Pen and Paper

[Mooneyes]

I find it rather odd that I am on my way out the door to watch my first D&D pen and paper session.  Maybe I should have done this a long time ago.  I think I will find out just how much I appreciate the computer version and Layo.  I hear that if you have played D&D that you really hate it or love it.  I'll be the judge of that. Wish me luck

[Lance Stargazer]

Good luck on that.-

Just don't get desperate with the combat system, That would be what takes most time of the session, but it allows to do a lot of things.

Hope you have a Blast.

[Mooneyes]

First of all, everyone had laptops.  DM wanted to use an Excel spreadsheet to do some standard calculations and yahoo messenger to send private chat to individuals and for players to chat with each other secretly.  This was not what I has expected after hearing all about PENS and PAPER campaigns.  It took about an  hour and a half just to get the history and set up of the game.  Let's say we started at 6pm and it lasted until 1am.  There was little rp but alot mechanical movements and rolling of dice.  It seemed to take forever to get around the table.  I think I still walked away last night not knowing what I had seen, a genuine traditional game or a lazy man's substitute.  The most memorable event was when the goblin shaman using a wand with a random effect killed most of the spiders that he had called to help him with a misplaced frieball.  I think I will withhold my judgement for awhile.  I will say I have a better appreciation for Layo and the automatic rolls and the awesome rp.  I will try to post some pics of THE EVENT later today in the gallery.O.o

[Kenderfriend]

@Mooneyes,
I actually used to play good old pen and paper D&D and I can tell you it isnt like that
If anything its simpler than anything that can be done on the computer, and a lot of fun too!
You just need paper to draw a simple map of where you are (with x's for where players are and little squiggly doodles for monsters, chairs in a tavern etc.), ... a pencil, your character sheet, some dice, and a vivid imagination!
We also had a monster manualwhich helps a lot

Granted that when I first started playing I was about 5. I played with my brother who soon lost interest in this kind of thing and my dad was the DM. We had some great fun though, I played a ranger or fighter or something (surprise surprise)

He was never soft on us though, but each time he did something silly it made me laugh


Example 1) We bought our first mules at like level 3 and shortly after he made a big dragon swoop down to carry the horses off.
Example 2) One other time there was a 'npc' who we met who greeted us by saying 'Hi i'm a burglar, theres some treasure over there', which we then followed while the character ran off with our second bunch of donkeys and most of our stuff.
Example 3) we're on a flying carpet (dont ask) when suddenly theres a beholder!! This monster was way too tough for us, but luckily he was a friendly beholder and after a few riddles let us pass.
Example 4) after coming across a town, my character bought a dog that was on sale at the market (I was only little and this was really exciting for me;) ).
....
next time we play... the Dm set up an elaborately evil plan to kill off the dog... just because he got bored it!
Example 5) My brothers character (with such a weird name he made up we just called him weirdo the wizard)
finds a scroll in a cave.
DM: what do you want to do?
brother: I want to read it.
Dm: Okay you read the scroll out... a big storm arises... a hag appears cackling and... zap, you're dead.
brother: hey wait, I meant read it in my head!!

Haha, The good old days :p

I couldn't resist rambling on about our adventures ...

[RollinsCat]

The latest D&D efforts are trying to keep gaming going by setting everything up for distance gaming.  For decades it was groups of friends or like-minded strangers getting together around a table, laughing like fools and eating cholesterol-laden foodstuffs.

The reality of gaming, and people who game, is that we grow up and move away and the internet portion of the new system is useful to keep gaming as an option when meeting in person isn't possible.  but honestly if you're all in the same place, dice and pen and paper and a few books are all you need.  Laptops are silly for that.  gm needs to talk to you, they scribble on a piece of paper.  Part of the fun is making eye contact with other human beings, not staring at a screen!

oo I'm ranting.

also your gm sounds like he needs an infusion of descriptive ability, stat.

[davidhoff]

I have some good memories of table D&D.  Friends gathered around laughing and making the characters on the standard character sheets was fun and exciting.  I also liked all the different dice and ended up buying some of the little zink figurines too.  It was also neat to go in the Hobby store and pick out new dungeon manuals and stuff.

As to game play you're imagination, along with a good DM, can take you to some wonderful places.  Fights take very long, but conversations about things like "which door the right or left?" were very quick.  Probably the thing I disliked the most was when one of the characters died and the guy had to sit there and watch the rest of us play and he had nothing to do.

[Warchild214]

My experiences with PnP were all good, but I also got out of it before the age of technology came upon us.  It sounds like "Pen and Paper" has now become "Laptops and IM".. for some...  

Mooneyes, I would try to give it another chance with some "real" old school style of D&D play. Pencils, Paper, books, Dice, friends and all the imagination you can bring to the table.  You will see it in a totally different way I think.

MY longest D&D session ever I think lasted around 16 hours....lol!

As long as you have fun with whatever you do...it doesnt matter what style you choose...as long as you fun doing it.

[ycleption]

I haven't done a ton of PnP, but from what I can tell, no two groups really run the game the same. Some like the electronic stuff, some like pencils with real graphite in them. Some groups roll dice a lot, others RP nearly everything.

Also, in my experience, choice of system doesn't matter as much as people make it seem. A good DM, with good players will make a D&D game a lot of fun, and a bad DM with bad players can make a D&D game really boring... and the same is true of whatever game or system you choose to play.

[Mooneyes]

I think I will give it another shot.  Last night there were 8 players and a GM with 3 people watching.  There WAS lots of food and drink with the smell of energy in the room.  I'll have to mention that the Dm was Engineer so maybe that explains the spreadsheet and yahoo messenger.

[Lance Stargazer]

... I'll have to mention that the Dm was Engineer so maybe that explains the spreadsheet and yahoo messenger.

Hey ... I resent that.

[lonnarin]

I use my laptop when I GM just because its easier than juggling 50 books, but the players roll real dice, use standard character sheets, and otherwise are wholley analog.  In between PnP games right now, trying to decide whether I want to run 3.5 Pathfinder or keep working on my "ShadowTrek" suppliment to Shadowrun 4.  I got bored one day and sat down, writing up over 86 pages of add-on rules to use the Shadowrun 4 system with a Star Trek environment.  I think races account for at least 40 pages of that, and ships another 15.  Still working out the ship combat and astral navigation aspects, as well as the whole diverting ships resources from one system to the other, and called shots on specific systems.

Prefer using Shadowrun rules for that, since it's a campaign setting where a single disrupter blast could vaporize a player.  Have to balance dodging, luck, cinematics with the combat so it's neither too hard or easy.  Hence, massive use of the Edge(luck) stat.