Playing options

[Jim]

I'm slowly getting back into Champions after a 22-year break. I'm enjoying creating some characters, but would like to get involved with a game or two and get my feet wet. The problem is:
1. I don't know anyone who plays in Seattle, and
2. I have limited blocks of time (busy at work and with kids part time) to play.

So what are my options? Back in the day, in-person tabletop play or a convention were the only ways to go. Now, there seem to be plenty of online options, as well. But I have no clue as to what some of these options are, how they play, and what the strengths/weaknesses of each option is. Would you all be able to enlighten me and others new to online RPG playing what these options are? For example, how do these work:
1. HeroCentral
2. Chat game
3. OpenRPG
4. PbEM
5. PbP
etc.

I'm very confused.... :confused:

If you are able to help, thank you!! :D

Jim

[mayapuppies]

Hero Central is rapidly becoming my favorite way to game. It's especially useful for those with random bits of free time.

It's completely play by post and operates nearly exactly as a forum does.

Here's a campaign I've been running for a short bit: http://www.herocentral.net/storyBoard.htm?campaignId=697827

And one I am just getting ready to start: http://www.herocentral.net/storyBoard.htm?newCampaignId=782282

They both display the most recent threads first and then go backwards in time to the beginning of the campaigns. They should give you an idea of how they work.

[Shigeru]

I signed up at HeroCentral a while ago but only last week joined a game. Its never going to be the same as a tabletop PnP game, but that doesn't mean its necessarily worse.

There's good things goign on at HeroCentral and I'd advise you to take a look, lurk, read soem of the Story Board threads over there and see if it suits you.

I'd play a chat game, too but I don't know a collaborative map-sharing program ougth to work for the HERO system.

[Beast]

AutoRealm is a free mapping program
that is being used in 1 of the games I'm in on HC
the GM makes the maps and uploads and I then insert the jpeg into AR and then use the tools to draw where I'm moving to,area effect,etc....

very nice little program and it is FREE
just sign up for the yahoo group to access the files
there are also lots of added icons that have been made by group members
it does hex or grid
it is not Dunjinni it really only does line drawings but the icons do help a lot

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/AutoREALM/




I signed up at HeroCentral a while ago but only last week joined a game. Its never going to be the same as a tabletop PnP game, but that doesn't mean its necessarily worse.

There's good things goign on at HeroCentral and I'd advise you to take a look, lurk, read soem of the Story Board threads over there and see if it suits you.

I'd play a chat game, too but I don't know a collaborative map-sharing program ougth to work for the HERO system.

[Shigeru]

I just got AutoRealm early this week on the advice of another HeroCentral player. It is just what I always wanted. I guess I have to go looking for the cool icons because that's the only thing I am presently missing.

[mayapuppies]

Since I do play by post and not chat, I'm not terribly worried about an application that works with real time. Instead I use this: http://www.fatkatgames.com/kamarathin/combat/combat_page.htm

[Bandit]

I signed up for HeroCentral got all set up to run a game and I was pretty disappointed when I learned it didn't work with Internet Explorer and that I would have to download an extra browser program just to use the site. Pretty backward way of thinking as far as the designers go.
At that point I gave up and bagged the thing.
Sad.

[mayapuppies]

Must have been a while ago, it works with IE just fine now.

[Nolgroth]

I'm slowly getting back into Champions after a 22-year break. I'm enjoying creating some characters, but would like to get involved with a game or two and get my feet wet. The problem is:
1. I don't know anyone who plays in Seattle, and
2. I have limited blocks of time (busy at work and with kids part time) to play. Welcome back! :thumbup:


So what are my options? Would you all be able to enlighten me and others new to online RPG playing what these options are? For example, how do these work:Most of those you listed basically break down into two generic categories; Play By Post (or E-Mail) and Chat.

Play by Post works by posting as you would to the forums. Strengths are a decentralized game session; you don't have to be all together at a given time to play. Weakness is that it can lag when one or two players aren't paying attention and posting as they should. Play by E-Mail works basically the same way except the media used is E-Mail instead of forum software.

Herocentral is a specific piece of forum software that has been customized with dice rolling abilities and (if I am not mistaken) a few other gaming friendly options. I haven't used it myself.

Chat games, on the other hand, are a little more like traditional tabletop playing because you have to meet at a certain time and the game occurs in real time. There are many options for this, including using Voice over IP (VoIP) software like Ventrillo or Teamspeak, to speed up the process. Mostly all you need is a chat program. Two of my favorites are OpenRPG and Maptool.

OpenRPG (http://www.openrpg.com) is a specific program that combines an IRC-like chat window with the ability to show maps and tokens (graphical miniatures). It also has a ton of other features that make gaming really friendly. An alternate to OpenRPG is Map Tool (http://rptools.net). It handles the maps way better than OpenRPG, but it lacks some of the character handling features that OpenRPG has. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. You can even play on regular ol' IRC if you wish. I have seen some dice rolling scripts for mIRC (a specific program) in the past, but I tend not to use those.

There are even commercial apps for chat games as well. The two that come immediately to mind are Screen Monkey and Battlegrounds. I have not used those myself since OpenRPG and Map Tool are both freely available.

Hope that helps.

[Eosin]

I signed up for HeroCentral got all set up to run a game and I was pretty disappointed when I learned it didn't work with Internet Explorer and that I would have to download an extra browser program just to use the site. Pretty backward way of thinking as far as the designers go.
At that point I gave up and bagged the thing.
Sad.

HC has a number of quirks that make it sub-optimal for me as well. I think if you spend the time to learn its ins and outs it is a great resource but if you or your players want a "type-n-play" environment, it isn't so keen. Hmmm... A website with a learning curve. :D

[Nolgroth]

Personally I have never had any luck with Play by Post/E-Mail. I prefer my chat games by far.