Cantousent

I have an unbreakable Lockpick. I call it the "Open Sesame" spell. It works on Very Hard lock and I have it set to unlock them within 15. Hmm, I haven't tried it yet, but it could theoretically open all locked chests within 15 feet.

To paraphrase Gromnir, we know why "purists" act the way they do. They is crazy. No offense to Hades, but these are like the people who rant about "canon" in various DnD settings. Most of the people who hate 3.5 and prefer 2nd edition are just jonesin' for a fight because someone changed something. Frankly, I didn't care much about the way NWN handled domains. I never played a cleric in NWN. NWN2, with a party based system, calls for more experimentation. There might be more folks holding your feet to the fire. Okay, so I have a serious question that gives you plenty of opportunity to get in hot water. ...But, if you had it your way to do domains in a CRPG, how would you do domains? Since you have to make concessions to the medium, what concessions would you make and what would be a deal breaker (in a self funded design with license to include or change what you want)? In other words, with only technology as a constraint, what would be your vision for implementing domains? :Eldar's wolfish grin icon: That's really meant as a question for everyone, of course.

I'm glad to have you guys. So far, we've got a good core group going. Eldar is a great name for a DM. On the other hand, since we're all gaming together, you can call me Daniel, Dan, Danny, Danny-boy. Danielito, Danmeister, the Great Dandini, or some such. I'll answer to both, but Eldar sounds too formal for the kind of beer swilling, chip eating, wench chasing (only my wife, of course) sort of campaign I intend to run.

Damn bunch of spammers. What's sad is the spamming is more interesting than the conference, which really has me worried. I mean, what the hell? "Bringing video games and the adult world together is a natural progression. Adult entertainment is becoming mainstream and other industries are recognizing its potential..." Give me a break. :Eldar's shaking his head and looking up at hte heavens icon:

My ipod is pretty big. It's compensating.

Sure. The fact is, we'll all have to make concessions. I think we can just meta's example of having folks standing guard at the rear and such. I don't like doing that, but you've got to work with folks. Anyhow, this is a great dialogue between us, but I'm hoping folks respond to you in the other thread and we can get an idea of how many people are in the game and what classes they want to play.

Not to be hard hearted, but that's only fair. Frankly, for all the stated interest, I think there probably won't be a lot of people there. It's not going to be possible for some folks and others will reconsider.

I don't mind having everyone show up for the first session. It would mean less gaming and more going over the conventions. We could have a few quick examples of in town NPC encounters, outdoor creature encounters, and some encounters to showcase some of the basics of the game. In fact, that might be a good idea so folks get a chance to see the PnP rules in action. ....But I think you misunderstand me. What I mean is, the setting is the setting and the specific rules to the setting are going to remain the same. I think an 11 person group is going to be a real bitch. We can give it a shot, but I'm afraid it will be difficult and thus discourage folks who would otherwise enjoy the game.

Sorry, Pacific time and I'm leaving the group organization to you. The setting and rule specific info won't change no matter how many players. As far as the number of players goes, it looks like you're handling that pretty damned well, Llyr. So, like I said, I'll post campaign info on Wednesday.

I'm sure you guys don't want to read the 7.3 days worth of music I have on my ipod.

Whatever, dammit. breaking up the group is a bad idea. Sure, it sometimes makes sense. But making a fun gaming experience is my singular goal. Where the rules provide fun, we will follow them. Where the rules will be unfun, we will discard them. Everywhere else, we will decide our course of action based on the constraints of the moment. Breaking up the group is usually a bad idea for the very reasons folks have cited in this thread. If you guys want to PM your characters, I'll be glad to read them. If you want to email them to me, just send them c r a t e r e u s [atsign] a o l [dot] c o m. I will be available any time between 8am to 8pm pm on Friday. So, you guys can just let me know. I will make a post with backstory and campaign specific rules on Wednesday. That should give you plenty of time to read it before our first game. I look forward to getting this campaign off the ground.

Oh,Sawyer and Gromnir's attitude shouldn't surprise you, Raven. There's one school of thought says that characters shouldn't be overpowered and that they should be balanced. Give one class too much power, they think, and no one will want to play other classes or, conversely, folks who like to play other classes will be discouraged. I disagree. Unless your group devalues role-playing to such a degree that only powerful builds matter, different players will prefer and enjoy different classes. I almost always prefer a mage. In some games and rulesets, that makes for a tougher time. In others, it's easier. I don't say, "my goodness, if I don't play a cleric, other players will be stronger than me." Unlike a lot of folks here, I don't build most characters to utterly destroy everything in their path. I create characters to fulfill my desire to have fun. Now, in a CRPG, since there's really a lot less potential for role-playing, I can see trying to keep the characters more or less balanced. I disagree that balance is the most important attribute in design, but what do I know about CRPG design? In a PnP game, you can take a variety of skills and have fun with the roleplaying aspect. Balance between classes is even less important in PnP gaming than it is in a CRPG. All that said, however, I much prefer the 3.5 rules. Just remember the big selling point for 2nd edition was "for every exception, there're five exceptions."

Come on, Dark Raven, you had to know that!

Okay, let's just stick with the core classes and races right now. There are a lot of beginners in this campaign and I'd rather keep it simple in terms of character creation. The setting won't be high fantasy, but character creation will be core or now. I don't have time to help you today, Mus?. Maybe someone can give him a hand with the characters? I'll try to look in tonight and then, if you can just get a general idea of where you want to go with your character, I'll help you get there.

There was an announcement to this effect not long ago, wasn't there?

@Llyranor: I can handle most Fridays on a regular basis. We're sticking with DnD. @Kaftan: Rolemaster can be fun, but an IRC Rolemaster sounds like a pain in my backside. Tell you what, we can tinker with a quick Rolemaster session sometime down the road. @Child: If you want to call your character baley's sister, I don't care, Jim. Just don't flip out when she goes to the great beyond. @everyone: You can choose character classes and races from the DnD Core Rules. I suggest buying the PHB, but you can also find the online core rules for free download here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35 I use these resources most of the time when I create campaigns. During play, I will reference handbooks. Generally, however, I don't reference rules during game play unless I must. Please give me specifics about what you prefer for the setting. Also, I'd like to know your character class, race, skills, feats, and other pertinent information. If you need help, you can post it here for help from the players at large or PM me if need be. I do not frown upon side chat between the players and DM.

Dammit, Kaftan. Okay, we have to decide on ruleset before we continue. I think DnD is the best choice for a variety of reasons. I'm willing to go with Rolemaster, but most folks probably haven't even had a fleeting exposure to the ruleset. Okay, out to dinner. I'll check in tonight.

Hey, LoveWolf, are you out of danger yet? I mean, other than the danger you undoubtedly represent to yourself daily.

Okay, well, I can handle either this upcoming friday or saturday. I'll let folks give their opinions. So far, the only person who's expressed a setting opinion is baley, with exotic.

There's actually a good chance that I've DMed more than anyone here. Not a great chance, mind you, as Hades and some of the old timers have been around for a while. You can create the setting you want and write everything superbly, but the trick is always always going to settle on your ability to run the game. I write my campaigns extensively as possible. I don't pigeon hole the campaign, and heaven knows the players will often go off in an area you hadn't expected, but a good graps of the rules, quick thinking, and the ability to improvise will serve you best. I think, from what I can tell, you could do the story and planning very well. As far as running the game, I think you can get the characters to buy into the whole "low magic" theme as long as you sell it to them properly. What you don't want to do is discourage your players. You want low magic? Fine, be up front. Tell them your setting, give them background, but warn them of significant breaks from the established conventions. Similarly, if you dole out experience based on "mission markers" (I do) then you might want the players to understand that killing an extra twenty orcs at first level won't get them any more experience. Tag teaming is good, but it does mean that two people out of your group of potential players are going to be stuck running the show. I don't think you need to sit down and read the books. I think you need to be a player for a while in a situation where you can ask the DM why he did certain things. As you play, you'll get a grasp of the rules. Moreover, the DMs guide is far less important than the Player's Handbook, even for the DM. Even for a DM who's been running games for some twenty years.

I'm actually fond of RoleMaster. I enjoyed Paranoia immensely, but talk about something that requires a deft GM! Another one my favorites is Gama World. I think DnD is the best choice simply because more people know it. If you ever try to get a group going in real life, DnD has the best chance of getting off the ground. On the other hand, you might want to see what other folks play. If there's an established group, you can join their sessions. However, there is one thing about that. A lot of established groups include the "My fighter is 78th level and has the sword of ultimate doom and ass-kicking" type players and a lot of "The rules state, on page 253, two paragraphs down, second line, fifth word: 'might.' That means that it didn't and I'm going to argue with you until you agree with me" type players. If you can get other people into your group, you can choose.

You know, meta, I would probably want my daughter (theoretical, of course) to be a Classicist. I would want her to go to school, remain unmarried until after she has her PhD, and remain mobile enough to get a job teaching anywhere in the country. That's what I would want her to do. However, if she wanted to be a glamor model, and she was as beautiful as your daughter is, I'd help her. I would be proud of her for pursuing her goals. I would love her regardless of whether I thought she had the best goals or not. I'm a Catholic, and I say that, if not proudly, then without shame, fear, or remorse. Still, I don't see how what your daughter does somehow imperils society or harms her. She looks healthy. I assume she's happy. ...And, if she's flaunting her body, she's got quite a body to flaunt. Most of the folks here, as baley said, and quite well, are surprised, not judgemental. The only surprise I have is that an old wretch like you could have such a sweet young daughter. hahahaha Now, Surreptishus asked me about Easter this year. Well, this was the worst Easter, and most lackluster, I can remember. It just sucked. I had a cold yesterday and didn't leave the house. I haven't felt well today, and so I went to church and came back to the house. I have to go to my inlaws tonight for dinner, which isn't exactly terrible, but not my favorite plan when I'm not well. The only good thing is that I will get to my wife's brother and wife and their daughter. That's usually some fun, even if the kid is going to kill me by asking for rides and to be thrown in the air and whatnot. It's just been a bad weekend, but it is Easter and I'm thankful.

Shows you what I know. I didn't even realize Bethseda did the game.

I have all sorts of stuff. I have an amulet that I just got today that raises my speed, athletics, and acrobat by 20 each. That put my intelligence down to 106 because I replaced my homebrewed 12 bonus amulet. However, I found another +50 sigil stone in the same place and now my magic is 465. Not bad. I'm thinking of moving my slider over about now. All in all, I now have three attributes over 100 and a sky high magic. Experiment with crafting, especially if you like going to Oblivion. Some of the stuff you find there is great.

I use PCGen because it's a fast way to create NPCs and it keeps track of the attack bonuses, items, and what not automatically. It has some limitations, including a pretty wretched item creation system, and it doesn't include all the splatbook feats, skills, spells, etc. Still, it's mighty useful. Also, if we're working together on a campaign, you'll pick up enough of the rules quickly to run something. If we can just get started, I'll start letting you run more and more and I'll just private chat with you for quick answers. So, at first I start and then you'll take over a little bit at a time. If the group keeps going for a while, you should be in good shape to run the whole thing without a single word from me. My happiest day will be when you basically tell me "thanks for the help, but I know what I'm doing." heh heh heh. here's the link for PCGen: http://pcgen.sourceforge.net/01_overview.php