Author Topic: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?  (Read 8364 times)

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AlisAtAn

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Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« on: June 03, 2008, 09:15:20 PM »
Seeing as everyone's favourite Stratovarius has several book-projects lying around, I am humbly making this thread to ask if someone would be willing to DM a campaign aimed at playtesting Past, Present, and Future, and Lambs to the Slaughter (The Tome of Ritual Magic, not yet published on these boards). The reason for me asking, and not Strato, is basically that I have been asking him to do some playtesting since he first mentioned PPF to me, as I like it, and he finally gave in... ;)


This would likely work best if run without too much roleplaying, as that part of Dungeons and Dragons is less applicable to game balance. The game would be run from level 1 upwards, in order to encompass all levels of character development. The DM should be fairly competent, in that he knows the rules and has a good grasp of what good DMing is about, and has experience DMing.


As a forewarning to volunteers, DMing a playtesting group will not be like DMing a normal game, in some aspects, as there will be changes made on the spot to broken abilities, as well as material that is added as the game goes on. Characters should also be given the opportunity to change out feats that have been altered, or that no longer apply, or even just to given the players the ability to playtest something else, mid game. We are also dealing with alternate magic systems so there are a couple of new rulesets to learn, although Strato is going to help.


We would like a group of players with a decent sense of what is balanced and what isn't (A 2 on the scale that has been used around here), with a general knowledge of the rules, and able to adapt to Strato`s sudden urges to change rules without getting frustrated. We will begin recruiting players if we find someone willing to babysit *cough* I mean DM.


As for why Strato or I don't do the DMing, plainly put neither of us can handle that much responsibility without something cracking. No really. :eh


For all of those to whom the DMing or the material is appealing, please post here or contact Stratovarius or Myself via PM or appropriate messenger client. Those interested in playing are also welcome to post freely.
Odin, Feral Shifter Feral Shifter. "Can I drown the dead rat now?"
Loke, Dread Magnate "Me all good and nice. Ask any questions and I`ll kill you twice."


DnD classes is kind of like art. You make lots of stuff that everyone loves but aint no fun to play. This one is like getting a nude pic of Britney Spears when she was hot above your bed.  Anyone can appreciate it. And it works as it should in practise, not just in theory. -Me to Strato regarding his Elemental

SixthDeclension

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2008, 09:44:23 PM »
Now these are standard D&D 3.5 rules with these as a supplement, right?
They look pretty dang cool. Go strat! I dont know about DMing... I am very irrisponsible. Prob wont have time to play either.
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Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
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Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
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AlisAtAn

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2008, 09:48:49 PM »
Yes, they are supplemental 3.5 books.  :)
Odin, Feral Shifter Feral Shifter. "Can I drown the dead rat now?"
Loke, Dread Magnate "Me all good and nice. Ask any questions and I`ll kill you twice."


DnD classes is kind of like art. You make lots of stuff that everyone loves but aint no fun to play. This one is like getting a nude pic of Britney Spears when she was hot above your bed.  Anyone can appreciate it. And it works as it should in practise, not just in theory. -Me to Strato regarding his Elemental

skydragonknight

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2008, 10:33:28 PM »
Yes, they are supplemental 3.5 books.  :)

This is a time-travel game? must...play...game...
It always seems like the barrels around here have something in them.

SixthDeclension

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2008, 10:38:58 PM »
I really have to resist volunteering myself. I have finals in 2 weeks and studying should be on the top of my list...but I really dont want to. D&D gives me enhancement boni to Int ....

But really, if it doesnt start for a while, I might do it. It looks like fun.
My choice place for buying Magic: the Gathering Singles: adventuresOn.com

Currently DMing a Solo PbP, Check it out here

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

Straw_Man

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2008, 11:00:32 PM »

Must NOT volunteer ... no time   .... work   ...  :nonono Bad Straw_Man.

How long does it run, and how often do you want updates to the game?
"No, no, don't think, Maya." Ritsuko chided. "We will not gattai the Evas or their pilots.

Such thoughts lead inevitably to transformation sequences."

AlisAtAn

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2008, 11:25:21 PM »
I havent discussed it with Strato, but 1post\day weekends off (I.E normal PbP posting) would probably work out to the best. Gives him time to ponder issues we come across during the game, and those of us lucky enough to have a life can spend some time living too. If theres any tweaks that would help you squeeze this into your schedule, we are flexible. =)

Bad Straw_Man indeed. Strato is going to be so hurt when he reads your post :P Prioritizing work over his homebrew stuff? How rude is that?  :eh I take it you are slowly falling to the temptation of the DM role then?
« Last Edit: June 03, 2008, 11:29:32 PM by AlisAtAn »
Odin, Feral Shifter Feral Shifter. "Can I drown the dead rat now?"
Loke, Dread Magnate "Me all good and nice. Ask any questions and I`ll kill you twice."


DnD classes is kind of like art. You make lots of stuff that everyone loves but aint no fun to play. This one is like getting a nude pic of Britney Spears when she was hot above your bed.  Anyone can appreciate it. And it works as it should in practise, not just in theory. -Me to Strato regarding his Elemental

Stratovarius

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2008, 12:50:11 AM »

Must NOT volunteer ... no time   .... work   ...  :nonono Bad Straw_Man.

How long does it run, and how often do you want updates to the game?

Good Straw_Man, Gooood Straw_Man. You can DM  :D

SixthDeclension, you can just call it studying history and temporal theory ;). And in that regard, Einstein Dreams is a fairly interesting little book on various possibilities of temporal weirdness.

I'll try and answer a few points about the general structure of the game (as I see it, anyway).

  • Rules: Your basic, standard 3.5 rules. A few house rules are fine, but nothing too drastic.
  • Setting: Anything is fine. The supplements are setting agnostic, but will probably play better in Eberron, FR, or Greyhawk as opposed to Dark Sun, Birthright, etc.
  • For the DM: I'm not planning on interceding in the storyline or the actual day to day DMing, aside from how PPF and Lambs to the Slaughter interact with the rest of DnD. I will, however, push for a more combat oriented exercise. It can be a prebuilt campaign, it can be an arena campaign, it can be a homebrew. Doesn't bother me all that much.
  • Length: As long as it goes. There's no reason to cut it off because of the books, so plan on treating it like a normal campaign, if a bit combat happy. Also, changing characters will likely happen more often, just to give a run through everything in the system.
  • Alignment: This is one I want to get out of the way beforehand: Some of these classes are tilted fairly far to one side or the other of the alignment scale. The Martyr (Ritual Magic base class) is effectively exalted. The Ritualist, on the other hand, can wander fairly close to the Vile line at times. The Hunger prestige class is most certainly Vile. However, in the interests of maintaining a cohesive group, I'd like to throw most of those RP group restrictions out of the window, so a Martyr and a Hunger could venture together. This mainly applies to Lambs to the Slaughter. PPF is basically "Alignment: Any" for all of the classes.
  • Power Level and Feedback: While these books are all aimed at a general level of DnD 'balance', there will be gaps in the power level. If you go through a fight and end up near useless, drop me some feedback as to why you think it happened, and where it could better. I'm looking for others opinions, whatever they may be, so feel free to chatter away.

There are going to be a few quirks or things that make no sense, even during character creation. Feel free to bitch at me or ask for an explanation. I'll do my best to clarify and provide the intent behind the garbled english.

One final point: I know I have not yet provided the material from Lambs to the Slaughter. I'm not sure yet whether I'll be posting the entire book on the forums, or just emailing people the texts (it's split into 4 segments), as they get updated. PPF will be updating on the forums, as that's where the latest version of the material is. For those interested, do let me know which seems to be better.
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Ieniemienie

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2008, 03:54:59 PM »
I have been tricked to participate... now I have to sacrifice time learning for my exams... ah well...
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Stratovarius

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2008, 04:11:16 PM »
Yes, they are supplemental 3.5 books.  :)

This is a time-travel game? must...play...game...

It doesn't *have* to be a time travel game, but the Chronomancer and the Historian are most ideally suited for such a task.
Arhosa Campaign World - Always Recruiting
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Osteomancy - Rune Magic - Astral Magic
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SixthDeclension

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2008, 04:14:26 PM »
Actually, after some deep soul searching, I have decide to raise my hand. If no one else will do it and you will put up with me, I will DM this project. I would like to get the Lambs to the Slaughter info, but will willingly do this.

But only if no one else will.  :wink
My choice place for buying Magic: the Gathering Singles: adventuresOn.com

Currently DMing a Solo PbP, Check it out here

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

AlisAtAn

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2008, 04:15:09 PM »
*Calls dibs on Slicer\Chronomancer*  :D

And yay for volunteering DMs!  :clap
Odin, Feral Shifter Feral Shifter. "Can I drown the dead rat now?"
Loke, Dread Magnate "Me all good and nice. Ask any questions and I`ll kill you twice."


DnD classes is kind of like art. You make lots of stuff that everyone loves but aint no fun to play. This one is like getting a nude pic of Britney Spears when she was hot above your bed.  Anyone can appreciate it. And it works as it should in practise, not just in theory. -Me to Strato regarding his Elemental

Ieniemienie

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2008, 04:20:23 PM »
* Ieniemienie like to ritually slay people  :eh :evillaugh
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Stratovarius

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2008, 04:46:18 PM »
Very nice. Everyone give a hand to SixthDeclension for nobly sacrificing his exams to gameplay. :clap

I think I'm going to email the Lambs to the Slaughter book out, as the easiest method of distribution. Anyone who is interested will need to provide me with their email address (preferably via PM), and I'll send the book on to you.

Here is a basic rundown on what base classes are available (There is only very limited support in these books for material from outside of them, mostly from Ritual Magic material).

The Chronomancer
Chronomancers are one of the two spellcasting classes from Past, Present, and Future. They are encounter based spellcasters, using very short duration, swift action abilities as their primary attacks, with physical combat as a secondary ability.

The Echocaller
A melee-oriented rogue-like class, they have the ability to echo abilities back at their targets, or in other ways. They can also conceal themselves in the flow of time, and have the abilities to call echoes of themselves in order to fight.

The Historian
A class that divides into three separate techniques, one for ancient martial combat, one for ancient prayer (divine), and one for ancient wizardry. The most involved and complicated class out of all presented here, it has a plethora of abilities taken from the long ago past, divided into eras, seeds, feats, and divine gifts. I am going to lay first claim on this one, unless others find it overly appealing.

The Martyr
An effectively exalted ritual class, that focuses on assisting others through sacrificing his own hitpoints. He can also power his abilities by sacrificing magical items. The class has whole chains of abilities designed to help multiple allies at the cost to himself.

The Ritual Warrior
Pure melee. The Ritual Warrior gets the effects of his rituals through two ways: the normal, length ritual performance, or by killing people in melee combat. He is built around penalty causing melee attacks as he frightens or wounds his foes.

The Ritualist
The original caster of the Ritual book, the Ritualist is most effective when pulling abilities and body types from the creatures he has sacrificed in his rituals. In some ways close to a shapeshifter because of what he does via stealing from the lifeblood, he also has the most powerful and most spectacular high end effects, with powers rivaling epic spells.
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Straw_Man

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2008, 05:31:36 PM »

Very interested to play :D Dibs on the Ritualist!
"No, no, don't think, Maya." Ritsuko chided. "We will not gattai the Evas or their pilots.

Such thoughts lead inevitably to transformation sequences."

Ieniemienie

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #15 on: June 04, 2008, 05:34:55 PM »

Very interested to play :D Dibs on the Ritualist!
OMG you can't! /me already said he was going to ritually slay people!
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Straw_Man

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #16 on: June 04, 2008, 05:38:51 PM »

Very interested to play :D Dibs on the Ritualist!
OMG you can't! /me already said he was going to ritually slay people!

Ah but you said like, which is a preference  :wink. Did you call dibs sir?  :pout

But fair enough, I didn't notice. If you want Ritualist I'll take Historian.
"No, no, don't think, Maya." Ritsuko chided. "We will not gattai the Evas or their pilots.

Such thoughts lead inevitably to transformation sequences."

mace_of_sauron

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #17 on: June 04, 2008, 05:41:15 PM »
Sounds like fun  :D
I also have exams but I don't think this will affect my schedule to much.
The echocaller looks fun and I like playing the sneak.

SixthDeclension

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #18 on: June 04, 2008, 05:45:08 PM »
Okay, lets see here. If you give me two weeks prep time, I might be able to pull this off!
For people for play, I'm going to go right out and say Strato and AlisAtAn are in, as it is Strat's stuff and AlisAtAn brought it up. I dont know how numbers normally go for these things, but I think 6 will be ideal, as there are 6 classes. Bring up you opinions and start volunteering to play. As soon as we have people I will try to get a child board up so you guys can start working.

And PM sent strat.
My choice place for buying Magic: the Gathering Singles: adventuresOn.com

Currently DMing a Solo PbP, Check it out here

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

Straw_Man

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Re: Looking to do some Playtesting. Volunteers?
« Reply #19 on: June 04, 2008, 05:47:46 PM »

Do we volunteer on this thread, or are you strating another one? Either way, announcing declaration of interest.
"No, no, don't think, Maya." Ritsuko chided. "We will not gattai the Evas or their pilots.

Such thoughts lead inevitably to transformation sequences."