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So does OpenRPG, and it's Open Source and system agnostic.

I always wanted to try this, but never had a chance to.

Seems like an ideal solutions to your problem tho:
http://www.openrpg.com/

Heres the short featurelist:
Miniature Map: Simulate combat with a layered, web base, miniature map. Load any image off the web! Map features include: hex or square adjustable overlay grid, background images, z-order, facing, labels, free hand drawing, tape measure, and more.

Game Tree: A highly customizable data organizer that allows for the creating of custom made characters sheets and GM aids. A plug in architecture that allows for openrpg add-ons!

Chat: A full featured chat system that allows embed HTML. Embed color, tables, images, and links!

Die Engine:A full feature die engine that contains many of the common die roll options and a plug in architecture that allows for the development of game specific rollers.

Game Servers: Run your own dedicated game server.

This doesnt help you with voice and video, but I'd suppose ekiga/netmeeting etc. could solve that.

Here's a list of all the virtual tabletops I know of
http://gametable.galactanet.com/
http://rptools.net/doku.php?id=maptool:intro
http://trisrpg.bronzeforge.com/index.htm
http://users3.ev1.net/~mem5000/
http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/index.html
http://www.codemonkeypublishing.com/index.php?modu le=htmlpages&func=display&pid=21
http://www.enworld.org/RolePlayingMaster/
http://www.fantasygrounds.com/
http://www.geocities.com/trainz_ca/ID/
http://www.ghostorb.com/
http://www.kloogeinc.com/
http://www.nbos.com/products/screenmonkey/screenmo nkey.htm
http://www.openrpg.com/
http://www.opnpw.com/
http://www.tabletopmapper.hpg.ig.com.br/
http://www.travellerrpg.com/Catalog/software.html
http://www.triaxe.co.uk/dnd/index.php?page=Online% 20Chat
http://www.viewing.ltd.uk/viewingdale/index.htm
http://www.webrpg.com/gamesystem/

http://www.openrpg.com/ - wx?Python based online virtual tabletop.

There are several ways to go, but for my money, the best product is FantasyGrounds.

Fantasy Grounds is a "virtual tabletop" complete with d20 rules, character sheets, dice, a chat window, the ability to share images with your players, and to mask/unmask maps as your party progresses.

The current version is 1.05, but a major revamp has been in the works all year, with a version 2.0 due out "soon". Speaking of GenCon - the SmiteWorks guys (who make FantasyGrounds) will be sharing a booth with the guys from Code Monkey Publishing (makers of the E-Tools software for character creation).

Other tools to look at include OpenRPG and Klooge.

I'm not, personally, a fan of those, but everyone has their preferences.

Also, to aid in communication, I strongly suggest running a TeamSpeak server, so you can actually talk to your fellow players, instead of typing everything manually.

There's a open source tool called OpenRPG, similar to IRC but with a map window and gametree for pre typed content and dice rolling script.
http://www.openrpg.com/
Maybe you cannot get 5 people in a room together at the same time, but usually you can get 5 people across the world to show up, minus the pizza and cheetos.

"OpenRPG is an Internet application that allows people to play Role Playing Games in real-time over the Internet. OpenRPG is free, open source, software, distributed under GNU/GPL license."

http://www.openrpg.com/

My friends and I hoped that DDO would allow us to relive our D&D pen and paper days, but as others mentioned, DDO falls far short of that. We did however search the net and found a couple of programs that did a better job of it.

My personal favorite is Fantasy Grounds (http://www.fantasygrounds.com/, which mimics a table top with dice and such. There's no real automation in it, but if you know XML you can customize the rulesets and such.

There are a few others, Klooge (http://www.kloogeinc.com/) is a bit more complex, but you can tweak the heck out of it if you know what you're doing. OpenRPG (http://www.openrpg.com/) is another one.

To each their own, but these programs (combined with voice comms) can really help ya relive the tabletop experience if your friends are long distance like mine.

H

• GRiP.
• ScreenMonkey.
• Fantasy Grounds. Excellent graphics, but mostly just for D20.
• KloogeWerks. Java-based, with lots of neat features.
• OpenRPG. My favorite -- it runs on Linux and is open source!

The things that make D&D attractive are exactly the things that cannot be recaptured in a video game. I'd rather just stick with OpenRPG and the normal pen and paper D&D.

The new D&D online just looks like Guild Wars to me. If I wanted to play Guild Wars, I'd have been doing that already.

If only OpenRPG didn't crash so much when you run it on macs...

Or you could look at programs such as OpenRPG http://www.openrpg.com/ or WebRPG http://www.webrpg.com/ which allow you to PnP games online through a virtual tabletop.

You're right, rules lawyering sucks the life out of a game. The fact that they are given 15 minutes to argue about this or that rule is not, however, their fault (alright, it is, because the are morons, but whatever, the world is full of them, so deal.) -- rather the DM that either allows them to continue on that way, or that takes their bait and does the arguing him or herself is at fault. it is the DMs job to run the game. That doesn't just mean that have to prepare some adventure (although some of my best games have been spontaneous), but that they need to run something fun. Who is having fun when there is an argument going on? just the one rules lawyer who is masturbating over his or her great success, I suppose. When I DM, Rule #1 is the DM is always right. I don't care how wrong I am, I'm right so that the game can go on. people grumble occassionally, and I'll verify the rules (or justify my choice) AFTER the game to whomever wants to discuss it, but usually by then they have cooled down or simply forgotten, and we can all get on with our lives.

Also, mod me informative:
openrpg for online roleplaying!

And mod me +5 is a DM AND plays online, but isn't a virgin. :-P

You might try OpenRPG, designed specifically for this sort of thing. Written in Python, completely open source, and has plugins for a multitude of pnp systems from your standard DnD to Shadowrun, Storyteller, GURPS, etc.

http://www.openrpg.com/

Not super pretty, but very functional. A bit like an IRC client with a GUI map capability.

If you already have a group of players, this product is great.

OpenRPG does this, and it's been around for a lot longer than a year. I know for a fact that it had this feature at least 18 months ago. I notice the patent was filed December 2002.

The premiere free-form online pen-and-paper style role playing tool, OpenRPG is written in Python.

You are reading too much into it. Games Workshop hasn't shown itself to be very tolerant or considerate a company IMO, but they are primarily alone on this. TSR (now under Wizards of the Coast) hasn't pulled anything like this, instead they have made going to your local gaming store a value-added experience. Buy a copy of the Epic Level Handbook, get a free set of "Jester Dice," a magical item featured in the book. Buy a copy of d20 Modern and get a free patch of the Knights of the Silver Dragon. I got that sewn on my RPGA T-Shirt. And tell me how the internet is the enemy of roleplaying when it brings together more people. RPGs used to have to spread via word of mouth and the once-in-awhile friend who played. Nowadays I can go and get OpenRPG (OpenRPG's site) and find some people to play nearly anything. Or the MSN group for Continuum by AetherCo (The Yet its called).

The internet has done nothing but help bring roleplayers together. This just encourages more purchases.

As for miniature gamers: Miniatures for RPGs was always a bite of a niche market anyways, miniatures for wargames are nearly garunteed. I've only seen one decent representation of a miniature wargame so the miniature gamers pretty much are stuck in the real world as it stands.

If you want to use your imagination instead of looking at the pretty pictures may I suggest you try OpenRPG.
Its a tool for playing your old fashioned P&P rpgs and tabletop miniature games over the internet. Its pretty much a virtual gaming table without the chips and soda.

OpenRPG is available for Linux and Windows and there is a java version available for Macs and people who don't like Python. It's GPL'd, already at V1.0.3 (out of beta) and actively being developed.

I don't know too many people that play traditional RPGs since everquest and UO came out. Do any folks still get around and play D&D? If not why dont' you? Is it because of time getting people together and whatnot. If so this could be the answer for you.

So perhapse the challenge is finding a good group as much as the time to play?

One of the reasons I am interested in NWN is the possibility of getting togeather some of the old gaming group (who mostly have net access, even if they are widely seperated by geography). This could provide an interesting way to play some of the old campaigns.

Of course, I am also working with OpenRPG. OpenRPG is kind of like a digital kitchen table. It provides a gathering place to talk, space for your character sheets and other gaming materials, and a map to place "miniatures". The game itself is up to the players. With this environment, I've played D&D, Star Wars, and even Chess.

I would say the "dice & paper" rpg is far from dead. And perhapse the internet can even help those who don't have a local group. All it takes is the right tools.

As an old Dungeons & Dragons fan, I find CyberCon more interesting - a virtual RPG game convention, played on "virtual desktops", such as the python written openrpg.

Nice...

I have tried the openrpg program, and it works really well. My old gaming group is scattered across Europe, but now we are getting back together online. Still dont know if we can re-capture the old feel, but it's worth a shot.

The correct address for OpenRPG is http://www.openrpg.com, not openrpg.org. In any event, OpenRPG is a generalized Roleplaying system, not something specially tailored to D&D 3e, so its capacities for D&D3e are less than what MT possibly would have had.

OpenRPG

Open source role playing application - I believe it's written in Python and can run on both Windows and Linux platforms. Offers dice rollers, maps, minature battles, adventure building, chatting, etc. ... I haven't used it yet, but it seems to work for others and I am planning to give it a try soon ...

How about www.openrpg.com? The screenshots look pretty cool.


-- juju

How about www.openrpg.com? The screenshots look pretty cool.


-- juju

And people like to pretend, probably because they enjoy porn and violence, that it doesn't harm people, but anyone who can seriously believe this is quite frankly mad.

I've had access to erotica and pornography for quite some time. Granted - back in MY day, we didn't have this fancy-smancy internet to click-click for porn. We had to sneak MAGAZINES. But later I got into the BBS scene and eventually stumbled on content of a more adult nature than computer discussions and game software. It doesn't hold a candle to today's high quality stills and Divx movie caps... but it was something for its time.

Nudity and sex wasn't the only thing I managed to find. I made a fair collection of bomb making information. It ranged from the idiotic to some rather interesting and complex formulas. But it was all forbidden knowledge and I had a regular arsenal of it.

I also played video games. Lots of them. Days lost at the local arcade. I played computer games. Lots of those. What the game lacked in visual carnage, I made up in gleefull attempts to rack up more kills.

I played role playing games - lots of those, too. And the grand-daddy of them was Dungeons and Dragons. My grandparents sent concerned letters to my parents chock full of literature from their church warning of the psychopath I was becoming by being exposed to such filth. My parents were concerned. I rolled my eyes and played away.

I had an interest in "gun games". Despite my parent's best attempts to wean me away from any interest in guns... I still found them interesting. I played war games. I organized games of Assasin at my high school. Photon was simply amazing.

I was also a target for ridicule in high school. And I was none too happy with my experience there.

All this has not caused me to lash out in violence of any sort.

Today, I still watch porn (occasionally with my wife). I play video games - to include the violent FPS games that are so popular. I play online RPGs. I play dice-and-paper RPGs. I do both (openrpg.com). I play paintball. I find firearms facinating... though I don't own any.

I am now a husband, a father, and a career professional. I've served in the US military, and I'm a stable citizen in civilian life.

I failed to blow up anything or go on a shooting spree. I forget to treat women as sexual objects. You'll have to forgive me if I've failed to live up to my "conditioning".

People do destructive things. I've known a few in my life. But the vice is often just a symptom of a greater problem.