Monday, August 29, 2011

Podcast Traveling Companion Issue #1

Let me first say that I do a lot of traveling. It is not out of the ordinary for me to spend 3 to 8 hours driving in a single day. Last year I was listening to some Podcast episodes while I would drive. Let's keep in mind that I only put one earpiece in so I can still hear what is going on around me. It wouldn't do much good if I enjoy listening to some Podcast fun but don't end up making it to my destination in one piece.

To make a long story short, I forgot about this entertaining past time until I recently seen a tweet about an overly long six hour plus Podcast about Gencon. I had a trip planned to Greensboro, NC last week which is about a 7 hour drive once way so I quickly did some searching for D&D and RPG Podcasts to download and toss on the Ipod. I ended up finding 3 that sounded interesting and was very pleased at what I heard.

I made it through episodes 1 through 10 of the Dungeon Master Guys and it kept me entertained for almost the entire drive down. It was a great mix of various different RPG table top games. I really enjoyed the interviews while at conventions as well as the answering of questions sent in by other readers and listeners. If you happen to have been as clueless to this fantastic Podcast you can find it here:
http://critical-hits.com/category/podcasts/dm-guys-podcast/

I also was able to listen to a single episode of Chronicles Pathfinder Podcast which happened to be number 9 in that series. It was considerably longer and was extremely informative and entertaining as I am just beginning to find out about Pathfinder. There was a ton of different topics covered including a min-max build for a Barbarian that sounded amazingly fun to play. If I ever get a chance to get into a Pathfinder game here I just may try to make it and see how it turns out. You can find the Chronicles Pathfinder Podcast here:
http://www.pathfinder-podcast.com

I have already downloaded several more episodes of Chronicles: Pathfinder and several Flagons and Dragons. If anyone knows of some other D&D or RPG style Podcast I should check out, please drop me a line here or on twitter @cfallsgamer

Sunday, August 21, 2011

More Gaming Fix Needed

So last month I got back in touch with my old gaming group and have been working my way back into their sessions. The last time I played was late last year and we were using a slightly modified house ruled Castles & Crusades system. It turns out I missed the entire time span that our GM/DM had changed to one of the other guys. I attended his last session (mostly to create a character when that campaign gets picked back up in a couple of months). I have also attended two more sessions and we are back to our usual GM and now running AD&D which it sounds like there might be a few house rules coming very soon to this as well. There are two new guys to the group and both seem cool and level headed which makes for great additions to the games.

However, I find myself constantly wanting to get more games in. The above mentioned group meets every Wednesday and I try to make as many as I can but sometimes work has me traveling and I have no choice but to miss a session or two. With that being said, most of my work travels happen during the week so I am thinking of trying to find some more gaming action to add to my weekends.

I do belong to an online Meetup.com group and decided to see what has been happening there lately. It seems that Pathfinder has become the predominant system in this group and is actually one of the systems I have been researching anyways. I looked at the group calender and it seen there were two Pathfinder games and a D&D 2e game being hosted in the town I live in. I mapped it and to my surprise the games are being hosted about six blocks from me own house! I contact the host/organizer and it turns out that his games are full for the foreseeable future but will let me know if a seat opens up so I can get a sample of Pathfinder.

Another thing I find interesting is the Pathfinder Society which from what I can see is some type of worldwide organized campaign. I just started reading up on this today so don't have a firm grasp on it just yet.

Now I have also had an urge lately to possible try my hand at hosting/running a campaign myself. I have purchased some Pathfinder core materials and own quite a bit of Castles & Crusades and D&D 4e. I am just not sure I have the confidence in knowing the rules or in my own creativity to give this a shot just yet.

I tend to really throw myself into whatever it is I do. This means over the next few weeks I plan to research hosting/running games as much as I can. If anyone knows where I can find some good tips or advice in GM'ing, please let me know.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Badur's Journal 8-17-11

The following text was translated from dwarvish to common…

     I was woken by the sound of heavy footfalls outside of my tavern room. There was a quiet knock on the door and then someone whispering that they needed to speak to me in my native language. I began to gather myself and walk to the door as I recalled my mission to find the missing young Hammerdown clansman warrior. I was hoping this may be further information to help me on my way.
     As the door swung open I noticed a fellow dwarf slightly older than myself standing there dressed as a traveler and a look of urgency on his face. He quickly asked me if we could go somewhere more private to discuss news regarding my mission. We left the inn and as we walked the ambassador from Harkwood informed me that the importance was not so much the return or confirmation of the whereabouts of the missing young warrior but the retrieval of a necklace and pendant he carried around his neck. It turns out the pendant held the key to the history of the Hammerdown clan. The old dwarf continued to inform me that if I could retrieve the pendant, my reward would be a thousand silver pieces on top of what was already offered me. I told the fella to rest assured I would do what I could.
     I returned to the Inn a short time later to find out my traveling companions had vanished. I didn’t think much of it and went to the bar for a drink or two before falling asleep.
     Once again I was woken from a deep sleep as two of my companions burst into my room acting hysterically. Morax finally calmed himself long enough to inform me that everyone had left to head for the orc lands without me when they couldn’t find me last night. The other three adventurers had been either killed or captured. I gathered my gear as the other two ran about town trying to enlist the help of some men at arms.
     The three of us and our newly hired help set off as quickly as possible in search for our friends. Not far from the Keep on the Borderlands we came across an approaching kobold patrol. We quickly got off the road in hopes to surprise our opponents but did not succeed and the battle ensued. The six kobolds were quickly dispatched and we continued on toward the valley my companions said they had previously run into trouble. As we approached cautiously we came to find the valley looking rather deserted during the daylight hours. We did some investigating to find several cave entrances. We picked one in hopes it may lead us to our friends or at the very least some answers.
     Our shady magic-user (I believe he has been practicing his thieving skills lately) led the way searching for trouble. Not far from the entrance he found another small group of kobolds guarding a hallway which he quickly cast sleep on. As he walked toward them the floor gave out below him and he fell into a pit trap. We then were quickly overtaken by about a dozen large rats as I and two of our hired hands made our way to the kobold alcove. My new friends held off the rats long enough for me to dispatch the sleeping kobolds before they woke. Unfortunately by the end of the fight the only survivors were Morax, myself and two companions stuck in the pit. We healed the wounded and headed back out to a hermit’s house in the woods to prepare for the night and try to make another attempt the following morning.
     The next morning we attempted to cautiously approach the valley clearing again but with much less desired results. Five orcs had positioned themselves behind a defensive wall and noticed our magic-user at the same time he noticed them. He was quickly felled by a volley of arrows. The rest of us quickly ran to cover not far from our fallen friend. Half of the party rushed the now rushing orcs and delayed them long enough for us to heal the fallen and head into the fray. Once again the group prevailed with several new scars and help from magic. This time we took a captive and returned to the Keep. We didn’t learn much from our interrogation other than what some of various races of foes we could expect to face in the future. After turning over our captive to the keep guard they quickly strung him up and let him hang from the outer wall.
     We returned to the same cave and this time our scout did not fall into the pit trap but did find another set of kobold guards in the same alcove. He dispatched them and dumped their bodies into the trap which triggered the secondary trap again. This time a giant rat appeared but our hired companions used their range weapons and killed it before it could reach our magic-user. We slowly made our way deeper into the cave and found a large common room full of several dozen of kobolds and our captive companions held nearly naked in cages on the far side of the room. Once again, to my disdain, magic served us well in putting all of the warrior type kobolds asleep. Our party quickly filed into the room and began a quick battle that seen kobolds die and flee in terror as their chieftain fell to the floor dead. The missing companions were freed, more kobolds were found and released and lots of treasure was found.
     The last area we explored was where the rats had been coming from where we found a large pile of feces lay. Quickly investigating the room and the pile revealed a chain and pendant with the Hammerdown clan insignia on it. I asked the group if I may keep it safe to return it to the clan. They did not have a problem with that. Once the group returned to town I returned the chain and pendant and received my reward. I have taken my first steps in becoming a hero in the eyes of my kinsmen.