Resurface! Feedback

[dmw71]

Congratulations, guys.

The game, for all intents and purposes, is over. I'll be happy to DM a swarm of angry kobolds emerging from the cave, turning just outside the exit into a massive battlefield, but I unfortunately don't have anything else formally planned.


Alethen and onlyme, you know I enjoy DM'ing you guys. AleBelly, Starbelly and spanningtree, you guys were great additions as well.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or feedback about the game -- any aspect of it. This game was kept short by design (sorry for getting you worked in so late, Starbelly!) for a couple reasons: I'm still plenty busy with outside obligations, but I also wanted to to test how the public/private forums would work. I have my thoughts on them... I'd be interested in yours.

It's also my first time trying to use Google Spreadsheets for a map. I can say this, it definitely made running the game a lot easier. Aside from the confining 5 foot wide passages throughout, what did you guys think?


Thanks,
Dave

[Alethan]

I like the private folders with the character sheets and for handling any game activity that is normally handled via PM. I like not knowing what class other people are, although the race-as-class feature of b/x makes it so that doesn't come into play as often.

The map displaying the immediate area was very nice. Made for showing things like the radius of your torch or lantern light easier.

Oh, and I hate caves with 5' wide corridors.

[AleBelly]

Second that on the private forums. It encourages roleplaying, as you really only know what the character's eyes tell you.

If I ever feel I have the time to DM, I'll certainly use this approach even though I'm sure it's a lot more work. I'll also hit you up on how to use the google spreadsheet approach.

I'd be happy to fight the kobolds, or even more enthusiastically, would enjoy picking this up in the future if you plan to do so. I like Tavari.

Thanks, Dave!

[dmw71]

A request to see the map was made, so here it is: Resurface!

I did make some on-the-fly modifications*, but that is the exact map that I logged into to use every day.

I love Google Drive!


* The darker gray sections on the 'DM Map' were all meant to be some form of trap, but I made the map before realizing there isn't a thief class, and players probably aren't used to checking for traps if they're not a thief, so I turned a few of them into collapsed areas, and outright ignored others. I also forgot how deadly the basic game is so I definitely toned done the number of creatures appearing (or even if they appeared) from what is listed on the 'Key' tab.

[onlyme]

THat map (especially the tabs) is awesome work... thanks again.
So, I guess at some point we worked our way back up on that long western tunnel. And if we had just plowed through those rats, we could have found a short cut and that !#$% elf could have even survived.

[dmw71]

I'll also hit you up on how to use the google spreadsheet approach.

I actually just posted the exact spreadsheet I used during the game. Feel free to take a look at it and see how I implemented it. For my next game -- whenever that will be -- I'll be sure to use it again. Though, I will probably make a few changes from what I have in this one.

1) While it was really only a matter of creating the fully keyed DM map, copying it, renaming this copy to 'Player Map' and stripping away all the keyed information; having the separate 'DM' and 'Player' map really wasn't necessary and I probably won't bother next time. I quickly found how incredibly easy it is to get what I need and revise as necessary on the fly. More on this in the next point.

2) I also probably won't bother creating a separate worksheet for each room in advance. Some room inevitably won't be explored, so they won't be necessary. Because of how fast it is to copy what you need from the main 'DM' map, having the 'DM' map and an extra open tab or two that you can paste what you need into should be enough.

3) Also, a lot of mapping is required of hallways/passages -- maybe more of that than the rooms themselves -- and I didn't consider that originally. If I had, I probably would have created isolated maps of every single hallway in advance as well. It's just too much unnecessary work. It's exactly like my second point above.

Create a master map and just copy and paste what you need from it as it's needed.

That's really all I can think of at the moment, but feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to share.

[dmw71]

THat map (especially the tabs) is awesome work... thanks again.

Dude, it was so easy to use. It took some work up front to put together, but it was incredibly easy to use in-game. Copy what you need, paste that section into a blank area somewhere, make the necessary changes (e.g. monster placement, character movement, etc...) and you're good. It will be my defacto mapping system going forward without question.

So, I guess at some point we worked our way back up on that long western tunnel. And if we had just plowed through those rats, we could have found a short cut and that !#$% elf could have even survived.

One thing I didn't do, that I might in future games, is somehow mark the players' progress on the map itself.

I didn't realize it immediately, but if you guys simply made the decision to always go right once leaving the main entrance cavern, you could have made almost a direct line to the exit. Sure, there are obstacles in your path, but still... probably not the best planning on my part.

[dmw71]

I like the private folders with the character sheets and for handling any game activity that is normally handled via PM. I like not knowing what class other people are, although the race-as-class feature of b/x makes it so that doesn't come into play as often.

Second that on the private forums. It encourages roleplaying, as you really only know what the character's eyes tell you.

I love having and using the private forums, and everyone used them to an extent. Some more than others.

To give you an idea, here are the counts from just the 'Entry' topics from each private forum, in ascending order: 7, 16, 19, 27, 49.

There were also a lot of discussions in the 'Chat' topics as well.

I think they were pretty great in a basic game, where they were only marginally as effective or useful as they would be in an AD&D game. My next game, just to put the private forums to full use, will almost certainly be 2E (Purple Worm), but I might consider 1E (OSRIC) as well. It would be so much fun to play a multi-classed character and try to hide one of the classes, or be a half elf and try to pass yourself off as being an true elf... or a human. A thief, or heaven forbid, an assassin, I would imagine, would have a lot of fun using the private forums available to them.

I don't have any immediate plans to start developing a new game, but just thinking about the possibilities of this hidden character aspect makes me want to dive right back in.

We'll see.

[Alethan]

I think they were pretty great in a basic game, where they were only marginally as effective or useful as they would be in an AD&D game. My next game, just to put the private forums to full use, will almost certainly be 2E (Purple Worm), but I might consider 1E (OSRIC) as well. It would be so much fun to play a multi-classed character and try to hide one of the classes, or be a half elf and try to pass yourself off as being an true elf... or a human. A thief, or heaven forbid, an assassin, I would imagine, would have a lot of fun using the private forums available to them.

I don't have any immediate plans to start developing a new game, but just thinking about the possibilities of this hidden character aspect makes me want to dive right back in.

We'll see.

Yeah, this is where I see the private forum really shining. Imagine a whole party of dual-classed half-elves! Nobody would know what class anyone else is!

[dmw71]

Imagine a whole party of dual-classed half-elves! Nobody would know what class anyone else is!

That would be awesome! Hahahahaha

If it wouldn't outright ruin the "secrecy" part of it, I'd be tempted to make playing a multi-classed half-elf a requirement.

[AleBelly]

I also forgot how deadly the basic game is

Tell me about it. I finished running the Keep on the Borderlands module for my son as his intro into D&D using Basic rules. I kept the party size to six or seven, and he controlled the character who was the de facto leader. Being eight years old, he didn't make the best tactical decisions all of the time, but his NPC buddies did make some suggestions I thought a reasonable character would make. Still, the body count became much higher than 20! Tears were shed several times, but his third character has really taken off.

[dmw71]

Tell me about it. I finished running the Keep on the Borderlands module for my son as his intro into D&D using Basic rules.

That's awesome. I'm not sure either of my kids will ever get into the game. They're both on the autism spectrum, and extremely literal. Imagining them placed in a situation where a fight, with weapons, might happen is, honestly, unthinkable at this stage. They're 8 and 5, so maybe when they're older, but I'm not counting on it.

Believe it or not, while I did attempt 'Keep on the Borderlands' once as a kid (I think I died almost immediately in some trap?), I never really played through B2. I'm not big on published modules.

I kept the party size to six or seven, and he controlled the character who was the de facto leader. Being eight years old, he didn't make the best tactical decisions all of the time, but his NPC buddies did make some suggestions I thought a reasonable character would make. Still, the body count became much higher than 20! Tears were shed several times, but his third character has really taken off.

That was smart, to have NPC's guide him while he's first learning. Hopefully the experience was positive enough that your son wants to keep playing.

[onlyme]

My next game, just to put the private forums to full use, will almost certainly be 2E (Purple Worm), but I might consider 1E (OSRIC) as well. ,

I don't have any immediate plans to start developing a new game, but just thinking about the possibilities of this hidden character aspect makes me want to dive right back in.

We'll see.

So in two weeks?

[dmw71]

So in two weeks?

Hahahaha Very unlikely, though, I will admit to have created a "New Game" directory in Google Drive, and have a blank "New Game Map" spreadsheet already created.

Realistically, though, since I don't really have any ideas at the moment, it'll probably be a while (translation: more than two weeks).

[Starbeard]

This was a fantastic crawl, dmw71, thanks! I've just some more of the same positive comments on the format as everyine else. The Google Drive mapping feature eas fantastic, and the ability to update and alter the map at will to reflect vision ranges etc. really made it. I also really enjoyed the clear & unobtrusive way it was embedded into the main thread, so that there wasn't a lot of flipping through various media threads to get an idea of the action.

The private forums were also a nice touch, and really useful. It would be more work, but I can even see them being used in conjunction with private groups as well, for example where part of the group only have normal vision, and so see some things, but the others have low/dark/infravision, and so can see farther. I'm not sure if doing that specifically would really change play so much to be useful, but the idea is that by using alterable embedded maps + private forums, there are tons of possibilities on handling the flow of information to the players.

Great job! I might start my own game soon here, and I'm definitely inspired by your thread design!

[AleBelly]

Hopefully the experience was positive enough that your son wants to keep playing.

Actually, I created a monster. He's begging me to play now (I've kinda created my own thing now that we finished the Keep that I may try on this board). He's my little play tester.

I hope your boys do get into the game. It's a fun way to spend time with them.

[spanningtree]

Yes, thanks for the great game! That's an innovative way to do the mapping. I will definitely add that to my DMing toolbox. I concur on the private forums for the characters. I also liked keeping the thread clean by wrapping rolls in the spoiler tag. Overall good time!

If you do have another game coming up in the future please drop me a line!

[dmw71]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. It was short, but fun. I don't know when my next game will be, but each of you are definitely invited -- if you have the availability and the interest, you're in.

We can continue the discussion in the forum here, but don't be surprised if the game gets moved to the "Completed Games" section before long.

Thanks, again.


- Dave

[AleBelly]

And thank you, Dave. It was fun and very well run!

[Starbeard]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. It was short, but fun. I don't know when my next game will be, but each of you are definitely invited -- if you have the availability and the interest, you're in.

We can continue the discussion in the forum here, but don't be surprised if the game gets moved to the "Completed Games" section before long.

Thanks, again.


- Dave

This is actually perfect timing, as it gives me enough of a little break as I get ready for the start of term, but by the time you start another game up I'll be ready to jump back in.

Can I also say that I really enjoy your posting style, and the methodical one-per-day post rate. I'm in the UK, so I end up missing out on a lot of the interaction going on in the threads due to the time difference with most players, and it's worse when the DM has an irregular posting frequency. Trying to stick to one 'turn' per day not only helps keep the action flowing smoothly and consistently, but it keeps all players involved to the same level.