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Trying to run a PnP game, running into numerous problems
Archonex
No hard feelings, right?Registered User regular
No hard feelings, right?Registered User regular
I figured i'd post this in H/A, since it might be a bit out of place on Critical Failures.
So, i've been getting intrigued by PnP games lately. Games like Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy seem like they're a hell of a lot of fun to play, despite my original misgivings.
The problem is, there's noone around who wants to play them. The local DnD group are quite literally the most stuck up bunch of people i've ever met, and won't even give other games the time of day, and the regular DM they have delights in killing people for fuck-all no reason, just so he can claim that his games are "extreme".
Another problem is that the books are hellaciously expensive, to the point where i'm not sure if I can justify buying them without a way to use them. I looked one book up, a Dark Heresy supplementary book, "The Radicals Handbook", at Borders a few days ago, and while it was great reading, and definitely would add something kickass to the game, it was also about fifty dollars. If I could actually find a way to play I could justify the expense to myself, but without a way to actually play the game those books are basically overly expensive reading material.
To counter all that, i've been looking into finding a way to play over the net, with not much luck. However i'm not sure if there's any resources I could use to do that, or websites where people play (Aside from Critical Failures, rarely.), or anything like that.
Hell, I don't even have a way to roll dice in a game if that comes up. And i'm sure it will.
I'm also not even sure if playing online is really doable, since there seems to be a ton of problems with playing a PnP game that requires the books over the internet.
So I turn to you, H/A. I'm hoping someone out there might have some experience with trying to get a game going this way.
So, i've been getting intrigued by PnP games lately. Games like Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy seem like they're a hell of a lot of fun to play, despite my original misgivings.
The problem is, there's noone around who wants to play them. The local DnD group are quite literally the most stuck up bunch of people i've ever met, and won't even give other games the time of day, and the regular DM they have delights in killing people for fuck-all no reason, just so he can claim that his games are "extreme".
Another problem is that the books are hellaciously expensive, to the point where i'm not sure if I can justify buying them without a way to use them. I looked one book up, a Dark Heresy supplementary book, "The Radicals Handbook", at Borders a few days ago, and while it was great reading, and definitely would add something kickass to the game, it was also about fifty dollars. If I could actually find a way to play I could justify the expense to myself, but without a way to actually play the game those books are basically overly expensive reading material.
To counter all that, i've been looking into finding a way to play over the net, with not much luck. However i'm not sure if there's any resources I could use to do that, or websites where people play (Aside from Critical Failures, rarely.), or anything like that.
Hell, I don't even have a way to roll dice in a game if that comes up. And i'm sure it will.
I'm also not even sure if playing online is really doable, since there seems to be a ton of problems with playing a PnP game that requires the books over the internet.
So I turn to you, H/A. I'm hoping someone out there might have some experience with trying to get a game going this way.
Archonex on
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( a dice roller)
Also, I had to convince all of my friends to give it a try to get anyone to play, and now we have a group of ten that used to be a group of four. Be ready to spend a lot of time memorizing rulebooks and explaining things to players, otherwise they could get bored as you fumble around the book.
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=110193
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=109152
Read along and get ideas.
Dice rolling, go invisible castle (there's orokos also which d&d4ers use a lot, plus some others). They keep track of the rolling history so that the DM can monitor such things.
If you're wanting to get a game going as a GM, throw up a recruit thread in CF - things are a little quiet there at the moment (that time of year), but usually there's a flood of players for most games (d&d especially can get swamped, interest is usually relative to the complexity and popularity of the ruleset).
If you're wanting to get into a game as a player, nothing to do except sit around and wait for a game to pop up. Other than CF, there's also some pbp action on rpg.net or enworld or a bunch of other sites. If it's a game that doesn't see a lot of action you may want to start a thread somewhere to try and draw a DM out of the woodwork, but don't go expecting anything - playing in a pbp is a privilege, not a right.
Play with me on Steam
It's pretty much just like a face-to-face session with enhanced visual aids (since Maptools allows you to drag and drop any picture to use as a token or map), minus some of the benefits that you'd get from face to face sessions (pizza and soda/beer). On the other hand, you can leave for a quick bathroom break and come back, and no one would know. *grin*
For Play By Post games, I'd recommend Invisible Castle for rolls. PbP tend to be heavy on the typing and light on the rolling. It also requires a regular time investment on the part of the players, so it may be less viable for people who have regular work/family commitments. I personally recommend players who are dedicated enough to post once per day, minimum.
The problem, of course, is finding other people online who want to play with you, using the game system that you want to play. 4th Edition DnD is very common here at the Penny Arcade forums (bah!), but if you want to play Earthdawn or BESM or something, you'll have better luck finding a group to play with on their own respective fansites/forums.
I can't recommend anything substantial for people on a budget. RPG rulebooks are expensive and are a required investment in some cases. However, you can often get PDF versions of the rulebooks for cheaper at places like drivethrurpg.com. For example, one of our group's games (Shadowrun 4th edition) has all of the core rulebooks available in a digital bundle for 50 bucks (around 200 to 250 bucks of rulebooks). It lacks the tactile feel of books, but if you're broke or tight on the cash, it may be worth your while. We also play ORE Wild Talents (using the Godlike setting), and the basic rules for that game (Essentials Edition, 2nd Edition) is only 5 bucks at drivethrurpg.com. Not bad for the best roleplaying dice system out there (and I say this without irony or remorse).
EDIT: Oh, and apparently, PDF versions of Fantasy Flight games are half price at drivethrurpg.com, compared to the retail books. This price goes down during sales, too.
I'm going to look at some of the options presented here. I just tried to get some friends to give Rogue Trader or Dark Heresy a shot, but they don't seem to be interested, so i'll have to find some other way of playing I guess.
I'll check out the PDF version of the books as well, since it looks like my only way to play is to do it through the internet.
Appreciate the replies i've gotten.