Simple America

Being a glutton for punishment I asked my good buddy, May,  to tag me with the latest meme going round the blogoshere. This is called the before and after tag. It is a free form tag so you can talk about anything you want and make a comparison. Just make it before and after.
I have been wanting to post about the game day I ran for my kids, so I figure I can kill two birds with one stone here. My lad had two friends over and my daughter joined us to make it a foursome for Dungeon and Dragons in the world of Eberron. Note it is not a fivesome, because as the Dungeon Master or DM I am not a player. I just present the scenario.

The GM’s side of the game table. Before the game I had to pick a game module. Read it, and adapt it for Eberron. Then I brushed up on any special rules that might apply to this adventure. Afterwards, it was a big success as all of the kids had a good time and they really want to do a prolonged campaign.

Before I had kids I had hundreds of dice. Afterwards I am lucky to have the few that I do. Of course I have to share with these guys when we play. A gamer can never have enough dice in all those different sizes, shapes and colors.

Before the game the character was developed and printed on a piece of paper. Afterwards that piece of paper had become a hero in the player’s mind. Not everyone can go wipe out a den of goblins ya know.

Before the screen all players wonder what the DM might throw their way. Afterwards they are thankful their character survived the mystery though their interaction, dice rolling and pretending how they would react in the face of death.

Before the game players needed to read these books. After they finished they came up with some great motivations for their characters. This should be an interesting campaign.

Before the game the table was nice and tidy. Afterwards it was a bloody mess. But what do you expect after a big battle.

Before the game I had to pick out the creatures the characters would fight. Afterwards they expressed their worry when they saw so many set out. Of course that is just a GM trick to keep them off guard. muahahaha Though I did threaten them with my dragons when they did not pay attention to the game.

But now that I have completed the tag part I will give some more details. We started a campaign in game world called Eberron. I let each kid play two characters, which probably was a mistake. But it could thin out quickly enough with a little attition. *evil glare* Five od the boys’ characters are a race called shifters. They are related to werewolves and their ilk, but not evil. In fact they were zealots in a war against werecreatures in the past. The other character developed by the boys was an elf of House Phiarlan. He possesses the dragonmark of Shadow that lets him cast a darkness spell. My daughter only wanted to play one character and she picked a character of the changeling race. This allows her to look like other humanoid creatures, thus she can be a good spy.

For the purpose of the story the shifters and the elf fought on the same side in the Last War. This war lasted a 100 years and it split the nation of Galifar into many smaller pieces. Several new nations exist in the dust of an uneasy peace. The heroes gather at the castle of the lord who they served in the last war. He publically wants them to help a village recover from a plague caused by goblins. He introduces them to an expert he hired from the city of towers, Sharn (the changeling, though they do not know of her ability). In secret later that night the Lord lets them know of a depot he wants them to explore. He seeks information about this.

Let me make a long story short. The goblins have actually taken up residence in this depot. The heroes discover this and dispatch the goblins in short order. They acquire some treasure for their efforts too.

They return to the baron to tell of their success, only to learn that the Baron has been assassinated. Who could have done this? They may choose to unravel this mystery in future sessions.

I have been tagged by May. This tag is called 5, 6 post up pix or something like that. What happens is you have to post 6 random pictures that have a common color in them. May selected tangerine.

L B (who created this tag) worked with red. You can see this tag done right at their blogs.

I watched the efforts of numerous other bloggers and I am just green with envy from their creativity. Thus I have picked green for my color.

Juneau, Alaska has beautiful green covered mountains that seperate it from the rest of the world. DYK that you cannot drive to Juneau? Seems peculiar today, especially for a state capital. But it is a beautiful city and has little crime. Where can a crook run ya know?

Green helps fireweed stand out along the roadside.

My girls find comfort in a lovely green scene despite the rain and Alaskan chill.

Four green beans make ribs look so much yummier.

When siblings gather for a picture, make sure the oldest and youngest girl wears green. Everything else will just fall right into place.

Crab cakes are much yummier when they are plated with green asparagus legs.

So I have met my requirement I hope. Did I May? Did I? This was a toughie. Almost fainted from the effort.

A bonus pic dear reader. Since Christmas stuff has started to show up here and there. How about some red? Cherries jubilee anyone?

Look what came in the mail! Look at the pretty stamps! All the way from Malaysia.

Kat and I were chatting and I brought up the topic of white coffee and other Malaysian beverages. And she asked me for my address and this is the result.

Thank you Kat.

Should have posted this two weeks ago, but my computer has been on the fritz and that audit thingie was going on. Made myself suffer by denying a taste of these until I said a proper thanks. So now it’s time for a cuppa.

This post is long over do. Kunstemaecker has been blogging about as long as I have and he produces one of the funniest blogs on the net. Twice he has featured me at his blog, so today I return the favor.

If you like funny stories, pictures, and videos then you need to give him a visit. He finds some funny stuff and he is a quite talented writer and photo manipulator too.

Though I have to admit and I will take this time to confess that I am jealous of him. Last Christmas he made a trip to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he got to meet so many cool bloggers. I may never forgive him for this.

I was hoping to meet him last summer in Vancouver. Unfortuanately at the last minute things did not work out. One of these days K-Man.

Okay folks go visit him. Now!!! Then come back here and comment on your experience.