Wanted: Virtual Roleplayers

I have the itch to play an old fashioned pen and paper RPG, but I don't know anyone in the area I live in that plays, so I figured I'd like to try and run a game online using things like IRC, Skype, and some sort of whiteboard software to allow multiple people to draw on the same image. Other than the fact that we would all be in different places in the country, I think it would be similar enough that a good RPG gaming session could be pulled off.

So who would be interested in something like this? I'm not settled on the game, though I am leaning toward Shadowrun, so I'd take suggestions. I would request that it not be a game the GM needs to spend tons of money getting books for, and also something that the players can get source material for without too much hassle.

I'd be willing to GM the game, but if there is someone else who wants to do it, I have no problem allowing them to run things; I could just help with the tech or whatever is needed to make this happen in the "virtual" world.

If this works out, I'd love to have a session every month or so, see if we can't get a regular campaign going.

Thoughts?

- Souca -

this sounds like a fucking cool idea, one would wonder if we could have some sort of virtual dice program where everyone could see a random roll ie 1d20 or something.... hmm! I dont have any paper pen style games except for dnd tho, but i'd love to get back into it sometime :D

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Originally Posted by ghonosyph

this sounds like a fucking cool idea, one would wonder if we could have some sort of virtual dice program where everyone could see a random roll ie 1d20 or something.... hmm! I dont have any paper pen style games except for dnd tho, but i'd love to get back into it sometime :D

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I was looking into a way to do it through irc. If normal irc doesn't support it, I'm sure it can be added via some source code and I'd run a special version on a server.

Another option that Gurb had suggested was a play by post campaign. We would use the forum to communicate, with 1 post per day to keep things moving. He sent an excellent example of some Shadowrun campaigns being run that way. The upside would be that no one would be pressured into meeting a specific time schedule beyond their one move per day, which they could do when it worked for them.

Games that have been mentioned:
D&D 4th Edition
Shadowrun
Paranoia
Call of Cthulhu


- Souca -

I'd be interested, id have to find my books.

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Originally Posted by JackBurton

I'd be interested, id have to find my books.

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Do you have a preference for a particular game? Thoughts about playing by post or trying to do something live?

- Souca -

Care to point any examples of how it might work? I checked out a couple of posts on the linked forum but they seemed to be RP / story telling threads and not game-driven.

I've done online gaming, quite a ways back.
The site we had used was Keepspoint.
Not sure if it is available now or not, cannot remember the exact URL even.

It had a virtual table top, which you could drag and drop elements into, to make a dungeon or whatever.
Dice that everyone could see.
The option of private messages between players, with the table owner able to see everything.

Didn't really game too much with it.
But if the gamemaster/dungeonmaster were willing to make a virtual world, or encounters in advance.
It would likely be playable.
Definitely not something you would want to design encounters in real time.

There will probably be similar sites out there.

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Originally Posted by Redbeard

Care to point any examples of how it might work? I checked out a couple of posts on the linked forum but they seemed to be RP / story telling threads and not game-driven.

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I've been reading through one of the play by post, and it does seem rather RP, but I think that is just a choice they made. Play by post would lean more toward role playing, but there is nothing to say it has to be that detailed.

Ualaa: I'll look into Keepspoint.

- Souca -

For those wanting a little info on Shadowrun, here are the Quick Start Rules.

- Souca -

In.

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Originally Posted by Redbeard

Care to point any examples of how it might work? I checked out a couple of posts on the linked forum but they seemed to be RP / story telling threads and not game-driven.

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Here is a link to where some combat starts: link

It wouldn't be as intense as if you were doing it live, but there could be some suspense waiting to see how it plays out.


I've pretty much decided to do Shadowrun, since it's the game I have the most rulebooks for and I know the game pretty well. If there was enough demand, I'd consider Pathfinder or Call of Cthulhu ( "You go insane! Campaign over." ). That said, I'd like to get people to sign up for play by post, play online with something like MapTool, or either so we can get that part sorted. So let me know which you would be willing to play.

- Souca -

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