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D&D 3.5 experiences so far.; How we are slowly learning the game.
Tweet Topic Started: Oct 8 2006, 04:31 PM (564 Views)
PillBox Oct 8 2006, 04:31 PM Post #1
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So, myself and my girlfriend have been playing on and off now for the last couple weeks ... spent a good few hours today playing, and we have had a good time.

As I mentioned before in a previous thread, I was using the DMs Genie. Well, I dont use it (well, I do only for leveling up characters). It tended to get in the way of the learning experience. It was so much easier to press buttons on the computer than to actually roll dice, have a negative effect on our game (i.e. we were not learning what all the rolls meant, what modifiers do what etc.)

Now the game flows a LOT slower, but saying that, it is a much more enjoyable experience, and the characters are starting to have more of a personality (For some reason, the toughest NPC in the group, a Dwarven Fighter keeps getting bad rolls ... tends to stumble around a lot in battle, though he never admits it!)

The group has just completed their first adventure (they fled the first one), and will now be headed into town. This will be our first experience playing in a town, and I will be choosing a place somewhere in the forgotten realms. We originally created the characters for the core rules, but since I managed to get the FR book at a cheap price, we will be converting these PCs to be used in this world, and then playing the adventure presented within its covers

So far so good (and sometimes really slow, but hey we are still learning).

I'll keep posting here to inform of the Adventures of 'Petzi Lollohostez III' ...
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kismetrose Oct 8 2006, 05:07 PM Post #2
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I'm glad that this experience has been working out for you thus far, PillBox. I had a feeling it would start to come together for you. :)
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As I mentioned before in a previous thread, I was using the DMs Genie.

I hadn't considered this initially, but I can see why the DM Genie might be a bad thing for new players wishing to learn as much as possible about the system. When you have a program to do it for you, the information slips past. It's better to use a program like that when you already have everything down and you just need a way to speed things up.
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We originally created the characters for the core rules, but since I managed to get the FR book at a cheap price, we will be converting these PCs to be used in this world, and then playing the adventure presented within its covers

The FR core book is a great resource. Whereabouts are you going to be setting your game?
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cambric Oct 8 2006, 05:18 PM Post #3
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I hadn't thought about DM Genie slowing down the learning curve...oops!! Glad you're taking a liking to D&D and doing well with it.

Good luck...and after you really get the rules down and understand what everything means, then try again with DM Genie. I've found it to be very useful, but thinking back, if I had started out on it, it would have been tougher.

Cam
"Hit hard. Hit fast.
If that doesn't work, run like sissies."
-- Blackrazor Battle Tactic
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PillBox Oct 9 2006, 01:02 PM Post #4
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The FR core book is a great resource. Whereabouts are you going to be setting your game?


Not sure yet. Its a pretty big world, and there are so many places to choose from. I have only had a quick glance at the FR book, and its pretty damn big. She is playing a Half-Elf Barbarian, so I guess it will be somewhere where she will fit in (And as my girlfriend actually comes from Finland, I may choose somewhere really cold - I'll look into it.)

Actually, the next three weeks is gonna be a bit of a slow down. Her sister is gonna be staying with us for a while with her boyfriend, and as they leave two of our friends from London will be coming up to visit.
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kismetrose Oct 9 2006, 04:57 PM Post #5
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There's a decent barbarian presence in the North of Toril. You could look at the information for Ten Towns and the surrounding area (it's not visible on the fold-out map as I recall). I've run my main D&D campaign in the Realms for a while now; if you need anything and I can help, let me know.
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PillBox Oct 9 2006, 11:24 PM Post #6
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Thanks for the info Kismetrose, I will look into that when I get home from work today.

I was thinking of adding Knaresborough into the FR somewhere, as it is a small town with a nice castle situated in it, and may add a bit to the flavour of the game.

I actually live in this town, and it has a nice medieval feel to it. It is about 30 minutes drive from York (Its the town that was sacked by William Wallace, and still has its old city walls, but it was also owned by the vikings at one point and called Jorvik), so that too is also a great town to get a feel for the world. Check out the WIKIPEDIA entry on York.

I'll probably also be adding that to the game somewhere, though of course this would all have to make sense in the game .... :huh:
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kismetrose Oct 10 2006, 12:16 AM Post #7
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Actually, I ended up adding a city to the world as well when I started. Sometimes it's just easier to insert something of your own into a larger milieu. And your links were fascinating! I'm a Californian with an abiding love of history; I would be beside myself if I lived close to such a place.
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PillBox Oct 10 2006, 09:39 AM Post #8
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Yeah I love history too, especially the Romans. Actually, I discovered about a month ago when I was at York Minster that Constantine was actually crowned the Emperor in York.

Check out this link : Constantine in York

I originate from South Africa, and history there is pretty much non existant.
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kismetrose Oct 10 2006, 10:40 AM Post #9
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Now I know some parts of Africa have yielded sites of great value to history, but I know nothing about the southernmost part of the continent. Why does it lack history?
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Freston Oct 13 2006, 05:02 AM Post #10
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Au contraire, South Africa has a very rich history. Be it soaked in blood. The Dutch took the most southern part of Africa and founded Kaap de Goede Hoop (Cape of Good Hope) as a supply station. Relations with locals were not very friendly and most of them where murdered.

We write 17th century, when trade with the far east was really taking off. The great sea faring European countries (Engand, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, The Netherlands) where batteling each other for domination of the world. But distances where great, and traveling the seas was very dangerous. One of the things needed was a safe place to resupply ships along the way.

The Dutch did this by establishing a port in Sout Africa. Many people lived there to grow food for the passing ships. They took the land they needed from the locals, who where more of a hunter-gatherers society.

When, in the late 18th century, the Netherlands was reduced to a provence of France, the British conquered South Africa. The descendents of the Dutch settelers moved more inland to avoid British domination.

Here, one war was fought after another, and it must have been one hell of a time to have lived there. British soldiers in the south, Zulu's in the north, every group waged war on every other group. Until, under British dominance, early in the 20th century, the Union of South Africa was established.

After the 2nd world war, Apartheid was intoduced, which reduced the poverish civil rights of the colored people to an absolute zero. Well, we all know how that went. From the murders and the tyranny to the riots and finaly a kind of freedom. The country is scarred to this day, and has a lot of history attached to those scars.

This is of course the short version, I hope that who reads this will understand that it is by no means the complete history. My intend is mainly to show that South Africa has a very rich history. From the point of view of the Africans, the Dutch, the British, and of course 16th-19th century world politics in general.
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PillBox Oct 13 2006, 10:14 AM Post #11
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400 years of history is nothing compared to thousands of years of European History. Anything before the arrival of the Europeans is considered pre-history as no historical records were kept before that.

Ok, so its not NON-EXISTANT, but it sure as hell does not compare to European and Asian history. There are not even ancient cities to be found.
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kismetrose Oct 13 2006, 11:42 AM Post #12
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I had a feeling you were talking about older history than the last few hundred years, PillBox. I found this talking about some of the older sites in South Africa. In any event, the world has more than enough history to take inspiration from.
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Freston Oct 14 2006, 05:44 AM Post #13
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I'm sorry PillBox, if I misunderstood your intent. My reaction was more aimed at Kismets question about why South Africa had little history. I tried to show that South Africa does have a very complex history.

But you where thinking along a larger time-scale and where right where you said:
PillBox
 
Anything before the arrival of the Europeans is considered pre-history as no historical records were kept before that.

This one sentence does answer Kismets question better than any half-hour lecture I could give about European imperialism. It's the part which I didn't adress that held the answer methinks. Thanks for that.
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kismetrose Oct 14 2006, 12:52 PM Post #14
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This one sentence does answer Kismets question better than any half-hour lecture I could give about European imperialism. It's the part which I didn't adress that held the answer methinks.

Actually, Freston, just because records weren't kept doesn't mean there isn't history there; if you look at the web site linked in my previous post, you'll see something about what's there. There is probably even more that hasn't been found.
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PillBox Oct 14 2006, 01:45 PM Post #15
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OH definatey, the history is there, its just harder to understand. All the facts and theories are mostly gained from archealogical evidance (which is known to change a lot).

Anyways, I was aiming more at history in D&D terms, after all, this is a role playing forum, not a political/historical one.

Actually, talking about this ... I may try and get my girlfriend to join a Barbarian tribe known as the 'Zulus' under the leadership of the great leader 'Shaka', who invades the southern lands, causing a threat to Waterdeep.

Just an option.
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