Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

The rule for pagecount is still highest of the top 5 (most popular) English editions right? Coz some people are doing it wrong and it's stressing me out! We should all be getting the same points for reading the same book or else it's unfair and kinda pointless.

Siobhan wrote: "The rule for pagecount is still highest of the top 5 (most popular) English editions right? Coz some people are doing it wrong and it's stressing me out! We should all be getting the same points fo..."

Yes, except you're reading the book in another language (comment 215)...

Sir Anni wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "The rule for pagecount is still highest of the top 5 (most popular) English editions right? Coz some people are doing it wrong and it's stressing me out! We should all be getting th..."

Yeah I know, but what I'm seeing isn't an example of that.

It's not always that people are choosing higher counts either. I've seen people choosing lower ones incorrectly, so they just mustn't understand the rule I guess.

Well... even if the pagecount is correct, people doing audiobooks and/or not doing inclusive challenges will earn less points in the end, as well...

Also, if you prefill your sheet and are doing new releases, sometimes the top 5 pagecount changes as people start rating editions or librarians edit info... maybe they just missed the change?

Yes, but that's part of the competition. The incentive is there to do challenges and read physically.

Look, I'm not trying to be a dickhead. Just pointing out that people who have read Sea of Rust and Thunderhead (as two examples) are using different page counts.
Is the top 5 something that's quite changeable? Could it be different for two different people looking at the same time?

No, you're right... in general it's set in stone...

Assuming nobody is cheating for extra points, some people are probably just using the page count on the book page, and others are using the editions page to check the top 5 editions like we're allowed to this year...

If someone is actually cheating, I'll leave it to the mods to sort out...

It's all about the honesty of the participants, I think.
For example, what I do:
- when I read the English version: I search the book and look at the top 5. I use the highest page count.
- when I read the translation (not because of the higher page count, if it has any, but sometimes it's easier), then I use the book pages of the book and do not search for higher page count.

@Siobhan. I think the issue might be that often, the first 5 titles listed are a combinations of English editions and 1 or 2 foreign editions. So you'll actually need to look at the 6th or 7th book listed to get the 5th English edition and people may miss out because of that and accidentally give themselves less pages. I know I did for a few books I read until I realised the 5th English edition was further down in the list. I hope that makes sense.

Yes, I know what you mean. It's good to check twice.

Hummmm... I had a bad feeling, checked my page count for Sea of Rust and realized it was higher than supposed to... I probably missed one line while pre-entering all my planned reads in my scoresheet, which offset all page counts by one line -_-"
I usually check it a second time when I finish the book (which is why I had a bad feeling, since several of my books turned with an incorrect page count) but didn't this time 'cause I finished it at 3 am :O

Anyway... Dunno if you were talking about me but didn't want to give names. Sorry about that. Mea culpa :/

I'm really happy I don't read as much as Iain/Julia/Soo right now 'cause I have to check every single book I've read this month :(

I update my page counts in bulk, using the book links I include in column A... so I open a dozen book pages, continue to editions, and then start checking/updating top 5 page counts...

Virginie wrote: "Hummmm... I had a bad feeling, checked my page count for Sea of Rust and realized it was higher than supposed to... I probably missed one line while pre-entering all my planned reads in my scoreshe..."

Hahaha could you imagine having to check as many books as they do?! 😂😂

I really don't think anyone is trying to cheat. Either just rushing or genuinely not understanding the rule.

Charlie wrote: "@Siobhan. I think the issue might be that often, the first 5 titles listed are a combinations of English editions and 1 or 2 foreign editions. So you'll actually need to look at the 6th or 7th book..."

That's a good point Charlie. That might have been the case with Scythe and Thunderhead actually. Nearly caught me out.

Something I've been wondering: are we supposed to count audiobooks in the 5 most popular editions since they don't give a 'normal' page count?

I had a book with the hardback being the most popular, then 4 different editions of audiobooks. Didn't know if I was supposed to only consider the hardback, or include the paperback that was #6 in popularity which had around 100 more pages.

I never count the audiobooks because I interpreted the rule to be top five of editions that have actual pages (audiobooks sometimes have random page numbers). So I identify the first 5 English paperback/hardback/ebook versions.

That explains some of the confusion... I generally just live with the blank editions and go with top 5 regardless...

Most audiobooks substitute page count for hours of audio... so they're generally a number between 5 & 55 (Stormlight Archive audiobooks)

I've been counting the audio books in the top 5.

I go top 5 unless a translated book is in the top 5.

Hello dear wonderful mods :)

Iain and me plan to do a Buddy read for the Authors & Dragons Podcast, it's 6-7 Author playing D&D and telling the story. It's edited to remove pauses and stuff, so it's more like a graphic audiobook, are we allowed to count it?

Here's an online link to the first episode: http://www.drewhayesnovels.com/author...

The storytelling aspects of it start about 3 minutes in...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Here's an online link to the first episode: http://www.drewhayesnovels.com/author...

The storytelling aspects of it start about 3 minutes in..."

Love the intro music. Sounds like a cross between Transformers the Movie music and Tenacious D. In a similar vein I have the The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins out from the library.

Love the intro as well! Sadly they changed it after Episode 6 or something :/

And this sounds indeed similar, hope it's as good as it sounds!

That’s kind of a grey area. My knee jerk thought is that if it doesn’t have a book summary area on Goodreads where it establishes a page count, then it doesn’t count towards the challenge. I could see people trying to get podcasts to count if we allowed this one. That’s just my initial thought. Let’s see how the other mods weigh in.

Niki Hawkes wrote: "That’s kind of a grey area. My knee jerk thought is that if it doesn’t have a book summary area on Goodreads where it establishes a page count, then it doesn’t count towards the challenge. I could ..."

I totaly see where you're coming from... Still it was stated before, that it's ok to count audiobooks without a written version and use 30 pages per hour, that's why I thought it would be ok

LIstening to it, it sounds like a podcast though. If we're going to include podcasts, then I can start adding wait wait don't tell me to my page counts :) (why am i trying to take points away from my own team mates...!?!?

I don’t remember seeing that (I’m sure I’ve missed half the updates), but I trust you that it’s there. It’s funny how many nuances there our in our rules at this point lol. Let’s see how the other mods weigh in. I’m not trying to be a hard ass with it, by any means. That one does seem to be pushing the fringe of things.

Lol Rob. Team TRs supports self sabotage by other teams. ;P Although this decision will affect my team too haha. ::facepalm::

Yea... I think Shaitarn's audio-only books have the advantage of having Goodreads listings:

Doctor Who: The Monsters of Gokroth
etc

Can I roll a charisma check to convince you? 😂😂😂

To count our BR, maybe we could treat it like GN, with less points?

How about we just get a D&D group together. Been meaning to get into 5e for a while :)

Timelord Iain wrote: "Yea... I think Shaitarn's audio-only books have the advantage of having Goodreads listings:

Doctor Who: The Monsters of Gokroth
etc"

Just to back up Iain's point: all the 'audio only' items I asked about are listed (rightly or wrongly) as audiobooks, both on GRs and internet selling sites, which is why I asked in the first place.

If it would make it easier to have a standard 'only unabridged audiobooks that have also have a physical or electronic reading copy can be allowed' rule than let's go for that.

Hey all, the book I'm reading at the moment (The Hunger Games) I keep switching between the audio and ebook, what do I do in terms of points? I'm assuming I just class it as an audio read?

Charlie wrote: "Hey all, the book I'm reading at the moment (The Hunger Games) I keep switching between the audio and ebook, what do I do in terms of points? I'm assuming I just class it as an audio read?"

Instead of a "y" or "n", you can also add a number in the audiobook column, indicating the percentage you listened to it instead of reading :) For example a 50, for half listening, half reading.
Virginie wrote a smart formula that does the rest :)

That's amazing!! Thanks! Formulas are so confusing, I honestly wouldn't have a clue.

Rob wrote: "How about we just get a D&D group together. Been meaning to get into 5e for a while :)"

What does this entail? I've been curious about D&D but I've never played before.

Hmmmm.

Bit complicated :) Need people willing to play as characters and someone willing to be a dungeon master to design a world (or play in an existing/developed D&D world, but to create the adventure storyline. Would require playing from afar using either a chat room or a google hangout/skype type arrangement I suppose. I mostly played 2nd edition when I played regularly.

I have PDFs of some of the rules if interested or recommend taking (fifth edition) it out from the library to get a taste. (Getting into D&D is a bit of financial investment).

Sounds like a headache, finding time to play that works for a handful of people in a handful of timezones on a weekly or whatever basis... there's a decent amount of prep involved, and then visualization so people can do the combat/etc long-distance without mistakes that can easily be corrected when playing in a single room... there are probably online tools to help...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sounds like a headache, finding time to play that works for a handful of people in a handful of timezones on a weekly or whatever basis... there's a decent amount of prep involved, and then visuali..."

I once attempted to play via IRC. Lasted 2 or 3 sessions and died a quick death, so yes I agree it can be painful and I believe you're correct about online tools, but I haven't used any. roll20.net and rd20pro.com i believe are some sites.

Timelord Iain wrote: "Sounds like a headache, finding time to play that works for a handful of people in a handful of timezones on a weekly or whatever basis... there's a decent amount of prep involved, and then visuali..."

Rob wrote: "Hmmmm.

Bit complicated :) Need people willing to play as characters and someone willing to be a dungeon master to design a world (or play in an existing/developed D&D world, but to create the adve..."

Didn't know it was so involved. Im still interesting, but I don't know enough to jump right in I guess.

Rob wrote: "Hmmmm.

Bit complicated :) Need people willing to play as characters and someone willing to be a dungeon master to design a world (or play in an existing/developed D&D world, but to create the adve..."

Oooh! You guys are talking D&D, huh? Nice! I can totally vouch for online games. Honestly you can find so many games that way. Sometimes life gets in the way and it's hard to get an in person game together with friends.

I'm playing 3 games on roll20 right now (1 in person). Roll20 is a great resource for players and DMs alike. You can even search on the message boards to find more of a story based game (or whatever is to your liking). And honestly, the people I have found on there are more keen on keeping things at least to one game a week. I haven't had too many issues with games that just ended.

@Yanique Don't be intimidated by D&D. It is storytelling at its finest. If you have a great DM they can help you get the knack of things rule wise. But in this kinda game the world is your sandbox, and you can do pretty much anything...and then deal with the repercussions later. lol.

For starters I would recommend just checking out some youtube/twitch shows that feature D&D games. You can get the feel for what games are like and the rules...and see if you're interested in it. I'd highly recommend checking out Critical Role. But there are other popular shows like Force Grey, Dice Camera Action, Acquisitions Incorporated, and many more. Also, Critical Role has some nice videos on Youtube called Handbook Helper that assist new players with some of the basic rules of D&D ;)

Yanique wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Sounds like a headache, finding time to play that works for a handful of people in a handful of timezones on a weekly or whatever basis... there's a decent amount of prep invo..."

Yea... things like that are easier to learn locally, if you can find like-minded individuals... games stores usually have ongoing campaigns... there are basic and advanced rulebooks and things, too, which get costly... which is why local is easier, since you can share... players need the rulebook for shopping and character building... dungeon master needs it for combat/etc...

It also rewards creative people... you should check out that podcast Anni mentioned a few weeks ago, to listen to authors playing D&D together... it's heavily edited to create a storytelling aesthetic that I never quite experienced when I played in college, but it gives an idea...

Now I'm interested and I've been searching online for gaming groups in my city for the last hour instead of doing work...

Oh man, D&D! I'd love to find a local group but I'm not having much luck. The big cities have them, though, including the one I'll be moving to in a few years – so maybe I'll have to be patient. My dad was pretty big on D&D when he was in high school so he has a lot of the guide books which are pretty cool to look through, although I understand nothing xD

First step is to figure out the closest specialty stores that sell D&D books...

A good roundabout tool might be https://locator.wizards.com

This is a tool for finding local Magic: The Gathering tournaments, but most game stores sell Magic: The Gathering cards behind the register, and MTG has a large event scene... between Friday Night Magic drafts and the quartery Pre-Release and Release events for new card sets...

I had to quit 8+ year ago, because I was spending way too much money on a game without having many people I could play with for free outside of the store, with all the cards I was amassing...

I made it through making a character, and that’s as far as I got lol. I sat in on a bunch of them though. It takes a lot of time, and it’s more about the fun you have with the group you’re playing with rather than the game itself.

If anyone's interested, there's an online RPing site called Roleplayer Guild (http://roleplayerguild.com). It's a 'play by board' site where you create a character and write down what they do, so there's a strong storytelling element.

Niki Hawkes wrote: "I made it through making a character, and that’s as far as I got lol. I sat in on a bunch of them though. It takes a lot of time, and it’s more about the fun you have with the group you’re playing ..."

Yea... realistically, it's going to take weeks/months to make it through any sort of meaninful amount of content... combat takes forever, especially at low levels and while learning the game... the best stories come from long-time players and high level groups that manage to do crazy things... things that usually derail a carefully crafted campaign by the Dungeon Master...

That was actually one of my favorite parts of reading the Dragonlance books early last year as Buddy Reads... that first book really sounded like reading a story about a crazy D&D campaign, with the characters convincing the stupid Drakonids that the Wicker Dragon was their Dragon God talking to them...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Niki Hawkes wrote: "I made it through making a character, and that’s as far as I got lol. I sat in on a bunch of them though. It takes a lot of time, and it’s more about the fun you have with the g..."

Apparently the writers play tested the ideas of the tie-in modules before writing the novels, so I think a lot of the story came from those games (for example, the guy playing the mage voiced him in a hoarse whisper, which gave them Raist's voice).

That's really neat how some writers have created a D&D podcast. I really only know of the brilliant storytelling minds of Matthew Mercer and Chris Perkins. What's the podcast called? :D

Katie wrote: "That's really neat how some writers have created a D&D podcast. I really only know of the brilliant storytelling minds of Matthew Mercer and Chris Perkins. What's the podcast called? :D"

Authors & Dragons: http://www.drewhayesnovels.com/author...