The Dungeon Masters' Foundation Mk.II

[Blade of Desecration]

Anyone else got one of those vinyl grid pads? They are by far the most useful gaming tool I have. If you don't have one, get one.

 

[Y.O.Morales]

While I cannot speak for the whole "vision thing", I can point out that you should not be paying for this yourself - we are a group. You've done a lot in getting this set up as is. I for one, and hopeful others, will help reinburst you for any costs.

Well, the actual story is that I'm not paying it; I already paid it. Around April 2004 I bought a forum that I never used, and since I still don't see a use for it (until now), then I decided to donate it to the DMF. Don't worry about paying me back; worry about getting the thing done and maintaining the forum.

@ ChaosEvoker:
What you say is actually true. It is a matter of whether I want to donate the forum or not, instead of whether it will have a use (which will have). Still, I would like to read other opinions from DMF members and even EN Moderators about this whole forum idea.

 

[Mordmorgan the Mad]

Re: New Forum, I honestly don't care where the DM Foundation goes as long as our members move with us and we're able to attract new members. I've noticed that with each jump we've made (from the FR boards, to the Guild House, to Enworld threads I and II) we've lost a few members, but we've managed to keep the most dedicated and helpful ones. I guess I'd be for moving again if everything goes well.




Re: World's Largest Dungeon: I have a hard time believing they've created a believable plot line for that whole thing. It seems like it'd just be a massive series of rooms and monsters without any real connection to eachother.

 

[Shuffle]

Just asking for opinions here,
What do people here think about DM's running PC's? Personally I disagree, but I'm entering a campaign where the DM wants a PC to stay interested. Just curious

 

[Mordmorgan the Mad]

Let's apply the Triangle to the DMPC problem. The three sides of the triangle are: DM, PC, and Fun. You can only have two of these things at any one time.

Basically, the DMPC is a great way to get a DM to do a half-assed job. It destroyes combat because the DM is more worried about what the DMPC will do than running the monsters effectively.

 

[Dyne]

Let's apply the Triangle to the DMPC problem. The three sides of the triangle are: DM, PC, and Fun. You can only have two of these things at any one time.

Basically, the DMPC is a great way to get a DM to do a half-assed job. It destroyes combat because the DM is more worried about what the DMPC will do than running the monsters effectively.

Not necessarily. I've run a DMPC in times when we were short on Players, but my DMPC was more of an NPC to support and keep the PC's alive. Then again, this sounds like different circumstances.

You might tell the DM that if he wants to run a DMPC, then all the PC's should get a part in DMing. It's not fair for a person to have two roles simply because he wants to, and exclude everyone else from doing the same.

Now that I'm thinking of it, the whole thing sounds like a really bad idea. If the DM wants to run characters to "keep his interest," then he should run NPC's. That's what a DM does. That's what I really like to do is create loads of different NPC's to keep my creative ideas flowing.

 

[derbacher]

If the DM wants to run characters to "keep his interest," then he should run NPC's.

Agreed. I have around five dedicated NPCs that are well known to my players. They have their own lives and goals, and only occassionally do they intersect with the PCs. I currently have a half-orc Ranger accompanying one group on a quest to stop an evil druid. With the other characters all being elves or half-elves, it makes for an intrersting evening of role-playing! Had the characters gone a different direction, they would not have re-encountered this ranger, and would not have known about the druid and his plans.

Anyone else got one of those vinyl grid pads? They are by far the most useful gaming tool I have. If you don't have one, get one.

Yep, but I tend to cover it with clear plexiglass and draw on that with dry erase markers. Easier clean up, doesn't ruin my mat, and I can print out rooms and other areas and slide them under the plexi if needed.

NEW TOPIC:
Does everyone use minis or some other type of counter? I have taken to using Paint Shop and printing out counters for all my little creatures, and giving the players their choice of my collection of hand painted minis. (All my figures are the old lead kind, mostly Grenadier from the early eighties.)

 

[Mordmorgan the Mad]

NEW TOPIC:
Does everyone use minis or some other type of counter? I have taken to using Paint Shop and printing out counters for all my little creatures, and giving the players their choice of my collection of hand painted minis. (All my figures are the old lead kind, mostly Grenadier from the early eighties.)

In 12 years, I've never had to use minis or counters or anything. We tried using a whiteboard while playing CotSQ, but none of us really liked it. I used to play WH40K back in the day, so I have had some XP with using minis. I just find that, at least with D&D, I like to focus more on the roleplaying aspect, and using minis turns into more of a war game than anything else.

 

[Treebore]

Undermountain is too big to be a dungeon, it's a demiplane! I have to say that I really hate mapping dungeons. I really should buy a mapping program, but funds are short right now . I prefer forests, chasms (sp?), and pretty much anything outdoors. I'll do dungeons occasionally, but I tend to keep them short (no more than 3 sessions).

[sblock]My fiancee really wants to get a cat. I haven't had the best experience with them (apparently my fingers taste like catnip), but I'll have to warm up[/sblock]

Get Autorealm. The free download works great, especially considering it is free, or was when I downloaded it.

 

[siege72]

Does everyone use minis or some other type of counter? I have taken to using Paint Shop and printing out counters for all my little creatures, and giving the players their choice of my collection of hand painted minis. (All my figures are the old lead kind, mostly Grenadier from the early eighties.)

Yup. My players all have their own minis.

For counters, I have a several different colored sets of glass beads (aka glass blobs, glass gems, etc). I have them marked/numbered in different ways for single and multi-square creatures. At $2-$3 per bag, it's cheap to make an army

Although for one creature, I did use a square coaster due to its size (5x5).