October 2009 Archives

So I guess the FTC made up some kind of guidelines for bloggers where they have to reveal the source of their income. For example, if a publisher sends a book to a blogger and then the blogger writes about that book, the blogger needs to disclose, "Hey I got this book for free from the publisher." I think its actually more complex than that but you get the idea. Well in the interest of full disclosure. No one pays me anything or gives me anything for free for this blog. In fact, I think the blog costs me in the neighborhood of about $25 a year. Which is super cheap, IMO.

Lots of family stuff going on latley. The weekend before last Grady, Crystal and Aiden came down. Nikki and I got to hang out with the little guy while Mom and Dad went to the OU/TX game. He's sure a little bundle of energy. Cat chasing is still the highlight of any visit.

Sunday, went to see Zombieland, which I think is the best movie I've seen this year. I'm planning a Tallahassee costume for Halloween.

This weekend Nikki and I went to Oklahoma to see family and hang out. I ran a game of D&D on Saturday for Grady and bunch of other folks from OK. It was a good time, some of the people that played were from my high school/college gaming days. We played Eberron, which is really a fantastic setting. It's sorta pulp/steampunk fantasy. I wish they would develop more for it, rather than just 2 books and one adventure. There are a lot of 3rd edition books available but an entire campaign set in Eberron sure would be nice.

This weekend is Halloween. Somehow we managed to keep this weekend free, so we are planning to go out , in costume, both nights. Should be a blast.

And of course since I can't possibly be home for more than two weeks in a row, I head back to NY on Sunday for a week.

A friend sent this to me on Facebook. I thought I'd post it here too.

Origins of a Player

1. When and where did you first play a roleplaying game (could be a year or your age)?

1981 Fourth grade, my Mom bought me basic D&D because, get this, my fourth grade teacher thought it was great for kids. (Thanks Mom!)

2. Which game was it?

Yeah I just answered this didn't I.

3. Did you know what the hell you were doing?

Nope. I didn't understand the rules at all. We made them up as went went. I clearly remember not understanding why the HP were so low at first level.

4. What was the first published adventure you played through?

The example dungeon in the back of the D&D rulebook followed by Keep on the Borderlands

5. Did roleplaying capture your imagination immediately?

You could say that.

6. Do you still game with some of the people from your first game?

Nope.

7. Did anything in particular inspire you or led you to playing RPGs?

No not really. I don't think I'd even read that much fantasy till then.

8. Have you ever been a game master (dungeon master, keeper, storyteller, etc.)? Which games?
Uhm how much can you type in one of these notes.
Lets try Chronological Order if I can remember them all.

D&D Basic/Expert
AD&D
Star Frontiers (I loved this game.)
Marvel SuperHeroes
Gamma World
GURPS
Rolemaster
Middle Earth Roleplaying
Star Wars
Toon
Paranoia
Call of Cthulhu
Shadowrun
Cyberpunk
Aftermath
Chill
Runequest
Mekton
MegaTravellar
Ars Magica
Vampire
Deadlands
Hell on Earth
Dark Heresy
D&D 3.5
D&D 4E

9. Do you currently referee, if so, which games?

D&D 4E, Call of Cthulhu, Dark Heresy

10. What is your favorite thing about GMing?

Seeing where the story goes. Seeing how the players react to the situation.

11. What is your least favorite thing about GMing?

Cumbersome rules. (I'm looking at you Dark Heresy)

12. Do you prefer to be GM or a player?

GM

13. What are your favorite gaming systems you've played?

Star Frontiers
D&D (All editions at the time)
Rolemaster
Runequest (now there's some cumbersome rules)
Traveller
Call of Cthulhu
Deadlands

14. What are some games you would like to play, but haven't?

Hunter the Reckoning
Rogue Trader
Mage
Spirit of the Century

15. Rules light, rules heavy, or it depends?

Light but not so light its boring. Players quickly become bored with "rules light" systems. They want options.

16. Dice or Diceless?

Dice, everyone likes dice. Diceless RPG = modified Rock Paper Scissors.

Immersion and Setting

17. To homebrew or not to homebrew?

Who has time to homebrew? I "'hack" and modify games to fit my needs but that's mostly world settings.

18. What are some of your favorite settings?

Post Apocalypse
Steampunk

19. What are your favorite genres?

Post Apocalypse
Modern Horror
High Fantasy

20. Do you prefer pre-published adventures/modules or original/tailored campaigns?

Modified Pre-published. I have made a few adventures but its hard to make up good plots yourself.

21. Are you a member of any roleplaying organizations? Which Ones?

Nope.

22. Do you think RPG organizations are important to the hobby?

Probably. I've never been really involved with one. If I didn't have people to play with I probably would be though.

23. Do plan on joining any RPG organizations?

See Above.

24. Have you ever attended a gaming convention, if so which ones?

Mostly for miniature gaming, Games Day and the Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments, back when they did that. I gamed at a bunch of local cons in college and high school.

25. Do you think conventions are important for the hobby?

Probably. There's always too much to do at a convention to get into a game. Also I hate one shot games. If its not a campaign I'm not that interested.

26. Are you planning to attend any conventions in the future?

DragonCon, but not for the gaming.

Play Styles

28. Serious or loose?

Uhh I dunno. probably directed-loose.

29. Soundtracks and sound FX?

I tried music once, it annoyed me and everyone had to talk over it. I will probably use sound effects for the next sci fi game I run.

30. Adversarial referee or wish fulfiller?

Huh? Neither.

31. Should GMs have PCs?

Not that aren't a story character.

32. Is technology welcome at your table?

Sure. Just pay attention. I throw my plushed D20 at you if you aren't pay attention. (looks at Chris Kmita)

33. Are Terrain & Minis an advantage or a hindrance?

Terrain? not really. Minis and a Map yes, it helps everyone visualize.

Related Hobbies

34. Do you like to LARP, if so, which systems?

I tried it once, sadly LARPing is a litte too geeky even for me.

35. Do you collect/paint Miniatures?

yes

36. Do you like Wargames/tactical miniature games, if so, which ones?

yes, I play warhammer 40k a lot I'd play more minature games if I had time.

37. Do you play Collectible Card Games, if so, which ones?

Used to play a bunch. I still play Magic the Gathering some. Thinking about getting into the WOW card game, looks fun.

38. What about Board Games?

yup, they are low entry. Settlers is a favorite. I like the complicated ones of course but its hard to get people to play those with you.

39. Do you play Video Games, what kinds?

Yes, lots. Mostly RPGs but I like shooters if they have a good story. Loved Dead Space and Bioshock, can't get into Halo or Gears of war. Also Real Time Strategy games but those have kinda become stale lately.

40. Any closing comments you would like to add?

Nah. I need more time to play.

Been back in New York for work the past two weeks. I flew out here on the 5th and decided to stay over the weekend in-between so Nikki could come visit. Even though I've been here for almost 2 weeks it seems to have flown by.

Nikki came in last Friday and we went into Manhattan. Friday we walked around, went back to Rockefeller center, where we got engaged, and went to go see West Side Story on Broadway. It wasn't as good as I expected, kinda middle of the road for a musical. Not bad but not really my favorite. It seemed slow.

On Saturday we got up and went to the top of the Empire State Building. Whew, was that a process. You have to stand in line 4 different times to get up to the observation deck on the 86th floor. Since we probably wouldn't go there again, we paid the extra $15 each to get to go up to the 102nd floor. Very cool to see NYC from the top-down. Little known fact, the ESB has an airship (blimp) dock on top of it. It was only ever used once and they decided it was too windy. How cool would it have been though to see airships docking over NYC?

Saturday night we went back out onto Long Island, where I was staying. On Sunday we went out to see the ocean along the Peconic bay,ate some really good seafood in Greenport and took the ferry out to Shelter island. The traffic out that way is pretty bad, but we had fun.

Unfortunately, on Sunday I came down with some kind of cold and have been sick ever since. Not sick enough to stay out of work or fly home but sick enough that it makes working annoying. I seem to have the unerring ability to only get sick when its not really possible to take a sick day.

This weekend, Grady, Crystal and Aiden are staying with us. We are watching the little guy while they go to the OU Texas games. I'm not really a fan of either team but since I'm from OK and not TX I tend to root for OU. Unfortunately, unless OU pulls a magic football out of their butt I think they may be looking at their 3rd loss.

Almost forgot, on Saturday after we came out of the ESB, we stumbled across the Compleat Strategist. I had no idea it was there. I remember back in the day seeing their ads in Dragon Magazine. It's about the coolest game store I've ever been in. I bought 2 RPG books (Rogue Trader and Victoriana) and Nikki even bought one.

So around the time of Dragoncon, I'm not sure if it was right before or right after, I decided I had a lot more to say about RPGs (role playing games) than I do anything else. My plan was to write something rpg-related on my other blog a few times a week. That never happened. Not even one entry. I had like 5 good topics lined up and I can't even remember what they were now.

Let's see since Dragoncon I was in New York for two weeks and it looks like I'm heading back there next week. I should find out more today. One thing about Long Island, or I guess just the non-NYC area of NY, they have A LOT of diners. They are kinda like non-chain super-denny's. They have all day breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, home cooking, greek food, italian food, and usually a full bar. I wish they had those here.

Last weekend was the Lone Star ride that I'd been training for all summer. It was brutal. 93 miles on Saturday and then 77 more on Sunday. Sunday was hotter, windier, and had the monster hills. I made it through though. Not without some difficulty. I started getting a flat in the first few miles and limped into the first rest stop. My friend Marc got a flat around mile 30, and his girlfriend Shannon had an actual blowout around mile 60. We made it through though. With Fall rolling in and the DST time change coming up that is probably the end of cycling season for me this year. No big plans for this weekend, we need sometime off from doing anything.