New D&D Encounters Season 2 (GMT+1) Seeks Players

[Jonny Tenebrous]

UPDATE 25 AUGUST 2010: Our D&D Encounters Season 2 campaign is beginning its transition into a fully-fledged Dark Sun Campaign now that we have the official Campaign Guide. We have just finished our first major chapter of the campaign and are undergoing a bit of a schedule restructure as the summer ends. We have one available player character slot at the moment (5 presently full), accepting players characters of level 2. We are playing Sunday nights Aug 29 and Sep 5, and then we are moving to Monday Nights beginning Sept. 13 Play time is 8pm sharp to roughly midnight, UK time. Mature adults only.
~Jonny


UPDATE 13 August 2010: We have one available permanent slot, preferably for a "striker" rogue/ranger character (ranged ability a plus). Our current striker was killed last week in a most perilous desert ambush, and his human component decided to coincide his death with taking a break :(. Also, I expect that we may soon have a slot available to take over the party sorcerer (great player, but an extremely busy man). We are looking for mature adult, dependable players only, preferably with a measure of patience and humor. Our fifth session begins this Sunday, level 2 player characters accepted. We play every Sunday from 8pm to 11:30/Midnight UK Time. Please contact me as soon as convenient.

Cheers, Jonny

Original Post:


You read that right. I'm about to begin running D&D Encounters Season 2: Fury of The Wastewalker with Fantasy Grounds. We will be playing Sunday evenings from 8pm to "loosely" 10pm on Sunday nights British Time (currently GMT+1) beginning Sunday July 11. The server will always go up by 7pm for gathering, chatter, and downloading of client updates, etc. It's WotC's way of showing off the soon-to-be-released relaunching of the Dark Sun campaign setting, and it runs for 15 weeks. All of the characters are pre-gens, and I've already set up everything necessary to play in my master campaign file, complete with custom maps, visuals, tokens, and the whole nine yards. Additionally, we will be using voice chat running on a dedicated server with the freely-available "Mumble" VOIP software, so a headset/microphone combo is required.

I will *not* be running this in any officially-sanctioned RPGA format... this is purely for fun, and I reserve the right to run it any way I please. For discretionary reasons, I will not be posting my full introduction package with character choices, etc., here on the forums. Instead, if you are interested in learning the specifics, leave a note in this thread, drop me a pm with your email address, and we'll go from there.

I can say that, of 6 total character slots, already only 4 are left. In addition to myself as the DM, we'll have along two very-dedicated long-term wargamers/D&D players who have not actually played 4th edition yet. I have played D&D 4E as a character in RPGA sessions via Fantasy Grounds, but this will be my first time DMing 4E. It's ok if you are new to, or relatively unfamiliar with 4E, and this campaign will be much about discovering the system and how it integrates with Fantasy Grounds.

Looking Greatly Forward to Hearing From You and to Kicking this Campaign Off :rv: ,
~Jonny Tenebrous

[VenomousFiligree]

Looks good, shame I'll not be around for the start :(

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Looks good, shame I'll not be around for the start :(
Will you be around for session 2? One of our main fellows will be missing for sessions 2, 3, and 4, sadly... but he'll be a major asset in the long haul (he's the president of 50-year-old English wargaming club), so it's worth it. Clearly, you're very involved here, by your post count, so if it's a matter of only missing session 1, I'm sure we can accomodate you. So long as we have at least 4 PCs on any given session then we're golden. The DM, or willing players, can run a combination of up to two missing characters on a given night. Once we've all sorted our schedules for Sunday night, we've all taken our summer holidays, etc, then things should normalise going into Autumn. Since D&D Encounters was originally built to facilitate drop-in play, it should go smoothly. In the meanwhile, we'll be gathering a good group of increasingly-competent Fantasy Grounds users/DMs available in UK-compatible time-zones, which is the greater point of this exercise.

[jbear]

So this would be Dark Sun? Awesome! I'd like my name to be down on the books.

I'm in Spain which is GMT+1 time zone and Sunday Nights should generally be fine for me.

I've played 2 sessions on FG in another group that plays on Wednesdays. I know 4e pretty well, but I guess I'm still learning all the tricks and shortcuts that makes gameplay go faster. I've been DMing since I was 13 back in the AD&D days on and off. I've run a couple of 3.5 campaigns as well, but FG has given me my first chance to hang up my DM boots and put my players hat on :D

These first few sessions may be problematic for me, as my summer work schedule is a little strange. I'd certainly like to give it my best shot. If you had 4 people for sure, maybe I could be the 5th that might show. I'm already trying to think of excuses to get out of working Sunday evning...

Anyway, definitely for the long haul I'd like to be part of the group of european timezone fantasy grounds players that you mention.

[VenomousFiligree]

Will you be around for session 2? One of our main fellows will be missing for sessions 2, 3, and 4, sadly... but he'll be a major asset in the long haul (he's the president of 50-year-old English wargaming club), so it's worth it. Clearly, you're very involved here, by your post count, so if it's a matter of only missing session 1, I'm sure we can accomodate you. So long as we have at least 4 PCs on any given session then we're golden. The DM, or willing players, can run a combination of up to two missing characters on a given night. Once we've all sorted our schedules for Sunday night, we've all taken our summer holidays, etc, then things should normalise going into Autumn. Since D&D Encounters was originally built to facilitate drop-in play, it should go smoothly. In the meanwhile, we'll be gathering a good group of increasingly-competent Fantasy Grounds users/DMs available in UK-compatible time-zones, which is the greater point of this exercise.

I'm going to be away until mid August, if you have any drop outs maybe I can pick one of them up?

And post counts don't always equal "good player / GM", although I'd like to think I'm no that bad! ;)

[Jonny Tenebrous]

@MurghBpurn: sounds good. Keep in touch.

@JBear: I definitely understand awkward work schedules. I also understand that, now as ever, it's important to stay in good with the job you already have. So give it some serious thought. We'd love to have you if it wouldn't compromise you. If you could definitely make it to the *first* session on July 11, we might be able to to make due without you for the next couple of sessions while giving you time to reorganize your work schedule. If not, maybe you might wish to hold off for now and keep in touch if your situation becomes more compatible, like MurghBpurn above.

Even if we do manage to attain a full roster of players, I'll keep the chat server and FGII open for the possibility of drop-in players to stop by to spectate, and maybe I'll hand them an NPC for the evening.

[jbear]

That sounds brilliant.

Don't worry about my work schedule. My job is safe. Sunday night is a 'schmoozing night' before the course I'm helping to run begins on moday. Hence, I can probably wriggle my way out of it. I have wee kids and live quite far from town... all pretty good excuses if my presence isn't essential.

I'm 80% confident I can organise things. Anyway I'll keep in touch.

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Drop me a PM with your email if you'd like me to send you "the introductory material" with player character choices to peruse and so on. If you're happy playing "whomever", then I'll keep it as a surprise should you organise matters to your liking.

[scytale2]

Gosh I might well be able to do this. Put me down (I think) for 11th. My connection is not great right now, but it might be better to the UK...

I'll send a PM

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Just a note to jot on the forums to keep track of this. So far:

@jbear and @scytale2: I emailed you the intro package.

Character "Phye" has been reserved for Scytale. Two other players are confirmed and awaiting character assignments from me. Awaiting confirmation from jbear.

Quick Summary: this leaves 2 slots available for certain, with room for subs.

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Quick update for day's beginning Monday 05/07/10: (*corrected per Murgh's note*)

Characters Reserved by confirmed players:
"Phye" - party healer - scytale
"Yuka" - party fighter -jbear
"Barcan" - party sorcerer - Ben M.
"Castri" - party ranger - Steve

Characters In Need of Players:
"Shikirr" - Thri-Kreen battle psion / defender
"Jarvix" - Tiefling psionic mentallist / controller

[rogueserpent]

I would def love to play. Im new to FG and have run a little 4e but catch on fast. I played a ton of AD&D so will be well prepared for adventuring!

[VenomousFiligree]

Quick update for day's beginning Monday 05/07/10:

Characters Reserved by confirmed players:
"Phye" - party healer - scytale
"Yuka" - party fighter -jbear
"Barcan" - party sorcerer - Ben M.
"Castri" - party ranger - Steve

Characters In Need of Players:
"Shikirr" - Thri-Kreen battle psion / defender
"Jarvix" - Tiefling psionic mentallist / controller

As you're in the UK now, I fixed the date for you! ;)

[Jonny Tenebrous]

@MurghBpurn: Gah! Thanks for that... I thought after a year of living here I'd have finally nailed down that issue. Switching the dates around, and figuring out how to avoid being run over as a pedestration at roundabouts, are pretty much my last two snags.

@RogueSerpent: Excellent news, and welcome aboard, should it fit your schedule. Depending on your time zone, you'll be beginning play anywhere from 11am to 3pm in the States, which should be quite comfortable on a Sunday! I'll send you the intro package.

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Wonderful. "Jarvix", Tiefling Psion is now reserved to RogueSerpent. Only one slot left now, but I'm happy to have alternates aboard. For example, if anybody would like to drop in for a one-two-or-three shot adventure, the party ranger will be available July 18, 25 and August 1st.

In other great news... in addition to our dedicated Mumble voice server, I have also set up a Shoutcast Radio Server "Radio Tenebrous" for game nights to air a fantastic soundtrack in the background which players can connect to through their web browser or player software such as Winamp. This gives everybody the ability to adjust the volume independently of our voices to suit their comfort level whilst enjoying the benefits of a rich soundscape. As a musician (university education in music composition), I couldn't imagine DMing without the benefits of a fitting soundtrack.

Characters In Need of Players:
"Shikirr" - Thri-Kreen battle psion / defender

[Jonny Tenebrous]

I'm pleased to announce that Shikirr has found a player, so we're full up for our first session this Sunday if everything goes full steam ahead. We still have a temp slot available for July 18, 25, and August 1st, though. So if anybody has a free Sunday and wants to jump in with a premade character to try a little 4E Dark Sun, be my guest. I'll keep the thread updated as the week progresses.

[Jonny Tenebrous]

This campaign is going to be epic... I can't wait! I ditched the free shoutcast server and purchased a dedicated Icecast2 streaming server with user authentication for each of my players through streamsolutions.co.uk, which I'll be feeding on game nights with a selection of excellent Dark Sun appropriate thematic soundtracks. Drawing upon my experience as a musician and sound engineer, I've compiled an extensive soundboard using Ableton Live to feed our dedicated Mumble server with atmospheric sound effects in addition to my voice... so listen for that tell-tale "click" sound while walking down a dark hallway, ;-). Sweet Jebus, Corellon, Moradin, and Bahamut - please keep my internet connection strong and OS stable on Sunday nights...

~Jonny

[jbear]

This campaign is going to be epic... I can't wait! I ditched the free shoutcast server and purchased a dedicated Icecast2 streaming server with user authentication for each of my players through streamsolutions.co.uk, which I'll be feeding on game nights with a selection of excellent Dark Sun appropriate thematic soundtracks. Drawing upon my experience as a musician and sound engineer, I've compiled an extensive soundboard using Ableton Live to feed our dedicated Mumble server with atmospheric sound effects in addition to my voice... so listen for that tell-tale "click" sound while walking down a dark hallway, ;-). Sweet Jebus, Corellon, Moradin, and Bahamut - please keep my internet connection strong and OS stable on Sunday nights...

~Jonny
That sounds brilliant... heh...hehehe... SOUNDS ... hehheh... ahem. Never mind.

I was trying to configure mumble. I am running windows 7 and my laptop has a built in mic and when I was talking to try and set the levels, well it didn't seem sensitive to my voice. Getting the jumping red bar to be under the yellow, in the yellow, up to the green whole thing so it would detect when I was talking was totally random. I'm a little worried that it won't be properly configured on game night.

I looked in the audio options in the control panel and couldn't see an option to super boost the sensitivity of the mic as suggested in the configuration. However the mic is picking up my voice perfectly when I use the normal computer options to gauge whether it's working or not.

Should I be worried?

Is having a key like a walkie talkie to choose when to send sound the best option?

I imagine you'll send us instructions on how to tune into the right channel and stuff when the time comes. Exciting stuff.

I'm also going to need a bit of helf when it comes to inflicting conditions on the monsters. I couldn't figure out how to mark the enemy in the game I played on Wednesday. The DM kept having to do it. I could only manage to mark myself... This version of the fighter I will be playing not only marks but grabs alot, so it's going to be something I'm going to need to figure out. Drag and drop wasn't working either... maybe the target of the condition itself was incorrect. I don't know. We're all new to FG, only 3 sessions so far. Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure it out with a little help :D

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Yeah, forget the red/yellow/green bars in Mumble and just use a push-to-talk key. It's kind of difficult to find a good push-to-talk key that's easily accessible, which isn't an ASCII character that appears in the chat field, and which isn't a modifier key in Fantasy Grounds... for lack of a better option, I've been using the "END" key and mapped it to a side button on my mouse. There is an audio option called loopback in your "audio output" settings for Mumble. Set the loopback to "local" to test what you sound like to others back through your headphones and make adjustments until it sounds correct. Be sure to disable loopback when you are finished. Make all these adjustments with your headphones turned all the way up, by the way.

I will be sending a comprehensive email with all the technical details everybody needs for Sunday at some point tomorrow. Also, I will be available well in advance of the game during our first Sunday session to help everybody sort out any technical hitches.

For your effects with marking targets, etc... honestly, I don't really know yet either. It's something we'll experiment with over time, and just keep track of manually in the meanwhile, like D&D players have done for the last 30-odd years. Like Xorne from the boards here says: "don't automate the fun away". So we'll do many of the mechanics manually at first, and as we become familiar with the D&D 4 system and Fantasy Grounds, and find certain repetative tasks to become reptitive, I'm sure we'll naturally find ways to automate those tasks.

[VenomousFiligree]

How's this one coming along?

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Funny you should mention that. One of our players has decided after 4 sessions that he simply has too much on at the moment to continue for the time being. I suspect one of the others may as well. The other four have been solid as a rock, on time for every session, even when travelling to foreign countries for work and whatnot. Our average player age is over 30... I think I may be the youngest at 27, actually. Basically, there's some really good stuff going on. The first few sessions were a bit clumsy, as we were all coming to terms with the interface, using the latest 2.7 test builds and so on. The last few sessions have gone much smoother... I've made custom tokens for all the characters, drag-n-drop status tokens for the players to visually indicate various effects, and more. Plus, the official Dark Sun Campaign guide will become available in about a week... next month's DDI Character Builder update should allow to easily make new characters for Dark Sun and so on.

Which brings me to my next point. Dark Sun is ****n difficult. We had two player deaths last session when the party was ambushed in the midst of a silt storm which severely impacted visibility. The players prefer that I roll most of my attack rolls in the open, so "that's how we roll".

If you'd like to play this Sunday, just let me know ASAP... we could really benefit from your presence and have a permanent slot available. I'll send you some premades which you could use directly, or as a template/inspiration for your own design. Our striker just died, so that role is presently in need of being filled. Also the party seems a bit soft in the ranged attack department, so there's opportunity there. Let me know, thanks.

Cheers,
Jonny

[VenomousFiligree]

Unfortunately I'll not be able to make this Sunday. What are the session play times?

[Jonny Tenebrous]

We begin gathering at 7pm, everybody is usually present by 7:45pm, game begins at 8pm and generally lasts until 11:30-Midnight. All UK time. Even if you couldn't start until the following week, do you want the slot, or shall I advertise it?

[VenomousFiligree]

Thanks for the offer, advertise for now, I'm still not sure if I can commit every week. Is the campaign suitable for drop in slots?

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Well, Encounters Season 2 was originally built to be specifically suited to drop-in players, but the fact that I allow player characters to die (instead of just come back a bit gimped the following week as per the Encounters rules), affect the environment in more permament ways than usual for an Encounters Season, etc., means.... that it's not really suitable for it anymore. If a player doesn't show up once in a blue moon, we're generally alright... any more than that, and players are likely to die. We're finding that the players all need to be able to rely on each other (strength in numbers, and strength in playing to one's role) to survive in Athas and they're all mature players who choose to live with the grave consequences of sub-optimal teamwork rather than encounter adjustment and pulled punches by the DM.

If you know any players who you think we be a good fit, please send them my way.

If anybody else reading these comments would like to be part of our Dark Sun experience and can be relied on pretty much week-in and week-out, please get in touch. We have 1 and possibly 2 permanent slots to fill, available NOW.

[Stitched]

I would like to try since it's in my time-zone, for a change.

So it's Dark Sun 4e? How does that work for character creation if you don't know or own the rules?

[Jonny Tenebrous]

Well, it works like this: Wizards makes pregen characters, and you choose them ;). Now, of our original batch of 6 chars, 2 are out of the running (dead). I found another 6 made for an earlier test of Dark Sun 4E for a "Free RPG Event" earlier this year, so I'll send you a pdf of those if you want to join up (use directly, or as a template). Or, you can make your own, with a small list of restrictions (no Divine classes, for instance). We are only starting at early levels yet, so flesh out a basic idea... then the campaign guide will be released in about a week, at which point we can add further details. When all the materials become available, I am happy for players to phase into characters that best suit their idea of fun, if they so wish. If you want to join us this weekend, send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you the welcome material tomorrow.

Regards,
Jonny