Monday, October 21, 2013

Playtesting Cubed

Over the weekend, I had a chance to do three things...

First, I had a chance to run a rough/partial playtest of the adventure from the upcoming second issue of the Dragon Horde zine. I, constructed the space to be entered from three different entries. The party found one of the two "back ways" in, and (in the process) skipped a lot of information about what was in store for them. However, on the fly, I turned a wandering monster encounter with an NPC cleric into a chance to both put the PCs on their toes and reveal a lot of backstory. Enough so, that I'm reworking the write-up to provide for this eventuality (should the DM choose to use it).

Second, I finally got to try out Roll20. I'm still learning how everything works, but even on the fly it allowed me to quickly map some areas while play was on a restroom break. And the fog of war feature is truly invaluable. It's still not as seamless for me using a dry erase marker and miniatures on a laminated grid, but I know that I'm also not using Roll20 to its full abilities yet (e.g., tracking player stats, etc.), but I'll get there pretty quickly (I figure another couple of sessions and I'll be up to full steam). This brings me to...

Finally, this was my first real opportunity to use the "beta" version of my BX DM Screen. I was afraid the text might be a tad small, but so far legibility has not been an issue.

2 comments:

  1. Roll20 is quite an achievement, and works well.
    For me, however, it makes "the map" too central of a thing
    (which is a personal preference)

    I would like to see an option for the fog that only "lit" as far as the characters could see.
    As it stands, you don't get that "lost in a dungeon" feeling, because you can see where you have been, and interpolate where rooms might be, or where hallways connect.
    ..
    In video-game terms it is like Intellivision's 'AD&D'. I would like it more like the catacombs in Atari Adventure

    It is great for combat in a room and marching order,
    ... and it is probably the next best thing to everyone playing at the same table.

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  2. I think the torchlight-only reveal is available in the paid subscriptions.

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