Questions for Sark

[Mr Sark 227]

Sark, not game related, but why no Nerd Poker panel at Comic Con this year? It seems a natural fit with your audience and at least a couple of the crew were there anyway... keep it in mind for next year.

 

Got some catch up to do in here... We don't see any behind-thescenes stats for the show, and there isn't money in it for us (yet) so we don't really have much of a barometer for who's listening and how many of you there are. I think the crew would make for a pretty entertaining panel imo. Maybe next year?

 

I was there this year for work-work, and met several Nerd Poker fans, which was cool!

[Mr Sark 227]

Hey there, Sark.

 

I'm a few episodes back so you might have already said or done something about this but are you and your players adding in the weapon proficiency bonus to your attack rolls?

 

They are on page 218 of the first PHB.

We weren't until Sarah fed everyone's character info into the Wizards-of-the-Coast-AI-Skynet-Master-Control-Thinking-Machine and printed out fully fleshed out character sheets. We're currently shifting back to our mangled version of AD&D 2nd ed., as we are more familiar with it, it is more podcast-friendly (imo), and the books smell better

[Mr Sark 227]

Sark, you have mentioned before that you that are thinking about releasing your notes and ideas for this world once the group has traveled far enough from the situations. Also you said that in the first episode the groups first few moves went in a complete different direction then you were planing. Are we far enough from that first episode for you to release what you had in mind for them or is there information there that still somehow linked to what they are currently doing?

Side note, after listening to you guys I was really interested in playing and turns out my neighbors are big D&D players so two weeks ago I played my first game of D&D (well technicaly pathfinder) and it was great! I can't wait to play again!! Thank you to you and the whole group for working this podcast into your busy schedules for us!

 

Yeah we are definitely far enough out that we could look back at paths not taken. The only catch is time (as I answer your question 2mo later). I'm only able to spend enough time during the week to keep a couple options open for the adventurers, and plot out courses for unexpected decisions. Hopefully sometime we can expand the show a bit with some of this side episodes! Grats on your new game!

[Mr Sark 227]

i'm gonna out myself as a person who's pretty clueless on the rules of D&D, but i had question about rolls. with the 2e system of rolling under, how to botches work ? isn't rolling a one a really good thing now? or is that for only certain kinds of checks? sorry if its a dumb noob question i'm just a little confused cause it seemed like a rule you guys had been doing for awhile and not 4e specific

Your take on our silly rules is right, if we really wanted to keep botches as they are in 2nd, it would be 1's on attack, 20's on stat checks (sort of).

 

Or 2nd edition take is a bit different, more forgiving actually. Back in the day we only applied botches to attack rolls in 2nd which are still lowest = worst, highest = best (double damage even for us!). But 4th's stat checks allowed for so many more entertaining botches we just kept it. When we switch back it'll just be botches on attack, and if someone really over-rolls a stat check I'll just describe it a bit more dramatically.

[Mr Sark 227]

My question goes back to the beginning, so we may be over this, but: how did the gang survive the 'cruise ship'? Mildred was ok, because she was in a barrel, but why were the guys unharmed, but tied up? If they have no use for them, why would they allow them to live? It's not as if they weren't noticed; their weapons are gone, and they're tied up. I know there are guys working with the collectors, and they didn't seem to be zombie-ish, but if the plan was to convert them some how, why are they just tossed aside and left alone?

I was sure this entire Collector sequence would have been concluded weeks & weeks ago, but it keeps going like the Energizer Campaign. Only recently has the party discovered that The Necromancer's forces have a use for male subjects other than deck-hands. The hooked-up-to-tubes-and-have-your-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-into-the-XXXXXXXX is the fate that the party dodged early on. PLUS in order to start the game there was some deus ex machina employed to get the group together too

[Mr Sark 227]

I'm curious what you had planned if the group hadn't jumped off the ship and into the water. Did you make up the underwater people with the diving bells on the spot or was the group destined to meet them one way or another? If they hadn't jumped off the ship, would they have just crashed into the place where they found sparklett?

 

Thanks a lot for this awesome show. I really love listening each week.

Glad you're digging the show! There are exciting possibilities that I hope you'll be hearing soon.

 

The major forks in the road are pretty easy to spot and I try to have at least a plan or two in either direction. Sometimes this is just an idea, other time it is complete with maps and NPC's. The hardest thing to deal with is a player's decision that creates a major fork in the road. The time you are mentioning was pretty mapped out. I was almost positive that the team would get into trouble and need to *abandon ship. Because they are my friends. So I had a loose idea of a stow-away / locked-in-the-brig situation in the event that they stayed on the ship, and a much more detailed plan surrounding the castaways and the Collector outpost. I'm not too big on corralling the party to keep them on point which leads to unexpected adventures as well as aimless wandering if I'M not on point (like the last few weeks of Elevators & Dragons).

 

*I didn't plan on them damaging the Dreadnought so bad that it would have to jump to avoid sinking though...

[Mr Sark 227]

Sark looks like Soren Bowie's older brother!

Had never seen the dude before, but I'm definitely using his name in a campaign at some point.

[Mr Sark 227]

Is Stargoyle indestructable?

No, but he'd be a real pain to make go away if for some insane reason you weren't in love with him.

[Mr Sark 227]

Sark, where can I send a gift for you folks? Knowing any/all of your fave colors would help, but its it necessary, I suppose.

Not going to lie, I have no idea. People have obviously sent stuff through to us, but I don't know if that's to some PO Box in Koreatown somewhere, or if it's to the Earwolf offices directly. I'll ask tonight, we're recording a couple episode!

 

I can tell you my favorite color is the blue you see in glacier ice.

[Mr Sark 227]

Sorry if someone asked this before but have you checked out the D&D Next stuff? It seems like it hearkens back to 2nd edition with cantrips and stuff and has some 4th ed fighting rules in it stil. I think it's still in beta but you can get all the documentation from wizards online for free. It might be worth looking into, I'm gonna take a crack at it!

I've just been reading updates about it, I haven't jumped into the Beta. I don't actually hate 4th, I just think with the time constraints on our group, and the limitations of playing in a studio, it isn't the best version for us. Excited to see what the next iteration of D&D looks like!

[Mr Sark 227]

Do you still have your earliest D&D items, like old Basic box sets and campaigns, the original Monster's Manual and the like?

Just curious on how far back you roll (literally)...

I remember Sark saying he had to frequently relinquish all of his worldly possessions (including role-playing books) due to frequent family moves– that was why finding his own old Top Secret S.I. books on ebay was such a big deal for him (and so creepy to Brian.)

Sparklett fielded this one nicely. I have reacquired most of my books going back to 1st edition, which I never played, I just pored over the books. The only original I have (courtesy of The Devil) is my Top Secret S.I. box. I DO however have the same Lord of the Rings paperbacks that I read over and over starting in 4th grade. Complete with pencil graphs and color tests so that I could draw my own poster-sized versions of the maps.

[Silly Lacy 102]

 

Not going to lie, I have no idea. People have obviously sent stuff through to us, but I don't know if that's to some PO Box in Koreatown somewhere, or if it's to the Earwolf offices directly. I'll ask tonight, we're recording a couple episode!

 

I can tell you my favorite color is the blue you see in glacier ice.

 

Go to the contact us page on the Earwolf site. There's a PO box address listed.

[Mr Sark 227]

I have played D&D literally one time, but I'd like to play more and in the event of no one stepping up to DM, I want to be able to do it. So my question is this: What does it take to become a DM? What trials and tribulations do you have for those who want to try? You seem to be really knowledgeable about the whole process and, maybe most importantly, you're FLEXIBLE. You really know how to roll with the punches and still make it fun for most, if not, everyone. How do you do it?

You should have ideas for settings and situations that the idea of sharing with your friends gets you excited. Then you should pick a game that generally aligns with some of your ideas and will hopefully stimulate MORE insanity. Learn as many of the rules as possible so you get an idea of what the authors intended, then tweak them until you feel comfortable playing with them. Maybe a lot, maybe none! Just remember that there is structure required for the game to work, but it shouldn't be a pain. This is why tabletop RPG's are so awesome. They are like Lego sets with pictures on the box of recommended builds, but they're YOUR Legos, you can do whatever the eff you want with them.

[Mr Sark 227]

when are you gonna do a big information dump on shit they completely ran past? ive been relistening to the whole set and there's some pretty interesting stuff i'd like to see addressed.

When I set aside the time is the short answer. I do really want to do this though. I'm the problem-child in the group when it comes to scheduling and to be honest I'm surprised I've been able to continue with the podcast this long. I tried promising my landlord imaginary unimaginable wealth, but he didn't go for it. The miser.

[CaleHensley 12]

When I set aside the time is the short answer. I do really want to do this though. I'm the problem-child in the group when it comes to scheduling and to be honest I'm surprised I've been able to continue with the podcast this long. I tried promising my landlord imaginary unimaginable wealth, but he didn't go for it. The miser.

 

hah. You're a funny dude. Keep up the good work. And it's very good of you to answer the fans, even if it takes a while.

[Jakabird 5]

 

I DO however have the same Lord of the Rings paperbacks that I read over and over starting in 4th grade. Complete with pencil graphs and color tests so that I could draw my own poster-sized versions of the maps.

 

...just when I thought Mr. Sark couldn't get any sexier!

[Steak 3]

Hey Sark,

 

You say that you guys dont make any money off the podcast. Other than donations, is there some way we can help come up with other ways to bring in cash?

 

Sell some Nerd Poker D20s? More shirts? Signed pictures?

[RobotsPJs 123]

Hey Sark,

 

You say that you guys dont make any money off the podcast. Other than donations, is there some way we can help come up with other ways to bring in cash?

 

Sell some Nerd Poker D20s? More shirts? Signed pictures?

 

I'd buy the crap out of Nerd Poker branded D20s. It might be easier to make Nerd Poker dice bags though.

[jwcrummett 35]

You know the Freakonomics podcast is having a fundraising campaign where they will fly one winner to their studio to hang out with, get lunch, and watch the recording of the podcast. And you know all of us would be cool with just fast food for lunch...

[Effigy_Power 47]

And you know all of us would be cool with just fast food for lunch...

 

I'll call your fast food and raise you a peanut butter sandwich and the rest from the coffee maker.

[Bad Wizard 39]

mmmm old coffee

[Bad Wizard 39]

Wait if there is a contest and i will do i get the airfare differance cause i live in LA?

Or because i work for an airline?

[Silly Lacy 102]

Die Hard is on TV right now, and I notice that Bruce Willis doesn't do a very good Sark impression.

[Bad Wizard 39]

Die Hard is on TV right now, and I notice that Bruce Willis doesn't do a very good Sark impression.

 

Brilliant

[BonkersBananas 62]

Joined the forums for HDTGM? and I find myself reading more posts from this Earwolf sub-forum than there. This podcast is hands down amazing, thanks Sark and company for making just listening to a DND game fun.