Remote D&D
I've been working on a bit of a side project recently. Last year, before I left for Japan, I think I mentioned that my cousin was trying to get a group together to play D&D. That fell through due to people not being able to get together on any given night due to children or whatever.
And I also found a local gaming club that meets at a comic book store nearby that plays D&D. Unfortunately, they don't accept newcomers during a game (understandable, gotta wait for a new one to start) and they also REQUIRE you to be present at every game night, else you forfeit your spot. Considering the games can last upwards of 6 months, that is a hefty time commitment.
So I've been working on making a 'game'. It's really not a game at all. It's just an interface that would allow players from anywhere with an internet connection to:
1. Roll dice (1 to 6 d2-d100s)
2. Update and store their character sheets
3. Rudimentary 'maps' (more on this later)
4. Move characters
And for the DM to:
1. Have an encyclopaedia of monsters
2. Choose the maps
3. Move "structures" for LOS and/or traps
4. Have monsters on call to both move, keep stat points, and equipment logs (randomized or dm-provided).
The first thing I've done was rip a monster's manual and parse through it to collect base stats for each mob. I was able to easily pull in their Name, level, xp, class, HP, Speed (on land), Initiative, Senses Perception, Str, Dex, Wis, Con, Int, and Char. I also have a dump for their abilities, though that is very messy and I'm gonna push this off to parsing until much later. Either way, the DM will have an easy view of that information. I've also pulled in the 'tactics' section so the DM can quickly read that if need be. Once again, that will have to be the DM interacting to make sure it follows it's 'tactics'.
Question: When a monster is defeated, is the experience split between party members or is it a lump sum given to each member? Aka, a 4 man group defeats a 1000xp mob. Does each member get 250 or 1000 xp? Either way, this will auto-update the character sheets with the information.
I've also created the script to roll dice. Fairly simple. I'm using rand(), which isn't entirely random, but close enough. If any of you programmers have a better way to do that, please let me know.
The character sheets have been parsed in and each stat and ability is its own variable. No idea how I am going to handle some of them though.
... more to come later. for now, lan party!
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The default D&D system for XP (across all versions of the game) is that the XP is split between players.
The only time this is NOT happening is either when a player get bonus XP for exceptional roleplaying, or when it's so blatantly obvious when a character has NOTHING to do with the fight that it's obvious even for a newborn possum. (Example: Willbur is lounging at a spa in Waterdeep while his friends are battling mindflayers down in the Underdark.)
As Gormash says; experience is split except for personal awards / not being present.
In my ideal game players would not have character sheets with statistics, but guidelines. I keep track of their sheets and update it for them. Sometimes there is discussion when they can buy new powers or abilities; but otherwise I buy what fits their primary study or activities during the sessions. I also keep experience rewards low and award it at times when it makes sense. E.g. a player has spent some time studying and can justify the benefits of experience. It's not just a progress bar :) Most of the time though it doesn't work that way.
Have you looked at Neverwinter Nights, as an example? It is old but has a comprehensive editor and I believe you can host games with it. Run your game as a GM by building the story; then sit in and watch as they play through the story?
Tan, it sounds like the FATE rpg system would be a perfect fit for your playstyle. I've plunged through "The Dresden Files" RPG which uses a slightly modified version of FATE, and it REALLY encourages roleplaying and storytelling over stats and abilities.
Not only that, but it ditches experience points altogether, instead relying on character progression by completing milestones in their lives and by organically evolving.
You owe it to yourself to check it out, what with being free to download. :)
I'll have a look at that. The system I use doesn't bother me usually; though. Even if a system encourages roleplaying over dice rolling it won't work unless you have the right kind of players. Vittorio, Hesseth and Simone. Those were the type of players that made a game work; not the system we used :)
I know, that's just common sense. But still, some game systems lend itself more to ROLLplaying rather than ROLEplaying. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the RoleMaster series (was big in the late 80's, early 90's), but that game is more like you're a librarian taking inventory than a game, and everything's so unnecessarily complicated that you CAN'T give the characters away to the gamemaster because he'd never be able to keep up, thus letting the game bog down to a crawl.
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One game I played some years ago called Unknown Armies had a really nice take on the whole damage thing in combat.
You had hitpoints, much like in D&D, with 50 being the average for a normal human adult. When you got hit you'd lose X hitpoints, and when you got to 0 you'd die. Simple, and not very exciting. Except...
The gamemaster kept track of the hitpoints for the players, never telling them how much damage they recieve, just how they FEEL. Each would is tracked separately and healed separately too (a dedicated sheet for this made it easy to keep tabs on).
Just imagine the different anxiety level these two players have (both know they have 50 hitpoints max, but don't know their current hitpoints):
1) "The thug grabs a trashcan lid and smacks you in the face for 7 damage."
2) "The thug grabs a trashcan lib and smacks you in the face. You immediately see bright spots flash before your eyes and stumble backwards a few steps. A sharp, grinding pain in your nose makes you afraid that it's been broken. One of your eyelids keep fluttering uncontrollably."
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One of the things I like about the FATE systems is the part about ASPECTS. Each character have 7 aspects, each one in integral part of that characters personality or lifestyle. It can be anything from "Doomed to fail in love" or "Sucker for easy money" to something more poetic like "A muse for the destitute", or perhaps something very literal like "A fearsome vampire". Your imagination (and the gamemaster's approval) is the only limit.
During the game a player can invoce their aspects to give them bonuses to anything related to that aspect. Someone with "Noble birth" would likely be able to use that to gain a bonus to any diplomasy and social situations during a royal ball.
But, aspects can also go the other way. The gamemaster may invoce them to make trouble for the character. Someone with "Old fashioned manners" might be compelled to help a lady in distress even when it would put the players in a greater heap of trouble than they already are in. Or an "Ex con" might get unwanted attention when someone nearby is murdered, despite not having anything to do with it.
This way of using aspects are made between both player and gamemaster, both in agreement. The game uses something called fatepoints to control this. The player spend a fatepoint to get a bonus. The gamemaster GIVE the player a point to make trouble for them.
You don't have to use only you own aspects either. Other players, NPCs have aspects.Heck, even PLACES can have aspects. And if you through roleplaying and paying attention to details can figure out what these aspects are, you might be allowed to use them for your own gain.
An alley with the aspect "Dark and foreboding" might give you a bonus to hiding or intimidating someone. Or knowing that soneone is "Constantly broke and hungry" might make it easier to persuade them to do something they don't really want to do.
Thanks Gorm and Tan, I'll make the change. I think I got a bit in over my head with this, as I don't really know how to play D&D. So I've taken a break from development to read through the players handbook. A lot has changed since D&D 2nd edition, especially when I was in elementary school so I am certain we weren't playing by real rules at all.
And scrapped