I’m still a pen-and-paper RPG noob so whatever you guys decide is cool with me. 36 hours is more than enough (I suggest 24 hours, if possible, to keep things rolling so people don’t get bored).
Just a small note: imgur’s blocked in Turkey, so I won’t be able to see the maps if you link them from there, I think (unless the MG servers cache the image).
A’Salaamu Alaykum Klusignolo,
During our previous campaign I had sketched out a few simple battle maps with a grid overlay’d.
Between each round I would post an image of the battle map with token icons placed on the grid to show player and known enemy locations.
We try to balance the game being narrative and mechanically focused so I am happy to accept player commands in what ever way the player finds most comfortable such as:
- natural description: 'I run to that fence and use it as cover as I fire my crossbow at the nearest wolf’
or - mechanical description: ‘I move to position D3 using my turns action to boost my movement speed in a sprint’
When all the players involved with the current round have posted their intentions I decide the NPC movements based on descriptions of their behavior from the monster manual and process the moved in the order of player initiative.
Standard D&D rules as far as computing the round goes (each player gets a movement and a free action each round), I run all the dice rolls (Attack role, crit roll, damage roll, skill rolls etc.) All the rolls and results are written into a log which I copy-paste into a spoiler when I post the results of each round for players to read if they want.
Once I knew everything that happened in that round and the order it happens, I described the events as attacks connected, described to what extent things were wounded, etc.
- For players who are not mechanically inclined they never see anything like attack rolls and HP, instead relying on descriptions of their characters condition and if anything is impeding their attacks.
Outside of combat players describe what their characters are doing, or they can engage NPCs in dialog by simply typing their parts of the conversation.
Throughout the game we tried to work out the right pacing so that player decisions advanced the plot at a fast enough pace without things feeling too rushed.
We happily allowed the party to split into smaller groups, in these cases all game text is presented in spoiler text to keep in-game knowledge limited to only the players involved. When the party is split, each group progresses at their own speeds as I updated the game progress for each group as their members posted.
- This way groups containing more active players had a faster game experience than groups made of players who could not get on the forum as often.
- This sometimes lead to humorous situations, like the time Asad (Who had previously explored the town solo) almost attempted to storm a town mayors estate by force under the impression that the rest of the party were trapped inside. From the perspective of the other players they were in a casual meeting with the mayor regarding a job, completely unaware of the siege Asad was preparing to launch outside.
I am down for whatever,
- Traditional fantasy D&D/Pathfinder,
- Cyberpunk D&D like Shadowrun (Personal favorite setting)
- Modern day (Or recent era) fantasy like Vampire or Call of Cthulhu.
I quite liked the mechanics suggested the last time we talked about D&D where the players could embrace negative character traits (Such as a tendancy to say the wrong things at the wrong time) to earn points which they could spend on future advantages (such as buffing skill check rolls).
I prefer traditional mechanics being run in the background by the GM while the players are presented with a simplified narrative focused front end. But that requires a heap of work on the part of the GM.
I’m not going to complain in any regards.
D&D is all about the rule of cool after all, if it works then great!
Given that the forum games tend to span over an extended period of time, maybe it would be wise to have 2 GM working together to cover each other as various issues may occur though out the campaign.
- Either sharing responsibilities in what ever way seems fair
- Having one manage combat/mechanics while the other focusing on the story
- Having one manage the overall game with the other responsible for the NPC and hostile
I could put my name down as a potential GM to help with storyline, but I wouldn’t be able to do mechanics bc that requires thinking and math
If anyone else is interested don’t feel shy to step forward!
Assalamu Alaikum All,
Im totally down for D&D or anything else yall decide on doing.
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Right now it is looking like a forum based game is definitely the best option if I am going to be involved.
I can dedicate an hour or 2 each day no problem, but the only real time I have available is between Fajr and work which I think is around midday for the rest of you.
Maybe we can look at occasional live sessions on weekends, but the overlaps are likely few and far between.
If Mew GM’s I won’t mind being coop GM, we know each other in person so coordinating is not a problem.
Salaam guys!
This is Ameen, been on mg about 2 years but not active at all. I would love to join in on a D&D game but… unfortunately I have barely any experience… If y’all are cool with a suuuuper noob playing with you then I would love to participate!
Welcome! Everyone is new at one point 
. Everyone is really nice so don’t worry about it (except @asad3ainjalout. Avoid him at all costs)
We’ll definitely need 2 GMs given the party size. I agree with a Asad about being able to work together easily bc we can easily communicate given we know each other IRL. @Severok what say you? We can use your help GMing as well Bc we have 8 people outside of us 3. So the group will likely have to be forced into separate directions and this ensures will always have a couple of people available to support
Amazing resource I found online. It’s pretty much the entire rule book:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/coreRulebook/gettingStarted.html
The goal will be to fill out one of these character sheets:
Don’t be overwhelmed by the huge number of fields on that! we’ll work through it slowly
Might as well start on that while we figure out GM situation:slight_smile:
If it’s your first time doing this the rule book I shared starts with how to get your ability scores. Get your ability scores using one of the methods shown, pick a race, pick a class, think of a character story (optional, but the more you put into it the more can be used for the storyline)
@ozaidi @AbrarSyed @ashes987 @klusignolo @ali-c @Ling0nberry @Technospot @Ameenheat
name generators in case anyone wants:
LOTR: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/lord-of-the-rings.php#.Wm_yyHanHIU
Elder Scrolls: http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/elder-scrolls.php#.Wm_ywXanHIU
Sounds good.
Do we each want to focus on a different aspect of the game?
IE: 1 focuses on mechanics (Skill + Combat calculations), 1 focuses on story/lore and another controls NPCs?
Or should we work redundantly, each adding a little to every aspect when available?
Focusing seems like the game would be more consistent, Every skill check is given the same considerations while assigning DC, the GM controlling enemy movements during combat is independent from the one who is processing the turns so things are less biased, etc.
Story/Lore GM: Responsible for the party outside of combat. Responds to players exploring, advancing the plot and giving flavor text.
Mechanics GM: Responsible for responding to players attempting checks (IE, Climb this wall) and responsible for party in combat.
NPC GM: Responsible for NPC conversation, NPC generation (Making and maintaining character sheets), During combat controls all Enemy NPCs in an attempt to defeat the party.
o7
Whatever you guys decide, you should talk. A lot. To make sure all the GMs are on the same page and providing a consistent picture to us miskeen players.
If we’d like ability scores generated by the 4d6-drop-the-lowest method, should we ask you to roll for us (for the sake of fairness)?
I can if you want me to, but don’t worry I trust you lol :)
I personally like the classical or standard methods because they are quick and dirty
Do you want me to do that for you @ali-c
It also gives me and Asad a chance to learn more about the game mechanics from watching you do it, and can help with story line. If we can get our own thread to discuss that would be best I think
Could you roll a set of scores with the Standard method for me if it isn’t too much trouble, then?
Used a random number generator and this is what you got. Not bad at all:
10, 5, 16, 14, 16, 12