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TheZoobler
2013-12-15, 11:50 AM
How do they work? Let me elaborate.

I'm pretty new to DnD. I've always been extremely interested in giving it a shot, whether its because of comics like OOTS or DnD-based games and books or just paging through the rulebooks in stores and absorbing all the monster, class, race, deity/etc fluff text. The concept and systems of DnD fascinate me, and I love roleplaying in the MMOs that I play (a pale imitation, I know). So, I've always been wanting to dig in and go through a campaign.

Well, I tried 3.5e in middle school, but only the DM and I really cared about it whatsoever so our group didn't last more than two sessions. Years later my then-current different group of friends bought a bunch of 4e rulebooks and tried that, but again, I and one (or two, it was hard to tell) were the only people interested in a truly epic roleplaying and gaming session and everyone else got bored and left after trying it for months. Very disappointing, as I bought a *ton* of 4e core books and supplements, hoping that the group would stick together. Years later *again*, the books are collecting dust on my shelf, occasionally being looked through for fun.

TL;DR
So I'm curious to try an online campaign, whether it be by forum thread or email or whatever other methods exist. I'd be playing 4e, because I have just a pile of books from that edition. There are some questions about this:

-Where should I go and what format is best for an online campaign group? Especially if I'm kind of a beginner. These forums? Other forums?

-All I really know about online campaigns is that they're usually carried out via forum or e-mail. Doesn't that make things move at a glacial pace, as each player posts/emails their action, one by one, waiting for the next to take their turn?

-Do players commit to a specific 2-4hour timeslot on a specified day and all participate actively in the thread, or is the game just played at the pace of whenever the current player manages to reply, in a very laid back fashion?

-How the heck do dice rolls work?

-Is it even worth trying a campaign online? I would love to get into DnD and have had absolutely no luck finding friends or local players who can stay interested, so online group finding is a tempting option. But it just isn't the same as sitting around a table with friends and snacks and roleplaying on the fly: should I even bother, or am I better off just waiting till I can make something happen IRL? Haha.

A_Man
2013-12-15, 11:57 AM
I've played a lot of pbp games. It really depends on what site youre playing on, and who the DM is.

Firstly, only thing that moves slowly (in my experiences) is combat, but not always. Pbp are generally heavily focused on the roleplaying aspect as opposed to the combat aspect, as well.

However, pbp are prone to DMs quitting, or players quitting. I think I've completed 5 structured games, multiple freeformed ones, but the amount of structured games that were canceled are uncountable (all from the same DM though).

Though, I've never played d&d pbp, only i20 and CoC.

LimeSkeleton
2013-12-15, 11:57 AM
If you're considering a play-by-post game, this thread here should give you quite a bit of the information you're looking for.

Guide to Play By Post Games (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257924)

TheZoobler
2013-12-15, 12:17 PM
Thanks for the tips! :)

jedipotter
2013-12-15, 12:22 PM
Yes, Play By Post games are very, very slow. But they are still worth it. If you can't game any other way, or just want another game fix, they work just fine.

Most games just wait for everyone to post. With people all around the world, it can take a long time. But, still it is better then nothing. Some times a game might try to get everyone online at the same time and post a lot. But that is rare and hard to do.

Any PBP site, like say right here in the Playground, has a Dice Roller program.

They are worth it. You can have lots of fun. They sure are not a replacemnt for a real life game....but they are better then nothing.

Krunch
2013-12-15, 12:24 PM
Campaigns are absolutely worth playing online. However, I've yet to ever experience a good play-by-post campaign. They're incredibly slow paced, heavy-rolling systems don't translate well, and the freedom it provides actually works against it, in my opinion.

Of course, some people like PbP. To each their own.

I use Roll20 and Tangled Web forums to recruit my players. I'd suggest trying to join an online game first; most DMs are willing to accept players unfamiliar with the systems (or just now coming back to them, in your case), so long as they're actively present and willing to learn.

If you can join a group that plays at a specific time on roll20, maptools or openRPG, that will be your best bet.

ngilop
2013-12-15, 01:45 PM
PbP are nice.

Yes they are slow.. very very slow. and id say 99.9999% of them die within the first month due to player abandonment or the DM disappearing.

the longest PbP I was ever in was a 2nd ed one and we did a new 'turn' about 2 sometimes 3 times per week. this went on for a bit over 3 years and I finally level a couple of months before the game ended.

3rd ed is a bit faster, your looking at about 5ish months to level IF you post 2 or 3 times a week.

some site have a dice rolling script (like GiTP or Mythweavers) others have a dice rolling program (such as RPoL)

id recommend going to RPoL to start your PbP experience. the site is made for PbP and has a dice roller program, each game is basically its own collection of threads and there are a lot of other cool addition the site has over say GiTP that in the end is just a forum.

Plus the people are extremely friendly to a new person (ps im one of them)

If its hard/nigh impossible to find a real life tabletop group, your only other option is PbP.

if you are lucky enough to find a game that last more than a month. you are going to have a great experience. On top of that, you are going to learn more about the rules of the game and have some great ideas.

TheZoobler
2013-12-15, 09:24 PM
I'll check out... Roll20 and RPoL? then :).

Maybe I'll play 4e since I have a pile of books just waiting on my shelf. Dying to play a Dragonborn Paladin!

Maybe I'll go out and buy the core rulebook for Pathfinder, because I just now read up on it AND completed a 001-934 archive binge on OOTS. And if I recall correctly OOTS is set in a 3.5-based world? Which Pathfinder sounds like it continues the spirit of. This sentence is confusing itself. Re-reading OOTS has me in a 3.5/pathfinder mood, and pathfinder sounds like its popular right now lol.

ngilop
2013-12-15, 09:53 PM
yes all of the PF rules (well like 95% of them) are free on theri own SRD (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/) ( of the pathfinder reference document as they call it) as well as their unoffical SRD (http://www.d20pfsrd.com)

of course D&D has its own unofficial SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) as well. The offical SRD for 3.5 is on the wizards website and is a bunhc of downloadable RTF files.


basically pathfidner is a bunch of 3rd ed houserules that managed to be the houserules of a D&D pubilcation company who had the necassary backing and fanbase to publish their own rules. if you know one, you know the other with some slight tweaks

I will not get into if PF fixed what they claimed to have or not, and I hope nobody else will either as that has been discussed several times in many threads.

TheZoobler
2013-12-15, 10:01 PM
Oooh, wow, did not know this kind of thing (an SRD) was up to view online. Cool, now I have something to page through while I slowly add to my collection of expensive books IRL :)

Thank you!

ngilop
2013-12-15, 10:06 PM
you are welcome:)

I just want your first experience with the D&D community and the GiTP community to have been a nice and helpful one.

hopefully I hit that mark :)


you ever need any help with anything feel free to send me a PM :smallsmile: