[MISC] Seattle Dungeons & Dragons
That_Spoony_Bard
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, Seattle PAX'ers, I just wanted to try and get conversations going about starting a few D&D groups around the area. I know there is a few of you out there that are interested or may have a interest in D&D. Personally, I consider myself a D&D noob, I've only played in a few short campaigns of 3.0 and 3.5, no experience in running a campaign. Right now, I'm in a group that meets bi-weekly, and wouldn't mind joining another group.
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Also, I really want to use "magic missile" in a sentence.
I prefer a middle ground experience, things get stupid when everything is a joke, but it's also no fun to work around a bunch of super purist rules lawyers who ream anybody who even remotely metagames.
I work at night M-F, so weekends are my only availability.
Also, I know from personal experience that somebody who knows what they're doing can both play DnD seriously and drink liquor.
Also, I'm all about less than seriousness. D&D is meant to be fun right?
I realize it's hard to get something like this together via the forums; if nothing comes out of this thread in the short term, maybe we can try meet up at PAX and talk about it.
This last winter we played around with a short adventure at the HoG and it went fairly smoothly. CWKnight DM'd quite well, considering I don't think he's ever done so before. I can't exactly volunteer him, but it would be worth while asking.
*Proud member of the Photoshop Heroes*
I also occasionally play DnD with my friends.
All hail the Hypno-Spode!
Editorial: 4E is great if you want to do dungeon crawls and not roleplaying, and that is because it is basically a pen-'n-paper version of WoW instancing. It has an easy, fast-paced combat mechanism, but no flexibility in character design and no mechanisms for conflict resolution besides straight damage dealing. Thusly, if you are a munchkin, and there is nothing wrong with being a munchkin as long as you own it, you will probably like 4E, and if you are more of a roleplayer, you will not like 4E. The edition has its points - the way they made monsters more monster-y stands out - but mostly it's become more of a squad-level wargame (some would say it's returned to its roots, since in that regard it's like the original Chainmail) than a role-playing game.
Offer: would anyone be interested in a short game (with story! not just a dungeon hack!) at or around PAX? I think that would be a good way to evaluate folks for potential longer-term gaming prospects.
I will not go on at length, because there are other forums (literal and metaphorical) where this discussion can be had at length (I highly recommend you catch the GeekNights/Front Row Crew panel "Beyond Dungeons and Dragons" if they do it again this year at PAX), but in short...
Yes, I know that the DM has a lot of discretion to award role-playing XP, for example (though I should point out that the 4e DMG explicitly says that that is not included in the ways XP should be awarded, which consist exclusively of killing monsters and acquiring treasure - look it up! It's in there!), but if your DM has to ad-lib or bend the rules or constantly exercise discretion to keep your game fun, maybe the game itself isn't ideal for your purposes. The play style and character types supported by 4e are not conducive to diverse and deep roleplaying, and it offers very little in the way of mechanistic support for non-combat means of accomplishing things, and almost no encouragement to undertake any venture in which success is not guaranteed.
Look at the way the classes have been redesigned if you want an example. Clerics now have damage spells at every level? That doesn't work for me. Why should the healer be shooting damage-dealing rays? Why does everything need to do damage?
Yes, I realize that at its core, it is, in fact, a game for playing fantasy warrior-types who kill monsters and acquire loot. That archetype doesn't leave much room for growth or flexible role-playing, though, does it? And as fun as it is sometimes, it does get old. That's all I'm saying. Please feel free to rebut, but if you want more than this single response we ought to take it somewhere else. And I guess I lied about not going on at length. Sorry.
So, in closing: I'm not a big fan of 4e, so if anyone is interested in playing, now or at PAX, can it be 3/3.5e, or another system altogether? Exceptions can be made for purpose-created dungeon crawls, to which 4e is well-suited.
And seriously, try to catch the Beyond D&D panel if they do it again. They present this case pretty well and it's a fun panel.
But, yes, this isn't the forum for this discussion. I just didn't want people to shy away from 4e without trying it; I've been having a blast so far, and I'd heard nothing but hate for it until recently.
I've not yet gotten to try 4th Ed, and I also just have a decent sized stack of 3.0/3.5 books. So, if you want to play 4.0 it isn't going to happen. Unless somebody wants to buy me books for 4th Ed, welllllll :P
I have to admit though, 4E seems to be much easier to DM.
He is *awesome* and has been running games for years. And, I've been trying to get into one of his games for about the same time. Little did I know, all I had to do was throw a little cash at him!
He's charging $7/person per session (a few hours/session). He comes very highly regarded and knows the ins and outs of D&D almost to the point of insane obsession.
If I can get 4-5 people (ish) together, we can form a group! Do any of you want to join me?!?! AND help support my friend's burgeoning new business attempt?
(PS: do I get bonus points for using the word "burgeoning?!")
I'm.. there's already a group in the works. Spoony, Electric Turtle, Astayonix, a friend or co-worker or something of Spoony's, and myself as DM.
Well, fuck you all then.
Maybe there's two groups, huh? Did you think of that, MeeOk? DID YA?!
In fact, I'm totally joining Augustus' group so we can mess you guys up. This city is ours! BLOOD WILL STAIN THE SOUND!!!
Can I be in too? I have been excluded from every single goddamn game I have ever wanted to join. Maybe the world is trying to tell me something, maybe I'm not supposed to RPG EVER. I guess I'm fine with that too, I give up.
...paying for D&D? wtf
It actually sucks, because I'm already in a non-PAXer game. Which I joined. And after joining, everyone started talking about starting up D&D groups.
Now, I'll be a dick if I ditch out on my current group, but can't justify playing in two games at once, what with the wife and kids and all.
I'd be up for that.
ours will be better.