Still Kicking Around

Heya folks.  I'm still kicking around out here and following some of the blogs from a safe distance.  It's not that I think I've said or read everything that needs saying about the game, I suppose my RPG focus has just been on playing.

I'm a regular, and now I suppose the longest lasting, player in Alexis's exclellent play-by-blog AD&D game set in 17th century Germany.  I play Andrej, the 1/2-orc  Roman Catholic cleric from Cumana.  It is one of the most satisfying and fun games of D&D I've ever had the priveledge to play.  If you read Alexis's blog and appreciate his take on the game (or converesely you think he's got his head squarely up his ass) but have not checked in on the campaign, you're missing out on a lot of the context required to really get where the guy is coming from.

I won't say Alexis is without his idiosyncracies as a DM (let alone blogger), but the man has the skills in spades.  And he's fair to a fault... and usually right.  He's the best.  Better than me. It's infuriating, I know, but once you set your ego aside and go with it the payoff is huge.  I've stolen a ton from him already and I used to think I was a pretty fantastic DM.  I'm better now.  Perhaps one day soon the student will be the master.

Anyway, it's not like my good friend north of the border needs the ego fluffing, but this is what I'm thinking about and he's had his fair share of naysayers, so consider this my part in bringing balance to the Universe and enlightenment to your souls.  Namaste, motherfuckers.

Aside from my playing I'm back to running a regular bi-weekly AD&D game of my own.  It's been great, and another guy that needs no further ego fluffing but deserves credit where its due is James Raggi.  I'm running my party through a certain infamous dungeon below a cabin in the frosty mountains and they're loving it so far.  Tonight we wrap it up, starting in about 9 hours.  I don't think I'm letting the cat out of the bag for them here, in the off chance they're spending their pre-game Saturday reading my humble, nearly forsaken blog... but if you happen to comment below avoid dropping in any spoilers.

I've made mention in the past that I have no issue with using almost any pre-fab adventure and hacking it to bits to fit my needs.  Most module adventures are, in sum, crap; but even the crappiest ones have a handful of cool elements that one can use.  The political maneuverings of Veiled Society; the concept of reclaiming a ruined city from Pool of Radiance; the xenophobic factionalism of Lost City; the map from Village of Homlett or a dude's name and an idea from Castle Caldwell and Beyond... all great elements or hooks for a satisfying game.  I'll rip these off and put them on the same level, gaming wise, as the uprooting and renaming of Innsmouth or the Marten clan from Lovecraft or The Tower of the Elephant from Howard.  Of course, beyond this standard fare there's the whole world of literature and real life anxiously awaiting your thievery.  Dickens, Shakespeare, Ancient Sumeria, the Kalevala, on and on and on and on...

My point, getting back around to it, is that I almost never open up an adventure and use it as-is.  I haven't done it with Raggi's either, but its the closest I've probably ever come for a D&D module.  So far my players have compared the ominous vibe and creeping tension favorably to the very best in horror and suspense.  I do get some credit for the delivery and having taken some effort to weave the existing campaign well enough into the module to make them want to press on when all signs indicate getting the fuck out and never looking back.  But the raw materials were all there.  Nice job Jim.

So, I'm still out here and still playing and lovng the game.  I hope whomever may be reading is doing likewise.