Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hoffmangler 07-20-05, 08:06 PM	Hi ho, I wanted invite folks to listen to my group's d20 podcast called 'Starting Now'. Currently we're chronicling our Eberron game. We've decided to have a long running game where all the players rotate in as the GM. So one GM ill start and finish an adventure or two then the next GM comes in picking up the characters and the world. Listen in to hear our discussions about which system to use, what character's to play, etc. Episode 5 is where the Eberron discussion kicks in. Questions and comments are always welcome! THE HOFFMAN STUDIO (http://www.thehoffmanstudio.com) RSS FEED: http://www.thehoffmanstudio.com/startingnow.rss
zentr 07-20-05, 08:12 PM	That is fantastic!! I'll be downloading/listening!
Spirit_Golem 07-21-05, 02:09 AM	I found out about your podcast about a week or two before you posted this, and I must say, I like it. Also, once Hellcow puts up a Dragonshard for it, the Eldeen Reaches will probably become more interesting.
Kalanth 07-21-05, 03:35 AM	I checked it out, originally thinking how interesting could it really be listening to some guys talking about D&D when I can't add an opinion. Well, I must say that I ended up staying up much to late and listened to it, and definetly loved it! Especially the discussion of how to define the objective and reward of the character, makes me want to rethink how I approach character creation.
Guide D'Jorasco 07-21-05, 08:00 AM	I actually really enjoyed the part about Character creation. It was neat to see how other people created their characters and discussed backgrounds and relations and I will deffinately implement that type of role playing in my own games.
zentr 07-21-05, 12:05 PM	I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. ...Well, just a little. The headset microphones are really doing a good job of keeping everything clear and easy to understand. Sounds good so far. I have it in my ipod right next me. Can't wait. Suggestion: In the future you may want to fill in the metadata for the file, under properties. You could do something like the following: genre = podcast artist = The Hoffman Show album = Eberron: Age of Worms (setting: module name) song = Episode 5 I had to make that stuff up for the file I downloaded.
Brastan 07-21-05, 12:27 PM	Very nice. Rather brave of you and your group to be willing to air your gaming discussions to the public. The discussion of characters and background is always fascinating. What equipment were you using to recorded episode 8? On my machine there was a very irritating buzz. I hope that it's just my machine and my need to run Norton's Utilities more often. Any recommendations for other gaming groups doing something like this? As always a good idea must be copied and replicated to death. ;)
zentr 07-21-05, 02:57 PM	There is the world's largest dungeon RPG group on iTunes. It's a bunch of people (British, I think) playing a Warhammer RPG game. It's interesting, but they talk over each other, and it's hard to make out what is going on all the time. If The Hoffman Show intends to continue and get more popularity, you may want to upload your podcasts to iTunes. Then your fans can automatically subscribe to the show, etc. I appreciate that it is in Eberron because it's my favorite setting.
Edymnion 07-21-05, 03:17 PM	podcastPodcast... oh, you mean the latest fad name for "streaming audio", which has been around for over a decade now. :P
zentr 07-21-05, 06:33 PM	you mean the latest fad name for "streaming audio" :P Well, yes and no. Podcasts aren't streaming, typically. They are mp3s. Small segments of radio shows for download. And of course, mp3s have been around for quite awhile. The difference now is that people are seeing the potential in these soundbites. Time will tell. I'm skeptical myself. But I'm enjoying some of what I have been listening to. I guess portable audio devices like the ipod (and certainly now with the new version of iTunes) have suddenly made the podcast (or streaming audio as you call it) more viable. I wouldn't have cared before. But now I can download the latest Grateful Dead Hour and Eberron roleplaying session onto my ipod and listen at my convenience.
Autumn Druid 07-21-05, 06:40 PM	Forgive my computer illiteracy, but how do I listen to this “podcast”?
Naudachu 07-21-05, 07:51 PM	Forgive my computer illiteracy, but how do I listen to this “podcast”? I was wondering the same thing. I searched on *.rss and found some viewers here http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-readers.htm, but they didn't seem to mention audio at all. What I ended up doing was copying and pasting the links to the mp3s into Internet Explorer. Then you can download, play, or whatever your browser is setup for.
zentr 07-21-05, 08:12 PM	Yeah, on The Hoffman Show site, on the Episode 5 article, there is a link (it's kind of hard to notice). You can right-click on it (in windows) and select Save Link As. Save the file (an mp3) and use your favorite audio software to listen to it. Hope that helps. There is a lot of cool podcasts to download and listen to, you just have to do some searching. A friend just told me about dragonpage.com, which has some SF and fantasy book reviews, interviews and readings. He said there is one with Keith Baker, but I haven't found it yet (though I haven't had much time to look for it).
Soloran 07-21-05, 08:38 PM	"We're not part of the organization...we ARE the organization!" Wow, episode 8 was sheer brilliance! Keep up the good work guys.
Autumn Druid 07-21-05, 10:47 PM	Yeah, on The Hoffman Show site, on the Episode 5 article, there is a link (it's kind of hard to notice). You can right-click on it (in windows) and select Save Link As. Save the file (an mp3) and use your favorite audio software to listen to it. Hope that helps. It does. Thank you (and thank you for recording these, they're wonderful)!
TheShark(tm) 07-22-05, 01:59 AM	Hey all! Just wanted to pop in and say THANK YOU for listening to our Podcast and thanks for the great feedback. :) Please feel free to check us out at thehoffmanstudio.com and give us feedback, ask questions etc.. We're huge Eberron fans and would really value comments from other gamers and Eberron fans. Tonight's episode was pretty fun to do, as we talked about the relationships between characters and such. We REALLY tried to shorten it down a bit (mostly so we could get to Gaming, mind you :D ). Hope you enjoy it and catch y'all on the flip side.
polt 07-22-05, 07:25 PM	Very cool. You guys sound like you have a lot of fun, and it is both fun and interesting to look at. When listening, I keep setting and thinking "oh yeah, I totally disagree." or "Oh, damn, he's so wrong. I disagree!" And you just want to join in the converstation :) Oh, and you are pretty funny too :) "Aw, you stole my thing! Now I have to be all like "I like warforged"" I actually laughed out loud on that one :D Keep it up! (http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/spider_lords_part1.html)
TheShark(tm) 07-22-05, 07:46 PM	Hehe, funny thing is that we really don't agree on much except that we all want to have fun. ;) It was strange and exciting to finally get to the game we'd been planning for so long. The extra work up front paid off though as we had a pretty good repartee going with each other from the start. Alan gets extra points for letting the main antagonist of the night get away after 'besting' him in a duel. If you knew Alan you'd realize that this is a big step for him. He really turned on the "Swashbuckle" with that move. :eek: However, my favorite part of the adventure was when we had a clandestine meeting with Oargev, during which we were being issued a very important mission. Midway through the conversation, Suller was being pretty flippant with Oargev and the normally unflappable Gor just about flipped the table up on him. Meanwhile, Daen smoothed our feathers and changed the subject so smoothly no one noticed. Ahhhhh, a great way to start the game. :)
polt 07-22-05, 08:44 PM	I'm sitting here listening to part 7 (I think), where you are talking about which system to play in. You guys are talking about regular D20, Mutants and Mastermind (is there an SRD thingie out there?), and what is the last one?
Spirit_Golem 07-22-05, 11:01 PM	They are talking about True20, by Green Ronin Publishing. I haven't checked it out myself, but it seemed interesting durring the podcast.
TheShark(tm) 07-23-05, 03:12 AM	Yep, those were the three contenders. True 20, D20 and M&M. M&M won out (yay) for a couple of reasons, but it was a close call over D20. True 20, despite being a pretty interesting and largely non intrusive system, didn't have everything we needed. Now if only Hoffmangler would get off his butt and post the latest podcast. That slacker. :weep:
polt 07-23-05, 08:33 AM	Yeah post it, I'm almost through listening to part 8. And BTW, I love Gore :D Great character, very nice background story.
TheShark(tm) 07-23-05, 11:56 AM	Thanks Polt! :) Now to see if I can play him as well as I can invision him. ;)
polt 07-23-05, 12:01 PM	Thanks Polt! :) Now to see if I can play him as well as I can invision him. ;) Now I just have to find a way to make a cool NPC out of him :schemes:
Kalanth 07-23-05, 01:29 PM	Now I just have to find a way to make a cool NPC out of him :schemes: I liked them all, I think they will be making a spot appearence in my campaigns in the future. Some great ideas from the entire group!
Guide D'Jorasco 07-23-05, 02:23 PM	The podcast page isn't working right now. :-(
stevelabny 07-23-05, 02:36 PM	i only see episode 4 and 5 on the site. the other page is all black, says the hoffman studio, and thats it. what gives?
TheShark(tm) 07-23-05, 04:39 PM	There seems to be a problem with the RSS feed from what I gather. Which is Hoffamunchese for "It's broken". Here's a link to the horses mouth itself. http://thehoffmanstudio.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46 Also - Episode 9 is up on the site. :)
Bigby's angry fist 07-23-05, 06:44 PM	started listening to these. and have been very entertained by them.
polt 07-24-05, 06:54 PM	I was trying to find some of the Mutants & Mastermind books, but there are a lot of them it seems. What are the system you guys are playing with? What are the book called?
TheShark(tm) 07-24-05, 07:54 PM	Hey there Polt- Ok, what you're looking for is a thinnish (quite sleek looking) simply called "Mutants and Masterminds". Top left hand corner you'll see "Core Book 1" and then "GRR2201". On the cover it's got a picture of three superheroes laying the righteous smackdown on a masked baddie. http://www.greenronin.com/catalog/grr2001 I don't know how much I can or should talk about M&M on a WotC forum, but it has its strengths and weaknesses. Look me up offline if you have any questions I can help with.
TheRedRobedWizard 07-24-05, 08:59 PM	It appears your site has been "haxx0red". -TRRW
zentr 07-24-05, 09:11 PM	The Shark Rulez!!! Anyway, I just started listening to 8. I've listened from 2 on up. Great stuff so far! For a guy like myself who loves Eberron and doesn't get to play at all, you guys are fulfilling a need. I may not be able to play, but I can read my Five Nations and listen to Starting Now. Thanks! I probably should go over to the shark tank or to Hoffman studio for this but...well, I'm tired and I don't feel like having to great a new account tonight. I will though soon...maybe tomorrow. Josh, you were saying that, in d20, if you are a pladin you are just a paladin for the whole game, except if you multi-class. But what about prestige classes (or is that what you meant by multi-classing)? You guys are so out of the d20 world, you forgot about the millions of prestige classes available to add flavor, and hopefully more depth. In fact there are Eberron types of prestige classes. Also, for that cinematic feel, Eberron CS uses Action Points for the Indiana Jones flavorade. You guys haven't mentioned anything about that. What are your thoughts?
Jheren 07-24-05, 09:12 PM	It appears your site has been "haxx0red". -TRRW Wow...isn't that great? You do something fun and some moron feels compelled to flex his might on some geeky roleplaying sight. Way to keep America safe. *sigh*
TheShark(tm) 07-24-05, 09:13 PM	Grrrrzville. Try this one: http://www.thehoffmanstudio.com/mambo/ People are cruel. :weep:
Veyllos 07-24-05, 09:14 PM	Also, for that cinematic feel, Eberron CS uses Action Points for the Indiana Jones flavorade. You guys haven't mentioned anything about that. What are your thoughts? M&M has hero points which are eerily similar to Action Points. They too are there to lend that cinematic feel. V
zentr 07-24-05, 09:33 PM	I understand that V, it's just that they never made mention of the Action Points in d20; it wasn't part of the discussion.
TheShark(tm) 07-24-05, 09:38 PM	Hey there Zentr, an' thanks! :) You're always welcome over at our messageboards, so feel free to drop in anytime. Prestige classes are a good thing, and the ones in Eberron are a GREAT thing. However, I look at a "Class" as a train track. At a few junctions you can flick that huge metal switch and have the train change tracks, but now you're on another straight and narrow track, leaving behind everything that doesn't fit on that track. That makes me feel a bit restricted. It's a double edged sword: 1- On one side, D20 devs developed and tried to balance character classes so that you should be able to build a group of them and off you go. They've looked for loopholes and issues and ironed out bugs. 2- I play what they envisioned to be a certain class. And though I can CHANGE that class, I'm really just switching tracks with a train. While some of the classes are pretty overall balanced and useful, there are others that are horrible and clearly broken. But, as PK1 mentioned elsewhere, folks have used the broken thing for so long that no one else stops to question the lunacy! Memorizing spells? If you want to cast fireball twice, you have to memorize it twice? Being able to cast 2 spells a day? (INCLUDING spiffy and fun cantrips) Needing 8 hours of rest before regaining your spells? :ahem: Hit points? :noway: Keep in mind that though I say all this, I have a good time playing D20 and I love my characters. I just can't help but think that I'm never really playing EXACTLY my character. I'm playing Gary Gygax's incarnation of my character. ;)
TheShark(tm) 07-24-05, 09:39 PM	And you're right, it never came up in our discussions. But every other time we played Eberron we used D20 and we really enjoyed that aspect. Eberron, in my opinion, is D20 evolution and MANY steps in the right direction. :)
Veyllos 07-25-05, 12:16 AM	I understand that V, it's just that they never made mention of the Action Points in d20; it wasn't part of the discussion. Ah sorry...I think I just misunderstood what you typed. So in response I'll just go with "what Josh said." =) V
poorknight1 07-28-05, 01:08 PM	Episode 10 has been posted. PK1
TheShark(tm) 07-29-05, 04:01 PM	:uh-huh: Ye merry gods, man, pick a username and stick with it. :pbbbtt:
Beleriphon 08-03-05, 06:47 PM	Thats right, who got a reference in Episode 10? Me, thats right!
poorknight1 08-08-05, 04:09 PM	Episode 11 is up and I must warn you...Worst...Podcast...Ever... Enjoy. PK1
TheShark(tm) 08-16-05, 07:01 PM	:bump: Episode 12 is out. Check it out folks. :w00t:
zentr 08-16-05, 07:58 PM	The Shark has spoken!! If you would be interested in listening in on another gaming group talk about their Eberron campaign, then go get Episode 12 (or any of the previous podcasts). Very entertaining group of guys.
Tek 08-16-05, 09:29 PM	Great as usual. Keep up the podcasting, guys! I love the Shark!
Jeff Campbell 08-18-05, 07:09 PM	Thanks for the podcast, I have really enjoyed listening to it. I have some doubts about Gor being Lawful Good, though. To begin with, someone hands him forged papers, and he just thinks, "Thanks, I didn't realize that you had my papers."? You didn't say, but did the papers have your real name? Wouldn't you have checked? And Khorvaire has a society that has used identification for many decades, maybe centuries. If someone handed me a driver's license or a passport telling me it was mine, I would be fairly alarmed/interested/confused. I would certainly ask what was up. Is Gor just following in that old tire saw of leading the paladin out of the room while the rest of the party tortures and kills the orcs? And what about striking first in the combat in the abandoned church? I'm sure he made initiative, which is why the player struck first, but why did Gor? I think that Gor's actions reveal that while he thinks of himself as Lawful Good, he has a healthy dose of situational ethics, making him Neutral Good at best- Jeff.
Beleriphon 08-18-05, 08:30 PM	I have some doubts about Gor being Lawful Good, though. To begin with, someone hands him forged papers, and he just thinks, "Thanks, I didn't realize that you had my papers."? You didn't say, but did the papers have your real name? Wouldn't you have checked? Doing something questionable, and something evil are two different things. There is nothing to suggest that a character who is lawful good can't lie, cheat, or even steal. Even a paladin is allowed to break the law, provided that law is evil. In the case of the papers, if they can't enter Karnnath any other way, what is Gor supposed to do? Waltz up the nearest guard and announce is paladiny presense as an agent of New Cyre? Also there is nothing against striking first in combat that would suggest that Gor is anything but lawful good. A rogue can be lawful good, and often the whole point of roguely combat is to strike first from the shadows. I think we have a case of confusing lawful good and lawful stupid, where stupid is being unable to accept that a falsified travelling paper has nothing to do with one's moral compass.
TheShark(tm) 09-13-05, 07:20 PM	Ahem! :ayyyy!: Episodes 13, 14 and 15 are all up and available. However, be careful of EP13, as it sounds HORRIBLE! ((mea culpa)) EP14 is actually a two game super-recap of our past sessions and EP15 is a recap and quite a bit of discussion regarding the races of Eberron. Enjoy, folks, and as always we welcome any feedback you care to give. ((We'd love to have Keith Baker give us a listen and weigh in on some of the things we talk about.. An entire Podcast talking about your brainchild.. c'mon, you KNOW you want to check it out! :bigeyes: )) www.thehoffmanstudio.com/mambo and look for the Starting Now Podcast. :dancin:
TheShark(tm) 09-13-05, 07:33 PM	Wow, Jeff and Belephiron, I completely missed both of these posts. Honestly, Jeff, I have kind of struggled with Lawful good. My first thought in any situation is "He can't do that, he's Lawful Good!". My second thought is, "How can I, the player, come up with ways to get him still into and along with the action without BREAKING his LG mold?" It's tough. First of all, with the papers; Gor has never had papers before. Though he's known about them and knows he should have some, he just never thought of it. He's always been looked down on and tossed in jail with little provocation anyhow. So when Suller pulled out papers, his thought wasn't "Where did these mysterious papers come from" it was "Finally! Oargev has given me traveling papers!" Second of all, with the fight in the church. He DID attack first, but keep in mind that with rolling initiative, it was clear that they jumped for their weapons. There's nothing in Gor's beliefs that indicate he can't and shouldn't fight, it's that he should be sure of what he's fighting for. ((also that sometimes fighting isn't always the best way)). What it comes right down to is that it's a weakness I have. I WANT to play LG, but I don't think that the stereotype of LG really fits Eberron much. I (and this could be very much wrong) feel that his alignment really reflects his staunch belief in his causes and an unflinching subservience to whatever performing those duties has in store for him. Last but not least, there really are no alignments in M&M. I SAY that Gor is LG because that's how I want to play him. I, like I imagine many tried and true LG people, struggle to always be LG. Just my thoughts on it. :D PS- Belephiron, you hit it pretty much right on the head.. How do I, as the player, justify going along with the adventure to stay with the party. I could EASILY roleplay my way out of every encounter and point to my alignment. It's my job as a player to help move the story along. ;)
Shurijo 11-16-05, 07:55 PM	I bookmarked this thread a while ago, but just recently started listening to the files at work. I've finished all of them except for 25 and 26, which I hope to finish tomorrow during work. It is nice to hear how others interpret Eberron content and DM/Gaming ideas for stories, npcs, pcs, etc. The recordings have gotten much better (sound quality) except for the occasional guy that breathes into the mics. My main dislike is how some of the players keep the mic close to their mouth and it sounds like they are shouting (or screaming sometimes) which some shrieks make me want to take off my headphones. In case anyone out there isn't familiar with "podcasts", I've been using a PodCast tool that automatically syncs and downloads or streams (Yahoo converts the mp3 to streaming, then actually streams the mp3 files in their own format). The tool allows you to subscribe to a series (I have a bunch other non-game series there) and just listen to the shows whenever you want. If you have a portal digital music device, then you can also have the Yahoo tool sync to the device, etc. Link to the podcast via Yahoo!'s music engine: * The wizards.com forum keep messing up the URL, so just enter Eberron in the Yahoo! Podcast search page, and it will be the first result. http://podcasts.yahoo.com Too bad vhoffman's site has been down the last few days. I have been waiting to listen through all (or most) of the shows before joining their forums. I think I may be the only one listening to the show via Yahoo, since I only see 1 subscriber :) I also tagged the series in Yahoo a few days ago. Info links: What is a podcast? (http://podcasts.yahoo.com/start)
TheShark(tm) 11-21-05, 03:25 PM	Whoa, Shurijo! I didn't know you could even do it through Yahoo. Hoffman might have, but I certainly didn't. Thanks for the heads up! :D And yeah, I think that our days of having the Snuffleuppugus guest star are pretty much over now that we got rid of our headsets. :dancin: :dancin: :dancin:
Spirit_Golem 11-27-05, 12:00 AM	I used to listen to your podcast for a while, but when you announced that you were switching to the M&M system, I fell out of the loop. I just saw that I still was subscribed to your RSS, I checked out what you had bee up to lately. I saw that you have changed back to the d20 system, and I will be starting to listening to you again.
polt 11-28-05, 10:47 AM	I used to listen to your podcast for a while, but when you announced that you were switching to the M&M system, I fell out of the loop. I just saw that I still was subscribed to your RSS, I checked out what you had bee up to lately. I saw that you have changed back to the d20 system, and I will be starting to listening to you again. Why does the system has anything to do with it?
Spirit_Golem 11-28-05, 04:11 PM	I just felt that M&M could not properly accomidate Eberron's wide magic campaign. I also do not know nearly as much about M&M as I do about d20.
polt 11-28-05, 04:22 PM	Well, they only talk system and rules like 5-10% of the time :D
TheShark(tm) 11-28-05, 05:25 PM	Would be less if I had my way! ;) Either way, SpiritGolem, I'm glad you're listening again. Hope you enjoy the show. EP26 is quickly becoming the "Lost Tapes". Haven't heard a peep from the Podministrator in days.