Clearing the brain so it keeps working
Posts tagged Dungeons and Dragons
It’s been a long time…
Feb 25th
This weekend should be a fun one. Friday night game night and Saturday night game night. Two game nights in a row. What more could you ask for?
A few good friends will be gathered at taylhis and old-admin’s (ok, now he needs a new tangent’s name — He doesn’t post enough to be known as “Whatever”.) house and play a variety of games. We never really know what will be played, but it is usually fun. (Note to self, I do not like PIT … 
)
Saturday is the night I’m really looking forward to. After almost 20 years of non game running (1 night teaching the game was in there, that is why it is almost), I’m going to be running a Dungeons and Dragons game. I’m really looking forward to it. The prep work is done. The back story ready. The Zombies and the other ‘Undead’ are ready for feasting.
When I started playing D&D back in my college years, the game was almost in its infancy. It and other role-playing games have come a long way from the ‘early’ days. For the first year, I just played. I always let someone else run the game. But our gamemaster was tired of running and just wanted to play. He asked me to run a campaign or two. I really enjoyed doing it. After a while, the group I played with left college and started going our own ways. Some of us still in the area kept playing. 2 or 3 of us shared the game running duties/experience. During this time I liked running the game the best.
We slowly drifted apart as jobs and or family called us here and there. I ran the game for my girls a few times, only the oldest seemed interested. I flitted in and out of other gaming groups for the next 15 or so years. The game changed and new additions/versions were added. With my family, I never kept up with buying the new material. I played the game and let others run it.
Not all that long ago (just over a year ago if memory serves), I started role-playing again with my oldest daughter and her friends. So this Saturday, I’m going to be running the game for the group. I hope my old skill set is still there. Maybe with the 10+ years of acting experience, that skill set has improved. On top of that, there is a little improv. Should be a good weekend….
Solo Sailing…Almost
Sep 15th
Well this is the start of my 3rd week without children at home, almost. I say almost since my darling youngest daughter has come home the first 2 weekends and will be home the 3rd weekend too. I don’t run around as often, but the drive is a bit farther now. Sure there are good excuses for all of the home trips, so I won’t say too much about that.
I did find it funny/strange all of the young ladies my daughter rooms with have gone home for the first two weekends. I’m kind of glad at that. If I were in that situation, I would hate to be the one left behind on the weekend.
So on to me. What have I done the past two weeks.. Well, same old same old except I was a bit lazy last week. I found a web comic from an artist I enjoyed in my youth, and I’ve been reading his stuff. It may take me a while to catch up. Anyway I was looking for this, but I found this. Years of comic stories too catch up on. It may be something I will need in my personal library, but so far the web comic is ok. On this site I did find the original comics that drew me to the artist. Back in my D&D college days, I remember reading Phil and Dixie on a regular basis. Then the Myth series of books that Phil Foglio illustrated. Such fun memories..
It was a dark night…
Dec 14th
You are all alone, and there is a light, from what looks like a campfire, in the distance….
That is how the evening started. As I expected, the group of theater regulars were up to the task of playing a character. In that there was never really a doubt in my mind. The problem for all came when the small polyhedrons were needed (variety of dice for those not in the know). The comments, “Do I use this? No, that one. This one? No the one just in front of that.” were in common usage the entire evening.
All of this is common when starting this type of game. There are 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20 sided dice used in this game. Knowing how and when to use them is a bit of a learning curve. It seems that teenage boys and some young adults are much better at learning this, just like video games.
Well, I think most of the group had fun. I certainly had fun. It has been than a few years since I ran any sort of game, and I certainly had fun doing it. Thinking on the fly, running people through a part of a world I created are enjoyable to me. But the complexity of the characters, and multiple dice rolling, sometimes slows down the game play. What to do, what to do?
Me, I started thinking of games with no dice at all. There are a few on the gaming market, but the character creation is just as complex if not more complex. How do you determine winners and losers of confrontations without randomizing effects of cards, spinners or dice… How complex do you make your rules?
Well, I’m thinking of just such a game. Role Playing for the actors in all of us, and no dice to confuse the situation. Designing it in my head as I write this. In few weeks, I will be looking for a group of volunteers to run through this game.
For those who want to know the setting. Think current time period, and ghost hunters…
