Board Games

Seananigans

Honorary Shit-PhD
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I play Descent 2E on vassal regularly. It's quite solid, but it seems to depend on how good the module is. Vassal itself is just fine, but some modules are poorly designed and/or incomplete. You also typically (at least if it's an FFG game) will need to already own the game, or know the rules inside and out, because the modules must leave information out due to copyright issues or whatever. The company wants you buying their game before you play it online for free, basically.
 

Sumdain x

Trakanon Raider
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I play Descent 2E on vassal regularly. It's quite solid, but it seems to depend on how good the module is. Vassal itself is just fine, but some modules are poorly designed and/or incomplete. You also typically (at least if it's an FFG game) will need to already own the game, or know the rules inside and out, because the modules must leave information out due to copyright issues or whatever. The company wants you buying their game before you play it online for free, basically.
yep i play Malifaux (the vassal module is actually sponsered by the company who makes malifaux) and warmachine on it. i am not completely familiar with playing board games on vassal but with tabletop mini games it is decently easy to cheat. this is depending on how well the module is written. there is a decent learning curve as well with learning where all the tools/features are located.
 

Celebrindal

Golden Squire
516
11
So I decided to try my hand at Tabletop D&D. I've never played before. I placed an order for this:
Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game: An Essential D&D Starter (4th Edition D&D)


I will be playing with my girlfriend, a good friend and her boyfriend. Since we are all new, and I am the most enthused by the game, I will be taking on the role of the DM. Just starting out, should I just stick with this starter game and not worry about looking at anything else (monster manual, player handbook etc)?

Any tips from veterans would be appreciated. And please, no bickering about editions, I don't care about it.

Without having any of this stuff in front of me, I'm most confused about dice rolling, what and when to use it.
 

Arbitrary

Tranny Chaser
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Well, it looks like you bought yourself a Red Box to get started with and there's nothing wrong with that. Most dice rolling is determined by the rules (making an attack, doing damage, using a skill, etc) but for things that aren't covered the rolling of dice becomes entirely up to the DM.

Let's say that someone in the group has wrote into their character background that they were a blacksmith. Now, in 4th edition, all of that kind of job/profession shit is strictly outside of the rules. There aren't rules any longer for crafting a pair of shoes or a bow or banging out your own sword with how long it takes and what it costs and all that minutia. It doesn't mean that a character can't have or do those kinds of things. It's just that what exactly such a background means is up to you. If the party ends up discovering an ancient, rune inscribed anvil while adventuring and the guy with blacksmithing is all like "OOH OOH I'M A BLACKSMITH I INSPECT THE ANVIL" and then looks at you than it's a fine time to have him roll a 20 sider (maybe with a bonus from a stat thrown in). I use dice to determine who monsters attack when there's no reason for them to choose one target over another, dice to determine whether or not the party rests without interruption, dice to disguise an outcome I've already decided, dice to mess with the players (wait, you are doing what again? *roll roll roll* ok, go ahead), and sometimes I just roll dice to roll dice. They can do anything and nothing. That's what the screen is for.
 

Szlia

Member
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The most important thing is understanding that being the DM is not about winning against the players, but about crafting a good story for them (a good story is not them being crushed by insurmountable odds nor them saving the world despite acting haphazardly).

After that, there are a lot of different ways to play PnP RPG and and it's the task of your group to find what you enjoy. Some people like to play almost as a board game, an elaborate PvE chess game where the game rules are above all. At the other end of the spectrum, some people like to play almost as improv' theater, so it's all about being in character, giving life to the world and crafting a memorable story letting the DM be above all (in a 'don't let the rule books get in the way of a good story' spirit). There are pro and cons for all manners of playing, but it's important for everyone to be on the same page. Also note that games, by the nature of their system, can encourage a way of playing over another (but in the end you always play how you WANT to). D&D4 leans more toward a board game approach with rules and character stats heavily focusing on combat and positioning during combat (but you can do a scenario without a single combat if you want to).
 

Celebrindal

Golden Squire
516
11
Bought the DM book and Monster Manual off of a reseller, and pirated the rest. Looks like the 5th edition will be rolling out in the next year so I'm not committing to buying everything. Starter set arrived and I got the idea of creating a character and what the dice rolls are etc. I decided to get a 3 month subscription to DnD Insider, since it includes everything from the magazines and the published books. Makes it so much easier to create a character, which helps not just me, but my girlfriend who knows absolutely nothing about the game.

I also found a D&D encounter group at the local comic shop that plays on Wednesdays. I think I'm going to check it out. It will probably help me a lot faster than learning on my own.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
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Picked up SmashUp and Dominion over the last couple weeks. Great games (I know they're card games but I think they fit this threads theme), I ordered a couple of Dominion expansions right after the first couple of games. SmashUp wasn't as fun but I think it would be with more players, we were just playing these with 2 people. Still playing Quarriors, and going to try Descent soon. Next purchases will be Kings of Tokyo and Smallworld.

There is such a huge amount of great looking games out nowadays, wish I had more gaming friends. I'd like to try some overly complicated game like Twilight Imperium but don't know anyone.
 

Conefed

Blackwing Lair Raider
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@ Hateyou

Dominion is great - Avoid Alchemist like the plague and Dark Ages is my favorite - but I say that after years of playing Dominion. You see each expansion added something. But it was threatening to be more of the same, ho-hum. It was dabbling there already. Then Dark Ages flipped script. In short: Unless you foresee not being able to get Dark Ages in future, hold off on that one until you have expended most fun with others. Intrigue is very good. Seaside is good. Prosperity friend says is the expansion to get if you don't plan on getting anything else.

SmashUp - I've played it a dozen times. Hate it. It sucks when your hands are dud after dud when you're opponent is combo like it's nothing. Game's not worth the frustration or the mathiness.

Quarriors - Can be fun but whiffs can deny fun. Dominion is better. Puzzle Strike!
Puzzle Strike - is worth looking into, but they nerfed some pieces after 1st edition and I'm not sure how they corrected it. I play with the prenerfed pieces but it might miff some

Descent - Looks interesting but Heroscape struck out with the gf, so I haven't built enough political capital to try it

Kings of Tokyo - This is a surprise winner. I feel that I shouldn't like it as much as I do, but I do. The expansion is worth getting right off the bat. It makes the various characters different beyond appearance.

Smallworld - I have it and play it. It's pretty. We all like it. But it lacks luster. I wouldn't pay more than 25$ for it. (I played with brother and liked it so I bought it and it only rarely comes out)
 

Hatorade

A nice asshole.
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Thinking of picking up Mice and Mystics, looks like a board game I can play with my daughter, as well as an rpg I can get into.
 

Seananigans

Honorary Shit-PhD
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Yeah, Mice and Mystics is a great little game, and probably fantastic for kids. It can be altered in any way you wish for difficulty to allow for younger kids to not suck. I recommend.
 

Ome

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Yeah M&M is a great game to play with kids for sure. Its played over multiple chapters that tell a story and allow you to carry over your progress if you so choose. Some choices affect later chapters as well and you have a story to read before and after each chapter. The components are really nice as well. Might be considered a little to simple for older gaming groups at which point something like Descent might be the better choice.
 

Arden

Blackwing Lair Raider
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Any tips from veterans would be appreciated. And please, no bickering about editions, I don't care about it.
-Going to reiterate Slizia's first point: "The most important thing is understanding that being the DM is not about winning against the players, but about crafting a good story for them (a good story is not them being crushed by insurmountable odds nor them saving the world despite acting haphazardly)." If you keep one piece of advice, keep that. The GM wins when the players win- but make them fight for it. If there isn't fear/risk of death then victory doesn't taste very sweet.

also

-Being a good GM is being a prepared GM. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Know what is behind every door before the players get there. Having to stop the flow of the game to read a bunch of text and figure out what it means sucks the life out of the game. Make a list of NPC names ahead of time. For some reason players want to know the name of every schmuck they meet. Make initiative trackers on paper or use the ipad app.
 

Vaclav

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Yeah M&M is a great game to play with kids for sure. Its played over multiple chapters that tell a story and allow you to carry over your progress if you so choose. Some choices affect later chapters as well and you have a story to read before and after each chapter. The components are really nice as well. Might be considered a little to simple for older gaming groups at which point something like Descent might be the better choice.
Interesting - I'd peeked at it a bit, so it is Descentish?
 

Black Sun Wizard

Silver Knight of the Realm
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Vassal is a really good engine for board games and tabletop games (I.E. Warmachine, Warhammer, etc) but it depends on the module you find and how well it is supported. Vassal itself is not super easy to navigate and at times, can be tricky. Download it and try it out. Its free so if it doesn't suite you, then I would trywww.roll20.net

I've been using Roll20.net for a bit now. It started as a Virtual Tabletop for playing pen and paper RPGs but the functionality of it works incredibly for board games and tabletop. Its free to use (but has a way to pay for "more" features) and browser based so hosting and playing is easy. Only drawback is that it doesn't have the modules like Vassal does so graphics, maps, tokens, etc have to manually added or loaded.
 

Ome

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Interesting - I'd peeked at it a bit, so it is Descentish?
Yeah it is very much so in that there is character progression and whatnot if you choose to continue through the chapters that way. Some of the things I can recall off the top of my head are powers that are earned as well as some gear and party gear (altho there are limitations as to what you can take from chapter to chapter). One key difference tho is there is no overlord aka GM running the enemies. They have there own AI so to speak based on the rules.
 

Celebrindal

Golden Squire
516
11
-Going to reiterate Slizia's first point: "The most important thing is understanding that being the DM is not about winning against the players, but about crafting a good story for them (a good story is not them being crushed by insurmountable odds nor them saving the world despite acting haphazardly)." If you keep one piece of advice, keep that. The GM wins when the players win- but make them fight for it. If there isn't fear/risk of death then victory doesn't taste very sweet.

also

-Being a good GM is being a prepared GM. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Know what is behind every door before the players get there. Having to stop the flow of the game to read a bunch of text and figure out what it means sucks the life out of the game. Make a list of NPC names ahead of time. For some reason players want to know the name of every schmuck they meet. Make initiative trackers on paper or use the ipad app.
I've soaked up a lot of information and I'm becoming well prepared on DM'ing a game. Right now I'm involved in the D&D Encounters and then another campaign on the weekends. I also have done a few Roll20 games.

I am in the process of writing my own story for a 1 - 3 adventure. I am fleshing out a bit of the background, but I'm not planning out every little thing that is going to happen, as it is possible the group won't take that path and I don't want to put them on a strict railroad. I have come up with a few major NPCs and I have a few throw-a-ways for random encounters. With the D&D Insider subscription, I have been able to make most of my major encounters, and I have a few random encounters set aside for when they get off the beaten path or are traveling a lot.

Game Mastery Face Cards
Monster Vault
Battle Mat

I will be picking up a dry erase magnet board and
GameMastery Combat Pad Extra Magnet Booster Pack

 

Hatorade

A nice asshole.
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Picked up Mice and Mystics, will be here 7-2-13 will let you all know how it goes. I also plan to paint them, there is guides everyone and some specifically for Mice and Mystics. Going to be awesome.

@Celebrindal, battle mat will be your best friend, even a weak drawing can really pull people in and give everyone the same sense of direction etc.