I used to host games online all the time. At first I used WebRPG, but found the suckiness factor of WebRPG to be way more than I could choke down. So I looked around and found a MUD engine, and built my own engine, with most things automated. I spent about 400 hours developing, proofing, and enhancing it. I ran 1-2 groups there, weekly, for about 2 years. Had *loads* of fun.
But then for various reasons I had to quit. (I was married, I had to drop high-speed and regress to dial-up, etc.) So, I've been scratching that ol' Gaming itch by building a world. It's 3.5e, pretty extensively detailed, not many exceptions to the basic rules (most of those are minor race-oriented tweaks, like all dwarves getting DR 1 (any), elves take a 2-point hit to constitution but get bonus feats and spells, etc.) In short, I've built this setting while keeping in mind that I intend to take it online. I've also been playtesting it in fairly frequent face-to-face sessions. It's rearin' to go.
I still haven't named the setting yet, though... heh. I *hate* picking a setting name. It's the first contact anyone has with your world, and if it's lame, it can be *really* hard to overcome the initial revulsion. All the good names are taken... Athas, Greyhawk, Kyranath, Earth, Oerth, Urth, etc. If anyone has idears for a cool, intriguing, exciting name for a setting/world, they would be really appreciated.
I'm currently evaluating 2 platforms, deciding which I'll run with. Fantasy Grounds and Battlegrounds are my choices. If I go with Battlegrounds, then I'll be checking for interest on this forum. (Otherwise, if anyone wants to go to Fantasy Grounds... though I'm not *trying* to recruit anybody away from Battlegrounds.)
I've got a bare-bones website up for the new setting, if anyone's interested. I'll be getting more info up in the next few days, as well. http://portland.puremagic.com/~scott/new_world is the URL. Like I said... I don't have a name yet. When I do, the URL will change slightly, obviously.
Even if you're not interested in playing, feedback is more than welcome. I've got reams of material lined out, but it's all in Word format and I need to convert it to HTML and get it on my site.
And, once I pick a platform, I'll be recruiting Players. Here are my credentials.
I've been DMing since I was about 11. Of course, for the first 3 or 4 years, the games were wildly free-form... "You meet an Innkeeper... surprise, he's a dragon! He eats you! In his belly you discover a strange new world, and within 3 adventures, you've achieved Demi-God status, sporting enough magical equipment to take over all 7 Hells." That kinds of stuff. *sigh* Sweet nostalgia.
But I read lots of DMing self-help books (I'm not joking, how sad is that?) and played extensively for many years. (I'm 34.) I spend about 3 years running campaigns in the online shared world of Thardferr, which in its heydey boasted maybe 20 or 30 active DMs and hundreds of players. I've got countless hours of DMing experience.
My gaming style focuses on roleplay. I stick to the rules, because I've found that the rules are the skeleton of a game, and without 'em it's just DM whim... which generally sucks. My approach is to set the stage, organize the NPCs, and establish various ongoing plotlines... and then just run the stage. The Players affect things; I don't run scripted plotlines. Frequently, Player luck/stupidity/brilliance/insanity results in the game taking a whole different direction than I'd anticipated, but that's okay. I only build the campaign plotline 1 or maybe 2 sessions in advance, so that I can easily refocus if things switch tracks.
My biggest strength as a DM is my NPCs, I think. I build 'em deep. I try to present realistic, vibrant NPCs with history and personality and motivations and goals, from the hill giant holed up outside of town to the nefarious underworld boss. Often, the NPCs die... but they're not presented as expendible, no-detail collections of stats.
Speaking of death, PCs sometimes die in my games. I do try to arrange things so that a realistic challenge is possible... but if you go up against the Thieves' Guild and they get the drop on you, I ain't gonna save you. Bad luck can also get you killed... I've had a player die several times while raiding orc bands because the orcs got some critical hits he wasn't ready for. I believe that this keeps the game vibrant... you're not immune to death or catastrophe, and bad choices & bad luck can take you down even if the odds are in your favor.
The game ranges wherever circumstances take the group. From a city to a sewer to an icy mountain range, depending on what's being worked on by the party.
I do stress party cooperation. In a face-to-face game, an errant PC can be a problem. Online, an errant PC can virtually destroy the game. There are perfectly IC consequences for adventurers who turn on their buddies, and I am careful not to shield PCs from these consequences. And at some point, I simply ask counterproductive Players to find a different group. I dislike doing this, but to keep the game fun for everyone else, I've had to do it a few times in the past.
The flavor of the campaign is fairly low-power. If you design a combat-focused character, that's fine, but large portions of time will be spent role-playing, investigating, travelling, etc. In combat, you'll shine... but combat isn't a huge part of most of my campaigns. I also frown on powergaming... building every character to maximize his efficiency even though that's not the focus of his persona. It's okay to focus a fighter on fighting... that's their goal in life.
But most Players tend to min/max their stats with a focus on AC and Attack/Damage, even though the characters might have a hard time justifying this. I prefer characters who are more realistic, and more justified. If your rogue spends a lot of effort on his longsword skill, you need to make sure that's part of his persona, and not just a way to achieve maximum combat prowess.There is magic, of course, and it's not ultra-rare, or low-powered. It's just not commonly available or widely distributed. Things like holy avengers, staves of the magi, and vorpal swords exist, but they're nearly unique.
I'll post some adventure logs from adventures that have been going on for the last 3 years, in case anyone cares to get a glimpse of what kind of games I run.
That's about it. Hopefully I'll be back in a few days to see if anyone's interested in playing, and I'll monitor this thread in the meantime.
Happy Gaming,
Myth
Please help spread the word about BRPG and BGE, and never hesitate to tell me how I can make them better suit your gaming needs.
I'm getting back into GMing Warhammer RPG, but have also started playing D&D 3.5 (I live in a small town and now that I'll be moving, a RPG group is forming...figures! Doing Living Greyhawk with them.)