tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post3004255307125677123..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Floating A Crazy BalloonAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-5368208214780883122013-06-18T14:47:41.628-06:002013-06-18T14:47:41.628-06:00For those who may have subscribed to this comment ...For those who may have subscribed to this comment thread, I've put up a new post on the subject.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-76110102872999214312013-06-18T14:13:52.588-06:002013-06-18T14:13:52.588-06:00Ah, Kyle, you've got it. Yes, that was the ge...Ah, Kyle, you've got it. Yes, that was the general idea.<br /><br />The pvp element was just so that occasionally people would take each other out and <i>thin the herd</i>. I wasn't going to give any limit to how many people, theoretically, could play ... what if I started with 200?<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-5606505919112656802013-06-18T14:08:46.024-06:002013-06-18T14:08:46.024-06:00It took me about five minutes to upload the roll t...It took me about five minutes to upload the roll to youtube; took me longer, actually, to decide what dish to roll the dice in.<br /><br />But ... for all these reasons, yes, I'm reconsidering. The reason for the money was to avoid the sort of silliness that occurred with the poll-driven combat thing I did <a href="http://tao-dnd.blogspot.ca/2011/02/us-vs-goblins-round-2.html" rel="nofollow">some years ago</a>, where people who just didn't care sent the thief off on a ridiculous suicide mission.<br /><br />Money has a way of making people care about things. Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-8245342151304589272013-06-18T14:06:48.439-06:002013-06-18T14:06:48.439-06:00I think you may have been reaching a tad far with ...I think you may have been reaching a tad far with this, Alexis, but I actually like this idea. I think you could pull it off.<br /><br />The way I see it working, and if I am interpreting what you have laid out properly so far, is that it is almost a Quantum D&D. The participating players would only be making choices and dice rolls for the PC, to which you would respond with appropriate posts. <i>Players A, B, and C want to head left down the passageway; D wants to go right; E decides to check for traps, and F starts looking for a secret door.</i> Cue 4 different posts for the different quantum choices, and let the next round of decisions begin.<br /><br />Finally, the only tweak I would give to this idea is that PvP should not be able to happen. As above, you are only making choices and dice rolls, trying to stay alive and climb the ladder.<br /><br />Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890397263351615168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-37233109381409076872013-06-18T13:54:42.637-06:002013-06-18T13:54:42.637-06:00I'd also love to play but I'm not sure how...I'd also love to play but I'm not sure how I could handle the mechanics of rolling a die and uploading it to YouTube within a 24-hour timeframe. Crazy but it's true. I'm pretty much online only while I'm at work, and while they're pretty lenient with the sites I visit, I don't want to push it.<br /><br />But I understand that with real money on the table, there's a real possibility (or even a guarantee) of people cheating. Heck, even WITHOUT money on the table, some people will cheat. So you need to do something.<br /><br />I'd much rather just trust you to roll my die for me, or as Eric said, letting Excel do it for both of us.<br /><br />But I question why put $50 on the table? I think it'd be fun without the cash prize. Or maybe give away a copy of your book. If someone already has it, they can give it to a friend.Butchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00470617214750867482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-49636891246076841272013-06-18T13:32:36.492-06:002013-06-18T13:32:36.492-06:00Just pregenerate a thousand d4 through d20 rolls f...Just pregenerate a thousand d4 through d20 rolls for each player in Excel, then go through 'em in order as rolls are called for. If we don't trust you and the Excel random number generator, then why bother with the exercise?Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07649420272387984400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-41191974783277386262013-06-18T08:22:56.906-06:002013-06-18T08:22:56.906-06:00What if you took a finite number of players, say 1...What if you took a finite number of players, say 10 or 20, and dropped them each at different points of the same map instead? The map would also need to be finite and you'd have to do more work at the outset giving each a unique starting point, but the upside is that while each player could still use the same, pre-generated character there would be more variables introduced early, players could be made aware of one another and PvP (or making alliances) would make more sense in this context. This would take some of the luck out of the equation, but the hand on the car contest analogy would still apply. <br /><br />I probably wouldn't be able to play either, for reasons similar to those already stated above, but I'd be interested in following along should this idea make it off the drawing board. It's like a D&D <i>Survivor</i>. You could even make the map an island hex-crawl...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-61975711491131800732013-06-18T07:58:16.192-06:002013-06-18T07:58:16.192-06:00Well, I said it was crazy.
For the present, I'...Well, I said it was crazy.<br /><br />For the present, I'm taking the whole idea back to the drawing board.<br /><br />I think there is a way to do this. Sadly, yes, those people who could not organize themselves because of work or circumstances or whatever would in fact be pushed out and fail to win. If we were doing one of those things where you had to keep your hands on a car until the last person was left, and someone complained they had to go to work, that would not be the contest's problem.<br /><br />But ... people don't understand what I'm saying, and in general I have my doubts that its rational anyway. I said in the last post I tend to reach too far. Perhaps this is just such a case, and I should forget it.<br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-76445452818146842262013-06-18T06:52:29.815-06:002013-06-18T06:52:29.815-06:00Nice idea. Especially with setting a new THAC0 eve...Nice idea. Especially with setting a new THAC0 every time. Alas I think, with this method it's unnecessary for players to show their attack rolls. There is no way to cheat, if you don't know the highest possible roll. Same goes for damage, saves or ability checks. I don't know if you allow critical hits, but I guess, if you do, double damage would suffice for that. Should work for PvE at least, PvP is a different thing altogether (and sounds a bit off, considering the characters are not aware of each other). If you set new values for those dice needed and publish them after everybody wrote their results, it should be as good as seeing them roll it at the table. Or am I missing something?<br /><br />Slow players would have an advantage over those doing fast progress, if they'd be allowed to see what faster players are doing. <br /><br />But I'm not yet clear about how and where you'd post or what kind of continuity you're aiming for. Like, for instance, the revealed map could be different for every player (which would avoid people knowing where to go for a challenge and where not to)or the same (making the players actions comparable and gives everybody the same challenge, which would be a bit more fair in a contest).<br /><br />I'm looking forward to see where all this is headed.Jens D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18394303166081684904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-64747725441375383312013-06-18T05:16:34.371-06:002013-06-18T05:16:34.371-06:00First question: I would prefer a system like this:...First question: I would prefer a system like this: <a href="http://www.rpglibrary.org/software/securedice/" rel="nofollow">Secure Dice</a>. I can't Youtube while I'm at work, and I can't guarantee to be able to answer in 24 hours if I can't use work time. Another option would be <a href="http://rolz.org/group" rel="nofollow">Rolz</a>. Or <a href="http://dicelog.com/dice" rel="nofollow">Dicelog</a>. <br /><br />Second question: If, say, seven people go into the cave, and there is an orc in there (just one) and all of them attack him, do you roll initiative? and if such, is that counted as a full action? And if such, wouldn't it be preferable that you could throw some dice on your end and save everybody a day for rolls such as those? <br /><br />Third question: I don't fully understand this phrase: <i>"If you killed an orc in a room this round, and others weren't able to, but they were still alive and fighting, whereas you had succeeded, then you would move on the next round, while they would remain behind"</i> But you previously said: <i>"Thus, all the persons in the cave will be given one action, all the persons in the wilderness will be given one action, and when everyone has taken an action, we will start again for everyone."</i>. So what happens with the orc and me? I kill it, that's an action, right. Do I get the new post/situation at that moment, or do I wait for everybody else to get their action resolved? <br /><br />Very interestingScarbrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354844943665937610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-27061880055474104692013-06-17T20:41:48.816-06:002013-06-17T20:41:48.816-06:00Seems interesting. I would probably play just for ...Seems interesting. I would probably play just for the sheer fun of it, to see how far up the ladder I could get.<br /><br />So, for the more intellectual stuff: Who would have to manage the bookkeeping of the character you are playing? Would that be on your end, or would you expect us to keep either a blog, or a public google doc spread sheet or something similar?<br /><br /><br />And is there any thought of doing more than this initial round, if this experiment succeeds?Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890397263351615168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-40071015124632321242013-06-17T19:02:00.196-06:002013-06-17T19:02:00.196-06:00I generate one character and everyone plays it.I generate one character and everyone plays it.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-22565691336156185452013-06-17T18:58:58.222-06:002013-06-17T18:58:58.222-06:00An interesting idea, to be sure.
Seems relativel...An interesting idea, to be sure. <br /><br />Seems relatively straightforward, especially with the quick lives of low-level fighters in this game, but I suppose I shouldn't overlook the ability of monetary rewards to bring out the, ahem, cleverness of the people in regards to poking holes in the rules.<br /><br />What char-gen methods will we flies be using to enter this web? <br /><br />Justin Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08175829810947452281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-28665142280038565602013-06-17T18:12:20.713-06:002013-06-17T18:12:20.713-06:00If you don't know in advance what the standard...If you don't know in advance what the standard die is, what result do you try for?<br /><br />I would create the standard die and keep the youtube vid private until AFTER the round had been played. It wouldn't be revealed initially.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-40659761291379304502013-06-17T18:10:36.793-06:002013-06-17T18:10:36.793-06:00Oh wait, I'm dumb, ha, figured it out. Thoroug...Oh wait, I'm dumb, ha, figured it out. Thorough reading, Arduin, learn it.Pandredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03917809464727878157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-18663678493450363772013-06-17T18:08:48.362-06:002013-06-17T18:08:48.362-06:00I haven't got a webcam, so I can't Youtube...I haven't got a webcam, so I can't Youtube, but is there any particular reason a person couldn't film, say, thirty odd-die rolls, and just show the acceptable results?<br /><br />I'll have to bow out of this contest, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it in action.Pandredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03917809464727878157noreply@blogger.com