Lets Get Back To It Already...

Been away for a while, feelin' pretty crummy about it. Gonna do better, I promise!

For you all who have been following, the game room (or as my daughter calls it, the Gamerage - game, garage, get it?) is almost complete. We got a/c, projector and screen, and rad sound system. Just got to finish some lighting and final painting and we are on go!

The serious gaming begins soon!

Coastal Comics-good stuff!

On another quick note, I was driving down 707 for the first time in a year and low and behold a comic book shop has opened up. I almost drove off the road trying to turn around to investigate! It's called Coastal Comics and the folks that run it seem pretty cool. I inquired about any gaming going on, they said they have a Pathfinder game running on Tuesday evening, but their are some old school guys like myself around, just not very organized right now.

Hopefully that will turn into something that pushes my gaming along. Finding the right people to play with (as you have read about in some previous posts) is high on my priority list. In the mean time, me and the family will keep at it. Next time, we'll talk about more of their adventures in my new RPG world and how their "education" is coming along. See ya'll soon!

How To Find New Players (or Make Them), Pt. 3

So, where did we leave off... oh yeah, we were on our way to pick up the newly redesigned Dungeon! board game from WoTC.

Could this dude BE any more rad!

I have to say, standing in our local Barnes & Nobles, with that box in my hands, I was getting really excited! I am a huge fan of older D&D artwork styles (Trampeir, Otus, you know... the good stuff!), but the illustrations on this box were gorgeous. My main competition with the game was the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly they were buying, but I could see the gleam in my daughters eyes when I showed her my awesome find.

I could tell my wife wasn't so thrilled, but she's a good sport and was all for giving some swords and sorcery a go. I did my night of the new Monopoly, always fun, but I was ready for some Dungeon! So we planned a friday night, with all the trappings of a D&D session - Mountain Dew, Pizza Rolls, cheese sticks... junk food galore. Hopped up on a sugar rush, I opened the box to set everything up, man was I impressed! I don't remember to much from the original version I played when I was a kid, but I quickly realized this game was super high quality and visually stunning. Just what I needed to get a seven year old hooked for life!

I was a little worried about the rules being a little above her head, but it didn't take long before she was cuttin' orcs and burnin' up green slime with the best of em'. This was way easier than I thought it was going to be! But the big surprise was soon to come.

Stay tuned, the adventure continues...

The Hold Up

About a year or so ago, when I decided I would like to get back into gaming, I came up with what I thought was a great idea to help facilitate putting together my own group of players and give me and the family a place to hang out to watch movies and play music.

That idea was a full on garage remodel.

This simple idea started the ball rolling on some big life changes. Before gas went through the roof, and before my hernia surgery (which still hasn't healed right), I was a total bass fishing tournament addict. So, sitting in my future new game room was a bass boat that needed a new home. I went back and forth with this for a while. This was going to be a major move for me. I have had a boat in one form or another for over fifteen years. To be without one, wow, that was a crazy thought. But as they say (or sing) - times, they are a changin'.

Fast forward May 24th, 2013 - we finally put the carpet in the other day, got some recessed lighting in the ceiling, walls painted, projector and screen up, ran an a/c and heat duct, got all the smelly chemical stuff out and the place fully fumigated. And you wonder why I haven't posted on this blog lately...

So, all that said, we are pretty close now to a launch date. Got to hang some curtains, put in some more lighting options and find the perfect gaming table. I have to say, I am super excited!

This might seem like a small thing to some people, but to me I feel like I'm preparing for a reconnection with my youth. And this really brings it home. The day I put the carpet in, my daughter spent the rest of the day out there playing with her Play Mobile and Legos. She loves it.

And that brings a smile to my face...

Cold Blooded Death

As I get back into the swing, I thought I'd start things out with this small sentiment of mirthful jest. Or, here's something to give you a chuckle, or something...

Thanks to Scaleydemon over on the Dragonsfoot forums. I needed a good laugh today. Here's a plug, check him out here http://hallsoftizunthane.blogspot.com

I Could Not Have Said It Better...

I know, I know... you're saying "You just started this blog and you're taking a break already?".

Quit whining or you get the HAND!

Well, not really. Here's the scoop - Easter and Christmas, my schedule is full. So, after March 31st, I'm back in the wiz biz. Until then, here's a great article on someone who gets it...

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2012/10/8_
things_that_ruin_dd_games.php

How To Find New Players (or Make Them), Pt. 2

I hope you are still with me after my last rant, but if you are not, it's probably because you are one of the people I described so vehemently.

So option two, since I figured it's going to take a while to find these perfect gaming partners, I decided to try to make some. Here's what I had to start with, a wife who could care less about sci-fi/fantasy geek stuff, and a seven year old daughter who is a chip off the old block.

All I had to do with my daughter is to leave a few old modules and various books with cool covers around and she was in. She is so much like me (a total geek) it's scary.

Family fun!

My wife was another story. She's an awesome chick, but this was not her bag. I wasn't holding out much hope for my homegrown group. It was time to think this thru to ease her into this world of wizards, warriors and the almighty d20.

Starting with a full blown D&D game, even B/X, would be way over their heads, so I started seeing what else was out there. We had all been playing Monopoly, Life and other assorted board games for a while now, so I thought something in that direction might spark an interest. As a kid, I remembered playing the original Dungeon! board game, so I searched around and discovered Wizards of the Coast had reissued the game, repackaging it with some killer artwork.

How cool is this?

This was going to be awesome! I got a Barnes & Nobles gift card for Christmas, so I figured this was meant to be. I couldn't wait to play, the reviews were great and the system seemed easy enough to teach the family. Game night was set, let's see what happens.

Next, who's going to step up to the plate and slay some monsters...

How To Find New Players (or Make Them), Pt. 1

Over the last two years, the desire to start RPG'ing has slowly consumed my everyday thoughts. After breaking out and subsequently reading and re-reading all my old books, modules, etc..., I soon found myself contemplating the main problem and reason why I got out of playing in the first place. It's difficult to find other like-minded players that will commit to a regular weekly or bi-weekly schedule.

Let's break down those two issues real quick. First, when I say like-minded, I mean - stable, nonalcoholic, non drug abusing people who don't have a rap sheet and aren't a giant pain in the butt simply there to make everybody's one chance in a while to get away from reality not worth the effort. These people should know who they are and not bother with any game I would like to be a part of or organize.

I desire this experience again to have fun and fall into a story. Not to examine the minutia of every rule written, not to berate a DM because my character died, not to take the game so seriously that it starts mirroring the junk I have to deal with in real life, i.e people with no imagination and a seemingly large stick up their behind. And if you were overly bothered by any grammatical errors in the last few paragraphs, you can remove yourselves from the list also.

Ok, now that that's out in the open, let's discuss schedule. My schedule is whacked. I work on the weekends, and generally have a few days off in the week. Around here, a bunch of people work in the tourist industry, so that is not so weird, but a typical 9 to 5'er usually can't do the weeknight thing. This stinks because I am really looking people who have stable jobs and familys, a decent supply of morals and ethics, and can actually smile and, once again, have fun.

I'll be honest, now that I'm older, wiser, and way more paranoid, I am even considering background checks on people that are interested in putting a group together. Sounds crazy right? Well, just go on your local sexual predator list for your area, it's a real eye opener, especially if you have kids.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on this topic, where we discuss option 2, making your own gamers from scratch.