Dungeon 167 - Save My Game: Finding Victims - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dungeon 167 - Save My Game: Finding Victims

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
asmodeuslore
Jun 02, 2009 23:19:22 Dungeon 167
Save My Game: Finding Victims
by Stephen Radney-MacFarland

"How do I get in on a Dungeons & Dragons game?" There's a simple, innocent question if ever there was one. To answer it, Stephen needs an entire Save My Game column. Maybe it's not so simple after all ...

Talk about this Article here.
#2
asmodeuslore
Jun 02, 2009 23:26:23 I also like to suggest people check out http://dnd.meetup.com for people looking for a local gaming group.
#3
elwyndas
Jun 03, 2009 9:52:22 haha I just wanted to do the same. It amazed me to not read about meetup.com in the article.
#4
SRM
Jun 03, 2009 11:05:48
haha I just wanted to do the same. It amazed me to not read about meetup.com in the article.

Yeah, that was just me overlooking the obvious when I wrote it. I've used meetup.com and it is excellent. So yeah, use meetup.com too.
#5
guyhey
Jun 03, 2009 12:34:20 This article needs to be published on the general website. That is make it viewable to people who aren't subscribed to DDI. It's a great article, and by publishing it only to the online magazine they are hurting themselves in two ways:

* Most people who haven't found a game likely will not have paid for the DDI.
* The character builder curmudgeons that article talks about likely will not have paid for DDI.

Please consider posting this article on the public site. Heck submit it to Geek Magazine or other places lapsed gamers may go.

Just a thought.
#6
foxthemallrat
Jun 03, 2009 14:09:37 I have a suggestion for Rachel. One of the players in my weekly game wanted to run her own game also. The problem was that the time we have for our game is pretty much the only time we all had free for gaming. We discussed it with the rest of the group and now we alternate weeks for which game we play, so I run my game one week, and she runs hers the next. It has worked out quite well. Especially with all of the new content coming out our group likes to try out new things, so they were excited to be able to make and use new characters. i was also excited because since 4th Edition came out I had always been DMing and hadn't yet had a chance to play in a campaign.

This allowed us to not need to allocate extra time for gaming, gave each of us plenty of time to prep for our games, and we both get to play and DM. Plus we didn't need to hunt down a new group of players.
#7
gregt_314
Jun 03, 2009 19:20:08 Good column as usual. I'm still of the opinion that DMG2 should have a chapter consisting entirely of the collected Save My game columns; they're consistently better practical advice than anything that appeared in the original 4E DMG.

Although the Character Builder bit did feel a bit more like a product pitch than advice; I'd imagine it'd be hard to take any of this advice on board if you felt it might all just be a poorly concealed advertisement. I've heard of these mythical groups where everyone has their own copy of the Character Builder but I'm still not sure I believe in them. Many of my players are still warming to the novelty of "official" character sheets that come from "printers" rather than just scribbling notes about their stats on a sheet of lined paper.
#8
SRM
Jun 03, 2009 19:40:04
Good column as usual. I'm still of the opinion that DMG2 should have a chapter consisting entirely of the collected Save My game columns; they're consistently better practical advice than anything that appeared in the original 4E DMG.

Although the Character Builder bit did feel a bit more like a product pitch than advice; I'd imagine it'd be hard to take any of this advice on board if you felt it might all just be a poorly concealed advertisement. I've heard of these mythical groups where everyone has their own copy of the Character Builder but I'm still not sure I believe in them. Many of my players are still warming to the novelty of "official" character sheets that come from "printers" rather than just scribbling notes about their stats on a sheet of lined paper.

Thanks for the kind words. :embarrass Don’t be surprised if you see some Save My Game advice in DMG2.

I have to admit I felt a bit too much like a company man when writing advice about both the RPGA and the D&D Character Builder, but the fact is they are both just awesome! Like I said in the column, neither of my home games have everyone riding the D&D Character Builder wagon...but I really wish they would and not just because it makes money for my company. I love getting an easy to read complete character from my players. Not only does it help me prepare interesting challenges that key on character strengths and weaknesses, it really helps if someone has to miss a game—just print it out, and let the proxy play it.
#9
SRM
Jun 03, 2009 19:41:01
This article needs to be published on the general website. That is make it viewable to people who aren't subscribed to DDI. It's a great article, and by publishing it only to the online magazine they are hurting themselves in two ways:

* Most people who haven't found a game likely will not have paid for the DDI.
* The character builder curmudgeons that article talks about likely will not have paid for DDI.

Please consider posting this article on the public site. Heck submit it to Geek Magazine or other places lapsed gamers may go.

Just a thought.

I'll pass that on to my editorial overlords.
#10
sebastrd
Jun 04, 2009 11:07:31 I have a few players who, for one reason or another, don't use Charater Builder; so I use it for them. I have everyone's character saved on my PC, and I take 5 minutes or so to update everyone's character at the end of each session. It makes sure we're all on the same page, that the math is always right, and I always have a copy of everyone's character if I need it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 asmodeuslore Jun 02, 2009 23:19:22	Dungeon 167 Save My Game: Finding Victims by Stephen Radney-MacFarland "How do I get in on a Dungeons & Dragons game?" There's a simple, innocent question if ever there was one. To answer it, Stephen needs an entire Save My Game column. Maybe it's not so simple after all ... Talk about this Article here.
#2 asmodeuslore Jun 02, 2009 23:26:23	I also like to suggest people check out http://dnd.meetup.com for people looking for a local gaming group.
#3 elwyndas Jun 03, 2009 9:52:22	haha I just wanted to do the same. It amazed me to not read about meetup.com in the article.
#4 SRM Jun 03, 2009 11:05:48	haha I just wanted to do the same. It amazed me to not read about meetup.com in the article. Yeah, that was just me overlooking the obvious when I wrote it. I've used meetup.com and it is excellent. So yeah, use meetup.com too.
#5 guyhey Jun 03, 2009 12:34:20	This article needs to be published on the general website. That is make it viewable to people who aren't subscribed to DDI. It's a great article, and by publishing it only to the online magazine they are hurting themselves in two ways: * Most people who haven't found a game likely will not have paid for the DDI. * The character builder curmudgeons that article talks about likely will not have paid for DDI. Please consider posting this article on the public site. Heck submit it to Geek Magazine or other places lapsed gamers may go. Just a thought.
#6 foxthemallrat Jun 03, 2009 14:09:37	I have a suggestion for Rachel. One of the players in my weekly game wanted to run her own game also. The problem was that the time we have for our game is pretty much the only time we all had free for gaming. We discussed it with the rest of the group and now we alternate weeks for which game we play, so I run my game one week, and she runs hers the next. It has worked out quite well. Especially with all of the new content coming out our group likes to try out new things, so they were excited to be able to make and use new characters. i was also excited because since 4th Edition came out I had always been DMing and hadn't yet had a chance to play in a campaign. This allowed us to not need to allocate extra time for gaming, gave each of us plenty of time to prep for our games, and we both get to play and DM. Plus we didn't need to hunt down a new group of players.
#7 gregt_314 Jun 03, 2009 19:20:08	Good column as usual. I'm still of the opinion that DMG2 should have a chapter consisting entirely of the collected Save My game columns; they're consistently better practical advice than anything that appeared in the original 4E DMG. Although the Character Builder bit did feel a bit more like a product pitch than advice; I'd imagine it'd be hard to take any of this advice on board if you felt it might all just be a poorly concealed advertisement. I've heard of these mythical groups where everyone has their own copy of the Character Builder but I'm still not sure I believe in them. Many of my players are still warming to the novelty of "official" character sheets that come from "printers" rather than just scribbling notes about their stats on a sheet of lined paper.
#8 SRM Jun 03, 2009 19:40:04	Good column as usual. I'm still of the opinion that DMG2 should have a chapter consisting entirely of the collected Save My game columns; they're consistently better practical advice than anything that appeared in the original 4E DMG. Although the Character Builder bit did feel a bit more like a product pitch than advice; I'd imagine it'd be hard to take any of this advice on board if you felt it might all just be a poorly concealed advertisement. I've heard of these mythical groups where everyone has their own copy of the Character Builder but I'm still not sure I believe in them. Many of my players are still warming to the novelty of "official" character sheets that come from "printers" rather than just scribbling notes about their stats on a sheet of lined paper. Thanks for the kind words. :embarrass Don’t be surprised if you see some Save My Game advice in DMG2. I have to admit I felt a bit too much like a company man when writing advice about both the RPGA and the D&D Character Builder, but the fact is they are both just awesome! Like I said in the column, neither of my home games have everyone riding the D&D Character Builder wagon...but I really wish they would and not just because it makes money for my company. I love getting an easy to read complete character from my players. Not only does it help me prepare interesting challenges that key on character strengths and weaknesses, it really helps if someone has to miss a game—just print it out, and let the proxy play it.
#9 SRM Jun 03, 2009 19:41:01	This article needs to be published on the general website. That is make it viewable to people who aren't subscribed to DDI. It's a great article, and by publishing it only to the online magazine they are hurting themselves in two ways: * Most people who haven't found a game likely will not have paid for the DDI. * The character builder curmudgeons that article talks about likely will not have paid for DDI. Please consider posting this article on the public site. Heck submit it to Geek Magazine or other places lapsed gamers may go. Just a thought. I'll pass that on to my editorial overlords.
#10 sebastrd Jun 04, 2009 11:07:31	I have a few players who, for one reason or another, don't use Charater Builder; so I use it for them. I have everyone's character saved on my PC, and I take 5 minutes or so to update everyone's character at the end of each session. It makes sure we're all on the same page, that the math is always right, and I always have a copy of everyone's character if I need it.