Day 106 of 362

Today's outfit is completed by my dice cuff links and some grey trousers. Why no pictures? Because I suck as a photographer, that's why... =P

The birthday weekend continues... Today, we have a MtG: Deck Builder's Toolkit Beatdown going on. Everyone gets a toolkit, makes a deck, and beats the crap out of each other with them. It's a lot of fun, and it levels the playing field more than most forms of competitive magic that I've seen. Plus, as far as I know we were the first ones to come up with it. =)

Once again, my lovely Loquacious is coming to watch the store so I can play. Then, she's kicking me out as the World of Darkness game that she helps run will be taking over the store, so I get to go home early. Woot!

Beyond that, life's pretty good. I'm 44 and hating every minute of that, but at least I'm still younger than my brother (who'll never see this, but I'm still getting the dig in on him... ...'cause I can).

Peace... GopherDave

Day 105 of 362

It's time for another Friday in Gopherland. Only this Friday happens to be my birthday... my 44th birthday. The usual stuff on tap tonight (Friday Night Magic). Beyond that, not much.

I'm getting a late start to the day, but this one was dictated/enabled/provided by the lovely Loquacious, who insisted I sleep in and get some rest while she took care of some of the pre-open store stuff. Thanks, sweetness!

For the most part, all is right in my world currently. Let's hope it stays that way...

peace... GopherDave

Day 104 of 362

Another day, a late start as usual, although this one can be blamed on sickness as I am fighting something off.

Beyond that, not much is happening. I'll blag at y'all later.

-- GopherDave

Day 103 of 362

Actually got up on time this morning... Kind of surprised at myself. As for the above, I usually take several pictures each morning and pick and crop from the best of the bunch. Today, I couldn't quite pick. I like natural outdoor lighting better than indoor lights, but sometimes that creates glare and wash-out that I am just capable of avoiding due to my lack of skills as a photographer. I do find it odd though that if you hand me a video camera, I will get you a great shot, but if you hand me a still camera... ...my results vary wildly.

Today at the store is the receiving of the first big order of the week. Later tonight is a Star Wars RPG and hopefully the start of the War of the Dead, A Savage Worlds-powered zombie apocalypse. Beyond that, there is a contract that I have to finalize writing and a few other things to get done.

peace... GopherDave

Day 102 of 362

Yes, I do occasionally go outside...

Another day, another dollar, or so they say...

Actually getting off to a good start this morning. I have orders to do at the store, plus some errands to run. It should be a good day. Tonight I believe is Casual Magic and Gregghawk (a private D&D 3.5 campaign), so things SHOULD be mellow.

Beyond that... nothing but peace...

-- GopherDave

Taking the Edge Off...

I will readily admit my main weakness as a superhero RPG storyteller is that I frequently get stuck in the edgy, late 80s-early 90s style where comics were all grimy, and dirty, and (mostly) just plain boring. Sure, that works for Batman, but it really doesn't work for heroes like Captain America or Thor. I mean, having Dr. Donald Blake strung out on heroin really isn't what people who read Thor on a regular basis want to see. Hell, it really didn't work out for Speedy/Arsenal (Green Arrow's sidekick). Really... did going through that all too human drama truly help the character?

All too frequently, my superhero games readily take on that tone. In the name of “human drama”, I’ll often create a bunch of morally-ambiguous “villains” to throw at my players, and then my players (many of whom are TRYING to be four-color heroes) stare at me with a “what the hell are we supposed to do here?”-look on their faces.

The biggest example of this could be a group of “villains” called the Asylum. Going past some of the jokey names of the members (Dr. X, Lobotomy, EST, the Orderly, and Rubber Room), the leaders of the Asylum have a serious agenda due to tragedies in their own pasts. It is the Asylum’s self-appointed mission to eliminate all producers, providers, and purveyors of child pornography… BRUTALLY. We are talking an over-the-top, no holds barred level of violence that makes the level of gore and viscera displayed in movies like Hostel and Machete seem like day trips to Romper Room.

Now, when facing a group like this, most players are in one of two camps. Either, they want to bring the Asylum in because, at their basest level, the group is a pack of sadistic murderers, or (frequently) the PCs kind of ignore what the Asylum is doing because no one will miss the people the Asylum is killing anyway. I had one player go so far as to track the Asylum down so he could JOIN THEM. (Yes, it resulted in him bringing in a new character).

The Asylum is by no means the only group of NPCs that I have done this with, but it is the group that I do it the most blatantly. That is something I have to work to change. It works well in small doses, but with a steady diet of morality-questioning angst makes a game no fun for players who just want to be heroes…

peace... GopherDave

Day 101 of 362

Just another Monday. With Loquacious off playing 40K, I get kicked out of the store early. I don't mind. It gives me time with the kids, which I don't get near enough of.

Tonight's agenda consists of dinner, some game reading, and possibly a movie. The movie in question... Machete. Yes, showing this movie to my 17-year old son and 14-year old daughter pretty much takes me off of any "Father of the Year" lists that I might be on, but I don't care. My kids will need therapy due to many of my actions as a parent earlier in their lives. Showing a sexplotative, over-the-top, B-movie flick to them at this point in time in their lives... ...meh, that's a drop in the bucket, folks...

See ya!

-- GopherDave

Day 100 of 362

Yep... late post. I had a game to play in this afternoon and I have another to run. More later...

Okay, it's later. Gaming for this weekend was interesting. The Saturday Champions (Phoenix) group I run was an enjoyable and interesting time. You can read about it here. The formerly-Wednesday (now Sunday evening) group got together tonight for something of a series reboot. Not much happened due to the need to resolve the impending insanity of one of the player characters. When you're trying to take a game from a really dark place to more of a four-color scene, it does not help to have a character in the group who is on the verge of a intense nervous breakdown. Next session is where that fun begins.

This afternoon found me hip-deep in a Deadlands: Hell on Earth game. We left off the this session in the middle of a big fight where we might just get our backsides handed to us. I am actually truly worried about the outcome of this one as it seems to have "Total Party Kill" written all over it. However, as long as we go out with a bit of a bang, though, I'll be happy.

Looking at the title of this post, I seemed to have reached another milestone. One hundred days of wardrobe upgrade for me. That means I have achieved 27.62430939% of my goal. I believe the results have been positive for the most part. I'm sure some folks look at me as an overpreening fool, but I knew that might happen. Who cares what they think? I'm proud of what I am doing for myself and our store, and I'm proud of the overall results.

From a game standpoint, this week will find me brushing up on an adventure for my bi-weekly Deathwatch game. I started out the first portion of "the Price of Hubris" from the Emperor Protects last session. Things seem to go well, and I think I am finally getting a handle on how to run this damn game. It's a squirrely system in that the mechanics don't seem to be all that intuitive, but it's a fun animal nonetheless. Space Marines are also damn tough to kill... ...unless you put them up against Tyranid Genestealers in approximately a four 'stealer to one marine ratio. Then, Space Marines become MUUUUUUCH easier to kill. After we get through the entirety of the Emperor Protects, I should have a handle on how to construct my own adventures for the game. It should be fun...

Peace... GopherDave