May I Always Roll Natural Twenties...

Most people don't understand D&D. "It's Evil!" they yell. Or "It's a tool of the Devil and all his incarnations!". I've been gaming for 15 years (+/- 1d6 years). Most of the time I've been a player. Until tonight.

Tonight I DM'ed my first game session with my two best friends, Chuck and Heather. And I really wish I had been Dm'ing a lot sooner than this. I was nervous, I felt unprepared, but you know what? I had a blast.

I'm trying to stay organized (calenders, Keeping track of NPC's, magic items, places they've been too), but you can NEVER anticipate every situation. For instance, my group was in the local inn, and Matilda (the rogue) pipes up "What's for lunch?" I sat there with a blank look on my face. I didn't even consider the fact that they would ask a mundane question like that. I wormed my way out of it (quite easily though) and continued the game.

I've been DM'ing for while - and I have to admit - It's a helluva lot harder than it looks. Especially, when you have characters that tend to be led around. I'm trying to make the game open-ended (meaning I'll have to figure out what I'm doing as they are), but I'm still trying to have an overall story arc to work with. For instance, I try to ask what the characters are planning for the next game session, and they said "We'll surprise you". Ok then, they should expect to be delayed while I think of stuff off the top of my head. So I really need to prepare more off-the cuff things ahead of time.

Right now, I have the characters signing up for the Spring Festival activities (i.e. Jousting, Archery Contests, Storytelling contests, Obstacle Courses, etc.) This'll buy me about 1-2 sessions worth of gaming, so inbetween the sessions, I can have the next part of the story arc laid out.

I keep this up to date as I go - for now, I have to work on more random encounters.

It's Time To Play The Music!

It' s time to finally watch the first season of the Muppet Show on DVD! Many many thanks to my best friend Chuck for getting it for me for a late birthday present.

And I'll finally be able to start to compile a "Best of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem" :)

Peter Jennings (1938-2005)

3 days ago, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings died of lung cancer.

To those that know me, they know that I don't watch the news. I'll occasionally read articles on the net, or read the daily paper, but I don't watch local news.

But if I ever did watch the evening news, I watched ABC. Peter Jennings reported every major world event, and also stories that no one else would touch. I felt that he lent a air of confidence and calmness during the news. I remember watching the aftermath of the Challenger explosion at night after going home. To a kid whose interests were computers, math, and the space program, he was an emotional center that a 13 yr old needs.

I just finished watching "Peter Jennings: Reporter" on ABC. It's not often that any program will captivate me to to point where I won't eat anything, drink something, or have something turn my attention away from what I'm watching. But for ABC to air a 2-hour, no commerical retrospective, was a fitting way to remeber a great anchor and a great reporter.