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Shadowrun plus Skype equals ???

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John Schmidt

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« on: <09-06-10/0237:58> »
Having moved to Central New York and yet to find a group of SR players I have been toying with the idea of running a SR game with my friends back in Salt Lake...over skype. Grabbed a couple of web cams today (for myself and my wife) so that takes care of the voice comm situation...in theory.

I am still at a loss for what program would work to do the dice rolls, maps, pics, etc..

Any ideas?

It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

FastJack

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« Reply #1 on: <09-06-10/0242:56> »
Well, if you're the trustworthy type, I suggest just letting them roll the bones and let you know what they get. I've done a few Skype sessions at our 3.5 D&D group here, and find that most players aren't going to abuse the situation by saying 'Oh look! Another natural 20!'

John Schmidt

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« Reply #2 on: <09-06-10/0303:29> »
Exluding trust issues...are there any programs that work well for such a venture?
It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

Mooncrow

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« Reply #3 on: <09-06-10/0305:45> »
I believe there is a Skype addon that does that, or you can use a site like Invisible Castle, I guess?

John Schmidt

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« Reply #4 on: <09-06-10/0307:25> »
Thanks I will check that out!  ;D
It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

FastJack

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« Reply #5 on: <09-06-10/0321:27> »
Invisible castle is a great site for dice rolling since you have to enter a character's ID with the roll. So if you think the player's being hinky, you can just check all the rolls they are making and see if they are simply re-rolling until they get a good result.

Battlegrounds Games and Fantasy Grounds are two mapping/online RPG tools that are pretty good (from what I've heard, haven't had a chance to use them yet). They do have licensing fees, however, so it's definitely and investment to use. If I had the money, I'd go with Battle Grounds, IMHO, since it has a lot of stuff built in and they've been known to run Shadowrun games on it.

John Schmidt

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« Reply #6 on: <09-06-10/0323:25> »
Cool!  That may be precisely what I have been looking for.

Anyone know anything about Screen Monkey?
It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

burntheartist

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« Reply #7 on: <09-06-10/1912:20> »
Invisible castle is a great site for dice rolling since you have to enter a character's ID with the roll. So if you think the player's being hinky, you can just check all the rolls they are making and see if they are simply re-rolling until they get a good result.

Battlegrounds Games and Fantasy Grounds are two mapping/online RPG tools that are pretty good (from what I've heard, haven't had a chance to use them yet). They do have licensing fees, however, so it's definitely and investment to use. If I had the money, I'd go with Battle Grounds, IMHO, since it has a lot of stuff built in and they've been known to run Shadowrun games on it.

Oh I've heard of a couple of programs like this. Where there's usually audio support, maybe video or at least casting with a video program would be possible. Then there's a place for maps, sheets, and rolls to be done.

I always used a place called shattered-realms (not sure if it's .com or .net) and they use a simple [5d6] which would mean I was rolling 5 six-sided dice and it'd post the results in text.

John Schmidt

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« Reply #8 on: <09-06-10/2212:08> »
A Google search later...

shattered-realms.com = a free form RP host...might be the least expensive alternative for my victi...I mean players.  :-X

Sorry, I initially forgot to say thanks. Thanks!  ;D
It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

The Doomed One

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« Reply #9 on: <09-06-10/2255:02> »
Another virtual table top worth considering is MapTools though I have never used it for an actual game I have heard very good things about it, and it is free.

EDIT: I decided to see if anyone had made some Shadowrun frameworks for MapTools here is what I found.
« Last Edit: <09-06-10/2302:24> by The Doomed One »
Pie > Cake

John Schmidt

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« Reply #10 on: <09-06-10/2316:30> »
Wow...

Seems like there is a heck of a lot of options to choose from!

It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

The_Gun_Nut

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« Reply #11 on: <09-07-10/0926:47> »
Haven't used Skype.  What's the good, the bad, and the ugly about it?
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FastJack

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« Reply #12 on: <09-07-10/0944:03> »
Good: Video-conferencing with up to 5 accounts, along with an IM function for passing 'secret notes'. And it's totally free.

Bad: the window for outgoing video is VERY small and can't be re-sized beyond it's 300x400 (I think) maximum, even if there's no incoming video

Ugly: It's basically the same as plopping a phone in the middle of the table and doing a conference call. You'll need to get a camera and a microphone (do NOT use the one built into a laptop, it will feedback from the speakers).

Doc Chaos

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« Reply #13 on: <09-07-10/0948:46> »
(do NOT use the one built into a laptop, it will feedback from the speakers).

Actually I have regular Skype conferences with my group on my laptop and the Skype feedback filters keep impressing me with their quality of feedback reduction (read: never had a problem with it, not once).
SR4A Limited Edition [german] - 0478/1100

FastJack

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« Reply #14 on: <09-07-10/1005:21> »
(do NOT use the one built into a laptop, it will feedback from the speakers).

Actually I have regular Skype conferences with my group on my laptop and the Skype feedback filters keep impressing me with their quality of feedback reduction (read: never had a problem with it, not once).
It might be my laptop. The internal mike is right next to the speakers...