Dice Rollers Anonymous

[Jikuu]

Hello! I know I'm new, but I'd like to try to start a club, so here we go!

The point of this club is to unite those who play table-top roleplaying games. So if you're a fan of D&D or some other d20 system (or maybe a system that uses the full gamut of polyhedral dice), then you might have fun here.

I would hope that this club would be able to discuss all manners relating to the game. D&D is currently working on 4.0 in June, and that's always a good topic. Maybe you'd like to discuss your current campaign, as a DM or a PC, and ask questions about game or gamer problems (everyone needs to vent sometimes) or just ask advice. Perhaps running new ideas by the rest of us would be fun, either just posing the campaign idea or maybe even running the potential roleplaying that may occur in an RP thread or in an AIM chat room. At least, last I checked, you could use a //roll command.

The only rules I can only think of is to be nice to others and don't spam or break any other general rules of the forum. There will be no ranks or titles. Think of it as sitting around a giant dining room table. I may have the DM screen, but I'm still another player. I just control the NPCs. =P

To start things off, I would suggest looking up the D&D PSAs on YouTube, made by the group CreativeJuices7. It gets rather dirty as it goes along, especially Necrolarry, and the language is adult, so don't watch beyond the first PSA if these things bother you. Here's the link!
http://youtube.com/user/CreativeJuices7

Members!
Jikuu
Tacitus
LocoColt04
Paradoxical Prophet
T.G. Oskar

[Jin]

Ahhh, a D20 club. We had a thread like this at one point, I don't remember if it was a club or not, but it died pretty quickly. I'm going to sign on in the hopes that this does much better.

So yes, I play D&D. I have been for about 10 years now, albiet it very intermitantly. One aspect about me is that I hate third edition, including 3.5 and I'm not setting my expectations high for 4.0 (although this is the first I've heard about it). I play a classic game with many original things mixed into it. I was taught by a friend long ago whose father, along with his friend, altered classic D&D quite a lot to create a very unique version of it. We have our own rule book that's made on excel, although basic rules are understood as the same as all D&D editions and some rules are unwritten. That being said, I'm not currently playing that game, but am playing a Star Wars game using their latest system which is kind of bizarre to me. It's pretty 3rd edition, but also has some other weird ass quirks, notably a severe lack of effective healing. Anyways, that's as much as I'll put for my first post, so yes, sign me up, Dungeon Master.

[LocoColt04]

Word up, smalls.

I'm a first-time D&D'er; my very first campaign started a couple weeks ago and we're only two sessions into the campaign. Our DM is awesome though... we're taking this campaign into 4th ed. and will be re-spec'ing our characters at that point. I'd be more concerned with it, but it's a very lax environment and our DM has been playing the game since 2nd ed.

We're taking a lot of leniencies in order to prep for the flexibility of 4th ed, so when June rolls around I'll have to let you know how our transition goes.


As for other tabletop games, I play plenty, but none of the other pencil&paper types. I do play Pirates, if any of you know the game. It's a collectible strategy game that uses dice to determine attacks against the other ships. Sounds ridiculous, but it's a ton of fun.


Oh yeah, also, can I join?

[Jikuu]

Yeah, you two can totally join. ^^ Can't say I know if I have to do something definite about it, but you're in.
Oh, and Tacitus? They put the Tiefling in the PHB and the Gnome in the MM. Some of the 4.0 stuff sounds good, and some I'm going "eh". I'll be honest in that I started with 3.5. I'm gaming with pals that started with 2.0, though, and a lot of the guys at the game store I frequent are rabid 1.0 fans and hate WotC. It's really interesting. I keep getting confused with THAC0, even though it's just a reverse of AC in the newer editions. ^^;
LocoColt04, I'm calling you LC now. =P Glad to hear you're starting D&D. It really is a lot of fun for friends to hang out. I think when you value the game more than your friends, that's when bad stuff happens. Don't let the rules lawyers get you down!

[Jin]

You'll have to use less abbreviations with me, I don't often frequent with many hardcore Wizard's of the Coast subscribers. My group and I are pretty casual about it and our rule system is very different in terminology than any of the Wizards systems.

I'm not even sure what a Teifling (similar to hobbits?) is to be honest, I don't play with them and I've never played with Gnomes. I found Gnomes to be really a "we need more races" bid and in our system of magic, there really aren't that many bonuses that can be given based on race. That being said, our races aren't that different as far as bonuses go. Very minor things. I'll give the Elvan example: +1 with swords and bows....umm, that's honestly the only one that's relevant. Oh they can Elvan search and infravision. Halflings have the ability to smoke unlimited pipe weed. =D

THAC0 is a bloody bizarre system and I think they were on drugs when they thought of it. Our system is really simple. Roll you need to hit on a D20 = 20 - AC of opponent - 1. Add your bonuses to your rolls obviously. What sets our games apart is location. I hate how no one uses locations anymore. I like severing someone's arm. Maybe later I'll explain the system, if anyone's interested.

[Jikuu]

Ah, OK. PHB = Player's Handbook. MM = Monster's Manual. And the tieflings were descendants of half-demons. It's catering more to the "I want to play a badass, nongood person" party. Honestly, if it's not an entirely evil campaign, it's not a good idea to play an evil or otherwise morally bankrupt character, as it just messes with everyone else too much with what they want to do. And Heaven forbid you should be with a paladin. I liked gnomes, but a lot of people disliked that they were second string all the time, so they got the boot.
Elves are just a teensy bit over-the-top in its "this is what you get starting off" stuff, but elves are supposed to be awesome and all. Warhammer and Warcraft kinda ruined them for me. =P

[Paradoxical Prophet]

I'll join up. Been DMing 3.5e games for about 4 years now. 4e (or is that 4.0e? ) looks like it's going to be interesting, if nothing else.

Originally Posted by Jikuu

Honestly, if it's not an entirely evil campaign, it's not a good idea to play an evil or otherwise morally bankrupt character

Otherwise the entire game gets derailed by arguments about why we *shouldn't* kill this or that NPC, or why burning the theives guild building to the ground is a bad idea, even if they did reject you. An all-evil party is an interesting thing to run, but unless your players have a good sense of fun, and can actually play evil characters well, it doesn't tend to hold together for long.

THAC0: Because in a world where less AC is better, who needs common sense?

[Jikuu]

Yay, a third person! Welcome and huzzah! (I forgot to huzzah and all due to being nervous)

You do bring up good points, but that's more chaotic homicidal than just evil. Lawful evil are the ones who get what they want. The other evils are kinda blah. I'll soon be in a campaign that's pretty evil. It's a psionic desert campaign (gee, when do those NOT occur together? Dark Sun, anyone?) with an asshat blind seer, a druid who will become a walker in the waste PrC (prestige class, and she's all "the sand must flow!"), and a LE soulknife. Our goal (metagaming, anyway) is to wipe out all life in the desert. I'll let you guys know how that game goes. I'm the asshat, by the way. =P

Currently, the campaign I'm in is a no-magic, "gaslamp fantasy" area where the world has been segregated, and this area is tied off from all planes, so magic occurs in terms of alchemy and engineering. It's rather homebrew with four new classes the DM made up.

So let's start off with actual club functions, I suppose. Let us know what your favorite campaign was, whether you DMed or played in it, and why. That should be in the right direction, right?

[T.G. Oskar]

Holy macaroni!! I thought the d20 feeling had died out. Indeed, there was a club a few years ago, but it never had the proper run. There was some speak and some talk, but never had the popularity it should have had.

So yeah, having cleared that...can I join up?

Far as I can understand from that ol' THAC0 system, you could even go to the negatives. But, the circumstances of lowering the AC weren't as odd as 3.x. I mean, having a character whose AC could reach ~30 in less than level 10 is pretty much sick. Believe me, I've done it with a n00bie DM who's one of my pals.

Mithral Full Plate + Heavy Steel Shield + Ring of Deflection +1 + Combat Expertise + Shield Specialization (adds +2 to shield AC) + Divine Shield. That's the recipe. I was the only sucker that could stand the hits of a Stone Golem, and I got one or two serious hits anyways. But yeah...

Um...just for those that really hate min/maxing, I hereby declare myself an aspiring optimizer. Believe me, I've had a lot of fun making a pretty good character that had it's best abilities at party support.

Did I mentioned that character was a Paladin? I had my share of troubles upholding the Code of Conduct while having a pretty much chaotic party without trying to be an a**? Made the experience much more gratifying.

Well, I'll try to speak a bit more after knowing if I'm in or not, mmkay?

[Jin]

People say lower AC is weird like it was an innovation of Second Edition. It started that way, chaps, long before THAC0 was dreamed up. To be honest, I find ascending AC to be bizarre and strange. And yes it can go into the minuses. In my games, a standard starting AC for well equiped fighting classes is 3 if you're not using a shield and 2 if you are. A good dexterity can easily bring you down into the minuses at level 1. The best I remember seeing is a character starting with -2. I don't fully remember what class he was, a ranger perhaps, but he had his plate mail, shield and some 17 odd Dex. I don't have my books on me and haven't played my version for a while (been playing Star Wars for the last year or so), but I'm fairly sure a 17 gives -3 to AC in our game. If it wasn't that, then he must have had a low 18 (we use the percent system for 18s, like strength in second edition).

[LocoColt04]

Just a quick break in the conversation here:

Originally Posted by Argentos

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008...look-at-n.html

My uncle sent that one to me yesterday. Just a glimpse of the D&D Experience in Arlington VA. I might give him a call and see if he'll hit up the events and send us anything he comes away with.

The link includes the 4e character sheet. Rock it.

I posted that earlier this morning at another forum where my D&D group gathers.

If any of you live in or near Arlington, VA, I strongly suggest you go check out the D&D Experience (all links are included in that quoted link).

[Jikuu]

Sorry I've been gone a bit. Midterms and all, and I'm not quite out of the woods either. T.G. Oskar, you are more than welcome to join. And I am SO sorry you were the only lawful good (read: decent) person in the party. =P No min/maxing or munchkining allowed, but character optimization is. I'm personally a feat whore, although I thoroughly enjoy the Factotum class from Dungeonscape.

How the bloody bull does a level 1 wizard have 20 Intelligence? I didn't see any notice of stat swapping on the character sheet, but I can't see any other method of it occurring, unless they decided to roll stats differently.