Extraordinary Gaming

This year is beginning with my first baby-steps into the world of online gaming. Having joined the Society of Extraordinary Gamers, I’ve been invited to GM some D&D… and I’m diving in head-first.

This new project is an extension of my focus on GMing D&D5e and continuing to develop the Ice-Rivan Realm for the Mykovnia setting. Using Smite Works’ Fantasy Grounds (which comes with 5e as a ruleset for free) and TeamSpeak, I’ll be working to bring a cool game to some different gamers.

Extraordinary Gamers?

I’d not heard of these guys until last weekend. Someone from the many G+ communities I use mentioned the Society (SXG) and, well, I decided to find out more.

Here’s an exerpt from their site:

We at SXG believe gaming is an art form, unique in it’s capacity to let us be a part of it. Whether it be on the tabletop, console or online, gaming excites an unquenched passion in us, and if you’ve found your way here then you no doubt feel the same way.

They’ve made transitioning to online gaming both easier and more exciting than I imagined. Certainly I’ve fiddled with Roll20 before… but these guys mean business… and they’ll help you to get your head around things at your own pace.

The only problem is that they didn’t have any European timezone GMs… until now. It’s my honour to be invited to join and offer some GMT action.

Ice-Rivan Realm

Today I sat down to complete the first draft of the “Player’s Guide” for the Ice-Rivan Realm. This contains the three house rules in play, some new Races for 5e, and several guidelines to help gamers get their heads around the setting. You can get a copy of the .PDF here: Ice-Rivan Realm Players Guide v1.0.

The real joy has been in realising that I have a real and growing passion for the setting that, whilst fun to play with the lads at school, begs to be played with more experienced gamers. To be honest, I feel like this is a very real opportunity to give something back to the hobby outside of my own home group.

It’s an honour.

Fantasy Grounds

It’s worth noting that this software is awesome. You can try it for free, using a generic game system, but it really is worth the money to buy a license. That said, I aim to upgrade to Ultimate in the coming weeks, meaning that any players who come to the game via SXG will not need to buy a license. This makes Fantasy Grounds really very flexible… and it’s powerful too.

Highlights for me so far? I’m loving the intuitive interface and the dedicated 5e ruleset. Oh, and the Dice Tower – it allows a player to roll a dice, but only the GM sees the result – which is great for stuff like Stealth checks and Investigation rolls.

What Next?

Well, I need to recruit some more players. There are a couple of slots left (at the time of writing), so why not pop along and join SXG… and then enroll for the game? It’d be great to have you. And, while you do that, I’ll get on with the prep.

Game on!