This is Friendship, Part 2

A while ago, my dad announced to both of my kids that he would take them on AN ADVENTURE. The adventure could be to nearly any place of their choosing, and would last roughly a weekend. Assuming their choice of destination and adventure was attainable, he would take them and they would have a blast.

He put some minor limits on the adventure criteria. It had to be in the continental US and needed to happen when the weather was warmer. He made a couple of suggestions, but ultimately, the choice was made by my kids.

My daughter decided to visit New York, New York.

I hit up my alien friend almost immediately and let him know my family would be traveling to his city. He asked me when, and assured me that he would be nothing less than a gracious host. He worried endlessly about the weather (spring in New York is fickle), and fussed about the subway. He made many faces at the idea that some scrub might bother my kid or my dad, and promised to keep them safe.

This is Friendship, Part 1

I have been super lucky to make friends with some amazing people over the internet. Some of them have crossed over from "imaginary people" to real, honest and genuine friends that I count on for just about everything.

One of those people is Lauby, the former El Jefe of the House of Paincakes. When he and Dethtron started the joint up, I wrote to them and asked them to let me join their blog roll. I wasn't sure they would say yes, to be honest.

I am primarily into RPGs and not miniatures, and I have a really strange POV about gaming being a lady. Sometimes that reality doesn't mesh with what blog netwerk people have in mind for their membership and I have been told to beat feet at least once.

FoW Mission Design. If You Want Something Done Right...

Hey folks, SinSynn here.

For the longest time, I've been aching to try my hand at mission design for Flames of War. I honestly believe that every mission in the rulebook, with the exception of Free-for-All, is awful.
Here's why:

- Forced reserves.
Oh dear Lord what an awful idea. Ten of the eleven 'standard' missions force one or both players to put 'more than half' of their armies in reserve. A roll of 5up is required to get units in reserves onto the table, and some missions don't allow even that to occur until turn three.
Ugh. Just....ugh.
The most pronounced effect this has on the game is known as Front-Loading, where the 'more than half' of one's army will consist of cheap, virtually useless units, simply because that half will see little to no action. Maybe they won't even arrive at all, since Defenders can be overwhelmed prior to receiving them. Whoops- I couldn't roll a 5up. I lose. Sure...that seems fair. Boy, that was fun!

*Opponent wins on turn four? NOT IMPRESSED*

This ain't the Olympics (on being kind to n00bs)

Hey folks, SinSynn here.

It may come as a surprise to some that I love the Olympics. Summer or winter, it doesn't matter to me. I luvs 'em.
Olympic athletes have a singular purity of purpose that I admire. Their entire lives orbit around the sport they participate in, and their goal is simple- bring home Gold for the country they represent. Not just for themselves, but for their country.

*I react this way when I roll 6's*

Olympic athletes tend to maintain a level of professionalism and sportsmanship throughout the games that I respect. There's honor there, by and large, and despite my general disdain for sports, I find myself drawn in every time the Olympics roll around.
So here's me, hoping Michael Phelps put the bong down and got his practice laps in (nice job qualifying, Mike!), hoping Hope Solo is on point in goal and the US Women's Soccer team brings home the Gold and avenges their World Cup loss, and getting a huge kick outta Rowan Atkinson during the opening ceremony.
Ah, good ol' competition. To me, the Olympics prove that it's a 'good thing.' Events like the Olympics give me hope in humanity.

And then there's the Ultimate Rival....sigh.

One of our recent debates has centered around the fact that our gaming club has asked him to 'be nicer' when giving demo games of Flames of War. He was nominated for this task simply because he owns so much FoW stuffs (both models and terrain), that he can literally leave several armies at the store at all times solely for this purpose. Customers visiting the game store we play at who express interest in FoW can schedule a demo game with the staff, and the Ultimate Rival will show up and talk them through the basics.
That's the theory, anyway.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, the Ultimate Rival has taken great joy in crushing each and every person he's given a demo game to. The last four people he's beaten never returned to the store, and well, that ain't good, for obvious reasons.
We want to grow our FoW community, not drive people away. We want the store where we play to make money.
Y'know- professionalism. Sportsmanship.
There's a time for hard-core competition, for sure, but there's also a time for training, for teaching and learning. When it comes to hand-holding a baby seal through his first game of anything, that simply isn't the time to get all competitive, in my opinion.

*The new guy ain't ready for this level yet (but damn- Hope Solo is tough! No header for you!)*

I recently introduced my friend Nascar (we all have nicknames where I live) to FoW, and I had a LOT of fun doing it. Seeing my buddy all amped up and hanging on every roll of the dice was...cool. Maybe I'm a lil' jaded. Maybe I've played so many games that I don't have the same level of enthusiasm any more, I dunno.
Oh, but seeing Nascar jumping up and down, pumping his fist at every successful save bought it all back to me.

I let him win the first game, and I had absolutely no issues doing so. I was happy to do it, in fact. Nascar had a huge grin, and his eyes shone with victory. In that moment, he was filled with hobby joy, and I'd be a flat out liar if I said that I wasn't happy, just seeing him happy.
I know I did the right thing, because he immediately asked me if we could play another. I'm absolutely certain I did the right thing, becasue halfway through our second game, he was animatedly discussing his plans for the third. We played on until well after midnight.
We have a game scheduled for later today.

Sometimes I think experienced gamers may have forgotten what being a noob felt like. Worse yet, I think that some experienced gamers use the word noob as an insult. This is especially prevalent in on-line gaming, but it occurs in our hobby, as well. Many of the games we play are complex, and possibly intimidating to the newcomer. More than that, mini-gaming represents a considerable investment in both time and money.
It behooves us, as a community, to kindle the interest shown by the new bloods, not to discourage them.

Take care of the noobs. Represent our community in a friendly manner. Be inclusive, be welcoming.
Save your Olympic caliber play for where it matters, at a tournament.
That's all I have to say about that.


Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!

-SinSynn

P.S.- GO USA!

[40K] Tootin' Lantz' Horn

The Admech Fandex is out- and the guy behind it is one of my nearest and dearest.

Please go over to Lantz's Place to enjoy his Magnum Opus.

Know that besides being brilliant and talented, Lantz is a genuine peach; a totally nice guy.

He works hard- 5 different blogs with incredible amounts of material. He's totally passionate about the hobby and loves promoting the community. He's a genuine asset and I'm really proud to be his friend.

Ladies, he's SINGLE.

enjoy

[40K] Sometimes Real Life Gets In The Way

I was all set to show some awesome 40K content, including pictures of my assembled, primed and converted Storm Raven (VERY lovingly assembled by FunDave- THANK YOU!!!!) . I had planned to discuss the state of the local scene, as it is undergoing a strange shift. I also wanted to ask for some advice on what (if anything) to field next as I am losing horribly and need some ideas.

However, I got an email that changed my whole night.

One of my long time friends was in the hospital- with what was believed to be a heart attack.  I've known him and his wife for over 20 years, and they are truly special people. They are hardcore gamers, with a marriage that I envy- passion and strength, dedication and adoration. They have been genuine and honest friends, recently having supported me through a very tough time in my life.

I got the email and I told TheDude- "I have to go".  I normally stay at the store for 40K night and hang with the great crowd, but nothing was going to stop me from being there for my friends during a terrifying time.

I knew I had to be there, because I have been there.

I have been in the waiting room, the emergency room, the surgery lounge, the recovery room and the cardiology wing more times than I can count. I have personally spent agonizing hours waiting to hear something-anything- from a doctor on the verdict for a spouse. I have juggled kids, and phone calls, and friends and family; all while desperately hoping for the best outcome. I personally know how hard and how frightening it is to be on bended knee, breathing prayers that only G-d hears. [TheDude has some serious heart issues, so this one hit close to home in a big way.]

I gathered my 2 kids and went to their home, where their young adult son (M) was "watching the home front". (M) just couldn't handle the hospital, and I understand that.

He and my son are very good friends and have been for several years. We got (M) settled down and then got some things to entertain him, and brought him dinner. We just hung out at his house all night, providing company and distraction- the best we could do on short notice.

I hope to have some pictures later this week- and maybe some questions on list building, as I appear to be bad at it.

But first, I'm going to take care of my friends.

[40K] A Bad Game and a Good Friend

Last week was the start of league and pretty much everyone got a chance to play-except my buddy FunDave, who volunteered to play one of our regulars who generally arrives late. It turned out that guy didn't show, so I offered to show up at the store early to help him get a make up game.

I was really excited to play this game- I've seen him play, and he is a riot. His ONLY goal is to laugh, and to blow stuff up. I love his attitude and I couldn't wait to face him. We got all set up and got to business. We played our KillTeam game, and despite making a ton of mistakes, I won. Even if I hadn't, I would have had a blast. It was a casual game with a lot of laughing.

Our regular game got underway and we rolled for deployment. It wound up as Dawn Of War- which I've never played and don't really understand. I don't mind too much, as I want to learn as much as possible and get to be a better player. We begin play and I got pretty smoked up right away- FunDave blew up one of my vehicles right away.

I've mentioned it before, but it's still true- I don't understand the rules for damaging vehicles. I didn't DOUBT FunDave in any way whatsoever- I just didn't grasp what he was doing very well. It was ok, though- I was hanging out with my buddy and doing the best I could.

I got to a point where I was trying to blow up his vehicle, and I got confused.

FunDave got me through the tough part, and we kept playing. Other guys started coming into the store, and a large number of them sat down at the table opposite us, and the volume got very loud. A couple guys asked how things were going, but stayed out of it. However, one guy just would not leave us be and was offering commentary very frequently.

We got to another vehicle damage situation,and I was pretty lost. The AP business confuses the crap out of me- it seems counter-intuitive to me and that sort of thing just makes me mental.

The guy tried to butt in, and FunDave shut him down. I appreciated it more than I could possibly express... it meant a lot.

We then got into a very complex and confusing wound wrapping situation. I will not lie- I completely misunderstood the explanation given and got myself absolutely lost. There were more than a couple guys trying to help, and one of them was the fellow from before- and he was very vocal. No matter how many times I asked FunDave to re-explain it, the OTHER guy kept trying to "help".

Honestly, what he did was make me mad.

Unfortunately for FunDave, I became so confused and angry that I shut down. I didn't want to deal with it anymore and forfeited, rather than try to contend with intrusive people and rules I don't understand. I know that's pretty crummy, but it seemed a lot better than losing my temper or throttling a customer.

In a show of compassion and friendship, I received the following email after our game:

Ok. Here ya go. This is the tale of Billy Bob and his magical layz cannon vs. his cousin Jimbo and his Land Raider

1. Declare Fire
    Jimbo, I'm a fixin to shoot you with this here layzer cannon
2. Roll to hit. Same as for firing with a unit. BS + D6 has to equal or be greater than 7.
    Billy Bob is pretty good with his layzer cannon he's BS 4. He rolls and gets a 4 BS+D6 = 8 He hits
3. Determine what you did.
    There are 3 possible options here. Take the weapon strength+D6 compare to the armor value (AV) of the vehicle
    It must equal or be greater than the AV
    1. Weapon strength 9+ 1,2,3,4 = (10, 11, 12, 13) All less than the AV 14 Land Raider (this is why land raiders suck
        Daymeet cousin that thar armured thingy beat my layzer cannon

    2. Weapon strength 9+ 5 = 14 Glancing hit Roll D6-2 (then add anything special like tank hunters or AP 1) and consult the chart.

        Dad gum. I scratched the paint on that sucker!

    3. Weapon strength 9+ 6 = 15 Penatrating (hehehe penatrating) hit. Roll D6 (add in special stuff like tank hunters or AP 1) and consult the chart.

        Yeee Haaw! My layzer cannon put a hole right through that sumabitch watch 'er burn!

Melta has a distinct difference in all of this. At step 3 above for melta you add: 3a. If you are within half the range of the weapon roll weapon strength + the sum of 2D6.

Hey Jimbo eyes gots me a microwavin' gun now. Let's see how ya like this one.

Weapon strength 8 + 2D6 ( let's say a 5 and a 3) = Wpn Str 8 + 8 = 16 penetrating hit. Roll D6 then add one for the shot being AP1 and consult the chart.

Ding! Ha! cusin. Youse a burrita now.

To summarize

1. Pick your target

2. Pick your weapon

3. Roll to hit (BS+D6) must equal 7 or more

4. Figure out what you did (Wpn Str+D6) or for Melta in half range (Wpn Str+2D6) subtract the AV of the vehicle. If you end up with a zero you glance. Roll a D6-2 and add anything special you have. If you end up with a positve number you Pen. Roll a D6 and add anything special you have.

That is a true friend, guys-- and I am glad to have him. He took the time to write up a summary in silly but "plain" language so that maybe I would have a better understanding of something that's been bothering me for a long time. Getting that email was a pretty good start to my day-- and of course I had to let FunDave know I was using it on my blog right away. He didn't seem to mind.

Maybe I can try again later, now that I know how to use a layzergun =)

[RPG] 2 Weeks

Half a month. A fortnight. 2 weeks. 14 days.

That's all it takes (sometimes) for something beautiful, expressive, touching and evocative to be born.

In my experience, the quickly born-but amazingly deep works, ideas, concepts and stories are the ones that you have no control over. They take off like a freight train and just keep going until they arrive at their destination- usually your brain all "explodey" with possibility and change.

Some of these monsters take longer and some are shorter. Some are characters, while others are settings, or scenes, or maybe even adventures for those at your maniacal mercy.

I love the fast and furious ideas-how burning they are while they work their way through your head, and how real they are when they are finally birthed.

I'm not ready to share mine - it's a brilliant and sexy concept, but I don't know how to use it yet.

What kind of speed freak ideas do you have that you're willing to share? Where did the idea start? How did you process it while it burned you up? What do you like the most about it?

[RPG] A Hat Tip To OSR

I've mentioned  it here more than a few times that I don't play D&D.

I really never did. I don't have any early years Moldavy/Holmes/Red Box nostalgia, nor any Temple, Mountain, or Lair adventure stories. Really- I don't.

I did give it a try once when I was about 19. I was young, in college, recently married, and playing with some very good friends. I can say I honestly tried it. I think it was AD&D, but I honestly don't know. TheDude might.

I know I got frustrated by a lot of the inherent design- how random generation made the possibilities for character ideas much more restricted. I didn't like how limiting it seemed to me, after playing points-buy games. I found class constraints infuriating, and the lack of rationale for the rules more than slightly annoying. I wanted to know "why" a lot.  "It just IS that way" became my GM's mantra, which was a drain to him, I'm sure.

THAC0 was my number one enemy and I railed on it incessantly. It just seemed DUMB to me that the more armor you had, the harder you were to be hit. Understandably, every rule system needs a baseline on how to attack, and this was the standard for years. I comprehend the concept intellectually- but in common sense terms, it was the dumbest thing I'd heard in a long time. My GM started calling it something else, just to get me to be quiet.

The campaign had a pretty serious storyline, but a lot of laughs were had. "I got better" was a pretty major one-liner that's still used by those of us that were in the game. (I can't remember who said it first, though.)  Going into a bar became the code for going to the next town. I drove the rogue insane and I think I captured some bad guys.

I don't remember the game because of the system. I remember it because of the people and the time in my life. I remember being young and having fun with my pals despite all the problems I found with the system.

Whether I like the system or am part of the OSR movement is not the point- the point is that there are literally hundreds of bloggers out there, producing insanely crazy-good materials for a system that THEY love.

They're talking about and finding new things to do with their system of choice, and engaging others while they're at it. Despite some minor quibbles on language and reason, the entire "Old School Is Cool Again" mentality is a good thing for the community.

Even WITH disagreements and face-offs and general frustrations, these guys (for the very most part- I've seen one or two lady OSR bloggers) are helping the roleplaying/gaming community simply by having discussions. The passion and intensity behind their work is unreal and definitely a bonus for everyone involved.

I don't hold any grudges or unpleasantness about the OSR stuff, despite being a "new school" player, for the most part. Why would I? The OSR guys know their stuff, they like to talk about it, and in general, help grow a cottage industry when no one else is doing it. Besides, these guys are pretty nice overall. One of the VERY nicest people I have met in my life happens to game at my store, and writes a pretty darn good blog. 

In fact, his blog was part of my inspiration when I was contemplating starting a gaming blog. The only real issue I had was that I knew I'd never be as good. I'm simply not as talented a writer, nor as creative a mind- but he got me thinking that maybe MY voice might be of interest to others. Thanks, Jeff.

Being passionate about what you do, and getting others to join in - whether to agree or find fault- is something we as gamers could do more; and benefit greatly.

So, to all you THAC0 nuts out there, thanks for making the community so much fun. I'm glad I'm benefitting and watch some of you in serious awe.

But I'm keeping my new-fangled wuji games, thank you very much.  =)

Doing A Solid- GO SEE CRUSADER!!!!!!

If you are ---ANYWHERE--- near Adepticon this weekend (even just because you live there) go check out this kick-ass metal show!

Why should you care? 'Cause it's Dethtron and Hoagy, that's why! Want aggression? Great symbolism? Swearing? Crushing drums? Super loud vocals? CRUSADER HAS ALL THAT AND MORE.

Go check it out, folks!

-----------------------------------

Crusader http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crusader/172112556153977?sk=app_178091127385

Show info

when:  Saturday, April 2nd
doors at 8:30

where:  Ardmore Lounge
340 S Ardmore Ave
Villa Park, IL

who:  She Likes Todd
Situation Red
Crusader

how much: free!!!!!!!

age:  21+

directions from Adepticon:

1. Head west on Yorktown Mall Dr toward S Grace St

276 ft

2. Take the 1st right onto S Grace St

0.2 mi

3. Take the 1st right onto E 22nd St

0.7 mi

4. Turn left at S Meyers Rd

1.0 mi

5. Turn right at IL-38 E/E Roosevelt Rd

0.8 mi

6. Turn left at S Ardmore Ave

1.5 mi

Christmas Words of Wisdom

...but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.-

Francis P Church, 1897's New York Sun

[Blogging] Lessons & Tools

I learned a whole lot of very important lessons last week. Since I'm the gal I am, I figured I'd pass a few along.

LESSON ONE:  My experiment Wednesday was a huge failure. I had the first half of a really cool, atmospheric, immersive and moody post- but I ran out of gas about halfway through. Rather than recognizing it and scrapping the idea until it was fully formed, I pushed ahead and wound up with a bomb. Another experiment I tried on Wednesday leads to

LESSON TWO: Changing stuff without trying it is DUMB. I tried to install Intense Debate and turned off comments, instead. I honestly didn't figure it out until the next day. I hadn't tested this new thing and it bit me in the rear. But this failure also leads me to

LESSON THREE: My readers are NICE. You guys are so incredibly nice, not a single one of you could bear to tell me I'm an idiot and my comments don't work. I found that a little comforting.

I try to make interacting with me as easy as possible- I've got my email in my profile, and I'm open to criticism with the intent to improve the blog. So having made all those mistakes, I've resolved I won't be making any changes that affect how you interact with me here again without LOTS of warning and some feedback from you.

I have found a couple tools that are behind the scenes that I like a lot. There are a lot of very interesting and helpful options for bloggers out there- I can't say enough about StatCounter. I love that it doesn't do anything to my blog except tell me all the cool stuff I want to find out - who reads, how long, where they come from, etc. In combination with GoogleAnalytics, I can get way more bang for my blogging buck than even a month ago.

I found out you guys really like my Sunday stuff - so especially after Wednesday, I work hard to make sure I don't put up a half-assed post. I had an idea for a pretty serious topic I'd been working on all week but it wasn't "done" yet (even on Saturday) so I gave it up for something I knew was "finished". While I have a lot of subjects I want to cover, I'm open to suggestions so feel free to throw an idea or two out- you never know what I'll do.

I'd love to hear what tools you guys find useful, what widget works well for you, and what you're using to improve your blog. I'd also love to hear some of YOUR lessons- maybe I can learn from them, too. 

Saturday Surprise! A Guest Post

I'm honored and excited to have a guest post for you guys today! My buddy Tom (long time friend and sometimes commenter on my blog) has written up something that I hope you'll all enjoy. I love Tom's style, and I'm glad to share his stuff with you. Here it is:


An Innocent Bystander (or How I Got Sucked into a World of Darkness Campaign)

A while back (two years ago?) a friend of mine (K, who is playing in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer game that I GM) started playing in a local WOD (World of Darkness) campaign at the FLGS (friendly local game store) that a friend of mine owns. It didn’t take K long to declare that the WOD game was her most favorite game of all time (which piqued my interest).

Anyway, life went on with me blissfully unaware of what was creeping up behind me…until a few months ago, when Loq asked me if I would be interested in watching a WOD session. After looking at her Blog to try and get a feel for the game I decided to take Loq up on her offer to check out the game in person. A couple of weeks later I walked in the front door of the store to watch my first WOD session.

Let me just say that, as I entered the store,  the only thing I knew about WOD was from watching a bunch of guys play Werewolf about 20 years ago, and also hearing stories about a Vampire group in a nearby town. Let’s just say that I was more than a little apprehensive when I walked into the place.

(Please Note: this is all from memory, so I may have some stuff wrong.)
Upon entering the store I noticed several “pods” of people in various locations, some talking in hushed tones, some laughing and joking, and a couple scribbling in notebooks. A couple of tables were filled with food, as the group participates in a potluck on WOD nights.

Loq and a couple of other people were sitting at a nearby table. She was helping a new guy work on creating a Changeling character. Loq invited me to sit down and she started to tell me about the game.

The WOD game takes place in Austin, Texas. Most of the action takes place in a fictional area of the city depicted on a map I saw floating around. Some locations on the map are The Cemetery House (where the Mages hang out), The Hedgerow (a bar/meeting place) Jaks’ house (where the werewolves sleep) and a couple of others that I can’t remember.

I looked around the store, trying to figure out what was going on with the different groups of players. Loq told me that they were playing out various “scenes” (player characters interacting with each other). I noticed a small table in the back of the store where the Storyteller (ST, what I always called a GM) was talking to K.

After a few minutes the ST finished with K and left the table. Then he and took a couple of other players outside to talk to them. As it turns out, stuff that take place in indoor locations happens inside the store, and stuff that happens outside happens outside the store.

I wandered around the store, listening in on several different conversations, trying to understand what was going on. From what I could pick up it sounded like there were several different storylines going on at the same time. (This was later confirmed to me by the ST.)

Loq told me that the ST employed a couple of “deputies” to help run the game (one dealt mostly with the Vampires, one with the Lost/Changelings). The ST worked with the rest and was the guy who thinks up all of the storylines and is the final arbitrator of any major conflicts. (With a group numbering anywhere from 15 to 20 people, this was NO small task.)

A couple of players explained to me that this particular WOD game was a hybrid, partly live action, partly tabletop game adjudicated by die rolls when necessary.  Players were always “in character” unless they were holding a hand to their chest (which meant they were speaking out of character) or when they were watching the goings on of another group.

As I observed I found out that the game had a LOT of WOD character types. Loq and a couple of others were playing Changelings. Several guys at one table were talking about weird stuff I didn’t understand (turns out they were all Mages). Another very loud group of guys and one gal were involved in some sort of fight (Werewolves). One guy was sitting back and watching like I was (Hunter). Another guy was talking to himself…a lot (he was a Geist/sin eater, someone who can talk to and is haunted by Ghosts). Later on I would meet the lone Vampire of the group. Someone told me that the only character type not allowed in the game are the Promethean: the Created.

As the night went on I became more comfortable around the players. I talked to some of them about their characters and what storylines they were involved in. Some talked with me about other interests we shared. Some talked about what else was going on in the game. 

Then several of them, including Loq, K, and the ST, gathered around a large table in the back of the store. It seems that there was some stuff going down at the Hedgerow, a local meeting place for most of the characters (except the werewolves, whose territory didn’t cover that location anymore).

A couple of players were in an upstairs workroom. Another was trying to spy on them. As the characters interacted with each other something started to happen in the main room. Some sort of disturbance had developed into a tear in the middle of the air. Two sets of huge claws reached through and into the Hedgerow. They pulled at the tear, widening it until a large “snout” poked through and breathed fire! It was a dragon!

Things become hectic as vines shoot out of the opening and grab players. Some players run to their rescue and others start fighting the dragon, trying to force it back through the tear.  The ST describes how someone jumps out of the tear and into the room. Then he looks at the new guy and tells him he is IN the game and to go for it.

(All through this “scene” the ST and several players all tell me that this kind of major conflict rarely happens in the game. The ST later tells me that what happened was a consequence of certain things that had been building in the game for a long time.)

More craziness happened. The building catches fire. AND the cops show up. Then I find out this particular group of cops are all Werewolves. I think I hear someone call them “The Ghosts”. Who better to call when bad weirdness happens?  Then I find out that one of the Mages (who was also involved in the fight with the dragon) is also cop. He has several of the other players taken in for questioning.

As the final scene of the night ends the ST calls everyone together to discuss the evening’s events. Some players talk about their favorite things that happened. Others talk about who was fun to watch. The ST hands out experience points. Everyone gets two, a couple of players get an extra point for cool things they did in the game, and one player gets another for being the best or most entertaining player of the night.

As things wind down I talk about the game with the ST for a couple of minutes, say my goodbyes, and head out the door. I think it’s after 1am. I’m wasted physically but my mind is in overdrive, replaying everything that happened during the game. I had a great time. Everyone treated me just like one of the gang, and I got to know some of them a little bit better. I start to think about character ideas…

[Weekly Whimsy] The Girlfriend

Welcome to Weekly Whimsy! Meandering into more mature material, mumblings and missives maintenant. Guys, I'm gabbing on the glamorous, gorgeous, garrulous, gamine, gracious, and gratifying gender; germane to gaming and giving guys a gamble.

[One of these days I'll find a tougher letter. On to the subject at hand! As hinted to above, this is a little more serious. I still plan to be lighthearted and fun, but this is a slightly more adult topic today.]

Hey little girl, I wanna be your boyfriend

Ramones, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

over heard at the game store:

Gamer 1- “So, after 9 months of dating, I finally told my girlfriend I played [insert game title here]”

Gamer 2- “What was her response?”

Gamer 1- “ I still have a girlfriend.”

[remainder of conversation irrelevant]

Seen at the game store:

Gamer C brought his girlfriend to a MtG event. By all accounts, she wanted to play and was hanging out with C's friends A & K. C generously and willingly paid for her entry. A & K teased C mercilessly for paying and being a gentleman, but in a gentle, chiding sort of way.

Girlfriends. While as a rule, gamers seem to want them (a few notable exceptions come to mind); they seem to be a strange and compelling quandary for the men I know.

[Shout-out] QUICK- look over there!

Thor, an amazing source of all manner of knowledge and resources, has posted his response to the interesting thoughts posted in my comments earlier this week.

You need to check it out. Like ...now.

He's over there at Creative Twilight.

[MtG] Cracking Mirrodin

Last night I was part of a SoM case cracking party for the FLGS so there would be singles available for sale today. We broke 12 boxes into lands, commons, uncommons, rares, tokens and foils pretty quickly.

We then made quick work of the various piles by sorting them alphabetically and playsetting them (putting into groups of 4 each of the same card). We got into the commons and had them done (all except the artifact commons) by 11 pm. [There's a frickin' boatload of artifacts! They're 40% of the set.]

There were 6 or 7 of us at any time, and we had a prerty fun evening hanging out, talking and sorting. With a larger group, we got done fairly quickly, which was a bonus. I love enjoying the company of my friends, doing mindless stuff like this.

Zombie Gamers Want Tacos, Not Brains

My regular WOD group heard a couple weeks ago that I was planning to move. I had scheduled today (Sunday) as my move day but they volunteered to help me instead of gaming on Saturday (yesterday). This group is pretty large, and then several others in my gaming circle decided to join in as well. I offered my husband's famous tacos as reward for the volunteers, and that got around. More people came to help; many having been lured by the promise of food.

I had 20 people show up to help me move.

The group of us arrived at my house in a convoy (10+ vehicles) and we began loading up. Just a few hours later, my stuff was at my new place. 

I was one of the last to arrive at the new place, and it was later in the day (actually full dark out) and there was a large group of my friends waiting for me on my lawn. My son had coordinated all of them to zombie shuffle towards my vehicle, moaning

"Taaaaaaaaaacoooooooooooooooos"

I  have not laughed that hard in a while.

The slavering horde was fed, and I am proud to know that many zombies.

Shameless

I have an inate ability to "convince" my friends to do things that I want them to do. Most of the time these things are pretty inane, and almost always, the friend in question was considering it (or not averse) anyway.

Last night I convinced a long time friend to join a game adn blow his birthday money on the newest edition of the books.

I was pretty blatant about it, but it was fun.