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Role Playing (Games)

Journal Short Circuit's Journal: D&D: Notes for a Web-Based Tool 10

Journal by Short Circuit

Note: This journal entry is a work in progress. Initial versions might not be pretty. Also, I could use suggestions, folks.

Communications: There are two forms of communication. IRC-style chat, and note passing. For IRC-style chat, participants are chosen using a list of checkboxes.

  • (checkbox) DM
  • (checkbox) Kirkus
  • (checkbox) Amberussed
  • (checkbox) Jonus
  • (checkbox) (etc.)

Communications Archive: All communications are archived to allow for later review. Each note or chat is accompanies by in-game and metagame timestamps.

Version Control: Entities(characters, items, maps) should have some sort of version control available, in case the DM decides he wants to "roll back" some change that was made.

Item Tracking: All items should be tracked by location. The DM should be able to search the campaign data for the location of an item. (e.g. For divination magic.) The following example locations should be possible:

  • In a container such as a sack, backpack, quivver, or a bag of holding
  • At a given set of coordinates in a room or other map

Multiple Concurrent campaigns and players: The system should be able to host multiple campaigns, and Players should be able to have multiple characters. Characters should be able to be transferred between campaigns. (For cameo appearances, etc.) Campaigns could possibly draw off the same data set, allowing for different parties to interact. (Some translation would be necessary, for things like dates.)

Player NotesPlayers should be able to take notes and attach them to any entity, be it theirs or another character, a room, another character, an item, etc. Notes should be searchable and sharable. (DM should be apprised when notes are shared.)

Artificial User Memory (AUM): All stored data created by, or in possesion of, a player should be available for review by the player. This represents the memory that a character would have, even if the player would have forgotten.

DM Aids:

Statistical Weather Patterns: Based on the presumed weather patterns expected of a city or region on a larger map (read, "climate"), the tool should be able to produce a weather schedule for the DM's use. For instance, if heavy rain is expected 60% of the time in May, and thunderstorms 15% of the time, the tool should be able to say what the weather will be like on a given day.

Personal Data: DMs should have their own private scratchpad where they can flesh things out before introducing them into any campaign..

Campaign Data: DMs should be able to create and modify campaign data.

NPC Repository: DMs should be able to store NPCs in a database, and automatically bring up the stats of an NPC based on a set of criteria. (e.g. "I want this arm-wrestling match to be tough, so I want to bring in a commoner with a strength score 14 or greater.")

NPC Generation: DMs should be able to generate NPCs quickly. More on this later.

Search time calculator: Given the search DCs for a room, and the check bonuses for the characters searching, minimum search times should be provided.

  • Map and location storage
  • Encounter & Reward generation

Notes for Maps and locations

  • Store spot and search checks (automatic?)
  • Store dimensions and locations of features
  • Features are stored internally as items (removable or not.)

Other aids:

  • Combat grid
  • (far off) AI combat encoding for NPCs

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D&D: Notes for a Web-Based Tool More

D&D: Notes for a Web-Based Tool

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  • I was with you from the start... designing the app wasn't much of a problem (I'm a web developer... J2EE specifically)... but the more you went on about it, the more it is a MUD without a lot of features (and adding a feature or two).

    One of the big reasons for this is its not really a 'web' based tool as much as a 'networked' tool. Chat sessions and stuff can be done with applets, but you have to realize that 'web' based systems are very stateful from only the client perspective.
    For example, if the DM w
    • No, I haven't tried NWN. For one thing, I don't have an Internet connection outside of work. (That may change once my computer is moved to my grandparent's house.) For another, I don't know if NWN would run under Linux, anyway.

      I really don't know much about it, apart from the items you've mentioned.
      • For another, I don't know if NWN would run under Linux, anyway.
        It does [bioware.com]
        • Actually, it doesn't. Well, to be precise, the DM tools do not run under Linux. You can run the client (to play the game) and the server (to host the game) but not the scenario editor. That is only available for Windows, partially because of the outside team that did that bit. It's the same story for the cutscenes, which were likewise outsourced. That's what you get for outsourcing! :P
    • One of the big reasons for this is its not really a 'web' based tool as much as a 'networked' tool. Chat sessions and stuff can be done with applets, but you have to realize that 'web' based systems are very stateful from only the client perspective.
      For example, if the DM wanted to give the player an item, the player wouldn't know about the item until they 'did something' (like reload the page).

      I thought about that. My solution would be to have a second page (an IFRAME?) that contains a hash of the chara
      • You can force pages to reload every 30 seconds, which is nice for people with giant bandwidths, but a pain for those that experience lag and those on dialups. Your best bet is a networked app, instead of a webapp.... or an applet, but the applet is a dying trend.
        • I wasn't thinking of reloading the whole page...just a small placeholder piece of code that checks for updates.

          Also, I want to keep as much cross-platform compatibility as possible. Java, perhaps? I've done some work in it. I'd probably want an applet that spawns a separate, manageable window.
    • I was with you from the start... designing the app wasn't much of a problem (I'm a web developer... J2EE specifically)... but the more you went on about it, the more it is a MUD without a lot of features (and adding a feature or two).

      I never did do much with MUDs. The closest I came was an old BBS game called Tele-Arena.

      How much does NwN cost, and what's gameplay like?
      • NwN isn't a mud... its a game (the 'sequel' to Baldur's Gate)... honestly, I've never bought it, but have a lot of friends that play it. The game itself knows all the newest edition of D&D rules in it. You don't have to worry about dice rolls or anything, you simply setup a campaign through a robust editor and your players (who each own the game) connect to it through the internet. Its fully graphical (much like the baldur's gate games). If you want a preview, I'd suggest searching for a demo, or bu
    • ...the more it is a MUD without a lot of features (and adding a feature or two).

      What features am I missing? :)

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