All These Years Later

My blogging hiatus was not exactly planned: Google decided to lock me out of my account two years ago, due to disuse. Which isn't surprising, because I hadn't had internet access in over four years.

Well, that is one thing that has changed. Satellite technology finally caught up to the fact that not everyone lives in an area with DSL lines, so NOW services are offered that work completely off the satellite receiver (as opposed to receiving through satellite, and sending through DSL. Now the signal goes both ways). SO rural customers can now get an internet connection without either relying on cell service (which is also bad in most rural locations!) or investing in military-grade equipment. Hurrah!

Back to the gaming?

I'm working on it. So far, the original RPGaming message boards are back in working order, spam- and bot-free. That was quite a project. And I'm currently running a Tri-stat dX play-by-post game (modern-day urban fantasy) over there. Anyone is welcome to join, any time!

Mass Combat

I have a (not-so) secret (anymore) process for getting through an epic battle in a way that doesn't take weeks or months (or even hours), but allows for the player characters to determine the outcome completely.

"Impossible!"  You may say.  I do admit that it's fast and dirty, so not for everyone, but it's a fair way of handling it in a short amount of time.  Behold:

Mass Combat Procedure (developed specifically for Tri-Stat dX, but adaptable for most any system with active attack and defense)

1. PCs and key NPCs choose their opponents and make attack and defense rolls as usual.  You may either use one round to determine the outcome, several and average it out, or continue until one party is clearly victorious or someone retreats.  Add +2 bonus to PC party's Mass Battle Roll if attack and defense (or most attacks and defenses) both succeed.  Add +1 bonus if only one succeeds.  Apply a penalty of -1 if one fails, and a penalty of -2 if both fail.

2. Add a bonus or penalty for the PC party's army size (if not equal to the opposing army).  100 troops vs 60 should incur a +2 bonus vs their -1 penalty, etc.  Use percentages to figure this if possible, taking into account superior training and equipment if applicable.

3. Add a bonus for tactical advantages (flanking, using cover, etc.) and terrain.

4. Generals (PC or player representing the team vs GM) make an opposed roll to determine success.

5. Determine casualties: difference in rolls +/- all modifiers x 0.01 (to determine %)

6. Losing General (or representative) makes Soul roll continue with a -1 penalty per every 10% casualties.

7. Repeat until one side surrenders, retreats, or is annihilated.

"Low-Powered" Doesn't Have to be Boring

Something to think about; this is a 50 point character i just made with Tri-Stat dX (which is a quick, easy, and free point-buy, variable dice system).

Dryad [50]

Mind: 5
Body: 3

Less Capable: Running Speed (-1)

Soul: 7
ACV: 5
DCV: 3
HP: 50

Armor: 3 (30 damage reduction)
Plant Control: 5 (10 meters)
Special Defense: Hunger (2)
Special Movement (1): Plant Meld, trees only
Reincarnation 4 (easy to stop, takes 1 day)

Achilles Heel: Fire (-3; takes x2 damage)
Marked: Unusual color (-3; green hair, gray-brown skin)
Vulnerability: Electricity (-3; all attributes inaccessible)

GMing Play-by-Post Games

My friends over at The Disciples of Grell seem to have discovered my humble blog, so hello to them!  I now feel the pressure to, ahem, post something.  And since my new readers have a play-by-post gaming site in common, i will blog about GMing play-by-post games.  Heck, maybe i'll even do a series on it.

For now, just some basic tips:

1. This may be really obvious, but create or choose a forum site that will allow you to edit or otherwise moderate posts.  (It's easy to set up your own free site somewhere like http://www.prophpbb.com/ if you don't know someone that'll give you a spot on theirs.)  Forums are by far the simplest and most flexible medium of play.

2. Choose a system that all of your players have access to or can obtain easily.  It's rude to pick something that's $75+ for a used copy and otherwise unavailable.  If your prospective players have no prior experience, be prepared to answer a lot of questions.

3. Choose a system with a simple combat sequence. It is infinitely simpler to use systems in which characters do not have variable amounts of attacks that must be performed in a convoluted sequence. If a round is a round and everyone takes a turn during each (characters with multiple attacks simply make them all on their turn), you can establish the combat order and then just post for the opponents and NPCs as needed.

3. Check the math on your players' character sheets.  Trust me on this one!

4. Use as many visuals as possible.  It's more difficult to immerse over text, so consider providing pictures or art for major NPCs as well as maps and photos of places.  Google maps has a feature that allows you to mark places in real cities and share your edited versions privately.  If you don't want to search for images (or your forum settings don't support it), provide a lot of details.  It's better to explain too much than too little.

5. Have a plan, but be flexible.  Give the players enough room to effect the plot and interact with each other.  You're not limited to weekly sessions, so take advantage of the slower pace.

D&D 4e Red Box

The boy had his first experience with D&D tonight.

(his sister wasn't quite as enamored)

Verdict: the choose-your-own-adventure style character creation is a quick, easy, fun start-up for ultra-n00bs like my 9-year-old son.  However, it's really only good for introducing one character.  After that, you either have to hope the other players will diverge widely from the path the one first took, or you're going to have to get creative.

Stating the Obvious

I suppose there's a certain point, when you've been gaming or especially GMing for a very long time, that you might take it for granted that other players will have some basic common sense.  So here's a little reminder for today:

If your GM is kind enough to post a detailed map of the game setting, you should probably look at it before asking stupid questions.  Otherwise, you might miss something like a major league baseball stadium outside your front door.

That is all.

Gamer Spawn

There may well be no greater joy for a geeky parent than for one of their geeky children to show an interest in their hobbies.  I have the unique honor of not one, but three wonderful, creative, geeky children that want to GAME!  So of course, this is fully encouraged.

They have long taken an interest in the various dice, minis, and mats that we have about the house, and created their own game systems, rules and settings included.  But Hubby did the honors on Tuesday, of introducing them to their first 'real' game with rules: Wushu.  I've never actually played this one, and didn't this time because i wasn't feeling particularly well,  but you can read all the details, including their character descriptions and first adventures in this post, over at my husband's blog.

Here's an excerpt:

My kids have been begging me to run  one of the roleplaying games that their mother and I play, and after they did their chores and homework, we sat down to make some characters for the setting of their choice. They chose the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender for the setting, loving the idea of being able to control the elements and i chose Wushu for the system. I am been interested in Wushu for the past year or so, but have yet to find a game or players to test it out on. Lucky for me, my kids would be willing to even suffer through the hours long combats that the Palladium system enjoys (that last bit was sarcasm, if you didn't notice).