I miss tabletop RPGs...

Watching the Pathfinder video right now. I miss tabletop RPGs.

Since I moved to Montreal, I never found a good group to play games with. It is hard to find people you fit with when you were used to the same group since the teenage years.

My friends and I were more into WoD than DnD, but I still always liked the more hack'n'slashy nature of the latter. That said, I was alone liking it so I haven't played DnD since I was thirteen I think.

Twenty-Five with a full-time job and all now. Finding time and a group to play tabletop RPGs seems nearly impossible. I dunno what people play these days. What happened to DnD (I hear 4th edition is pretty bad, why is that?).

Oh well, the stream is awesome. Any of you still playing? What are your preferred games?

I hear ya. That's the main reason I don't play anymore although I'm sure I'd still enjoy.

I remember picking up the 4th edition of DnD for the first time many years ago. Flipping through the pages, it looks like they simplified a lot of things. They added mechanics that seemed like they were lifted out of World of Warcraft. I've never played anything outside of video game interpretations of 2nd and 2.5 edition, but I found the rule books for 2nd and 2.5 pretty interesting.

I played Rifts a few times in High School. Palladium, who publish Rifts has a game system that's compatible with all their worlds. However, I've always thought the rules were very clunky. Instead of just HP, in Rifts, you have HP, SDC, MDC. 100 points of SDC = 1 point of MDC. However, you need an MDC weapon to to MDC damage. I thought the universe was super cool.

The classes were very creative. You had your standard space mages, space marines, space dragons, space elves, and robot classes. But then you had things like Crazies; people with mental issues who gained their powers through their psychosis. In one game, our crazy got his power through twinkies. Juicers who were people pumped full of drugs who lived very short life spans because of it. However, when people died, they could have their brains put inside cyborgs. Even that had side effects, as people would slowly lose their humanity/sanity while inside a cyborg body. This escalates when you put them in say... a cyborg rat body.

Palladium also published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Macross RPGs. Both of which make sense in the Rifts world as well which made me very happy, as we found a Valkyrie our party fixed up with tech from the Rifts universe. Too bad the glitter boy boom guns we put on it ended up ripping the arms off the valkyrie...

I got really lucky. My girlfriend and a bunch of friends from work got into DnD a couple of years ago. My girlfriend is running a game that's just about to end and I just started a new campaign a couple months ago.

We started with 4th Edition since we heard it was the easiest to get into. It's fine for beginners I think, but after looking into Pathfinder I can see why seasoned players were so unhappy with 4E.

@zelyre Never been that much into Sy-Fy rpgs. I'm not super serious into lore stuff so I can't never really enjoy their universe I felt. Different taste.

@bigdaddy81 Lucky you ! I don't mind simplified rule that much, as long as I can enjoy them. I guess it depends on the group.

@shockd did you try with other groups? How did it go?

I'm currently running a game I built out of WoD and 4th Ed... I don't know, I feel like I have to stop DMing or I need to change my group. They spend every scene arguing with me about what they should be able to do, to the point where I just don't want to play anymore. I put 40 hours or more into balancing the system but... I dunno.

@brodehouse: That's a bummer. Me and my group were never really arguing about rules or whatever, the DM (usually me) was always right, even when he was wrong.

Like, we didn't care that much if the rules screwed or character over or whatever. Adversity just keep the game interesting, and a character dying just had drama. People arguing for rule stuff just make the game worse for everybody, including themselves.

Started with 3.5E and then did a 4E campaign with a group of buddies a few years ago. 4E is more like WoW in terms of you can cast spells whenever you want and don't have to wait for a day to recharge.

I'm actually currently doing a Barebones Fantasy campaign with one of my computer science professors and some classmates. It's a very simple tabletop RPG that's easy for newbies to pick up and it's extremely flexible for DM hosting.

@fear_the_booboo: Oh it has nothing to do with rules. It has to do with "I leap into the air and drop sleeping gas that I was carrying with me", or they talk down to their superiors and then seem upset when they get punished appropriate to the setting, or they react to every single challenge I present to them as beneath them. "I convince this stranger to hand his criminal organization over to me." "Okay, roll Persuasion." "But I'm me, why doesn't he just do it? I rolled an 8. This game sucks."

The more I talk about it the more I realize how little fun I have running the game and now I think I'm going to end it.

@brodehouse: That seems... incredibly shitty. If you can find other players, that seem like a better idea.

@butano: the 'cast spells whenever you want' is actually a change I like. I like that melee classes actually have awesome things they can do as opposed to just "I hit it with my weapon" for an entire campaign. It's also nice that wizards can rip people up in the first room and keep going, not have to tell everyone they need an 8 hour break. Wizards carrying crossbows and darts because they're saving all their wicked shit for the boss is just silly. I like that magic missile is a staple tactic rather than something for big situations, just like I like that a fighter could have a variety of moves with a variety of effects. It does make the classes a little more samey or interchangeable, but it makes every encounter feel better and open to variance. More available tools means more decision making about the best tactical options.

I feel like 3.5 characters were more fun to build, but 4th characters are more fun to actually play.

@brodehouse: I hated the magic system of DnD for that reason. That seems kind enjoyable the way you explain it.

Unfortunately none of my friends have ever been into anything like tabletop RPGs. Most arnt even into video games beyond casually checking out the latest Call of Duty or FIFA now and then.

But a few members of my family have always played tabletop games. As a kid I can remember my uncles having weekey games of Warhammer. So iv always been really interested in this kind of gaming. A couple of years ago we gave DnD a go and I thoroughly loved every second of it but it tapered off for a number of reasons.

Lately though we've all been getting back into playing games, the most recent being Dead Mans Hand - set up on an 8 foot playing board complete with all the Wild West buildings and scenery :D and a modified version of the game Hero Quest set in the LotR universe :) i might make another attempt to persuade everybody to give DnD another go soon.

If any of you are interested, there's a good group of guys here that I've been watching for the past month or so. http://www.twitch.tv/robsgamegroup/profile

They stream on Twitch every Tuesday and Thursday at 9 pm EST, and play a variety of games. They've all got a good sense of humor, and actively chat with their community. Check it out =)

@stimpack: when we are talking about twitch RPG have you watched Rollplay every normally Sunday on twich? They are currently in week 31 and so far it was just glorious XD They also have started a Warhammer Campaign and starting a new one this Sunday as well because it has gotten really popular with 5-6k viewers each week^^

Twitchstream: http://www.twitch.tv/itmejp

Methods to find a tabletop rpg group:

1. Look online for groups in your area. I was going to suggest Meetup.com, because there's a bunch of groups active there in my town, but apparently not so much in Montreal. But you can look on the forums for whatever game you are interested in.

2. Hang out at your local game store. Some host organized play activities for D&D and Pathfinder. Some post looking for group notices on a bulletin board.

3. Lastly, and this is the one that worked most recently for me (since I don't like random people). Be the DM and start your own group. Recruit people you know, even if they don't tabletop game. I'd say most video game players would be willing to give it a shot at least.

@jaycrockett: That's an idea. I don't have many gaming friend at all so even then DMing my own game would not work (I tried).

I feel you man, I had a really long break from RPG from high school to University.
However, it seems that just after a couple of months, I went from having no games, to being GM to 3 different groups.
After awhile, I couldn't handle all the pressure so I had to have more time between all of them, and because of school work, I rarely ever have time to arrange a session.
So in one way I got lucky, but now I don't have the stamina for it :(

Have you tried Roll20? If you don't mind online tabletop playing, it could be great way to play with other people.

I started playing 4th edition about 8 months ago, we just convinced a few of our friends and brute forced our way through the rules on our own. It was my first experience with tabletop gaming and I really like it. Unfortunately my group's basically falling apart because I don't think anyone really wants the same thing out of the game. So now I'm in pretty much the same situation as you. GB dnd group! Lets do it!

I don't like online, I can't get into it. I do get why people go there but it is not for me. That said, finding new people on forums (GB or somewhere else) might be an idea.

@hunter5024: That's actually a good idea... maybe...

I miss my D&D group...

What about Warhammer 40k?

Guys?

@brodehouse: Oh the combat was my favorite part of the 4E game I did. Being a changeling bard that would damage enemies with my lute was awesome. The campaign we did though was a little light on the roleplaying, so that was my only beef with 4E.

Back in high school and through the better part of college I participated in table-top RPGs and Turn-based Strategy games every weekend. Some of my best friends came out of those groups. I DM'd Shadowrun, Cyberpunk 2013, Champions, James Bond The RPG, Twilight 2000 and a few others. Sometimes we'd set up the strategy games. A lot of Avalon Hill and SPI stuff but also some lighter fair like Star Fleet Battles and Axis and Allies. My favorite was The Longest Day. I was collecting the Europa series (1984-1987 printings), but they were so hard to set up. It was a dream of mine (unfulfilled) to set up all of Europe and play the entirety of World War II from start to finish. It would have been nearly impossible because the maps were large, but that's why dreams are dreams. I do miss those days. I wonder if anyone ever developed a PC game that ran from 1939 to 1945 using the traditional NATO counters.

Me and a couple friends between the ages of early-thirties to mid-forties are currently playing through a Pathfinder campaign. It's the first time since high school that I've table-topped. It's never too late to find some people and start up a game. Two's a small party, but our gm is generous with character customization and runs an NPC to fill in some of our weak spots and we're actually a bit overpowered so far. I expect that to change once my internal-alchemist-grenadier fails a will check or two and starts bombing our own party...

It's not an RPG, though. Just a table top roll dice game. Played 3rd - 5th edition before I started to dislike the game part of 40k. I'll still pick up some models here and there, but it's stupid expensive. I can't imagine trying to build an army nowadays when an HQ and 2 troop choices ends up costing you close to $150.

I would love to see a Warhammer 40k table top RPG that's like Privateer Press' Warmachine RPG. Modified 40k rules so that if you play one game, you can easily get into the other.

@fear_the_booboo: I couldn't find other groups unfortunately. People just don't seem to be into that kind of stuff anymore (if they have ever).

I had the same problem as you and I just fixed it last week.

I was creating a system and hoping to try GM-ing a game on roll20 but It was pain in the ass to find names for villages and reasons for them to have that name ( aka the general surrounding, backstory, occupation... etc) so I could finish my map and add flavor to the world at the same time.

Thus I asked suggestion from some of my friends that watched GOT and LOTR ( not the kind of people that would read Dragonlance novels or the Silmarillion but not complete outsiders to the fantasy genre ether ), long story short they really enjoyed the idea and after asking me a bunch about the game they wanted to play. So in a few days I got 5 players and the "flow" of guys only stopped because I don't want to DM anything more than 5 players at a time... I basically went from "I hope I can find 3 guys" to "I can have 5 guys, all smokers( it's pretty annoying to have a group in which 1 or 2 people smoke and the rest don't because ether one or the other side might have a bad time due to the smoke ), that will help me with printing and live in an area close to me so we can easily meet up"

I'm really impressed how, up until now, these 5 guys have been creating their characters... they definitely didn't try to make a character that's purely "badass" or that's very much like them IRL. Honestly I don't think I could ever get a group of "gamers" as passionate about role playing as these guys are... when those types of guys go at it horrible things such as 4th edition and later pathfinder books happen.

So basically my advice is: "Try asking people that at first glance might not be your typical dnd player, try peaking their interest, they will probably be much more enjoyable to play with and very fun to GM because you can literally use every single fucking trope and they won't recognize it"

@aterons: Good luck with your game !

I'm on the search... :)

Not nessiseraly in the exact same vain as DnD, I know, but I just bought Descent -Journeys Into Darkness and wondered if anybody had ever played it and what your thoughts were?

Does anyone want to get a monthly skype DnD campaign going?

@fear_the_booboo: Pathfinder is my go to fantasy RPG. Wizards of the Coast literally ruined DnD for me and now that I am into Pathfinder there will never be a reason for me to go back. My friends are into the last Star Wars RPG that was released but I'd like to get into the new Fantasy Flight one. I also want to get into the newly released shadow run.

@yothatlimp That's pretty tough in my experience, even with people you know, lol.

@yothatlimp:

Once things settle down here a little after dealing with getting myself a newer car I'm going to look into find more people for Call of Cthulhu. Tabeltop rpgs have always been a great source of cheap fun that invites thinking & imagination against things you can't predict thanks to those bloody dice.

Btw great source on the Call of Cthulhu RPG game if anyone is curious on it or want to do more than just dive into the Arkham Horror board games - Yog-sothoth (http://www.yog-sothoth.com/articles.html )

I have a game that one of my friends is running that we play, usually once a week, its loads of fun, we just started and its my first dnd experience, really enjoying it. Thinking about maybe running a game once I finish uni in a month.

Also just started board gaming I use board game geek and its great, I'm assuming the rpg section is as good. You might find something helpful there, or even post on the forums looking for a group http://rpggeek.com/

http://roll20.net/