The First Adventure

Well, I finally sat down for the first session with my new group. In a nutshell - it went well.

With the chargen guidelines sent to them, I really left it up to the players to make what they wanted, knowing that I would worry about the details later. To my surprise, they came up with a group that was somewhat coherent.

We had:

• Human Monk
  
• Human Fighter
• Dwarf Fighter
• Dwarf Fighter #2
  
• Dwarf Wizard
• Dwarf Wizard #2

Not the most balanced party to be sure, but yet, it did have balance in the sense of having a predominance of dwarves - something I could work with for later. As I've said before, all the players were pretty much new, in the sense they had not played in a couple of years. There was some experience there, but one of the players, James, was brand new to the game.

Rather than bore you with the details of what happened on the adventure, I'll comment on the experience in general. I've never gamed with a new group like this. All my non-con gaming was pretty much with the same group I'd had for 20+ years (with some people adding/subtracting over time), so to sit down with a bunch of strangers was interesting, but strangely, not intimidating.

Once the characters had been set up and we were ready to go, I told the group that all I was really looking for was for all of us to have some fun. I wanted to basically "roll dice and kill things." Character and campaign development could come later. I really just wanted everyone to get re-familiarized with the rules.

Over the roughly five hours of the session, things went well. Rules were indeed grasped, some character personalities started to come out, and some player personalities as well. I have a player who likes to dominate (though I wonder if that was more from lack of experience on the other player's part), I have another player that just likes to "be there" and not say a whole heck of a lot.

I felt it was a success in that some definite "bonding" occurred amongst the players over their characters and each other (I should mention that all of the players know each other in some capacity). Even when one of the PCs died (after valiant efforts to save him), there was some good humor about it all.

If there was one area I think things fell a little flat, it was Pacing. It took too long to get to the meat of the adventure. It was something I wanted to avoid, but I think some old habits of mine kicked in, and I (unintentionally) slowed things down, most likely in an effort to squeeze some role-playing out of them (not much came out in this first session). I was able to move some elements along, but it's something I need to look out for in the future.

In the end, we did not finish the adventure. The PCs actually are being forced to leave the dungeon and head back to town to heal up. This is good because it will allow James to get a new PC in the group, and also force us to get back together (in 2 weeks). Once done, we'll be able to take a closer look at how we want to proceed as a group from that point.

Feels good to roll the dice and stand behind the screen once again though.

Saturday Looms Closer

An update on my upcoming gaming. It's going to be a Saturday Morning-Afternoon affair. Also, it looks as if the size of the group has expanded to 5-6 players.

I honestly don't know what to expect. As I work through my 25th year of gaming, I've never really walked blindly into a group like this outside of a convention setting. It sounds like most, if not all of the players have not gamed in some time, or at all. What I'm really hoping for is some players who want the fun, but also are looking for a little depth beyond just "kill monsters, get loot."

So knowing the little that I do, I've decided to sort of merge my two previous concerns about Campaign vs One-Shot. I have sent my contact, Kevin, the brief character creation guidelines I came up with. That will help set the framework if this does develop into a campaign, rather than telling one of the players that his gnome illusionist can no longer exist (no gnomes in my game). The adventure I'm starting them off with is a pretty simple scenario, but one designed to best ease everyone into the mechanics. If I discover some role-players in the group, I can work with that easy enough.

So, chargen guidelines, huh? This would mean I should post them. I will, when they are in a presentable format, rather than the e-mail I shot off.

Time permitting when the session winds down, I want to try and talk a bit to everyone about what they are looking for, what we have time for, and what type of schedule we could have, if any.

And Just Like That

I'm going gaming again. I called the guy I met about gaming and he is interested. He, along with his two sons, and possibly one of their friends might be sitting down around a table possibly next weekend.

I'll be running things, which puts me in kind of a bind, because now I have to strike that balance between doing something that could be a one-shot adventure, and something that could lead to a longer campaign. We both expressed a desire to do a longer campaign, and I think it could develop into that, but I need to be careful. You never know what you get with new players.

My initial thought is to just find a simple adventure that has no major impact on things. They haven't played in a while, so the rules will be their biggest concern, as will mine for that matter. Beyond that, I want to set aside some time to find out what they are really looking for in a campaign and in adventures. I found a questionnaire that may help to solve this dilemma.

I am thinking about Dahara though. I'll need to really think about and quickly compile together character creation guidelines for them.

Most of all though, I'm excited. It has struck me as odd to be writing a gaming blog when I'm not even doing what I'm writing about. That, hopefully will now change.

I'd Forgotten How Much I've Missed It

On Saturday, we were picking up our daughter from a birthday party at a local bowling alley. This alley is across the street from the FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store, for those who don't know). We had some extra time, and it'd been a few weeks since I'd been in the store, so I thought I'd pop in.

There were a number of other guys in the store, and they were all gathered around the tables were the store hosts a variety of games each night. That night it looked as if a local group was getting ready to play some D&D. All the components were there: Game books, soda, backpacks, conversations about characters, adventures and past exploits. Yes, even the sadly requisite body odor was there. As I looked over the books in the store, I eavesdropped on their conversation. It seemed that there was someone new in the group and he was going to be falling on the "cleric grenade." It sounded as if the whole things was all a bunch of first level characters. Ahhh, the smell of fresh adventure! Between the the books on the shelves and their words, I suddenly found myself feeling some unexpected sadness.

See, it's been almost two years since I've sat down with some friends to play RPGs. I don't count my kids in this, because while enjoyable, the sessions I've had with them have been more of an instructional nature. But sitting with other adults and really getting down to some rolling and role-ing... it's been far too long.

And I'd forgotten how much I missed it. And how much it is a part of me. I really felt like something inside was missing as I stood there in the store, feeling like I was on the outside looking in. I longed to be at the table, behind the screen, laying out the open road to adventure in front of my players.

I need to get that back. I can't make the gaming nights at the FLGS, but I do have another option that I've talked about before. It's time to pursue that.

The Devil's In The... Well You Know.

I'm always on the lookout for neat ideas to take and use in a game, and I've mined many a scene, plot hook, adventure or even a campaign from both TV and movies. It's a pretty common practice for most GMs, and something I strongly encourage you to do so, if you don't already.

I finally got to see I Am Legend today. This was a movie I definitely wanted to check out after seeing the first trailer. I love post-apocalyptic stories, regardless of the origination. I've never read the book, but I've heard the movie is a departure from it. That's cool. The movie made me want to read the book anyway.

Now, I'm not going to review the movie here, though I should say there was little I found lacking with it. Where the movie really shined for me was in the visuals. Not in the creatures Will Smith's character was trying to help, but in the depiction of New York City. It was obvious, and the movie went to great lengths to establish this, that the city was empty. No human, save Will Smith lived in this once great city. The grass growing up in the streets, the cars left in neat rows on the side, or traffic clogged roadways. All this and more give you the clear feeling of emptiness. In fact, a very telling long pull back shot as Smith drives his vehicle down a street show just how empty the city is of human life.

What does this have to do with gaming? Almost any adventure lives or dies by the mood, set-up or feeling put forth by the GM at the start of the adventure. I Am Legend set up the adventure perfectly for this player as I sat back in my seat, yet became immersed in where the hero was located. I was in the game.

And it's in the details, details, details. Your set-up can succeed by laying out the details when you start out. Not only will it set the stage properly, but it'll give the players something to grab on to, and then give back to you. Get your players immersed, and they will contribute to your story more than you'd ever expect. Plus as an added bonus, it may throw them off.

If you provide more description than usual for the minstrel playing by the hearth in the tavern, the players will wonder why so much attention is being given to this NPC. Why all the text to the serving girl? Their mind will race. The table of dwarves? The smell of the food? The conversation going on at the table next to us? The list can go on. One of my favorite products for this? Masterworks Maps: Inns & Taverns by Darkfuries Publishing.

Yes, it may indeed slow your game down, but are you really in a hurry?

Dahara Developed - What to Do?

So I find myself at a bit of a crossroads with Dahara. It's my campaign world, and for some time I've wanted to really develop the world into something that could be published. As it sits right now, the world is in D&D 3.0 stats. With the coming of 4.0, I really don't have much of a desire to convert all that, as I'm not incredibly stoked about 4th Edition right now, and I don't know if I will ever be, to be honest.

I'm reading the Savage World rules, and really loves those, but I'm not real sure of the licensing rules for that system to allow such publishing. Something worth looking into.

Of course, there is always the option of simply writing up the world as generic and letting it sit out there.

I know for sure that I will likely write up some adventures in Dahara and set them out to here to be used. That is coming for certain.

Playtest Report


In short, it went pretty well. Sat down via Skype with Adam, Dan & Luke for the test. We'd tested the rules before, but this was a more formalized test if you will. The rules themselves seem pretty sound, and easy to use. Tier 1 of Skies of Glass seems is indeed shaping up as promised: A fast system without a lot of detail that allows the players to get going without the rules getting in the way.

Some areas of concern? Remembering to use "clicks." Clicks are basically a measure of success in the game, and using them in combat is very important. Now, it may have been all of our unfamiliarity with the new rules, but we forgot to use clicks as they happened. It's a sound concept, it'll just take some remembering on my part in the future.

My only other concern, rules-wise, is the Barter Value system. It's coming along, but there were some applications that I'm wondering how they will work when implemented.

I think the biggest problem I had with the playtest was the venue. It was my first experience playing over Skype, and I felt somewhat handicapped by it. I'm a demonstrative GM. I like using eye contact, hand gestures and the like to convey the action and personalities of my NPCs. I also use that time around the table to gauge my players reactions and get some energy back from them. In Skype, you can't get, or do those things. I felt very limited in my ability as a GM to run a good session for them. Not saying that I won't try Skype again, but it'll take some getting used to.

Having a Cookout

As part of my involvement in the Skies of Glass project with the good guys over at Fear the Boot, I'm converting my Gen Con demo adventure, 'Cookout' to the new and updated Tier 1 rules. We playtest on Thursday (11/29). I'm looking forward to it.

The interesting thing about all this is the way I find myself looking at the adventure. Any other time I've ever written an adventure, whether for publication or personal use, I've always attached some sort of emotional tie to it. The adventure felt very much mine, and to tamper with it was a difficult process, because so much time and love was put into the work.

'Cookout' has not had that same attachment for some reason. While I still want to have a top notch adventure, I find my ability and willingness to change things around to be no big deal. In fact, I am looking at ways I can change things around, or even add to it all to make the adventure more than it was when it debuted at Gen Con. The prospect of making this adventure the "launching pad" for any number of small, pickup games at gaming tables around the world is pretty cool.

Perhaps my emotional attachment has changed its perspective.

Either way, I'm looking forward to see how the playtest shakes out, and how both the rules and the adventure will develop from this point forward.

Strange Connections

You never know where you are going to meet other gamers. The other night, my son's band was playing their first professional gig, and they did a cover of the Deaf Pedestrians "Hail to the Geek." In the second verse, they sing about playing D&D. Of course, I had to cheer. Stand up and represent your hobby, yo!

Anyway, while I was cheering, one of my son's classmates was cheering just as loud. She looked at me and asked, "Do you play?" I responded with a "Hell yeah!" She cheered once again and gave me a very enthusiastic high-five.

After their set was over, I asked her if she really did play. Rather than simply say, "Yup" she launched into a description of her character (dark elf Rogue, level 12). As we continued the conversation, I learned that she gamed with her dad, who was also at the gig. I quickly picked up the conversation with him, and from the scattered bits we could understand (the second band was playing then), he sounds like a guy that wouldn't be too bad to sit at the table with. We made an agreement to try and get something together after the Holidays. I just have to make sure I follow up.

I may have finally found an adult gaming connection down here, which is great. The manner in which I found said connection blows my mind, however.

A Smaller Party

One of the things I've really tried to get back into is regular gaming sessions with my kids. Since my oldest is in a phase where he's just not interested in playing, that drops my players to three. My wife is pretty busy, and not an avid player, so she's kind of out. That drops us to two. It's a different challenge, especially when you are used to 4+ players, but I'm learning to scale my encounters and make better use of NPCs.

We played a session about two weeks ago, and I was blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of my 11-year old daughter. As we played, I presented plot hooks and options to her and my son in a fashion I was used to (as would most gamers be) doing. While she may have nibbled at such hooks, she never fully bit. She instead really pushed her own agenda. Example? After taking care of some necessary business, and using her magic (she plays a sorcerer) to try and earn some cash, she wanted to check up on a riding horse they had acquired from a previous session. Once she saw the horse was fine, she simply wanted to find a place in the city where she could ride the horse around. Just ride. That's it. That was all she was really looking forward to.

My 13-year old son? He kept waiting for the next fight.

That I can handle.

I did finally get the plot on track, and we may be playing this weekend. Also looks like the wife will be joining in, so it should be fun. They'll actually be taking on their first dungeon crawl. Still, I got an inkling into how my daughter thinks and what she is looking for. I'll have to make sure I keep things balanced.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Back to the Old (Weird) West
Gaming With Blake

So, Blake & I are getting ready to start a old school Deadlands game. We'll be using the original rules, rather than the Savage Worlds rules. I'm okay with that, but eventually, I plan to try and get him to convert over. We'll see how far it goes.

I'm kind of excited to run this for him. He seems to really enjoy reading the rulebooks. I helped him make his character, an Indian Brave, but left the naming and background up to him. No background yet, but he settled on the name, "One with Buffalo." Quite frankly, it blew me away. I've made a preacher character, and my wife may join in with a character as well.

We'll see what happens.

Since this is my first post here about Blake, I'll take a moment to explain why I'm planning on singling him out. Blake is 13 years old and has Aspbergers Syndrome. He definately has the book smarts, but Blake lacks in areas of Common Sense and general sociability. With RPG's being the social vehicles they are, I think it will be an interesting experiment to see how he adapts to the challenges that face him. He's done okay in previous sessions of D&D that's we've played as a family, but this will be a first solo test.

A Gaming Evangelist
Expanding the Hobby

The other night, my wife and I were out with another couple, and the conversation eventually found itself on the topic of Gen Con. Being the only one of the four of us ever having attended (and also the only regular gamer), I had the opportunity to talk about the convention, as well as the hobby itself. This, of course led to talking about the games I played, notably Dungeons & Dragons. As I have done in the past when this conversation comes around, I extended the invitation to show the other couple how to play, and run a session for them. They expressed an interest, beyond the normal courtesy given in such matters.

I fully intend to follow through.

This exchange got me thinking about what we, as gamers do to pay the hobby back. It's given us plenty of enjoyment over the years, and we owe it to the hobby to encourage and enlist new gamers into the ranks. Take a moment to think about what you can do to expand the "player base" in your area. Is it offering to run demos at your Friendly Local Gaming Store? Is it starting a club through your local library? Teaching people how to play a certain game via Community Education? Just offering to show some fellow employees how to play? There is a lot that can be done.

Pay it back.

Looking Ahead and Back
Gen Cons Past

This past Gen Con came the announcement that D&D 4e was coming out next May. I didn't attend the announcement and to be honest, I still feel rather ho-hum about the entire thing. I will still check out the rules and changes when I get the time, but I'm happy with my 3.5 right now, thank you very much.

The 4e Announcement made me think back to the days when 3e was announced and released. And after listening to episode 68 of Fear the Boot, I started thinking about it even more. I was there, and shot video of it. Both the announcement and the day it was released a year later. Did it then because we were hot & heavy doing the Wounds Unlimited webzine.

The release was crazy. Because I was press, I was allowed to go into the Exhibitor's Hall early and get a good spot to shoot the throngs that came running in. It was a friggin' madhouse, more so than is shown in the video.

What is in the clip? Well, I have bits and pieces from the announcement session in 1999, with Peter Adkinson, Ryan Dancey (along with some humor as to why 3e was being released), and appearances by Gargy G and Dave Arneson. Some shots of concept sketches and a little reaction from a fan at the session. Then we jump forward to 2000, and where you see a bit of the press conference for the release, then to the real action where folks are rushing in, and a walkthrough of the line of people waiting & hoping to pick up their copy (WotC had 10K copies of the 3e PHB, if memory serves).

What impressed me the most about the 3e release and made it exciting for me, was the legitimacy that Ryan Dancey and WotC efforted to put on the entire event. From the announcement in '99 to the press conference and release party in 2000 (got a sweet D&D shot class that eventually broke). Any effort to make our hobby more mainstream is good in my book.

I ask for forgiveness for the shaky elements in the video. I was usually far away and with no tripod. Also, the audio was weak in some spots, mostly due to the old tape.

Gen Con 2007
More Thanks & Such

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to say a large 'Thank You' to those who were, in many ways, responsible for me going to Gen Con this year.

First up is Dan Repperger from Fear the Boot. He was very inclined to have me come along to help them out in their efforts to promote Skies of Glass. There was a lot of generosity to Dan's offer. More than I'm willing to admit to in a public forum. Suffice to say, the man was generous and I was reluctant to accept.

And that is where the second person I need to thank comes in. My wife, Julie is really the one to blame for all this. She encouraged me to go. Said it would be good for me. Said it would good for me to help out. To enjoy my hobby. She was willing to have me take my vacation days for myself, rather than the whole family. To add to this, I left for Gen Con not long after Julie and the kids returned from a 3-week trip to our hometown. It was a great reminder as to why I married her.

So to both Dan and my wonderfully incredible wife Julie, I send out a 'Thank You.' Without either, I wouldn't have gone this year.