DISCLAIMER: This is a Nerd-Post all about Dungeons and Dragons. It assumes you know a thing or two about Dungeons and Dragons. Please skip this if you don't. You will definitely be bored.
I'm no stranger to DMing. I've been an avid table-top RPG player since sometime in 2000, and that experience started as a DM. Before that I played HeroQuest (as a DM), played a number of computer/console RPGs, read many Lone Wolf CYOA books, and LARPed. Role-playing is a bit of a life-long passion for me.
The thing with DMing is that it takes a lot of time and effort. Me? I'm usually pretty busy, so whenever I find myself in the DM seat, I have always tried short-cuts to get the sessions going. These short-cuts have made my DMing not as good as other DMs I've known/played with, but most of the time my games are fun, if a bit short lived.
One of the things that immediately interested me in DnD's 4th edition was the supposed focus on making the DM's life easier. As I read the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's guide, I started believing that I could do this whole DM thing sans shortcuts.
The prep-work was easy. I created a spreadsheet to help me calculate my XP budget and keep track of my monsters. I set-up the PCs as militia within an ancient Elven City who start with a simple smuggling bust and uncover a plot to depopulate the elven lands. Picking monsters was easy. Designing interesting encounter spaces to compliment the monsters and create interesting combats was just plain FUN. I didn't really have to worry about PCs bringing out some unusual/overpowered/unclear spell/feat/item/power and wrecking all of my plans like I would were I Dming Mutants and Masterminds, Star Wars, or DnD 3rd edition.
Unfortunately, my session was a 1-shot, so getting detailed characterization from 3.5 hours of a session wasn't really possible. The 4 sets of stats we had as PCs each brought something interesting to the encounters. We had
1.A grapple-build fighter who could move enemies all around the battlefield
2.A Greatbow Seeker who could lock-down enemies from hundreds of feet away.
3.A pacifist Cleric who could heal like nobody's business and debuff enemies to uselessness
4.A Monk who could go anywhere and could move enemies to his best advantage.
In conclusion, this taight me a few things about DnD 4ed:
A. I can totally DM it and not go crazy trying to challenge any PC/make fights interesting.
B. Fourth edition PCs are all SO different a fights play out very differently depending on the types of PCs you have running. I think this edition will offer many years of interesting gaming. A good thing too, considering the money and time I've put into it.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Happy Birthday Jackson!
We've celebrated one year with Jackson. And celebrated. And celebrated.
Which is fine, because there has been a lot to celebrate. 6 teeth (hard fought, every one), more haircuts than a one-year-old should have to endure, 365 nights (not all entirely sleepless), and one really good, really fun baby boy named Jackson.
His first birthday party was everything a boy's first birthday party should be: full of awesome toys, awesome friends, and awesome food. His Very Hungry Caterpillar cake satisfied a Very Hungry Boy, with red icing smeared across a Very Happy face.
Day two of the festivities, Easter, was just as eventful. This time we celebrated with family, drowning in even more toys, more love, and more fun. Overall, a very good celebration.
Really, between these two awesome parties, this one amazing little boy, and all of these wonderful friends and family, there was really only one downside: the party favors.
Now, I managed to not get one. Generally, I like to get the stuff that everyone else gets. I am as American as anyone that way, I guess. This time, however, the party favor was a nasty stomach bug, and we managed to be pretty generous with it. By last count, the birthday boy, his mommy, 3 of his 4 grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles, plus 3 of our friends managed to get our little “favor,” and seeing it first-hand, we did no one a favor.
Shared experiences are a special way to bring groups together, and the aftermath of Jacksonpalooza weekend was certainly a shared experience. Maybe it's because I was the only one not leaking out both ends early the next week, but having such a momentous plague marking your first year of birth both makes the celebration memorable and must be some kind of good omen. While Jackson may be some kind of Harbinger of Doom, I prefer to read the Sign of the Plague in a different way. That sickness, spreading so rapidly to so many households simply shows how close the people who love and support my son are. I say that's a very good sign.
Which is fine, because there has been a lot to celebrate. 6 teeth (hard fought, every one), more haircuts than a one-year-old should have to endure, 365 nights (not all entirely sleepless), and one really good, really fun baby boy named Jackson.
His first birthday party was everything a boy's first birthday party should be: full of awesome toys, awesome friends, and awesome food. His Very Hungry Caterpillar cake satisfied a Very Hungry Boy, with red icing smeared across a Very Happy face.
Day two of the festivities, Easter, was just as eventful. This time we celebrated with family, drowning in even more toys, more love, and more fun. Overall, a very good celebration.
Really, between these two awesome parties, this one amazing little boy, and all of these wonderful friends and family, there was really only one downside: the party favors.
Now, I managed to not get one. Generally, I like to get the stuff that everyone else gets. I am as American as anyone that way, I guess. This time, however, the party favor was a nasty stomach bug, and we managed to be pretty generous with it. By last count, the birthday boy, his mommy, 3 of his 4 grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles, plus 3 of our friends managed to get our little “favor,” and seeing it first-hand, we did no one a favor.
Shared experiences are a special way to bring groups together, and the aftermath of Jacksonpalooza weekend was certainly a shared experience. Maybe it's because I was the only one not leaking out both ends early the next week, but having such a momentous plague marking your first year of birth both makes the celebration memorable and must be some kind of good omen. While Jackson may be some kind of Harbinger of Doom, I prefer to read the Sign of the Plague in a different way. That sickness, spreading so rapidly to so many households simply shows how close the people who love and support my son are. I say that's a very good sign.
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