The Dungeons & Dragons Thread

[kerbiloid]

23 minutes ago, Kernel Kraken said:

What if we made a thread for a forum wide game of DnD?

Kerbal 9 lvl, orange suit armor gives fire protection +3, spell of Immediate Wing (opens a large brown wing on ropes on "P")

Kerbaatezu aka Kraken.

And medieval 3d scenery, like castles. (Why not, I had added a static giant human person sitting on VAB building.)

Edited August 14, 2018 by kerbiloid

[Kernel Kraken]

40 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

Kerbal 9 lvl, orange suit armor gives fire protection +3, spell of Immediate Wing (opens a large brown wing on ropes on "P")

Kerbaatezu aka Kraken.

And medieval 3d scenery, like castles. (Why not, I had added a static giant human person sitting on VAB building.)

Halfling rogue, level 1. I gotta find the character sheet, but I know it has like +7 stealth and not much else going for it. It's a bit OP for getting past enemies but all the other stats are trash.

[TheSaint]

1 hour ago, Kernel Kraken said:

I played it a few times last year during lunch hour. A friend bought a starter kit and we never got to finish. Eventually he just stopped bringing it.

What if we made a thread for a forum wide game of DnD? That'd be cool.

See, for me it is all about the face-to-face interaction. I don't think I could get into it online. For me it's all about the hardcopy books, the pen-and-paper characters, the figures on the battlemat, the rolling dice. What can I say, I'm old school. Or, maybe I'm just old.

[StrandedonEarth]

My sons are wanting to start playing D&D (I never did; but I played similar things a time or two). Seems kinda expensive to get set up, from what they’re looking at. Not sure it’s all necessary. Figurines at CAD40 ea?

[TheSaint]

21 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

My sons are wanting to start playing D&D (I never did; but I played similar things a time or two). Seems kinda expensive to get set up, from what they’re looking at. Not sure it’s all necessary. Figurines at CAD40 ea?

Psssst....

Complete roleplaying system with counters, modular hexes for combat layouts, and three adventures included, for USD60.

It's not D&D, but it's another system I used to play around with when I was in grade school/jr. high that the author just re-obtained the rights to. If I had known they were reprinting TFT four months ago before I started our game, I would have totally used that instead of GURPS for my kids first RPG experience. Much simpler and faster moving.

If figures are too expensive, but cardboard counters aren't making the experience for you: Cardboard Characters. Print them out on 110lb cardstock, stand them up in some plastic stands. That's what we're doing in our current campaign.

[MDZhB]

2 hours ago, Kernel Kraken said:

What if we made a thread for a forum wide game of DnD? That'd be cool.

pretty sure there's a rule against roleplay on the forums.

[Kernel Kraken]

1 hour ago, MDZhB said:

pretty sure there's a rule against roleplay on the forums.

Then we can put it in forum games or a private chat.

[Green Baron]

2 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

My sons are wanting to start playing D&D (I never did; but I played similar things a time or two). Seems kinda expensive to get set up, from what they’re looking at. Not sure it’s all necessary. Figurines at CAD40 ea?

One definitely does not need figurines for the table top game. A little imagination, a lot of paper, pencil, rubber, colored pens, dice, and that's it. Main problem was to get >=4 people to play together regularly.

For AD&D one needs the dungeon master's guide for the dungeon master as his lecture, not the players' :-) A monster guide might help but isn't necessary either. Players should read the player guide and have a set of dice each. I just see that nothing has changed on that front. Character sheets can be made from plain paper with a little imagination and pens and so on. Anyway it is more fun that way i think.

The game lived with a good DM, and i think little has changed on that front as well. Maybe a few sessions and if the DM lacks the necessary imagination or experience one or two ready made adventures. A little practice doesn't hurt until everything runs smooth.

Thinks i

Edited August 14, 2018 by Green Baron

[Vanamonde]

Whatever happened to that game/software which was supposed to allow a DM to make up the adventure as the players went along? It had a Baldur's Gate-kind of look to it but was supposed to play like PnP D&D? This was maybe 2 years ago. 

[TheSaint]

9 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

Whatever happened to that game/software which was supposed to allow a DM to make up the adventure as the players went along? It had a Baldur's Gate-kind of look to it but was supposed to play like PnP D&D? This was maybe 2 years ago. 

Never heard of it. But it sounds nifty.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

I've never played pen and paper RPGs before, although I've always kind of been interested in trying it. I'm keeping my ear to the ground for a group that is open to newbs like me.  

11 hours ago, Kernel Kraken said:

I played it a few times last year during lunch hour. A friend bought a starter kit and we never got to finish. Eventually he just stopped bringing it.

What if we made a thread for a forum wide game of DnD? That'd be cool.

I think that'd probably be more time commitment than could work well for most people.

What might work better is something like roll to dodge, although it would require either: A) moderator blessing as long as it is played completely cooperatively with no in-character dialogue, or B) on a second forum, with only meta discussion and addition of members happening on this forum.

[Orc]

Greets all,

 

Played DnD, ADnD, Traveller (original version), Gamma World (version 1 and 2) in high school. After high school I went in hibernation mode until (I think) around '98 when I rediscovered RPGs. Ran some ADnD and then something based on Twilight 2K, then I stumbled onto Alternity. Alternity is awesome. And fun, and quick, and has a universal game mechanism that applies to 99.99 % of all in-game situations. Had much fun with a varied group of players, especially playing a variant on the DarkMatter campaign setting. Then World of Warcraft happened. WoW ate my players and the only response I ever got from them again was to join them (on the Dark Side).

 

Anyway, Ork still mourns.

 

REgards

ORk

[Harry Rhodan]

17 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Seems kinda expensive to get set up, from what they’re looking at. Not sure it’s all necessary. Figurines at CAD40 ea?

Depends on how they want to play and what they expect of the game but all DnD 5e podcasts I'm following don't use grid maps and figurines for their fights. So all they need are the books, their character sheets and dice. There's also a starter set with abridged rules, premade characters and a campaign for about 20$.

[tater]

I first played something like D&D without any rules at all.

My friend (next door neighbor) had heard of it, and so had I, but we had no books. So we sat around on some rainy summer days and he just made up a story that I drove the decisions of. He had a couple dice, and just made everything up as he went along. We had fun.

[razark]

I've got a group that meets weekly, for the last eight years (some members even longer), for gaming.  D&D (3.5), World of Darkness, and a handful of other games, including one guy's homebrewed sci-fi system.  We usually run a couple of games at a time, alternating each week, and switching out who is running the game.

[DAL59]

Kerbal

Alignment: Kerbals tend toward Chaotic, for obvious reasons.

Size: Small

Ability score improvement: Your intelligence score increases by 2

Photosynthesis: While you are in sunlight you do not need to eat.

Permanent spacesuit: While you have at least one hp, you cannot suffocate, and you have resistance to radiant and cold damage. Your suit shines bright light forward for 15 feet, and dim light for another 15 feet.

Agent of chaos: You have 3 chaos points you regain after a long rest.  You spend one point to force any creature you can see to reroll, to perform a wild magic surge, or to roll on the table of 10,000 random magical effects. 

Bouncy head: You can make a DC10 dexetrity saving throw to attempt to land on your head when you fall.  On a success, you take no damage.

Subraces

Pilot:

You gain +2 to Charisma and -1 to Wisdom 

You have proficiency in vehicle use.

You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.

Scientist: 

You gain +2 to wisdom.

You have disadvantage on saving throws against being frightened.

You can determine the composition of any substance you touch, but not its magical properties.

Engineer:

You gain +2 to dexterity.

You have disadvantage on saving throws against being frightened.

You have proficiency(or double proficiency if you already have proficiency) in checks used to analyze or repair machines.

 

Edited August 15, 2018 by DAL59

[tater]

26 minutes ago, razark said:

I've got a group that meets weekly, for the last eight years (some members even longer), for gaming.  D&D (3.5), World of Darkness, and a handful of other games, including one guy's homebrewed sci-fi system.  We usually run a couple of games at a time, alternating each week, and switching out who is running the game.

 

[Lithobrake]

Wow! Glad to see how many people responded to my thread! I currently play 5e D&D. MY favorite classes are Paladin, Ranger and Rogue.

[DAL59]

1. Spellcasting sequence for star travel:
2.  
3. 1. Get to orbit. Either use several fly spells to ascend to the vacuum, then accelerate to orbital speed (fly speed is now inapplicable) or greater teleport directly to synchronous orbit. A wide miss on the greater teleport will still be in orbit.
4.  
5. 2. Get to solar orbit. A wand of fly as 100k delta v.
6.  
7. 3. Determine the rule for wall of force by casting one above you. It will either snap to you or snap to the sun's surface (which is rotating).
8.  
9. If it snaps to you:
10.  
11. 4a. Cast a wall of force at an angle of tan-1(20 feet/second / c / 2) off the target star.
12. 4b. Get 60 feet away at 90 degrees from trajectory to star.
13. 4c. Cast feather fall
14. 4d. Close on the first wall of force at 20 feet/second
15. 4e. Cast another wall of force an angle of tan-1(20 feet/second / c / 2) off the target star opposite to the first.
16. 4f. Increase to 40 feet/second. Ready action on hitting wall, cast Resilient sphere.
17.  
18. If it snaps to the star:
19.  
20. 4a. Raise orbit so that you would need a velocity of just under c to stay over its surface. Wait until your orbit is aligned.
21. 4b. Cast feather fall.
22. 4c. Cast wall of force behind you. You might need to angle it so you get kicked off the star's rotiational plane.
23.  
24. 5. Wait until you approach target star, recasting any stuff you need to survive. When you can see planets, use fly spell to adjust course to hit one. The sequence in 4 can be used to stop you again if need be.
25.  
26. 6. Cast feather fall and slam into planet.
27.  
28. 7. Cast teleportation circle every day for a year to create a permanent stargate.

[KSK]

I used to do quite a lot of roleplaying but then I took a D20 to the knee, went to university. And, whilst I wouldn’t have had any problems finding some like minded people there too, there was also a bunch of other stuff to get involved with, so I never got around to pen and paper gaming again.

Favoured systems back in the day - mainly Iron Crown stuff: Middle-Earth Roleplaying System and Rolemaster.

Fast-forward a decade or two and I’m finally back into another game! As in, the first session was last night, the party has just met up and we’re all (GM included) kinda fumbling through the rules (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, new edition) and getting into the swing of things.

And it’s an absolute blast! Good GM, a solid story (not that we really got through much of it) and some very interesting characters in the party. Speaking of which, whilst it’s not quite up in the ‘getting involved in a land war in Asia’ ranks of Classic Blunders, ‘handing a character sheet to a wannabe writer with a penchant for backstories and world building’ surely counts at some level.  

Yeah - I may have gotten a little bit carried away with my character biography.

Last night’s tale of fire and fish also turned out to be a fun writing prompt and as the OP was asking for stories if anyone cared to share...

Spoiler

Konistag, 12th of Kaldezeit

One of those days that makes a man question his life choices. 

Even by the undemanding standards of Rattendorf, the weather was atrocious. Which probably explains the almost complete absence of trade at The Tank. Same pitch as always, new goods for sale and a whole six brass to show for it come sundown. I couldn't even shift any of the crazy herb lady's flower drawings, which was a first. Generally, it's all I can do to keep the haggling civilised when a pair of customers both take a shine to one of Greta's pictures.

Still, Kingsglaive made a fair offer for the pickled fish. One gold a keg minimum and a better than usual split with Wilhelm. I had some hope of making two gold a keg, although four was never going to happen unless that unlamented cook of his managed to poison himself on his own concoctions and somebody competent took over the stew pot for the night.

Poor choice of words there, I suppose.

I should have finished my beer and turned in for the night as soon as I'd made sure that Kingsglaive's boys weren't going to leave Blankenhock lying in the gutter. Which, given that he was slapping his own face and blabbering about bees at the time, wasn't exactly a done deal. Instead, I went back inside and found Greta with her face in some poor Fenman's plate of stew. Come to think of it, he looked more relieved than unhappy to be deprived of his supper. Long story short, the stew was mostly bog octopus. Which turns out to be poisonous if not properly prepared and pickled. And guess whose kegs of fish the bog octopus came from?

Kingsglaive was not happy. Not that he's ever a fount of all mirth, but this was special. Special enough to wipe the smirk off Wilhelm’s face at any rate, once I told him about it. Words were exchanged with the good Wilhelm about the provenance of certain casks and the importance of correctly pickling one's bog octopus (for want of a better turn of phrase). He swore up, down, sideways, and probably on Greta's petticoats too, that he had nothing to do with it. For once I believed him.

Did I mention Crazy Herb Lady the 2nd? Her of the long braids, sparkly ear-cuff (or whatever that thing strapped to her face was) and a surprisingly commanding manner with the bar staff. No idea if she actually does herbs but she had some of the same style of curiosity that Greta does. Not to mention all those clothes. Looks like she gets something new to wear and just piles it on top of last year’s clothing. She’s going to fit right in in Rattendorf, I’d say.

Truth be told, I don't think she was too impressed when yours truly grabbed her braid but, in fairness, it was dangling in my eye at the time. Out in the wilds, anything threatening to dangle in a man's eye is apt to be bad news. A number of astonishingly venomous snakes lurk on tree branches. Spiders too.

Ye gods, I'm talking about poison again.

Then, to put the cracked leather cap on the whole evening, Lady Braids began creeping up on a group of Fenmen, just before one of them burst into flames. Now I don't mind trying to calm a bar fight down (and Wilhelm definitely has a certain way about him when it comes to such matters) but neither of us felt inclined to argue with whoever (or whatever) had taken such a incendiary dislike to Herr Fenman. Neither was Lady Braids it seemed. As for Greta - she cleared the bar from a standing start and hit the ground running. Rather impressive actually.

Wilhelm and I grabbed the unopened kegs of octopus (what can I say - I made a promise to Kingsglaive) and followed them.

 

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by KSK

[miamijuggler]

I've been a Pen-and-Paper roleplayer since the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons days. Usually off and on, as I can find groups and players.

I had a pretty consistent group where we would play every week for about two years before I left Miami. We played all sorts of systems: Pathfinder, DnD 5th, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Wars, Spycraft. 

Here on the West Coast, it's a bit less consistent, but still enough to scratch the itch. I love the stories that we get to tell collaboratively, and how each player will shape and twist the narrative in new and exciting ways.

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but has anyone used Roll20? I'm interested in trying it out, but not sure I can swing it as a DM. Perhaps someone has an open player slot? 

Let me know!

 

--miamijuggler

[TheSaint]

On 8/13/2018 at 3:55 PM, TheSaint said:

It's funny. I told my players (most of whom just happen to be my wife and kids) before we ever started that if they don't want to be heroes they shouldn't play in my campaign. My campaigns always start off innocuously enough, a small adventure here, a minor job there. But they always pretty rapidly evolve into a desperate epic quest to save at least the kingdom, if not the world. They will probably lose everything, and may very well wind up dying. But they will probably get a public school named after them.

Take my current campaign, for example. Their first job that they took was to escort an elderly wizard who wanted to take a trip to the edge of the civilized lands to investigate the legend of an ancient magic sword that grants great power to it's wielder and everyone who swears fealty to him. But they keep getting attacked by bands of brigands from this one group with shadowy ties to the rival kingdom next door....

As an addendum to this I can now reveal: The players escorted the dottering old wizard to the edge of civilization, guided him through a ruined dwarven city infested with orcs, helped him discover the journal of a long-dead dwarven adventurer which revealed the location of the ancient magic sword, and then successfully shepherded him once again back to civilized lands. Once there, they discovered that not only did he have no intention of paying them, but he was in fact the mysterious leader of the rebel brigands who intends to find the sword and use it to overthrow the kingdom. At the end of the last game session he rode off with the journal and left the players tied up in the hands of a group of his minions who he had just ordered to kill them. The look on their faces was about like this:

Edited December 13, 2018 by TheSaint