D&D & Gaming & Nostalgia

[Green1]

Oh, my machine was basic specs 3 years ago when I got it - if I do any BE modding, it will be with screenies someone supplied me - I've never had 5, but did a pile of avatars when it came out anyway.

Actually, I should upload said pile to the installed stuff, shouldn't I?  I think I'll do that now.

I will probably not get involved with Civ:BE due to a very limited financial budget. My computer was basic and standard 4 years ago.

I have been there. I have had what I called my "dark ages of gaming" where I did not game much at all because of my lack of income and the huge expense of buying equipment to stay in the fight. The last dark ages lasted from the mid 90s to the early 00s. I missed Ultima Online, the first Civs, and a few other gems from that era. Did not play AC till 3 years after release when I saw it on special at a Virgin Mega store. Someone had given me an old Pentium with Wndows 98.

At least back then I made up for it by playing a lot of Dungeons and Dragons in coffee houses. Only expense there was books, coffee, and dice. Had to buy a battle mat, but no way was I going to get trapped into getting hundreds of minis. We used dice and markers for characters and creatures.

In a way, though, I miss those days even more than the best computer gaming memories. Do not know anyone that plays, I am older and I do not think I would be well received sitting at the table with 18 to 30 year old LSU college nerds, nor do I think I could set aside being a certain place at a certain time week after week. There is something to be said about face to face gaming.

[Dio]

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

[Green1]

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

That and recruiting and keeping attendance. If you were a DM, everything you drew up could be made worthless if 2 people out of five did not show that were crucial to the storyline. It was a pain in the ass.

I agree, one shots are cool. But the problem was and still is that a lot of folks push for campaigns instead yet lack the commitment todo a campaign and refuse to do one shots.

Another problem is the whole DM "my world" issues. Everyone wants to be the DM, but you got to check your ego at the door and remember it is the player's fun that matters, not your "world". So many DMs out there that do not let the players do cool stuff... I think those issues as well as what you have mentioned killed off the pencil and paper movement.

That and the fact that there are MMOs. MMOs lack the flexibility and personal touch. But you do not have to worry with egos preventing you from gaming with rules that change on whims, pissing people off if you quit/ can not show up/ want to get laid instead that day, and you can play at 3 AM in your underwear and not have to go out if you wish.

[Buster's Uncle]

Take this (excellent) OT to Other Games, maybe?  This is a Site thread about recruiting efforts...  Cool if I split it off?

Also?

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

Yeah; getting up with people is the big hassle...

[Dio]

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

That and recruiting and keeping attendance. If you were a DM, everything you drew up could be made worthless if 2 people out of five did not show that were crucial to the storyline. It was a pain in the ass.

I agree, one shots are cool. But the problem was and still is that a lot of folks push for campaigns instead yet lack the commitment todo a campaign and refuse to do one shots.

Another problem is the whole DM "my world" issues. Everyone wants to be the DM, but you got to check your ego at the door and remember it is the player's fun that matters, not your "world". So many DMs out there that do not let the players do cool stuff... I think those issues as well as what you have mentioned killed off the pencil and paper movement.

That and the fact that there are MMOs. MMOs lack the flexibility and personal touch. But you do not have to worry with egos preventing you from gaming with rules that change on whims, pissing people off if you quit/ can not show up/ want to get laid instead that day, and you can play at 3 AM in your underwear and not have to go out if you wish.

No comment on the last paragraph because it is not applicable to me. Otherwise that pretty much sums up my experience with the game.

[Green1]

Take this (excellent) OT to Other Games, maybe?  This is a Site thread about recruiting efforts...  Cool if I split it off?

Also?

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

Yeah; getting up with people is the big hassle...

No issues, BU.

"Missing Old Friends" brought me off on a tangent about DnD.

[Dio]

Take this (excellent) OT to Other Games, maybe?  This is a Site thread about recruiting efforts...  Cool if I split it off?

Also?

I have played a few D&D games and was never particularly impressed with the game. I found the time commitment and scheduling to be the most painful part of playing the game. However, if you simply played one off games it could be okay.

Yeah; getting up with people is the big hassle...

I am fine with it being moved.

[Buster's Uncle]

Check Other Games shortly...

[Green1]

and it is here...

One of the other things that irked me some times in my DnD days. I was heavily into it and may have had more experience than most of you guys.

The "girlfriend/wife/lover/ whatever" of the DM.

I am not talking about girl gamers. Most of the best girl gamers will theorycraft and out tactical battle the best gamers. They simply rock and are out of the league of mere mortals. Anyone saying otherwise has not been around them.

Instead, I am talking about the person who happens to be sleeping with the DM. She is given extreme favoritism on loot, is often allowed to do cool things while your character is limited, and even the slightest disagreement can earn wrath and being kicked from game. Extra facepalm points if the DM's significant other can not play and has no intentions of learning and the DM tells her exactly how to play the character.

Any old pnp gamer run into that one?

[Buster's Uncle]

I did have a few gurlz in my circle back in the day, but none of that crap, IIRC - and I would have been annoyed by any unfairness I noticed, and remembered.

[Green1]

I did have a few gurlz in my circle back in the day, but none of that crap, IIRC - and I would have been annoyed by any unfairness I noticed, and remembered.

Yeah... and those games never lasted long. If they made it 3 sessions, it was lucky.

[Buster's Uncle]

It is true that none were regulars, yes.

[Green1]

My campaign I ran lasted the longest. It ran from 00 to about 2004 every week and spanned 2nd to 3rd edition. I think one of the keys was I let them do cool things. Those guys were ruling nations and changing the world towards the end. I was merely a CPU like a computer running an MMO. That and we were all service industry and Mondays were always off. New Orleans is set up for walkers and bike riders so they did not really have to commute. We did have one guy drive 2 hours to game with us because he lived in Mississippi and could not find games there.

But hell.. I should tell you the tale of the worst "DM/DMs girl" stories ever.

After the game I had collapsed in 2004 because of folks taking new jobs, not being abl to make it, etc I wanted to find a new game. While a lot of folks once they have DMed successfully refuse to do anything else but DM, I did not really care. I like the game for the tactics aspect whether it was building one charater or controlling hordes of well balanced creatures against 5 or 6 other folks who were building their own combos and strats.

I saw on my computer there was a meetup group at he FairGrinds coffeehouse up in Mid City. I took off on my bike over there. Unfortunately, for supposedly being a "DnD" meetup group, there was no DnD actually being played. Instead there was about 3 DMs looking to recruit. Blasphemy. When I was at Rue, there was gaming. We made you watch us play then the next session, you were in. that was the first flag. Why no gaming?

One of the DMs was not looking for gamers. e hosted the meetup group and was just there to facilitate the meet up. Lame. the second DM was not even running a DnD game. Instead he was some kind of indie wannabe publisher that wanted to play test his product. Nothing against that, but that was not what I wanted.

The third DM and his wife were actually looking for players for a DnD campaign. My interest was tweaked until the host pulled me to the side. He told me that he himself and a few random others decided to give the guy and his wife a go at gaming the meetup the month before. They all made characters that were first level with almost no equipment. So far a bit underpowered for my taste, but par for the course for most DMs I thought. The session that they were in he described then took the form of a mad, surreal ego trip. The wife was some sort of goddess and the characters were trapped on some sort of ethereal planescapish type hell where they could do nothing useful and all the monsters could one-shot them.

Needless to say, even if the DM and his wife learned their lesson, I really wanted tactics and not an ego booster group role play astral meditation fantasy. I caught a ride back with the indie developer, putting my bike in his trunk. I think I played nothing but MMOs until Katrina hit a year later except for an occasional one shot with the Rue de la Course alumni when they popped in.

[Buster's Uncle]

My brother says Norleans is infested with demons, and maybe you met a couple that night.

[Green1]

My brother says Norleans is infested with demons, and maybe you met a couple that night.

Yeah... some also view "roleplaying" as BDSM. Slave/master sex stuff and spankings.  Lots of that in New Orleans. There were times that I had to clarify myself online.

No... I do not want to be a slave and be tied down irl. I want tactical battles with in character stories behind those tactical battles. Of course if you are a cute girl and want to dress like an elf.....

That stuff came up more often than I would have liked.