What you doing this weekend?

[Flambeaux]

Thanks, Allan! Looking forward to it.

[gizmomathboy]

Made a butterscotch creme pie today. I was gonna try the impossible pecan pie but I ran out of eggs. So that will be attempted tomorrow.

Planning on corned beef tomorrow.

Not sure if any gaming will be in plans for this weekend.

Mostly avoiding crappy weather.

[TRP]

. I was gonna try the impossible pecan pie but I ran out of eggs.

I hope that's not a pecanless pecan pie.

[Welleran]

Lich + delayed blast fireball + party = many casualties. Good times!

[rredmond]

...Trying gaming via Google Hangouts + Roll 20 for the first time tomorrow...

Gaming has been rough around here, going to have to start casting around for some Roll20 (or Hangouts or Skype) games methinks. The girls are off, but (so far) I am not, if that happens I'll definitely get some gaming in as the 12yo is already asking.

[Melan]

The game went quite well, considering it is a substitute! We used Google Hangouts for the voice chat, and Roll20 for the interface (where you can put maps and illustrations) and dice rolling.

We played Helvéczia, my historical fantasy game, set in its equivalent of late 17th century Catalonia (huge liberties taken with geographic and historical accuracy), and refereed by a friend of mine. Appropriately enough, the mini-campaign is titled "Quarantine in San Escobar", and is set during an outbreak of the plague, involving black magic and mysterious prophecies. I played José Emilio Belmonte de Gálvez y Rivera, a 2nd level Student from Andalusia; the party also included Father Fernando (a Jesuit Priest), Zigor Otxoa (a Basque Fighter played by Premier), and Antoine de Castelmore (a French Duellist). We ended up exploring a suspiciously abandoned palace ruin, then the Moorish dungeon underneath. I charmed a crocodile with the Dr. Mabuse's Mesmeric Mirage spell (and made good use of my knowledge of Herpetology and Vacuum Theory); caused a tunnel to collapse on an animated suit of armour with a hand grenade; helped Premier's character fight off animated stone snakes (which, in dire straits, he turned to his side after calling on the Devil's help with a pack of playing cards); almost got killed by a pack of "houris" who were really undead horrors under an illusion spell; and found a magical amulet of unknown provenace. I also got my Virtue score down sufficiently to memorise Student spells again, which would not work for the overly pious.

All in all, despite my reservations, the Hangouts + Roll 20 combo is workable, if no exact match for the real deal. You lose the nonverbal cues, some of the easy graphical solutions, and the "presence" of being together, but despite my concerns that it would feel sterile and awkward, it started to be all right after getting the hang of it. Ironically, it returns to some of the 1974-style ideas, like Dave Arneson's goofy filing cabinet, or the stupid suggestion in the Arnold Hendrix review that this was a game for the telephone. Since I want to avoid travel (and particularly public transport) in the next months, it is a way to get some flexible gaming. I will start a mini-campaign as well - mine will be West Marches-style D&D in and around a city doomed by the gods (and I swear I got the idea way before the virus outbreak).

[rredmond]

The telephone?? Wow, I never heard that tid bit before.
But yeah, I tend to talk alot in face to face gaming, but it's more difficult with the virtual gaming. I talk a lot less and usually use the chat feature to supplement whatever dopey thing I was going to say.

[rredmond]

That Hendrix thing was from 1972? Maybe a question for a different thread, but what's the Filing Cabinet story?
Glad the game went well though Melan!!

[Melan]

Maybe a question for a different thread, but what's the Filing Cabinet story?

As the story goes, when Gary started running what would eventually become D&D, he sat his players around the table, while he sat behind an old filing cabinet with his notes and the player records, so all the participants could hear was a disembodied voice, Wizard of Oz-style.

For "unknown reasons", this didn't become the DMing standard (and neither did the "DM mask" from Germany's Das Schwartze Auge... sadly, DM screens and similar foolishness are still with us).

The Hendrix review is early 1975, I think; certainly one of the oldest in existence.

[rredmond]

I've never even worn a DM cloak or pointed hat! I have worn my "When the DM smiles..." shirt that my daughters got me though. And I will admit to using a DM screen, but not in quite a few years now.

Cool story, thank you!

[Welleran]

I use a DM screen simply to hide maps. I like to look a player in the eye when they die!

[Chainsaw]

Hung out at the local gas station for a few hours shaking hands with all the patrons. We need some good will toward men.

[bobjester]

The telephone?? Wow, I never heard that tid bit before.
But yeah, I tend to talk alot in face to face gaming, but it's more difficult with the virtual gaming. I talk a lot less and usually use the chat feature to supplement whatever dopey thing I was going to say.

I've played by telephone before bitd when I'd get grounded for doing something outrageously stupid. Well, I still do outrageously stupid things, but no one can ground me anymore.

...Trying gaming via Google Hangouts + Roll 20 for the first time tomorrow...

Gaming has been rough around here, going to have to start casting around for some Roll20 (or Hangouts or Skype) games methinks. The girls are off, but (so far) I am not, if that happens I'll definitely get some gaming in as the 12yo is already asking.

Now that I'm back in the 'old country', I might have to look into skype and roll20 games too once I get this 'newfangled' HP laptop figured out.

I'd play just about anything, but if roll20 and skype work out, I would love to DM some OD&D, but that won't be for a good fair bit.

[bobjester]

Hung out at the local gas station for a few hours shaking hands with all the patrons. We need some good will toward men.

God bless you, sir! you're a good man!

Or, ahh... what office are you running for, again?

[Philotomy Jurament]

Rebooted my computer this morning (first time in a long time) and it wouldn't boot. I spent my afternoon figuring out what the hell was wrong. Turns out some software I installed (Firebird SQL database) overwrote a system symlink (to a directory) and turned it into an actual directory, instead. Once I figured that out (wasn't easy to find) the fix was simple. Still frustrating. That's not how I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon.