Hello, My Fellow Nerds

[jmfargo]

I'm really excited about my D&D game. How lame is that?

The game I'm running now that features Maria, Earl, Derek, and Kath in a mostly city-based adventure where magic is prevalent, intrigue is as natural as breathing, and the machinery of every day city life comes into play as it marches on and grinds over all who stand in its way is slowly winding to an end. I predict three to five more games, and then we'll know whether the heroes live up to their names, or if they fail like so many have before them. I will pull no punches, and neither will they.

After that game is over I'm going to take a month breather, get things in order, and start up not one, but two new games. They will run biweekly, and hopefully will attract a new player or two into the mix. I love the group I play with but fresh players would be nice too. Every player I add gives me a new way of looking at how I DM and what I can do better. I've come a long way from "Here's a big bad guy, kill it." Well, maybe not a long way, but I try to at least put some roleplaying in there and new situations that the players haven't faced.

Of the two games I'm going to be running I am most excited about the low-level fantasy one I'm going to be running. No, wait, the zombie apocalypse game. No, the fantasy, but the zombie game is...

Yeah, it's a toss up. Both of them offer completely new and different things that I'm excited about with the fantasy game being the first game that I'm really planning out ahead of time (like the fact that I plan on it starting at 1st level and ending around 10th level at a certain point in the storyline) and the zombie game meaning I'll have to buy a few D20 modern books. Yay new geek books! I'm very tempted to buy a few copies of the core rulebook in order to share them with the players that can't buy them or just doesn't care to spend the money on a thing they'll probably only play once. Does anyone have experience with the D20 Modern rules? Any advice?

So, yes. This is what I get excited about. Dungeons and Dragons, roleplaying, fantasy and zombies. I love the thought of making a story that my friends can enjoy and that I can have fun running. This is why I want to start a LARP, why I want to run a gaming/book business, and why I want to write stories. I'd like to think that in some way I was put on this planet to entertain people, because it's one of the huge ways I get my kicks.

In reality though I realize - I was put here to be a damn good typist. I guess I can take pride in that as well, but it's just not as fun.

Comments

[norda.livejournal.com]

I'd be excited about a D&D game, if I had one.

It would mean that I actually had people around to spend time with.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Feeling a little melancholy today? What's going on? I'm a good sounding board if you ever feel like chatting. :)

Otherwise, let me respond to what you actually said, and not just the tone I heard in it. ;)

I find that getting a D&D game together is a lot of work if you're not just working on a base of two or three players that you're friends with. I am seriously considering going to a gaming store and posting up for new players, but then the problem is that I'm looking for mature players, and not 70% of the people that seem to hang out at the local gaming stores. I'm not exaggerating, as much as I wish I were. The fact of the matter is, though, the people that I wouldn't want in my game probably wouldn't want to be in my game, so I don't feel too bad about that.

Maybe I should make an application? Question 1: You're level one and faced with an Elder Gold Dragon. You:
a) Kill it with your might sword/axe/fists/Magic Missle etc.
b) Know everything about dragons becuase you've read the Monster Manual, and so you know that Gold Dragons are good and would never hurt you, so you calmly sit down and talk to it.
c) What's a dragon?
d) Find a different zip code to be in.
e) Something else: (explain)

Then again, maybe not. That would somehow make me even lamer, I think. :)

[norda.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit under the weather both physically and mentally. The physical hopefully will pass soon [see today's LJ entry]; the mental is a chronic one, which boils down to I'm Missing Several Someones And I'd Like To Go Back To Several Of My Past Lifetimes. Nothing terribly original.

I appreciate the sounding-board offer, though.

Your D&D application reminds me of the current storyline going on in the webcomic Home On The Strange.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

The storyline is kind of what spurred me into NOT doing an application to play in my game. I don't want to be Seth, as I tend to hold a smoldering dislike for him, not for his D&D but for his stated attempt at being the man that Karla would go to if she were to leave her husband.

What? I can have smoldering feelings about cartoon characters. I'm not weird. Stop looking at me like that! Judge not lest it hurt my feelings!

[norda.livejournal.com]

I have very strong feelings regarding line-drawn characters. They're people, too!

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

A long time ago I decided that stories aren't just fiction - they're pieces of other people's lives in a different place, far far away. Either the author is able to visualize their lives through some psychic connection with this other plane, or this other world is created by the authors words themselves, separate from the page once the story has ended.

Then again, I get FAR too into stories. :) Not to mention that I have a really messed up belief system. *s*

[akdidge.livejournal.com]

Just remember, you don't need a form with questions, etc., you do however need to meet the person in a place outside of gaming. Talk with them outside the game and ask them what they're interested in as far as D&D games. Ask them to sum up briefly the extent of their history of playing, what classes they've played, and what the storyline of the campaign was. It's good to test them on their fan-boy/girl tendencies by changing the topic away from D&D and watching their reaction.

There isn't a great pool of good players up here to draw upon (most are content with a very light-hearted, beer and pretzel style of game), so I end up catering to the needs of my players. Now a good DM should do this anyway, however good players should rise to the challenge that is RP'ing too.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

I don't mind a nice little beer and pretzel style of game, and wouldn't mind that style of play now and then, but I think it'd be tough for me to do over an extended length. I like roleplaying, and have been blessed mostly with players that like the same.

I appreciate the advice on interviewing gamers. I had sort of planned something similar, with a friend doing the initial "Hey, I know you like gaming, might you be interested in playing in game x?" Then meeting them at a coffee place nearby, getting to know them, telling them about the game and asking the questions you suggest. General social interaction - am I going to like this person - is pretty important in my groups, and also that person can make a decision on whether or not they would really be interested in my style of gaming.

And yes, changing the topic away from D&D is important too. Did I ever tell you about the D&D Meetup group that was going on out here a while ago?

Dear Gods, was that a look into every single gamer stereotype I've ever heard. Sure, they were good enough people, but....gah!

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Edna is the best character in all of The Incredibles, and I personally believe she trained Syndrome to be how he was because she wanted what happened (no spoilers) to happen so she could do everything that's within her talents.

But either way, I love Edna. :)

[norda.livejournal.com]

Edna has a lot of my physical characteristics, my speech patterns, and my vocal mannerisms. My phone rang non-stop and my e-mail inbox overflowed when the movie first came out, with people telling me, "Oh my, you've got to see this, this character is so YOU!"

I agree with your assessment of her motives regarding Syndrome. I've performed similar actions in my time. I'm no saint.

The one area where Edna and I differ is her philosophy regarding regret, which is summed up in her line, "I never look back, darling. It distracts from the Now."

I use the Edna icon [Photoshop-doctored to suit my peculiar vision] when I need to remind myself that looking back isn't always healthy. In this particular pose of Edna's, she indeed casts a long shadow for such a tiny woman, but the shadow falls in front of her.... even in lighting, she looks ahead, which I need to do more frequently in my own life.

Yes, all my icons are symbolic.

Philosophy lecture over now. [grin]

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

There are two scenes that just scream at me "Edna is awesome!"

Bob: You know I'm retired from hero work.
Edna: As am I, Robert, yet here we are.
~It's just the way this line comes off in the movie with the lighting, angles and general body language. It's absolutely amazing to me, and captures a perfect movie moment.

Then, my favorite:

"What are you talking about? You are Eliasti-girl! My god! Pull yourself together! 'What will you do?' Is this a question? You will show him that you remember that he's Mr. Incredible, and you will remind him who *you* are. You know where he is, go and cofront the problem. Fight. Win! And do call me when you get back, Darling. I enjoy our visits."

~"Fight. Win!" That's the part that gets me to laugh and simultaneously sends shivers down my spine. You can see here that she's got the power to persuade, to push someone to their limits, or send them crashing down - it all depends on what she wants. The thing is, it's not even a power, it's just the force of her personality. She. Is. Amazing.

I love the philosphy behind that picture. It makes perfect sense.

[norda.livejournal.com]

My literary collaborator [one of the people I'm desperately missing at the moment] and I toss the "yet here we are" dialogue back and forth amongst ourselves frequently.

You are utterly right about the strength of Edna's personality. Said literary collaborator can be described at times as an immovable object, and our collaboration is often referenced as "what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistable force?" It makes for some very noisy and heated dialogue when we work together, but what comes out of it is pretty damn good writing, if I say so myself.

[ariochqw.livejournal.com]

on the new players note...

I had a guy at work, that knows I run games from time to time, come up to me and ask me if I needed/wanted another player. He is a nice guy, but very weird! Nice to know at work, but not the kind of person that I will ever willingly let know where I live. In short I as nicely as possibly told him I didn't have a game running at the time, but already had my fill and then some of people wanting to play.--Derek

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

See, at first I thought you were going to say you found me another player. You got me all hopeful, but I suppose it's good to know that I'm not the only one who will probably be turning away hopeful applicants.

[ariochqw.livejournal.com]

Sorry didn't mean to accidentally get your hopes up. I just thought you'd enjoy knowing it isn't only you. Try checking out the games at Jester's cap. Earl says there are some decent people there.--Derek

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

It'd be easier if I were closer. There are some okay places out here, and I'm going to try the official WotC forums to advertise for a new player or two. I just have to find a neutral zone nearby to meet them originally so that in case I'm dealing with a whacko I won't get whack(o)ed.

Or something like that.

[venakali.livejournal.com]

I should probably post here with what I told Derek last night. After your current game ends, and Derek's girly game ends, I'm going to stay away from D&D for a while. It was just taking up too much of my life, Monday-Wednesday-Friday ... blarg. I think using the time at the gym would be better spent for me. Please don't take it as an insult, it's just a my personal decision against -all- D&D for a while ^_^;

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Nope, I don't take it as an insult at all. You have to make the decision that's right for you, and I've kind of had a feeling that you're not the raving fan of the game like the rest of us are and so that this might happen eventually. ;)

I hope whatever it is you decide to do, it's fun, exciting, and shows positive results. If there's a spot open in either of my games and you feel like coming back, you only have to ask.

[venakali.livejournal.com]

I'm just not a 'raving fan' of anything. Most everyone I know is obsessed about -something- or other. Anime, roleplaying, pets... Something. Not me. I'll do something, spontaniously get ADHD, and want to do something else after not very long. The only thing I've ever had a vague patience for is art. That's one thing that I'd like to get back into with my new free time.