rpgonline

The purpose of this blog is to provide my fellow role playing gamers with information regarding the tools and resources needed to play pen and paper style games with friends all over the world.  The newest version of Dungeons and Dragons has been revamped to be more friendly towards online play and Virtual Gaming Tables such as OpenRPG and Maptool are the tools of the trade.

Future blogs on the subject of gaming online will include reviews of OpenRPG, MapTool, and other Virtual Gaming Tables that I have come to know in my 6 yrs of playing pen and paper style rpgs online.  I will also introduce you to sites like www.thetangledweb.net wherein you can find other gamers of like mind to get your game on with.

Now, a little bit about myself is probably in order so that you won’t think I’m just some lunatic that doesn’t know his topic.

I’m a thirty year old man with a wife, 2.5 children, and 2 dogs.  I’ve worked numerous jobs in a wide variety of fields but, I’ve always made the best money cutting down trees.  My dream has always been to write.  I have recently decided to follow this dream and so here you find me…  trying to make a name for myself on the web.

I was introduced to role playing back in the late 80’s by a neighborhood kid.  We sat on the steps of our old apartment and would play a diceless version of what I now know was the game we all call Dungeons and Dragons.  Soon after I lost touch with Casey, I found that one of my mother’s friends played the real game ans so I rolled up my first official character.  A 2ed AD&D Ranger named Garth.

Garth went on a goodly number of adventures, but as is the case with many of us, it came time to move once again and I lost contact with that particular gaming group.  Years passed and though I gathered many resources…  I could never find anyone willing to play the game with me.

Finally, after a good 10 year hiatus, I became a father and had to cease my youthful partying ways and settle down.  I was given a gift of an old beater computer and so I decided to get online to pass the nights I was now spending at home.  It wasn’t long before I decided to do a search on Dungeons and Dragons.  Boy was I surprised.  They had refurbished the entire game and released it as an Open Source initiative!

I had to play again.  A goodly amount of time was spent looking for a way to play online.  I have no desire to play by post or to play freeform in a simple chat room.  I ventured to Yahoo RPG chat and the role playing I found in there was horrible.  I felt surrounded by a bunch of youngin’s who had no clue what pen and paper style role playing was all about.

So I went back to my search…  the search to find a way to play true pen and paper style games online.

Eventually I found it.

Imagine my surprise when I came across a little known program called OpenRPG.  It was just what I was looking for… and the price was right.  FREE!

It’s been six years since I discovered Virtual Gaming Tables and in that time I’ve seen numerous new programs of varying worth come and go.

OpenRPG and MapTool are the best online gaming tables out there and I’m excited to introduce folks to them.

Tune in next time for an overview of OpenRPG and what it can do for your hunger to play a true game of Dungeons and Dragons online.

If ever you’re in the mood to chat or wish to ask questions about online gaming, I can be found most nights lurking in the chatroom located at Weredragon Magazine , a quarterly webzine I recently began working with.

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