Christmas D&D Gaming

Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season! Just for fun, I want to share the audio recording (broken into three parts) of the holiday-themed Dungeons & Dragons we played recently. It's one of our new Christmas traditions where we come up with crazy 4th level characters in a single-session adventure set up by our DM (or "Dungeon Master", a.k.a. "Game Master"). This is only the second time we've played 5th edition and so far, I think it's a lot of fun and allows for a lot more improv freedom than previous D&D editions. In our "one-off" games, we play our way through a seasonal story filled with goofy puns and familiar pop culture characters in a single-session. We don't get too bogged down in the rules so it's accessible to those who haven't played the game before, and 4th level characters are interesting, but not too complicated for less-experienced players. In fact, "Ugg" is played by our friend who has never before played a tabletop role-playing game like D&D-- so happy that he had such a good time! We've hosted similar games this past Halloween and Easter, and I can't wait to help plan the next one! In the recordings, you'll get to meet each of our player-characters the three of us created (in addition to the many other personalities brought to life by our DM):

Ugg (It's short for "Ugg") - Human Barbarian
Throzen Stoneheart (a.k.a. "Stockwood") - Dwarf, er, um, Fairy-something? 
Catnip "Kitty" Silverbells - Gnome Bard

Dungeons & Dragons is the game that introduced me into the world of miniature painting and I have a special place in my heart for it. It's something I want to play with my friends, my family, and one day when I have offspring of my own, I want to share it with them. It's imaginative, it's spontaneous, and if I ever meet someone who says, "Oh I played D&D, it wasn't any fun", I'll smile & tell them "Well, then you're doing it wrong" invite them to one of our seasonal one-off games. Hope you enjoy sharing in our fun! 

And Books Too

Not too long ago, I visited Lafayette, Louisiana and took some time to wander around the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. I always check out the Fiction & Fantasy book sections and, while I knew it was a longshot, I was hoping they'd have a novel from the Shadowrun universe, "Never Deal With a Dragon" by Robert N. Charrette. They didn't. However, I did find some cool Star Wars dice!

I also found an interesting book in the Art section. While I was at the check-out counter, the sales clerk asked me if I had a background in painting. 

"Actually, I'm trying to learn more about painting. I paint miniatures for a hobby"

"Oh yeah? What kind of miniatures? Like dollhouse miniatures?"

"Actually, more like tabletop gaming miniatures. Like wargaming and stuff like Pathfinder and D&D"

"Nice. Have you been to that comic book store here? They have wargaming nights every Wednesday. It's a book shop but they sell other stuff there too. It's actually just right down the street..."

Less than fifteen minutes later, I was parking in front of "And Books Too". I walked in to find many free-standing standing shelves of books, including literature classics like "The Odyssey" and "How To Kill a Mockingbird" toward the front with a wide selection of graphic novels toward the back. Along the left and back wall were comics galore. While I missed the wargaming night, this Thursday was fairly empty other then a few high school age kids sitting at a table, in a heated discussion over the finer points of a new comic book release. The glass island in the middle of the store housed competitive card game booster packs, dice, candy-- all that good stuff. At that point, I glanced at the right wall & I spotted paint supplies next to a wide selection miniatures. YES! I headed straight for the paint merchandising display. It's like being at a party in a sea full of strangers when you spot someone familiar. You make eye contact, smile and think, "Oh good! A friend" while you greet them first before mingling with new people. Same thing for me and the hobby store paint rack, though it's mostly a one-sided conversation. "Hmm, I already own this paint. Ooh, I don't have you yet!". This time I chose a few metallic Formula P3 paints and Citadel Technical paints:

I ended up buying a few Pathfinder comics as well. There's some great character art and miniature color scheme inspiration in these (and Reaper makes a great Pathfinder miniature line)! I could spend many hours in here finding new books, comics, graphic novels, and miniatures. I even thought of bringing my traveling paint set-up and hanging out at the shop. While I'm rarely in Lafayette, I visit this store every time I'm in town. On another visit, I met a nice local fellow who was browsing the D&D 5th edition bookshelves. I asked him how he liked the new edition (they had just converted their characters from 3.5 to 5th). We chatted for a bit, and he invited me to join his group's game. "I would, but it may be a long drive for me. I'm visiting for work and I live 4 hours away. I appreciate the invite though!" I left with the D&D 5th edition Rulebook determined to inspire the change in our 4th edition group (we converted last month & I recommend it). 

Seriously, for being described a comic book store (which they are no doubt!), they have a lot of gaming hobby supplies. When I travel, I search stores on Yelp with the keyboard "hobby" and they didn't come up since they're listed solely under "Comic Books". Thanks to the guy at Barnes & Noble who told me about it-- I'm really glad I discovered "And Books Too"!

Dark Sword Kickstarter

Happy Thanksgiving! Today, we stuff our faces with food & give thanks. What am I thankful for? Kickstarters (and other stuff of course). But mostly, today, I'm excited about the very first Kickstarter that I backed: a line of Dark Sword miniatures inspired by the artwork of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, an accomplished fantasy artist. The Dark Sword miniatures, sculpted by Patrick Keith, are absolutely stunning. I've been a fan of Patrick's work for quite some time. I've painted some of his early work and it's amazing to see his evolution as a sculptor. I love his pension for creating curvaceous, dynamic female forms and his faces are a joy to paint (hello, eyes!). He captured the whimsical spirit of Stephanie's art and sculpted this series of beautiful three-dimensional figures for Dark Sword. And what's even better, the studio models are painted by one of my favorite miniature painters, Jessica Rich. All in all, a truly successful partnership!

Image taken from the Dark Sword Kickstarter page

Image taken from the Dark Sword Kickstarter page

Image taken from the Dark Sword Kickstarter page

I'm incredibly glad the project was funded-- and in only 95 minutes! I jumped in with the basic core set pledge & from there, it was just a carnival of optional add-on features and free bonus miniatures. Some of the optional add-ons included diorama pieces, discounts on instructional painting DVD series, themed bundles miniatures from other Dark Sword lines, and even some special edition miniatures that aren't available through their website. As I fill out my Reward Survey to identify the particular add-ons that I increased my pledge to include, I'm thankful that the expected delivery date is January 2015. I can't wait to paint some of these miniatures! While the Kickstarter is a wonderful platform for, well, kick-starting project concepts, my selfish impatience kept me from pledging to other KS projects in past. For me, it was hard to justify dropping $100+ on something that wouldn't be completed for another year or so, assuming the process would be successfully completed. So many things can go wrong in these projects, including failed personal & business partnerships, manufacturer set-backs, underestimating production costs, etc. I'm glad Dark Sword arranged the key pieces well in advance. I feel confident investing this project launched by an already successful company in partnership with a fantasy artist and sculptor I truly admire! 

After I complete my post-pledge survey, it's back to the kitchen-- the turkey's in the fridge after sitting overnight in the brine and I'm about to set my game plan for the sides. In addition to the turkey I'll roast, there will be mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green been casserole, roasted brussels sprouts with a spicy sriracha kick, cranberry jelly, and cherry pie. Oh, and I just may enjoy a mimosa or three during this epic cooking process. Wish me luck! Have a Happy Thanksgiving :)