The Red Dragon Inn - home of the Audalis campaign setting.  Online D&D gaming, art, poerty, stories, advice, chat, and more

Support the Inn! If you are doing holiday shopping online, please use this affiliate link for Amazon.
You pay the exact same prices, but the Inn earns a small referral fee. Thanks!

We currently have 4063 registered users. Our newest member is Hammeyaneggs.
Online members:
Username Password Remember me
Not a member? Join today! | Forgot your password?
Latest Updated Forum Topics  [more...]
Q&A Threads - Return to Charadun - Q&A (posted by Chessicfayth)Return to Charadun - Q&A
Posting Games - The Morphing Game (posted by TannTalas)The Morphing Game
Posting Games - The One Word Game (posted by TannTalas)The One Word Game
Recruitment Threads - Return to Charadun - Recruitment (posted by Eol Fefalas)Return to Charadun - Recr
Personal Creations - Miniature Painting (posted by t_catt11)Minis!
Latest Blog Entries
Revenge of the Drunken Dice
Latest Webcomics
Loaded Dice #80: Priorities
RPG MB #15: Master of the Blade
Floyd Hobart #19: High School Reunion IV
There are currently 3 users logged into DragonChat.
Is the site menu broken for you? Click here for the fix!

You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> General Forum --> Comings and Goings --> Hello!
Jump to: [First Page] [Prev] 1 2   
    Messages in Hello!
RDI T-shirts!

Dungeon Master
Price: $14.00



RDI T-shirts!

Trust the DM
Price: $17.00

Shaithis
Veteran Visitor
Karma: 10/0
194 Posts


Good to hear

Ok so I got my post up at recruitment. Everyone make sure to read it and then be hypnotised by my hidden subliminal commands...

Bwahahahah!

No really. My friend and I had this awesome idea for a Battlestar storyline, somewhat following the premise of the show.

Who doesn't want to be a Viper pilot? Who doesn't want to command a battlestar? I mean, really.

Anyway... I'd love to get into some vampire, and quite possibly might recruit some of my own players, assuming I can compel them to log in. I think I might bring two or three other players to the inn with confidence, and maybe a couple more.

I have some questions, and I hope its not bad form to post them here.

a) I have read vague comments about locked rooms. Whats all that about?

2) Is there a "standard" that is considered commonplace as far as play format around here? I see that timestamps are critical, and a generally good idea, what else?

d) It seems that the in character game threads are overlapping in one gestalt thread. Is this the standard? How is game-critical information handled? For example, a scene in which one of my players is revealed to be a cylon agent... but only one crewmember is there... am I going to have to let every player I have see that scene? What is done in other games?


Posted on 2008-05-07 at 01:44:00.

t_catt11
Fun is Mandatory
RDI Staff
Karma: 371/54
7067 Posts


the only dumb question is the one you don't ask...

Interesting question numbering. a, 2, d. Yep, you grew up in Alabama!


Here we go:

a) I have read vague comments about locked rooms. Whats all that about?
a) In past incarnations of the site, we'd sometimes have issues with poeple posting to games who were not actually players of said games. Even now, from time to time, this can happen... newbies mostly will post to a game they think is interesting, not realizing (or caring) that the game is only for those accepted by the GM.

Not too long ago, we made it posible to "lock" a game thread (either in the rules-based or freeform forums) to everyone but those specifically designated by the game's GM (aka the thread author). This is accomplished by choosing the thread type when you start it, or by editing your thread appropriately. If you need help on this, PM me or post here.



2) Is there a "standard" that is considered commonplace as far as play format around here? I see that timestamps are critical, and a generally good idea, what else?
2) Not really. Different GMs run games according to their own taste. Some games require nothing but one or two line posts "I stab the orc," while others expect novellas for posts (see the Star Trek games). Most fall somewhere in between.

Many games have no set posting structure, while a few (again, see the Trek games) have some fairly strict formatting.

Timestamps are a very good idea in games that allow for a lot of leeway as to when characters do various things, or when time might be critically important. In traditional "party-based" games - e.g. D&D - this isn't as big of a deal, since everyone is together anyway, and nothing much will happen until the GM says so.

In the oft-mentioned Trek games, a player is allowed to control not only their character, but multiple NPCs, which may be scattered all over a huge starship and/or a nearby point of interest (starbase, planet, etc). Without timestamps and locations, the game becomes impossible to read.

In my Cold Day in Hell game, I timestamp everything to the minute, but this is largely a style choice on my part, meant to help reinforce the structured, military flavor of the game more than anything else (and to give me some backup on a few rulings that might come up).

In my Guiding Light game, I post a header with the date, location, and approximate time of day, but nothing more. This is purely a cosmetic choice on my part, and really adds nothing to the game. I just like to do it.

The most important thing is to decide what you, as a GM, are looking for, and then to communicate this to your players. The point of this site is to have fun... it would be counterproductive to that if we were to force a certain format on everyone.


d) It seems that the in character game threads are overlapping in one gestalt thread. Is this the standard? How is game-critical information handled? For example, a scene in which one of my players is revealed to be a cylon agent... but only one crewmember is there... am I going to have to let every player I have see that scene? What is done in other games?
d) The norm is to have one main thread for the game itself, in which all players, as well as the GM, post. This is usually kept seperate from the recruitment thread. Also, it is frequently useful to have a Q&A thread for your game, so that players can ask questions or post OOC information without interrupting the flow of the game.

As for communicating hidden information, different GMs handle this in different ways. Some might post the cylon moment in the game thread witrh the understanding that only the player who witnessed it may allow their character to act with knowledge of the event. Good players would know to do this, anyway, but you can never assume.

Others might elect to PM or email the player involved, and to keep the secret information out of the game thread. This is also perfectly acceptible. In the end, the GM has full control of his or her own game. Whatever works for you, works for us.




Posted on 2008-05-07 at 13:54:07.
Edited on 2008-05-07 at 14:05:15 by t_catt11

Shaithis
Veteran Visitor
Karma: 10/0
194 Posts


Awesome

Yes, I did grow up in Alabama, my momma taught me how to count, and I do it good too!

However, on #a, I think I didnt explain myself well enough.

On the star trek thread (one of them), someone mentioned "how do I get into a locked room?"

and the reply was something to the effect of "you need a code." Now, is this something in the story, or is it a forum function? Sorry for being a newb, but it could affect the timing of my game if there was more than one room... and possibly a secret place for folk to meet each other... but if not, no big deal, just curious about it.



Posted on 2008-05-07 at 14:29:59.

t_catt11
Fun is Mandatory
RDI Staff
Karma: 371/54
7067 Posts


aha!

Nope, no code rooms on the site.

The closest thing to it is a password-protected chat room. Anyone can create their own chat room, and if they choose to do so, they may attach a password to it. If thatis done, you must have the password to enter it.

Otherwise, you must have been reading something that was IC for the game in question. No locked or secret stuff on the forums.

Well, expect for a few announcement-type threads... for instance, the Terms of Service thread is locked, as is the t-shirt announcement thread... but that's because those are staff announcements, not discussions. All forums have those.



Posted on 2008-05-07 at 14:43:57.

Shaithis
Veteran Visitor
Karma: 10/0
194 Posts


Right on...

Thanks for the info!

Do I need to tell someone when I'm ready to create my game thread and Q/A thread? Or do I just do that myself?

Not to say I'm ready... I'm still trying to figure out who's interested...



Posted on 2008-05-07 at 14:51:26.

t_catt11
Fun is Mandatory
RDI Staff
Karma: 371/54
7067 Posts


do it yerself.

Whenever you are ready, just go to the appropriate forum and add the thread yourself. If you need a hand, just ask, but I'm betting you'll be fine.

I usually do it like this:

1. Create recruitment thread.
2. Recruit.
3. Create game thread.
4. Make into post.
5. Create Q&A thread.
6. Designate game thread as "parent" for the recruitment and Q&A threads (do this by going to those threads, editing them, and placing the game thread ID# in the parent field).




Posted on 2008-05-07 at 14:54:42.

Shaithis
Veteran Visitor
Karma: 10/0
194 Posts


Thanks

A lot for the continued info...

Five stars on the newbie help portion!



Posted on 2008-05-07 at 15:48:25.

Raven
Resident Finn
RDI Staff
Karma: 77/3
1131 Posts


Nice we are

Yeah, Olan's da best!


Posted on 2008-05-08 at 07:56:20.

   
Jump to: [First Page] [Prev] 1 2   


  Partners:       Dungeons and Dragons resources, from 2nd to 4th Edition gamegrene.com | for the gamer who's sick of the typical Dungeons and Dragons Adventures, #1 resource for D&D Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition  
View/Edit Your Profile | Staff List | Contact Us
Use of the RDINN forums or chatrooms constitutes agreement with our Terms of Service.
You must enable cookies and javascript to use all features of this site.




Page loaded in 0.079690 seconds