Because of lack of sleep I have nothing coherent to say. So all you are going to get is…
RANDOM CRAP!
- My goal is to be positive today, so if this one is a little weird, it is your own damn fault.
- Last Wednesday we were able to sneak in a 4th Group session, which was good because I think if Jake had to wait any longer he may have exploded. I ran into the classic issue of new NPC MUST be Evil so don’t trust him syndrome. Which was sad, because he is indeed Evil and they should not have trusted him, but the characters don’t know that in game. Luckily, all the Player’s themselves didn’t meta game so I was able to have them fight the battle with the Fire Giant Forge Priest, his Hellhound pets, and his Azer Minions in the set-piece I wanted to. Honestly, I thought this fight went rather well until the PC’s put the hurt on the Hellhounds. Once that poor Giant was alone it was all over, but the crying. I then forced them to rush out into a fight with the Hill Giant Shaman and his five goons. This battle had T.P.K. written all over it initially as I rolled well, did a LOT of damage, and was knocking PC’s Prone constantly. However the group got it together just in the nick of time and turned back into their normal efficient Death Machine. I think they all got a real thrill out of killing Giants, which is good as they enter into the Heart Of Kanji where Giants are the very least of their worries.
- It sounds as if MONSTERHearts will be a once a month Friday night thing. Now we just need to get a start date settled on.
- The Insecurity Blanket Podcast episode on Anxiety is still in the works, but we all haven’t found a date that will work yet. Maybe I’ll just consult my list of crap I want to talk about and knock a Podcast out this week to stay ‘frosty’. Mmmmmm, Frosties….
- The Super-Secret Sausage D&D Birthday for Zack Attack came and went. I ran for 10 people, all of which were stuffed on delicious grub, most of which were buzzed up, and all of which were balls of fun. It wasn’t the easiest session I’ve ever tried to hammer out, but I had one of my trusty Co-DM’s with me, Master Kedrin 4.0. Together we were able to herd the cats and get them through a raucous night of staff jokes, inappropriate names, inter-party murder, and an insanely Emo ‘Big Bad’. Our prep was WAY over ambitious, but ended up being fun due to its flexibility, the players, and my Co-DM. So thank you to Zack for being a good sport, and to Lady Christy, Skillful Scott, Laughin’ Lance, Artful Andrea, Ruthless Renee, Killer Cassie, Kismet Kevin, El Bobert-O, the lovely and multi-talented Cassandra, and my partner in this B-Day crime Master Kedrin 4.0 for bringing the fun and the warmth to the Tiny Yeti’s frozen heart.
- The funny thing was we turned around and ran the same adventure for THE Karl, Magic Mike, Electric Elyssa, Joltin’ John, ‘Casual’ Doug, and the lovely and multi-talented Cassandra the next night. By cutting the size of the party in half, cutting one encounter out per ‘area’, and adding alcohol to the DM’s screen we doubled the amount we got through the night before and didn’t lose any of the ‘Fun’. In fact they enjoyed it so much after clearing two of the six areas that there is a call to revisit this with two more sessions to bring it to completion. Normally I might be sort of ‘meh’ on that but listening to Casual Doug use the robot voice changer to play his Warforged Barbarian, Pimpbot 5000 aka PB5K, is one of the single most enjoyable experiences I can remember having at a gaming table while not playing. Overall I thought that the adventure went over decently, Kedrin did a great job co-running, the food was fantastic, and both nights everyone seemed to have a good time which really is all that matters. This makes me think I should run more ‘Season’ style games.
- Also I want to record sessions of certain games in order to use them as Podcast fodder. Magic Mike is already on the hunt for an ambient mic. Thank you sir for everything you do, I think I speak for all of us when I say our lives would be FAR less Magic without you.
- Diamond Dave & Mighty Mike are on their way back from the Nerd Mecca of San Diego Comic Con. I wish you both…Safe Journey…
- Mantic is getting ready to open their Kickstarter for their version of a modern take on Warhammer Quest on 8/4/14. To say I’m excited about this would be a lie. I am literally chewing my nails in anticipation. The idea of a multi-tiered box with a ‘starter’ section and an advanced section blows my mind. The idea of having an advanced section that allows you to create your own dungeons means I could conceivably have a toolbox kit to make some VERY basic Dungeon Crawls that fit into my homebrew world and run people through stuff in like a night. I might use it as ‘Historical Dungeon Crawls’ for the history of the Known World. See things like this just light my imagination on fire. The reality is none of this will occur unless they reach stretch goals. I know that they were sort of coy about that, I think one of the things I truly like about Mantic is their humble attitude, but let’s be honest if their other Kickstarters are any indication this one will make a TON of money. So come 8/4/14 Mantic, TAKE MY MONEY(s)! I hope you all do the same.
- Speaking of Kickstarters, it looks as if the Dungeon Crawl Miniatures Kickstarter stuff is finally going to arrive. I know they hit a LOT of hurdles once they got funded, but they have persevered and from the looks of it the wait will totally be worth it. I am a huge fan of DCM as they are a small Indy company that meets the needs of the fans, has great communication with their consumers, and puts out superior products. I have enjoyed painting their ‘Natural’ miniatures, and have been VERY happy with their Pre-painted stuff. Apparently they too are setting up to do another Kickstarter in the next few months. If you like your stuff Pre-painted, reasonably priced, and well-crafted then give them a chance.
- One last place to spend your money is Cool Stuff Inc., who is currently having a wonderful mini’s sale. I found stuff in their sale that was about 75% off! They have stuff up from Reaper, Wyrd, Warmachine, Heroclix, etc. just to name the miniatures. I am pretty sure the sale included Board Games, Magic, and even RPG items. They are a great company and you should go see if you can get a good deal while it lasts.
- I am SHILLing like mad right now apparently.
- Team TROLLSTRONG met last night for our first foray into the Skinsaw Murders, and for the most part we completely handled that adventure. Well up until the last quarter of the game and then we found ourselves in deep trouble. It came down to the last four turns and The Geneious pulling our collective bacon, which I know Kedrin hates along with Puppies, out of the fire by annihilating the Necromancer. I have found that I really do love the Pathfinder Card game as it has great flavor, but also is incredibly insidious in the way it can lull you into a false sense of game security. Maybe that was just the incredible feast last night, either way. I don’t think it hurts that The Geneious, Sassie Cassie, THE Karl, James & his Magical Beard, Master Kedrin 4.0, and the Amazing Cassandra are a perfect group to play with. OR that RAW is on in the background for us to comment about continuously. Every other Monday I find myself laughing, slaying, rolling the BALLZ(!), and eating incredible grub with a great group of people. I guess it is true what they say; Diamonds are forever and so is Team TROLLSTRONG!
- Happy B-day wishes to the Mason Man, Magic Mike, and the aforementioned Zack Attack, I hope you all had a blast doing whatever you did. We still need to figure out what to get you last two since you are MUCH harder to shop for than a 4 year old.
- When the hell is CHIKARA coming back to iPPV?
- I have some miniatures I’d like to DIP tonight, tomorrow, or Thursday night. They may not be completely necessary, but I’d like to knock them out in case I ‘need’ them. Maybe this weekend we can spend some time finishing and DIPping the rest of the around 100 minis that are ready. I think if left to my own devices this week I may retreat into the basement and try and paint a bit more. The world has overwhelmed me of late.
- I like watching Cassandra play Torchlight on the Xbox 360 as much as I hate Chairman Mao in Civilization Revolution.
- 2nd Group meets this Saturday and I am a bit over half done with prepping. I need to finish Stat Blocks, pull minis, and figure out the Map situation, but otherwise I’m ready. I feel relatively good about what I have in store for the PC’s and while it may not be as kill crazy rampage as the last Adventure was, it is chock full of Role Playing opportunities, world building, and foreshadowing. If I am on my game I think we can get through all of it in one night!
- I hope we go see Guardians Of The Galaxy this weekend.
I think that’s all I got.
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