Sarah Darkmagic

Thanks to some great guys including my friend Sam, I was able to play in my first 4th edition D&D Skype game. I had a really great time. Being able to play with a bunch of people I met on Twitter made me really happy, even if it meant staying up to 2:30 a.m. on a work night. Between this experience and the awesome OD&D skype game I'm in, I'm over my hesitations regarding online gaming and may even try DMing a game soon. While I don't have a ton of experience yet, here are a few tips I've picked up along the way.

• Expect the first few sessions to be a little awkward, especially if no one really knows each other and they are new to the tools. Many of us tend towards the introverted and shy side, and without the visual cues to signify all is well, we take a little longer to get over those. We didn't suffer from this too much in my OD&D game because most of us had met at least one other player in real life. In fact, I'm probably the most shy and even I had a joke or two during my first session. The lack of visual cues also makes conversation a bit more difficult. However, even professional podcasters sitting in the same room with each other will talk over one another and you will too. Just relax and enjoy the game.
• The tools are good, but they are not perfect. In both games, we use skype for audio and another program for the visuals. For the OD&D game, we use Gametable, in part because the most we really need is the ability to show an overland map and a whiteboard to draw a rough sketch of any important areas. For the 4e game, we used d20Pro. Generally, it's a good idea to have the DM run the visual utility and another player, preferably one with a wired Internet connection, host the skype call.
• Try to minimize background noise. I'm really fortunate here in that we have a guest bedroom/former home office for me to disappear into, but not everyone has that luxury. Computer mics have a habit of picking up lots of background noise, everything from the television to typing to fans. You won't be able to hear the noise you make, but you can keep watch on the skype call list to see what sort of sound level your mic is picking up. Also, if you have an external stand mic and it is picking up a hum, it's possible that the table is vibrating the mic. Put something under the mic to absorb some of the vibration, like a washcloth or towel. Finally, try not to breathe directly into the mic. Save that for prank calls.

As for last night's session, my illusionist wizard, Madeline, kicked ass. I tend towards playing higher charisma characters so my shyness definitely hurt me at the beginning of the game. But once we got to combat, my tactical side took over and I was fine. Madeline let the big boys in her party take the brunt of the damage at the beginning of the combat, but worked her way through a fair number of the enemies. At the end, she used Guardian Blades to create a protective buffer and walked right up to the remaining zombie minion. She then used one of her ranged spells to attack the boss. The zombie jumped at the opportunity to go after the squishy target, missed, and was cut to pieces for his trouble. I might have left an impression with that move. She was my first controller character. Since I tend to play strikers or defenders, changing my mindset was a little frustrating but the tactical challenges offered more than made up for it. I hope I get to play a similar character sometime in the future.

I've been using Monster Builder a while to do basic customizations to monsters, adjusting level, removing powers, etc. However, I couldn't figure out how to easily add powers to a monster, especially ones that existed for other monsters. I discussed this with Jeff Greiner of the Tome Show the other day and he shared that bit of knowledge with me. Figuring that I can't possibly be the only person who didn't know how to do it, I decided to write a brief tutorial here. If you don't already have it, the Monster Builder is part of the Adventure Tools available on the Wizards of the Coast website.

Step 1: Edit an existing monster

Pick a monster to edit. In this case, I want to make a dwarf fire archer, so I picked the closest one I could find, "Dwarf Bolter"

Step 2: Edit basic info

Edit the basic information, such as monster name and level.

Step 3: Edit powers

Since I wasn't going to use the crossbow and aimed shot powers, I deleted them. Then I found appropriate powers to add. First, let's add the longbow.

To do this, we'll need to open up the monster power list. On the right hand side, click on the sword image to get the power list. You can narrow down the options by using the filters:
Name:The name of the power.
Type:The type of attack such as ranged, melee, etc.
Action:The type of action, such as standard, minor, move, etc.
Usage:The recharge of the power, such as at-will, encounter, etc.
Additional search options are available by click on the down arrow next to "Power Comes From." These options help you limit powers to certain monsters.
Monster Name: The name of the monster
Monster Role: The monster's group role, such as artillery.
Monster Keyword: A keyword associated with the monster.
Monster Origin: The monster's origin, such as shadow.
Min. Level: The minimum level of the monster.
Max. Level: The maximum level of the monster.
Leader: Whether or not the monster is a leader.
Source: Where the monster was published, such as the Monster Manual.

Once you find the power you want to add, drag it from the list on the right hand side to the monster power list on the left.

The longbow power was pretty easy to search for, but I want the monster to shoot flame arrows. I used the advanced search options to help find something with ongoing fire damage. Looking through the list, Burning Arrow looks like what I want, so I drag it over to the power list.

Now I can just make a few edits if I want, like giving it a new name. It even automatically adjusted some of the numbers for me. You'll always want to sanity check it to be sure, but it's a handy feature.

Last night was Cassidy's first Fellowship of the Tweet adventure. We had a great session with @NewbieDM as, well, the DM. Due to people's schedules, the game starts around my normal bed time, but I am more than willing to make the sacrifice to play with this group. Fortunately my shyness didn't last too long although my computer started to hate me as we neared midnight.

So far, playing OD&D has helped me understand a bit more about 4e which is really great. During the post adventure conversation last night I made the point that one of my problems with many of the 4e books, particularly the DMGs, is that there is a lot of assumed knowledge in them. For someone like me, who doesn't have 30 years experience playing and running D&D, it can be really hard to grok what they are trying to say, especially since so much of the advice is pretty abstract. For instance, I would love a basic tutorial on how to create a monster, what guidelines, math-wise, go into creating new attack and utility powers, and things like that. I'm a coder; I could go through and compare a bunch of them to see what overall math they are trying to get, but I'm also lazy and don't want to do that much work.

While I'm having fun with the adventure, I really miss the way magic is handled in 4e. This 2 spells per adventure/day thing is a bit of a drag. :) On one hand, it means that I reserve them and try to bring them out when they really count. For instance, in our first fight of the day versus two hobgoblins, Toma, one of our dwarves, was hit early for 7 damage. Afraid that the next round might be a bit much on the dwarf, I went in and healed him for 3, putting myself in melee range. On the other hand, it can lead to a lot of, "Well, if we are willing to wait a day, I can prepare a spell tomorrow that will let me clear that water right up and we can see if there is anything down there." I need to wait a whole day? I guess that's better than potentially not knowing the spell at all, but I prefer the 4e way.

Overall, I'm really glad I'm in this game, mostly because of the great group of guys I get to play with. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it going and I won't be as shy in future adventures. For now, I'm still feeling out what I can get away with in the conversation, which seems to be a lot. Great job guys and thanks again NewbieDM for running an awesome game! Hopefully the audio will get released soon, and you'll be able to hear Cassidy's moment of the game, near the end of the session. If it doesn't get released, I'll write it up here. Let's just say things are often darkest before the dawn.

My last post centered on the crunch of Cassidy, my 3rd level cleric for @NewbieDM's red box game. In this one, I'll explain a bit of her flavor and backstory. I know it's a cliche but actually, I'm writing to show how I create characters, since this is the process I use for both my PCs and NPCs.

Usually I start off with a concept of some sort, usually a few words that express what I really desire for the character. In this case, I want to play a pretty feminine character. I figure the guys in the group can handle it and such a character would be a good counterpoint to the darkness that is almost fundamental to Red Box D&D. I have a strange quirk in that when there is a lot of lightness and mirth, I will want to go dark and when things are too gritty, I want to go light. Usually I sum it up as I bring order to chaos and chaos to order. In addition, I didn't want to be tied to upholding the laws, so I really want a neutral character. My issue with playing lawful characters is that too often players will tend towards the medieval, favoring chivalry. I find this great for male characters, but a bit limiting for female ones. I don't think it will come up in this game, yet I have an aversion to the whole thing. I'm sure I'll play a lawful character eventually, but for now, I'd prefer to be neutral.

My initial thoughts led me towards a druid-like character, but the rules make that really hard. I'm the only healer and if healing is necessary during a dangerous situation, I can't afford to take a hit. So I scratched the wild child idea pretty quickly. Still, I had to determine how to follow a cause and still be fairly neutral. Not wanting to just steal gods from later D&D editions, I started thinking about the Greek pantheon. Right away I thought of Apollo and as I read the Wikipedia article, I became more convinced. He hits all the things I wanted in my character, prophesy, healing, music and the arts. In addition, he's known to bring both disease and cure, sounds fairly neutral to me. I also like his association with Dionysus, which I might have chosen as my deity if it wasn't a bit over the top.

Now that I someone for her to worship and follow, I needed a way to demonstrate it. Apollo is known for his lyre and music. What better way to show her devotion than to have her play an instrument of her own? I'm sure she doesn't play it wonderfully, but she'll carry it where ever she roams and her natural charm will get her a crowd. Since we're not following the skill rules, the process of getting her the play instrument skill was simple, I just asked my DM. He agreed and now I have something distinctive about my character. She's a bit of a bard and cleric, a perfect combination for someone who worships Apollo.

With those things squared away, all that remains is a bit more character back story. To play up the Apollo and Dionysus angle, she has a twin sister who is an acolyte of the latter. In fact, most of her family favors the Dionysian side of the equation, which is part of the reason she left home. Her orders are to travel the world for the next few years to learn about as many bits of culture and art as she can. Besides, many can use her healing powers and the older members prefer not to travel that much. She'll favor reason and civilization over instinct and primal concerns but with her background she can't help but have moments of pure emotion.

I'll develop the rest of the backstory over time, usually through interplay with the rest of the group. Since she's a PC, I went a bit deeper than I would with most NPCs. I can't wait to play her on Tuesday.

Even though I swore I wouldn't play anything other than 4e, I'm giving the original Red Box a try. The truth is the game mechanics still make me weep, at least so far, but my fellow players are awesome and I really want to play with them. They're promising me a good time and I have no doubt that they will deliver.

Obviously the first thing I needed to do was roll up my character. My DM, @NewbieDM, gave me permission to change my ability scores a little, if necessary, to make a cleric work. With that in mind, I rolled my 3d6 in order from top to bottom. The rolls actually weren't too bad with the notable exception of Strength: Str 8 Int 10 Wis 12 Dex 14 Con 13 Cha 13. Sure, I wish my strength and wisdom were just a tad bit higher so I could wipe out that -1 penalty to attack and damage and I could get 5% more XP. But then I remember it's balanced out by lowering my AC by 1 with dex, an additional hit point with her constitution, and perhaps the ability to hire an extra loyal helper or two with her charisma. Besides, if I fudge the numbers too much, I won't be able to complain as much later when she dies.

Next up, determine hit points. If I remember correctly from the audio recording of the first game, the DM is allowing the players to take the max for the first round and then roll for each additional round. After doing that, I ended up with 14 hit points, not too shabby. Last night I thought it was 12, but that's because I didn't see the part where I get to add my con bonus every level. I'm feeling a little better about her already.

Now it's time to go shopping. Normally I would roll 3d6 and multiply it by 10 for my starting gold, but I think he's allowing us to take the maximum amount of gold and he is figuring we already have our weapon. This still leaves me a fair bit to buy, but I should be able to get everything I need:

* chainmail
* shield
* mace
* sling with 30 sling stones

* backpack
* long cloak
* boots, riding or swash-topped
* mirror
* rope
* holy symbol
* 2 torches
* tinder box
* 2 waterskin
* Clothes, middle-class

These are a good start, although I might refine the list before the game on Tuesday. Now that I have my equipment, I can figure out my armor class. We are using the descending system, so lower is better. My chain mail gives me 5 and the shield brings it down to 4. Once I add in my dex bonus, I'm down to 3. Not too bad.

Now I just have character story creation. Cassidy the cleric needs a god and reason for existing. More on that later.