John Lammers on EpicTable and Story Games

I’ve been following the development of EpicTable almost since the beginning. As it nears completion, I thought it would be a good idea to “interview” John again, and get a feeling about how it will support the creator-owned and small press games I love.

What exactly is a Virtual Tabletop, and why do I need one?

A virtual tabletop is an application specifically designed for tabletop games. It’s not a game itself, but an environment that allows you to play games. For a lot of people, this is a means to play tabletop games online, though many virtual tabletops are useful for face-to-face play as well.

Why do you need one? There are plenty of general-purpose tools out there–Skype, IM, for example–and some of them have gaming add-ons like dice rollers, but the advantage of a virtual tabletop is that it’s not general-purpose. It’s specifically tailored to gaming. So, the dice roller’s not a bolted-on feature, but is integrated into a cohesive whole that may include mapping, character sheets, combat trackers, etc. It’s like the difference between managing your finances in a general-purpose number cruncher like Excel vs. a dedicated app like Quicken. You can manage your finances in Excel, but it’s more cumbersome, less capable, less cohesive.

There are already a handful of good VTs out there, what does EpicTable offer that the others don’t?

Each VT has its own strengths, and I’d really encourage people to check them out and see what matches their needs and style best. A lot depends on how well the things you value match up with the things the VT designer values. With EpicTable, I’ve chosen to concentrate on ease of use and end-user extensibility. I believe very strongly that you shouldn’t have to be poking around in the file system, dropping files in specific directories, or writing XML and scripts. Yet I strongly believe you should be able to define your own resources–textures, map objects, light sources, character sheets, even adapt the game you want to play for use with EpicTable–all through EpicTable’s graphical interface. As a consequence, there are features that EpicTable might not offer out of the gate–for instance, the character sheet designer is still under development, and I’ll release version 1.0 without it–but this is because I really believe that every EpicTable feature should be usable by a “normal”, non-techie gamer.

EpicTable is the first VT that is designed to support so-called “indie” or “story games.” How is playing an indie game in EpicTable different that using other VTs, such as MapTool or Fantasy Grounds?

There are features that are specifically aimed at games in the indie/story community–for instance:

* the ability to move dice around in support of Dogs in the Vineyard

* index cards for characters and relationships in Fiasco, for facts about the story in Universalis, etc.

* game board support for games like Grey Ranks

* support for dice pools of different colors for games like Don’t Rest Your Head

* game pieces fanmail tokens for Primetime Adventures, coins and stones that you can use for Fate points, for DRYH’s Hope and Despair, for Universalis currency, etc.

* the ability to build up wide variety of interesting dice mechanics

* rich chat functionality that allows you to easily shift between multiple personas, convey mood, etc.

* non-traditional treatment of roles is something I’m exploring as well, though I’m not certain how it’s going to appear in version 1.0. For instance, I want to separate the notions of host and GM and support GM-less games.

Some VTs have some of these features, but I think it’s actually less about a feature checklist and more about EpicTable and its designer being aligned with indie/story goals:

* This community tends to play lots of different games, so you need lots of flexibility, lots of little pieces you can put to your own purposes.

* You can’t always wait for someone else to adapt your game to the VT. In fact, a lot of the games are too low-volume to expect a commercial adaptation of it to appear, so it’s important that you can adapt it for use with a VT yourself.

* You might only play a given game for a couple sessions, so you sure don’t want to spend days or weeks building support for it.

You’re nearing the alpha testing stage. What can alpha testers expect? What do you expect from them?

The goal of the alpha is to get some feedback from people actually using EpicTable for gaming. There will be some features missing, so it’s more like a playtest than a normal gaming session. There will be a series of alpha releases, leading towards a beta. The distinction between the two is that during the alpha, features will still be trickling in, while during the beta EpicTable will be feature complete and I’ll just be polishing some rough edges and reacting to feedback.

In terms of my expectations, I’d really like people to provide feedback, and I’m hoping they don’t get too hung up on missing features. I’m a little concerned that I’m going to see a blog that says, “EpicTable doesn’t have feature X!” because the blogger doesn’t realize that it’s not feature complete. I think the feedback will make it worth that risk.

How can one become a tester?

Just check in on the EpicTable site periodically. I’ll post plenty of info about the alpha as it nears and once it starts. There’s an RSS feed and email notifications you can subscribe to as well.

What do you plan to add to EpicTable 2 that won’t be in the initial release?

At this point, it looks like the character sheet designer will come after 1.0. However, I plan to have a 1.x release that essentially “makes good” on the forecasted feature set. For EpicTable 2, there’s a lot to choose from. I suspect you’re going to see more depth in the character sheet designer and game adaptation, more facilities for designing/adding your own resources, and possibly a more sophisticated combat tracker. A lot will depend on feedback from the community though.

Check out EpicTable at www.epictable.com.

Alverroes

20090618 Wednesday ~2030 to 20090619 Thursday 0100

A Trithofar Production

Directed by Jared Gullage

Starring Alverroes Frecks, the Young Wizard, played by Will Whatley

with Enarchos, a Lesser Portalian Flux

Session One: Initial Intrigue

[Will's interests

Intrigue

Nobles, Jasmine, Altarus]

[Eight Teachings. Aethren serve but do not rule. Something about using undead. People are not tools.]

[Immediate Goal: Test for Magus.]

Cast

Arkel Millethorp (not his real name), handler, rival, jerk, misinformed/misinforming about Gella.

Gella Milagon, Missing Artificier, who left in

Golden Glory: ship that Gella Milagon left on a month ago

Maruk, Alverroes’ Porter

Sarkan = what Aethren affiliated with Sarkelosh call themselves.

Sargoon = how Alverroes refers to Aethren mistakenly or wickedly supporting Sarkelosh

Hasdrul Gates, Alverroes cover pseudonym.

Kallud, a Droddy. A Sorcerer who seems very interested in Alverroes

Urkra Narg Corporal, set to guard Alverroes’ merchandise. Later charmed to kill Alverroes.

unintroduced artificier woman, an associate of Geram

Geram, Master Artificier of Sarkoshia

Lacron, Gella’s handler and a reclusive Master

Vampire girl, sent to suck Alverroes dry of, among other things, information

Tests

Inconspicuous routine test.

Haggling unlearned test.

Persuasion routine test.

Wizardry routine test.

Observation unlearned test.

Persuasion difficult test.

Intimidation unlearned test.

Wizardry routine test.

Scene 1

Int. Millethorp’s Study. Evening.

In which Alverroes learns that Gella has gone missing, and is charged with bringing her back.

Got Thousands of Crowns, Assorted Equipment. Got Amulet of Mind Guard, Ring of Calling, Spell Matrix Ring, Mystroskus. Got Maruk.

Scene 2

Ext. Sarkoshian Docks. Day.

In which Alverroes and Maruk exit their ship separately, and incognito.

Inconspicuous routine test.

Scene 3

Int. A Sarkoshian Inn. Day.

In which Maruk picks a good inn, and Alverroes picks up the attention of an unsavory Droddy.

Scene 4

Int. Alverroes’ Room, A Sarkoshian Inn. Day.

In which Alverroes is interroagted by the Droddy, who introduces himself as Kallud, and learns of the importance of an amulet.

Haggling unlearned test.

Scene 5

Ext. Street in front of a Sarkoshian Inn. Day.

In which Alverroes hires a Narg Guard for his merchandise, thereby meeting Uruk.

Scene 6

Int. A Sarkoshian Inn. Day.

In which Alverroes makes arrangement for his Narg to have something to guard with the the stable master, an hostler, and, last but not least Maruk, all over the same glass of wine.

Horse bought.

Scene 7

Ext. A Garden, The University. Day.

In which, on the next day, Alverroes Calls upon Millethorpe, and abuses him.

Scene 8

Int. The Expert’s Shop. Day.

In which an unnamed gnome finds the amulet of Alverroes interesting enough to send him to the Artificier’s Office.

Scene 9

Ext. A University Street. Day.

In which Alverroes breaks up a conversation between a young woman, an artificier, and a mature kunjel, a wizard, by pretending to want to know more about this so interesting amulet.

Scene 10

Int. An Artificier’s Office. Day.

In which Alverroes miscalculates badly the degree to which a young artificier can be gulled into thinking a wizard is a merchant, and he meets the omniaudient Geram.

Persuasion routine test.

1 Fate for Embodiment of Subtlety.

Scene 11

Int. An Artificier’s Office. Day.

In which Alverroes, having paid dearly to see her, declares his eternal love for Gella, and she brushes him off.

Scene 12

Ext. A Garden, The University. Day.

In which Alverroes learns that a young man is, in fact, reading; is interrupted in listening to Gella’s message, and convinces a young Aethren woman to get him into the Library for only a drop of Mystroskus in her convenient beaker. In which Will does not make a sexual joke.

Wizardry routine test.

Scene 13

Int. The Library. Day.

In which Alverroes slips past an unfortunately aged lady warden, and sees Gella again, much to her discomfort. Also in which they compare notes, to the detrment of Alverroes’s self esteem.

Scene 14

Ext. Outside the Mercelian Hospital. Midnight.

In which Gella finds Alverroes, they are interrupted, and at last Alverroes learns that she is here for the Key of Lorinthar at Master Lacron’s request. Also in which they are interrupted by an aggressively dutiful young Mercelian. Also in which they arrange to meet the following night, that Alverroes might help Gella best.

Observation unlearned test.

Scene 15

Int. Maruk’s Room, A Sarkoshian Inn. Late Night.

In which Maruk finds himself woken abruptly, and bid a good evening.

Scene 16

Int. Common Room, A Sarkoshian Inn. Late Night.

In which a vampire girl discovers that she will required to exert herself to get close to Alverroes.

Lost Ring of Calling.

Scene 17

Ext. The Street outside A Sarkoshian Inn. Late Night.

In which Alverroes learns that the vampire was acting under orders, and frightens away a mysterious figure dressed all in black with an ill considered spell.

Duel of Wits.

Persuasion difficult test.

Intimidation unlearned test.

1 Fate Spent on Luck.

Scene 18

Ext. The Street outside A Sarkoshian Inn. Early Morning.

In which Maruk learns more will be required of him this night, and Alverroes diverts an aether crazed Uruk.

Wizardry routine test.

Roses: Most everything.

Thorns: Fears about our personal inadequacies.

2009 1st Quarter

Games – Steal Away Jordan, PTA played; I want to play Mouse Guard, Storming the Wizard’s Tower

Design – none done; in progress Famiglia, unnamed, No One Lives There, The Libertines

Reflection – I love this blog. I want a template for reports (for Aegalys, I don’t know where it happened, when it happened, who was doing what in play responsibilities, what were the perceived high and low points, roses and thorns, or anything like that).

Constructive Resonanance – I’ve enjoyed playing board games together reading, reading together a bit (the Pagels book, Brennen?), writing concurrently, editing one another, and so forth. I’d love to finish something so you guys could edit me, and I want to see Brennen’s work sometime this year.

Destructive Re post to be linked here, but answers the question, What’s bad for play?

So, what games have you guys played? Which do you want to play? What’s working for you, what isn’t? What can we encourage one another to do? Give me a quarterly report.

Love,

Aegalys

1.  Violca is in the cemetery, scoping out some mourners near a rich person’s funeral.  She looks over into the section dedicated to lost souls and sees some folks digging.  She decides to go and check it out.

2.  She comes to the grave (underneath the statue of the angel with the bat wings) around the end of the day and finds four men digging up a grave.  They are attempting to rob it.  One of them is Bob the Hammer, the local gangster enforcer.  Along with him is another man that looks a bit like Ed Gein and two other thugs from the scummy side of town.  Violca decides to scare them off by dressing up as a ghoul (or rather undressing) and running up to them.  She manages to scare off the two underthugs, but Bob and Ed Gein fellow stay.  Bob pulls out a pistol, proclaiming “Hey, it’s just a friggin’ ghoul.”  Violca stops and puts a knife in Bob’s hand, effectively making him shoot in the wrong direction.  Bob leaves.  Ed Gein guy wanders away and sits down on a tombstone, because Violca, still disguised as a ghoul, is lurking around the grave.  Violca leaves the grave and goes around behind EG guy and finds him reading out of some kind of book.  She puts a knife to his throat and asks him to drop the book.  EG asks her if she was the guardian, but realizes that she is not.  EG stands up and faces off with her, and she puts a knife through his throat as he tries to smack her with the book.  Violca robs the body of the man and takes his boots, some money, a peculiar ring, and the book.  The book has pictures of rituals inside it. While attempting to dig up the grave the rest of the way, a ghostly figure threatens to throw her out of the grave if she does not desist.

3.  She is interested in the book and its contents and wonders what these people are doing.  She heard the name Tarjin the Mystic mentioned.  She goes back to see if she can rob the fresh grave, but finds Frederick the Groundskeeper trying to figure out why the door of the crypt isn’t closing right.  Violca has rigged it.  Violca and Fred have a relationship in that Fred thinks that Violca is cute and if she’s willing to spend her time in the cemetery then maybe she’s willing to give him some attention.  So, hanging out with him, she comes to find out a great deal about the lost souls part of the cemetery, particularly the grave of Tarjin the Mystic.  She finds out that he, about ten years ago, started a cult and became an enemy of the church.  The church had him arrested and killed, along with the rest of his cult.

4.  Violca decides to investigate the matter further, thinking that she could get some money for her take.  She goes into town and looks around for a buyer, and gets a little money for some of it, deciding to keep the book and the ring.  It turns out that she finds out there are a few rumors about this “Cult of the Damned.”  They were involved in bullying, extortion, robbery, and murders.  Violca finds out, through an interesting interview with a fortune teller, that Tarjin the Mystic was involved in disappearances and evil rituals.

5.  The next day, Violca goes to find out if someone will buy the book off of her, as she is becoming increasingly fearful, etc.  She goes to a book seller in the market district named Janos.  The old man attempts to use the book, twice, to cast spells on Violca (only managing to make her feel dizzy).  Violca makes an offer to sell the book one last time, and the old man decides to finally buy it from her, thinking that she has been forgiving and so decides not to try his luck again.  Violca gets the man’s boy (his assistant) to keep an eye on him for her.

6.  When Violca returned to the slum district after selling the book for quite a bit, she comes to find out that there are several things going around by word of mouth in the slummy sides of town.  First, Bob the Hammer and two other gangster thugs have committed suicide.  Also, there are missing children, one of them (who was abducted four days ago) is Violca’s cousin (I know I said distant earlier, but I’m actually changing it here and now to cousin).  I’m also going to add a little something about this relationship.  This Aunt who lost the girl was never in favor of exiling Violca for her past crimes, and has repeatedly tried to mend the relationship bewteen Violca and her parents.  Call it a relationship 1 on your character sheet please.

I don’t know if there was anything more that I missed here.  I know I had some fun with it, and it seemed like Brennen had fun, too.

The Flowers of New Babylon

The following represent index cards from our recent session of Universalis.

Social Contract (Brennen) Don’t look up rules during play. MSU.

 

Rules Gimmick (Jared) Mood – Settings At least 3 descriptors per scene.

 

Story Element (Brennen) Hero’s Journey The journey of the one human who can use magic.

 

Story Element (Will) Goth Girls

 

Story Element (Brennen) Magic is used only by the Pariah classe for the benefit of the High-status class.

 

Story Element (Will) High Class People White Gloves Disfigured Hands

 

Story Element (Brennen) There is no natural land. Man-made islands.

 

Story Element (Jared) Fantasy Elements Magic Dragons Monsters Etc.

 

Story Element (Brennen) No elves.

 

Story Element (Jared) No cliche vampires.

 

Story Element (Jared) Late 18th Century Fantasy Steampunk

 

Story Element (Will) Goth Girls

 

Scene 1 New Babylon Garden of Sky Roses Insect Infestation

 

Character Felix 18 years old Hidden last name (Phi) Oblivious to romance Attracts women Visions Serpent’s tooth embedded in arm Importance VII

 

Character Blustering Amazon Guard Allergy to wasp sting Importance I

 

Story Element (Brennen) Swarm of Wasps Importance III

 

Story Element (Will) Wasp allergy Control for castes Hive Mind Importance III

 

Story Element (Brennen) High caste always have names like Irony, Snide, Catharsis, Pillage

 

Character (Brennen) Irony High Chancellor’s Daughter Paints using her feet (a creative against the cultural norm). Using feet is not allowed (it is considered work and is beneath her status).

 

Story Element (Will) The man who marries Irony will suceed to High Chancellor.

 

Story Element (Brennen) Marriage involves a vicarious duel to the death between the bride’s father and the potential groom.

 

Story Element (Jared) Fox hunting parties for nobles.

 

Story Element (Brennen) The marriage ritual involves the amputation of the bride’s right hand using an ancient blade crafted from the claw of the Great Wyrm. (Corruption of taking someone’s hand in marriage) The hand is thereafter worn as an amulet by the husband as a symbol of his dominance over the wife.

 

Scene 4 Tunnels beneath New Babylon’s surface 6 hours after fleeing the throne room — midnight Rats Splashing through fecal water Imp lights

The Divine Dodecahedron

A wonderful article on the dodecahedron is here.

If you have a thing for hermetic knowledge, or gaming, or both…it’s a good read.

Crackpots and Investors; Godmother, goodmother, badmother, truemother; 10 Minutes

\Jared

An idea struck me for a game.
What if you play as these millionaire investors and you have to figure out what to invest in. The catch is, that you must invest in new, and innovative technology. The problem with this is, there are so many crackpots.

So the object of the game would be to discern the crackpot inventors from the actual livewires and possible next inventors of the printing press.

Don’t know if this would be a role playing sort of thing or a board game (maybe a combination), but could imagine that you could set it in the distant future, the 1800’s or even as far back as the 1000’s where someone has come up with a great idea for an invention and there is someone he must impress.

I imagine you could have people play as the inventor or the investor or one side vs. the other, etc. Don’t know. I was told to post here this idea. Have at it, if you will.

\Will

I told him to post, as a foundation for explaining that we (Jared, Brennen, and I) occasionally had Make It Now! nights, because we’re all performers. We shine when tested.

This night, I asked Brennen for a creativity stimulating exercise out of [citation needed], which we may work through as we continue to hang out. The exercise was this: 1) Say a problem. 2) Take ten minutes and try to solve it.

Since I spoke up first, I of course immediate claimed the problem as Design a Board (not Bored!) Game. This was Brennen’s list of what we generated over ten minutes:

• 2 PLAYERS
• SHORT GAME; 30 MINUTES
• STORYTELLING GAME (NOT ROLEPLAYING)
• ITERATIVE, RECURSIVE, TEACH AS YOU ITERATE, GAME DESIGN PRIORITY IS SWITCHES AND DIALS
• HERO VS VILLAIN
• 3RD
• CARDS
• THROWING CONFLICT AT PLAYERS
• 5 STAGES (OR 3)
• PLAYERS MAKE RULES ON BLANK CARDS

I also really liked a strict differentiation between players, characters, and roles (hero, villain, third [whose status is inherently uncertain saved, victim--?what]). That distinction allows one in the game to play around with which player is guiding which character, and which character is currently the hero, villain, et cetera. The hero, villain, third menage I take from the discussion of the difference between melodrama and drama in Stephen R. Donaldson’s GAP novels.

–

Jared mentioned a different game he’d been thinking about, for kids and also adults, in which there were godmothers and princesses errant. Brennen thought there should be a spinner in the game.

John Lammers on EpicTable

BR: What are your favorite games?

JL: Okay, I’ve got to confess–I’ve been a D&D player for…I don’t know…over 25 years, I guess. I’ve played a bit of d20 Modern, Dragonstar, a bit of Middle Earth RPG, Paranoia, a little bit of Call of Cthulhu (not as much as I’d like). I say “confess” because I know you and others have parted ways with D&D, and frankly, you and others have opened my eyes to games like My Life with Master, Dogs in the Vineyard, Gothikus, etc. I can’t claim these as favorites, having 25+ years of D&D weighed against months of exposure to story games, but I have to say that I’m hooked. I had a blast playing My Life with Master and Gothikus, I’m reading Dogs in the Vineyard, and I’ve got Sorcerer and Spirit of the Century waiting in the queue. Ask me again in a couple years. J

BR: Give us the pitch on EpicTable.

JL: Okay, so your readers all know the standard VT pitch–play RPGs with your friends over the network, right? Like some others, it’s also useful at the physical tabletop, for mapping, for tracking spell effects, etc. EpicTable has some features that I believe are differentiators , such as my vision and illumination model that eliminates the need for manual fog-of-war, “active” character sheets, etc. But here’s the real value: the philosophy behind EpicTable is that doing lots and lots of little things right adds up to more value than the sum of those features. Every feature has to be usable by the VT novice, yet powerful enough to satisfy the expert. It’s not enough to have a feature–the feature has to be accessible to me, whether I’m new to EpicTable, use it once a month, once a week, or every day. That’s a tall order, and there’s no way you can tell whether I’m living up to that philosophy until you can check it out yourself. One of the reasons you can’t check it out yet is exactly that philosophy–a lot of the EpicTable features work, but until enough of them work, and do in a way that’s easy enough to use, I’m not unveiling it.

BR: Why did you decide to code a VT?

JL: Actually, it started as a rules automation program. It morphed into a VT when some friends and I tried to turn our face-to-face game into an internet game when we moved apart. We tried IM and some shared whiteboard stuff, but it was pretty cumbersome using general purpose tools for an RPG platform. So, I started in a new direction, just out of personal need. It wasn’t that long before I stumbled into VTs–I’m not even sure people were calling them that back then. I tried a handful, but nothing was really what I was looking for. Not that any of them were that bad–I just had this vision in my head and no one had built that. Convinced that some of my ideas would become clear differentiators, so I started work on my vision.

BR: Why are VTs important? How do they compare to face-to-face gaming?

JL: I think VTs are very important for the survival and growth of pen-and-paper and storytelling RPGs. Life changes often disrupt face-to-face games. People move, have kids; any number of things can break up a face-to-face game. VTs give that group a chance to survive in another venue. You can play online with a friend who’s moved. You can put the kids to bed and play on a VT, whereas you couldn’t put them to bed and run over to your buddy’s place.

Another big advantage of VTs is the availability of players. If you’re in a small town, and you want to play Dogs in the Vineyard, good luck finding players. With a VT, you’re not limited by your geography or the timeslot that you happen to have available. There are whole online communities where you can find someone to play the game you want to play.

I suspect that VTs are also important in pulling new people into RPGs. I’m guessing that some portion of the MMORPG crowd may not have had the opportunity to try pen-and-paper RPGs or may not be inclined to do so. VTs could provide a sort of a gateway into the pen-and-paper RPG world for people who might never try a face-to-face game. Some percentage of those folks will realize that pen-and-paper RPGs have something to offer that MMORPGs can’t. As a consequence, the hobby will gain players that the face-to-face format may not have attracted.

In terms of comparison to face-to-face gaming, I think there are two primary aspects of the VT experience that differ from face-to-face: automation and distance. Automation in the sense that some activities, such as mapping, tracking limited duration effects, etc., can be offloaded to the VT, freeing the GM up for more creative work. Distance, in this context, refers to the psychological distance between the players. That distance sometimes helps people shed their inhibitions and open up more. People who wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable roleplaying or speaking in character face-to-face sometimes do so more readily when the interaction is mediated by a VT.

BR: Do you feel that Indie/Storygames are suited for VT play? If so, why?

JL: Absolutely. One reason is the distance I described earlier–players’ feeling more open to roleplay. If you use text chat, as opposed to voice chat, you get another advantage in that you remove some of the goofiness or suspension of disbelief difficulty present when the character and the player are very different. Face it, if you’re 6′4″ tall, 250 lbs, and you’re playing a female elf, you’re going to have to be pretty talented to pull that off in a face-to-face game. On a VT though, it’s easier for even the people to suspend disbelief. Another key element of story games is creating mood, and images are a great way to do that. In face-to-face games, I often print out images of monsters, images of places, people, etc. , in an effort to put the right picture in the players’ minds. It’s a lot less disruptive to present that image on a VT than to pass a picture around the table.

Finally, I was surprised at how immersive the VT storygame experience is. By being physically isolated from the other players, I found that I really sunk into the game. I think that in the presence of others, you can’t fully sink into your own head–there’s always a greater level of self-monitoring and environment monitoring that we do as humans. Perhaps we’re genetically programmed not to look stupid in front of others, or to watch out for someone clubbing us over the head or something, who knows? The isolation of the VT removes this need, allowing one to enter an almost meditative state, where we see the scene unfolding in front of us, and the voice or text chat and rest of the VT apparatus is fades into the background.

BR: What are the strengths/weaknesses of VTs?

JL: The strengths of VTs:

· maps that are quicker and easier to interact with than a wet-erase battlemat.

· ease of sharing images and other media

· automating some parts of the game: Even in a rules-light game like My Life with Master, there are plenty of conversations like, “okay, that’s fear + self-loathing…or was that weariness?” I promise you that with EpicTable you will be able to create a character sheet that will eliminate that question. I’ll show you how in an upcoming screencast on the EpicTable site.

· dramatically expands the number of potential players for a given game. This expansion in the number of potential players is accomplished both by opening the game up to online communities full of players, but also by doing away with the distance and timing issues introduced by life changes that break up face-to-face games.

JL: Weaknesses of VTs:

· There are social aspects of the face to face game that are lost. I was surprised at how much of the friendly banter and camaraderie finds its way into the VT environment. Still, I can’t help but think that some of the social aspect of RPGs is diminished when everyone is sitting across the net from everyone else.

· There are visual aspects to roleplaying that I think are lost with a VT. For instance, in my face-to-face game, there’s an NPC imp who has quite unexpectedly become a companion of the PCs. He’s not trusted, but he seldom does things that are overtly evil. He adopts a beleaguered, put-upon manner with the PCs, easily bored, easily offended, self-important, arrogant and manipulative. The players love him. I love playing him. Some of this is verbal, but an awful lot of it is conveyed via his mannerisms. I don’t know how I’d pull that off with a VT.

BR: How will EpicTable support the Indie/Storygames community in a way other VTs do not?

JL: Well, I’m not going to speak for the other VTs. They each have their strengths, and I have a lot of respect for the other VT developers. I can speak to what EpicTable will do, though, and where I’m coming from. As I’ve admitted before, I’m new to the Indie/Storygames community. However, my games have always revolved around story. I’ve always seen D&D as an exercise in collaborative storytelling–everyone at the table working to weave together the plotlines of all their characters and my story’s basic premise into an epic tale. I’ve run the same campaign with different groups and wound up with very different stories. So, for a d20 guy, I come into the Indie/Storygames community with a perspective that’s not so terribly different. That said, my recent introduction to the world of storygames has me more excited about RPGs than I’ve been in years. I’m really sold on the notion that the system really does matter. A year ago, I would have said that the game system didn’t matter, that it was the GM and the players that determined the kind of roleplaying (or lack thereof) that was being done. There’s certainly some truth to that, but my experience with My Life with Master, Gothikus, and others has convinced me that the system does matter. You can roleplay in any game system, but some encourage it or facilitate it or demand it more than others. By the same token, I really believe that the VT matters. Just as some game systems facilitate roleplaying more than others, some VTs will facilitate it more than others. Right now, my feeling is that facilitating roleplaying in a VT isn’t necessarily a huge technical hurdle–but it’s a creative one. It’s getting lots and lots of little things right. I think I’m on the right track with some of those things, but more importantly, I’m dedicated to remaining involved in the community, encouraging feedback, and channeling all that into EpicTable.

EpicTable Website

Edward de Bono on Art

One of the purposes of art is to help us stock our mind with
further patterns. Art crystallizes patterns of experience so that we
can absorb them without having had to live through and learn
them by a slow process of induction. Art can also give us a range of
experience we would never otherwise have had. In a sense art is an
accelerated life machine.

-Edward de Bono

[Poison'd] Good Feedback

Thanks for the great feedback last night guys. I’ll consult Vincent on rules stuff.

The flow desire resonates with me as does the interest in detail. I think getting better at one or the other enables both. Particularly the request for accumulation of detail after the resolution system has had its way–a graceful taper of narration rather than always a jagged or undefined cut. Yay skill at cutting! Also the 2 or 3 details upon introduction of a character is a big deal. I want to implement that for myself, and I’d love it if you guys called me on it if I miss doing so. Any other thoughts you guys have had on how to improve flow or grittiness for us?

I’d like to read Impro. Do you own a copy, gents?

Finally, you know it’s a good game when you sail off into the sunset. Particularly leaving a man to die of thirst and exposure, but not starvation: due to the mutilated torso and lower body of a shipmate beside him. Especially when he’s the good guy. Triply when he’s an NPC.