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Post by Piper on Mar 14, 2020 9:55:05 GMT -6
I got together with tetramorph and some other locals and played OD&D last night, as we do every Friday evening. I've been trying to branch out in these games as a player. I often play Fighting-Men, because my work often prevents my attendance and I figure an FM is most easily replaceable with an NPC. Lately, I've been trying to play other types, an Elf in the early level game we played last night, for example. Gaming with OD&D and socializing is my measure of sanity in a world increasingly crowded with noise. How's your gaming these days? |
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Post by creativehum on Mar 14, 2020 10:23:03 GMT -6
I started a gaming group 4 1/2 years ago... almost on a whim. I'd been reading up on the OSR, bought a bunch of modules (specifically Lamentations of the Flame Princess), thought "This could be cool? But would it work?" and decided to try it out.
We've now played almost every Monday night for all that time. We live close enough to each other and its become a regular part of our lives. We switch out games and GMs and it's been great.
With a lot of my city social-distancing right now (and the wives of one of my players being at risk for low-immunity issues) we've decided to try online playing.
So I've done a bunch of research over the last couple of days. We don't need a virtual tabletop, only video conferencing. After looking around we'll be using Google Hangouts, perhaps supplemented by Roll20 if the game or the GM wants it.
Right now we are playing Silent Titans with the Into the Odd rules. Next up will be Forbidden Lands. And then I'm thinking of using Delving Deeper in the setting of Dolmenwood along with Barrowmaze. (I also really want to run King Arthur Pendragon.)
Looking forward to seeing how it all goes on Monday!
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Post by asaki on Mar 15, 2020 1:26:23 GMT -6
My main gaming group decided to take some time off, but another group has an event planned for next weekend, and we're waiting to see what happens.
The main group, we're still figuring out if we want to do any virtual role-playing or not.
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 17, 2020 13:37:29 GMT -6
I rarely game these days. I used Tabletop Simulator lately, but I was with friends. For some reason, my headphones don't work in TTS, although they work on Steam. I need to figure out how to fix it so I can do some online gaming.
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Post by thegreyelf on Mar 17, 2020 14:15:32 GMT -6
I have two gaming groups: one Sunday and one Friday. All are comprised (with one person excepted) of people that I have known for DECADES. We are all trusting each other to do what is needed to stay healthy, and to not show up if there's any chance someone might be infected. Other than that, we are gaming as usual. We are all agreed that we need this semblance of normalcy in our lives to stay sane in this lunacy, and that includes seeing other humans, in person and not online.
My wife is a licensed professional counselor and I myself have some degree of formal education in psychology. What nobody is addressing is the basic, provable fact that human beings need direct interpersonal contact with others for our mental health. It's been demonstrated time and time again though countless large scale psychological studies. It's also been proven that shifting to online contact not only doesn't work, it's actually detrimental to psychological health.
Put in very base terms, we are by instinct and psychological need, herd animals who are building a society that encourages misanthropy...and that's eventually going to do a lot of harm. Now this current social distancing isn't necessarily part of that particular kind of encouragement, but the end result will be similar and it's kind of an enforced version of the endgame OF that particular societal development. It'll be intriguing from an academic standpoint to see the fallout, and horrific from an interpersonal one.
So, short answer: yeah, my groups are both meeting as usual until we can't. We need it.
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Post by asaki on Mar 18, 2020 2:34:26 GMT -6
...another group has an event planned for next weekend, and we're waiting to see what happens. Other group has decided to go virtual. |
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Post by creativehum on Mar 18, 2020 8:38:45 GMT -6
...another group has an event planned for next weekend, and we're waiting to see what happens. Other group has decided to go virtual. If your group can do it (with solid enough bandwidth) I would recommend using video conferencing tools if you can. You can find free video on Google Hangouts, Zoom, Skype, or Discord. (I know Roll20 has video, but I have heard it isn't great, and people tend to suplmement it with one of the applications I just listed.) Tele-therapy has been broadly in use for over a decade and research suggests that's it is as effective as in person visits. If it is good enough for the connection of therapists and clients I think it will be good enough for a session of D&D. ("Social media" -- whcih is its own, seperate thing is, I assume, a distinct activity, lacking face-to-face interaction, visual cues, and the direct focus one might find in a video call.) I would not wish needing to play on Discord over in-person on anyone over being able to play in person. And greyelf listed very solid concerns about limits of many kinds of online communication. But given the circumstances (global pandemic) I'm glad these tools are here and avaible. So, if your group has decided to do this I suggest looking into them. |
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Post by ffilz on Mar 18, 2020 11:21:18 GMT -6
I've been running and playing in games online using Roll20 + Google Video Chat for several years now. It's a great way to get the gaming on when it's impractical to leave the house. Through this I have gamed with folks around the US plus New Zealand that I never would otherwise have the chance to game with.
In addition to this, I've been doing play by post for more than 10 years, running two games here (both have possibilities for more players) and running and playing in games on Unseen Servant.
I haven't had an in person gaming session for something like 5 years now.
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Post by asaki on Mar 20, 2020 3:33:14 GMT -6
If your group can do it (with solid enough bandwidth) I would recommend using video conferencing tools if you can. I must have posted this in a different thread (or maybe a different forum), but this "other group", we've done virtual before, when the DM was out-of-country. We started with Discord voice, but were having tons of issues, so switched to Skype. Some of us had our cameras on, but it didn't seem to add anything to the game. We used Roll20 for a while, and then switched to Fantasy Grounds. I'm not a huge fan of voice chat...I have hearing issues, and I've always felt weird talking to machines instead of people, but I didn't have too many problems last time we ran. It's just something different to get used to. |
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 20, 2020 5:19:23 GMT -6
I've never games remotely before (other than a few short experiences in play-by-post) but with the Zombie Apocalypse upon us my work wanted me to do a "google meet" department meeting the other day so I was forced to learn how some of that stuff worked. Then yesterday a couple of students wanted to do something online so that I could explain a few concepts to them and I invited them to one of those "google meet" things successfully so that we could see each other while we talked. Now my brain evolves to, "we should do this for remote D&D!"  |
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Post by creativehum on Mar 20, 2020 6:11:15 GMT -6
I've never games remotely before (other than a few short experiences in play-by-post) but with the Zombie Apocalypse upon us my work wanted me to do a "google meet" department meeting the other day so I was forced to learn how some of that stuff worked. Then yesterday a couple of students wanted to do something online so that I could explain a few concepts to them and I invited them to one of those "google meet" things successfully so that we could see each other while we talked. Now my brain evolves to, "we should do this for remote D&D!" My group has only played online once so far (this past Monday) so I'm no expert on it. But if you decide to press forward check to tools like Google Jamboard or AWW board. These let everyone share a single white board -- draw diagrams, show positioning, and so on. When the GM opened up the white board before a fight for the first time everyone jumped in, showing positioning and so on. It went great. |
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Post by sirclarence on Mar 21, 2020 4:03:44 GMT -6
No gaming in person these days. It's unjustifiable. We play by Skype only, which is meh, but better than nothing.
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Post by tetramorph on Mar 21, 2020 8:00:45 GMT -6
We’ve moved online.
I’m using Zoom.
It worked perfectly and allows screen share and a shared kind of white board.
Since I require mapping and use theatre of the mind for combat, it was all we needed.
Stay healthy and
Fight on!
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 21, 2020 20:11:24 GMT -6
My friends recommend Discord. We had some trouble with Tabletop Simulator last night, but we were able to sort it out, kinda.
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Post by sirclarence on Mar 22, 2020 2:06:57 GMT -6
No gaming in person these days. It's unjustifiable. Apologies if I gave offense. Thanks for sharing your modern solution to this age-old problem. Now let's roll some dice! No offense meant. I just wanted to point out that it's easy to forget that even gatherings with small groups of close friends are dangerous these days and might help to spread the disease. We can be thankful to have online solutions at hand because we can game on this way.  |
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azera
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 36
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Post by azera on Mar 22, 2020 4:17:23 GMT -6
I've turned to skype, though I mean to try out zoom since it seems like a better teleconferencing tool. To follow on sirclarence , please keep in mind that people can be asymptomatic carriers for up to 2 weeks (and potentially longer, since who knows how the virus might start mutating); that even if none of your close friends have showed symptoms, you also have to consider anyone else they've been in contact with (and anyone else those people have been in contact with), which quickly spirals out of practical control unless you've been a complete shut-in; and that the infection can cause plenty of harm (including seemingly-permanent damage) to the respiratory system even if it doesn't kill. Ultimately, everyone has to make their own decisions about how much risk they can accept, and as thegreyelf said, some interpersonal contact is necessary for humans to function properly, but please try to keep safe when you can |
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 26, 2020 22:22:45 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Mar 26, 2020 22:52:10 GMT -6
I've played four virtual games in the last week so far!
Last Saturday it was on Roll20, play-testing a friend's Virtual Gary Con game, a Scooby Doo/Fallout mash-up run using Savage Worlds. This was my first ever virtual game!
Yesterday evening it was via Zoom, where I joined in an out-state friend's group, playing Barrowmaze run using BFRPG.
Today I played in two Virtual Gary Con games: Firefly RPG game on Google Hangouts, and a Tunnels & Trolls game on a combination of Roll20 (for visuals) and Discord (for voice). First time I've played Tunnels & Trolls...!
And I've got at least 5 more VGC games coming up in the next three days. It's a crash course in on-line gaming platforms!
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Post by dizzysaxophone on Mar 27, 2020 0:42:04 GMT -6
Last week I played with Carl & Chrispy of Save or Die podcast in a game, and tomorrow I'll be enjoying some Virtual Gary Con with Pete Spahn running his Operation Whitebox. Saturday night some of my buds want to roll characters for another game. I haven't really gamed since North Texas RPG Con last summer, so it has been a nice week!
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Post by hamurai on Mar 27, 2020 2:04:40 GMT -6
I played Numenera with my usual Tuesday group on Tuesday, OD&D with my D&D 5E group on Wednesday (some loved it, some hated it...) and yesterday I had to fill in for our 5E DM on very short notice and since I had set up HeroQuest (the board game) on Roll20 for a while now, I decided to play HQ as a role-playing game (*) with the rest of the group. Went really well, that was probably the most fun of the three games.
(*) In case you wonder how:
Character Creation
Well, we used the 4 heroes as class/race templates (so, Barbarien/Fighter, Dwarf, Elf, Wizard), players were allowed to reallocate 3 stat points (stats are Body and Mind).
Fighters start with a better weapon than usual (3 dice for attacks) or a better armor (3 dice for defense).
Dwarves can disarm traps without equipment and a 1 die-bones to spot them underground.
Elves get 1 pack of spells (earth, water, fire or air) as long as their Mind is 3+.
Wizards get 1 pack of spells for every 2 points of Mind, so standard is 3 packs.
As an additional I allowed the "Other" class with a free distribution of 10 stat points for a human of another profession. My example was the classic Thief who would start with a Tool set needed to disarm traps and a 1 die-bonus to spot traps, but my players liked the board game templates so much we ended up with a Barbarian, a Dwarf and an Elf.
Rules
Combat as in the board game.
Spells are regained after a long rest.
1d6 stat points are regained after a long rest. 1 stat point is regained after a short rest. (Note that Mind points would be lost when attacked by some spells, or fear and insanity, but that didn't happen in this one-shot.)
After combat, players could loot the fallen. I used the board game loot cards and each player was allowed to draw one card. If the encounter had at least 2 enemies for each player, they would also draw a total of 1 equipment card.
Skill checks are made with combat dice: Half the relevant stat (Body or Mind), round up. These are your skill dice for the test. At least 1 hero shield is needed to succeed. More shields mean better results. (This worked really well.)
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azera
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 36
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Post by azera on Mar 27, 2020 4:37:03 GMT -6
Once I started getting into it and worked out the major A/V hiccups, I've found this online thing to be pretty good! Sure, it's annoying that you have to choose between using real dice or using something online that lets everyone see the rolls together (unless you've got a fancy facecam+dicecam set up, I guess, but I'm not so saavy  ), and there are little things like restricting gestures and body language to what fits in the camera view or being a little more confusing to sort out multiple people talking at once, but it hasn't been as much of a step back from playing in person as I'd feared. And hell, maybe it's just from everyone else being cooped up in their own bubbles, or maybe it's that not having to worry about meat-space issues like traveling or bringing snacks for everyone makes it feel more convenient, but I've been gaming more often than I had been before! Got a third straight day of playing lined up, which is something I haven't done since I was in school  |
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Post by aldarron on Mar 27, 2020 5:17:07 GMT -6
We’ve moved online. I’m using Zoom. It worked perfectly and allows screen share and a shared kind of white board. Since I require mapping and use theatre of the mind for combat, it was all we needed. Stay healthy and Fight on! Sounds like that might work for me too. Zoom seems to be the better option out of the teleconferencing programs, and I'm not sure what advantage the VTT's have to offer for an OD&D player (anybody?). I've been on discord for years in theory, but I've yet to really understand how to navigate and properly use the thing, but that would be the other service that seems attractive if I knew how to use it. So anyway it is really interesting for me to read the various experiences you guys have had with the different options. |
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Post by Piper on Mar 27, 2020 21:08:15 GMT -6
Doing a virtual game right now with tetramorph on Zoom. We're having a blast and it's almost as good as face-to-face gaming. |
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 28, 2020 3:38:17 GMT -6
I finished a MERP game the other day. Planning my next game. I may run B/X this time.
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 28, 2020 4:41:35 GMT -6
Playing solo is another option. I used to do that a lot when I didn't have a regular group. I still play solo once in a while, although not as often nowadays.
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Post by asaki on Mar 28, 2020 21:00:27 GMT -6
I've been thinking about cracking open my old Fighting Fantasy books, or maybe some Tunnels & Trolls...could even run it semi-two-player with the girlfriend...
...but I've been playing lots of videogames instead... ¬_¬
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Dohojar
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 119 
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Post by Dohojar on Mar 29, 2020 8:53:53 GMT -6
My gaming group is on hiatus. We can't play online as only one or two of them have a computer. I run a game for my son and his friends and the range in age from 17 - 20. It's too bad too because it really helps a guy to escape from the shirt that is going on in the world right now.
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Post by greentongue on Apr 6, 2020 9:34:43 GMT -6
What can be done with Tabletop Simulator is simply amazing. From a table with a sheet of paper on it to fully animated 3D set pieces. As close to sitting at a table with friends as I have seen except for not having video input from the players. Not that I miss that, just something missing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3VErxcD9hc |
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Post by stonetoflesh on Apr 6, 2020 10:23:46 GMT -6
Most of my RPG play has been online for a couple years now (my groups are scattered around the US), so the current situation hasn't caused much gaming disruption. We've been using a combination of Google Hangouts for A/V and Roll20 for the dice roller, whiteboard, and handouts, which works fine; I mostly run ToTM, so thankfully there's no need to muck around with all the extra VTT features.
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muddy
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 159
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Post by muddy on Apr 6, 2020 11:56:00 GMT -6
I'm quite interested in trying to run a game online but am unsure of the best way to go, and don't understand the variety of options or decisions (for example, why do some use one platform for everything except voice, which for which they use discord?). My requirements are minimal:
- I'd like to have about 6 players, and see them simultaneously - so google hangouts, which I am most familiar with, seems out because as far as I can tell it is limited to about three (four?) faces at a time, with the result that others are popping in and out as they speak.
- I'd like a easy learning curve, bc I don't need much mainly voice and video, and some of the people I will be playing with aren't tech savvy at all - Discord seems out, I tried with a friend and we got no where.
- The whiteboard sharing feature would also be very nice. And I haven't been able to figure that out on G Hangouts, either.
- Zoom seems popular, but it has been getting bad press recently for security and other concerns. EDIT: Zoom group meetings also seem to be limited to 40 mins?
Any thoughts / help i appreciated.
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), and there are little things like restricting gestures and body language to what fits in the camera view or being a little more confusing to sort out multiple people talking at once, but it hasn't been as much of a step back from playing in person as I'd feared.
