We had a great game on Friday. While the previous couple of sessions were constant combat and tactics, this session featured no direct combat. The players made use of the session to gather up their resources and head back to the mainland. I hand-waved quite a bit of this, as I was ready for the party to move on from the Isle (and I strongly suspect that the players were likewise). An interesting question came up: what to do with NPCs?
In previous sessions, every player had their own character. When a player drops out, I usually keep the PC in the story for the sake of continuity. While on the Isle, we had one PC meet an untimely death. Another NPC died, but we kept her around and eventually resurrected her. It was this NPC (along with yet another) that brought up the question of how to handle them now. Should they wander off into the sunset? Should they die and not be brought back? Since I use the Ghostwalk splat book, dieing doesn't have the same finality that it normally would. Should they be kept around? Compounding the problem is the fact that most (if not all) of the (N)PCs each has one or more mini-plots relevant to themselves. What happens, for example, when the party is investigating a plot arc for PC #1 and that player leaves the group? This type of question has been asked before and will continue to be asked. I don't think that there is one correct way to handle this. Sometimes you need for the NPC to live on, and other times they simply need to die. :-)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
State of the Campaign IX
It has been too long since I last posted. Much has happened in the game. The PCs traveled along the seaside cliffs, fighting gargoyles. The PCs were harrassed by a demonic ape, which stole the party's Handy Haversack and kidnapped Karyan. In a mountain pass, they came face to face with the ape and drove him away after defeating an ape mob and rescued Karyan. Back down into the jungle, they found themselves trapped within a magical mire. After discovering a demonic temple, they investigated it, destroying the ape demon and releasing the mire from the grasp of the temple. They freed the Nithian village and set about recruiting allies to fight the slaver's undead army. After fighting an enormous t-rex (which ate 2 of the party members), they secured the help of the phanatons and gather weapons from the rakasta temple, also finding the help of a couatl. They sailed around the Isle to help the deserted sailors and faced a kopru druid and his dino companion. They sought out the lair of a green dragon, bargained with it, and came away with some nice info and assistance. The PCs flew to the central plateau and fought the BBEG. The main baddie left in a hurry with the goods, but the party took down his lieutenants. 2 more pieces of the Hand of Quoad were recovered and the party was thanked in person by several Immortals. They have been asked to go save another alternate world before continuing to track down Bargle any further.
Within this time-frame, we've gained a new player (whose character is due to show up any minute now) and lost an original player. I'm up to 6 players and this suits me just fine.
I have a thought for this SotC: DM vs Player mentality
I don't see myself as an "Angry DM". I don't see myself as a "Nice DM", either. I see my job as providing challenges and an interesting story for the players. It is not "Me vs. Them". I'm not out to kill the party nor am I trying to make it too easy on them. I do realize that I reward the PCs with the same level of reward that I myself would want as a player. This can sometimes go into the realm of Monty Haul. Since I began using Erian7's character sheets, I have been able to more accurately track each PC's wealth and scale back the treasure as needed. Are the PCs powerful? Yup. Do they have some awesome gear? Oh ya. Do I have a hard time challenging them? Sometimes, but that is a topic for another time. I strive to give the players a moment or two of tension and some tough moral/ethical/tactical questions. I enjoy seeing them come up with solutions to my scenarios. I like being pushed to adjudicate options that I had not considered. Now, do I like it when one of my creations pushes them to the brink? Yessir. Do I smile when one of my players groans in frustration or despair? At times, yes. If the players come back for more, I know I am doing my job well. Or, rather, well enough.
When I first started DMing during high school, I wasn't always this fair and balanced. There were times that I would arbitrarily f' over the players. I had one rules lawyer that always argued with me, but we were the best of friends and this spirited debate only demonstrated how committed we were. This rules lawyer also was adversarial towards another player, whom the group as a whole did not interact well with. At one point in the game, the two players were arguing with each other and decided they wanted to fight each other. As an exercise in stupidity, I agreed and the rules lawyer's PC (a wild mage, if I recall correctly), was killed. In another game, I purposely TPK'ed the party in order to "rescue" them by a new character. I gave the players free reign over their power level, thinking that this was the only way to make them happy. Now, I realize that I should have reined them in and doled out the rewards a little more judiciously.
And, as a final note on this subject, I have come to realize that it takes time to the players and DM to trust each other. As the DM, I have an idea of how the story will unfold. Sometimes I have to do something that is heavy-handed. But, if the players trust me, they will go along with it (more or less). But I've found that if I give the players the illusion of control, they never see the heavy-handedness behind the scenes.
Within this time-frame, we've gained a new player (whose character is due to show up any minute now) and lost an original player. I'm up to 6 players and this suits me just fine.
I have a thought for this SotC: DM vs Player mentality
I don't see myself as an "Angry DM". I don't see myself as a "Nice DM", either. I see my job as providing challenges and an interesting story for the players. It is not "Me vs. Them". I'm not out to kill the party nor am I trying to make it too easy on them. I do realize that I reward the PCs with the same level of reward that I myself would want as a player. This can sometimes go into the realm of Monty Haul. Since I began using Erian7's character sheets, I have been able to more accurately track each PC's wealth and scale back the treasure as needed. Are the PCs powerful? Yup. Do they have some awesome gear? Oh ya. Do I have a hard time challenging them? Sometimes, but that is a topic for another time. I strive to give the players a moment or two of tension and some tough moral/ethical/tactical questions. I enjoy seeing them come up with solutions to my scenarios. I like being pushed to adjudicate options that I had not considered. Now, do I like it when one of my creations pushes them to the brink? Yessir. Do I smile when one of my players groans in frustration or despair? At times, yes. If the players come back for more, I know I am doing my job well. Or, rather, well enough.
When I first started DMing during high school, I wasn't always this fair and balanced. There were times that I would arbitrarily f' over the players. I had one rules lawyer that always argued with me, but we were the best of friends and this spirited debate only demonstrated how committed we were. This rules lawyer also was adversarial towards another player, whom the group as a whole did not interact well with. At one point in the game, the two players were arguing with each other and decided they wanted to fight each other. As an exercise in stupidity, I agreed and the rules lawyer's PC (a wild mage, if I recall correctly), was killed. In another game, I purposely TPK'ed the party in order to "rescue" them by a new character. I gave the players free reign over their power level, thinking that this was the only way to make them happy. Now, I realize that I should have reined them in and doled out the rewards a little more judiciously.
And, as a final note on this subject, I have come to realize that it takes time to the players and DM to trust each other. As the DM, I have an idea of how the story will unfold. Sometimes I have to do something that is heavy-handed. But, if the players trust me, they will go along with it (more or less). But I've found that if I give the players the illusion of control, they never see the heavy-handedness behind the scenes.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
State of the Campaign, Episode VIII
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa June 2010]
Robin's Laws and House Rules
It has been a while since the last update. The game has progressed regularly, however I don’t feel that this string of Notes should be a simple recollection of the story. Rather, I would like to use the story as a way of bringing up some topics when and if they share a commonality. For a long time, I was content to let the story unfold naturally and let it capture ideas for this Note series like a virtual mousetrap. So, let me begin by summarizing the past few sessions:
Currently, the PCs have left the Hall and Oxylchotl behind. Immediately after him dying, the PCs all took part in another vision, this time showing Bargle negotiating with a evil demonic ape. Bargle instructed the ape to kill the PCs. It now seems that Bargle is aware of the PCs and has trained his crosshairs on them. The group moved on further into the jungle and came upon a mushroom forest. Passing through it, Mythyria caught a strange disease that led her to behave erratically. After being healed, they moved on and came across a half-orc that appeared out of nowhere. He introduced himself as Hekuba and is looking for his lost brother. A wizard transported him here and his brother is to be found nearby. Moving on, they found the site of a recent battle, with various humanoid bodies scattered around. Hekuba’s brother walks out of the mushroom forest, only to be attacked by the PCs. You see, they noticed that his body was covered with the remains of several mushrooms that had recently been brushed off of him. A large incorporeal beast emerged and proceeded to kick some party butt. Yet Hopop, the lizard wizard, chastised the spirit and drove him to the Great Beyond. The party collected much loot from the bodies, surmising that this was a group of guards, whom were escorting slaves, presumably toward the central plateau and Bargle’s camp. After exiting the mushroom forest, they came upon a village of aranea, shapechanging spider people. Hopop knew them and the party was welcomed to the village. Eriks hunted with the people, finding their similar modes of eating (digesting their victims from the inside out) to his liking. A long bartering session ended with the PCs acquiring some good gear, including a scroll of True Resurrection, which Kamal performed on Eriks, returning him once again to the land of the beating hearts. The party found out about the Dark Mountain Pass and the Cliffs of Dread, which would lead them to the lizardman villages. They passed through most of the Pass, noticing that they were being followed by some sort of palpable evil. After fighting 2 enormous centipedes (which attempted to drop several characters down a water-filled gorge), a black pudding, and several mummies, the party is now resting.
Before this last session, I had come across the idea of universal- or equal-XP. The author of the discussion mentioned that unequal XP could lead to unequal party power and the player-vs-player mentality. I put the question to my players and they more or less decided to keep playing the way we are. Personally, I prefer this current method also. One, since I give players that show up a 10% bonus to each session’s XP, it encourages players to be present. Two, we’ve had a couple times when the character was just about to gain a level, but fell a few XP short. That is another incentive to come back for more. Knowing that you are “this close” to leveling is akin to a kid on Christmas Eve. You know some goodies are about to arrive, just around the corner.
This (along with a recent post on the Paizo forums) has gotten me thinking about houserules. When I ran my OD&D and 2E games back in high school, I had several house rules. Granted, I can’t recall a single one right now, but I know that I used them. It seemed a critical part of the game experience. You couldn’t call yourself a DM if you didn’t “improve” on the game. You were expected to analyze the rules and adjust them, based on your players and their style of play. So, what houserules am I using now? I don’t know of any rules, per se, but I have instead made some basic changes to my game. One, I gave the players more points to build their characters. Even beyond the “Epic” 25 points in the rulebook. I’ve also taken the OD&D setting of Mystara and made it fit the Pathfinder rules. Nothing mechanically has changed, but the flavor is different. I’ve also taken several monsters and ideas from various sources and converted them to PF. And I’ve custom-built some non-core races and classes. So, yes, I still use houserules, but they are less mechanical and more flavorful.
Further, this has led me to re-read Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering. I’ve only read through the first couple of pages, but I’ve already found some good ideas. Sweet!
Robin's Laws and House Rules
It has been a while since the last update. The game has progressed regularly, however I don’t feel that this string of Notes should be a simple recollection of the story. Rather, I would like to use the story as a way of bringing up some topics when and if they share a commonality. For a long time, I was content to let the story unfold naturally and let it capture ideas for this Note series like a virtual mousetrap. So, let me begin by summarizing the past few sessions:
Currently, the PCs have left the Hall and Oxylchotl behind. Immediately after him dying, the PCs all took part in another vision, this time showing Bargle negotiating with a evil demonic ape. Bargle instructed the ape to kill the PCs. It now seems that Bargle is aware of the PCs and has trained his crosshairs on them. The group moved on further into the jungle and came upon a mushroom forest. Passing through it, Mythyria caught a strange disease that led her to behave erratically. After being healed, they moved on and came across a half-orc that appeared out of nowhere. He introduced himself as Hekuba and is looking for his lost brother. A wizard transported him here and his brother is to be found nearby. Moving on, they found the site of a recent battle, with various humanoid bodies scattered around. Hekuba’s brother walks out of the mushroom forest, only to be attacked by the PCs. You see, they noticed that his body was covered with the remains of several mushrooms that had recently been brushed off of him. A large incorporeal beast emerged and proceeded to kick some party butt. Yet Hopop, the lizard wizard, chastised the spirit and drove him to the Great Beyond. The party collected much loot from the bodies, surmising that this was a group of guards, whom were escorting slaves, presumably toward the central plateau and Bargle’s camp. After exiting the mushroom forest, they came upon a village of aranea, shapechanging spider people. Hopop knew them and the party was welcomed to the village. Eriks hunted with the people, finding their similar modes of eating (digesting their victims from the inside out) to his liking. A long bartering session ended with the PCs acquiring some good gear, including a scroll of True Resurrection, which Kamal performed on Eriks, returning him once again to the land of the beating hearts. The party found out about the Dark Mountain Pass and the Cliffs of Dread, which would lead them to the lizardman villages. They passed through most of the Pass, noticing that they were being followed by some sort of palpable evil. After fighting 2 enormous centipedes (which attempted to drop several characters down a water-filled gorge), a black pudding, and several mummies, the party is now resting.
Before this last session, I had come across the idea of universal- or equal-XP. The author of the discussion mentioned that unequal XP could lead to unequal party power and the player-vs-player mentality. I put the question to my players and they more or less decided to keep playing the way we are. Personally, I prefer this current method also. One, since I give players that show up a 10% bonus to each session’s XP, it encourages players to be present. Two, we’ve had a couple times when the character was just about to gain a level, but fell a few XP short. That is another incentive to come back for more. Knowing that you are “this close” to leveling is akin to a kid on Christmas Eve. You know some goodies are about to arrive, just around the corner.
This (along with a recent post on the Paizo forums) has gotten me thinking about houserules. When I ran my OD&D and 2E games back in high school, I had several house rules. Granted, I can’t recall a single one right now, but I know that I used them. It seemed a critical part of the game experience. You couldn’t call yourself a DM if you didn’t “improve” on the game. You were expected to analyze the rules and adjust them, based on your players and their style of play. So, what houserules am I using now? I don’t know of any rules, per se, but I have instead made some basic changes to my game. One, I gave the players more points to build their characters. Even beyond the “Epic” 25 points in the rulebook. I’ve also taken the OD&D setting of Mystara and made it fit the Pathfinder rules. Nothing mechanically has changed, but the flavor is different. I’ve also taken several monsters and ideas from various sources and converted them to PF. And I’ve custom-built some non-core races and classes. So, yes, I still use houserules, but they are less mechanical and more flavorful.
Further, this has led me to re-read Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering. I’ve only read through the first couple of pages, but I’ve already found some good ideas. Sweet!
State of the Campaign, Episode VII
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa May 2010]
After the Hall
Last time, I spoke about a deviation from the Campaign as I had originally planned it. I continue to read more of the pre-written adventures, and they get better and better. I’ve come across several additions to the adventures, including several thematic mp3’s that are designed to be played at certain points during the story. This story does a remarkable job of scratching my love of pulpy adventures. At the heart of the story are a love-triangle-gone-bad and a spurned lover, except that this lover is a powerful genie. ;-)
During the last session, we had a new addition to the group. This new guy picked up one of the un-played characters and fit right in with the rest of the group. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked together to create a character for him, and I like how this character has come together. The group is already an eclectic group of archetypes and contradictions, but by and large they work off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This new character continues the pattern, which bodes well for the longevity of both the player and character.
Also during the last session, one of the regulars could not make it and I did not have access to his character sheet. After a couple of frustrating encounters where we kept guessing about her abilities, I decided that she would simply disappear. After the game, I emailed the player and revealed what had happened to the character while she went missing. I deliberately left the information vague and mysterious. As the situation warrants, I will reveal bits and pieces of this info, probably using it when the group has gotten in above their heads and needs a quick end to whatever predicament they find themselves in. Along those same lines, I’ve been going back through earlier sessions and have begun collecting minor plot points that have been left not-picked-up. I want to weave these plot points back into the game, making the players (and their earlier decisions) be held accountable to the rest of the world. I hope that this reinforces that the world does not revolve around the characters, and that other people continue to progress with their own lives and plans.
And to summarize the last few sessions, the group made it into the Hall. The encountered some additional dead ogre bodies and even picked up a nice ioun stone. They explored the Hall and encountered a trap leading into the main Hall itself. Statues of gold and gemtones lined the Hall. In the center of the Hall was a giant hole in the ground, above which was a giant set of wind chimes. An air elemental erupted from the hole and battled the PCs. Midway through the battle, several ogres attacked from the rear, nearly killing several party members. Kamal, after being sucked up into the elemantal’s vortex, cast down upon the ogres a spell that blinded most of them. At that point, it was mop-up duty. Once the ogres and elemental were defeated, Gozreh talked to the party and gave them a magical trident.
At the next session, the party continued down the tunnels under the mountain, reaching an intersection and continuing on toward the southern villages. They came upon an underground grotto and stopped to rest after narrowly defeating 2 giant harpoon spiders. As they emerged from the tunnel, they met back up with Oxylchotl, who whispered a tale of savagery at the hands of the ogres, which ended with the death of Moxti. As he expired, Oxyl gave the group a map of the island, plus all of his assorted gear.
After the Hall
Last time, I spoke about a deviation from the Campaign as I had originally planned it. I continue to read more of the pre-written adventures, and they get better and better. I’ve come across several additions to the adventures, including several thematic mp3’s that are designed to be played at certain points during the story. This story does a remarkable job of scratching my love of pulpy adventures. At the heart of the story are a love-triangle-gone-bad and a spurned lover, except that this lover is a powerful genie. ;-)
During the last session, we had a new addition to the group. This new guy picked up one of the un-played characters and fit right in with the rest of the group. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked together to create a character for him, and I like how this character has come together. The group is already an eclectic group of archetypes and contradictions, but by and large they work off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This new character continues the pattern, which bodes well for the longevity of both the player and character.
Also during the last session, one of the regulars could not make it and I did not have access to his character sheet. After a couple of frustrating encounters where we kept guessing about her abilities, I decided that she would simply disappear. After the game, I emailed the player and revealed what had happened to the character while she went missing. I deliberately left the information vague and mysterious. As the situation warrants, I will reveal bits and pieces of this info, probably using it when the group has gotten in above their heads and needs a quick end to whatever predicament they find themselves in. Along those same lines, I’ve been going back through earlier sessions and have begun collecting minor plot points that have been left not-picked-up. I want to weave these plot points back into the game, making the players (and their earlier decisions) be held accountable to the rest of the world. I hope that this reinforces that the world does not revolve around the characters, and that other people continue to progress with their own lives and plans.
And to summarize the last few sessions, the group made it into the Hall. The encountered some additional dead ogre bodies and even picked up a nice ioun stone. They explored the Hall and encountered a trap leading into the main Hall itself. Statues of gold and gemtones lined the Hall. In the center of the Hall was a giant hole in the ground, above which was a giant set of wind chimes. An air elemental erupted from the hole and battled the PCs. Midway through the battle, several ogres attacked from the rear, nearly killing several party members. Kamal, after being sucked up into the elemantal’s vortex, cast down upon the ogres a spell that blinded most of them. At that point, it was mop-up duty. Once the ogres and elemental were defeated, Gozreh talked to the party and gave them a magical trident.
At the next session, the party continued down the tunnels under the mountain, reaching an intersection and continuing on toward the southern villages. They came upon an underground grotto and stopped to rest after narrowly defeating 2 giant harpoon spiders. As they emerged from the tunnel, they met back up with Oxylchotl, who whispered a tale of savagery at the hands of the ogres, which ended with the death of Moxti. As he expired, Oxyl gave the group a map of the island, plus all of his assorted gear.
State of the Campaign, Episode VI
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa April 2010]
The Hall of Remembered Ones
A lot has happened since the last update. The PCs fought several groups of terror birds. They encountered an elderly aranea named Lithira, who helped guide them on their way. A lizard wizard joined the group. A huge shambling mound killed Eloy. The group called on a hound archon to help kill the terror bird Nest Mother, easily annihilating the Mother and her guard birds. The group said their goodbyes to Oxylchotl and entered the Hall of Remembered Ones. The first guardians of the Hall (2 feline amber golems) ate the party up before they figured out a way to deactivate them. They were welcomed into the Hall by an animated lizardman statue. The party discovered a couple of traps and the actual Hall. Mythyria disappeared out of thin air. After fighting off an air elemental and some ogre intruders (including a brutish ogre barbarian), the PCs were rewarded with the Rod of Gozreh, whose powers are yet to be determined.
We also may have another new player to the group. As I’ve said before, I like larger groups. With the death of Eloy, the group does not have a hard hitting tank, which was readily apparent during the amber golem fight. The golems had DR/10 and nobody could really get past that.
On another note, I’m considering taking the campaign in a strange direction. One of my players has a fascination with desert-type adventures. I’ve been reading up on a short mini-campaign that would take place in a North-Africa-flavored setting. It is chock full of genies, strange cults, and beastmen. I love it so far. I’m about 25% of the way through the story, and I want to finish reading it before I send the PCs there.
The Hall of Remembered Ones
A lot has happened since the last update. The PCs fought several groups of terror birds. They encountered an elderly aranea named Lithira, who helped guide them on their way. A lizard wizard joined the group. A huge shambling mound killed Eloy. The group called on a hound archon to help kill the terror bird Nest Mother, easily annihilating the Mother and her guard birds. The group said their goodbyes to Oxylchotl and entered the Hall of Remembered Ones. The first guardians of the Hall (2 feline amber golems) ate the party up before they figured out a way to deactivate them. They were welcomed into the Hall by an animated lizardman statue. The party discovered a couple of traps and the actual Hall. Mythyria disappeared out of thin air. After fighting off an air elemental and some ogre intruders (including a brutish ogre barbarian), the PCs were rewarded with the Rod of Gozreh, whose powers are yet to be determined.
We also may have another new player to the group. As I’ve said before, I like larger groups. With the death of Eloy, the group does not have a hard hitting tank, which was readily apparent during the amber golem fight. The golems had DR/10 and nobody could really get past that.
On another note, I’m considering taking the campaign in a strange direction. One of my players has a fascination with desert-type adventures. I’ve been reading up on a short mini-campaign that would take place in a North-Africa-flavored setting. It is chock full of genies, strange cults, and beastmen. I love it so far. I’m about 25% of the way through the story, and I want to finish reading it before I send the PCs there.
State of the Campaign, Episode V
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa Feb 2010]
Return to the Isle of Dread
After a month's hiatus, my game finally got underway once again last Friday. We had a new player join us and he played Eloy, the group's disgustingly punishing fighter. The game started off where we last left off, with a "baby" dinosaur being harassed by several terror birds. Oxylchotl urged the PCs to rescue the poor beast, which they managed to do, with some difficulty. And because of their success, Oxyl was talked into casting Lesser Restoration on Kamal, who was still under the Wisdom draining effects of the recently encountered undead. Feeling like his old self, the group continued hacking their way through the jungle.
(Note to self, I've been negligent on using heat subdual damage rules. I've read up on it now and I'm ready to begin hitting the PCs with it.)
Soon, they found themselves overlooking a immense deep furrow in the ground, covered with grasses, 30' down a steep bank from where they were standing. Browsing on the jungle foliage while staying in the valley was a herd of immense dinosaurs. They waited until nightfall and made their way down and across the valley. They traveled a day or two when they were attacked by 3 terror birds, which they made quick work of. Karyan, the ranger, used her wilderness skills to help the group avoid any encounters with any further birds. But as luck would have it, while she was scouting ahead, she fell into the midst of 3 more birds and a battle broke out. She took some massive damage before being saved by the rest of the group. Oxyl told the group that they are likely in the heart of the terror bird territory, and that encounters with the birds will last another 8 to 10 days.
Overall, I liked this session. It moved well, and had plenty of combat. Even the encounters with Oxyl will slightly rewarding, although he continues to be a pain in the ass to the party. And Eriks made good use of his vampire status.
Good times.
Return to the Isle of Dread
After a month's hiatus, my game finally got underway once again last Friday. We had a new player join us and he played Eloy, the group's disgustingly punishing fighter. The game started off where we last left off, with a "baby" dinosaur being harassed by several terror birds. Oxylchotl urged the PCs to rescue the poor beast, which they managed to do, with some difficulty. And because of their success, Oxyl was talked into casting Lesser Restoration on Kamal, who was still under the Wisdom draining effects of the recently encountered undead. Feeling like his old self, the group continued hacking their way through the jungle.
(Note to self, I've been negligent on using heat subdual damage rules. I've read up on it now and I'm ready to begin hitting the PCs with it.)
Soon, they found themselves overlooking a immense deep furrow in the ground, covered with grasses, 30' down a steep bank from where they were standing. Browsing on the jungle foliage while staying in the valley was a herd of immense dinosaurs. They waited until nightfall and made their way down and across the valley. They traveled a day or two when they were attacked by 3 terror birds, which they made quick work of. Karyan, the ranger, used her wilderness skills to help the group avoid any encounters with any further birds. But as luck would have it, while she was scouting ahead, she fell into the midst of 3 more birds and a battle broke out. She took some massive damage before being saved by the rest of the group. Oxyl told the group that they are likely in the heart of the terror bird territory, and that encounters with the birds will last another 8 to 10 days.
Overall, I liked this session. It moved well, and had plenty of combat. Even the encounters with Oxyl will slightly rewarding, although he continues to be a pain in the ass to the party. And Eriks made good use of his vampire status.
Good times.
State of the Campaign, Episode IV
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa Feb 2010]
I love gaming. Or, more specifically, I love gaming with a game system that I know thoroughly. I am hesitant to take up a new game system and I have recently realized that this is due to my “Powergamer” nature. I feel that if I do not know the rules more-or-less completely, I will not be able to make good decisions when generating or playing my character.
But this seems at odds to the number one reason why I love gaming, which is the social interaction with my gaming friends. One would think that I would have more social interactions if I played a larger variety of games. Or maybe my lack of open standards is a reflection of the old Quality vs. Quantity debate. If I play in with the same group of people on a regular basis, I will be more comfortable and therefore enjoy my gaming time more so. And if I flit from group to group, from game system to game system, in effect becoming a gaming “whore” for lack of a better term, then my enjoyment would decrease.
I mention all of this for a couple of reasons. First, I am not happy with the last session I ran. The pacing seemed off, the amount and quality of action seemed “meh” at best, and I am seriously not happy with how I played the NPC. Therefore, I am eager to get back in the proverbial saddle and right these wrongs. The last session ended with a giant brontosaurus-type dinosaur being chased by some large flightless birds (think 10’ tall ostriches with razor sharp teeth), affectionately known as terror birds. The main NPC, looking exasperated and defeated, makes a sharp comment to the characters to “Do something already!” I hope that this battle goes well, as well as the encounters that follow. After my last SotC Note, I took a long, hard look at my list of encounters as they were written and sat down to do some serious thinking. Originally, this campaign was supposed to be very pulpy. By that I mean very action/adventure oriented (think Indiana Jones, etc). So I made up a list of pulpy things, including: ancient and/or “lost” civilizations, strange monsters/creatures, cultists, political intrigue, phat lootz, “End of the World” over-arching storyline, recurring bad guy(s), dungeon delving, booby traps, and chase scenes. I think that I’ve hit on a couple of these ideas already. I just need to refocus some of my upcoming ideas and revamp the encounters.
My second reason for this note is that I’m getting antsy. You see, I normally play every Friday, but my buddy’s campaign is on a partial hiatus while he works out some other commitments. This normally would not be a problem, but there is some thought that my game this week will be postponed due to absences of some of the players. If we don’t play this week, coupled with the good chance of not playing next week also, then this means that I will have gone a month since my last roll of the dice. My weekly game sessions are something that I look forward to during the week. It officially kicks off the weekend for me, allowing me to let down my proverbial hair and “get the lead out” as my grandfather would say. All during the week, I don’t have very much “me” time, as my waking hours are spent focused on work and family. As I’m sure you will agree, getting some time to do what you want to do is nice. I feel that I’m a better worker, father, and husband when I get some decompression time. Gaming gives me a concentrated burst of relaxation, more so than many of my other, smaller hobbies.
In short, my name is Dustin and I’m a game-aholic.
I love gaming. Or, more specifically, I love gaming with a game system that I know thoroughly. I am hesitant to take up a new game system and I have recently realized that this is due to my “Powergamer” nature. I feel that if I do not know the rules more-or-less completely, I will not be able to make good decisions when generating or playing my character.
But this seems at odds to the number one reason why I love gaming, which is the social interaction with my gaming friends. One would think that I would have more social interactions if I played a larger variety of games. Or maybe my lack of open standards is a reflection of the old Quality vs. Quantity debate. If I play in with the same group of people on a regular basis, I will be more comfortable and therefore enjoy my gaming time more so. And if I flit from group to group, from game system to game system, in effect becoming a gaming “whore” for lack of a better term, then my enjoyment would decrease.
I mention all of this for a couple of reasons. First, I am not happy with the last session I ran. The pacing seemed off, the amount and quality of action seemed “meh” at best, and I am seriously not happy with how I played the NPC. Therefore, I am eager to get back in the proverbial saddle and right these wrongs. The last session ended with a giant brontosaurus-type dinosaur being chased by some large flightless birds (think 10’ tall ostriches with razor sharp teeth), affectionately known as terror birds. The main NPC, looking exasperated and defeated, makes a sharp comment to the characters to “Do something already!” I hope that this battle goes well, as well as the encounters that follow. After my last SotC Note, I took a long, hard look at my list of encounters as they were written and sat down to do some serious thinking. Originally, this campaign was supposed to be very pulpy. By that I mean very action/adventure oriented (think Indiana Jones, etc). So I made up a list of pulpy things, including: ancient and/or “lost” civilizations, strange monsters/creatures, cultists, political intrigue, phat lootz, “End of the World” over-arching storyline, recurring bad guy(s), dungeon delving, booby traps, and chase scenes. I think that I’ve hit on a couple of these ideas already. I just need to refocus some of my upcoming ideas and revamp the encounters.
My second reason for this note is that I’m getting antsy. You see, I normally play every Friday, but my buddy’s campaign is on a partial hiatus while he works out some other commitments. This normally would not be a problem, but there is some thought that my game this week will be postponed due to absences of some of the players. If we don’t play this week, coupled with the good chance of not playing next week also, then this means that I will have gone a month since my last roll of the dice. My weekly game sessions are something that I look forward to during the week. It officially kicks off the weekend for me, allowing me to let down my proverbial hair and “get the lead out” as my grandfather would say. All during the week, I don’t have very much “me” time, as my waking hours are spent focused on work and family. As I’m sure you will agree, getting some time to do what you want to do is nice. I feel that I’m a better worker, father, and husband when I get some decompression time. Gaming gives me a concentrated burst of relaxation, more so than many of my other, smaller hobbies.
In short, my name is Dustin and I’m a game-aholic.
State of the Campaign, Episode III
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa Jan 2010]
My Friday night Mystara campaign continues to move forward. The group recently defeated a vampire only to have one of their own members rise up as a vampire himself. Luckily, the group only managed to inflict minor wounds on him before he convinced the group that he wasn't an EVIL vampire. The group has moved on further into the interior of the Isle, led by a grumpy old lizardman shaman. I started out playing him (at least, in my mind) as a wise, quiet, peaceful type. Something like the stereotypical Elder Indian Chief you see in various movies. I was imagining the old guy from Dances With Wolves, specifically. However, as the group has begun their expedition to the interior of the Isle, I find that I'm playing him more like a curmudgeonly old man. Something like the old guy from "Up" or "Gran Torino"; the type of guy that would yell out "Damn you kids!! Get off of my lawn!". He is getting more and more frustrated that the characters can't seem to take care of business as expected.
The reason I mention this is because I'm beginning to think that his change in demeanor is a reflection of how I fell about the game right now. I have already written several encounters and scenarios that the group will face in the near future, and I'm wondering if I should rework them somehow. A small minority of them feel like they would be repetitive and boring. I can hear Oxyl, the lizardman shaman, clearly in my mind, grouching away through clenched teeth (cue Clint Eastwood), "Well, come on. Get on with it. I'm not going to wait forever."
My problem stems from the fact that the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) at the climax of this plot arc would annihilate the group if they fought each other right now. So, I'm forced to throw challenges at the party, allowing them to gain in strength before the final battle. What to do, what to do?
It has been 20 minutes since I wrote that last note. I've been going over and over how to either tone down the final scene and/or improve on the story leading up to it. Now that I write this out, I think I've come up with a solution. Awesome. This blog once again proves itself valuable.
My Friday night Mystara campaign continues to move forward. The group recently defeated a vampire only to have one of their own members rise up as a vampire himself. Luckily, the group only managed to inflict minor wounds on him before he convinced the group that he wasn't an EVIL vampire. The group has moved on further into the interior of the Isle, led by a grumpy old lizardman shaman. I started out playing him (at least, in my mind) as a wise, quiet, peaceful type. Something like the stereotypical Elder Indian Chief you see in various movies. I was imagining the old guy from Dances With Wolves, specifically. However, as the group has begun their expedition to the interior of the Isle, I find that I'm playing him more like a curmudgeonly old man. Something like the old guy from "Up" or "Gran Torino"; the type of guy that would yell out "Damn you kids!! Get off of my lawn!". He is getting more and more frustrated that the characters can't seem to take care of business as expected.
The reason I mention this is because I'm beginning to think that his change in demeanor is a reflection of how I fell about the game right now. I have already written several encounters and scenarios that the group will face in the near future, and I'm wondering if I should rework them somehow. A small minority of them feel like they would be repetitive and boring. I can hear Oxyl, the lizardman shaman, clearly in my mind, grouching away through clenched teeth (cue Clint Eastwood), "Well, come on. Get on with it. I'm not going to wait forever."
My problem stems from the fact that the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) at the climax of this plot arc would annihilate the group if they fought each other right now. So, I'm forced to throw challenges at the party, allowing them to gain in strength before the final battle. What to do, what to do?
It has been 20 minutes since I wrote that last note. I've been going over and over how to either tone down the final scene and/or improve on the story leading up to it. Now that I write this out, I think I've come up with a solution. Awesome. This blog once again proves itself valuable.
State of the Campaign, Episode II
[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa Jan 2010]
I’ve opened up my game to adding more players. Recently, we’ve had a few players drop out of my game for personal reasons. That leaves me with a core group of 3 guys plus another guy that is usually 50/50 on showing up. I prefer to run games with more than the “Standard 4” characters for a few reasons, which I’ll discuss now.
First, I’ve come to realize that I run some brutal encounters. This started years ago in my high school campaign. Back in the 2nd Edition days, the only real evidence you had in how the toughness of a monster was in their XP. More XP meant a tougher bad guy. In an effort to increase the dramatic tension of the encounter, I made the fights tougher. I increased the number of bad guys or simply inserted stronger bad guys. The players were forced to sweat more, thus increasing the dramatic tension of the scene. To offset some of the likelihood of a character death, I gave the characters more power, be it better abilities or more magic items or whatever. However, this led to a vicious circle where I increased the power of the bad guys to overcome the power of the PCs which had been increased to overcome the power of the bad guys. In the end, some characters died, but not as many as you might think. I don’t feel that the players disliked this style of play, but I could be wrong. And I’ve only had one TPK (that I can recall), but I planned the TPK in order for a different, bigger dramatic scene to play out (and the players were brought back to life, so it wasn’t really a TPK, right?).
Now, with Pathfinder and 3rd Edition, most monsters are rated for their relative challenge to a group of characters. Yet I still find myself under enthused when the characters blast their way through an encounter that the Rules state as being “challenging”. Granted, Pathfinder characters are supposedly higher in power than 3/3.5E PCs. And I bump that even further with higher ability scores, an extra feat, and double standard treasure. So while Pathfinder does make it easier to make a more balanced encounter, I still find myself ratcheting up the difficulty in order to increase the tension and drama.
All of this finally leads me to my first point: with more characters, the chance of some unlucky dice rolls causing a TPK is smaller. The smaller the group of characters, the easier it is for a bad session to go horribly wrong. With more PCs, odds are that they will overcome with fewer actual casualties. I can design more difficult encounters while knowing that the group can absorb the punishment. The “Economy of Actions” in D&D is a big topic in recent versions, and more PCs means more actions, generally leading to a better outcome.
Secondly, one of my favorite parts of D&D is the social aspect of the game. I enjoy my time hanging out with a group of people, sharing a common interest. The more people I can include into this mix, the better it will be. At one point I was playing in 3 games (before I started DM-ing) and a few months ago I dropped out of one of the games because it was getting to be too hectic with my family schedule. But given enough time in the day, I would definitely choose to spend some of it with my friends, playing D&D.
Thirdly, having more characters means having more options as a DM. I will have more angles to work as I plan plot arcs and storylines. I always ask my players to come up with some sort of backstory, and I pour over these, looking for ideas on motivation and surprise plot elements to be used in the future of the campaign. The game feels more dynamic to me when I can toss tidbits of info into the game that help tie the characters to the world around them.
So, in short, I like bigger groups. I like playing with 5 or 6 players. And I only have 4 currently. So, if you know of anybody that wants to join up, shoot me a line.
I’ve opened up my game to adding more players. Recently, we’ve had a few players drop out of my game for personal reasons. That leaves me with a core group of 3 guys plus another guy that is usually 50/50 on showing up. I prefer to run games with more than the “Standard 4” characters for a few reasons, which I’ll discuss now.
First, I’ve come to realize that I run some brutal encounters. This started years ago in my high school campaign. Back in the 2nd Edition days, the only real evidence you had in how the toughness of a monster was in their XP. More XP meant a tougher bad guy. In an effort to increase the dramatic tension of the encounter, I made the fights tougher. I increased the number of bad guys or simply inserted stronger bad guys. The players were forced to sweat more, thus increasing the dramatic tension of the scene. To offset some of the likelihood of a character death, I gave the characters more power, be it better abilities or more magic items or whatever. However, this led to a vicious circle where I increased the power of the bad guys to overcome the power of the PCs which had been increased to overcome the power of the bad guys. In the end, some characters died, but not as many as you might think. I don’t feel that the players disliked this style of play, but I could be wrong. And I’ve only had one TPK (that I can recall), but I planned the TPK in order for a different, bigger dramatic scene to play out (and the players were brought back to life, so it wasn’t really a TPK, right?).
Now, with Pathfinder and 3rd Edition, most monsters are rated for their relative challenge to a group of characters. Yet I still find myself under enthused when the characters blast their way through an encounter that the Rules state as being “challenging”. Granted, Pathfinder characters are supposedly higher in power than 3/3.5E PCs. And I bump that even further with higher ability scores, an extra feat, and double standard treasure. So while Pathfinder does make it easier to make a more balanced encounter, I still find myself ratcheting up the difficulty in order to increase the tension and drama.
All of this finally leads me to my first point: with more characters, the chance of some unlucky dice rolls causing a TPK is smaller. The smaller the group of characters, the easier it is for a bad session to go horribly wrong. With more PCs, odds are that they will overcome with fewer actual casualties. I can design more difficult encounters while knowing that the group can absorb the punishment. The “Economy of Actions” in D&D is a big topic in recent versions, and more PCs means more actions, generally leading to a better outcome.
Secondly, one of my favorite parts of D&D is the social aspect of the game. I enjoy my time hanging out with a group of people, sharing a common interest. The more people I can include into this mix, the better it will be. At one point I was playing in 3 games (before I started DM-ing) and a few months ago I dropped out of one of the games because it was getting to be too hectic with my family schedule. But given enough time in the day, I would definitely choose to spend some of it with my friends, playing D&D.
Thirdly, having more characters means having more options as a DM. I will have more angles to work as I plan plot arcs and storylines. I always ask my players to come up with some sort of backstory, and I pour over these, looking for ideas on motivation and surprise plot elements to be used in the future of the campaign. The game feels more dynamic to me when I can toss tidbits of info into the game that help tie the characters to the world around them.
So, in short, I like bigger groups. I like playing with 5 or 6 players. And I only have 4 currently. So, if you know of anybody that wants to join up, shoot me a line.
State of the Campaign, Episode I
[copied from my earlier Note on Facebook]
(With a nod toward my friend Nakia), I'm considering writing up my thoughts on my current D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) game that I run on alternating Fridays. However, I'm not sure of the value of doing this. I've tried to write a recurring blog on several previous occasions, only to fizzle out after a few entries. I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I'm going to get a bunch of readers or even a smattering of passing interest. I guess I'm going to write this only to serve my own interest in talking about my favorite pasa tiempo.
To bring the unaware up to speed, I run a game every other Friday with a core group of 3 guys. We've had other players come and go and we currently sit at 4 players. As we currently stand, I am in recruiting mode for another player or three. The game is set in the Original D&D world of Mystara. I try to make my game grand in scope and currently the characters find themselves in the middle of a desperate quest to stop the villains from destroying the world.
For this first blog entry, I'll talk about my gaming history. I was first introduced to D&D by my older cousin Isaac. I think he asked if I wanted to play one day while they were visiting San Diego from Phoenix. I remember playing a fighter and somehow find a Sword That Breaks Rock. I doubt we played for more than an hour or two, but I was hooked. At some point later down the timeline, I bought (or was gifted) the Red Box (Mentzer version). I don't recall playing the game very often. More often than not, I just made characters. If I was lucky, some family member would humor me and make a character. I remember my Mom, Becky, making a character named "Beaky". And when I say "making a character", I mean she was doing chores and cooking a meal while I sat at the dinner table and asked her questions. Generally, my memory is pretty poor, but I remember this very clearly because it is when I first learned how to pronounce "prerequisite", one of the many words in the rules of which I didn't know the definition.
I remember sometime in late middle school or early high school of playing with my almost step-brother Dean. He and I had very similar tastes in gaming. We used to sit for hours at the computer and play Command & Conquer or X-Wing. I acquired the Expert Set, around this time, which broadened my horizons to include wilderness encounters. Within this set was the module X-1: The Isle of Dread. I was hooked for life on D&D once I read through that module. It was everything I loved about Indiana Jones and other great adventure stories: an unexplored wilderness, a lost civilization, dinosaurs, huge piles of treasure, and death in every direction.
I don't recall how or when, but my high school clique became interested in D&D. I look back on it now and realize that some of my friends were only there for the camaraderie of the group, but at the time such rational analysis was beyond my grasp. We started with the same ol' Red Box and went through the Isle of Dread and into the Blue Box. Right away I realized that I wanted to take this group to higher levels, yet I could not find the Companion Set nor Immortal Set. Luckily, I came across the Rules Cyclopedia, which was an updated version of all 4 boxed sets. I ran the group up to 36th level and into Immortality, albeit the game was very rushed toward the end, for reasons you'll read shortly.
As my first true campaign was winding down, I really got into Advanced D&D. I loved the more powerful play it seemed to provoke. My high school group transitioned into AD&D sometime around the summer of my rising junior year. Many of our other friends were also into roleplaying, which expanded my horizons to the Forgotten Realms and Drangonlance. That Christmas, my wish list only consisted of AD&D books, and I made out like a bandit.
It was at this time that I became aware of what a campaign truly was. Beforehand, I just threw a bunch of somewhat-random encounters together, and my players didn't seem to mind. But now, I realized that I could weave together an overarching plot easier than I imagined. I didn't have to plan out every detail in advance. I could let things flow more naturally and then tie them together as the situations came around. For example, the players encountered several goblin tribes attacking the local farming areas. Once they had this cleared up, they realized that the tribes were being lead by an evil magic user. And this evil-doer reported up the food chain to bigger and tougher baddies. And behind the proverbial curtain was the Plot of Doom (TM).
This campaign ran until we left high school. I even stepped away from the Dungeon Master side and played in a few games for the first time in years. I was too much of a control freak to get into this and never let the characters develop.
Without a group to play with, my college gaming life withered away to nothing. I began collecting D&D books for their reading value and let my imagination do the rest. I tried to get into the gaming group on campus, but didn't for 2 big reasons. #1: I didn't live on campus (actually 45 minutes away) and I had a hard time making the evening sessions and work my job as well. #2: UCSD is a nerdy campus, and the gaming group was the cream of the crop. I saw (and smelled) them and turned away quickly. I still maintained my subscription to Dungeon magazine, and I own every issue from around #12 to #150 when it stopped being published. I failed to mention that my high school group playtested several adventures for Dungeon mag and we have our (mis-spelled) names listed in its contents.
I bought the core rulebooks for 3rd edition when it came out, despite having nobody to play with. But when I got married and eventually moved to Charlotte, Erika helped me get back into gaming. She practically forced me to go to the local gaming shop and check it out. I joined a game and met some really cool (and a few very odd) people. 2 years later, I've played in probably 6 long-term games (although they've mostly gone away) and several short games. I've played in a game with the reigning RPG Superstar 2009. I'm now running a game that is nearing its 9-month anniversary. I have every intention of taking this game to the very end, as long as my players will have me.
I know that I've grown as a DM over the years. I know that I have room to grow. I was recently turned on to a blog by a guy with a game that has lasted over 11 years. I hope to one day be able to say that I've run a game that lasted this long.
(With a nod toward my friend Nakia), I'm considering writing up my thoughts on my current D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) game that I run on alternating Fridays. However, I'm not sure of the value of doing this. I've tried to write a recurring blog on several previous occasions, only to fizzle out after a few entries. I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I'm going to get a bunch of readers or even a smattering of passing interest. I guess I'm going to write this only to serve my own interest in talking about my favorite pasa tiempo.
To bring the unaware up to speed, I run a game every other Friday with a core group of 3 guys. We've had other players come and go and we currently sit at 4 players. As we currently stand, I am in recruiting mode for another player or three. The game is set in the Original D&D world of Mystara. I try to make my game grand in scope and currently the characters find themselves in the middle of a desperate quest to stop the villains from destroying the world.
For this first blog entry, I'll talk about my gaming history. I was first introduced to D&D by my older cousin Isaac. I think he asked if I wanted to play one day while they were visiting San Diego from Phoenix. I remember playing a fighter and somehow find a Sword That Breaks Rock. I doubt we played for more than an hour or two, but I was hooked. At some point later down the timeline, I bought (or was gifted) the Red Box (Mentzer version). I don't recall playing the game very often. More often than not, I just made characters. If I was lucky, some family member would humor me and make a character. I remember my Mom, Becky, making a character named "Beaky". And when I say "making a character", I mean she was doing chores and cooking a meal while I sat at the dinner table and asked her questions. Generally, my memory is pretty poor, but I remember this very clearly because it is when I first learned how to pronounce "prerequisite", one of the many words in the rules of which I didn't know the definition.
I remember sometime in late middle school or early high school of playing with my almost step-brother Dean. He and I had very similar tastes in gaming. We used to sit for hours at the computer and play Command & Conquer or X-Wing. I acquired the Expert Set, around this time, which broadened my horizons to include wilderness encounters. Within this set was the module X-1: The Isle of Dread. I was hooked for life on D&D once I read through that module. It was everything I loved about Indiana Jones and other great adventure stories: an unexplored wilderness, a lost civilization, dinosaurs, huge piles of treasure, and death in every direction.
I don't recall how or when, but my high school clique became interested in D&D. I look back on it now and realize that some of my friends were only there for the camaraderie of the group, but at the time such rational analysis was beyond my grasp. We started with the same ol' Red Box and went through the Isle of Dread and into the Blue Box. Right away I realized that I wanted to take this group to higher levels, yet I could not find the Companion Set nor Immortal Set. Luckily, I came across the Rules Cyclopedia, which was an updated version of all 4 boxed sets. I ran the group up to 36th level and into Immortality, albeit the game was very rushed toward the end, for reasons you'll read shortly.
As my first true campaign was winding down, I really got into Advanced D&D. I loved the more powerful play it seemed to provoke. My high school group transitioned into AD&D sometime around the summer of my rising junior year. Many of our other friends were also into roleplaying, which expanded my horizons to the Forgotten Realms and Drangonlance. That Christmas, my wish list only consisted of AD&D books, and I made out like a bandit.
It was at this time that I became aware of what a campaign truly was. Beforehand, I just threw a bunch of somewhat-random encounters together, and my players didn't seem to mind. But now, I realized that I could weave together an overarching plot easier than I imagined. I didn't have to plan out every detail in advance. I could let things flow more naturally and then tie them together as the situations came around. For example, the players encountered several goblin tribes attacking the local farming areas. Once they had this cleared up, they realized that the tribes were being lead by an evil magic user. And this evil-doer reported up the food chain to bigger and tougher baddies. And behind the proverbial curtain was the Plot of Doom (TM).
This campaign ran until we left high school. I even stepped away from the Dungeon Master side and played in a few games for the first time in years. I was too much of a control freak to get into this and never let the characters develop.
Without a group to play with, my college gaming life withered away to nothing. I began collecting D&D books for their reading value and let my imagination do the rest. I tried to get into the gaming group on campus, but didn't for 2 big reasons. #1: I didn't live on campus (actually 45 minutes away) and I had a hard time making the evening sessions and work my job as well. #2: UCSD is a nerdy campus, and the gaming group was the cream of the crop. I saw (and smelled) them and turned away quickly. I still maintained my subscription to Dungeon magazine, and I own every issue from around #12 to #150 when it stopped being published. I failed to mention that my high school group playtested several adventures for Dungeon mag and we have our (mis-spelled) names listed in its contents.
I bought the core rulebooks for 3rd edition when it came out, despite having nobody to play with. But when I got married and eventually moved to Charlotte, Erika helped me get back into gaming. She practically forced me to go to the local gaming shop and check it out. I joined a game and met some really cool (and a few very odd) people. 2 years later, I've played in probably 6 long-term games (although they've mostly gone away) and several short games. I've played in a game with the reigning RPG Superstar 2009. I'm now running a game that is nearing its 9-month anniversary. I have every intention of taking this game to the very end, as long as my players will have me.
I know that I've grown as a DM over the years. I know that I have room to grow. I was recently turned on to a blog by a guy with a game that has lasted over 11 years. I hope to one day be able to say that I've run a game that lasted this long.
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