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One week from tonight, I will attend a screening of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR more than a week before it debuts on on the SciFi Channel. I'll have my review for you here on November 13th.
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Yesterday was Worldwide D&D Game Day. Surfing this evening, I've been looking over the blogosphere's thoughts on the various events...
Over at Gleemax, the social networking site under development by WOTC and where I thought I'd find a lot of conversation on the topic, I found exactly one original post on the subject. Mike Lescault shared his thoughts. He "...had a great time checking out the World Wide D&D Game day festivities..." Now, Mike's the the Online Communities Manager for Wizards of the Coast. So, hardly an unbiased opinion - but a good place to start.
Wisdom gleaned during the WWD&DGD is shared over at Scott Oden's blog. Learn from his mistake. Never mix Chili Night and WWD&DGD. As the blogger says, "No good can come of it." Scott's crew ran the Game Day scenario (a day early if I'm reading it right). He details the session where two of his fellow players ran the WOTC pre-gen characters while the remainder rolled up new characters for the module. He describes an exciting and humorous journey through the adventure which succeeded in the event's mission, turning a new player onto gaming. Sounds likes they had a great time.
Loebrich.org reports an exciting run, but it is Bidi's World which documents what I had envisioned WWD&DGD would be - folks sitting down with total strangers for an afternoon of RPGing. Jim, the blogger, observed a few liberties taken with set up yet despite a trend of unfavorable dice rolls, he "had a blast."
Other entries I have read report large crowds and lots of satisfaction with story design. Seems like everybody had a great time with few complaints. So you know I've got some, right?
I didn't have time yesterday to sit in on a game, but I did swing by my local Lone Star Comics to check out what they had cooked up (Disclaimer: I don't like Lone Star Comics - and if you ask me nice I'll tell you why - but they were the only shop participating in the event here in Arlington). Much like Free RPG Day, I'd have never known that WWD&DGD was happening at the store if I hadn't asked.
Entering the store, I saw no signage indicating the event nor did I find any when I walked the shop. It was only when I approached the sales counter that I found a small sign stating that November third is Game Day.
The Central Arlington LSC, which I visited, has a huge game room in the back of the store. When I passed the doorway to that room, I saw a huddle of guys in the back. I asked the clerk at the counter, "Is that your Worldwide DnD Game Day event?"
"Oh yeah," He nods proudly, "They've been going at it for a couple of hours."
I've no doubt the guys playing back there were having a grand old time and I wish that I'd had time to join them, but I think this was another missed opportunity on the part of Buddy Saunders and his crack staff at Lone Star Comics and Science Fiction. From what I gathered on the WOTC website, LSC booked Game Day events for all of its many locations. I can't speak for the other shops, but the Central Arlington seemed to be keeping it a secret. Based on my experience with LSC from Free RPG Day when I visited two of their stores finding the same absence of promotion, this seems to be a trend with the chain.
When you have industry powerhouse WOTC providing such concentrated focus for a segment of your business, why in the world wouldn't you do it up big?
Really, can someone explain that because it just seems ridonkulous if you ask me.
So, how was your Game Day?
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
As I look through my many pictures of our boy Jamie, I find that most of them (approximately 85% - I did the math) have him holding a beer. Is that because he's hoping to one day land a gig as a product spokesman?
Well, yeah - probably.
Is it because he's very thirsty? Yes, that, too.
But I think there's a much more important reason. You see, Mr. Kirmser knows the power of beer.
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Earlier today, Zach asked: "What the hell is a jackhole anyway?"
From Urban Dictionary:
Does that help?
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Since today's Worldwide DnD Game Day, I thought I'd respond to Zach's response to my October 30th blog concerning an entry on his blog about his first DnD experience. In it, he describes being placed as a first level character amongst a crew of mid-levels on a mission to take down a Red Dragon.
It seemd a rather dickish sort of maneuver on the part of the dungeon master and since Zach and I gamed a lot together in the time period in question, I feared that the jack hole GM was in fact yours truly. I was exonerated, I thought, when Zach mentioned the ref's use of a DM screen. I've never used one.
Then Zach responded with this:
"I embellished a little bit. I also couldn't remember details and so made up stuff. Like I don't recall if it was a red dragon or a polkadotted dragon. Red sounded cool when I was writing it... So I claim poetic license but the gaming experience you remember was the impetus for the story I told."
Well, crap. I am the Jack Hole!
"You weren't a jackhole GM as I recall."
Exoneration!
"Well... maybe with Sir Justin but that's all water under the bridge. *smirk*"
Man, you crucify a guy's character on a branch of the World Tree and all you get is bad press. I mean, that was just good story tellin'!
Thanks for commenting, Zach-o!
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Word on the street - or the interwebs, anyway - is that official casting announcements for the upcoming Justice League movie will be made on Sunday, November 18th, the last day of Wizard World Texas. Programming for Sunday is pretty light with nothing scheduled for DC. If an announcement's going to happen, it seems far more likely that it would occur on Saturday's DCU panel. Of course, schedules change and there could be some big surprise. You never know.
Josh Howard, the comic artist not the basketball player, will be at WWTX. He's an amazing artist, specializing in girls, girls, girls! And Sasquatch. His style is vibrant and a bit retro. There is a deceptive simplicity to his work. I'm a fan! Can't wait to see him.
Khepri.com has announced the winners of their October Wizard World Texas ticket giveaway. Congrats to Raj and Chuck! Khepri.com will be at booth #421.
Did I mention that my press credentials were confirmed this week? I am already preparing to protect my sources. Just last night I mentioned to the Wife that I'm both charming and handsome.
"Who told you that?" She asked.
I refused to divulge the source.
Thirteen days to go!
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
A friend of mine and I were chatting today when he remarked that he had just picked up a set of World of Warcraft figures as a Christmas present for his dad...
"Wow!" I said, "That is so cool that you're dad's a gamer!"
"Naw, he just likes the action figures."
Still cool.
One of those things I really envy are those guys who have that shared hobby between father and son. Carpentry, sports, cars... Lots of guys have this. My dad and I both had a connection through art, but it wasn't a hobby. He was an architect and I was an art major. It was never anything we did together.
Sadly, I didn't really groove to my father's passion - hunting - until after my dad died.
Guys like Wil Wheaton and GeekDad have it goin' on. Truly.
Thinking on this today, I was reminded about an afternoon many years ago...
I was in seventh grade spending much of my summer playing DnD. Dad had been hearing the ridiculous press that the game was receiving. You know what I'm talking about: kids somehow getting ahold of real swords and crawling through the city sewers killing each other while the survivors rededicate themselves to their one trule master, Satan. So Dad was curious.
"I want to play," He said one Saturday afternoon.
At once, I ran him through character generation. He decided on a human fighter. Dice rolling followed. Dad was a numbers guy being an architect and all, so he grooved to it. The problems came when he was purchasing gear.
"Okay, you bought a suit of chain mail," I said showing him the price list. "Do you want to buy a helmet, too?"
"Doesn't that come with the armor?" Dad was incredulous.
"Nope."
"Are you kidding me?!?"
I looked up from the rule book, confused by his reaction. "No, sir."
I recall his next words as if it were yesterday: "Isn't that kind of like buying a car and having to pay extra for the tires?"
My inner GM was newly formed at the time, and not near the jack hole that it would one day become. Still there was enough of the EvilBastard in me to answer him with: "That's the way it is."
And that's as far as my Dad got with Dungeons and Dragons. I annoyed him far too much for him to proceed any further.
That memory tickles me.
Tomorrow is Worldwide D&D Game Day. Go out and make some memories of your own.
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
All kinds of news to report about the upcoming show, so let's get right to it...
Stuart Sayger, the genius artist behind Shiver in the Dark, got double booked. So he won't be attending the National Big Apple Convention this year. Instead, he'll be here in the Lone Star state at WWTX. Most excellent!
According to their website, Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos co-creators of the Baldo comic strip will both be making an appearance. Visitors to the Baldo website will be provided with a special secret passphrase. If you run into Hector and Carlos at the con and share the passphrase, you'll be rewarded with a "free prize." As these guys live in different states, it is rare to catch them at the same event.
Michael Golden, the Micronauts artist himself, has been announced as a guest. If you ever read the original Marvel run of the Micronauts from the 80's, you know that the man is a master. If I can finagle it, a Michael Golden Baron Karza sketch is in my future! Or perhaps Acroyear!
Too many choices.
Programming has been announced at last. Lots of cool panels. I'll post my picks this weekend.
Lastly, I received confirmation that my press credentials have been approved. You know at some point during the show, I'll say: "Back off, buddy. I'm with the press!"
Killer!
Aron Head
Member of the Press
www.EvilBastard.net
I was over at Zach's Mind reading a blog entry about his first DnD game. In it he describes how he was worked in as a first level thief in an established campaign of experienced characters, all of them floating betwen fourth and fifth level.
What a schmucky GM, I thought. Putting a new player running a first level character with an establisged party of advanced PCs crawling through a suitably leveled dungeon.
Zach's poor thief didn't have a chance!
What a jack hole that GM was.
Now, Zach and I are old high school and college chums. We played a lot of RPGs back in the day. I ran him through countless adventures and recall being rather abusive to his characters on most occasions and... oh shit!
Am I the jack hole GM?
I scrutinized the blog entry seeking anything familiar. Zach spins the tale of the party's encounter with a youngish red dragon...
"...Before I knew it I was in the same room with them and a very large dragon (not high caliber dragon I'd learn later but the GM was good at describing stuff so it seemed like a big deal at the time)."
At first level, any dragon's a threat. Even a Fairy Dragon.
When Zach's first level thief decided to attack the dragon, it drew some amazement from the rest of the party.
"The elven mage looked back at me and shook his head, 'say goodbye to your character, man.'
"I shrugged yet again, 'what? I shouldn't do it?'
"'Dude you're a level one thief he's a level six red dragon,' the Paladin guy said as if I should know what this means. The color seemed very important for some reason. It was a RED dragon, as if the other colored dragons would have been easier. 'I'm a level five paladin and I'm pretty much dead.'"
Colored dragons, Zach? C'mon, man. A little sensitivity please. They prefer the term Draco Americans.
"The elven mage guy threw up his hands, 'We're ALL pretty much dead so unless anyone else has any better ideas I say we let the kid do what he wants.'
"The GM had appeared to be looking up some figures and stuff behind his little screen...
AHA!
It wasn't me!
I've never used a DM screen in my life!
I'm not the jack hole!
I'm not the jack hole!
...In this circumstance.
Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
