Have Dice, Will Travel: Boise
Keith travels to Boise to discover the wonder of scones.
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Keith travels to Boise to discover the wonder of scones.
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Have Dice, Will Travel: Boise
- Thread starter Keith Baker
- Start date
Oh my goodness yes. I spent hours looking over that book well before I had any gamer group to play with. All these different creatures and their habits, it was just so fascinating!
Yeah... the first time i got the Players Manual, i went crazy. I was like 10 or so then i think, every single picture was god-damned awesome. When i was waiting for the weekend to come and a new game to start, i went trough the book just for the chance that I'd missed something interesting or funny. And yeah, now look at me: I'm basically the rulebook for the other players in my group, knowing quite a lot of it by heart. Hell, i have trouble learning people's names!
And I'd love to get my hands on that scone or whatchamacallit (and what the hell, the last word i just wrote is a real one? There's no red line under it. That's crazy)
And I'd love to get my hands on that scone or whatchamacallit (and what the hell, the last word i just wrote is a real one? There's no red line under it. That's crazy)
I also loved the Fiend Folio, but by the time I got ahold of it I was actually playing D&D... as opposed to the Monster Manual, which I acquired when I was 8 and enjoyed it just as something to read. While many of the Monster Manual creatures were familiar from folklore and mythology... unicorns, Will-o-Wisps, rakshasa, Yeti - the Fiend Folio had creatures that were intriguing for being entirely new. Two flavors of Gith. Flumph. Flinds. Sons of Kyuss. My personal favorite was the Nilbog, because hey, us do things wrong in Nilbog World!LadyRhian said:
Different people definitely look for different things. For some escapism is the key. Some enjoy tactical challenges or puzzle-solving, or finding that perfect character build. Some love deeper roleplaying, exploring a colorful character. And for many, regardless of which of these other factors they enjoy, it's about getting to spend some regular time with a group of friends.Alluos said:
Just yesterday I went to a roleplaying session for the first time in a couple years.
My previous group was me another two guys who discovered roleplaying together. They were always very flaky about getting together, but the one thing that one of my friends, Max, was LARP so we did that quite a bit. However, I simply didn't get any sort of regular roleplay session in terms of tabletop.
So, I've been in my new town for Uni about 5 months now, not really made many friends - let alone a DND group - when all of a sudden I find out that in the other, better University across town there's a roleplay society with like 140 members. I head up to their annual Gamecon and wouldn't you know it, everyone single person in there is just gaming away and having fun with each other. Didn't know anyone, and then I express interest in a BESM game and instantly get invited. What follows is 3&1/2 hours of fun, laughs and adventure between people who barely know each other, and I leave with the feeling of having made some real friends.
Point being, this game... It really is a good thing. Brings people together in a way that other forms of entertainment can't.
My previous group was me another two guys who discovered roleplaying together. They were always very flaky about getting together, but the one thing that one of my friends, Max, was LARP so we did that quite a bit. However, I simply didn't get any sort of regular roleplay session in terms of tabletop.
So, I've been in my new town for Uni about 5 months now, not really made many friends - let alone a DND group - when all of a sudden I find out that in the other, better University across town there's a roleplay society with like 140 members. I head up to their annual Gamecon and wouldn't you know it, everyone single person in there is just gaming away and having fun with each other. Didn't know anyone, and then I express interest in a BESM game and instantly get invited. What follows is 3&1/2 hours of fun, laughs and adventure between people who barely know each other, and I leave with the feeling of having made some real friends.
Point being, this game... It really is a good thing. Brings people together in a way that other forms of entertainment can't.
For those of you interested in being part of HDWT in the future, here's what I need to know:
http://bossythecow.com/hdwt/2011/01/hdwt-want-to-be-part-of-the-journey/
http://bossythecow.com/hdwt/2011/01/hdwt-want-to-be-part-of-the-journey/
I live in Boise. Your last trip was to Slovakia and now it's Boise? Holy crap. Though I don't think I've heard of this House of Scones place... I'll have to keep an eye out for it, then! (Unless you remember where it is 
)
D&D actually has a bit of history in my family - my father served in the Air Force and him and my mother were stationed in the Azores for a period of time. They "didn't have anything else to do", so they played Dungeons and Dragons. My father was a Warrior and my mother was a Cleric; they played with others on their base.
It's interesting how D&D can bring people together, but it also highlights my parent's relationship, as well. My father wanted figurines, so he bought them... and made my mother paint them, because someone had to - my mother didn't exactly like that something for "them" had to be finished by her and without her having any say. No wonder they're divorced now.
Me, I've only played a bit of D&D, and I've always been the novice. Even so, it was great fun with friends that have since moved elsewhere in the country and the world.
)D&D actually has a bit of history in my family - my father served in the Air Force and him and my mother were stationed in the Azores for a period of time. They "didn't have anything else to do", so they played Dungeons and Dragons. My father was a Warrior and my mother was a Cleric; they played with others on their base.
It's interesting how D&D can bring people together, but it also highlights my parent's relationship, as well. My father wanted figurines, so he bought them... and made my mother paint them, because someone had to - my mother didn't exactly like that something for "them" had to be finished by her and without her having any say. No wonder they're divorced now.
Me, I've only played a bit of D&D, and I've always been the novice. Even so, it was great fun with friends that have since moved elsewhere in the country and the world.
I'm enjoying Have Dice, Will Travel - I read the last one but forgot to post, so here I am now. It's really interesting to learn about all the different sorts of people that enjoy RPGs. These articles remind me a lot of the book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks (which I would recommend if you enjoy HD,WT).
Sadly, not many of my friends have really been into RPGs, usually just video games. So I haven't played very much myself. I'm much more of a "reader" - just reading the books and enjoying the lore of the settings. Which strikes me as kind of sad - they are games after all, meant to be played. I might as well just read a novel
And I really want one of those scones now - that sounds delicious!
Sadly, not many of my friends have really been into RPGs, usually just video games. So I haven't played very much myself. I'm much more of a "reader" - just reading the books and enjoying the lore of the settings. Which strikes me as kind of sad - they are games after all, meant to be played. I might as well just read a novel
And I really want one of those scones now - that sounds delicious!
I know there's quite a few gamers in the military, and I'd love to get to a base or two in my travels. Any soldier-gamers out there interested in being part of HDWT, please let me know!9NineBreaker9 said:
The House of Scones is Merritt's Country Cafe, at 6630 W State Street. Go there! Go there now!
Honestly, I really, really need to say one thing because I'll die otherwise. I *hate* the picture used for these articles. Like he's trying to be some crazy new age gaming messiah spreading his word to the world. Uggh. That... smile.Keith Baker said:
Um, to be more constructive though... good column again?
It's true. I went to the mountaintop and came down with the two tablets of charts that are going to form the basis of my Celestine Prophecy RPG... I just need to decide whether I'm going to go with GURPS or D20.Zechnophobe said:
Thanks for reading in spite of my creepy smile!
And the Lord God spake, saying, "WHERE'S THE MOUNTAIN DEW? CAN I HAVE A MOUNTAIN DEW?"Keith Baker said:
About the Weekly Newsletter:
I almost think that there are stictly-VG-playing folks out there who for some reason are rooting for the death of the tabletop games they owe everything to. The write-up for this article in the newsletter email that came to me today made it sound like tabletop games not only are close to disappearing, but that it should be granted and that everybody would hope it was so.
The truth is, the tabletop wargaming and RPG industries are thriving. Privateer Press, Reaper, Paizo, GW, and others all are doing exceptionally well, as reported by the booksellers and other groups that track these things. Their websites support enormous communities of gamers and hobbyists.
Every couple months or so, an Escapist editor says something to either sound the death knell for tabletops, or seems to actively try to dissuade people from engaging in them. Why? Many of us are gamers on both sides of the electronic fence.
I think as editors, the Escapist staff could stand to do a little more research into where their own pastimes came from, and maybe do a little more looking-around at the world, and a little less patronizing of those few kids who think that only video games matter.
Okay, now that I got that out, I can read the article.
I almost think that there are stictly-VG-playing folks out there who for some reason are rooting for the death of the tabletop games they owe everything to. The write-up for this article in the newsletter email that came to me today made it sound like tabletop games not only are close to disappearing, but that it should be granted and that everybody would hope it was so.
The truth is, the tabletop wargaming and RPG industries are thriving. Privateer Press, Reaper, Paizo, GW, and others all are doing exceptionally well, as reported by the booksellers and other groups that track these things. Their websites support enormous communities of gamers and hobbyists.
Every couple months or so, an Escapist editor says something to either sound the death knell for tabletops, or seems to actively try to dissuade people from engaging in them. Why? Many of us are gamers on both sides of the electronic fence.
I think as editors, the Escapist staff could stand to do a little more research into where their own pastimes came from, and maybe do a little more looking-around at the world, and a little less patronizing of those few kids who think that only video games matter.
Okay, now that I got that out, I can read the article.
Well, I learned to play from the original Blue Box D&D. I mean, this one:Keith Baker said:
So I was playing D&D before the Monster Manual came out. My first game, I managed to kill two party members, because they were evil. My character (a fighter with a 14 Strength) and the other two players (who were Chaotic Elves) decided to adventure in the Keep on the Borderlands. After some fighting of orcs and goblins, the two elves decided to attack the keep, and to get in, they were going to lie to the people, wait until nightfall and slaughter everyone there.
That rubbed NG (IRL) and LG (My character at the time) Zenobia the wrong way, so I offered to take the last watch, and as soon as the two elves were dreaming, I lit out for the keep and warned them (with a convo with the GM before the game- we were playing in Summer Camp at the pool, which happened only in the afternoon). They woke up, and my character was gone, gear and all. They decided she'd been attacked by wolves or something and dragged off, and went on to the Keep. However, when they got there, and were asked, "Friend or Foe?", they said, "Friend!" and got told "You Lie!" and were Ballista Bolted for their troubles.
The GM gave me extra experience, and I really pissed off the other players. Not the first time I would anger or annoy other players. When I first got into high school, I was playing with a new group after school and wasn't really paying attention. A player with a druid attacked another player for some reason- and he changed into a snake to do so. I was playing a Magic-User, and when I heard a snake was attacking a member of the party, I magic missiled it, killing the druid, whose player was damn peeved about it. Oops.