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Show Stuff => Show Talk => : Meg November 20, 2009, 12:00:53 AM

: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Meg November 20, 2009, 12:00:53 AM
Part 2 of our live episode will be recorded live once again on November 22nd at 8 pm EST.  We are covering Laziness, Procrastination, and Time saving techniques.

It will be viewable on ustream once more and we are going to try to enable the "cohost" feature which will allow people with their own microphone to join us for suggestions and questions.  I want to test it out (any volunteers?) but details will go in this thread.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/brilliant-gameologists

Hope you can join us!
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Hallack November 20, 2009, 10:42:44 AM
Glad to see the new cast up.  Didn't get to listen/participate live but looking forward to hearing it today.

Cheers.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: axleleft November 21, 2009, 02:39:04 AM
Cohort? Well, it sounds better than minion! This should be interesting. Oops I misread it says cohost....
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: jacemachine November 22, 2009, 06:09:25 PM
I have to leave just prior to the start of your podcast to pick my girl up from work. I may get to show up an hour after you've started if I am lucky.

Have a good show!
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Meg November 23, 2009, 12:29:28 AM
The episode has been recorded- will be released later this week, though theoretically you can listen on the ustream link as I recorded it there too.  Fun times!
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Ramaloke December 04, 2009, 05:32:42 AM
You guys where talking about the Spot the Evil Squirrel, and one of the guys mentioned that when a DM Requests a spot roll (or a similar mechanic in the case of a different game), he inadvertently lets the players know that there is something to be spotted.

The way I handle this in D&D is I have my players write down the relevant checks and saves on an index card, then I do the rolls myself. I also keep a stack of index cards on my right and use that to inform the players of what they have seen or heard.

Lets say I have four people in my game and somebody is hiding, I flip through their index cards and find their modifiers to the spot check (4, 6, 3, and 8 for example), and I roll a 7. I apply their modifiers to the roll of 7 to see how each player did (11, 13, 10, and 15), and then let them know if they saw anything (either via more index cards or as an announcement depending on the importance of the situation).
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: tewhill December 11, 2009, 09:32:56 PM
I'm sure the BG's are otherwise occupied. Is episode 302 floating around anywhere other than the upstream site? Anyone?
Thank you.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Meg December 20, 2009, 06:49:30 PM
I'll get it up on our site in the next couple of days.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Zeke December 21, 2009, 11:28:14 AM
god you're lazy, you'd think you were responsible for all of the needs of a helpless human infant or something.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: tewhill December 31, 2009, 04:14:47 PM
Pretty please?
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Meg December 31, 2009, 04:30:16 PM
I actually just finished the mp3 and am loading it up now!  Just to finish the show notes...
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Meg December 31, 2009, 05:07:24 PM
Episode is up!

http://brilliantgameologists.com/sode-302-gamers-are-lazy-sobs-bs/

: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Viletta Vadim January 02, 2010, 02:12:45 AM
On making lots and lots of NPCs?  In my experience, it's absolutely useful.  Make dozens of NPCs.  Make hundreds!  Just not all at once.

The secret I found for DMing 3.5 in particular?  Never throw away a stat block.  If I make, say, a 9th-level assassin for the PCs to fight, I keep that assassin's sheet on file.  Also, with the right tools, it's not particularly hard to level things up and down a bit while creating the blighter in the first place, so I may make a 6th-level version, and a 3rd-level version, and a 12th-level version for a couple minutes extra work, and I can keep those on file so that if later, I need an assassin to kill someone because a conversation is getting really boring, I can pull out an appropriately leveled assassin with a few simple, cool tricks on the fly.

This mostly depends on DMing style, though.  I don't do much planning, so my ability to DM depends largely on my ability to pull stuff out of the Big Binder on the fly, and to put the sorts of things I'm gonna need in the Big Binder in advance.

The way I handle this in D&D is I have my players write down the relevant checks and saves on an index card, then I do the rolls myself. I also keep a stack of index cards on my right and use that to inform the players of what they have seen or heard.

Lets say I have four people in my game and somebody is hiding, I flip through their index cards and find their modifiers to the spot check (4, 6, 3, and 8 for example), and I roll a 7. I apply their modifiers to the roll of 7 to see how each player did (11, 13, 10, and 15), and then let them know if they saw anything (either via more index cards or as an announcement depending on the importance of the situation).
The problem I have with this (and, by extension, things like passive perception) is that it's always the same character who spots everything.  If anyone in the party spots anything, the elf Ranger spots it.  I do a similar method, myself, but I keep multiple rolls (color-coded dice/index cards helps), so that sometimes, the Fighter with no ranks in Spot and a +1 Wisdom modifier might see something the Ranger missed.  It's a minor quibble, but it's something I don't like losing in games.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: tewhill January 02, 2010, 02:36:55 AM
I actually just finished the mp3 and am loading it up now!  Just to finish the show notes...

Thanks, Meg. It was well worth the wait.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: bhu January 02, 2010, 07:49:55 AM
I feel you on the evil squirrel thing.  My group seems to believe all small animals and children are Balors in disguise.
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Viletta Vadim January 02, 2010, 02:55:14 PM
I feel you on the evil squirrel thing.  My group seems to believe all small animals and children are Balors in disguise.
Meanwhile, my group knows all children are balors in disguise.  In my games, there are generally three groups that can kick your ass: Children, old people, and artisans.  I doubt my players will ever mess with The Broomsmith anymore. :P
: Re: Sode 302- Gamers are Lazy! LIVE episode with call-ins November 22nd
: Robert Bohl January 04, 2010, 11:50:41 AM
My girlfriend loves the show and is not a gamer.

See you guys in a week or two!