Back on Home Turf

It's good to be back! Breakfast at a Tim Hortons in Buffalo, lunch at a different Tim Hortons (at the new HarborCenter ice hockey facility), and dinner across the border at Harvey's. In between this delicious fast food fare we had enjoyable visits to the Buffalo Naval Park and Niagara Falls. Tomorrow, we've got all sorts of fun stops in Rochester -- not the least of which will be Millennium Games. I've visited game stores all across America and in Canada, England, and Germany as well, but nobody can top Millennium.

It Never Rains in California in July

Holy crap, is it raining! I've never seen such a downpour in California before. We had planned on going to the park today -- our last day of vacation before driving back to Nevada -- but instead we're staying inside, playing Injustice. I'm reminded of something Amy told me, eleven years ago today, on our wedding day: "No need to worry about having an outdoor wedding. It never rains in California in July."

PHB Thoughts

I'm slowly making my way through the new PHB and I really like what I'm seeing. The Eldritch Knight (fighter build), Tempest domain cleric, and Oath of Devotion paladin are all characters I'd love to play. I have yet to study the sorcerer, warlock, and wizard classes, but I expect I'm going to add a warlock build to my list as well. If you've had a chance to peruse the PHB, what are your favorites so far?

Skellig Michael

One of the filming locations for the new Star Wars movie is the remote island of Skellig Michael. I've never been there, but I read a lot about it during my years as a medievalist. It's a place I've always wanted to go, and it's certainly inspired my imagination when I've devised the little rocky islands that seem to be ubiquitous in the Druid Cycle world. Click here for more, including a nifty video!

Characters

The best thing about Fifth Edition is its emphasis on the narrative aspects of character creation. In 4e, characters often felt like nothing more than a massive jumble of stats and powers. The game rules did not prevent seasoned RPG veterans from creating three-dimensional characters, of course, but the system itself did not provide much help on that front, especially for newer players. Fifth Edition, in contrast, does a great job of encouraging people to think of characters as fully-fleshed-out individuals who occupy a specific and meaningful place in the world. With personality traits, flaws, bonds, and the like, the new system puts all of that narrative detail right there on the character sheet alongside traditional game stats. I love it.

We'll use the pre-generated characters for The Lost Mine of Phandelver, primarily so that Matthew can learn the game rules. It won't be long before he's coming up with heroes of his own. He creates lots of characters to populate his Lego stories, and he's certainly familiar with many aspects of the characterization of DC and Marvel superheroes (origins, motivations, etc.), but he has yet to engage in any sort of sophisticated character building. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

Phan-delving

Big thanks to Matt, who's sending me a copy of the Starter Set! I look forward to delving into The Lost Mine of Phandelver, the adventure included in the box. I'm going to rope Amy into running through it with me, and Matthew is capable of joining us as well. Not sure what we'll do with Nathaniel. He's too young to grasp the concept of RPGs, so perhaps I'll tell him to pretend that he's a dog and let him move a wolf mini around the map so that he feels like he's participating!

Got It!

I have downloaded and devoured the initial Basic D&D rules. They're contained in a no-frills, low-art PDF that hardly looks like the culmination of more than two years of development. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen an official D&D product that looked so...pedestrian.

None of that matters. This is Fifth Edition, and it's my edition. In my own small (very, very small) way, I helped make this game. I hope all the playtesters out there (175,000!) feel that same sense of pride. We invested a lot of time and energy in reviewing the many iterations of the rules and providing detailed feedback; even at this early stage, I have no doubt that our investment has paid off. 5e feels like D&D in a way that 4e never did.

What's even more important to me, though, is the knowledge that this is the edition my sons will grow up with. I'm looking forward to years of family game nights around the kitchen table. Matthew isn't even seven yet and already he's clamoring to be the DM. After seeing what he can do with Legos, I have no doubt he'll come up with amazing new worlds for us to explore.

So that was my obligatory moment of sentimentality. With that out of the way, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves, roll up some characters, and start playing!

Tolkien and Beowulf

This May, J.R.R. Tolkien's translation of Beowulf will be published, some 90 years after he completed it. Click here for the full story.

Tolkien, of course, is a figure who looms large over D&D and, indeed, over the entire modern fantasy genre. As a long-time Dungeonmaster and creator of numerous fantasy worlds, however, I've tried strenuously to distance myself from Tolkien. If you've played in any of my campaigns, you've probably noticed that halflings (derived directly from Tolkien's hobbits) do not exist, and unlike certain D&D worlds I could mention, there is never ever a character who resembles Gandalf. (*cough* Elminster *cough*)

Why the deliberate rejection of Tolkien? I'm not entirely sure. Although Lord of the Rings never resonated with me (it's one of the many instances in which this former English professor actually likes the movie better than the book!), I have a deep respect for Tolkien as an intellectual. He was a professor of Old English and wrote an article on Beowulf (titled "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics") that changed the way scholars view this poem. I'm very excited to read his translation of my all-time favorite literary work -- a work that has stimulated by creativity like no other over the past two decades.

Aaron Allston

Sad news -- sci-fi/fantasy author and roleplaying game designer Aaron Allston has passed away, at the far-too-young age of 53. See this link for a nice summary of Allston's prolific career.

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, I frequented a Texas-based BBS (remember those?) called Red October, a hangout for fans and friends of Hero Games. Allston was also a user of that BBS. It took me a while, but I eventually mustered the courage to email him and express my admiration for his work, and he sent me a very gracious response.

King Alfred

My all-time favorite historical figure is King Alfred the Great (849 - 899), the renowned scholar-king of the Anglo-Saxons during one of the darkest periods of English history. Today there is fascinating news about the search for Alfred's final resting place. Click here to read about the discovery. The hour-long press conference (embedded in the linked article) is well worth watching, as well!

For players of The Druid Cycle and other Front Porch campaigns, Alfred's greatness (indeed, he is the only English king to be designated as "the Great") is reflected in the small number of wise and just kings, such as Glyndwr and Seren. (I tend to portray monarchs in far less favorable terms.) A character more directly based on Alfred, however, has yet to fully reveal himself...

Fernweh

Don't forget to follow Timothy's excellent Fernweh Again blog to keep up with his adventures in Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Hong Kong: The Return!

Timothy is back for a second go-around in Hong Kong! You can follow his exploits here.

Seven Minutes in Heaven

Did you ever play that kissy-kissy game in middle school? No? Neither did I. Anyway, my own seven minutes in heaven occurs during my once- or twice-yearly trip to the unparalleled Millennium Games in Rochester, New York. I usually get between five and ten minutes to make a whirlwind circuit around the store before our hectic schedule or cranky kids force me out the door. During that brief window, however, I try to soak up all the awesomeness. During my latest visit over the holidays, I was greeted by a brand-new bit of awesomeness -- Millennium is now a comic book store too! Heaven? I'd say it's pretty close!

Stuff I'd Like To Do

I'm always trying to think of new game ideas for the future, even if many (most?) of them never come to pass. If nothing else, it's a fun exercise to keep the creative juices flowing. As we approach 2014, here are a few ideas I've been mulling...

• It's going to be D&D's fortieth birthday in 2014, so why not have a one-shot or mini-campaign that uses the D&D rules as they existed back in 1974? Who wants to be the "Fighting Man"?
• I have a super awesome new NPC -- a cantankerous, foul-mouthed old crone -- who would make a great centerpiece for a low-level campaign, either in the Druid Cycle or Shattered Realm setting. Like the crone herself, the adventures would be loosely derived from a Middle English adventure tale that I enjoyed from my former life in academia.
• I now have a complete Old West campaign setting for the Front Porch multiverse, and it's chock-full of cowboys, bandits, prospectors (grizzled and non-grizzled), card sharks, card sharps, women of various types of repute (including ill!), and two extra-dimensional visitors. I've taken great care to ensure that all NPCs have the most outlandishly, wonderfully ridiculous Old West names you've ever heard. (Consarn it!)

Happy 13th!

It's Friday the 13th, so happy Colgate Day to Matt, Tim B, Chuck, and any other Colgate alums who may be reading this blog!

Happy 50th!

Happy 50th birthday to Doctor Who, the television program(me) that has done more to stimulate my imagination than any show I've ever seen.

Longmont

Longmont is a nice little town and I'm enjoying my stay here, especially because I was able to get together for an evening with Matt, who made the drive up from Denver. It was great catching up with him. We spent a couple of hours discussing family, jobs, comics, movies, games...just like old times back in Rochester. I also managed to stop by Atomic Goblin Games. The owner and some of his customers are big fans of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and are playing through the Rise of the Runelords adventure path. I picked up the character expansion pack while I was there, and the owner highly recommended the monk class. I haven't had a chance to delve into the cards yet, but it sounds like the monk has some interesting mechanics that differ from Valeros and the other characters I've tried.

Spot It!

We had a lovely if all-too-brief visit from Timothy this weekend. We caught up with some of his Front Porch characters, and he introduced us to a simple but ingenious little game called Spot It. Matthew is already addicted to it!

Hello, Colorado!

I'll be in Longmont, Colorado, next week for a business trip. While I'm there, I'll have the great pleasure of getting together with Matt. It's been a long time indeed since we saw each another face-to-face! I'll also be paying a visit to Atomic Goblin Games. I love checking out game stores wherever I go, and this one looks very promising!

Sir Roberts and Leonidas

It seems like a lifetime ago, but in my first career as a scholar of medieval literature, I specialized in a fairly obscure topic: depictions of warriors' death scenes in medieval English heroic literature and how authors used those scenes for social or political commentary. (There's still an Amazon listing for the book I wrote on this topic, but holy crap it's expensive!) When I was planning the recent character deaths in the Druid Cycle, I thought back to my research into medieval literary death scenes and included some key themes (a man's undying reputation, the need for words to be supported by deeds, etc.) in the narrative of the Ekhis battle. Perhaps the greatest influence on this battle, however, was the film 300, which I watched again a couple of weeks ago to get psyched up for Snyder's Man of Steel. Although the deaths unfold very differently, I had the Spartan king Leonidas in the back of my mind when I was writing the final moments of Sir Roberts.