D&D 4th Edition

Well I managed to run a demonstration of 4th Edition Sunday night in lieu of our regular game as a few of the players were unable to make it. The four players that played the mini adventure had some good comments about the new system and a couple of them said it reminded them of World of Warcraft that is played online. There were no negative comments at this time but I do not plan on playing 4th Edition in the foreseeable future as the adventure we are currently running could take another four or five years to complete.
I must say that I like what has been done to improve the gain and only time will tell how popular the game gets.

Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main

Well the group has set off from Sasserine in a caravel that they acquired after spending some time checking out a ruins. They had lots of fun there as they uncovered a Deck of Many Things and the group quickly used it up. I was intrigued by the cards they drew as three of them drew the Rogue card and are now worried about someone or something turning on them. They now have 5 cohorts so the party is getting rather large and now they have set off for the Isle of Dread following their patron as she is sailing there in her ship. Humphrey has tried his hand at fishing but has been warned not to tempt fate. They are following along the coast as it is the easiest to do. I have now finished GMing for the season and look forwards to playing again. My homework for the game is to update the old classic dungeon Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. It's an original 1st Edition Competition Dungeon that the group is willing to play through and we should be getting to it with the next session when we start up again in Sept.

Next week the Birthright Game starts up again and I am looking forward to it. The nice thing is that it is a smaller group and we seem to get more done. I guess that's my problem with having seven players in my group. Some sessions seem to bog down and I am forced to try and pick up the pace with the group.

Follow Up to Dak-kon

Well our annual convention here in the Comox Valley is done again for another year. It's amazing to realize that this was our 13th convention and we are already planning for Dak-kon XIV for 2009. There was a smaller turnout this year but I know that everyone that showed up enjoyed themselves even though it was quieter this year. I even managed to play a few new games this year in between running a few sessions of D&D third edition. The players that sat down at my table said they enjoyed themselves but we ran out of time before we could finish the adventure.
I am not sure I will be running a game for next year with 4th Edition due to be released in May. I will not spend more money on a game that seems to be constantly changing. My group is just now getting used to playing the current game and to be honest I have enough materials to play 3rd Edition for the next ten years.
Only time will tell.

RIP Gary Gygax

The passing of the Godfather of Gamers and the Ultimate Game Master.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Gary Gygax one of the creators of the original Dungeons and Dragons game from the seventies. His creation was a big influence on my life as I have played Dungeons and Dragons since high school in the early eighties. Though I never met the legend I will always remember him for what he created so long ago.
Here's to you Gary, you will be missed.

Dak-kon is coming

Well our annual game convention called Dak-kon is now right around the corner with the last weekend of February. I am going to be running a D&D game for Saturday if I get any players.
I actually have two adventures to run depending on the turnout for my game. Last year we didn't have any takers for D&D as there was too many other interesting games to play. It also depends on the turnout for Saturday as Sunday is always the busier day because of the Magic Tourney that runs.
This is the thirteenth convention that we have held and I will be interested to see who turns up. Because of the con we will not be playing our usual Sunday night game. As it is I have about six game sessions left before we end the Savage Tide for the summer and start up the Birthright game again. I look forward to playing again.

Hot Time in the City

Well the group spent the last game session trying to get through the city while it is packed to the gills with people. One of the encounters was with a drunken gnome and his burly half-orc buddy. Humphrey was stopped by the gnome and was attacked when his buddy defended him. They finally made it to the Manor House and found some bullywugs on guard inside the front doors. They managed to rescue their patron and started clearing the house. The three gnomes are finally starting to act like gnomes. It was an interesting watching the trio arguing about which way to go even as they were attacking some bullywugs. They never stopped the conversation once as they attacked and then healed themselves afterwards.

Next will come the challenge as I lead them south. But not before I give them a side trek to toughen them up.

Humphrey's Heros

Well the group has finally come up with a group name. Seeing as the big guy is the focal point of the group, they decided to name themselves after him as some of the other suggestions that they came up with really didn't work. Now to see if the group and the name survives.

Finishing Off Kraken's Cove

Well the group finished off investigating the remains of Kraken's Cove in their search for Vanthus. They found out that he had indeed been there but had left abruptly when he tried to steal a large black pearl that didn't go as planned. The pearl exploded with disasterous results causing some sort of savage disease that affected the majority of sailors that had been there. The group worked their way through the enemy and finally encountered a ships captain fighting for her life against the savage pirates. They helped her kill the pirates and then started talking with her.
They found out that she was very vindictive and had already sent her first mate to Sasserine in order to take out the Vanderboren manor. She was a bit dismayed to find out that the family had nothing to do with Vanthus and in fact they were looking for him. She told the group to head back there as quick as they could in order to save their patron.
As they were leaving, they encountered more of the savage primates and they managed to attack the party druid and his companion. The druid was forced to flee with his life but his wolf was not so lucky. He was bitten and affected by the savage fever. It then turned on the party and attacked Humphrey. It managed to bite him and now Humphrey is affected along with Wik.
There ship finally managed to rendezvous with them and they are now headed back to Sasserine as fast as they can. They arrived at the harbor to find the city packed to the gills with people. The city was celebrating the Festival of Wormfall. Can the group make it to the manor in time. The next session will tell the tale.