rpg – Page 2 – Ms. Bella's World

2–3 minutes

I love trying out many different games, and my Steam library is populated by numerous RPGs and survival games. Yet, amongst those are a handful of programs that I find fun or useful. One of those programs is RPG Stories by Brave Alice Games.

This program is a Virtual Tabletop (VTT) 3D worldbuilder created to allow you, the GM, to create settings for your fantasy, horror, or Sci-Fi TTRPG. It features tools and models to build whatever you want.

Do you need a haunted forest with an abandoned witch’s shack in the middle? You can make that. Want to create a town with a large inn for your adventurers to congregate and plan their next adventure? Go for it. Need a far-future sci-fi setting for your gritty war adventures? You can do that too.

The program, despite being early access, already has an array of models and building places to choose from. You can place them where you want, scale them to fit, mix them with other pieces. There’s also a wide variety of clutter pieces, from tables and chairs to small bric-a-brac to populate shelves and more. And if the program doesn’t have quite what you’re looking for, the community may have it as there’s an active workshop where people add creations, some of them impressive in their own right.

Beyond the building itself, you can import a 2D map of a campaign setting and use it as a template to create the 3D version.

I’ve tinkered with it, creating a large inn, and the controls were easy to use once I figured out what they were. Once I’m a bit more comfortable with the controls, I’ll even do a couple of quick videos showcasing what can be done with the building features.

Now, a 3D setting is nice, but what good is it if you can’t let your players play in it? Well, you can do that too, if you own the GM version and your players own the player version. The initial outlay for the GM will be $35.98 USD + tax on Steam, while each player copy will cost $18.99 USD + tax on Steam. So, while it’s not the cheapest, it’s not super expensive and doesn’t require monthly subscriptions.

With that, you can use the tools available to add mobs to for your players to fight, interactable objects, and even fog of war so nothing gets spoiled before players get to an area. I’m sure there’s a lot more to this, but I’ve not gotten that far yet.

And, currently, they’re running a Kickstarter for an expansion called VTT Expansion: The Wrath of Devs, which will add procedurally generated scenes, VTT exports, pre-built quests, and more. Depending on if you own the game or not, you can elect to fund just the expansion ($25.00 USD), buy a player version along with funding the expansion ($49.00 USD), buy the GM version + fund the expansion ($73.00 USD), and more.

With the developer’s dedication to constantly updating and adding to this program, I’d say it has potential to be a solid Virtual tabletop for most of your gaming needs. I highly recommend heading over to Steam to check out the demo and see if it meets your gaming needs.

Until next time, bye for now!

3–4 minutes

In the age of digital adventures, we’d be remiss to forget the roots of computer role-playing games (cRPGs). The concept of intricate tales, fantastic characters, and epic quests was born around a table, where pen, paper, and imagination flowed. Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) served as the blueprints which cRPGs were built on—spurred by the desire to bring the magic of shared storytelling to the digital realm. As we delve into the world of cRPGs, it’s a journey that pays homage to the enduring legacy of tabletop gaming and those early dice rolls and collaborative tales spun in the company of friends.

So, as a big fan of cRPGs, it should come as little surprise that I’ve found myself enthralled with the idea of tabletop games. My earliest recollection of their existence was the short-lived cartoon, Dungeons & Dragons. While I recall very little of the plot now, as that was some 40 years ago, I do remember it being something fun to watch.

Of course, that was also the era where parents thought that D&D was some sort of introduction into satanism, not helped by several high profile cases that were attributed in some way to the popularity of the game. Most of those were inaccurately reported, but the damage was done. I am surprised I was allowed to watch the cartoon at all, but I knew that I’d never be permitted to play the game.

And, as a quiet child with a small set of friends who weren’t interested in D&D, I sat on the sidelines as the guys in my age group played more warlike TTRPGs, mainly BattleTech. It was fun to watch but I just wasn’t into the idea of playing it. Besides, I was already into video games by then, with one of the more memorable being the series, King’s Quest. Fun times!

It wasn’t until I was 30 that’d I got my first experience with 3^rd edition D&D. My partner had met some people who were running a table and he was invited to play. He mentioned me and they suggested I come try it out too. Despite my excitement, it was quickly apparent that it wasn’t a good fit. I was much quieter than the rest of the group and rather insecure at the time. After a couple of sessions of fumbling, not knowing what to do, and feeling rather stupid, I elected not to go back.

After that less than stellar introduction to the game, I went back to watching from a distance. I kept my eye on the hobby, watched the progression to 3.5, then 4e, and quickly to 5e when 4e was much less popular than Wizards of the Coast wanted. By the time another opportunity arose for me to join a group, I was already enthralled in what would become my favorite game of all time – LOTRO.

Now, after all of these years, I find myself looking at tabletop gaming again. In some small way, I have WotC to thank for that. Or, at least the negative press they garnered after their proposed changes to the licensing agreement – the OGL – infuriated the TTRPG community. Through the various videos on the topic, I’ve discovered interesting channels and people who are – gasp – playing 1e D&D still, as well as other games such as Pathfinder, Castles & Crusades, and Gamma World. Channels such as The Dungeon Delver and Roll of Law have made the concept of tabletop gaming seem less daunting. And the games I’ve watched are brimming with imagination, heart, and a real chance of player characters (PCs) to die.

That, to me, sounds a lot more exciting than playing a superhero-type character who can shake anything off!

But, with a plethora of computer games at my fingertips, why would I want or need to play another type of game? What are the differences between cRPGs and TTRPGs that make each so fascinating?

We’ll take a look at some of them … next time.

Until then, bye for now!

Tag: rpg

Inside the Game – RPG Stories: a VTTRPG Worldbuilder

From Pixels to Paper: A Gamer’s Exploration of TTRPGs