I've seen a lot of forums address this kind of question before, but none have been exactly to my... specifications. So I'm wondering, who would like to play some dark heresy over an instant-messaging thing, such as AIM. Thx

I've done it before, works well most of the time. I would be interested depending on time.

I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

From experience I can recommend the IRC . You can easily change nicks there, it automatically does a textfile log of the session and it's easy to program a dicebot to do all the rolls for you. Not to mention that you can also run several channels simultaneously, keeping OOC out of the actual game room.

For long distant rps I've usually either done them over Skype (Vent or the like), or a PbP... never tried a direct chat. Depending on the times you guys would be getting together to do it I would be interested.

As per most people, depending on the time, I'd be in.

I enjoy running games in instant chat. Aim is fine, you can save the files and plenty of people have it. I also know of an online dice roller and drawing program.

Aim Name: akitsune002, just send me a message and tell me were your coming from.

I wouldn't mind playing over IRC, seeing as I don't have AIM... but I guess it wouldn't be too hard to get!

Not really, create account and download program.

There, done- [email protected]

khorneflake said:

I have used google wave for a game in the past. It is a very easy to grasp program and you can add a dice mod to it to make rolls legit.

Hmm... What about msn?

From my experience Skype usually works best because you have the normal text chat capability, voice chat and its usually the easiest (from my dealings anyways) to do a video chat with.

Have you guys looked into MapTool ?

I've used it a lot in LFR (D&D) games, and it's a really great program. There is a very large player base. It allows you to see a tactical map, move your character on the map, do dice rolls, and chat (though Skype/Ventrilo/TeamSpeak is what I'd recommend instead... I've used all 3 at different times).

There is also a toolset you can add to it specifically for Dark Heresy that does all your die rolls and includes a Char Sheet.

My experience with online games:

They tend to run slower than in-person games. Keep the group small. I'm actually running a solo campaign right now, and that seems to work perfectly. When players at a gathering are waiting on something, they snack, talk to other players, read the rulebooks, etc. When people online are waiting for a GM or another player to do/say something, they surf the net, read a book, and otherwise disengage from the game. Which means they have to spend extra time to re-engage when they need to do something, which means OTHER players tend to disengage...

As for programs. I dislike IRC. It's true you can change your nick and do die rolls, but just the way the text is laid out can make it a bit hard to follow. Maptools is fun to play around with, but again, players tend to disengage while you're fiddling with it. For me, the best way I've found is Skype: use voice chat as OOC, text chat as IC. Keeps them engaged and you can still run separate windows if needed. THe only problem is dice. Myself, I just do all the rolling with real dice at my computer. I've never found virtual dice that satisfy me. And for the love of all that is holy, stay AWAY from Maptools dice. 1, 1, 1, 100, 1, 100, 100...I wish I was kidding.

Galth said:

That's true, though I've made good experience with groups between 3 and 5 people. Still takes ages - not even because players (necessarily) "disconnect" from the game, but because it takes more time to write something nice than to say it. Many players are generally more careful about their emotes and chat because they feel they have to try to adhere to some sort of standard in how their lines are worded.

We've also recently decided that Fate Points won't refresh every session but rather every 2nd session because the slower progress means that players get into less situations to actually use them.

Galth said:

Hmm... I've never seen anything like this. As mentioned, there is actually a rather big community that uses Maptools (probably bigger than the DH community in all fairness) and I haven't seen any complaints about this. I've used it myself many times as well (both as a judge and as a player). For RPGs that use a tactical map it seems like MapTools is what the RPG community is converging on.

But if you don't use a map in your combats, then you don't need Maptools.

Of course, for me I find that even in very story-driven RPGs (like White Wolf's Werewolf game) combats are just more engaging if you can see where everything is around you, and can make use of positioning, cover, etc... (especially in DH if your group is fond of Pinning and using blasts). In the DH Play-by-Post games I've seen on GitP tactical maps are inevitably used for combats.