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Digital Dungeons and Dragons...and Distance!  

Well, the time has come for a new campaign...one of our friends recently moved out of state...being an audio/visual tech nerd, I decided if there was something special I could do to make the experience more enjoyable for our distance friend.

Without going in to too much detail...I have alot of equipment lying around that I use for music or video production, but I wanted to kick it up a notch and set out on buying a few extra gadgets.

Ha...if anyone from Wizards happens to read this, I would love to do this for YOUR podcasts!  

Anyway...based on many podcasts I have watched or listed to, I know its difficult to hear players clearly when there are multiple people talking at a table.  Well, I went out and picked up a cheap 4-channel mixer with some cheap adapters to work with some extra mics I had.  1 mic will be clipped on the DMs screen to pick up his audio, and each table-side will have a mic to pick up the pair of PCs sitting there.  I'll be able to adjust each mic to keep the audio levels consistent, and send the mixer's output to my laptop.

Next comes the video...which I may have gone overboard with...after a TON of searching message boards and posting questions I finally came across a free program that would allow me to switch multiple webcams over the same stream...so I could use skype.

I picked up some really cheap webcams (and adapted one of my higher end video cameras) that I could set up multiple camera angles and setup split screens.  I have my nicer camera fixed on the battlemat...1 camera wide for a shot of the entire group at the table...then one camera one each of the PCs.  So now I can switch from camera to camera depending on who is talking, and our distance friend can have the minis up and see who is talking...

I'll take some photos soon!

Here's a minor NPC for my upcoming adventure...based of the old fiend folio Huecuevas...hes a cursed cleric with a retinue of zombie acolytes...

Minor Huecueva Level 3 Controller (Leader)

Medium shadow animate XP 150

Initiative +1 Senses Perception +4

HP 46; Bloodied 23

AC 17; Fortitude 15; Reflex 14; Will 16

Speed 6

m Dark Staff Strike (at-will; standard) 

+8 vs AC; 1d6 + 3 damage

M Necrotic Staff (recharge 4 5 6; standard) • Necrotic, Weapon

Requires quarterstaff; +8 vs AC; 2d10 + 3 Necrotic damage, and the target is dazed until the end of the Huecueva’s next turn

R Bone-Wearying Glance (at-will; standard) • Necrotic

Ranged 5; two targets; +7 vs Fortitude; 1d6 + 3 necrotic damage and slowed (save ends)

R Holy Shackles (recharges when the target makes a save to end this effect; standard) • Charm, Psychic

Ranged 10; +7 vs Will; 1d6 + 3 psychic damage, and the target is restrained (save ends). Each enemy that starts its turn adjacent to the target while the target is restrained by this power is immobilized (save ends)

R Command (encounter; standard) • Charm, Divine, Implement

Ranged 10; +7 vs Will; the target is dazed until the end of Glimnock’s next turn. In addition, Glimnock can choose to knock the target prone or slide the target up to 6 squares

Alignment Evil Languages Common

Skills Arcana +6, Heal +9, Religion +6

Str 11 (+1) Dex 11 (+1) Wis 17 (+4)

Con 14 (+3) Int 11 (+1) Cha 14 (+3)

Equipment Quarterstaff, Fine Clothing, Ritual Book, Holy Symbol

© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.

My first post to begin the logging of my group's progress through our new campaign.  A quick preview of the campaign involves a trip through Hommlet, and a short visit to it's precarious Moathouse while tracking down a group of slavers in to Thunderspire Labyrinth...What interest could the mages withing the six pillared hall have with the abandoned Temple of Elemental Evil?