Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Lorazira Gost Background

      Hello! I finished my first D&D 5th edition character. I posted her here. Ok yes I made a female character. I had to put that 6 I rolled somewhere.....just kidding. It fit the character and was fun to make :-).

     I was born into the noble family of Gost and grew up in the ancient city of Waterdeep. I had many brothers and sisters, well half brothers and sisters I should say. I was a bastard child born from an indiscretion with an elven visitor to the court. Some would say I was lucky not have been sent away or worse. I did not feel that way at the time. I was largely ignored as a child and was sullen as a result. When not in studies under the tuterage of a hired scholar, I would spend my time reading poetry and stories of old from the myriad of volumes in the library. 

    This past summer when I was wandering the grounds of the family estate,  I discovered a secret entranceto the dungeons below hidden inside one of the family crypts. The crypt had always been locked before but on that day it was left slightly ajar.  I had overheard bits of conversation as a youth regarding the dungeon when the adults did not think I was listening. I had even asked once and was scolded not to believe in such silly stories. I knew now that this is what lay before me. I slipped inside, my elven half allowing me to see inside the dim crypt as if it were brightly lit. Reading the names of the dead and tracing my fingers along the intricate patterns carved into the stone, I discovered that one of the rose's carved into the name plate of my long dead great great great Uncle Theosteles could be pushed in. Upon doing so a flagstone on the floor nearby slid open. The grinding noise was soon accompanied by a brief but cold, dank breeze. What secrets lay in the dungeons below the house of Gost? Clearly, getting caught here would not bode well for me. I should leave and not speak of it....

      I crept down the steps and began to timidly make my way into the dungeon. There were many rooms filled with ancient tapestries, large iron bound chests and stone statues draped in cloth. In an alcove in a room deep within the labyrinth of rooms and corridors was one such statue, small and squat, covered in a heavy dark green velvet cloth thick with dust. Had I heard whispers coming from under the cloth? Fear of being lost, fear of being caught surely were causing my mind to play tricks on me. I pulled the cloth off revealing a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigous claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. It had an alien feel and was made of a dark green stone flecked with bits of gold and silver. I was at once filled with a sense of horror and fascination. I think I fled after that. I am not sure as my memories immediately following my discovery are disjointed and dim. It was that night that the dreams started although I know now that they were not really dreams but an alien mind communicating with me. It promised me power in return for service. Did I agree of my own free will or was I compelled, unable to resist the powerful call of the whispering ancient mind? I cannot say. The promised power did begin to manifest after that however. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Chtulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagle fhtagn!

Friday, February 12, 2021

Ramblings

Rambling:

adjective

     (of writing or speech) Lengthy and confused or inconsequential

Addict:

noun

     An enthusiastic devotee of a specified thing or activity.

The byline (am I using the right word?) of this blog is: Ramblings of a gaming addict. Keep that in mind.

     I have been collecting Knights of the Dinner Table (KoDT) for years now. I have all the core issues. Number one (which I bought years ago on Ebay for $300) through to the current issue #279. If I had all the issues stacked together, it is possible they could stop a .50 cal round. Sadly the responsibilities of life have kept me away for far too long. I knew that I was behind but is turns out that behind meant two years of unread issues. Two years...I have been picking up my issues from a comic book shop some 70 miles away (another story) in what I thought was a religious manner. When I finally sat down to pick up where I left off I discovered I was missing two issues. One of the issues that was missing was of course the issue after the one I last read. Sigh....so clickety clack on the  Kenzer Co website and I ordered the missing issues. A long story long, they arrived in the mail today! I just opened it and read the editorial. I was smiling all the way through as Jolly once again hit all the right geek notes. That reminded me that my second post ever on this blog in December of 2012 was regarding KoDT.  It is still a favorite after all these years. 

     I have also been reading the 5th edition of the Player's Handbook (sorry Hackmaster but I still love you too) and I am working on creating my first 5th edition character. Let me tell you it has been fun. Played another session of basic D&D with my good friends online this week. I felt the magic again. Is this the midlife crisis of a geek? Who cares.

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Gaming during a pandemic


     Hello fellow gamers! What a year. This whole pandemic thing has really cramped my gaming life. Heading down to my FLGS for some game time?  Uncheck. Attending conventions? Uncheck. Gaming with my close friends around the table? Uncheck. Hopping on the light rail and exploring new fun  spots in the city? (Like the 1up arcade bar that I discovered just before the  pandemic hit) Uncheck.  
     2020 was going to be a big year for me. I was all  set to attend my first ever Gen Con. I was going to travel to the convention  on a road trip in my RV. It was going to be magical. I had my badge, I had  my reservations at a nearby RV park. My route was planned. Time off  scheduled. I had started playing Malifaux 3rd edition. I was part of a  group that gathered weekly at Enchanted Grounds. I had set up a painting table and was working on painting my Malifaux crew. 
     I had comitted myself to working less in 2020 so I could spend more time pursuing my hobbies. I had a blog that was collecting dust, I had 12 issues of KoDT to catch up on, I had minis to paint. I had good friends I had not seen much and was missing. We used to get together on a regular basis and game around the table. 
     Yes 2020 was going to be the year I returned to my favorite pastime with a vengeance. Adult responsibilities be damned! Then the pandemic began. The future became uncertain. Cities were locking down. Food and toilet paper needed hoarding. It was dangerous to see your friends. All focus shifted and my great plans died a swift and horrible death. Nearly a year has passed. The carcass of my gaming life lays half submerged as it is slowly buried by hot wind blown sand.  But wait.... Nestled within the mumified corpse lays a small cocoon of hope. A rare and short rain sweeps across the landscape and the cocoon, awakened by the brief moisture, stirs slightly. Life still beat within.
     The shock of the pandemic has faded, and the adjustments to life have started to feel routine. Worked has slowed some as it does in the winter. I have had some time to reflect and remember. I fired up my Switch, I went through my KoDTs and realized I was 24 issues behind. I blew the dust off of my blog. I started playing some basic D&D with my friends online using Table Top Simulator through Steam. I poked my head into a FLGS and picked up a copy of D&D Beyond. 
     I am back and it feels good. I believe it will be yet another year before we are full normal again. There will likely be casualties. Some friendships or gaming groups may have faded too far, some favorite hangouts may not have survived the economic storm. Time will tell. Hopefully I will be around to tell the stories.