Scarlet Sisterhood is a different kind of streaming RPG
Moving closer to home this week, I’m taking a look at a live streaming RPG show that has grown to become one of my favorites to watch. The Scarlet Sisterhood of Steel & Sorcery is streaming live every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy’s YouTube channel. Each week, DM Nerdarchist Dave hosts Staff Writers Megan Miller and Samantha Karr with gamer girl and Nerdarchy fan Vex on their D&D 5E adventures in and around Gryphongaffe, Nerdarchy’s homebrew campaign setting.
The TitansGrave role-playing game show is a top-notch production
Returning readers might make me eat crow for the RPG encounter planned for this session. D&D is hiding in shadows and moving silently this week while the Fantasy Adventure Game Engine sets the stage for Geek & Sundry’s TitansGrave: The Ashes of Valkana. There is a huge variety of live streamed and recorded RPG play sessions out there. The merits, value and impact are debatable among many, but not me – I enjoy them as entertainment and believe they add value to the hobby. For those reasons, I’m taking a closer look at my favorite programs and sharing not only what makes each program fun to watch, but what gamers can take away and bring back to their gaming tables.
The C Team innovates live streaming roleplaying games
As promised last week, I’ll be taking a closer look at the myriad online roleplaying game programs that I enjoy to offer some reviews and analysis as well as any tips or pitfalls therein. The criteria for me as a gamer, fan, audience member and for the purposes of this series are the entertainment value and the takeaways I can bring back to my own game group.
Most of these shows (okay, all of them on my initial list) are Dungeons & Dragons games. In keeping with that spirit, I’ll rate where each program has a Success or Failure along with where it scores a Critical Hit or a Critical Fail, and wrap up with a Perception Check for miscellaneous observations and standouts as a viewer.
ThunderCats Ho! Sword of Omens D&D-ized
As a follow-up to Nerdarchists Dave and Ted’s video where they D&D-ized the legendary Sword of Omens from the ThunderCats cartoon, I’ve been tasked with taking a shot at the crunch for this incredibly powerful artifact. You won’t need Sight Beyond Sight to watch that...
The art of gaming without gaming! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
There is no disputing that tabletop role-playing games, and Dungeons & Dragons in particular, are more popular than ever before. While still a niche hobby, that niche has grown considerably large, and the perception of it has shifted as well.
The moment when I realized how great a step forward the role-playing game hobby has taken occurred not too long ago. My gaming group musters at a coffee shop, hauling our books, dice, pencils and accouterments to a private room in the back. From 4-10 p.m., our group of middle-aged nerds leave jobs, families and other responsibilities aside to step into a fantastical world of make-believe. During one of our gatherings, I went to get a cup of coffee and the teen-aged girl barista asked me if I was with the group in the back, and if we were playing Dungeons & Dragons. I said yep, I’m the Dungeon Master.
“Super cool,” she said.
Experience schmexperience! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
A item on my list of potential topics, a comment from Nerdarchist Ryan on a recent Saturday live chat, and something one of my players said to me the other day have coalesced into this week’s examination of different ways to approach your tabletop gaming hobby. A core concept shared by roleplaying games is that characters progress through an advancement system based on experiences. Different systems have different terminology for the mechanics, but essentially it involves accumulating a resource used to reach thresholds of advancement. In Dungeons & Dragons – the game I’m most familiar with – this is represented by experience points.
There is only one rule! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
One rule to bind them all ...
The art of collaborative adventure design
Taking a break from the usual musings on nurturing a tabletop gaming habit amidst the time demands of busy adult lives, this week I’d like to share some insider thoughts on a Nerdarchy project I’m involved with. “Floshar’s Fate” (title subject to change) is a free Dungeons & Dragons 5E one-shot adventure in the works from several Nerdarchy writers in honor of Geek & Sunday’s International Tabletop Day 2017 on April 29. Don’t worry – there’s no spoilers here, so whether you’re a DM looking forward to running this adventure or a player hoping to experience it at your table, there’s no secrets or details here that will sully it for you.
Split the party! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
Without a GM to run the tabletop RPG, whether it’s Dungeons & Dragons or whatever game your group is playing, the party’s continuing adventures will be put on hold. But what if one or more of the players can’t make it to your next session?...
Stay in touch between sessions! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
There’s all manner of real-life demands for time that can make for infrequent RPG sessions. Try using time away from the table to enhance your game!
By now, after leading the way to muster a group of roleplaying gamers, throwing their characters into the middle of an exciting situation, and letting the players guide the direction of the narrative, you’ve got yourself a campaign going. What started with your ambition to preserve and foster your gaming hobby, sharing the joy with others, has been a success!
Let players steer the ship! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
By listening to your players and giving them options and choices, you’re letting them direct the action and tell the story they want to. As a bonus, there’s less chance the GM will pigeon-hole themselves with their own narrative.
In the previous installment, I advised GMs to throw players directly into action to start off a new campaign. This is especially useful for groups without regular gaming sessions and/or groups that include new or lapsed gamers. Your goal is to hook the players by immersing them in the world and instilling the sense that their characters’ actions carry water and move the story forward.
Start off with a bang! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
If you know why this advertisement for Botany suits is relevant, then you have too much time on your hands. I know I do, that’s how I found out they used the slogan “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” in a 1966 ad campaign. I couldn’t find that one, but this ad’s “Come on strong!” message works, too.
Last week in this column, I began to explore ideas to keep a gaming hobby vibrant amidst increasing demands on time presented by things like children, conflicting work schedules and the like. Adulting can take a serious toll on a gamer’s opportunities for group gaming.
Keep your D&D game alive! Trials and triumphs of a full-time nerd in a part-time world
There’s never been a better time to be a tabletop gamer. Recent years have brought an explosion of products and popularity for board games, card games and – my personal obsession – roleplaying games (of the pencil-and-paper variety). Whether as a rebuff of our ubiquitous online lives or simply a celebration of face-to-face social entertainment, this renaissance has made new gamers of all stripes and brought lapsed gamers back to the hobby.
