Author: Ted

ChatRPG

Posted on by Ted

Given our busy lifestyle of homework and more homework, we wanted to create a tool that could help us play DND, HarmoniousWorld, and other role-playing games remotely so we could do a quick game with friends after all our work was done.  After trying to figure out how to use other chat rooms we decided to build our own,  ChatRPG. 

ChatRPG has two goals, one is to create a shared space with tools that help people can chat and play RPGs. The most important tool is the dice roller. When playing remoting making sure the tools are fair and easy can be hard. With ChatRPG, you can give a command, and the bot rolls for you, and everyone can see what is rolled.  The second tool is a search capability that can give you all the spells and monsters at your figure tips.

As we used ChatRPG we started to want it to have a personality and interact with the players. That is when we added the ability to respond to users in a naturalistic manner.  Take it for a spin now but give it time to load, we are running on slow servers 🙁 

We are doing a soft launch now but plan on open-sourcing all the code and detailed instructions on how you can build your own ChatRPG too!

 

Land and Space

Posted on by Ted

HarmoniousWorlds example play with star trek shipsWhen creating worlds we found it was fun to have different rules for land and space (or land and sea) because it felt different to be in a spaceship than on land.

You have to be careful when making HarmoniousWorld.com cards for both space and land because they are different.  When you are in space (or sea) your characters are on a ship so the card must reflex this.  Another difference is that in space battles you use the ship’s power as well as the character’s abilities to fight and on land, you use your character’s strength, weapons, and abilities.  So it is important now to mix up the cards between land and space.  Here are some example cards for land and space

  Land cards Space cards difference
Items/Supplies Heal + 1 each turn Repair 1 hull each turn Because you are in a space ship you repair the ship
Treasure Glowing gem 1D4 2< cursed else causes villains to flee  NA No treasures in space.
Quest/Mission Repair Civilization 10 spaces 20 gold Set up space station 10 spaces 20 gold There are no space station on land
Event/Situations Strange creature if communicate 1D12 5< shows next two cards else attacks Robot if communicate 1D12 8< shows next two cards else attacks There are no robots on land
Anomaly  NA Blackhole 1D20 12< moves you 1D12 spaces There are anomalies on land
Trap/Hazard Mines! to avoid 1D12 damage Asteroids! to avoid 1D12 damage There are no asteroids on land

HarmoniousWorlds using figures from Star wars mixed with star trekTry to make even the smallest detail reinforce that the players are in one environment other than another, For Example, in space, you are allowed to have more characters and pets because there is more room in the spaceship. Because players can carry lots of other NPC you can make pets that are more common in space and the sea.

To make it easier to find cards, you can make land and space cards of different shapes. Like land tiles square and make space tiles a hexagon.

Some cards don’t change like clues, treasures, and civilization. They are the same in both land and space but most cards are different. You also roll the same dice.

May the dice be in your favor.