We discuss the news and then delve into the Vault with James Sherwood.

Hosts: William Sikkens, Bill Snodgrass, and Gretchen Winkler

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to We Are Technology’s

User friendly.

2

:

2.0 with host Bill Sikkens,

3

:

technology architect.

4

:

And this is User Friendly 2.0.

5

:

I am your host is always Bill Sikkens.

6

:

Joining me Bill and Gretchen.

7

:

Welcome to this week's show.

8

:

Hello there.

9

:

This is a weird

to think that after this week,

10

:

we only have one new show this year,

and then we're off to:

11

:

Yeah, I was very quickly.

12

:

On that note,

we are going to have a new show next week.

13

:

We're going to be talking about

some very unique scams.

14

:

We've talked about scams in the past,

15

:

but this some of these take the case

a little bit and we'll get into that.

16

:

Week after that we're going to be

rerunning some stuff from this year.

17

:

And then the week after that,

which is in the new year,

18

:

we're going to be discussing

tech, trends,

19

:both what's happened in:nd what we are projecting for:

20

:

So that's what we have up and coming

this week.

21

:

We're going to be talking about Dungeons

Dragons in-depth games with the ball

22

:

is going to be

joining us here in a little bit

23

:

right after the news going over

some of the history, who Gary Gygax is.

24

:

If you don't know that name, you will.

25

:

And so on.

26

:

So that'll be kind of cool coming up here.

27

:

But before that, let's

go ahead and just jump in.

28

:

What do we have in the news this week.

29

:

All right.

30

:

World's first 3D printed cornea

31

:

restores blind patients sight.

32

:

Yeah.

33

:

And you know I love seeing where these

things are going for quality of life.

34

:

Sight is something that if you have it,

you take it for granted.

35

:

If you don't,

you realize you want it back.

36

:

I think those are the two schools

of thought.

37

:

The only third one would be is somebody

that's born

38

:

with outside that maybe doesn't know

what it's like to have it, but

39

:

at the end of the day, it's more,

40

:

in my opinion,

one of the most important senses we have,

41

:

and it's also one of the ones that's the

easiest to screw up with different things.

42

:

There's diseases like like regeneration

and other things.

43

:

It's just with age, your eyes

get out of whack sometimes, you know,

44

:

there's all kinds of different things

that can happen.

45

:

And they've been working on technology

for replacing

46

:

basically your eyeball for a while now,

and they've

47

:

come up with some different things.

48

:

About ten years ago,

they had a camera that

49

:

installed into your eye

and didn't really work all that well.

50

:

And then the other problem was

the company went out of business.

51

:

So the people that had it no longer

get it repaired.

52

:

Oh no kidding.

53

:

Yeah,

there were some difficulties like that.

54

:

So out here,

you know, the product itself,

55

:

if you are completely blind,

it certainly gave you more sight.

56

:

So it was worth doing.

57

:

But, you know, it's

58

:

one of those kind of things that I think

now we're getting into a little bit more

59

:

where our technology is catching up,

and we have the ability

60

:

to start to really do these things.

61

:

And like this headline talks

about the world's first 3D printed cornea.

62

:

We're looking at technology like that.

63

:

They also have some other things

we talked about a few weeks ago,

64

:

using cybernetics for doing

some of this type of stuff, and really

65

:

to bring back sight is a major thing

and bringing back quality of life.

66

:

And it's something that I'm glad to see

we're

67

:

starting to really have on the table

in a meaningful way.

68

:

So we'll be watching this going forward,

69

:

of course,

but it's going to be interesting

70

:

when we start getting some data next year

on what works and what doesn't,

71

:

and what people are thinking in the test

groups.

72

:

They're starting to get this into.

73

:

Las Vegas as new charge.

74

:

So this one is a little over the top.

75

:

Obnoxious in my opinion.

76

:

Now, we've talked in the past about Vegas

and the fact that they are charging

77

:

a lot of kind of, hidden fees used to be

the entertainment capital of the world.

78

:

Now, I've heard it called the Hidden Fee

79

:

capital of the world

due to these things, resort fees.

80

:

And you go out to eat

and you have a kitchen fee and a tip

81

:

and a gratuity,

which I used to think were the same thing.

82

:

When did they have a chair fee?

83

:

Yeah, there's a facilities fee.

84

:

There is largely a facilities

and some restaurants.

85

:

So that would be a chair fee really.

86

:

Like fee and

87

:

and a fork and a spoon and a knife fee.

88

:

Yeah, exactly.

89

:

You know, it's, there actually is a fee,

just as a little aside on this and,

90

:

it's one of the hotels.

91

:

And if you get room service,

92

:

if you want them to actually

bring real silverware,

93

:

you get the additional fee

charged you for that.

94

:

If you're okay with plastic,

where you don't.

95

:

I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous

where all of this is going

96

:

and they are starting to see visitors

drop.

97

:

I can imagine why I'm

I'm not going to see us this year because.

98

:

Not because, of course, because I don't

want to get, you know, have that happen.

99

:

So in any event to make things better,

the government's gotten involved now.

100

:

And if you don't hear the sarcasm

in my voice, I will emphasize that

101

:

this had started about a year ago,

and there's been 119 people

102

:

that have run afoul of this.

103

:

So basically what's going on

104

:

is if you've been to Las Vegas,

you probably know about this.

105

:

If you don't,

there are walkways that go over the strip

106

:

every so often, periodically up and down

107

:

so that, you can walk from one side

to the other, like if you're walking down

108

:

the sidewalk, you don't have to go on the

street, which is very busy.

109

:

Well, for some reason, Clark County

110

:

decided to pass a law

that it is a crime to stop

111

:

while you're walking over these walkways

or even, like, a traffic ticket.

112

:

It is a misdemeanor crime, and 119

people have been arrested for committing

113

:

the crime of taking a selfie or something

while over the street and stop.

114

:

And that's crazy.

115

:

Yeah, I tend to completely agree

and it's one of those things.

116

:

Watch yourself if you are in Vegas.

117

:

There's a lot of weird

things that are going on now.

118

:

And, but this one was over the top when I

when I found out about it,

119

:

they did check on it. It's a thing.

120

:

You can look it up and,

you know, see all the details on it.

121

:

But yeah, it's, now a crime.

122

:

Like a crime that goes on your record.

123

:

Crime?

124

:

You know.

125

:

What did you do? I murdered somebody.

What are you in jail for?

126

:

Oh, I stole $1 million. And you know what

are you in jail for?

127

:

I stopped on the walkway

going over Las Vegas Boulevard.

128

:

You know, in between the Luxor

and whatever.

129

:

You take a tourist photo. Oh, yeah.

130

:

Yeah. You know, I mean, jeez.

131

:

Yeah.

132

:

They're not.

133

:

They're not thinking,

134

:

All right,

135

:

it might save or destroy us.

136

:

And I'm not talking about those charges

and fees.

137

:

Harvard's

Avi Loeb issues stark alien warning.

138

:

If three Eye Atlas isn't a comment.

139

:

Yeah, we've talked about this in the past,

but this is just all over

140

:

the news lately.

141

:

So December 19th

142

:

is the day that the, guy Atlas

is going to make the closest pass,

143

:

and then it starts on its way

out of the solar system.

144

:

And there, you know,

the thing of videos is that aliens.

145

:

Well, you know,

if it is, that would certainly be.

146

:

I don't even know if the word

147

:

Earth shattering would be correct for that

certainly would change things.

148

:

But at the end of the day,

149

:

one of the things I think

that this researcher, who is a very much

150

:

respected scientist, is trying to put out

there is we cannot assume anything.

151

:

And the scientific community is,

oh, you know, it's a comment

152

:

and we're trying

to make it fit into that box.

153

:

And when it does all these weird things,

we're trying to figure out a reason

154

:

why it's doing those weird things,

because it's a comet.

155

:

So the idea has been suggested.

156

:

We talked about it before.

157

:

This is some kind of an alien spaceship

or a probe or something of that nature.

158

:

It has exhibited

some unusual characteristics.

159

:

The tails on the wrong way.

160

:

It's changed colors.

161

:

There are materials in the exhaust

that up until now, exhaust.

162

:

There we go on the engine. Right.

163

:

And that the tail of the comet

164

:

that are things that we've only seen

produced by industry, never naturally.

165

:

So there are some very unusual

characteristics about this object.

166

:

It's the third known thing

that we've witnessed

167

:

that's come from outside of the solar

system, meaning that it was formed.

168

:

Or if you want to go with this

built elsewhere and has come here.

169

:

So, you know, it's going to be interesting

when the 19th comes and goes

170

:

to see what is actually going on here.

171

:

They're getting

some better pictures of it too.

172

:

And that seems to be,

something that's even supporting

173

:

Loeb's idea a little bit more

because it does look unusual.

174

:

And, you know, again, I don't know,

what do you guys think?

175

:

Are you ready for the space aliens?

176

:

Sure.

177

:

Why not? Yeah.

178

:

You know, I got to say,

Roswell has done good with that

179

:

for the last 80 years or whatever

since, you know, they crashed there so.

180

:

Well, you know why not, right?

181

:

Scientists create

182

:

skin like hydrogel that heals wounds.

183

:

Yeah.

184

:

So, as with medical things,

185

:

you know what is actually claimed here

and what actually is or isn't reality.

186

:

You know, maybe two different things,

but it's if even close to

187

:

what they are saying, it can do it.

188

:

Something

that, creates or creates, heals wounds.

189

:

We can talk today 90% in four hours.

190

:

And they claim to have it done

fully in 24.

191

:

And now again,

this is a proof of concept thing.

192

:

I looked at it.

193

:

There was enough documentation

to say that this might actually be real.

194

:

I couldn't find any case

195

:

studies or anything, but I think this is

one of the ones that would be really nice

196

:

if it is, because wound treatment is

a big deal, can cause a lot of problems.

197

:

Infection,

and it's just completely unpleasant.

198

:

May take a long time to heal.

199

:

So if we did get the, quote,

Star Trek ability

200

:

to heal quickly,

it would save a lot of grief.

201

:

It really would.

202

:

So we'll be keeping an eye on that

when we get to go into:

203

:

to see how real this actually is,

204

:

and if we can find some studies

or information on it.

205

:

And if you've heard about this,

feel free to go to User Friendly Dot show.

206

:

Put it in the comments,

because I'd love to see

207

:

if there's any other information

out there.

208

:

The documentation that I found

appears pretty good, but I these days

209

:

I can't be sure.

210

:

All right.

211

:

And real quick, Australia's world world

first

212

:

social media ban

for under sixteens comes into effect.

213

:

That's going to be a big deal.

214

:

Yeah.

215

:

So in Australia if you're under 16

you can no longer use social media.

216

:

It is a law passed by the government.

217

:

It is being done because of some of

the problems that social media causes.

218

:

I know that there are cases

where the kids don't go to sleep at night

219

:

because they're,

220

:

checking their feeds

221

:

and these type of things, plus predators

and everything else that we still have.

222

:

The kids killing themselves

because they're traumatized.

223

:

Yeah, yeah, all of this kind of stuff.

224

:

Now, there's an argument

for not doing this through.

225

:

Social media has a lot of benefit

for sharing things and getting information

226

:

with, you know, friends

and all that kind of stuff.

227

:

So it's going to be interesting

to see how this goes.

228

:

Is the first country that has done this,

e'll be following that too in:

229

:

All right.

230

:

Let's go back in time

and talk about Dungeons and Dragons.

231

:

Welcome to the vault to the.

My name is James Sherwin.

232

:

And with me

today is Bill second from User Friendly.

233

:

Hello, hello, hello.

234

:

And today we're going to talk about

something near and dear to my heart.

235

:

I've played it some with Bill as well.

236

:

We're going to be talking as kind of

a 30,000ft view of Dungeons and Dragons.

237

:

Now, this is something

I think I think I've heard of.

238

:

I, I, I, I remember the name somewhere.

239

:

I think this might actually catch on.

240

:

I think it could.

241

:

And it's been around for a tick.

242

:

As I said before,

Bill and I have played this together.

243

:e had I've been playing since:

244

:So the game first came out in:

245

:

It was based on the game chainmail, which,

246

:

if you've heard of that one,

I'm impressed.

247

:

It was created by Gary Guy

Jackson de Amazon.

248

:

I always pronounce his name wrong.

249

:

They created the company

250

:

or Gary Gygax did with Don Kay's called

Tactical Studies

251

:

Rules, TSR,

and it published Dungeons and Dragons.

252

:

Okay,

I never knew that's what TSR stood for.

253

:

So that's an interesting

bit of information.

254

:

Tactical study rules.

255

:

Yeah, neither did I.

256

:

I found that out when I was doing

a little bit more of a deep dive into it.

257

:

I hadn't dug

too far into the history myself

258

:

until here recently

when I was getting ready to do this.

259

:

I have just been an avid player

260

:

for longer than I would care to mention.

261

:s I said before, I started in:

262

:

and it

263

:

was the birthday present

from a friend of mine because I was

264

:

finally old enough

and mature enough as a child

265

:

to play the game accurately.

266

:

Okay, so a little bit about the history,

267

:

it has had about nine revisions there.

268

:

It is basic,

ich is what first came out in:

269

:

There is advanced, which came out 80,

270

:

I believe it was around 81.

271

:

There was advanced

second edition, advanced second edition,

272

:

black edition, third edition, 3.5.

273

:

Where they went through and modified

some of the third edition rules,

274

:

fourth edition and then this edition

275

:

with a recent revision to fifth edition

:

276

:

Rules.

277

:

Okay, so fifth

edition is the most current one.

278

:Fifth edition:

279

:

I think the dates on the editions

get kind of murky, because it's like,

280

:

oh, I'm publishing this book

from this set, in this book, from the set.

281

:

And the

282

:

the reason I ask that question is because

every time that I am aware of that,

283

:

a new edition has come out, there's always

some kind of a meltdown that happens.

284

:

And that's how I knew, oh,

there's a new edition of 80

285

:

and the most one, what you just want to be

in that software thing they have.

286

:

So I haven't heard any of this lately.

287

:

So it makes sense.

288

:

It's been a year.

It's been a quiet year. No wonder

289

:

it has.

290

:

And every

so often they like to refresh it.

291

:

One of the things for Dungeons and Dragons

292

:

they do the

the slang term for it is splat marks.

293

:

What that means is you have your

your core books.

294

:

You have your player's handbook,

295

:

you have your Dungeon master guide,

you have your monster manual.

296

:

And if you have those three, you can play

anything that your heart can think up.

297

:

Okay?

298

:

And then they come out with books

that have different rules in them,

299

:

or they come out with a lot of campaign

settings,

300

:

such as Krinn, also known as Dragonlance.

301

:

If you've heard of that series of books,

it's a high fantasy

302

:

world of war between dragons.

303

:

Originally based on books by Margaret

Weiss and Tracy

304

:

Hickman, it was based on a home game

305

:

that they played in that

they then turned into novels.

306

:

So were then, addressed by TSR and turned

307

:

into an actual campaign world.

308

:

Okay, so let's say I've, I used to love

Dragonlance growing up, but I didn't know.

309

:

So they were two separate companies

at one time.

310

:

Well, Dragonlance was

was a series of books that was published.

311

:

It started out with Chronicles.

312

:

I can't remember the exact names now.

313

:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight or.

314

:

Sorry.

Yeah, it's been a while for me, too.

315

:

I just,

316

:

I cast the Minotaur and all of my daddy

characters be named Kaz comes from that.

317

:

But, I always thought that

that was always part of the same thing.

318

:

So the books were published by somebody,

and then they were the rights to

319

:

it were purchased for the campaign,

or how did that work?

320

:

I don't know, 100%,

but what they have done before

321

:

with other sets is

they will go to the author and say, hey,

322

:

we would like to adapt this for our game

323

:

so that other people can explore

this work.

324

:

Okay, that happened with the,

Forgotten Realms,

325

:

which is probably one of the biggest ones.

326

:

It's the setting for Baldur's Gate,

which if you play or even hear video

327

:

games, you've probably heard of Baldur's

Gate three sometime here in the last year.

328

:

So that was one

hat was originally created in:

329

:

So seven years before

daddy was even thought of.

330

:

Written by Ed Greenwood

as a C, a setting for his novels,

331

:

it caught on

332

:

so much that he and TSR lined up together

and said,

333

:

hey, this would be a great place

for people to play.

334

:

This would be a great world

for them to go in and explore.

335

:

And you now have dozens of authors

that have jumped into the world

336

:

and expanded it,

and you've had movie adaptations

337

:

and the most recent one

338

:

that Dungeons and Dragons,

I believe it's Den of Thieves, was set in

339

:

Forgotten Realms Bouldercounty

just set in Forgotten Realms,

340

:

probably a dozen video games,

all set in Forgotten Realms.

341

:

They did that same thing with Dragonlance.

342

:

The series of books came out

and were published.

343

:

I can't remember now

who the original publisher was, but,

344

:

you know, it's interesting.

345

:

It's interesting on that

because I my first knowing

346

:

of these things, Forgotten Realms

was a video game, I think back in the

347

:

like Atari days or something,

one of those gold

348

:

box ones that they came out with

for a while and that type of a thing.

349

:

I'm not aware of a Dragonlance video game,

350

:

but again,

I had found it through the books,

351

:

but it seems like, again,

all of these things certainly do set up

352

:

for a perfect environment for something

like Dungeons and Dragons, in my opinion.

353

:

So it does make sense.

354

:

But you know, again,

at the end of the day, it's

355

:

kind of interesting to see the history

here, the history of these things,

356

:

because I had no idea

they came from different,

357

:

you know, actually different publishers

in different places.

358

:

I always thought that,

you know, Gary wrote all this stuff

359

:

on, you know, on a Sunday afternoon

on the train in:

360

:

So evidently that's not the case or 74.

361

:

And if that's the case,

362

:

well, some of them were like Ravenloft.

363

:

It's a gothic horror

realm with these domains

364

:

that are controlled by evil entities,

anything from witches

365

:

to vampires and evil gods

and things like that.

366

:

That was one that was created by,

I believe that one was created

367

:

by Gary Gygax

as a different realm to explore.

368

:

So it started out as a game realm

and then became books.

369

:

And then you have the reverse,

the ones that started out as books

370

:

or as somebody else's creative material

and then became a game route.

371

:

So let's say I

372

:

you know,

we've talked about this in the past,

373

:

but let's say that

374

:

you have someone that's completely new

to Dungeons and Dragons and role playing.

375

:

What do you actually need?

376

:

You said they're a couple of books,

but what is actually required?

377

:

What is the process?

378

:

How do you get started in this.

379

:

Well,

so first let's talk a little bit about

380

:

what do you do so that we have a framework

for what we're going to do.

381

:

The indie or Dungeons

and Dragons is collaborative storytelling.

382

:

That goes for just about any tabletop

role.

383

:

And and what that means is you have two

384

:

main types of players.

385

:

You have your dungeon master,

386

:

who is the person

who is narrating the story.

387

:

They create the world.

388

:

They create the ideas.

389

:

They create all of these things.

390

:

And then you have the

391

:

players, and the players are the ones

that will actually have the characters.

392

:

So if you think of a movie, the

the headline characters,

393

:

the main protagonists, that's the player.

394

:

So as they move through the story

that's being developed

395

:

by the Dungeon Master,

but it's collaborative.

396

:

Everyone should be having fun.

397

:

It's not an us against them.

398

:

It's challenges that everyone gets

a chance to participate in.

399

:

And a well-run game

has some variety of challenges,

400

:

so it's not just going to be, oh, look,

I'm hitting something with an ax.

401

:

There should be puzzles

and social interactions

402

:

and all of these things,

if that's what the players enjoy.

403

:

And then the Dungeon Master will create

non-player characters, non-player

404

:

characters, or all of the people

that populate the world

405

:

that the player characters

are going to be moving through.

406

:

So rather than just talking to nameless

barkeep,

407

:

you have Carl, the retired

408

:

soldier that opened a bar with his

409

:

with his retirement money

after having his foot chopped off

410

:

or whatever the case may be,

you throw those tidbits in there

411

:

so that you have some reality

in and something to grip.

412

:

Yeah,

413

:

I know the depth of the characters

do make it make a huge difference.

414

:

And, let me ask you this question

before we get into how to play the,

415

:

you had mentioned

the idea of the players are kind of

416

:

like the players in the movie,

but in a movie you have a script,

417

:

you know what's going to go on.

418

:

How does the Dungeon Master

know what the characters are going to do?

419

:

And you know,

420

:

because it's not going to be

421

:

something that they're going

to really be able to script out, is it?

422

:

It's not.

423

:

And it's one of the hardest things

to learn as a dungeon Master.

424

:

There is a saying nothing will mess up

425

:

a campaign like players.

426

:

So there's a Dungeon Master.

427

:

There's a balance between

how much prep work you do

428

:

and how much salary you put into

your world, and all of these things,

429

:

because the players are going to come in

and invariably

430

:

they are going to do something

that you are not expecting, right?

431

:

That's going to derail

everything that you had planned.

432

:

So it seems like this is something

that actually really builds on itself.

433

:

You have a starting point for the story,

434

:

but you don't necessarily

know where it's going to go,

435

:

and neither does the Dungeon Master.

436

:

At least that's what I'm understanding.

437

:

Correct? It's collaborative.

438

:

I'll use that word quite a few times.

439

:

It is a story that is developed

440

:

by the choices that the characters make.

441

:

It is a story developed by the path

442

:

that the story

or the Dungeon Master wants to take.

443

:

It's not saying

that there is no framework, though,

444

:

and what I mean by that is there are

445

:

tricks and tips that a Dungeon Master

can use to keep something going

446

:

in the way that it's supposed to do,

without feeling like a railroad.

447

:

The railroad is one.

448

:

The only option you have is to go

the way I want.

449

:

But you can nudge you can guide you,

you can kind of direct.

450

:

There is also a point

at which you can reach

451

:

when you just kind of say, you know,

452

:

the story has gone

so far from what I had prepped.

453

:

I need a chance to stop and revamp

what I'm doing so that everyone's

454

:

still having fun, because just going by

455

:

the seat of my pants isn't going to work.

456

:

Now that totally, totally makes sense.

457

:

And we're going to break for commercial.

458

:

Here we are talking to the vault host

James Sherwood,

459

:

going over the history of Dungeons

and Dragons.

460

:

This is user friendly 2.0.

We'll be back after the break.

461

:

Hey everybody, this is

462

:

Bill Snodgrass, Joe and user friendly

and supporting the people of the Ukraine.

463

:

President Zelensky's United 24 campaign.

464

:

Help is needed with health care,

465

:

de-mining and many, many other things.

466

:

You decide where your support goes.

467

:

Go to user friendly

dot show and click the Ukrainian flag

468

:

at the bottom of the homepage

for more information.

469

:

Mustangs coming down.

470

:

I'm watching it from you.

471

:

Love you.

472

:

I love people around

and they give me some of

473

:

the church bells down.

474

:

Welcome back. This is user friendly 2.0.

475

:

User friendly dot show is your one

stop for everything.

476

:

User friendly,

user friendly 2.0 and beyond.

477

:

Check out our website to see where

you can submit your questions,

478

:

get additional information, playback,

episodes and anything else you might like.

479

:

Now everything's out there,

but I'm going to give you fair warning

480

:

if you play season one.

481

:

I warned you, it's

kind of funny to check it out though.

482

:From:

483

:

We are talking to The Vault host

James Sherwood,

484

:

discussing the origins of Dungeons

and Dragons,

485

:

and in the previous segment,

we went through some of the basics

486

:

of how the game came to be,

where it is going,

487

:

how a Dungeon Master and the characters

and the non-playing characters work.

488

:

Let's go ahead and drop back in. James.

Welcome back.

489

:

Yeah, thank you very much.

490

:

So we talked about all that

in the first segment.

491

:

And let's go ahead and dive right in.

How do you play the game.

492

:

What do you need.

493

:

So to play the game there's a couple of

very basic things that you need.

494

:

First of all you need I mentioned

some of that in that first section.

495

:

You need a player's handbook, a Dungeon

Master's guide, and a monster manual.

496

:

This is for ease.

497

:

I'm talking about first edition,

498

:

but these books have been pretty standard

through every edition since.

499

:

Advanced basic was a little bit different.

500

:

So in this edition, you're looking,

somewhere in the neighborhood.

501

:

$50 a book.

502

:

But that's really

going to be your primary expenditure.

503

:

And you can find use copies,

you can find digital copies.

504

:

And we'll talk a little bit more about

some of the digital stuff here in a bit.

505

:

I'm gonna just throw this out here

because it's something

506

:

that, I found interesting is the books.

507

:

You get what you pay for.

508

:

I've always enjoyed the artwork.

509

:

This goes a lot

beyond just a system of rules.

510

:

You have a lot of depth to all of that.

511

:

As far as I know, minor hardbound too.

512

:

So it's really a nice quality product

that they put out, in my opinion.

513

:

And I love as much as reading about the

gaming system, just looking at the artwork

514

:

and the different things

that are in there.

515

:

And it is it's worth what you pay. It is.

516

:

And that's one of the things

517

:

Wizards of the coast

ought Dungeons and Dragons in:

518

:

and shortly after

519

:

that was when third edition came out.

520

:

And one of the things

the Wizards of the coast really did

521

:

was up the production value.

522

:

Right.

523

:

One of the other things that they did was

they went to streamline the game

524

:

so that it's a lot easier for new players

to join in, because the old one

525

:

had a lot of the advanced

and the advanced second edition,

526

:

and a lot of very cumbersome rules

that were amazing,

527

:

and I missed to some degree,

but they were not very player friendly.

528

:

I remember that quite well.

529

:

You know, my background is in physics

and the whole Mako thing.

530

:

I never to this day

couldn't quite figure out.

531

:

And for anybody that doesn't know,

that's a set of variables

532

:

that had to do with how to attack enemies

and that kind of thing.

533

:

It's no longer used.

534

:

There are people that swear by it, and

there are people that absolutely hate it.

535

:

I'm somewhere in the middle that I just

had someone else figure out why,

536

:

and if you know what that go means,

I would love for you

537

:

to throw me a message

and put that in the comment, because that.

538

:

Yeah, so you're a die hard,

539

:

but, so you need those basic books.

540

:

You can get the additional supplements,

the various m a worlds

541

:

and things like that,

but you don't need it.

542

:

You can do it.

543

:

Just just kind of off the cuff

and create the world

544

:

that you want to play called homebrew.

545

:

The next thing you need is a character

sheet, a character sheet,

546

:

a wide variety of ways of doing it.

547

:

Yeah.

548

:

When I started, the only option

was a paper character sheet and a pencil.

549

:

You write everything down

and once you get to your level

550

:

five character,

it was all started to go sideways.

551

:

Everything was a race.

552

:

Everything.

553

:

Line, script written over it

and all of these things.

554

:

So it was time to write out

a new character sheet.

555

:

With the advent of computers,

you started having digital character

556

:

sheets or a little character

sheets, like PDFs that you could go into

557

:

and type on and utilize the laptop

or something like that to do that.

558

:

That's relatively new.

559

:

I know we didn't have that

when I was a kid playing.

560

:

And then for fifth edition

and fifth edition:

561

:

there is an amazing

system called the Endpoint.

562

:

D&D beyond is

563

:

a computer database

that you can go in and buy the books,

564

:

and everything is built in

so you can build characters, you can build

565

:

monsters, you can build encounters,

you can do notes.

566

:

You can build campaigns, you can use maps.

567

:

All of these things.

568

:

And the character builder

makes it so simple

569

:

because everything is right

there in a digital framework

570

:

for you to pull up,

and it makes it so much easier.

571

:

I think the biggest thing

that I've noticed on

572

:

that is the ability to search, because,

you know, there are rules on things

573

:

and you have an index,

of course, in your books and all of that.

574

:

But when you're at the table,

575

:

there tends to be

sometimes disagreements on the rules.

576

:

And then the next 20 minutes, everybody's

pulling out books for 20 minutes.

577

:

You're doing well.

578

:

And this is something that I've noticed

579

:

that you can just simply look at search

like anything you would on a modern app.

580

:

And the information's right there for you.

581

:

It, just

it saves a lot of time and frustration.

582

:

And from that standpoint,

I'm one that I've always preferred

583

:

the tabletop version of it,

but I'm starting to warm up to this

584

:

just because it does save so much time

and it also makes it a lot easier

585

:

to put your character together

and all of that.

586

:

And the other thing of it

is, is your Dungeon master now has access

587

:

to what's going on privately,

because there's times in game

588

:

you don't want the other characters to

know what's going on as part of the game.

589

:

Right?

590

:

So and that's always been a bit,

you know, difficult and awkward

591

:

when two people go into the corner

of the room for ten minutes

592

:

and then come back and you're like,

okay, what's going to happen to me now?

593

:

You can avoid these things.

594

:

So, so yeah, it's it is

definitely something that is a good tool.

595

:

One of the other big

596

:

things with

with the advent of the Navy on,

597

:

you can get these books for about 25

598

:

to $30 a piece

599

:

in on the digital version,

on the DMV on website,

600

:

rather than having to spend

$50 per book over and over again.

601

:

Right.

602

:

So it makes it much easier to get into.

603

:

Well, there's another step of that too,

because from my understanding

604

:

and from what we've played with it,

there's an ability.

605

:

If one person owns a book,

share it out to the other players.

606

:

So you also get rid of the problem of,

oh, we only have one book.

607

:

And you know,

that could be somewhat cumbersome too.

608

:

This does do away with that.

609

:

I know there's some limits on that,

but it does work quite well from what

610

:

I've seen it, and I run several games

611

:

and I have my they call the compendium,

all of the books that I have shared

612

:

in most of these campaigns, so that I'm

the only one that has to pay into it.

613

:

Everyone else

614

:

can just use what I have

and play and have fun,

615

:

and they don't have to worry about too big

an investment.

616

:

Yeah, and it does.

617

:

It saves a lot on that front.

618

:

You know, it's kind of funny

619

:

because you talk about use of computers

and that type of a thing.

620

:

Just a little aside on this, the

this is the first time I've seen it where

621

:

I think they've really gotten it

right. It's easy to use.

622

:

And you talked about the PDF

nullable character sheets.

623

:

Well, back in the 80s,

Commodore 64, in the Atari,

624

:

somebody had made an attempt

to do something like this,

625

:

and unfortunately,

it was one of those bits of software

626

:

that if that was your first experience

with roleplaying,

627

:

you probably wouldn't continue

because it was,

628

:

you know, so difficult modern day and age.

629

:

You have a tablet that runs on a battery

set in front of you on the table.

630

:

There were groups

that were taking these desktop computers,

631

:

trying to get together at a table

because there was no networking.

632

:

Bring them up.

633

:

So you have all these monitors

and different things going on,

634

:

and it was considered somewhat cumbersome,

especially when

635

:

because of the day and age, it

didn't save your character sheet or didn't

636

:

save changes

or some things that you know.

637

:

But definitely I've seen this going on.

638

:

And then there's

been the games and things,

639

:

but this time it does seem like it's

seamless, it works

640

:

well, and it's just something

you can sit down and use.

641

:

And there's not the frustration

that there once was,

642

:

but it is kind of funny

to think about this.

643

:

The attempts of this have been going on

for, well, 30 years,

644

:

and it took that amount of time

to seem to get it to work properly.

645

:

50 years actually celebrate the 50th.

646

:

Yeah, you're right, 50 years.

647

:

It's I don't want

to think I'm not old anyway,

648

:

speaking of

649

:

expenditure, here comes the probably

650

:

from the most expensive

part of the entire game is having dice

651

:

and what is known as the Dice Goblin.

652

:

And the dice Goblin is somebody who will

by dice at the drop of a hat.

653

:

Realistically, you need one set.

654

:

Oh no, no, that's theoretic.

655

:

Well,

there's no way that would possibly work.

656

:

True.

657

:

And the set of dice is

658

:

seven die.

659

:

You have a four sided, a six sided,

660

:

an eight sided, the ten sided,

661

:

a 12 sided, a 20 sided,

662

:

and then what's known as a percentile,

which is a ten sided die

663

:

with instead of one through zero,

you have ten through zero.

664

:

So you put these things together

and depending on how you're playing

665

:

and what type of check you're doing

666

:

and and what you're rolling,

you're rolling, you however many dice.

667

:

Dice are dangerous.

668

:

I and I caution you enough on that

669

:

because I personally have about 75 sets.

670

:

But one of the things that I've taken

to doing, and there are dozens of dice

671

:

superstitions out

there, is for each game that I'm playing.

672

:

I have my own 2 or 3 sets,

673

:

just because to me

that makes it feel a little more real,

674

:

and it helps me keep track in my head

of what I'm actually play.

675

:

Yeah.

676

:

And you actually do

want more than one stat,

677

:

because there's times

you do need multiple dice.

678

:

No reality one set will get you going.

679

:

It's, you know, that's the case.

680

:

But you know, and this is another area

where art in artistic

681

:

things have really gotten into that.

682

:

Now it's a little bit about availability,

but also there are

683

:

a lot of different kinds of dice

and some really cool ones that,

684

:

that you can get that are just go way

beyond just your basic set.

685

:

Oh yeah.

686

:

I mean, you have your basic plastic

687

:

and resin ones, you have silicone dice,

you have metal dice.

688

:

I have seen stone dice or semi-precious

stone dates.

689

:

I saw, set made out of amethyst

that were absolutely gorgeous.

690

:

I think sterling silver, sterling silver.

691

:

I haven't personally seen gold,

but I've heard they make them,

692

:

they are also now

coming up in Bluetooth dice,

693

:

which is okay once the Bluetooth dies.

694

:

So Bluetooth is one of the big things

that's happened.

695

:

Covid really kicked a lot of this

in which I know

696

:

I just said the C-word,

but I apologize for that.

697

:

One of the things that it did, though

is it started up remote play.

698

:

So you have, websites

like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.

699

:

So what they allow

you to do is play online.

700

:

Well, for those of us like myself,

701

:

don't want to click a button and have that

tell me what happened.

702

:

I can roll a physical die

that is Bluetooth to my computer

703

:

and it will populate that

roll into the website.

704

:

Oh that's cool, that's cool.

705

:

They're not perfect yet.

706

:

Last I saw, they were somewhere

in the neighborhood of 40 or $50 a die.

707

:

Wow. One that I saw

was just that they added each one.

708

:

20 sided dice.

709

:

So there is the entire gambit.

710

:

If you're a head,

they've got that for you.

711

:

Availability.

712

:

You can find these all over the place.

713

:

You can find them online.

714

:

Your big, big bundle deals like Amazon.

715

:

And you can find them at your local game

stores, which are great.

716

:

I use Wild Things.

717

:

And in, Oregon

I have found really good specials on dice,

718

:

and they have a lot

of different manufacturers.

719

:

So where you can go if you want to

look online that I highly recommend.

720

:

I've used them for several dice purchases

and some other accessories.

721

:

You may have heard us

talk about it from our Rose city Comic-Con

722

:

Misty mountain game.

723

:

If you need roleplaying accessories,

they've got it and it's.

724

:

I've bought

725

:

probably two dozen sets from them

that are anywhere

726

:

from those silicone dice all the way

through some beautiful metal dice.

727

:

And I really have appreciated

what they did.

728

:

And their prices are very reasonable.

729

:

And, you know, this is one thing to is

you've got artists doing this.

730

:

And yeah, you can go on Amazon and order

a set of dice and most of us do have them.

731

:

But check out your local game stores

because you're going to, number one,

732

:

find things that you won't find online

that are very unique.

733

:

And number two, you're supporting

the small businesses and small artists

734

:

in a way that is not as accessible.

735

:

And other things.

736

:

The third part of it is you got to meet

great people that are also interested

737

:

in what you're doing and,

figure out new things.

738

:

That is a very big part of it.

739

:

This is a social activity.

740

:

They have come up with a way

to play with one person.

741

:

They have come up,

they're starting to do some AI generated.

742

:

So the AI is the Dungeon Master.

743

:

There's some things like that with it.

744

:

You can't be sitting down with 3

or 4 friends

745

:

around a table,

rolling some dice and having a lot of ups.

746

:

Yeah.

747

:

And you and you definitely do.

748

:

And sometimes maybe you're wrong,

but yeah, you know.

749

:

So we've talked about books.

750

:

We've talked about dice,

we've talked about here are your sheets.

751

:

We've talked a little bit about players.

752

:

So you have to have a dungeon master.

753

:

And then for me personally I like to

keep it to about six player characters.

754

:

Once you get over that, you can do it.

755

:

You can play with any number,

but it starts to get a little bit overly

756

:

cumbersome.

757

:

The characters are only 12

compatible stories.

758

:

Not that there can't be tension,

not that there can't be a opposing view,

759

:

but this is collaborative storytelling.

760

:

So if somebody is there

761

:

just to break the game,

it takes it away from everybody, right?

762

:

Yeah. So you want them to get along.

763

:

You want them to have

the same concept in mind.

764

:

If everybody's coming into it

765

:

with a different idea,

one person wants it to be comedic

766

:

and one person wants it to be super high

fantasy

767

:

using only only Old English

or High English, or however you want to do

768

:

that,

you'll have a lot of conflict at the table

769

:

and it won't be as much fun for everyone.

770

:

So you do what's known as session zero,

771

:

and session zero is sitting down

and just talking about

772

:

what do you want to see out of the game?

773

:

And it's really that simple.

774

:

It's sitting down and saying,

hey, I, I want to have fun with this.

775

:

I don't want it to be hugely serious.

776

:

I don't want there to be adult themes,

or I don't want there to be horror themes,

777

:

or I really want to have a lot of suspense

with it, or a lot more of the political

778

:

intrigue and role playing rather than just

hitting things with sticks.

779

:

And that's when you work those things out,

so everyone's on the same page,

780

:

so everyone can have the same amount

of fun.

781

:

Yeah, it's so true.

782

:

And that's another thing too,

is because the people playing

783

:

also bring different techniques

to the table.

784

:

There's a lot of people

785

:

that are into the acting part

or the role playing part in this.

786

:

There's a lot of people that do

want to just hit somebody over the head

787

:

with a stick of gear, figuratively

in the game, of course, usually.

788

:

So, you know, and you bring all of those

things together and you can actually

789

:

if you have a good mix of people

to get along, that can work well.

790

:

But if you don't, it can be a headache.

791

:

I know,

you know, there's both sides of that's

792

:

why it is important to make sure you are,

you know, vetting a little bit

793

:

and get your session zero down

so that you're able to have all of that

794

:

and have, you know, knocked out

before you actually start gaming.

795

:

And then comes the most important

is for every player to have

796

:

you have your character,

and your character is that alternate

797

:

persona that you get to be

when you jump into the game.

798

:

It's that break from reality.

799

:

It is leaving your care

or some worries behind you

800

:

and stepping into someone else's life

with its own cares and worries.

801

:

But it allows you to distance yourself

from who you are and find something unique

802

:

for you to play with

and for that character.

803

:

There are three main components.

804

:

The first one is species.

805

:

They change from race to species

with the:

806

:

a little bit before that actually,

which is who do you want to play?

807

:

You want to be a sturdy, short dwarf.

808

:

You want to be an athlete.

You want to be an elf.

809

:

What do you want to be?

810

:

Do you want to be a variant on human?

811

:

But it's kind of

812

:

what species do you want to be,

and how is that going to interplay

813

:

with your backstory?

814

:

The second part is class.

815

:

Class is how you want to function

mechanically.

816

:

You want to be a wizard.

817

:

Do you want to be a cleric?

818

:

A wizard is casting spells, clerics

or healing people

819

:

and and providing support.

820

:

You can be a fighter

hitting people with a big stick.

821

:

You can be a thief and sneak around.

822

:

There's all of these options

that you can look into as to what

823

:

you want to play out, and that'll affect

how you interact with the story.

824

:

Because if you're the sneaky thief, you're

probably not going to be a front line

825

:

character.

826

:

Or if you're the charismatic cleric,

you may be doing

827

:

worth the role play in the

they call it face.

828

:

The person that interacts the most

with the non-player characters right.

829

:

And then you have for me,

830

:

probably the biggest part,

which is the backstory

831

:

and the backstory, is who is that

character lifted out from being just

832

:

numbers on the page and rolls of the dice

833

:

and determine who that person is,

834

:

because I when I go in and play,

I don't want to be James, the radio host.

835

:

I want to be Brad.

836

:

It's the warforged barbarian

that is there in order

837

:

to redeem himself from past war crimes.

838

:

That is actually a storyline

that I played,

839

:

because that's the story that I want

in my head.

840

:

That's what I want to create so that I can

move forward with that, you know?

841

:

And as far as all that goes to you, talk

about the kind of characters you play.

842

:

And this is really

where it gets amazing to me,

843

:

because you can do anything

you can think of.

844

:

And I've been in some games

where you're not always the good guys,

845

:

and those can be very fun

to, you know, it just depends on,

846

:

you know, what you want to do

and what the group wants to do

847

:

and what what

you're kind of in the mood for.

848

:

But I've I've played it from both ends

and it's been a lot of fun.

849

:

I have found that there are certain

850

:

character classes that I like to do that

I'm more comfortable with.

851

:

Sometimes I'll get out of that box

and then things get real weird.

852

:

But you know, it's again

one of those type of things,

853

:

and it does make a lot of sense.

854

:

What you're saying.

855

:

Well,

and then it's all about finding a way

856

:

to create a persona other than yourself

857

:

and seeing how it plays in the story

with these other people.

858

:

My biggest takeaway for this

is having that chance with other people

859

:

to really explore what you want to do now,

and that is that's absolutely true.

860

:

All kinds of things.

861

:

Just a little bit here,

James, talk about the vault.

862

:

Give us an example

or explanation of what you're doing.

863

:

I mean you've done some segments here,

but I understand

864

:

you're going to be making this

a standalone show.

865

:

When I got into this, the vault was,

hey, you want to

866

:

come on and talk about some games?

And it's taken off.

867

:

Apparently people like what I have to say

868

:

and it is turning into possibly

my own show.

869

:

The vault is a chance

870

:

for me to look at any type of game

you can think of.

871

:

I've done board games,

I've done video games, role playing

872

:

games, you name it, I want to touch on it

873

:

and it is real reviews

from somebody who's willing to play them.

874

:

It is a layman's view.

875

:

I am not a professional gamer.

876

:

I do not spend well.

877

:

The night I spent decades on,

878

:

but it's somebody who goes in

and looks at it from the standpoint

879

:

of what makes a game fun

880

:

and what are the components of it.

881

:

And let me test these things

and really get involved in it.

882

:

And it's something that I am passionate.

883

:

It's something that I very much

enjoy doing.

884

:

And I think it's important

to do this on out.

885

:

You know,

there's a lot of people that review

886

:

games, video games and that type of thing,

and there's very good people at that.

887

:

What you're doing is a little bit

beyond that.

888

:

First of all, it's not just video games.

889

:

As you said previously, you're going to be

890

:

covering all aspects of games, but

it's also the ability to actually dig in

891

:

and see how these things go

and not go by some press release.

892

:

But the reality,

893

:

and I think

894

:

that's something

that I'm really looking forward to,

895

:

you know, being able to hear about

and and kind of see where that goes.

896

:

And yes, your segments have been extremely

well received.

897

:

We get a lot of comments

every time that you're on and all of that.

898

:

So it's going to be, I think, amazing

to see where this ends up going.

899

:

And I think it's going to go well.

900

:

So you know right now

user friendly dot show.

901

:

The bolt dot

show is going to be the domain for that.

902

:

And it's up and running right now.

903

:

But there's going to be some more things

coming up there as time progresses.

904

:

And you know whatever however we go

forward is going to be there.

905

:

So I'll be the place to check it out.

906

:

And one other thing

I just want to brought in the last minute

907

:

or so we have here is if this is something

where you're having trouble

908

:

finding other people to play with,

there's a lot of different ways to go

909

:

about that.

910

:

Most conventions

you can do drop in gaming, but again,

911

:

a lot of your local stores,

your game shops will have sessions set up.

912

:

Right.

913

:

You want to speak to that for

914

:

just a little bit here

on our last about 10s here.

915

:

Sure.

916

:

If you can find a local game shop

which you can find in most towns,

917

:

easiest way to do it.

918

:

You walk in and you say, hey, I would love

to jump into at the indie game.

919

:

Do you host here?

920

:

Do you know of groups where I can play

and they'll find it.

921

:

And if you're having a hard time finding

somewhere or if you're more remote,

922

:

you can go on to somewhere like roll20.com

and they actually have game finders.

923

:

You put in the type of game

you want to play,

924

:

and it brings up a list of games

that have open availability.

925

:

And then you can jump into that

and you can find someone to play with.

926

:

It may not be quite

as much fun for me online,

927

:

but it still gives you the chance

to immerse yourself

928

:

in that story and find out

if it's something that you want to do.

929

:

Yeah, and very much out there.

930

:

And it's a starting point

and a way to meet new people

931

:

that have the same interest.

932

:

Well, games, thank you for joining us

this week and good luck with the vault.

933

:

This is user friendly 2.0 until next week.

934

:

Keeping you safe on the cutting edge.

935

:

Thank you for taking

the time to listen to the vault again.

936

:

My name is James Sherwood, I'm the host

and I would really like to hear from you.

937

:

If anybody has any comments or questions,

feel free to go to my website.

938

:

It is the vault dot show.

939

:

Down at the bottom

there's a tab for contact Us.

940

:

You can feel free to go on there,

drop a line, ask questions,

941

:

make comments on the show

or if you have any any input.

942

:

I would love to hear it

943

:

next time on the vault,

we're going to go ahead and take a quick

944

:

look into trading card games,

especially a new game that we ran across

945

:

at Rose city

Comic-Con:

946

:

It's a new training card game

that has multiple levels of strategy

947

:

and some absolutely beautiful artwork,

so tune in next time where I meet with

948

:

some friends of mine

to talk about what this game looks like

949

:

and how it stacks up against

some of the other items in the genre.

950

:

So again,

I look forward to hearing from you.

951

:

You all take care and I will see you next

time when we break into some more fun.

952

:

User Friendly 2.0.

953

:Copyright:

954

:

by User Friendly

Media Group, incorporated.

955

:

All rights reserved.

956

:

Content is the opinion

of the show's participants

957

:

and not necessarily this station

or platform.

958

:

Request for material use.

959

:

Interviews.

960

:

CcpA Privacy Notice

for California residents

961

:

GDPR information for UK

962

:

and EU residents and any other feedback

963

:

may be submitted at user friendly

Dot show.

964

:

We welcome your input.

Thank you for listening.