Any old school Greyhawk interest?

[dr_venture]

Against my better judgement, I may have some time now to creep slightly out of my hole of work-related seclusion and at least investigate running a game again. Looking at old school rules in Gygax-era Greyhawk, though the setting isn't necessarily super important. Undecided if it would be a voice or text only game. System is modded C&C with extra classes & races, mimicking AD&D1e & the campaign from the 1980's which this campaign world is an on-again, off-again extension of. Wed & Thurs are my days off, but I could potentially run any day from 5pm to 10pm Pacific.

Just curious if there is any interest?

[Varsuuk]

I would SOOOO love playing Gygax-era Greyhawk.
I just started playing in my first FG campaign since buying this over a year back ;) - having fun. It's 5e.

I started AD&D in '79 with a confused reading of the PHB. Found some who "knew" how to play and embarked on a long love afair. Eventually started DMing for HS friends in '81. We continued the core of that group after graduation in '83 through about '92 (although thankfully, one of the new additions was a really good GM and I could play as well as DM.) A new shorter run game started in 98/99 playing on and off for a little over a year. The latter was 3E-ish. Ran mainly older adventures with newer rules.

Only problem is I don't see being able to get on safely before 10PM EST ... so 7PM PST. I haven't missed any sessions since our Wed night 10-1am (EST - I believe DM is west coast) game started but I have gotten on at 10:15 at times when little boy has trouble sleeping. Have a new system that appears to work better... I have him sleep in OUR bed with Mom so I don't have to be there until he falls asleep ;P

If you end up playing starting around then or perhaps maybe weekends (tricky with a wife to speak to being free for sure EVERY Sat night) - consider me asking for a spot! (trying to get in in case it very popular and I don't read next posts in time hehe)


I have C&C rules, I am basically trying to reboot a new in-person campaign with our other GM, my wife and son + guests in near future. I plan on trying to play older modules with C&C so can in future migrate to playing on FG as well as in person, thus guaranteeing ability to have people like my friend who lives on Long Island which we are in Westchester - be able to play regularly in one format or the other.

I just finished my first pass through N1, Against the Cult of the Reptile God. All original data is entered. I am now trying to scan the maps from my module to get better copies (or try) than those I found on google images searching to use in FG. I plan on creating a C&C version once done.

[vodokar]

I would have great interest in this Doc, if can work out the times. I'm on the east coast. I have thursdays off though, so playing late wouldn't be a problem. I am in game from 7 est to 9 est, but could play something else after 10 est.

[dr_venture]

Hmmm... sounds like a promising start. I'm most into a group of around 3 or 4 core players -- that seems like a size where things don't get out of hand, and everyone can get a word in edge-wise. I also need to see what I can commit to. I'm thinking a bi-weekly game of about 4 hours, or if we start at 10pm Eastern (7pm Pacific), maybe 3 hours. What do you think? If you guys have Obsidian Portal accounts, you're welcome to send/PM them to me, and I can give you access to the campaign there (at least where it left off) -- you can poke around get a sense of what it's about, and what the custom races/classes look like, history, etc.

It's classic Greyhawk, but in a campaign world that has shifted from the traditional vanilla GH. The OP site gets into that a bit.

[Logan-05]

Promising start indeed after only two hours! I would love to join this, but alas, the proposed timing isn't compatible with my schedule. Wish you guys all the best with this!

[dr_venture]

Two hours... and a sputter. Varsuuk and vodokar, did you guys have accounts on Obsidian Portal? (it's free)

[vodokar]

I don't, but I can get one. Sorry, been just a little busy juggling lots of projects. Currently trying to get a new AD&D ruleset update posted. By the way, my son will also be playing, so, you actually have 3 players, not two.

[dr_venture]

Father & son gaming - way cool. How old is he?. No worries on the time -- at this point, I'm mostly anxious to just decide on whether or not commit to running the game. If a time can be agreed upon, then 3 players is fine to start with. Everyone can run 1 or 2 characters, and there's potentially room another person or two in the future if it works out.

Just post or PM me your & yer boy's profile names when you get one, and I'll send you an invite.

[vodokar]

Son is 16. He has been playing various versions of D&D with me since he was 7 and has been using FG, both online and on our lan for about as long as I have. He's also experienced running more than one character, because often times, we have simply used FG at home on our lan with me DMing and running 3 characters and him 3 characters. I'll get back to you on the obsidian portal thingamajobby. :)

As for running it, you know you want to, lol. But, if not, keep in mind, I'm currently prepping a campaign that I should have up and running in about a month or so. Doing a sandbox hexcrawl with some adventure modules sprinkled in for the characters to stumble across. Your invited if can make it. Will likely use either AD&D, Basic Fantasy or Swords and Wizardry depending on what rulesets are available by that time.

[dr_venture]

16 -- a great age for gaming! My son is mainly interested in spy RPGs, which I adore, but I find *way* harder to run well, just like my old west game. Fantasy gaming is much more my speed, at least as a GM these days.

I appreciate the invite, and may take you up on it. My main goal is to story tell and world build, but I get carried away and spend more time than I really have. But I may involve my wife and son in the story telling and GM planning, so that might make for a family activity instead of just a me activity. We'll see.

[Varsuuk]

Two hours... and a sputter. Varsuuk and vodokar, did you guys have accounts on Obsidian Portal? (it's free)

I don't but will have one minutes from now ;)

Got home from work later, by time ate and put son to bed, I have started on my phys therapy. Up to the one where I do "arm-wrestling" motion with a dumbell on a stack of books... oh the fun I have at 11:35 at night... joys.

Once done (don't want to lose elasticity) will register tonight.

[Varsuuk]

16 -- a great age for gaming! My son is mainly interested in spy RPGs, which I adore, but I find *way* harder to run well, just like my old west game. Fantasy gaming is much more my speed, at least as a GM these days.

I appreciate the invite, and may take you up on it. My main goal is to story tell and world build, but I get carried away and spend more time than I really have. But I may involve my wife and son in the story telling and GM planning, so that might make for a family activity instead of just a me activity. We'll see.

I would love to add my old-time co-GM buddy and complete FG noob (more even than me!) but I suspect his old and crankyness will balk at evening play. As he is single and 52 (well, so am I, but I'm a sleep-deprived vampire still) he is not likely to go for it. But will ask him tomorrow.

I am prepping a "Backstory" adventure based on Starter Adventures by Tim Short. Gonna run it on C&C to make transference on and off possible to FG with him to see which he prefers. He is 9 (10 end of March) so is very "laptop/desktop"-addicted. Even more than phone/ipad... ah had I been born in 90s/00s ;)

My first PC game (excluding old Atari 2600 cartridges) was Zork I on C64.

[Varsuuk]

Made my account - Varsuuk.

Couldn't upload an image ... was trying to pick between an old one of me and boy at Ren Fair (2014) or me and Hodor same month.
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[dr_venture]

Sounds like we have a similar background, Varsuuk. Invite to Obsidian Portal sent!

[vodokar]

Turns out I did have an obsidian portal thingamajobby. It is Vodokar. Haven't used it since 2011 when our DM flaked out after the 2nd session of War of the Burning Sky and was never heard from again.

[damned]

16 -- a great age for gaming! My son is mainly interested in spy RPGs, which I adore, but I find *way* harder to run well, just like my old west game. Fantasy gaming is much more my speed, at least as a GM these days.

Small derailment - Im thinking of running a Spy one shot at FG Con - got any good short plots with a good twist?

[dr_venture]

Small derailment - Im thinking of running a Spy one shot at FG Con - got any good short plots with a good twist?

No idea... which is the problem. I mainly enjoy the "assault on the super villain lair" type missions, which are basically just shoot 'em ups with high tech weapons and gadgets. It might be fun to do a Equalizer campaign (or one shot) -- former spies who now use their somewhat limited gear and connections to take on petty criminals, crooked cops, drug runners, pimps, etc. I have no modules or such, beyond the old Top Secret stuff, some of which haven't exactly aged well.

[dr_venture]

Turns out I did have an obsidian portal thingamajobby. It is Vodokar.

Makes it easy - invite sent. If either one of you guys have trouble accepting, let me know. I seem to recall that there were a few hiccups last time I did this. Also, the site is still set up for two groups that no longer are active, so you'll still see those characters and such up there. I mainly just wanted to give you a chance to poke around and see if it looks interesting.

[Varsuuk]

Small derailment - Im thinking of running a Spy one shot at FG Con - got any good short plots with a good twist?

We used to play Top Secret/SI for breaks from AD&D in the 80s... yeah... not helpful... sorry... going to sleep now. Work in 6 hours.

[Zhern]

Ah, wish I had seen this earlier. I have a Labyrinth Lord Castle Zagyg game I'll be playing in starting soon otherwise I would definitely be interested. Just not enough time right now!

[Varsuuk]

I spoke to my buddy today. As I expected, he says 10pm EST he is going to bed. However, he said if it was Fri or Sat nights, no work next day - he could stay up.

Me, I suspect afri/Sat to be rougher for those with families (or social lives if younger). could do either, with Fri prob being better since technically wife MIGHT make eve plans for us on a Sat but either. Plus for me other than Wed is OK for me. And Sun nights cos either TWD or GoT is likely to interfere.

[Varsuuk]

Ah, wish I had seen this earlier. I have a Labyrinth Lord Castle Zagyg game I'll be playing in starting soon otherwise I would definitely be interested. Just not enough time right now!


Arrrrrgh, I sooooo want to play that Castle Zagyg thing. So sad I will never see the books/pdfs. I DID pony up to buy an overpriced Ygg hardback and town halls (don't plan on reading for long while, got cos prices kept skyrocketing and o pdfs for future purchase out there)

:(

[AncientArchaic]

Its been a while since i've found others with interest in Greyhawk stuff. I ran a chain fighter in the realm during 3.0 I know that's not the canon era but I'd love to join, not familiar with C&C though. As a side note I managed to acquire 3/4 of the foldable world map recently. the one that's in color, grid map. pretty neat, looking for the bottom section.

[celestian]

Its been a while since i've found others with interest in Greyhawk stuff. I ran a chain fighter in the realm during 3.0 I know that's not the canon era but I'd love to join, not familiar with C&C though. As a side note I managed to acquire 3/4 of the foldable world map recently. the one that's in color, grid map. pretty neat, looking for the bottom section.

Not a replacement for the old school hardcopy but there is this if you want to use it.

https://ghmaps.net/greyhawk-maps/online-map/

[Asterionaisien]

Aww too bad you guys are on so distant timezones, I would play too :(

[AncientArchaic]

I'm PST by the way.

[Varsuuk]

Its been a while since i've found others with interest in Greyhawk stuff. I ran a chain fighter in the realm during 3.0 I know that's not the canon era but I'd love to join, not familiar with C&C though. As a side note I managed to acquire 3/4 of the foldable world map recently. the one that's in color, grid map. pretty neat, looking for the bottom section.

I bought both the hardcopy and PDFs recently from Paizo.

Wouldn't have gotten the folding map set of 4 if I'd known the portions were in the dungeon PDFs - I had been told they were removed due to IP and didn't look closely cos they FRIGGING TELL YOU it is included - so the $10+shipping is on me ;P heheh It's pretty, if I had a non-shared man-cave, I'd been tempted to put it up ... well, if I still played in person... so for now, will save to pull it out at sessions for "ooo pretty" feels.

If you are missing the PDF, it's only 4.95 from Paizo. Forgot what the individual sheets were, the set of 4 printed was $10 as I said before.

[AncientArchaic]

I bought both the hardcopy and PDFs recently from Paizo.

Wouldn't have gotten the folding map set of 4 if I'd known the portions were in the dungeon PDFs - I had been told they were removed due to IP and didn't look closely cos they FRIGGING TELL YOU it is included - so the $10+shipping is on me ;P heheh It's pretty, if I had a non-shared man-cave, I'd been tempted to put it up ... well, if I still played in person... so for now, will save to pull it out at sessions for "ooo pretty" feels.

If you are missing the PDF, it's only 4.95 from Paizo. Forgot what the individual sheets were, the set of 4 printed was $10 as I said before.

Randomly got ahold of the actual fold outs. magazine page quality, not sure if I could find the bottom corner very easily.

[Varsuuk]

Try:
https://paizo.com/search?q=Greyhawk+map&what=all&includeUnrated=true&includeUnavailable=true

If the maps look like this, anyhow:
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[dr_venture]

Be advised that both of the maps that you guys are looking at above are for latter day Greyhawk, not the Gygax era. After Gygax left TSR, they really mixed things up in that campaign world with stuff like the Greyhawk Wars. Lots of people love the result, by Gygax hated it so much that in his last Nord novel (which took place in his version of the campaign) he destroyed the world. Personally, I'm just using the earlier version in my game because that is where the original campaign started off, and I have a nostalgic fondness for most things Gygax. Just a big FWIW there.


I'm PST by the way.

Me too... welcome, AA. I think if everyone is still interested, then we probably have a full roster of players, for now at least. AA, if you don't have an Obsidian Portal account, please head over to ObsidianPortal.com and sign up for a free account, then send me your account name. I'll invite you to the campaign, and you can take a little bit to look around and see if it looks interesting to you.


I'd love to join, not familiar with C&C though

No worries -- if you've played any version of D&D, you'll pick it up pretty quickly. It's a rules-lite game system closely based on AD&D 1e, but with all the fussy stuff replaced by simpler mechanics. You can grab a free copy of the starter rules here -- it covers levels 1 to 3, and gives you all the basics:

https://www.trolllord.com/downloads/pdfs/tlg2010quickstartpdf.pdf

Or, you can wait for the game and pick it up as you go... I don't think it'll take too long.

[dr_venture]

Have you other guys had any chance to poke around the campaign site on Obsidian Portal? Any comments? Still interested?

[Varsuuk]

Tippers, I was just listing it because I was guessing it was the map that he had since referred to it in four parts.

I looked for a long time to get a "real" vs personally scanned (I own every WoG map set from orig TSR days but can't be bothered to scan my own... :( ) version of Folio map. Gave up, got couple poor scans but usable to some extent. This one was really nice and decent resolution. Only wish was a pdf with layers to turn on and off DM info but still nice as art. I loved the Darlene maps a lot, but this one was 2nd best seen.

[Varsuuk]

I'm definitely interested - about to pass out - shouldn't have stayed up so late.

Maybe can touch base on TS sometime soon, either over weekend or on your nights off?

I read all the overview stuff from "start here" section. Not much else yet due to some other things I was finishing up. More time this weekend though :)

[Delm74]

I would love to check this out - not sure if times would work for me (I'm Central European Time), but old school Greyhawk was where I got my RPGing start back in my youth :D. Would love an invite to at least poke around on Obsidian Portal.
Cheers!

[dr_venture]

I would love to check this out - not sure if times would work for me (I'm Central European Time), but old school Greyhawk was where I got my RPGing start back in my youth :D. Would love an invite to at least poke around on Obsidian Portal.
Cheers!

I'm happy to have you poke around in the OP campaign site. In the past I have found their invite process to not work quite right, so it's best for you to just go to ObsidianPortal.com and sign up for an account (free is fine) and then give me your username. I'll add you directly to the campaign, and you'll be ready to go.

Times would probably be brutal - about a 4am start time for you... ugh. But you always dreamed of killing orcs at dawn, right?

[Delm74]

Oof - 4 am start time is a no-go, I started out here trying to carry on with a campaign from back home and couldn't keep middle of the night/early morning gaming going. Up to you whether to add me or not, my username on OP is same as here, Delm74. Happy adventuring!

[dr_venture]

I sent you an invite in OP -- feel free to look around. Hope there's some nostalgia there for you! As far as a group goes, there is interest, but so far only Varsuuk has really committed... I think. Vodokar & son also seem interested, but I guess I need to decide what I'm doing and try to organize something more concrete. We'll have to see who commits and what their schedules are like.

[vodokar]

I can't very well commit to something when I don't know the day, Doc. I originally thought it was going to be wednesday night, but then the day went non-concrete.

[dr_venture]

I can't very well commit to something when I don't know the day, Doc. I originally thought it was going to be wednesday night, but then the day went non-concrete.

No worries, the uncertainty is on my part -- the ball is mostly in my court at this point. So I'll throw in my 2 cents to get the ball rolling:

My days off are Wed. & Thursday, so in terms of evenings, I have the most time to dedicate to running a game on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I can start as early as, say 5:30pm, and run as late as 12am (all pacific), so 8:30pm to 3am Eastern, I believe.

Who can play at those times?

[Delm74]

The campaign materials look great, and I would love to play, especially trying out C&C, but I'm sorry to say I can't do what would end up being middle of the night sessions for me here. I hope you get a good group going!

[ttcostadc]

I would be interested too, but being in the East (of USA) I would be getting home from work, when the game is finishing up.
Have fun, guys!

[Keats]

Yeah I'm guessing there's tons of interest. =D

[ttcostadc]

Hello math.. wrong way.. I would be down for a Greyhawk adventure, between 9 and midnight EST.. original AD&D. I actually do not have a subscription yet, but I will within a month.

[dr_venture]

OK, we have Varsuuk and ttcostadc ... anyone else? Vodokar & son, you in? Again, this is either for Tuesday evening, 6 to 12 Pacific (not that whole time -- that's my availability window). I think I'd prefer keeping it in the evening, so Wed I could do the same time period... that's anywhere from 9pm to 3am Eastern... so I'm guessing we're looking at a 9pm to midnight game window... is that doable for everyone?

I'd be looking at 1 to 2 characters per player to have a decent party. I usually have an extra NPC so an occasional guest can sit in... and it allows the party's capabilities to be rounded out a bit.

[ttcostadc]

Ok, so this is C&C, and not AD&D? Yes, I read the first messages and didn't realize there were like four more pages. I am not familiar with the C&C system. Would I need to buy a product, to make a C&C character?

Thank you.

[vodokar]

We can do a 10 - 12 est time slot on tues and/or wed.

I always leave the 9 - 10 pm time slot open, because I have to get my wife off to work during that period and also to eat dinner. I get home from work at 7 pm and so we eat at 9 pm.

[vodokar]

Ok, so this is C&C, and not AD&D? Yes, I read the first messages and didn't realize there were like four more pages. I am not familiar with the C&C system. Would I need to buy a product, to make a C&C character?

Thank you.

C&C is a modern variant of AD&D. You'll feel quite at home if you have played AD&D or any other variant of old school. The main difference is that it uses modern Ascending AC and BTH instead of the old Descending AC and Combat Table lookups or THACO. But, everything else will feel very familiar.

Just like any other ruleset on Fantasy Grounds, if you are the player, you don't need to own or have downloaded the ruleset; it gets shared to the players by the DM.

That being said, its a great ruleset for a great price and also gets you the ability to use my own AD&D ruleset also and having it pre installed would mean that you won't have to wait to have it downloaded from DM connection. So, it is an optional purchase, but a great idea to get it if you like playing old school.

[dr_venture]

Ok, so this is C&C, and not AD&D? Yes, I read the first messages and didn't realize there were like four more pages. I am not familiar with the C&C system. Would I need to buy a product, to make a C&C character?

Thank you.

Yeah, what vodokar said. You won't need the rulebook, but it's a fantastic set of rules and a great value on the Fantasy Grounds front. C&C is very similar to AD&D (some say AD&D 2e also, but I'm not familiar with that version too much). As an avid old school gamer, I prefer it to AD&D at this point: all the familiarity, but with all teh rough edges smoothed out. It's the rulesystem that Gygax was working with before he passed.

If you want to browse through it, the starter rules are available for free here:

https://www.trolllord.com/downloads/pdfs/cnc_qs.pdf

It's most everything you'll need to know. I do have a few house rules that make it a bit closer to the campaign the current game is based upon... and a few more character classes & races.

[vodokar]

It's the rulesystem that Gygax was working with before he passed.



I feel the need to step in and qualify that statement.

Gary Gygax was offered the opportunity to work freelance for Troll Lord Games to bring his Castle Greyhawk (renamed Castle Zagyg) to publication.

He had no involvement in the making of the game Castle and Crusades, which existed many years prior to him taking on this opportunity. We have no idea what he thought of the ruleset and the fact that he took the opportunity to try to publish his pet project does not imply anything beyond the fact that he wanted to finally get his project into print.

The reason that I felt the need to qualify that statement is that I have seen people use the fact that Gary worked for Troll Lord that that somehow implies him "passing the torch" to them or that the ruleset is the "spiritual successor" to AD&D.

In truth, while a great game, there are other projects that are much closer to the spirit of what Mr. Gygax likely would have made himself, if he had had the opportunity to do so. My feeling is that likely the closest and true spiritual successor to AD&D is Astonishing Sorcerers and Swordsman of Hyperborea, which was designed by Jeffry Talanian, the man who was Gary's assistant in the Castle Zagyg project. While we have no idea if they ever sat down and discussed the subject, it is clear by actually looking at the rules that Jeffry created, I feel it is highly likely that there was some input of ideas from Gary and the ruleset really feels like a spiritual successor.

As for rulesets that are in the "modern rules, but old school feel" type category that C&C is, I actually prefer Basic Fantasy. I just feel that the abstracting of the saving throw system into the siege engine doesn't cut close enough to the cloth of what AD&D was. I prefer the thematic feeling of making a saving throw vs. Poison or Breath Weapon instead of making a con or dex saving throw, respectively. It's a personal thing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

[Andraax]

Gary Gygax was offered the opportunity to work freelance for Troll Lord Games to bring his Castle Greyhawk (renamed Castle Zagyg) to publication.

He had no involvement in the making of the game Castle and Crusades, which existed many years prior to him taking on this opportunity. We have no idea what he thought of the ruleset and the fact that he took the opportunity to try to publish his pet project does not imply anything beyond the fact that he wanted to finally get his project into print.

Gary Gygax was working with Troll Lord Games starting in 2001, working on D20 products. Castles and Crusades was released in 2004. So, he was already involved with the company long before C&C came about. Heae was working on Castle Zagyg in parallel with the develop of C&C, so he must have had access to the source materials before it published, to be able to incorporate it.

[vodokar]

I stand corrected on the dates. But, I still don't think he had any involvement in actually designing the game, which was my point.

[Varsuuk]

And no one here better admit OWNING Castle Zagyg because I have no way to buy it... I'm. it saying I'd evicerate someone who taunted me with ownership of it, but I AM saying it won't be a papercut either...

(Grrr I was away from RPG world between 2000 and like 2014 ... never ever heard of it until last year (CZ))

[Varsuuk]

I can do starting 10EST, I have a son who has "going to bed issues" and I'm the one who reads him to sleep.

My Wed is taken atm, I listed on the reply on OP my avail times. That said, if you need to start earlier, I'd be happy to come in later to play with shared NPCs. But best is finding what works for the most folks. I have odd time issues. I would not be thinking of taking on a second even alt week game if not for the old GH & never played C&C though hope to start a campaign with family at home in Spring.

[vodokar]

I understand the feeling Var. I was out of gaming from 1991 to 2007. I missed a whole lot of things. Still trying to get caught up.

I was shocked when I found out TSR didn't exist anymore. Luckily, D&D still existed, even if it wasn't still in the form that was recognizable to me. So, here I stand, half way still doing the old ways and half way trying to embrace the new things. That's actually best, I think. I can find things both old and new that make me happy.

I'm good for tuesdays if wednesdays don't work. I do need to stick with time frames either before 9 pm est or after 10 pm est, however.

[celestian]

And no one here better admit OWNING Castle Zagyg because I have no way to buy it... I'm. it saying I'd evicerate someone who taunted me with ownership of it, but I AM saying it won't be a papercut either...

(Grrr I was away from RPG world between 2000 and like 2014 ... never ever heard of it until last year (CZ))

I don't have the boxed set but I did get "Castle Zygag: Yggsburgh" and "Castle Zagyg: Dark Chataeu". Yaggsburgh is pretty nice IMO but if you want something like it you can get cheaper these days, City of Greyhawk + a Greyhawk Boxedset is pretty close.

You didn't miss much between 2000-2012 IMO. The best part of that time for me was when I went to GenCon for 3e release in 2000, meet Gary Gygax.

2012+ has been OSR goodness ;) The best thing about 3e was the OGL so they could come to pass, IMO.

[Varsuuk]

I don't have the boxed set but I did get "Castle Zygag: Yggsburgh" and "Castle Zagyg: Dark Chataeu". Yaggsburgh is pretty nice IMO but if you want something like it you can get cheaper these days, City of Greyhawk + a Greyhawk Boxedset is pretty close.

You didn't miss much between 2000-2012 IMO. The best part of that time for me was when I went to GenCon for 3e release in 2001, meet Gary Gygax.

2012+ has been OSR goodness ;) The best thing about 3e was the OGL so they could come to pass, IMO.

I have since bought Yggs but I don't think much of the WotC Greyhawk dungeon products. I enjoyed th comedic one as a good thing but NOT AS gH

[celestian]

I have since bought Yggs but I don't think much of the WotC Greyhawk dungeon products. I enjoyed th comedic one as a good thing but NOT AS gH

CoGH and the Greyhawk Boxed set are TSR products for what it's worth.

These are the 2 I was talking about.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qjmVloGClyQ/maxresdefault.jpg

I've not purchased any GH stuff that WoTC produced, I only played 3e for 6-8 months before I went back to AD&D.

[ttcostadc]

I so loved Zork. And I have the box on the right.
Didn't they release detailed descriptions of regions Greyhawk in Gazeteer?
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ATCcWnOlL._SX392_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Nevermind.. I guess Gazetteer covers the Mystara Setting. My bad.
-tc

[ttcostadc]

I gave a poke on Obsidian Portal. Is your campaign: Greyhawk CY576?
BTW - ran a quick look at the C&C Ruleset PDF, and they seem straightforward.
I can still say I am down for 6:00pm-9:00pm+ Pacific Time, on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Am I looking at the right game on OP?
-tc

[dr_venture]

I gave a poke on Obsidian Portal. Is your campaign: Greyhawk CY576?
BTW - ran a quick look at the C&C Ruleset PDF, and they seem straightforward.
I can still say I am down for 6:00pm-9:00pm+ Pacific Time, on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Am I looking at the right game on OP?
-tc

Huh - dunno where that poke wafted off to, but I didn't get it. But I did get your PM and have sent you an invite -- take a look and let me know what you think.

It sounds like we have a basic group: ttcostadc, Varsuuk, and vodokar Sr/Jr. Am I correct that y'all are available for the following windows of times on Tuesdays:



NAME:
Avail (Pacific)
Avail (East)


Dr_Venture
6pm-12am
9pm-3am


ttcostadc
6pm-9pm
9pm-12am


Varsuuk
7pm-10pm
10pm-1am


vodokar Sr/Jr
7pm-9pm
10pm-12am



So that would put us overlapping from 7pm-9pm Pacific / 10pm-12am Eastern. Does that all look correct to youse guys?

[ttcostadc]

Didn't poke you so much as poke around. Yes, you are correctly showing the times I listed.

-tc

[dr_venture]

Ah, gotcha. "Greyhawk CY576" is not my campaign -- mine is not visible to the public, you have to be invited. This is because I have some copyrighted materials up there for reference to players & combined into my wiki, and I don't want to be just broadcasting that stuff out there in piratey fashion. I sent you the invite, so you should not have access to poke around the correct campaign. I hope mine measures up! :D

[ttcostadc]

So, Doc, I bought and updated/downloaded the C&C Ruleset. I can create a character, using the QuickStart you shared. I was kinda hoping the Ruleset would let me see all thirteen classes, so I could see each one's Class Abilities, etc.. Also, the QuickStart only had three (3) races. I wanted to see what the culture and modifiers for the others were. Is this possible in the Fantasy Grounds version and I am just missing it?

Thank you.

[dr_venture]

Did you buy the ruleset for FG, or download the free ruleset PDF? The freebie PDF only has the basics to get you familiar with the game system, so low level monsters and spells, a few races and classes, etc. The FG ruleset should have everything in it. However, if you look at the wiki for my campaign, most of the races and classes (including the additional ones) are up there... along with a bunch of other character generation info.

I ask that you roll up the real, game play characters with me -- it helps us get to know each other, and get on the same page in terms of the vibe of the game.

[dr_venture]

Huh - dunno where that poke wafted off to, but I didn't get it. But I did get your PM and have sent you an invite -- take a look and let me know what you think.

It sounds like we have a basic group: ttcostadc, Varsuuk, and vodokar Sr/Jr. Am I correct that y'all are available for the following windows of times on Tuesdays:



NAME:
Avail (Pacific)
Avail (East)


Dr_Venture
6pm-12am
9pm-3am


ttcostadc
6pm-9pm
9pm-12am


Varsuuk
7pm-10pm
10pm-1am


vodokar Sr/Jr
7pm-9pm
10pm-12am



So that would put us overlapping from 7pm-9pm Pacific / 10pm-12am Eastern. Does that all look correct to youse guys?

Varsuuk & vodokar, can you confirm that I have your availability listed correctly, and if so, that you're interested in a 2 hour game session every other Tuesday night? I just want to make sure we're all on the same page, and that such a short game session is OK with you guys.

[vodokar]

Correct

[ttcostadc]

I did both, actually. Downloaded and read the QuickStart PDF. Then, I bought the $10 Ruleset on Fantasy Grounds. Do I need to buy more to see the Races and Classes? I was hoping the Ruleset had all of that in it. Perhaps, it is my unfamiliarity with the software.

Thanks..

Edit: I found your wiki, so that is helpful. It's good to know the full breadth of possibilities before settling into a character.

[dr_venture]

I did both, actually. Downloaded and read the QuickStart PDF. Then, I bought the $10 Ruleset on Fantasy Grounds. Do I need to buy more to see the Races and Classes? I was hoping the Ruleset had all of that in it. Perhaps, it is my unfamiliarity with the software.

The FG ruleset has everything you need to play C&C -- all standard races and classes, all spells, monsters, etc. Everything is listed in the Player's Handbook. There is a separate product, The Castle Keeper's Guide, which is the rough equivalent to the Dungeon Master's Guide, except that it is not essential to playing C&C. It is mostly filled with additional rules, and guides for the game master, but there is nothing essential for game play there.


Edit: I found your wiki, so that is helpful. It's good to know the full breadth of possibilities before settling into a character.

Cool. I mainly added the missing races from AD&D 1e, and included the additional classes I had access to that I felt added diversity to the game without overlapping too much with other classes, and that just seemed to offer a lot of playability. Some of the classes lend themselves more to being for NPCs, like the Onomancer... but sometimes players have fun playing these oddball classes or races, so have at it!

[ttcostadc]

I had to open the "Module" in the Library. Feeling green, thank you very much. :)
Didn't think about it before, because I hadn't bought any modules, per my previously understood definition.

[Varsuuk]

Varsuuk & vodokar, can you confirm that I have your availability listed correctly, and if so, that you're interested in a 2 hour game session every other Tuesday night? I just want to make sure we're all on the same page, and that such a short game session is OK with you guys.

Yes, although I just missed my Wed night game because of "son not going to sleep", which also starts at 10pm this has me worried. He is 9 going on 10 end of month but he has some issues and gets irrational.

The times are otherwise perfect for me, I fear I may have trouble getting on in time. I'm going to try to do something else with him but it has failed in past. I'd feel better with it starting in 2 weeks or later so I can see if I can do two trial runs on Tues night before I know if I will end up screwing it up. If on the other hand you have enough even if I can't make it, then I will just try to make it and not worry about leaving folks high and dry.

The game I missed today had 6 before I joined which was them being nice to let me come on at 10:30 but he had not actually gone to sleep as I thought and was waiting on me. I disconnected, again because they had 6 others. It only messed up MY night.

I just don't want to be "that guy" who ruins it for others.

[dr_venture]

OK, well I'm going to commit to running at least a module or two, and see how things progress, and if everyone's having fun. I have a week's vacation coming up from the 22nd through the 30th, which I'll use to prep the adventure, get my new computer set up for FG again, and try to arrange some time with y'all to roll up characters, and maybe do a brief intro session for as many of you as possible, to just get the ball rolling a bit, and get you introduced to the basics of how I run the C&C sessions (and get my GM hat squarely back on my head). I do have some web work on my plate for that week, so we'll have to see how my availability and yours match up over that week -- we'll just play it by ear.

So with all that prep and such, I'd like to plan the first game session for 4/4, which should give Varsuuk an opportunity to get his new bedtime plan in place and try it out. Plan on rolling 1 or 2 characters. If you guys want to kinda toss around class ideas here so you have at least a somewhat balanced party... or I at least know what to plan for.

How's that all sound?

[Varsuuk]

Sounds great. I'm probably leaning Ranger since I usually play a fighter type and perhaps a Wizard fro variety, but if someone prefers Wizard I can come up with something else. Will revisit OP tonight and maybe make plans to eat together for prerolling s can be mostly setup ahead of time.

[Green Spectre]

You still taking on any more players? Looks like your times work out for me on Tuesdays.

[ttcostadc]

I can't decide between a Halfling Friar and a Half Elf Fighter or Knight or Swashbuckler... The custom classes just sound fun. I hope they're not all primarily for NPC's.

-Trevor

[ttcostadc]

I can't decide between a Halfling Friar and a Half Elf Fighter or Knight or Swashbuckler... The custom classes just sound fun. I hope they're not all primarily for NPC's. Being I never did play an acrobat, I also thought that could be fun.

-Trevor

[dr_venture]

I can't decide between a Halfling Friar and a Half Elf Fighter or Knight or Swashbuckler... The custom classes just sound fun. I hope they're not all primarily for NPC's. Being I never did play an acrobat, I also thought that could be fun.

I played a Friar NPC in my last game, and I thought it played pretty well... kinda cleric, kinda rogue, with some fun roleplaying opportunities. The Marksman and Bard have been played to very good effect, too. Nobody has ever played a Swashbuckler before, so I can't help you there. I did try to only include classes that I could see a player having fun with... but you never really know until you give them a go. Also, as you can see, a few of them aren't fleshed out as well as others.

[ttcostadc]

That's fine. I will settle on the Tallfellow (if allowed) Halfling Friar. With the additional interest coming in, just let me know if I will need to consider a 2nd character or not.

[ttcostadc]

If you don't have spell lists made up yet - expecting to be less powerful than cleric - the character can just be Cleric instead. BTW - I am available the times you list. I haven't figured out how to let you know on OP, yet.

[dr_venture]

If you don't have spell lists made up yet - expecting to be less powerful than cleric - the character can just be Cleric instead.

Cleric spells are done old school: at the time of casting, you can choose any cleric spell available to your class/level, sometimes with an extra one tossed in for your deity's realm of power (as opposed to wizards, who must choose which spells to memorize each day). Friars get the same spells as clerics, just fewer per level. In a way, the Friar class is kind-of a multi-classed cleric-thief... but just a bit better defined, and gaining levels as a single classed character.


BTW - I am available the times you list. I haven't figured out how to let you know on OP, yet.

I need to get on top of my FG installation so I can start planning character gen sessions. More info later. In OP, you can send a message to other players, ala email. Look for the little envelope icon at the top of the OP window. I just sent you a test message.

[dr_venture]

You still taking on any more players? Looks like your times work out for me on Tuesdays.

Praps... I don't think a 5th player would hurt. It seems like most groups lose a few members after a few sessions, while people kinda figure out if the game is right for them. So I think we'll consider you the last player for the group. Grab an ObsidianPortal.com account and send it to me, and I'll send you an invite. Welcome :)

[dr_venture]

Just a note that I'm settling into my week long vacation -- I have a few days of outside work I need to wrap up, then I'll be digging into the Greyhawk campaign. I'll post when T'm ready to start setting up character rolling sessions. Thanks for your patience, all.

Green Spectre, if you're still interested, please send me your ObsidianPortal.com username so I can add you to the campaign there.

[ttcostadc]

Cool. Keep us updated. The times I list for playing are available for char creation. During the day, I work.

-tc

[StepNRazor]

I am very interested. I used to play old school AD&D. A long time ago I had the world of Greyhawk.
Just got an account hurdjg at Obsidian Port.
Going to install client version of Fantasy Grounds.
I am in EST. Time zone.
if you still have room could you please recap. This was a really long posting.

[dr_venture]

Ugh -- outside work is sucking up more vacation time than anticipated. This is supposed to be a vacation... but the extra money can't be ignored. Phoey. I'll will try to get as much of it under control as possible today, and leave the rest of the week as open as possible for getting the game geared up.

StepNRazor, I'll send you an invite to the campaign, but I'm going to hold off on including you in the group right away. We're at 5 players (Vodokar Sr. & Jr., Varsuuk, ttcostadc, and GreenSpectre) which is about maxed for me, but in my experience usually somebody/bodies will drop out for any number of reasons. Also, maybe we'll just go ahead with 6 players, depending on the mix of people... but I want to see how things look before bringing you into the group. For me, when a group gets too big, players don't get enough interaction time with the GM, especially in short 2-hour sessions we're looking at. So, do you mind just kinda hanging back for a bit to see what happens, at least over the next week?

[vodokar]

Not to worry, Doc. It probably wouldn't be a great idea to try to start a new campaign until after FG-Con anyways. I know I will be extremely pressed for time getting things ready before the 7th.

[dr_venture]

Hey guys... I'm still alive. My vacation yielded no spare time, though I'm caught up on work. If you guys are still interested, I'm trying to get an adventure together. The classic AD&D ones were all pretty much done for this campaign world, except for Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. I assume you guys have either played the paper or computer version of this old classic?

In the case of store bought modules (I prefer to write my own, but that's not an option right now), Vodokar, have you been converting modules for FG rule systems? I'm just wondering if there is anything I should be steering away from when looking for a good adventure. Comments?

[dr_venture]

Any observations/opinions on the Gaxmoor campaign? Looks fun and Old School.

[vodokar]

My first word about doing conversions to you Doc is to keep it very simple and streamlined. I can convert a standard sized module in about 4 hours if it's for myself. For instance, I just prepped the two modules I am running this weekend in 2 evenings. If it's for publication standard, it takes a week or more. But, for myself, I only put into FG just things necessary to streamline running the game and use whatever short hand means just so I know what's going on and have things handy at my fingertips, while minimizing the work put into the module. Then during the game, I read from a hard copy.

Expeditious Retreat has a lot of very good modules; most of which you would swear came straight off of Gygax's desk. Of course, anything from TSR works also. Goodman games has got some killer modules; either ones they made for AD&D directly or for DCC, which would be very easy to convert; or even some of the 5th edition stuff would be fairly straight forward conversions. Then, there is Frog God modules, which is for Swords and Wizardry, but I would just run it straight without converting anything.

Here is an example of what I mean by keeping things streamlined:

18455

No text other than what I need to send to chat as DM text, and really, even that can be skipped, if you prefer to just read it aloud. Everything else is just the links to FG assets and just enough information to direct me where to look it up in the hard copy.

And, don't worry if I might have seen a module, Doc. I have tons of modules, but haven't read thru most of them and even the ones I have, I have a fairly short memory span. There are so many good modules out there, both OSR, and old TSR stuff, most of which I've never actually experienced playing, you could choose pretty much anything.

[Varsuuk]

I've never played Return to Temple of Elemental Evil.
I did do Homlett and ToE up to START of second level. But that was in late 80s I think.

I am currently listening to last book of the Coin and Dagger (recommended) that I read when it came out and I remember maybe 7-10% of it.
I was talking to a person about how much I liked Abercrombie's Before they are Hanged series I read 2 years back... I do NOT recall much other than couple main character names (not all - the inquisitor, main guy Logan and ummm... there was a fop, don't recall his name...) Also the "twist ending" and wizard thing - vaguely rings a bell there was a wizard...

Yeah, my ADHD combined with 42+years of sleep deprivation... I can enjoy movies l saw in last 5 years and still get surprised and ESPECIALLY with books. It's a blessing (enjoyable rereads I CONSTANTLY reread my faves) and curse (hate I can't talk about plots of books I love at times - prob why I recall rereading LotR in late 70s-80s like 9-11 times. Prob was forgetting little by little and back then I didn't know why)

So, pretty much anything but N1, any "big" Forgotten Realms (yup, I know...) from 80s like Avatar, or Dragonlance or Homlett or that's all I even F-ing recall although we played many many other FR ones, GH only a couple I am guessing - was too long ago. I know I played a LOT of Dragon and some Dungeon adventures but no idea of names other than one Halls of Beoul-dur. I'm sure there are others and hearing them may remind me.

I've always wanted to play Full ToE, Slavers, Giants-Drow. Dunno, back when GH was the big thing, most of the modules were from mags due to cash prob on our DM then - later in FR times that DM was super creative, think he did like Under Ilefarn and nothing else published.

[Varsuuk]

I'd love it if some crazy C&Cer would be able to pull a Castle Zagyg game out of their buttocks.
That damn Upper Works boxed set came out during my very long RPG Interregnum and I totally missed out before TLG became unlicensed for it.

[dr_venture]

Module procured -- very old school in many ways, but not an original AD&D classic. Looks like fun -- will need to read up and convert. Things are moving forward, but still, many apologies for the delays!

[dr_venture]

Oh, dang! The new adventure is gigantic, and though advertised as being for taking characters through levels 1 through 10, I don't see that happening, and the module itself is mum on the issue.

Another Oh Dang!! -- I found a well-reviewed AD&D1e module from TSR that I don't believe was ever played in the original campaign... so let's check that one off the list, shall we? It's also a much smaller job to convert. Will start working on that right away!

[Varsuuk]

1-10 would be an encyclopedia in my old 1e/2e days. Not familiar enough with C&C for rate of advancement but it would have to be a lot to convert ;)

[dr_venture]

1-10 would be an encyclopedia in my old 1e/2e days. Not familiar enough with C&C for rate of advancement but it would have to be a lot to convert ;)

I had assumed that it would be laid out in some kind of linear fashion, so 1st level characters aren't stumbling onto 10th level encounters... but it already starts off with what I would consider at least 3rd or 4th level encounters. The new ones are clearly labelled for the appropriate levels.

BTW, I do start characters off at 2nd level for the online games.

[ttcostadc]

Ok. Whatever, Doc. I plan to pick up the Greyhawk box when I go to my parents' next weekend. Other than that, the only D&D modules I have run are The Keep on the Borderlands.. and maybe Temple.. hold on..wow, I am so old, I can't figure out which module shipped with the Intermediate blue D&D Set. Ok, so probably safe running me through anything. Switched to ICE and then the Hero system, when I got older.

-Trevor

[damned]

Ok. Whatever, Doc. I plan to pick up the Greyhawk box when I go to my parents' next weekend. Other than that, the only D&D modules I have run are The Keep on the Borderlands.. and maybe Temple.. hold on..wow, I am so old, I can't figure out which module shipped with the Intermediate blue D&D Set. Ok, so probably safe running me through anything. Switched to ICE and then the Hero system, when I got older.

-Trevor

The Isle of Dread!

[dr_venture]

The Isle of Dread!

What, like, the Isle of Student Loans?

[ttcostadc]

damned,

You are right, I found the Expert Set online and it came with the Isle of Dread. Funnily, though, I remember running a module where you enter the top, where there was one room, and as you went deeper, the floor plates (dungeon sizes) got bigger. I thought it started with "Temple", but maybe it didn't... No matter. As you can see, I won't remember any deep dark secrets.

-tc

[ttcostadc]

Ah.. I think it was the Lost City (B4), but it says it's for the Basic Set.
-tc

and Doc, more like the Isle of my Wife's Student Loans.. :(.

[ttcostadc]

Is this still happening, guys?
-tc