The Old School Orcs, Part 1

Picture a scenario I'm sure all of you have seen before: you're approaching game night, everything looks like it's going as planned.  That is, until a SNAFU cuts the ranks of your players in half.

That's what happened this week.

For us, D&D is what we use as a mechanism to bring everyone together into one room.  We're best friends; rolling dice is simply an excuse.  So, when two of our six bowed out, game night remained as scheduled.  My friends A, S and I cracked a few beers as the last of our group, L, joined us online via Google Hangouts.

While technology has brought us leaps and bounds when it comes to virtual gaming, there are still limits.  Most prominent amongst those: without a virtual board, such as Roll20, tactical combat can be kissed 'goodbye'.  This renders the vast majority of 4e's appeal null, especially for a one-shot with little prep.  We simply didn't want to fiddle that day.

Dungeon World was a strong possibility; but it was S's turn to DM and he hadn't used the system yet. I assure you, though, the results were perhaps the most fun that I've had in any of S's DMed games.

Meet The Team: Buggs, Hengeyokai Thief

I'm back with another exciting character from my newest D&D 4e campaign.

My regular group has a D&D Insider subscription that we abuse almost daily. My friend, A, delved deep into the depths of the options available from this to bring for your viewing pleasure:

Buggs, Level 3 Hengeyokai Thief

I have no clue where you found this image, LinYurenya from Wizards Communities, but I stole it anyways.

No party is complete without a sweet-talking, womanizing rogue on the payroll. (What is the inverse? Maninizing?).  That's Buggs. 

Meet The Team: Berendothaniccus Mag, Dwarven Warlord

Next up on the introductions might be my most favourite interpretations of the inspiring Warlord character in 4e, and you'll soon read why.

Please welcome to the stage, Berendothaniccus Mag, Dwarven Warlord Marshall.

Kudos to Cartoonarchy for the killer art.  I stole it because I loved it.

We just call him Mag for short; screaming his full name in combat just doesn't seem to work.  We've tried.  Played by my friend, E, these are Mag's stats at level 3:

Meet The Team: Callis, Changeling Psion

Before I chronicle the exploits of my current D&D 4e campaign, I want to introduce each of the characters.

First in the introductions: my very own character, Callis - a changeling Psion.

Sadly, not that much art exists for Changelings.  Racists!

DMs Are More Than Storytellers; They're Leaders

Whether you call him the dungeon master, game master, or He Who Commands The Heavens And Demands Cheetos Each Game, one thing is clear: this is one of the most important positions at the table. I'm going to refer to him as the DM (mostly because the latter of the titles is far too long).

A DM smiting in its natural habitat.

In most game systems, the DM essentially serves as the computer through which his/her fellow players access the game through.  Plot, NPC interactions, world creation, monster combat, even graphics (in the form of narrative and descriptive storytelling) are all the DM's domain.  It's a monumental task - one that only the bravest undertake.  And because of this, countless articles have been written on the mechanics of being a DM and how to execute the perfect game.  

But no one mentions perhaps the most difficult aspect of this roll.  Regardless of system, the DM's role is that of a leader not unlike a football coach, CEO, or teacher.

Yes, a good DM is an accomplished writer, actor, and craftsman.  But everything falls to pieces when the DM doesn't realize that the role also includes 3 key aspects.

In Real Life, I'm A Dragonborn Paladin

In a campaign DM'ed by my good friend, A, I play a dragonborn paladin named Rhasgar Blackscale.

Thanks, DnDLore Wikia, for the shameless image theft.

The min/max being strong in my group, and with point-buy as the de facto method, my optimal character emerged slow-witted yet oddly charismatic.  His stats after level 4:

Str: 11
Con: 16
Dex: 10
Int: 8
Wis: 16
Cha: 19

Born from a one-shot turned ongoing game (my group has a lot of those, don't we?), I took my cues straight from the stats; I decided to play Rhasgar with the mind of a mostly-man-child, save for when in the heat of combat or in courtly etiquette.  I also left him with a backstory of a disgraced knight questing to redeem his faith - quite standard.

I expected him to be a throw-away.

A one-shot with Dungeon World

Am I wrong for feeling a little self-conscious whenever I search for "Dungeon World"?  I always expect the worst - curse you, Internet!

Last week, the DM of my regular D&D (4e) session bowed out due to work.  Unwilling to give up my regular night of nerd bro-hood, I volunteered to run a one-shot game with a new game I'd bought: Dungeon World.