|
|
|
WELCOME TO RPGTONIGHT.COM!
RPGtonight is a free online "virtual tabletop" site that has everything you need to play pen and paper style role playing games on the internet with anyone anywhere in the world. It is not specific to any system - you can use it for virtually any type of tabletop style roleplaying game. Our features include die rollers, a display for maps and other images, map hide and reveal features ("fog of war") moveable miniatures (thumbnail images), sound effects, text chat, voice chat, customizable character sheets, a growing collection of maps, miniatures, and sounds, and online storage for your own images and sounds. There is nothing to download, you just sign on with your fellow gamers and play in your browser window. There is not, and never will be, any fee charged to individuals or non commercial entities to run their own games on this site. 
Try it out! See the links to instructions and game room creation under "Chat Style RPGs" in the left column. You must sign up to create a game room - click on "Signup form" near the top of the left column, under "Town Square." If you want to play a game, sign up and then check out the "players seeking games" and "GM seeking players" links. Don't be afraid to write a post of your own. If you have questions and suggestions about the virtual tabletop and its operation, or want to discuss the site, your game, or anything else game related with other players or Admins, please check out the Forums via the "text bulletin board" link to the left. Some people post more info about games they are seeking players for too. You can email us at: admin@rpgtonight.com ANNOUNCEMENTS 3/5/10: CALL FOR GMs FOR LIVING GAME PLAYTESTING We still need at least 5 more GMs for a full test of the online Living Game. Players, too, the more the merrier, but our main need is more GMs. This game will be run differently from most living games. Firstly, GMs within the game will each be representing a certain noble family of faction within or near the town of Mormont in the Kingdom of Valterra. GMs will be playing the game too, in a certain way, attempting to increase their own faction's power and wealth through the actions of player characters. Secondly, the game will eventually be run in such a way that multiple parties of players run by multiple GMs can interact with one another in real time during the game if they happen upon each other, or go to common areas like the inn. However at first that will not be the case. All GMs will run their sessions separately as they normally do. We would like to schedule most test sessions on Saturday nights for various reasons, probably between 8PM and ? eastern time, with Wednesday nights tentatively set as a second day, but there is some flexibility there depending on the situation. There are links to some more explanatory material and background on the game world in the next paragraph.including a new map. We have also started a Living Game Playtests section in the Forums which will be expanded with more information as time goes on. Players and GM's instructions will be sent out shortly to those interested. To express interest or ask questions please either email us at admin@rpgtonight.com or better yet post in the Living Game Playtests section in the Forums. LIVING GAME INFO LINKS: We have a FAQ page that explains many things about the planned Living Game. You can read it here. You can view a low res map of the kingdom of Valterra here (779 X 1024 pixels), or a high res version here (1557 X 2047 pixels), and read a bit about its history here and its geography here. There is also a map of the region around the town of Mormont here and of the town itself here. These maps and information will eventually be put into a section devoted the Living Game linked from the left column. More and more sections of the Mormont town map are showing up in the onsite maps page, so you might want to check those out too. ARTWORK: Right now we are looking for artists to draw black and white line drawing portraits of 15 major NPCs for the living game and some simple heraldry for 12 major noble houses plus the kingdom itself. If you would like us to have a look at your work please send links and info to admin@rpgtonight.com Please tell us your rates for such things too. SATURDAY NIGHT BEGINNER'S GAMES/SATURDAY NIGHT RUMBLE On Saturday nights, from 8PM US Eastern Time (1AM GMT) to around midnight we hold 4e games designed to introduce beginners to tabletop RPGs. We have been running these since November and they have been well received. There is room for up to eight people in each session. Preference is given to those who are new to tabletop style play or new to 4e. Players must create a first level character, with certain restrictions, and have them approved before the game starts. People are here to help with the character creation process if you are unfamiliar with it. Each player gets to play in two sessions on different weekends. You can play in more if all the slots are not filled in subsequent sessions. The adventure is centered around the town of Mormont in the living game world, and players are the first to see some of the lore and background that we've devised for the living game. There is a thread titled "Saturday Night Beginner's Games" within the "Games/GMs/Players Wanted" section of the Forums where you can join, ask questions, and get up to date info. If these sessions become more popular we will probably need more GMs too, so if you like GMing 4e games and think you are good at teaching other people how to play, we'd be interested in hearing from you. GMs in different time zones who can run games during the evening hours in Europe or elsewhere are also welcome. We also plan to put up a main page chat room again to let lurkers and others outside the game to talk to each other on Saturday nights. RECOMMENDED READING We'd like to recommend that everyone check the "development diary" and "bug reports" section of the forums every once in a while. The former contains a running update on new features and minor tweaks, improvements, and bug fixes that don't necessariy show up here. The bug reports section contains not only user's reports of bugs, but updates on bugs that we catch and fix. COLOR CODING FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS: New announcements that have been posted or changed within the last week or so are written in a reddish color like this one. Older sticky announcements are written in a darker brownish gray color. BACKUPS: In case anyone is wondering, we back up all games off site every week. Generally we do this on Suday evening, but sometimes it gets delayed into Monday. Game naming policy: This is just a request: If you are starting a new gameroom for purposes of just trying the system out or learning to use its features, please use the word "Test" as the first word in the game name. If you are starting a new gameroom to play a game orcampaign, even if at first you are only spending time learning to use the system, DON'T use the word "Test" as the first word of the name. This will just help us keep track of who's doing what. The different gamerooms will not be treated any diffrerently as far as deletion after 30 days of inactivity, and you are more than welcome to try features out to your heart's content. As always we are continuing to look for your feedback and any bug reports. Our philosophy on this site is one of continuous improvement. One of the advantages of doing this sort of thing on the web is that we can continually add features and improve functions without having to issue patches and new releases and all that. We have several additional graphics features and major improvements to the die roller. If you have any questions or comments please email us at: admin@rpgtonight.com The world's first online, REAL TIME, "living tabletop game" This game engine is part of a much larger, longer term project which involves the creation of an online tabletop style "living game" (for lack of a better term) - a giant online game featuring weekly sessions involving multiple GMs and potentially hundreds of players, all interacting with one another in a persistant world, the fate and history of which is determined by the character's actions. Think of it as a massively interactive living game, or maybe an MMORPG or MUD done table top style (i.e. with dice, miniatures, and maps) with the emphasis on role playing, and with all the action determined by players, GMs, and admins. We'll have more information about it as time progresses. The free game area will always be free even after the living game starts, but the living game itself will have a small monthly fee associated with it. This is a highly experimental concept that has never been tried before (at least not in the way that we are doing it). Therefore we can't predict at this point when we'll be ready to start something up. "Sometime in early 2008" is our goal at this point, with alpha level playtests involving multiple GM/player groups starting as soon as we get certain background information and maps prepared (this is a level beyond the small group tests we are currently running). - The Hound
|
|
NEWS (3/5/10)
Now You Can Support RPGtonight By Supporting Our Advertisers!
We have joined the affiliate programs of two RPG related companies, Game Master Dice and Noble Knight Games, and a PC/Mac game seller, Gamersgate. They will soon be joined by an MMO publisher. When you click through to them and order stuff, we get a commission, which helps pay for our server and the artwork for the Living Game. So if you need fancy dice (and who doesn't) or are looking for a huge selection of out of print tabletop RPG products, or want to download some games for your computer, please check them out.
Saturday Night Beginner's Games/Saturday Night Rumble
Beginner's 4e games for people who are new to tabletop play, or maybe just new to 4e, are now being held on most Saturday nights. See the central column for details. The main page chat room will also be opened up on Saturday nights in coming weeks.
Playtesters Wanted
...For a unique new type of online game - a tabletop style, real time "living game" in a persistant world. Think of your weekly tabletop session on steroids, with hundreds of players and dozens of GMs. See the writeup and links in the center column, and also the Living Game Playtests section in the Forums. Post in the forums if you're interested. We especially need more GMs!
Now You Can Support RPGtonight By Supporting Our Advertisers!
We have joined the affiliate programs of two RPG related companies, Game Master Dice and Noble Knight Games, and a PC/Mac game seller, Gamersgate. They will soon be joined by an MMO publisher. When you click through to them and order stuff, we get a commission, which helps pay for our server and the artwork for the Living Game. So if you need fancy dice (and who doesn't) or are looking for a huge selection of out of print tabletop RPG products, or want to download some games for your computer, please check them out.
Saturday Night Beginner's Games/Saturday Night Rumble
Beginner's 4e games for people who are new to tabletop play, or maybe just new to 4e, are now being held on most Saturday nights. See the central column for details. The main page chat room will also be opened up on Saturday nights in coming weeks.
Playtesters Wanted
...For a unique new type of online game - a tabletop style, real time "living game" in a persistant world. Think of your weekly tabletop session on steroids, with hundreds of players and dozens of GMs. See the writeup and links in the center column, and also the Living Game Playtests section in the Forums. Post in the forums if you're interested. We especially need more GMs!