We're Movin' On Up!

Howdy folks!

So it's time to move this blog on to a more permanent spot in the internet universe! I've been working on a website to manage what will hopefully be an exciting and engaging RPG world campaign that will start in the fall of 2014.

I'll leave this blog up for a while. It's kinda cool to go back to it to see how my reacquaintance with role playing games has evolved over the last few years. I'll probably move some of the posts to my new site. We'll see how it goes.

In the mean time, check it out at www.realmofdungeons.com. I'm planning on having two worlds going, one for pre-teens (my daughter is a big influence here) and a good, old-fashioned OSR world. Both will use the Swords & Wizardry system as a base rule set.

It's been fun Blogger, thanks for getting the ball rolling!

The ABC's of the OSR - Read It, Know It, Live It

This is a must read article for anyone treading in the water of OSR goodness. Enjoy!

Digital Orc's ABC's of the OSR

So A Geek Walks Into A Bar... Stop Me If You've Heard This One

So there's been this small, quirky comics shop in downtown Myrtle Beach for a while now. I checked it out once, but that was pre-OSR obsession, and gaming really wasn't their thing.

We Shall See

Fast forward a few years, and I hear they have remodeled the place into something called the Nerd Bar and are doing game nights, bands, beer, movies, and other very cool stuff. Today, I finally made it by there to see what all the fuss was about.

I think I have been procrastinating on doing this because I was getting tired of that disappointing feeling of thinking I'd actually discovered a good way back into RPG life. The few times I got excited about a situation, things just did not work out. If you go back a little in this blog, you'll see the type of people I don't want to game with. It seems like I've found every single one of them lately. And it's really starting to suck.


After some small talk with the owner, I started in on the most important question - "Do you have any older version D&D groups?"

And here was the answer.

"See that clipboard on the counter, one of the guys here is looking for people to play first edition."

WTF? Seriously.

"Yeah, it's the first time we've tried it. He's looking for around twelve people to have three groups going."

Really? What just happened here?

"So it's 1st Edition AD&D?" I said.

"No, the FIRST D&D, the three small books"

Get. The. F. Out.

So, I signed up.

... to be continued.

Disappointment with a Dash of Hope

TRS-80 Coolness

A few years back (ok, maybe more than a few years), I had never worked on a computer. Nope, nothin'. The closest I had been to one was my cousins Radioshack TRS-80 wayyyyy back. I did use one in college once, completely under protest, but that was it. I just didn't get computers. Even though I consider myself a huge geek, I was in my surfing, skating, metal, guitar playing phase of life and had no time or money to pursue that boring stuff.

Ironically, 90% of my job now is spent on a computer. A real computer. A Macbook Pro.

Yeah, that's right, I said it. My distain for Windows is legendary. It blows.

But, I digress.

When my brother moved near me to go to college (around 2000-2001), he gave me an older Windows 98 loaded PC. I had no idea what to do with it, but I soon learned how to get on this new internet thingy and that you could play some kick ass games with it. He gifted me a copy of Might & Magic VI and the big old cheat book for it and BAM, I was hooked!

My drug of choice

I played the crap out of that game. Played until my hand went numb. For months I probably got three hours of sleep a night because of my obsession (if that... there were more than a few all nighters). My wife was getting worried. I was crabby, irritable and loving every second of it. So what if the computer was glitchy and slow, I was so caught up in the whole thing it was like a drug.

So, I got to a point where the computer was crashing left and right, and it was time to get back to real life. I put it down, and never looked back.

Until now. I miss it. I miss it lots.

When my interest in all things OSR was reawakened a few years ago, the memories of M&M VI also reemerged. Unfortunately, the game had come and gone, a few new versions had come out, but nowhere was it available for Mac. I tried everything, but just couldn't get it to work. I had lost my old copy of it in a move, so after a few months of trying to find it, I moved on.

I tried a few other games, Diablo was cool, World of Warcraft was alright, but none of them had the kitsch of M&M. But then, I saw hope on the horizon! A new M&M was coming, it was in an early release mode, with full release coming in early 2014! With a Mac version! Sweet!

Well, that has now come and gone. No Mac version as promised.

So, I will watch and wait. I will hold on to my dreams of New Sorpigal and the Dragoons, of the      a-hole Kreegans and the evil they brought to Enroth. I will hope, just a little, for my heroes to return to glory, to look death in the face and say boastfully, "We have survived the long years and thirst for battle!"

... and to stay up until 4am every night after consuming large quantities of Mountain Dew and Gummi Bears. To beat a computer game. Damn right.

Munchkin!!!!!!!!!!

This could be... THE COOLEST GAME EVER! (except for D&D... ha!)

So the holidays have come and gone. Not much on the hack & slash front happening here, but oh boy have we been playing some serious Munchkin!

Munchkin Rocks!

This game kept teasing me every time I stopped by the local Barnes & Nobles (I had been there many times pre-Christmas). So, I did a little research, watched Will Wheaton's vlog with Steve Jackson (creator) and Felicia Day (hot) and some other dude... and decided to get it for the family for Christmas.

Of course, we opened this right away (I wasn't waiting another two weeks to get down on this coolness). It turns out that the little bit of exposure I had been seeding my family with really helped get this going fast. With the help of the full run of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon and the Mentzer Red Box, they were prepared to take up the Munchkin challenge!

My wife told me later on (after she was fully addicted to this RAD GAME), she never thought this would fly. Monopoly and Life were one thing, but I think this was a little heavy for her novice geekness. Man, was she wrong!

I'm not going to go in to details about the game, the rules, etc... But I will say this, if you are trying to get your family into role-playing, this is the deal! Just be a little careful of the young ones, it does get a little PG-13 sometimes. Our eight year old seems to handle it fine, but really doesn't get some of the more risqué references. Thank goodness...

Final thoughts - go buy this now. Stop making excuses. Just do it.

How To Find New Players (or Make Them), Pt. 5

A few months before I even dreamed my wife and daughter would be playing D&D, I started working on the backstory for my own sandbox land that I could develop adventures for. This later led to me writing a few short stories based on some character ideas I had for this expansive setting. More on that later...

When I started seeding the idea of them actively playing a game, I realized that this would be a perfect way for me to build a game setting, one dungeon at a time. All I needed was the perfect adventure to get them started, nothing to fancy or involved, but one that I could easily plug into a longer storyline if they got hooked. So the search began.

Early on I realized now was not the time to start writing my own modules, and all my old standby classics were a little to heavy for this kickoff, so I jumped on my trusty Mac Book Pro and headed into the wild blue yonder (internet, yay!). I had been prowling around the Dragonsfoot site for a few months up to then, so I perused the module section and lo and behold the almost perfect solution was set there before me.

The Haunted Tower seemed to be the way to go for an eight year old and her mom to get dumped into some cool slaying action. It was written for a single female character perspective, so I did some rewrites to include a backstory to fit my campaign and beefed up some of the encounters to suit three to four first level characters.

The plan was this, start my two PCs off accepting a cleanup job at an old tower/estate a few miles out of town. The local militia was busy handling some pesky orc raiders to the south, so adventurer types were of short supply in their small rural town. There would be a decent reward once the tower and surrounding land was thoroughly inspected. This should be a piece of cake for a thief and elf to handle (cue malicious DM laughter...).

After accepting their assignment, the pair of newly minted adventurers visited the local tavern to celebrate. Unfortunately, their celebration was cut short by a raving lunatic trying to warn them of the perils of visiting the tower and what lies in store for them. This was when the DM gets to do his roleplaying. Man, I love this part...

I search for D&D videos on Google...here's what I find!

To much time on my hands equals me watching things like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o_VLqxFMrk

and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMLcy86bZNw

and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI2Ckx3qswI

and this guy again ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M60zW_Mfm58

started watching this guy (sweet headband)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i5Yw4ZoDO0

and to wrap up this super good time, I watched this, one of my favorite pop culture moments and best shows ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJAGxAeV7YU

I then watched a few episodes of the old D&D cartoon. Then I got a shower. Then I did blah, blah, blah.

If you enjoyed or closely identify with the above information, we should be gaming together. Check out previous posts on this blog for other prerequisites.