[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.
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