Dungeons & Dragons (or your RPG of choice)

frodo potter · 06-10-2009, 08:54 PM

I do love D&D and starting out with pre-made adventures is the easiest way to begin. While the company stresses the continuing nature of the game is is perfectly possible to run a game with a set end, a fixed goal that will mark the end of the game ie. kill the dragon or save the kingdom and then everyone lives happily ever after.

As far as good systems in general to go with, GURPs is nice because of its adaptability and ease of play also the investment is a lot lower to start because you can really do everything with one book if you have the imagination and time. There are modules for all sorts of time periods, genres, books and movies but it is sometimes hard to find all the materials you want.

White Wolf makes some interesting games (Exalted, Vampire: The Requiem Werewolf: The Forsaken ect.) that are more immersive and story driven than D&D tends to be but are equally well supported at most gaming stores. they do however require quite a bit more work from the DM and a lot more home grown decision making which can slow things down and lead to problems if the players aren't mature and committed since the system requires players to self balance and is relatively easy to "break" (ie. make an over powered character)

Also the last edition of D&D (3.0-3.5) was open source so lots of different companies made games that are based off of it for example there is a game based on Lord of the Rings, Elric of Melabone, Norse mythology, The Wheel of Time, and more.

As far as board games go, Settlers of Katan is a great game as is Carcossone, and Alhambra. All are European games with a lot more interaction and thought than normal American board games.

Pirate Bill · 06-11-2009, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frodo potter

Also the last edition of D&D (3.0-3.5) was open source... <snip>

What exactly does that mean? I know what open source means, but does this mean that the copyright of 4E prevents other companies from make games that use 4E mechanics/characters/monsters/etc?

frodo potter · 06-11-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pirate Bill

What exactly does that mean? I know what open source means, but does this mean that the copyright of 4E prevents other companies from make games that use 4E mechanics/characters/monsters/etc?

yes that is what it means. Traditionally each game company uses its own system exclusively though there are some similarities across systems. That is, white wolf uses a D10 system, GURPs uses a point buy system and so on. D&D 3.0 allowed any body to use and adapt its system to any setting so, for example, White Wolf stated a division to write D&D worlds and moduals as did many others.

4E does not allow that, all add-ons will come from Wizards of the Coasts and some updates, rules, and advancement for character classes will only ever be available on-line. (for a monthly fee)

Pirate Bill · 06-12-2009, 03:35 PM

Got another game tonight that I'm looking forward to.

Pirate Bill · 06-13-2009, 08:32 AM

I guess the DM really can make a huge difference in the game.

The DM last night ran things...I'll just say, less entertaining. I'll cut him some slack though because everybody has a different personality and runs things differently. We also had a full table with some new players (even newer than me) who needed a lot of coaching. So we ended up being really short on time and I think that stressed him a bit.

Now that I'm getting more proficient at understanding the mechanics I'm going to make a better effort at role playing my character to try to pick up the slack from (and maybe help encourage) boring DMs.

06-10-2009, 08:54 PM	#1
frodo potter Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 84	I do love D&D and starting out with pre-made adventures is the easiest way to begin. While the company stresses the continuing nature of the game is is perfectly possible to run a game with a set end, a fixed goal that will mark the end of the game ie. kill the dragon or save the kingdom and then everyone lives happily ever after. As far as good systems in general to go with, GURPs is nice because of its adaptability and ease of play also the investment is a lot lower to start because you can really do everything with one book if you have the imagination and time. There are modules for all sorts of time periods, genres, books and movies but it is sometimes hard to find all the materials you want. White Wolf makes some interesting games (Exalted, Vampire: The Requiem Werewolf: The Forsaken ect.) that are more immersive and story driven than D&D tends to be but are equally well supported at most gaming stores. they do however require quite a bit more work from the DM and a lot more home grown decision making which can slow things down and lead to problems if the players aren't mature and committed since the system requires players to self balance and is relatively easy to "break" (ie. make an over powered character) Also the last edition of D&D (3.0-3.5) was open source so lots of different companies made games that are based off of it for example there is a game based on Lord of the Rings, Elric of Melabone, Norse mythology, The Wheel of Time, and more. As far as board games go, Settlers of Katan is a great game as is Carcossone, and Alhambra. All are European games with a lot more interaction and thought than normal American board games.
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06-12-2009, 03:35 PM	#4
Pirate Bill Quality since 1973 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Right here Posts: 473	Got another game tonight that I'm looking forward to.
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06-13-2009, 08:32 AM	#5
Pirate Bill Quality since 1973 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Right here Posts: 473	I guess the DM really can make a huge difference in the game. The DM last night ran things...I'll just say, less entertaining. I'll cut him some slack though because everybody has a different personality and runs things differently. We also had a full table with some new players (even newer than me) who needed a lot of coaching. So we ended up being really short on time and I think that stressed him a bit. Now that I'm getting more proficient at understanding the mechanics I'm going to make a better effort at role playing my character to try to pick up the slack from (and maybe help encourage) boring DMs.
	Submit to Quotes