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We started early and I got the ball rolling talking about Carl's game, Wizards and Heroes, which I had just run at NEA Game Fest. And we also discussed:
PbtA - Powered by the apocalypse
Gumshoe
Dread
Five Torches Deep
Shadow of the Demon Lord
Beyond The Wall
Maze Rats
Godbound
Numenara
Not all rules lite. Some had parts that were rules lite or were compared to rules lite.
We also discussed 5e as opposed to rules lite games. What's good and not so good about 5e. Of course many people love 5e but no game is perfect and we were born to complain about stuff.
Later on we got into castle building. Here's some links to blogs that were posted.
A Little Bit More About Strongholds
https://dungeonspossums.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-little-bit-more-about-strongholds_5.html
OSR: Building Castles
https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/09/osr-building-castles.html
After I feel asleep they got into Blackmarsh.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89944/Blackmarsh
It was a great chat. Thanks to Masked and Danger, Jake the Human, Mage, and others for carrying the ball while I tried to keep up.
JesseQ made a post about how he would use multiple free online tools for online gaming. I have been wanting to set up an Actual Play podcast as a Gamer+ event and JesseQ's post got me thinking. Here's his out of the box suggestions.
Discord for chat (text, video, voice)
Miro for shared whiteboard/tabletop
Watch2Gether for atmosphere/music
I have come up with another platform set.
Discord - Tenkar's Tavern in particular for the chatroom/game table
Web Whiteboard - A whiteboard app on the web the DM could use for drawing maps or diagrams for online games. You can also post text and pictures. Players can also post, make map annotations during play, upload something they saw, etc.
File Downloads - My Pydio instance does this great. There are many other free web alternatives.
So the only barrier to participation is getting into Tenkars Tavern on Discord. Discord has become a new standard for voice chat and their apps are easy to install and work on every platform.
Once you are in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern the DM can post a link to the whiteboard set up for this game. The players click on this link and they are there on the whiteboard. No passwords or accounts required.
The DM can also post a link to a folder on Pydio. The players can follow this link, browse pregens, and download or print the character sheet they choose to play. The DM has a different link that allows uploading and file deletion. Again no install, passwords, or accounts required.
And this is the key. Follow the link and you're in.
You enter the chatroom. The DM posts a link and you go pick a character. When the DM starts to draw something he posts a link. You follow the link and view what he's drawing. It would even be possible to lay out battle maps and move player tokens on the map.
So these two apps, the whiteboard and the file manager, are both included in Miro as per JesseQ's suggestion. There is an advantage to having these both in one app. But Miro is more complicated to use and the DM would have to send player invites which means collecting emails. In some situations this would not be cumbersome but for Gamer+, If You Play You Win, actual play podcasts I wanted it to be as easy as possible to jump into the game.
As JesseQ suggests, Gamer+ has set up a Watch2Gether channel that the DM could use for Monster noises and appropriate background music. It is also available for listening on the public web just by linking in with no password or account necessary.
So this is just another possible way to set up for online gaming. I chose these apps because of their open availability to anyone without having to install apps or create accounts. There might be better choices for your games or campaigns. Please leave your ideas in the comments.
Thanks
AEIOU posts in the_dungeon_show at Tenkar's Tavern
@Bruce_Lombardo The Dungeon Show has ended its famous run and is already dearly missed. @Carl Heyl (Wild Games Prod) has a new project (or a few new ones?) that he's working on. This space has been subleased for a weekly Monday chat regarding G+ (Gamer+) with @hairylarry . It's a nascent social media hub that holds considerable promise for the gaming community.
Carl Heyl adds
Gamerplus is something dad and I thought up on the way home from North Texas RPG Con. I hope it works well for people
It's at gamerplus.org
Bruce Lombardo says
I like Gamerplus.
LaramieWall chimes in
Sub-Pexx Laramie will be transitioning this space from Dungeon Show to Harry Larry's new plans .
AEIOU jokes (I think)
Hairy Larry's Nefarious Plan for World Domination would be a good working title for the channel
hairylarry replies
If I had the ring I could rule the world Bwa ha ha ha ha.
I would like both the voice and text chats to be renamed Gamer+
Looks like you can use minus signs (-) so plus signs (+) will probably be ok.
Right now our only event is the Monday night Inspired Unreality Open Game Chat. We plan on having occasional guests and I have an under my hat idea for a monthly podcast as part of this event.
I also have plans for an Actual Play event called If You Play You Win. This would be one offs, jump in and jump out, with rotating DMs. The DM for the session will pick the game system. It would be really cool to have DMs playing their own modules or even their own rule systems.
At Gamer+ we have international gamers and also some early risers and off to work folks so we might experiment with the time slots to include them. Not for Inspired Unreality but definitely for new events.
How's that for riveting dialogue?
Me:
I will be on chat again tonight. What I would like to do is open a Gamer+ chatroom to be used anytime. The Monday night open game chat will be the first event. I hope there will be others in the future. Sometimes with guests. I will still post into the Dungeon Show channel to let people know where we are.
I tried reaching you on Facebook but I'm still not confirmed. Thanks.
Pexx:
Would you like to rename the Dungeon Show to something else? And what start time would you like?
Do you need help getting guests?
Me:
No, I would like to leave the Dungeon Show up for a few weeks so I can post info in there Monday nights. After that I have nothing to say about it. It's Carl's show and it ended so that decision will be up to you. I just want it up for a few weeks to help with the transition.
I would like to start the Monday Night Open Game Chat at 9:00 and end it when it peters out. I will be there posting for at least an hour, sometimes longer and I will try to continue chatting as long as it's happening.
I would like the Gamer+ room to be available anytime so I can promote it as available on gamerplus.org. I would like to add other events as Gamer+ gears up. One time and weekly. Maybe even some actual game play events.
I would definitely like to have help getting guests. We won't be recording a podcast so it will just be Q&A with the guest as well as open game chat.
My idea for tonight and other nights without guests is to post text on topics I've been thinking about, like the OGL last week. Just to try to get a discussion started. Also make it clear that it's open game chat. All tabletop games are on topic. And also encourage others to text chat about things they would like to discuss.
If we could work around to having guest about half the time that would be fine. Thanks for your help with this.
9:00 CST - same as the dungeon show - that's the schedule I'm used to and it's been working for me so why change it?
Vivian and I are trying to come up with a title for the Monday night event. We would like to emphasize creativity, game design, mechanics, writing, art, cartography, etc. We don't want the title to be RPG centric although I expect most chats will be.
Creative Conquests, If You Play You Win, Inspired Unreality, Inspired Ingenuity
Something better than Open Game Chat.
Add your content - Contact hairylarry or TheEvilDM
Link to Gamer+ from your website or blog. Gamer+ Links
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