Forum RPG

[Søren]

This sounds cool because I died a little when that other one did.
Ok, maybe not that dramatic, but it did fizzle out.

Soren dumped Starbucks coffee on it.

I ran to what I felt was safe.

Do you feel safe even though they aren't doing anything special for their cups this winter?

I thought you knew I don't celebrate Christmas, so it doesn't make much of a difference to me.

Anyway, how exactly does one play this RPG that's being discussed?

[Wylder Treejumper]

I vote myself for DM. 2E is better! More real role-playing and less die-rolling, and realistic characters instead of superheroes.

Besides, if we're doing a fantasy game, I've run up a comprehensive campaign but have no players. I wouldn't want to waste it.

[Rusvul]

   ...No. 2E is not better. AD&D and 2E (as well as 3.x and Pathfinder, to a lesser extent) have sets of idiosyncratic and convoluted rules that are there for the sake of realism- and don't even do that very well.
   The rules are not in a consistent format (For X task, you try to roll under stat. For Y task, you roll plus stat. For Z task, you roll a d100 and go from there.) With 5e, you're always rolling against a number- You roll plus skill modifiers for skill checks, plus saving throw bonuses for saving throws, and plus attack bonuses for attack rolls. Any time you're trying to do something, you roll a d20- Not 3d6 or a d100. Damage dice vary, but that makes logical sense.
   Roleplaying can happen in any system. As much as it pains me to say it, 4e is a legitimate system where roleplay can and does happen. I think that 5e is pretty good- It balances the three pillars of RPGs (Exploration, Combat, and Roleplay) pretty well, with room for DMs to shift things around. It's high-fantasy by default, but there's variant rules that allow for a lower-fantasy world- and the beauty of TTRPGs is that you can shift the rules as you like.

   That said, I would totally play a 2e game, if only to see more in depth what it was like- From the (moderate) exposure I've had, though, 3.P and 5e seem to be systems with much more player agency and much less random nonsense happening just because.

   Plus, me playing a character = win. DMing is fun, but there's nothing like having the wackiest ideas ever and implementing them in perfect fashion. 

[Søren]

[Rusvul]

Eh, oops. I went a bit technical... and maybe overzealous. Edition wars rarely end well.

[Blaggut]

I de-vote myself. This stuff is way to complicated to control.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

I'll get to explaining it more later. My back hurts and I'm sleepy.

   ...No. 2E is not better. AD&D and 2E (as well as 3.x and Pathfinder, to a lesser extent) have sets of idiosyncratic and convoluted rules that are there for the sake of realism- and don't even do that very well.
   The rules are not in a consistent format (For X task, you try to roll under stat. For Y task, you roll plus stat. For Z task, you roll a d100 and go from there.) With 5e, you're always rolling against a number- You roll plus skill modifiers for skill checks, plus saving throw bonuses for saving throws, and plus attack bonuses for attack rolls. Any time you're trying to do something, you roll a d20- Not 3d6 or a d100. Damage dice vary, but that makes logical sense.
   Roleplaying can happen in any system. As much as it pains me to say it, 4e is a legitimate system where roleplay can and does happen. I think that 5e is pretty good- It balances the three pillars of RPGs (Exploration, Combat, and Roleplay) pretty well, with room for DMs to shift things around. It's high-fantasy by default, but there's variant rules that allow for a lower-fantasy world- and the beauty of TTRPGs is that you can shift the rules as you like.

   That said, I would totally play a 2e game, if only to see more in depth what it was like- From the (moderate) exposure I've had, though, 3.P and 5e seem to be systems with much more player agency and much less random nonsense happening just because.

   Plus, me playing a character = win. DMing is fun, but there's nothing like having the wackiest ideas ever and implementing them in perfect fashion. 

Pathfinder lol.

[LT Sandpaw]

I love how everyone that was so excited before is like, "I'm outy!"

[Rusvul]

Waaaait! Nooo! You don't need to know all the things to play! I'm sooorry!


(Did I kill it? )

[Faiyloe]

Surprisingly I understood you pretty well (And I have never played a table top before XD) Perhaps it comes from me hearing you say that spiel several times before, or the fact that I actually researched TTRPGs and how they are played in the past. (I research the most random things, like the other day I was able to explain the difference between the shape of an armadillo and a hedgehog XD) What I am thinking is how would you be able to play a TTRPG through the internet?

And this is not a confirmation that I am in, I just wan't to be nosy and maybe after Ash explains himself I might join... though I shouldn't because busy life XP.

[Rusvul]

   There is a website called Roll20 that allows for a virtual tabletop, dice rolling, and tracking of character sheets. It requires an account, but it's all in-browser and very convenient. It has ways you can do more advanced things (macros, random tables, etc.) but they are more complicated to set up.

[Vilu Daskar]

I might know what you're talking about if the carefully read it all.

[Rusvul]

Anyway, how exactly does one play this RPG that's being discussed?

There is one person who is the Dungeon Master, or DM. They are everything- The world, every non-player-character, every bee and bear. The rest of the group plays as player characters, or PCs. The DM tells the PCs what's happening. In response, PCs tell the DM what they do, and the DM tells them what the result of that is.
   If the PCs do something that has a chance of failure (picking a lock) as opposed to something that will always succeed (drawing a sword) then the DM will ask them to roll a die to see if they succeed- So if you want to pick a lock, the DM would ask you to roll and add whatever bonus or penalty your character has to Sleight of Hand- So if you're a sneaky thief who can pick locks really well, you might be rolling at +5. If you're a clumsy priest who's never picked a lock in his life, then you might roll at -2. Depending on what you roll, the DM tells you if you succeed or fail. That's the base of it. There's lots of rules that govern what you add to what kind of roll, and when you're allowed to roll for what, but at its core it's not that different from a play-by-post forum RP.

[Vilu Daskar]

D&D Basic Rules.

http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop/players-basic-rules

[Søren]

Anyway, how exactly does one play this RPG that's being discussed?

There is one person who is the Dungeon Master, or DM. They are everything- The world, every non-player-character, every bee and bear. The rest of the group plays as player characters, or PCs. The DM tells the PCs what's happening. In response, PCs tell the DM what they do, and the DM tells them what the result of that is.
   If the PCs do something that has a chance of failure (picking a lock) as opposed to something that will always succeed (drawing a sword) then the DM will ask them to roll a die to see if they succeed- So if you want to pick a lock, the DM would ask you to roll and add whatever bonus or penalty your character has to Sleight of Hand- So if you're a sneaky thief who can pick locks really well, you might be rolling at +5. If you're a clumsy priest who's never picked a lock in his life, then you might roll at -2. Depending on what you roll, the DM tells you if you succeed or fail. That's the base of it. There's lots of rules that govern what you add to what kind of roll, and when you're allowed to roll for what, but at its core it's not that different from a play-by-post forum RP.

I see, it reminds me of James' version of The Arena.