I Only Reflect at Night

Well, it's 1:30 am, and surprise surprise, I can't sleep. Well, we got approved for our apartment finally, so that's a relief. I have a week to pack up my astonishingly large number of belongings to be ready for the move on Sunday. I am excited, but the apprehension of actually getting everything done is playing havoc with my ability to sleep. Shocker, I know. It's okay, though. Sleep and I parted ways when I left Ocala to live here.

Session two of the Shattered Seas campaign was a success. I really drew on a lot of older things I had seen other DMs do over the years to keep it interesting. I did a successful split of the party, one half of them scaling a tower to steal something from a noble while the bard and the sorcerer kept the noble busy at a concert. It was a refreshing change of pace from my typical very serious role playing. My group, which consists of my current roommate Travis, his friend Steve, and our mutual friend Dan, are very new to D&D. This leads to a lot of creative energy you don't see in experienced players because they just aren't burnt out yet. It is absolutely invigorating as someone who's been playing for years. Their take on things constantly lights all of these games in new ways. So my next challenge for them is actually much more of a challenge for me. I'm going to give them a puzzle. I'm terrible at puzzles. I have no patience for them, and they can be terrifying to adjudicate. So I've made the decision to do the thing I fear to overcome it. I'm hoping I become a better writer because of it.

Next session is going to be Dan's group. It's a large one, six players in total. I'm the only healer, a bard. Now, I was originally attempting to make a character that was a bit on the lighter side. I failed miserably, despite my (maybe) best efforts. Because of this, I've been working with Dan to workout a way to fix my problems with 1. playing a bard when the rest of the group has seen a much funnier bard in Trav's, and 2. play a character that is much more in line with my play-style. We agreed to "kill" Baron Saiga van Rahzvahn (see what I meant by less serious?) and have brought back to life sans magic as a warlord. I'm excited both for the rp value here, and also for the chance to sink my teeth into a much more mechanically satisfying player character. I really enjoy the flavor of a martial captain, and it really fits the backstory well. We'll see how it goes. Going to try and get some sleep now, posting may be sporadic through the move. I apologize in advance.

Inauspicious Beginnings

This is going to be an attempt to 1. write more consistently, 2. use writing as a vehicle for dealing with a bunch of my frustrations. I do not believe that anything I say is important, I just need to vent. Hence, I have turned to the internet like so many before me. I'm primarily going to speak about being a low income geek, as it's the only thing I'm actually an expert on. Fun stuff.

I'm sitting in my room, (it's a disaster) packing for a move to a new apartment. The last few years of my life have for the most part, been fairly stable. I have moved a lot in the past, so this isn't anything new. Still though, I'm not good with apprehension. I like packing as a cleansing exercise, clearing away stuff I don't need anymore.

Have a D&D session this weekend, too. I've been able to finally use the campaign setting I've been working on for years! Dragons everywhere! I was very excited about this until I stumbled upon Chris Perkins' Iomandra campaign. For those of you not familiar with Wizards of the Coast, Chris Perkins is one of the gentlemen that writes and creates for D&D. He is a fantastic DM, and his work with the Penny Arcade guys is truly fun to listen to. Anyway, Iommandra, come to find out, is an island based, dragon-themed campaign setting. Man, Shattered Seas (my setting) feels like a cheap knock off. Damn. Well, back to packing for now.