I just get disgusted that I don’t get things where I can run a game. I started the process of getting my ducks in a row to run a campaign on Roll 20 about 16 months ago, but never got the campaign ready. Now that it is warm here in Michigan, I want to spend time outside, so I am not sure when I will make it ready. It doesn’t help that I have ideas for other genres of RPG’s in addition to my original plan of an online AD&D campaign.

I have my campaign world for AD&D that my sons and others play in.  My idea is to roll back the clock for the online game to use the scenarios I put my face to face players through. I require a certain level of preparation to make me comfortable for the players to go off the “rails”. I can ad lib quite well, so the issue for online play is that it is easier, in my mind to have some things defined that I don’t have to worry about with in person play.  As I write this, I find that my inability to describe what it is that I feel a need to do to get ready, makes me even wonder what I’m waiting for.

Part of the problem is that the map in my head has diverged in play from the map I started with and it gets confusing trying to mesh the two, so I need to re-do my map for the starting area. I have a lot of stuff defined, and plenty of ideas for other things, so the sandbox won’t need re-stocking for a long while. Re-setting the clock to the start of the original campaign gives me a lot of things to use, and I learned what worked and what didn’t from the first time through some things, that I could make them better. That is better in quality and my presentation to the players.

I think the only other thing I’m really waiting for is having the details of Roll20 ready to go, and decide how to proceed. Base on the weekly game I am in, the DM had an hour one on one with each player to generate two characters, a primary, and a backup for the inevitable death, so that it would not delay things to get back into play. I think I just need to decide to do it, clear the decks set a time, and advertise for players.

My other ideas for online games are for Metamorphosis Alpha, and now also White Star. I think I need to get one up and running and get all the kinks worked out on how using Roll 20 works best for me. I’m good at the player side of things with Roll 20, but I don’t use the DM tools regularly.  I have scripts for rolling all the dice to speed up my play, so I built those same scripts into my Roll 20 campaign.

So, I guess that I am out of excuses. Nice weather to be outside should be the only exception. If I end up getting stuck inside due to storms I will work to get my notes and map(s) revised.

It may not be the best time to start a game, but I will see what I can do to get one up and running by the end of the month. I think that Friday nights or sometime Saturday would be the best time for me. By that, I mean best so that I am not rushed and tired by the end of the session and am a zombie for work the next day. If I ran a game during the week, it would need to be done earlier than my Wednesday night game. I guess this is an announcement that I’ll have more fodder for posts. That’s a good thing! (I remind myself.)