Cool Stuff: Dragons for Dinner a Google+ Hangout App

Charles Jaimet shared a video of his work in progress on Dragons for Dinner. DfD is an app using the Google+ API to support gaming in a Hangout. Essentially, its a cool take on a virtual table top with many great features. Given the beta status of the G+ API, the app cannot be publicly released. Hopefully Google decides to migrate into its normal open beta policy soon so I can give it a whirl.

Check it out. It’s worth a look.

VisionCon Recap

Over the weekend, I ventured down to Missouri for VisionCon. Mainly, I went to finally meet a guy I’d played with online for the first time. Secondly, I went to chow on some BBQ he’d told me about on numerous occasions. The convention was a tertiary reason and mostly a good excuse to visit. Visiting a convention with ulterior motives is just my style.

I prepared games I didn’t run. I didn’t join games I intended to play. In fact, I didn’t play or run anything over the entire weekend. Why? Because I chose not too. I could have taken the opportunity but honestly, I wanted to meet and spend time with the folks I’d heard about for over a year.

VisionCon isn’t a huge event but the folks running it had to bust their butts to pull it off. They are a dedicated bunch. Everyone of the organizers I met was handling multiple tasks at once. They juggled well and for the most part, things ran smoothly. The hiccups were minor and quickly resolved.

I didn’t ask for final stats but my estimate around 1100-1300 people attended. Gamers of all sizes, shapes, and interest. Lots of cool costumes. The featured guest list was broad. I didn’t meet them all but got to chat with Kevin Siembieda (Palladium, Rifts, etc) and Jolly Blackburn (Hackmaster, etc.) over lunch on Saturday.

I bought a VIP ticket just so I could get some of the delicious BBQ they featured for the guests of honor. Honestly, I could have gotten it anyway knowing the cooks and having met them before the convention even opened. The VIP events actually overrode the one game I signed up for in advance. I probably missed a cool game. Timing just didn’t quite work out.

The folks of the Visionary Guild have hospitality nailed. Every time I rounded a corner, one of the people I’d met asked if I need anything. Seriously, I couldn’t walk 100 yards without bumping into someone I’d met even in passing checking to see how I was doing. Great people doing whatever they could to ensure I was happy.

What was truly unexpected as the hotel staff. I’ve spent a lot of weeks on the road for work and have never come across a hotel run as well as the Howard Johnson in Springfield, MO. From the front desk greeting me throughout the weekend, they went above and beyond to make the stay awesome. When is the last time you stayed somewhere and had the house-keeping staff double check you needed anything? Ever? How about the maintenance guy walking by and asking how your stay was? The guy at checkout asking how the experience was for the convention he didn’t even work and asking for feedback? The staff actually care and wanted to make the stay pleasant. The hotel itself is aging but the people made my visit phenomenal. I felt at home.

I’ll definitely be returning next year. I’ll have a different agenda the second time around.

Drinking Quest: Review

Well, Drinking Quest didn’t make it in time for the trip to VisionCon. It was sitting in my mailbox when I returned home. Ah well, it will be used in a few months during the fall. Anyway, onto details of the game.

The Contents

Drinking Quest comes in a single box containing the rules, 3 green “pub” dice, a booklet of character sheets and the cards. The box itself features cool art and was shrink-wrapped. The shrink wrap is a nice detail since the game was exposed to the weather a bit over the weekend when I wasn’t home. The game is comprised 62 cards — 4 Quests featuring 12 cards each along with an overview, the four heroes plus a special ability card for each, a store card, and cheat sheet card.

The Rules

The rules for Drinking Quest are quite simple. They span only a single duplex page. Each of the 2-4 players selects a hero card and the associated special ability card. The individual quests are then divided and shuffled. Quests are designed to be played in order. The objective is to be the player with the most XP at the end of the game.

Selection of the starting hero is done by rolling d6′s for the highest score. That hero begins the game by reading the Quest summary card and then taking the initial turn. Turns are composed of visiting the shop to purchase weapons or armor. Then drawing a card from the quest stack. Quest cards can either be an enemy or an event.

Enemy Cards

Enemies are fought death match style. The player to the right of the drawer rolls for the enemy. Initiative goes to the high roll (ties go to the hero). The combat metric is Damage = Attacker’s Roll (+ bonuses) – Defenders Defence Rating. Simple and easy to remember. Combat continues until either the hero or monster is dead. If the hero is victorious, he collects the loot and XP specified on the card. Should he fall in battle, the player must chug his beverage. Chugs are also recorded on the character sheet. If the hero has died already, the punishment is only a few swigs, thus avoiding the unfortunate “It’s Only Vodka” moments. If chugging is completed, the hero will be brought back to life and continue to play.

Alternatively, if the hero has a Bellow Ale, it can be used at the time of death to restore 1d6 HP.

Event Cards

Event cards require a saving throw against one of the four attributes of the hero: Quickness, Tolerance, Sexual Prowess, and Smarts. Saving throws are determined by rolling all 3 six siders. Success is a score equal to or below the attribute. Depending on the outcome of the rolls, the Hero either gets the benefit or is subjected to the failure results noted on the card.

Quests

Four quests are included in the game: Lolevel Forest, Mount Icefist, Booze Cruise, and Zombie Attack!. Each involves a number of different enemies and events. You’ll have to buy the game to figure out the details.

Drinking Quest

Sundry

The cards are printed in color on the front and black and white on the back. The overall quality is good. The minor flaw is the retention of small nubs in the middle of the long edges during the printing process.

Hat tip to Ryan Jovian of Troll in the Corner for the review that lead me to the game.

Drinking Quest is available at drinkingquest.com for $25.

Off to Vision Con

Heading out to breakfast and then on to the airport. The flight lands at about 1 p.m. From there, who the heck knows? Sadly, Drinking Quest didn’t arrive in time so it will have to be unveiled at another time.

Should be a great weekend.

City Block Generator Update

Finally made time to update the City Block Generator from the prototype image-based system to an ajax/html based system. The image based system is still available as well.

Zone types mimic modern cities in the United States. Frequency for business/building types are based roughly on commonality of those types. The Everything option treats all types as common thus producing some odd results.

Spell Scroll Generation and more on the to-do list…

Yesterday, I rolled out a spell scroll generator using the underlying 1E AD&D™ data handlers. Spell scrolls can be a pain to generate and I like a bit of randomness but in a constrained fashion. Thus, the spell scroll process garners a separate process from purely random generation of treasure.

On the treasure front, I requested and received permission to utilize the tables and information from the excellent Treasure supplement by Courtney Campbell of Hack & Slash fame. Courtney’s supplement uses alternatives to the standard categories of treasure. I do not plan to make a stand-alone generator but rather include the alternates in my AD&D™ 1E Treasure Generator (and perhaps the Labyrinth Lord™ one as well). The permission was granted with the condition I make no profit and appropriate credit is given. Not a problem. Mithril & Mages is 100% ad-free, 100% free to use, and has no intention of generating profit.

Finally, I received some feedback on the City Block Generator from Yendorma. The request was fairly simple: Add an ‘Everything’ style option to include all location types. I added that this evening. However, the entire process needs to be gutted and redone. The generator produces images, which was the purpose of a long dead collaborative project. Replacing images with a simpler output format should be easy…when I get the chance.

Snagged: Drinking Quest

I was hooked after reading the review of Drinking Quest over at Troll in the Corner. An RPG intermixed with enjoying a drink or two? I couldn’t resist. The premise seems perfect for evening sessions at Convergence or for a fun game at any party.

The game includes saving throws, which sucks for the guy who cannot make a saving throw. Okay, he makes one on rare occasion. So rarely it calls for some sort of celebration. Imagine an NFL touch down dance done by a gamer type. Not necessarily pretty but damn entertaining.

Plus I love the artwork and the naming of cards: Killer Buzz, Hungover Goblin, etc. Shades of Munchkin style coupled with drinking and an RPG flavor will please my compatriot islander.

Hopefully the rules are simpler than the last foray into a drinking card game. Not to mention more enjoyable than the catastrophe of an RPG session using cards played previously. I suspect it will be far more entertaining.

Hopefully it will arrive before I depart for VisionCon. My confidence is not high given the order notification: It will ship within a day or two and should take about 1 – 4 weeks for delivery depending on your distance from Toronto. Quick processing of the order but now its in the hands of the shipping gods. Here’s to being pleasantly surprised…

Drinking Quest is available at drinkingquest.com for $25.