Category Archives: Gaming

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The Long Road to Mother

A character backstory, for a D&D game I am in.  I wanted to tie the personality traits of the character into a long term goal.  The character sheet is at the end. It was a fun little bit to create. I hope you enjoy!

Walking the Path,

Chris


In the early days of my life, I spent my time looking for things. Now, as an adult, it seems I am doomed to continue, but now I look for people. Usually bad people, but really just anyone that folks will pay for me to bring back – or down. I don’t really care if they are dead or alive as long as I get paid.

I am not about the money, really, as it is just a means to an end. I am working my way towards a larger goal – my mother’s necklace. Many years ago, I lost it in a discussion with some humans over the lost City of Palindja – its a real place, I tell you – and it got bad. We ended up fighting, and they stole everything I had on me, including the necklace. I know what you are saying, it’s just a thing, right? Why get so bent?

Well, its really several things. First, it’s fucking mine. That should be enough. But, as you clearly don’t think so, then let me give you a little more, my friend.

You see my mother told me about the City of Palindja, the ancient city of my people, when I was just a kit.  I used to listen to the stories and I believe that is how the Great One gave me my gift of wandering. When I finally decided to leave home, she gave me the necklace as a token of her love and remembrance.

Seek,” she said, “keep this with you always, as it is a reminder of my love for you and the Great One’s guidance over your steps. May it one day lead you to the City of our ancestors.

I have kept it in a place of reverence every since.  In the many days that followed up to the day it was taken from me, I learned another small fact about this token of love from my mother. It was an actual map to the City! Granted, there were several things I needed to get there, like a divining rod of some sort, and “6 hands to open the door,” but those are easy once I get the necklace back.  I have been tracking those thieves for months and when I find them, I won’t be my usual jovial self.

In the meantime, I am hunting folks for money, in the hopes that I can find a clue about those that took my necklace. I know their faces and names, but the names were fake, of course.  Still, I will find them.

Seek will find them.

Seeker of the Old City (Seek), Mastermind Rogue

 I cannot find who made this picture, so if it is yours, please let me know so I may credit you.

Freeport, Free City of Thane

Located on the Jonin continent, Freeport has but one law. “No killing without a contract outside of the Blood Zone.”

This has created a truly free city that is run by thieves.  You can get anything, have anything, and steal anything as long as you don’t kill anyone. For that, you need a contract with the Assassin’s Guild. If someone steals from you, find them and take it back.

The guards answer to the White Wing (the Thieve’s guild) and will not arrest anyone, but will act as impartial negotiators to help resolve issues that arise. They will stop any currently active violence, but will not take sides.  Everyone involved will be put down and then they will start a conversation – when you wake up.

For example, if someone steals a thing from you and won’t give it back you can a) beat them up and take it, b) offer a trade of money/items for it or c) live with the loss. You can also hire someone else to do any of these things for you, including kill them.  But for that, you must talk to the Black Wing – the Assassin’s Guild.

Here is my first map of Freeport. Enjoy.

Gaming Oath

I love my hobby and encourage everyone to try it. I well  personally defend everyone’s right to play games safely without harassment.  I share this as a service to those abused and as a warning to abusers.

This behaviour is criminal and should be treated as such. I encourage law enforcement and store owners to take these threats seriously.

I recommend store owners post *and enforce* a statement similar to this one in your establishments.

“We are aware that some of our fans have had negative experiences in the community. Let it be known that Company/Store does not stand for any racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted behaviour. We care about providing a healthy and competitive gaming scene for everyone. If we see or hear any abuse, the offending player will be reprimanded, and, if necessary, expelled for an indefinite duration.”

I will not tolerate abuse in my presence.  My games are a safe haven and I encourage everyone to make this same oath at their games.

You have my permission to share this oath. Spread it far and wide. Let them know they will not win.

So do I swear.

Tabletop Gaming has a White Male Terrorism Problem

The new voyages of the 7th Sea

To my friends,  who are running a fantastic Kickstarter campaign, I wish you the very best in your journey. It seems you have fair winds at your back and good weather all the way.

And most importantly,  after raising 1/2 MILLION DOLLARS,  I have only this to say:

7th Sea Kickstarter
Well done.

Walking the Path,

Chris

Glitchcon 2015 Gaming Update – July

Schedule

Updates to the gaming schedule! Highlights are below:

The LARP Room has added Vampire the Masquerade, as a late night option on Saturday!

There are several play to win games, such as Castle Panic, and Machi Koro. Fireside games has donated several prizes, including Bears, Castle Panic, Zombie Panic, and Munchkin Panic. Come by the game room to check out what you can get!

We have Dennis McDonald running a game he wrote called “Adventure Maximum” and several D&D 5th edition games, including Tomb of Horrors. If you are familiar with this one, I am sure you are happy he is providing pre-gens! There are several other RPGs being run, including Achtung!, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, and a whole lot of Pathfinder!

Howling Moon will be back to run werewolf, Katie Fitch will have Krosmaster Arena, and Tortured Earth will running their RPG throughout the weekend! So much gaming!

We also have the Bentonville Public Library at our Game Library with games to check out all weekend long. And last, but not least, we can’t forget that Gear Gaming Store will be in the room for your gaming needs all weekend long!

And, of course, we will have Artemis!!!

Artemis

The great folks at Free Geek Arkansas, and several fine friends (who I will list below) have come together to create a fantastic bridge setup for the weekend. We will have two (2) functioning bridges on a closed network running version 2.20. This version has space sharks, bugs, whales and dragons to confound the players! Some information about these new changes are on
Reddit.

Big thank you to the Bridge Builders:

Martin Jackson

Chris Williams

Casey T.

Scott Kammerzell

Zac Slade (Free Geek)

Brian Dallman

Nathan Jared

Josephine Jackson

Danielle Jackson

And of course, Evil Xander.

 

That’s all for now! Come to GlitchCon and PLAY MORE GAMES!

Glitchcon Updates – June 2015

Updates to the Game Room!

Gaming Schedule

Gaming Request Form (for adding more games to the schedule!)

The schedule is filling up. The LARP Room is completely full from 6pm Friday until 4pm Sunday! I have additional LARP requests I am trying to find space for, but I don’t think I can fit them! John Wick and Rob Justice will be teaming up to bring Wasteland Bazaar for our evening fun, while the day will be filled with LARPcraft Myth & Legends play. Search “LARP Room” on the schedule for more details on LARPing goodness!

The Tabletop Room will be in the main convention center and will be sponsored by Gear Gaming in Fayetteville. They are bring the Pathfinder Society with them hosting D20 fun all weekend long. It starts early on Friday and runs all the way through Sunday, so come down early to get started! Search “PFS” or “Pathfinder” to find them on the schedule.

The Star League will be there hosting various miniature wargames and board games, including Battletech, Star Fleet, and Twilight Imperium! Search “Star League” on the schedule for details.

Several vendors are adding prize support this year, so get ready for some SWAG! Make sure to sign into the schedule and confirm your spot in a game you are interested in and create your own Gaming Schedule for the weekend. Share the schedule with your friends!

More updates later!

Gaming Schedule

Gaming Request Form (for adding more games to the schedule!)

The Drop

I wrote this snippet years ago based on a game I had played with some friends.  Not sure if I want to write more…


I couldn’t hear anything but the chopper on the way to the drop.  The 5-minute light had just come on, letting us know it was time for final checks on our equipment.  When the light went red, we were over the drop site and had 10 seconds to haul ass out of here or we would land off target.

I had checked my equipment and packed my chute on the ground and, since I’d had it with me since, I saw no cause to check it again.

“No sense second guessing myself,” I said aloud.

“What?” said Tony from across the bay.  We had just gone into silent mode and the endless drone had disappeared.  I guess I had tuned out the noise and didn’t notice it had stopped.

“Nuthin, just thinkin’ out loud,” I replied.

He shook his head and combed his hair one more time before carefully stuffing it in his hood and sliding on his goggles.  He had a straight short Air Force style cut, which he tended endlessly.

“One day I might hold you down and shave that head. ”  He looked at me for a moment.  Then, he stood up.

This 6’4″, broad shouldered titan had to duck to keep from hitting his head.  He paused for a moment and glared down at me.  The gesture clearly said go ahead, little man; try.  We stared at each other for a moment and I started laughing.

“Guess I’ll have to get you drunk, first,” I managed to get out between laughs.

He grunted and walked over to his gear to prep himself for the jump.

I turned my attention to Roxie, who was still sleeping near the back.  I didn’t know her story.  Tony and I had been on several missions before with the Squadron, but she was a new recruit.  I always hated working with the “new kid on the block” ’cause you never knew what would happen.  Like what happened next.

I slapped her on the back and shouted out, “Ready to plummet 10,000 feet, sweetie?”

I was suddenly and violently introduced to the floor of the chopper as she grabbed my hand and tossed me to it.  I had read her dossier and it said “above average” in hand to hand, but this was far above that.  Before I could recover, she was on me with a knife at my throat.  The steel was cold and rather chilling.  Still, I was a friend to knives and was above average myself, so I lay there and waited.  If she were going to kill me, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity to get used to the feeling.

“Don’t you ever touch me again, or next time I will use this.”  Her voice was a whisper for only me to hear.

I snapped back, “I think you should lay off the coffee, lady!  And get the hell of your Captain, unless yer plannin’ pain or pleasure.”

As the anger welled up in her, she loosened her grip a touch.  I chose that moment to act.  I grabbed the hand with the knife with one hand and her hair with the other.  I then rolled very quickly over taking her to the deck with me on top of her.  As I rolled, I flipped the blade onto vibro and pressed it to her cheek, letting the motion jar her teeth.  The hum must have resounded in her head, although I could barely hear it even this close.

I looked in her eyes for a moment and saw no fear.  She was ready for whatever was going to happen next.  It was odd, but I was so familiar with that expression, it felt almost like looking in a mirror.

“You draw on me again and I’ll make ya use it, honey, got it?”

She nodded – real slow – her eyes still riveted on mine.  I might get to likin’ this lady, I thought to myself.  If I don’t have to kill her first.

I tossed the knife away, sticking it an inch or so into the metal bench we had been sitting on.  The hum slowly stopped and I quickly got up, in case she decided it wasn’t over.  I guess it was ’cause she just smiled and walked over to her pack and strapped it on.  I watched her for a moment and then did the same.

As I finished up the straps on my pack, I looked about the bay.  It was about time to jump.


The Beginning of the World and the Age of Strife

In the beginning, there was only Resurgo and He felt alone.

He created all of the universe and then the Umbra, within which He lived in an elaborate floating Citadel. He looked upon His work and pondered. It all worked according to His plan and He was satisfied with what He had made.

But still He was alone. There were no others in the universe that He could talk to except His contemptible brother, Scratch, and he would not speak to Resurgo except to taunt and jeer at His creation. And so, Scratch was sealed out of the world.

Elves, Resurgo created first, and gave to them the love of Magic. The teacher of magic, they called Him and revered He was by them all. They were immortal, and could not forget their beginnings. As such, all of their songs, poems, and stories were of His glory and not their own. They were afraid to make things not honoring their creator, and as they could not grow old, they could not forget him.

Resurgo tried to show them that the creation itself should be honored, not He. But the Elves were blind in their faith and grateful to the Creator. They would not change.

Next came the Dwarves, and to them He gave the love of Craft, for He wished to have a people who would build wondrous things and He wished for them to build for their own sake, and not his. They, too, built in homage to their creator and built wondrous halls devoted to Him, while they themselves lived in caves and huts around the Great temples of Resurgo.

Many centuries passed, and Resurgo became uneasy with His creation. All of the creatures worshipped Him. They sacrificed many riches to Him and honored Him with many holidays, yet they took no solace in their own power. Only when it somehow reflected Resurgos image or would house things created for Him would it be built. He loved His creatures, but He was saddened by their desire to only make things if He was honored. He wanted the peoples of the world to excel in all areas of science, not just art to honor him.

He then created Man, and gave them a short lifespan, so they could forget their original creation and they would eventually create for arts sake and not just for Him, as the memory of Him would only be in stories and songs.

He appeared before them in an attempt to inspire their work in other areas, but this only made their homage to Him increase tenfold. He was at a loss for what to do. And so, in great sadness, Resurgo slept.

It was then that the Great Silence began. Resurgo stopped answering the calls to him. Offers to Him were not received and rotted in the temples. Sickness went to his people and was not healed. Resurgo was gone, it seemed, and the people began to feel His sadness.

It was during this time that Resurgos brother appeared. He found his way into the universe while his brother was sleeping and began to usurp the rulers. Scratch adopted a persona on the world of Horin (the pride of Resurgo) as a priest of the God Imaginus. No one had heard of Imaginus, but he was listening to their worries and helping.

Many began to follow Imaginus and denounce Resurgo as their God. Resurgo had deserted them: why should they continue to follow Him when Imaginus was here and willing to help?

When Resurgo awoke from his slumber, many years had passed. Only the Chanellers had stayed true to Resurgo, now calling him Res to avoid persecution and secretly holding ceremonies. For although they knew he wasnt listening, they were not willing to question Resurgos motives. He was, after all, their creator. Who were they to question his silence? They were determined to learn the meaning of the silence and correct whatever wrong they had done.

Imaginus had begun a major movement subverting the minds of the people into religious slavery. The slow change had taken centuries. Resurgo found that his power had diminished to the point that He could no longer appear except to His most devout followers or as a lesser creature only, Imaginus power had increased too much over the centuries of silence Resurgo had undergone. He had to work secretly to get his power built up again.

Again, centuries passed. Resurgo revealed certain mysteries to an elite few to increase His power: Rune Magic to nine immortal Elven practitioners, so the art would not die; Gate Magic to His few devout Chanellers; and Magick to his remaining four great dragon mages, divine servants who would follow his purpose without guidance.

When Imaginus found that Resurgo had indeed awakened, he began the long struggle to completely remove Him from the world.

Thus began the Third Age of the World — The age of strife.

An Apology without blame

I have been studying the principles of Dale Carnegie this week, preparing to be a Graduate Assistant over the next 12 weeks. I have also recently read the Klingon Art of War, a fictional account of the writings of Sun Tzu from a Klingon point of view. In reading these books, an incident at Glitchcon recently came to light and, as my mind excels at, showed me my error and how I could have prevented the incident from exploding as it did.

I cannot likely correct it now, as the actual issue had nothing to do with me. That still remains to be resolved, and will likely remain so for some time, until people can come together and discuss it. That is where my error lies, and that error alone is what I wish to apologize for.

When the issue came to me, it was from a dear friend and my daughter. My bias should have been apparent to me at that time, but it was not. I proceeded under the assumption that I had heard all I needed to and went to confront the other party involved. I did so as quickly as I could, as one does not postpone a matter of honor. It took a few hours for me to actually get to him and I was otherwise occupied at that time. My distraction proved to be an issue, and I proceeded poorly.

I accused and was met with a defensive, justifying stance, as my Carnegie training should have prepared me for. I set the grounds for fixing the matter, and they were absolute. This was, as all absolute solutions go, the wrong thing to do.

Today, I was listening to Principle 3, If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically, and I realized my error. I immediately began to write this apology. All other concerns fell away, as I reviewed the weekend and every interaction I had had with all parties in question, until I found the moment where I had unintentionally escalated the issue.

As the Klingons say, Choose your enemies well. In this case, I did not. Not because I was in any danger of being defeated. To the contrary; I had nothing to lose and he had everything to lose. It was pure arrogance on my part to challenge him at all. Secondly, it was not my fight to engage in. In my eagerness to defend my friends and family, I rushed into battle to take on a foe that I had no business fighting.

The action I should have taken was this, and I still suggest it be taken: The parties involved and ONLY the parties involved should privately and personally (over video chat, perhaps) discuss the matter, allowing both points of view to be heard, and then both parties may resolve this matter as mature adults. Had I required such a meeting to take place at the convention, this whole thing would not have escalated to the public. How the two parties would have settled it, I have no idea. Would it have happened the same way had they spoken? Maybe, maybe not.

I prevented such a question from being answered by being accusatory at our first meeting. Everything that happened after that was a direct result of my error. Everything that happened before that moment, I take no responsibility for and leave that to the parties involved to dispute or resolve. I only ask that you work out that resolution privately.

I cannot and do not speak for Glitchcon, its Directors, or affiliates/sponsors. Any decision or action they have or will take is independent of this apology. I was not asked to make this apology; I do so completely of my own accord.

This is solely to apologize for my behavior towards the party involved and to assure that I have absolutely no malice towards anyone involved, nor have I at any point. My sole intention was to resolve the situation in a private, honorable manner and my apology is for making that end goal more difficult with my actions.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

GlitchCon 2014 Gaming Help!!!

If you are coming to GlitchCon and want to help in the game room in a serious way, please read this!

UPDATE:  6/20

I have help for the schedule!  We will have a preliminary schedule up by 7/1.  If you are wanting to run games, please use these links to get them in the system so they can be scheduled!

 http://serenityalways.com/blog/2014/03/25/glitchcon-2014-gaming/

Continue reading GlitchCon 2014 Gaming Help!!!