twist of things always going bad and charts are used to help create unique experiences each time. We set up a huge campus party where the strippers turned out to be werewolves.
Fishing around for mobile app ideas. I downloaded the Hero Lab trial and find it to be really cumbersome to use, as are most char generators. Seems like a market that could really use some innovation.
I'm not really playing any RPGs at the moment but I'm still buying Shadowrun and Pathfinder source books out of interest.
I heard about this awesome game called 'Dungeon World' that had a Kickstarter which finished over a month ago. I sent the designers an email saying I missed out on the KS etc and asked when it will be available to non-backers, I hear it's awesome and would like to check it out.
They emailed me back saying the Kickstarter is all closed up, it's taking up all their time, the book should be out as early as the end of September, nothing concrete of course. But, here's a copy of the pre-release beta PDF and character sheets so you can pick-up and play!
I fucking love this hobby and those that contribute to it.
Well, if you make anything, be sure to keep us informed. Chargen on a mobile device or even as a web app so all devices can use it, is a great thing. Better Angels is doing something like that where you can save and edit already made characters; that sort of thing is great for GMs to have some NPCs on standby. Pelgrane press have one for Trail of Cthulhu called The Black Book, if anyone is interested.
They emailed me back saying the Kickstarter is all closed up, it's taking up all their time, the book should be out as early as the end of September, nothing concrete of course. But, here's a copy of the pre-release beta PDF and character sheets so you can pick-up and play!
I fucking love this hobby and those that contribute to it.
Well, if you make anything, be sure to keep us informed. Chargen on a mobile device or even as a web app so all devices can use it, is a great thing. Better Angels is doing something like that where you can save and edit already made characters; that sort of thing is great for GMs to have some NPCs on standby. Pelgrane press have one for Trail of Cthulhu called The Black Book, if anyone is interested.
Lonesome_Raod
Member
I'm looking forward to running my monthly Pathfinder session in the next week or so. Really wish we could play more. I also envy my players a bit too; stepping into the unknown, having adventures etc. I have also settled in to how much these guys can swerve the direction of the campaign.
Our table time is quite focused as time is limited so the players focus quite intently on working their way through the story and only wandering off the beaten trail now and then. There has been some interesting 'off table' developments with players messaging me stuff their characters get up to between games. I also encourage them to be pretty open with reviewing the campaign and so far all are saying they are having a blast. We have also settled on levelling up at set points in the story and they are soon to hit level 4.
Our table time is quite focused as time is limited so the players focus quite intently on working their way through the story and only wandering off the beaten trail now and then. There has been some interesting 'off table' developments with players messaging me stuff their characters get up to between games. I also encourage them to be pretty open with reviewing the campaign and so far all are saying they are having a blast. We have also settled on levelling up at set points in the story and they are soon to hit level 4.
For us in sweden, that is pretty much the normal price for a hardcover RPG book.
In Australia it's much, much worse. That's the price we can see for paperback RPG books. If it weren't for being able to buy overseas online, my book collection would be much smaller or I would be much poorer.
For example, the Call of Cthulhu RPG corebook paperback can be seen here between $45 and $57. The Wild Talents book I made an example of being a good deal at $40 in the US, well that can vary between $56 and $72 here, which seems abnormally cheap.
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
Is it seriously just shipping costs that drive it up so much?
Not at all. When things are shipped in en masse to distributors, it ceases to be a factor. Specifically, book distributors in this country are protected; no book store is allowed to source their books from elsewhere. Because of this stranglehold the Australian distributors have, the prices on books here are outrageous. Two large book store chains have had to close down a significant number of their shops to be able to stay in business, though it seems that won't help them keep their head above water for long.
People got wise to buying books, among other things, online (hardly surprising). That hasn't caused anyone to seriously stop and question the outrageous levels of 'protection' put in place that did nothing but assist the death of the book sales business in this country. Some people (namely one billionaire business owner) are screaming to apply taxes and whatnot to these online purchases instead of trying to fix the real problem. We could have every tax imaginable applied to products bought online as well as the shipping cost and still come out well ahead of local prices.
Lord British
Member
Hey guys. Checking in for advice. Great thread you have here.
I've never really DM'd before - did a game of Mutants and Masterminds, but it sucked. What's the best game for a complete novice to DM? I've played Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, M&M and Vampire.
I've never really DM'd before - did a game of Mutants and Masterminds, but it sucked. What's the best game for a complete novice to DM? I've played Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, M&M and Vampire.
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
Aussie business is more effed up that I had thought. I had no idea how protectionist it was.
I'm not the best person to reply to this, so fair warning, but I will try to help since this thread is even slower than usual. I hope I don't smell or something.
Don't expect to be brilliant when you first start GMing games, you'll make plenty of mistakes and you can learn from them. If the group you GMed for is willing to let you do so again, that's something that should put your mind at ease, because you were clearly doing something right.
Greg Stolze wrote a basic thing on How to Run Roleplaying Games, which is free and may help you out a little. Some of it may seem obvious or whatever, but it's worth a read.
Run the system that you are most comfortable with, so the story that you and your group want to create together can flow as smoothly as possible. If you just have a cool idea or concept and only basic knowledge of a system, read and grasp what you can of it by reading or borrowing whatever book/s you need and your group (hopefully helpful) rules lawyer can help you out where you're not sure on something.
Only general advice above, but I haven't GMed a game yet. I know a bunch about the games I like, but no experience actually GMing just yet. My first game will be run online, which presents a whole bunch of problems on top of the ones that are already present in the learning process for being a GM. This is compacted by the fact a number of them are first-timers.
Anyway, have fun with it man.
This was put in place exclusively on books to the best of my knowledge. Retailers of other goods are free to source elsewhere, but most don't (likely due to lengthy warranty claims and such).
Kickstarters!
Horror on the Orient Express
A re-release and redesign of the legendary Horror on the Orient Express campaign for Call of Cthulhu. With PDF and Boxed Set options containing incredible player handouts that will help bring your game to life at the table. I saw a previous printing, you'd think the "official" documents were the real deal.
13th Age: 13 True Ways
The first expansion book for the (still in production) 13th Age. Containing rules for multiclassing; new classes like the Druid, Monk, and Chaos Shaman; rules for dragon-riding; setting details, and more. Full colour PDF and hardcover options, as well as bundles with the corebook are available.
Reaper Minatures Bones
Not strictly RPG related, but there are a bunch of value miniature bundle options here that you may want to bring your RPG to life. The 'Vampire' tier has incredible value, currently sitting at 137 miniatures for $100 with more likely to come. Pay extra for your choice of some bigger miniatures or some bonus packs. Keep your eye on this one; it is the best planned Kickstarter project I have ever seen.
Wow, that's plenty cool. It's said to be a great campaign, if a bit heavy on the rail roading (lulz).
That said, I finally got to run a game last week, the first since moving across half my country and leaving my group behind. So meeting up during a short visit back home was great. It was a really cool scenario called Pits of Bendal Dolum picked from Cthulhu Classics, a pretty cool collection of scenarios. Visiting the Dreamlands and everything, yeaaaah. Halfway through I did realise that it was a bit too heavily rail roaded. They still seemed to have fun which is the most important thing of all, but I'd like to move away from that type of GM'ing in the future - starting with picking and creating scenarios that don't encourage players to mostly follow a line.
Of course I would need to find a group to play with more continuously in my new town or start Skype-gaming before worrying about this
Scalemail Ted
Member
This is an incredible kickstarter!
Wow, that's plenty cool. It's said to be a great campaign, if a bit heavy on the rail roading (lulz).
That said, I finally got to run a game last week, the first since moving across half my country and leaving my group behind. So meeting up during a short visit back home was great. It was a really cool scenario called Pits of Bendal Dolum picked from Cthulhu Classics, a pretty cool collection of scenarios. Visiting the Dreamlands and everything, yeaaaah. Halfway through I did realise that it was a bit too heavily rail roaded. They still seemed to have fun which is the most important thing of all, but I'd like to move away from that type of GM'ing in the future - starting with picking and creating scenarios that don't encourage players to mostly follow a line.
Of course I would need to find a group to play with more continuously in my new town or start Skype-gaming before worrying about this
I've heard that too, the 'railroad' thing always comes up too, haha. I haven't read through it, but looking at a friends copy, it looks so good. I wouldn't dare ask to borrow it for a read, the handouts are far too precious. I'm glad they're looking at the other language productions for reference, the Italian and French version I've seen of this and Masks of Nyarlathotep and others look amazing to say the least. I almost want to buy them because of how great they look (some people have done exactly that).
Glad to hear you got to play again in your new location. Was that a one-off or aren't they able to meet on a regular basis? Edit: Oh, I think I misread that bit, you squeezed in a game with your old group during the short visit, yes?
One thing with that investigative type of game, it doesn't have to be railroady, but there are places investigators have to go for the necessary clues to be discovered. I don't mind that as it's more of an experience/vibe thing, but as long as it's not an actual "nah, you can't go there now... it's closed... all attempts to pick locks, open the window, break down the door fail" railroad, because that's rubbish. Some of the older scenarios have a very narrow path though, which it seems you came across.
On The Pits of Bendal-Dolum, how's this for some concept art for the Moonbeasts featured within?
I haven't read the scenario, but that art makes me want to.
Robin D. Laws wrote a campaign for Trail of Cthulhu called 'The Armitage Files'. He wrote it intentionally to prove that a sandbox style game can be done with this system/game type. It's gotten some rave reviews and, by the sounds of it, worth owning even if you don't own or run ToC because of the cool ideas and concepts it has. I own it, but haven't read it yet. I'll get around to it when I'm more ready to lean towards the ToC system, as I really like some of the stuff it does, plus some of the scenarios written for it seem really cool, with that modern game design mindset.
Related to the Chaosium Kickstarter, I would love them to reprint 'Beyond the Mountains of Madness'.
Fake edit: I have this Mystery Organiser I found online somewhere, I've uploaded it to my Dropbox for you to have a look. It's clearly for writers, but it can easily be re-purposed for an investigative RPG like CoC. This might be useful if you want to have a crack at writing your own scenario at some point, or adapt and/or expand on an existing one.
If I could afford it, I totally would; carry case and everything. Even if it was just to teach myself to paint.