Anyone? Anyone?

[Baron_Samedi]

Anyone here interested in a Ravenloft PBP?

Considering we're all Ravenloft fans, and we are a geographically diverse, if not dispersed group...it might be worth looking into...

We'd need a few players and someone to run it...

I welcome your input...

[Arkhemedes]

I'm not sure how it works, but I'd be willing to give it a try. Some one else would have to run it though. I've already got enough on my plate as it is. By the way Baron, if your looking for a get together Ravenloft group come September, look me up. Who knows? I may have an opening then.

[Baron_Samedi]

From what i've gathered a play by post would be as follows...

someone would run the game, come up with the story; like a GM...he/she manages the action and the other players in the post would list their actions within the PBP forum...as for dice...could be done by a neutral party...could be done on the honour system...people roll dice and list their results...could be done by GM/DM or even dicebot...and the advantage is, for those with little time...each person has a few days to act...and doesn't require a lot of time...

as for the invite...i'm not sure what i'll be doing either, but i'll keep you in mind...

thanks for the invite...

[Baron_Samedi]

Alright...after much discussion and back and forth, we now have a Ravenloft PBP...don't worry the title has nothing to do with the game, it just sounds darkly cryptic...befitting the setting...

First things first...those of you interested need to complete the following questionaire in the forum and send your character concepts to me via PM...it doesn't have to be detailed down to the day...but rather an abbreviated biography and character overview would be nice...

Here we go...

I. What edition do you wish to play? 3.x or 4e? I am very comfortable with 3.x, it tends to work best with the system, but i cannot ignore the popularity of 4e...either or...

II. Dice Rolls...Are we going to roll actual bones ourselves and post the results per the honour system? Do we want the DM to roll the dice for us? Do we want a dice roller? Do we want to appoint a player to be responsible for bones rolling or a dice roller program? Note: I have NO clue as to where to find dice rolling programs...so any info on where they are and how they work would be great...

III. Maps...do we want to have them at all? Do i need to create maps when and as needed and send them via email? or will a description of the scene work just as well...remember...Ravenloft isn't about combat...so it is very unlikely that you will be pitted against a party of creatures of platoon strength or more...

IV. How often will players be required to post? three days...five days...a week...its not crucial that the game be fast moving...but for everyone else involved, it is nice to keep the game going...

V. Where do you want to start? For the benefit of those not as familiar with the system as others, i'm going to put my foot down and say that the Core is the best place to start...as for what domain...it is up to you...post conjunction if you please...remember that each domain has its own culture and technology level and it varies greatly between each...

VI. OOC: Out of Character discussion...we are going to have out of character comments, its just going to happen...i don't mind the occassional quip or comment on the bottom of your post...but do we want a thread purely for OOC? or just leave it as i mentioned?

Again, this game is for you the players, feel free to make suggestions as needed...hope you have fun with it...Good Luck!!!
VII. Any other rules that i'm missing? I'm going to be putting down rules for frequency of posts and inter post ettiquette after we get everything else hashed out...any suggestions can be made in this thread...i'll be sending a PM to those who i know are interested...feel free to use this thread as a discussion site for your ideas...

[Arkhemedes]

Great job on the ground rules Baron. As for your questions here's my input:

I. I have to go with 3.x as I know squat about 4e.

II. As I've already stated, I prefer the DM to do the dice rolling and I know nothing about dice roller programs.

III. Here's what I've been thinking about maps. In situations where combat is likely to break out I would prefer the DM send maps (via e-mail I suppose). The DM could put the maps on graph paper and label two sides of it with letters and numbers so that we could easily keep track of PC and monster positions by stating "My character/monster moves to space B4 (or whatever)" or "My spell will be centered on space F7 provided none of my allies have moved into the area of effect."

IV. I think every 3 or 4 days would work for me except in rare circumstances, in which case I could probably give advance notice, or as you said, ask for more time.

V. I'm fine with where ever we start. As far as I'm concerned it's up to you the DM. And post-conjunction is probably best.

VI. I agree with the out of character discussion. I think it will be difficult enough as it is to set a proper Ravenloft mood online without enteruptions of questions, game mechanics, etc. I'm used to playing by candle light and spooky music. It would be cool if we could just stick to story only on the main thread, though I don't know how feesible that would be.

VII. As I've said before, I like the idea of giving each player a set of numbers, assigned by the DM, to distribute to each of his character's ability scores as they see fit, to avoid any dice rolling and keep it fair for every one.

I do have one question though, and pardon my ignorance on the matter. Will you be getting with Farcaster to set up a special PBP group or are we just using Gardens of Stone? I'm not sure how that works.
--- Merged from Double Post ---
Got another question. I've been looking at classes and prestige classes. I'm seeing that most prestige classes shown in the various Ravenloft books are fairly specific as far as areas, types of environments, types of monsters they hunt, their religions, etc. Can you give us any indications on what might or might not work best for your intended adventures. I realize you may not want to reveal too much. But I sure would hate to be a vampire hunter if all we're going to do is chase after ghosts. The same can be said about classes. Are there any you would not recommend such as druids, paladins, barbarians, etc.? As I've mentioned, I'm just now learning 3.x so I think I'll keep it fairly simple and go with a warrior of some kind, with the possibility of switching to the Monster Hunter class at some point if we get that far. Also, am I correct in assuming we'll be starting with first level characters?

[Nikodemos (called Torch)]

I know next to nothing on PbP, and my mastery of 3rd edition is limited, and non-existent for 4th edition. I wouldnt mind trying this out, but my time is limited due to work and home life of late (Summers here are very busy at work and home, while winters are totally dead for me--too bad were not doing this in October--lol). It wouldnt be fair to other players to have to wait 2 or 3 days for my responses (actions, conversations, opinions, etc.). Im also leaving town for 3 weeks starting on the 29th. I wont be on the comp at all until I get to Russells house after the 4th.

However, I would like to follow this PbP and perhaps join in on the next one if its something that really interests me.

[Baron_Samedi]

Got another question. I've been looking at classes and prestige classes. I'm seeing that most prestige classes shown in the various Ravenloft books are fairly specific as far as areas, types of environments, types of monsters they hunt, their religions, etc. Can you give us any indications on what might or might not work best for your intended adventures. I realize you may not want to reveal too much. But I sure would hate to be a vampire hunter if all we're going to do is chase after ghosts. The same can be said about classes. Are there any you would not recommend such as druids, paladins, barbarians, etc.? As I've mentioned, I'm just now learning 3.x so I think I'll keep it fairly simple and go with a warrior of some kind, with the possibility of switching to the Monster Hunter class at some point if we get that far. Also, am I correct in assuming we'll be starting with first level characters?

As for the forum in general, no i don't need Farcaster's help right now...but we'll keep all options open...

as for classes and races and prestige...that's where the domain plays an important part...there are three classes that fit everywhere, but the domain determines everything else...so where as i know that most people don't mind where they start...i need as specific as possible...Barovia...Sithicus...Dementlieu...Darko n...Nova Vaasa...each are unique...with race and religion...so just think on it...i'm not looking to start before July...so everyone's got time...
--- Merged from Double Post ---

I know next to nothing on PbP, and my mastery of 3rd edition is limited, and non-existent for 4th edition. I wouldnt mind trying this out, but my time is limited due to work and home life of late (Summers here are very busy at work and home, while winters are totally dead for me--too bad were not doing this in October--lol). It wouldnt be fair to other players to have to wait 2 or 3 days for my responses (actions, conversations, opinions, etc.). Im also leaving town for 3 weeks starting on the 29th. I wont be on the comp at all until I get to Russells house after the 4th.

However, I would like to follow this PbP and perhaps join in on the next one if its something that really interests me.

I understand that life happens...i've got my son for the month of July...no worries...the invite still stands...the game should be going for sometime so just get here when you can...
--- Merged from Double Post ---
I think for all interested parties, we'll start in Barovia as it is central to the setting and geographically in the core...starting races are human, half-elf, half-vistani, halfling and dwarf...but keep in mind that humans are the most accepted of the races...but the outsiders index isn't as bad as some...starting classes are clerics, fighters, rangers, rogues and sorcerors...clerical domains are The Morninglord and Ezra...cultural level is Medieval with a magic rating of 3, which means that magic for the most part is uneffected...

anyother questions let me know...

[Arkhemedes]

Cool. I'm thinking human warrior (fighter or ranger) or cleric over here. I'll wait to see what others have to say. Something else I've been looking at also Baron. If you can scan any maps that you make you can post them as attachments here as well. It would be easier than e-mailing them.

[Baron_Samedi]

Yeah right, no problem...last time i tried to attach anything to anything on this computer-gadget it took me four hours!!!

That's a good one...

[Tamerath]

Just throwing in my stone on this

I'd love to be a part of the game and/or help with it. As I've only done a chat based adventure though in the past I'm not too familiar on how these things are done online.


I. What edition do you wish to play? I vote for 4th but I'm up for 3.5 or 2nd Edition and can possibly get my hands on the 2nd Edition core Rules disk...though I don't have a clue if it'll still work on my newer computer (think it was like DOS based or early Win 95)

II. Dice Rolls...I'm all for the DM just rolling for me if it makes it easier. Honor system would be fine too...I'm all for letting the dice fall where they may good or bad

III. Maps...do we want to have them at all? Do i need to create maps when and as needed and send them via email? I don't know how to approach this honestly...if you CAN create maps and send them out sure..but I don't know how it's going to be when all out combat happens...so totally in the dark here.

IV. How often will players be required to post? 1 per day is fine for me at least

V. Where do you want to start? I'm all for the Core...something kinda "regular dndish" as for the technology level...don't really wanna be walking around with bronze age weapons.

VI. OOC: Out of Character discussion...I'd say just leave as is for now..and as anything with Pen and Paper games if it starts to get bothersome or out of topic for 3+ posts then I say make a new OOC thread. I'm all for the immersion though.

[Baron_Samedi]

Alright, sounds good so far...i'm going to post the official rules in the Vaults of Silence thread tomorrow...i'll need character designs within the next week or so...be sure to check for the info and keep in touch...

[Baron_Samedi]

I've spent the better part of an hour trying different map generators, but it looks like i'm just going to have to get dirty and do it the old fashion way with a blank hex grid and the paint program...if any one else can find something that will load onto the site, let me know...

[Baron_Samedi]

And that's it for this thread...I'm closing it out...anything else for the PBP you can check out on the Questions, Comments and Observations thread...