Episode7 - Platforms and Peaberries

Dungeons and Dark Roasts is a podcast about Dungeons & Dragons and coffee. In this episode, they discuss different platforms for playing D&D, including in-person and online options. They talk about the benefits of in-person play, such as the tangible elements like dice and character sheets, as well as the bonding experience of playing together. They also mention Adventure League, a structured way to play D&D, and the appeal of being able to take your character with you to different tables. They touch on the slower pace of online play and the challenges of roleplaying without facial expressions. Overall, they express their love for in-person gaming but acknowledge the convenience and accessibility of online platforms. Welcome to episode 7 of Dungeons and Dark Roasts. Listen in on tonight's episode as we talk about platforms and Peaberrys. Be sure to like and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for all of our updates and recipes. Listen every Wednesday on Spotify and Amazon Music for our latest episodes. Hello, welcome to Dungeons and Dark Roasts. I'm Axis. And I'm Alex. We're two Dungeon Masters for D&D 5e here to talk about the chaos of our adventures and the coffee that gets us through it. Hey, Axis. So tonight I want to talk about platforms, which is a topic that you and I have gone round and round about since we started playing together. I know, I miss the platforms. I wasn't around for the 60s. I mean, I have a closet full, but that's because I'm 4'11". No, what I'm talking about is the different ways people can get engaged and play D&D. Oh, those platforms. I'm following you. What you got for me? Okay, so we've got several different platforms we're going to talk about tonight, both online and in person. And I think that we should start with in person. Let's talk about the different ways that we can play in person. As we've talked about, I think in two or three episodes now, I personally have a D&D dungeon in my house. Not that kind. No, but I like the interaction to have people over to my house. I typically have about six people other than myself, so six players. But one of my favorite parts of that is it's so tangible. Now, I will say that in person play can be a little bit more slow, but that's because you have minis to move on a map. You have a book to turn pages in and you have dice to roll. But there's something just so intrinsic about having your favorite set of dice that matches your character and that fancy character sheet that you downloaded or that you drew yourself. And you get to be artistic and all of these things. And I really love it. That's how I learned to play. The first time I ever played Dungeons & Dragons, I was sitting on a friend's living room floor. There was no table. It was all theater of the mind. And we were all just sitting around and we passed around one book as we each had our turn. And that was it. But it really brought you together. And even if you don't know the people that are in the room, you really bond. And I really like that aspect of Dungeons & Dragons. Yeah, I think I probably agree with you that my favorite is definitely in person, whether it be Adventure League or just, you know, sitting around somebody's den, you know, cutting up. I think the big difference that I've noticed since I've been taking part in the online platform is that I agree with you that the game does seem to go a little slower in terms of combat. But I think online things go a little bit slower on the roleplay side because in person, you can tell the story with your entire body. And if you're only doing voice chat for some of these online plays, like what we do at the swayer table, you lose something from your facial expressions not being there. And I'm somebody who, whenever I put on a voice, I'm sitting in my office alone like a lunatic doing all of these hands gestures. And I'm hunched over whenever I voice Baba Yaga. Or, you know, I'm like leaning back going full Godfather whenever I'm doing Don Warfrat Leone. I love him. He's my favorite. I'm so glad you like him. I think I agree that Tabletop is probably my favorite as well. But there are a ton of different platforms now. And it makes me so happy because I was one of those players that we started with pen and paper around a table. None of us even had a player handbook except for the DM. Yeah, and I love that. And we're fortunate to be where we are now. But you can still have that. I mean, I have talked about that I ran that middle school group for D&D. And I met with those kids in a hallway upstairs in this one landing. And each kid had their own form. And there was no map. There were no miniatures. They just had one set of seven-piece dice. So not even anything fancy. It was just what the school provided. Right. Seven-piece dice set, one piece of paper, their school pencil, if they could find one. Right, right. I was one of those. Everybody's passing around the same chewed-on pencil. Ah, high school, middle school. Yeah, and they're all, you know, sitting around. And they built those memories together. And some of those kids, my son actually still talks to some of those kids. And it's really fun because now he's almost a senior in high school. And so, you know, it builds those memories and it builds those bonds. And it's nice because when you move out into life, right, we start young and we start playing the game. I was there in my early 20s when I played this game. And if I had been like him and been really young, there's now the ability, you could go to conventions and you can meet up with your friends and you can move around the country and you could go anywhere. Now, that being said, if you go to a convention, you're probably going to be playing Adventure League. Not always. When I run tables at conventions, which we might be doing at Fan Expo, June 7th through the 9th. So you guys come out and see us, we might be running tables. But they won't be Adventure League tables. And that's partly because I'm not a particular fan of Adventure League myself, but I completely see the merit of it. You know, I'm actually, I can see someone who travels a lot. Or only gets to play a game every so often wanting to be part of Adventure League. And for those of you who don't know what Adventure League is, essentially you have a character that you build within an expanded set of rules that are a little more strict for Adventure League. They're specifically for Adventure League. And you can actually take that character to any other Adventure League table. And as long as it is played within those sets of rules, that character levels up, it moves on, it gets its, you know, whatever gear you earn correctly through Adventure League, you get to keep those things and you take those things with you. So it's really like that character is going on a real life adventure with you as a person. Right. And I think that's the appeal for Adventure League is for those people who do travel a lot, sometimes it's the only way to get Dungeons & Dragons tables is, you know, you're away from home, you don't have a set table, but you have your character that you can take with you. And given the right circumstances, you can just drop your character right into that story and pick right back up where you are. Right. And that's the draw there. Normally at a, you know, a home table or a gaming store table, you have the same group of people, whereas in these Adventure League tables, you have the bond with your character. Right. And that's the major difference as well, is that you're not bonding with your fellow players, you're bonding with your character. And I found that in my experience, at least running Adventure League, players get really, really attached to their characters and they get real mad whenever you try to kill them. You kill everybody. The problem is me, though. I know that. That's why I don't do Adventure League anymore. People talk about players being murder hobos. No, players aren't murder hobos. You're the murder hobo. I am. I am the murder hobo. Yes, I absolutely am. But now that we have a fallback with your afterlife campaign, I don't have to feel bad if I wipe all of you off the map. I know. I'm so excited to play that. And we will. And we'll get to the Black Ballad at some point. Oh, I know we're going to. I know we're going to. As soon as you're ready, I'll kill everybody. Oh, I know. You know, and so those are... I love in-person gaming. It really is, I think, my passion. And I've talked a little bit about it, but my brother-in-law has actually got an in-person game going on and he listens to the show and he's a big fan. And I'm so grateful for that. I actually sent him a little gift recently. I saw that. Yeah, I can't talk about it too much because I don't want to spoil it because I'm not quite sure where his party is at. But I did send him something special. When that comes about and he lets me know, I will definitely post about it. And I think we're probably going to have him on the show soon. Yeah, I think it'll be a lot of fun. You know, so that's in-person gaming. And, you know, we would love for you guys to hop on our Instagram and our Facebook and tell us about your experiences at the table. Send us your pictures. We want to see you guys around the table if you have one. Yeah. And so I'll even post some pictures. I said I was going to post some of the dungeon before, but I definitely will post some and I have some of players at my table. So we'll do that. Yeah, I gotta say the picture you took of me in front of your dungeon wall with that sadistic grin I have with my book, it is the epitome of me as a DM and I love that. I know. I love it. I actually have, yeah, I didn't even tell you this yet, but I have printed some of those photos for us to sign and hand out at Comic-Con. Oh, okay. You're welcome. I'm just going to go in there with like a brown Sharpie marker and just cover my hairline in if you don't mind. I just, I need the pictures. I just want to talk. So there are two other sides. Well, really one other side of D&D gaming and it's online gaming, but I feel like there's two different sides to that. There is what we do with the swayers group. Right. And then there is D&D gaming for people who frankly don't want to interact with other people. Yeah, for some people Dungeons & Dragons is not a collaborative game and I get that. Baldur's Gate 3, actually all of the Baldur's Gate games, have been absolute successes as they have come out and there are so many references to Baldur's Gate 3. I'm constantly, you know, over the table pointing out, okay, do any of you, have any of you guys played Baldur's Gate 3? Sometimes I get a yes, sometimes I get a no. I will say, okay, this is a reference to that person just as an extra little bit of tidbit. So that's nice. It is. Well, and Baldur's Gate can provide lore and it can provide a basis for understanding on things like character race and class and how weapons work and proficiencies and things like that. And for people who are just straight video gamers, which I'm also a gamer, you know, I love it. I love playing it. And, you know, it's a great way to get a D&D fix when you either don't have the ability to get into a game or you don't have the time to put into that. You know, some people have the time to play twice a week. Some people don't have the time to play twice a year. Right, right. Well, and with Baldur's Gate, specifically 3, because it's the most recent one that I've played, it also creates kind of a environment where you as a player can be bold. You can make bold choices and you can actually see how your choices on behalf of your character can interact with the world of Dungeons & Dragons. You know, the spells are not all the same. The racial options and the classes available, they're not all the same. But the aspects of what D&D is, which is, do I go in there and blow everybody up with a barrel full of gunpowder? Or do I go and befriend the swamp hag? Right. It's those kind of choices that essentially what Dungeons & Dragons is. And it helps players to learn, I think, that it's okay to be bold and make mistakes. Because mistakes make for great stories. Right. Well, and the same thing can be said for games like Skyrim. Right. Or World of Warcraft. Yeah. You know, they're all very D&D-esque. You know, D&D is a name brand. Dungeons & Dragons is a name brand. But we're all talking about the same thing here. Yeah. You know. Collaborative role-playing games. Yeah, they're all the same thing. Exactly. You know, and you're the hero, or the bad guy, depending on how you want to play it. Yes, I am. Yes, Baba Yaga. You've got everyone fooled. I know. I'm just this swamp hag sitting in a computer room messing with all of you. That's exactly what it is. I believe it. So, but yeah, this is, I love the online aspect of it for that. For players who don't have the ability or don't want to interact with anyone else. Right. You know, you have as much interaction as you want to in the video game realm. But then, of course, we have the online gaming version of D&D. Yes. Let me be frank. Whenever it comes to virtual tabletops, there is only one superior platform available to everyone, and that is D&D Beyond. I will die on this hill. Well, then you can die on it, because it's Roll20. And, and Roll20 just fully integrated with Discord, and you can play it from Discord. Wait, what? Yes, the beta just launched. Oh, okay, I'm going to have to look into that. Uh-huh. All right, Swayers, we're moving to Roll20. Yep, good thing we just launched a game that we're going to be playing on Roll20. I mean, you know, of course, you guys will hear about that, and we're going to be playing the Dungeon of the Mad Mage with the Swayers group. Oh, it's going to be so fun. It will. But, you know, I want to talk about, you know, you and I have had this fun rivalry since day one. Since you and I had started playing together, we have not had the pleasure of playing together at the table. Right. And the reason for that is we came together for a project through Wounded Warrior Project to support veterans, and we wanted to make sure that they were getting a gaming experience. So it ended up being online because these people were all over the place. Right. And because of that, you and I haven't had the chance to sit down. Well, and I also knew the adventure that they were doing a lot better. And there were just some real-world things that were preventing us from giving them the project that we both knew that they deserved. And I think that's one of the big benefits of the virtual tabletops is that it opens up more avenues for playing the same game. And you and I have had this rivalry since day one, because I did put everybody into Roll20. And there is a learning curve. I'm going to be completely honest with you. For those of you who are listening and who have never used a virtual tabletop or a VTT, there is a real learning curve, especially with Roll20. But with all of these, you've got to be a little bit tech savvy. You've got to be willing to watch some YouTube videos or some tutorials. But the benefits that you can get from playing with these can just make your game so cool. And I've actually taken some of that into my table in my dungeon. I actually have a TV that runs VTT maps at my house. That is insane. I know. I'm spoiled. You are. I am. My darling husband built that table for me, specifically because he wants maps that explode and trees that sway and things like that. Rivers that run. He wants Baldur's Gate scenery is what it is. He wants immersion. I mean, who doesn't, right? And the VTT stuff that's on Roll20 and the things that they have done. And I'll give some credit here to D&D Beyond. They are coming up. But they are behind Roll20 because Roll20 was ahead of them. Originally, D&D Beyond was just for the books and for the character sheets. And they're starting to add maps. They're starting to add features to the maps and things. But it's so very new. And Roll20, at this point, now has the ability to do, you know, if you cast Fireball, you can watch the spell actually go off. The telegraphing was what I was looking at Roll20 about. And I was like, OK, it's going to be a VTT arms race between Roll20 and D&D Beyond. So it's been kind of entertaining to watch them kind of compete with each other. It has. And I think it's really, we both say, you know, this one's superior to the other. But honestly, folks, it's really what you are comfortable with. They're both great. We have both used both. And it comes down to what are you comfortable with? Or, you know, do you want something that's going to be a little easier on your players? I would use D&D Beyond. Yeah, it is a little bit more user friendly for new players that might be still trying to learn the game as well as are new to the VTT system, where all they have to do is you have two browser windows open. You've got your map and you've got your character sheet. And that's all. All of the rest of the stuff is on my right. Whereas, you know, on Roll20, the DM's got layers and there's music and there's movement and there's, you know, all of the VTT maps and, you know, the dragon actually flies in across the map and all of these things. That's a lot. There's a lot going on. And when you have new players or even seasoned players who are not accustomed to something like that or somebody who's not tech savvy, you know, it can just it can be very sensory, overwhelming, intimidating, too. It can. And I, you know, I say that at my table, I use like I'll light a candle or I will, you know, do things like that. Oh, yeah. You're an ambience leader. I am. And we actually have a vendor that contacted me recently that we will probably have on the show soon because I want to talk about his product because I want to put it in my dungeon as well. I just don't want to. I don't want to be preemptive. But, you know, I do. I drop all that ambience. And I think that's probably the reason I love Roll20 so much is because it's as close as I will ever get to playing online with somebody who's in Canada or Australia or England and give them the same experience that they would have sitting at my table. Right, right. I think I have the same approach with D&D Beyond. D&D Beyond is also very near and dear to my heart personally, because every single person at the swagger table came from D&D Beyond, except for you, obviously. But, you know, Rulyark and Aria and Ojas, Screw, Lucky, they all, I recruited all of them from the D&D Beyond forums. And, you know, they're my ride and die. Ride and die. Hopefully. Soon. No. But they're, they've been here since day one. And day one was on D&D Beyond because I, it was a flip of the coin and came up head. So I went D&D Beyond. Right. And I think that's, you know, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. And I think everybody should look into it. You know, watch a YouTube video, guys. In fact, I will do some research and I will drop some YouTube videos on the social media this week so that you guys can see the differences. And yeah, don't do what I do. Don't leave it up to a coin flip. Find out which one you think you would have the most enjoyment with, which one is most accessible for you, and which one fits your personal style. You know, and tell us what you think. Are you, are you a Roll20 fan? Are you a D&D Beyond fan? You know, what, what do you like? Tell us what you think, you know, and there's a big debate out there, you know, I mean, I'll be honest, I struggled. I went over to the online gaming community for D&D during the pandemic. That's how, when I went and I had to go on because we had to, we didn't have a choice, right? And I was still at the end of my Curse of Strahd campaign. And I'll be honest, I really struggle personally with the idea that I own thousands of dollars worth of books that I can't use online. Yeah, don't get me started on that. And it's a big debate. But that's a debate for another day, I feel like. Right, yeah. So, and, you know, all of this being said, all of these different platforms can be an adventure, which really leads us into our homebrew today, because I want you to join me. And I want our listeners to join me, because we are going to go on an adventure today with our homebrew. I am doing something different. And I know I say that every week, because I don't want to just give you guys sweet coffees to taste. I like giving you guys recipes. But I want to actually send you on an adventure. So come join me for the homebrew of the week. Okay, let me roll a perception check before we go into this room. I got an 11. I think you'll be okay. Okay. I think you'll be okay. So this week, we are talking about pea berries, and they are spelled P-E-A-B-E-R-R-I-E-S. And this is not a berry. It is, well, coffee is a berry. But they're called pea berries, and it's a specific kind of coffee. So coffee, when it grows, usually grows together two individual beans next to each other flat. You know, if you've ever seen a coffee bean, one side's flat, and they grow together kind of like twins. Yeah, like that coffee cereal. Like a peanut in a pod, kind of. And so when a pea berry is formed, one seed or one bean takes over the other. So one is almost like the pit of a cherry inside the pea berry, and it grows like that. Pea berries have to be hand-picked, and only 5% of all the world's coffee are pea berries. This pea berry coffee sounds like it's psychotic at a genetic level. Please continue. I mean, probably. I'm intrigued. I'm absolutely in love with this type of coffee already. It sounds crazy. Yeah, so they look really unique. And you can get it at your local, you know, like grocery store or like probably one of your fancier markets as an actual coffee to buy. And most of what you're going to find is most of them are like Hawaiian coffees. And that's because there is so much coffee grown in Hawaii. And I actually lived in Hawaii. My parents were stationed there. And I didn't have the benefit of being stationed there, but I still remember being on Pearl Harbor and living there and growing up there. And there's so much coffee grown there, and especially in Kona. And Kona is my favorite coffee. And you can get a really good Hawaiian coffee that's a pea berry. So if you're looking for it, try and find a Hawaiian. And it's probably easier to find that way. But the adventure I want to send you all on this week is I want you to go and find your local pea berry coffee shop. We have actually three or four of them here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I understand if you're in a smaller rural area, you probably can't do that. You might be getting your pea berry coffee on Amazon and making it yourself. But I want you to go out. Get out of the house. Go get a cup of pea berry coffee. Tell me what you think about it. Most people find it to be a sweeter, more flavorful coffee by itself, even if it's black. So you would probably very much enjoy this. Oh, I'm sure. It is naturally a sweet coffee, and it's very flavorful. So I would love to hear what you guys think of the homebrew of the week. We actually, like I said, if you're not going to get a recipe for this one, I will post some links for some great coffee houses in different metro areas. But I want you to go out and have an adventure and send me a picture of you out having your pea berry coffee. And I think Axis and I might go have a cup and send you guys a picture as well. Yeah, don't forget to roll your perception check. I think you should just blow us up. One more person suggests to me a sweet coffee, I'm going to blow everyone at the swayer table up. It's going to be me. Don't do it. You think I'm kidding. I'm the problem. It's me. I have already almost killed you guys like four times in the last week alone. Don't tempt me. All right, guys, thank you so much for joining us again for Platforms and Peaberrys. We cannot wait to talk to you all again. And we're going to be covering kobolds and cold brews. Okay, then see you guys next week. Take care.