Retreat Forward

My oldest son and I just returned from Gen Con 2015 in Indianapolis. Overall, it was a really good time and a great experience. This was my third Gen Con as I attended in 2000 and in 2002, back when the event was still held in Milwaukee. It was his first con of any kind (as he was a baby back in 2002). Here’s the good and not-so-good of my time experiencing the “best for days in gaming”. Goodman Games Con I joked to my son that we should have called it Goodman Games Con, since we spent most of our time doing stuff with the Goodman Games folks. I bought something from their booth on day one, found myself back there on day two to pick up something I’d forgotten, and then returned on day four to make an impulse purchase. They were very free with the extra swag with each purchase, which my son really loved. Teenagers love Hugh the Barbarian buttons, apparently. Just a sampling of the DCC extras We attended the “What’s New with Goodman Games” seminar and enjoyed that experien

My oldest son and I are attending Gen Con together this year. It's pretty cool in that it will be the first time I've been in the United States during Gen Con in about 7 years. Without the Army to send me somewhere else during the big convention, I thought it might be neat to take my son. This will be my third Gen Con (I went in 2000 and 2002) and his first. The first year that I went, I barely did anything but wander around the dealer room, bleary-eyed and overwhelmed. My second Gen Con was a little more successful as my friends and I played in the D&D Open Tournament that year. Unfortunately, that event took up most of our available gaming time. This year, my goal was to sign up for a few different events that not only featured my favorite games, but also gave me a chance to game with some of the designers whose work I enjoy. I'm not a fan of gamer celebrities, but I do see the value in having the author of a module running his or her work for you right there at

Yeah, I'm a bit late to the party here, compared to other bloggers. However, since I originally posted to complain about one of my two contributions not appearing in the temporary version of the book that Greg Gorgonmilk was putting together, I thought it only fair that I officially announce this: Petty Gods in now a real thing that you can download (for free) from RPG Now. It's pretty gonzo, but chances are you can find a deity in here to inspire your D&D or D&D-like game. At 378 pages for free? You pretty much can't go wrong. As for highlights (beyond my own two submissions), I thought that the inclusion of the Barsoomian Gods was cool. It's presence reminded me of the Cthulian Mythos that appeared in the early printings of Deities and Demigods. Speaking of the mythos, the Petty God most likely to see use in my home games is the Yellow King. Whisper Will has a little cool flavor that could easily be dropped into most campaigns, with the occasional lea

[Author’s Note: This is a recap of the very last session of the Dwimmermount Kids Campaign. As it occurred many months ago and is no longer fresh in my memory, I’m doing it from a slightly different perspective. ] “See Ialgo safely back to Muntburg, Bael. Find a healer who can treat the centipede poison and then get him someplace he can rest until he recovers. Wait for us in town. We’ll return to you, hopefully with enough treasure to pay off your debts and then some. Don’t come looking for us.” Those were the last things that the wizard told Bael before he left Dwimmermount. He’d done as instructed, finding welcome help in the form of Emelisse, a cleric of Tyche who agreed to tend to Ialgo’s wounds and give him a place to sleep until he recovered. Best of all (for Bael’s shrinking purse), Emelisse offered her help in exchange for nothing more than a few days manual labor and a promise of a future donation to the Church of Tyche. As the days passed, Bael’s initial concern for hi

I find something very unappealing about viewing tabletop gaming (or any hobby in general) as if it’s some kind of important cultural identity. I don’t personally find a lot of value in tying my personal worth to a niche hobby, even one that I greatly enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bothered by taking the game seriously. I’m a pretty obsessive RPG fan myself. I know more about the history of Dungeons & Dragons than any person really needs to know. My hobby is pervasive, going beyond the actual play of the game. I spend a lot of my limited free time tweaking rules, home-brewing game systems, or working on campaign ideas. I’ve got my own campaign world that has existed (mostly in my head) since my buddies and I first explored its lands some 20 years ago. You know, just like you. And that’s the thing. There are casual gamers, to be sure, but the most vocal gamers, the ones you’re bound to notice online, share an interest in RPGs like one could call, dare I say, geeky.

It’s amazing how time consuming college can be. I had more time when I was in the Army than I do now. Granted, I’m not in class the equivalent of a full workday, but the combination of homework, studying, and regular father-of-four family stuff is a flat-out exhausting. Part of it was getting used to the change. Spring classes turned into Summer classes, which will soon give way to Fall classes. The schedule changes every few months, but I’m getting used to the feel and flow of balancing the workload. Weekends, surprisingly enough, are relatively free (as long as I keep as busy as possible during the week). In an effort to get back into things, I’m making a concentrated focus on this blog. It’s mostly an echo chamber, I know, but I didn’t start it so I’d get famous or even any followers. The writing is the important thing. Giving myself a goal of at least a weekly post helps keep me organized and productive. Yes, I’m organized and productive with regards to my classes, bu