General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
I always imagined Hypersmurf having a tiny body but a massive head, like the Mekon from Dan Dare. I'm saddened to discover that he looks fairly normal.
__________________ The female tiefling's horns are not 'handlebars'.
Which is all fine and good, Rel. Until he starts with the stalking, and the plastic surgery and the wife stealing. And I refuse to let anyone stalk you.
Er, anyone but me, that is.
Ah, Thunderfoot is good people so it's ok. Or maybe it's Treebore. Anyway, one of those guys with a "T" username is good people. I think.
But I'll always have you at the front of the stalker line, KC. My wait for my delayed flight at the airport just wasn't the same without you this year.
When I am a guest at a convention I am there to entertain people and add to the fun they have at the event. thus, unless the game session is advertised as one where the pbjective is to kill the PCs--and I've done a few of those--I try to keep PCs alive. Of course if a player doesn't want to have his character survive, the natural selection process of the game environment will take over...
Now, when a group is really enjopying themselves, playing well too, then it becomes very enjoyable for me to be the GM, do my best to stretch the players' participatory skills increasingly.
If I do make it back to next year's GenCon I do hope I'll have what amounts to basically the same group of Mods again, so the dungeon crawl can be picked up from the base of those steps that lead down to the 2nd level. If the space and seating accommodations make it possible I'll happily expand the group to eight or nine players too. A noisy dungeon cart adds to the anticipation...
I must note that by next August the initial levels of the Castle Zagyg work will probably be available. The upper levels therein will not be like those I created for my original dungeon--save hopefully in spirit and enjoyment level.
Great story. One thing that hasn't changed in any edition is how much fun it is to roll a natural 20 in a tough situation.
Not to threadjack, but I wanted to share my story about playing with Mr. Gygax (and the title of the thread is Gaming with Gygax, after all!). It was years back at a con near Indianapolis (but not GenCon) that was having its first year. Guests of honor included Gary and my dad. I was living nearby at the time for college, and so my dad called me up and asked if I wanted to come. Partly it was to keep him company, and partly because he remembered years ago at another convention where he casually talked about hanging out with Gary- to which I said "You never told me you were friends with Gary Gygax!" to which my dad responded, "You never asked!"
So anyway, I eagerly agreed to go to the con. On Day 2, there was a panel where the guests were Gary and my dad. And I was the only one who showed up for the panel. I still think that's crazy- the con was just so poorly run, they couldn't get anyone to attend a small panel with Gary Gygax and Jack Chalker!
But it was lucky for me, because I got to listen in on an hour long talk between the two, telling stories about sneaking into graveyards during science fiction conventions to the real origin of D&D (Gary and his friends were playing a game with a neighbor who had polio when they were kids.)
Right there would have been an awesome story to tell for years to come, but it got better. Gary's son who had accompanied him to the con (whose name I don't remember, sorry!) came to remind him of the game of Lejendary Adventures he was scheduled to run. Gary said, "Well Jack, thanks for entertaining me. How about I entertain your son?"
I probably sat there for a few minutes with my mouth open.
The game had been scheduled in advance, and Gary was gracious enough to add me into what turned out to be an already overbooked game. Unfortunately, because of the sheer number of people, not a whole lot ended up getting done in the adventure, which started out in a very detailed town (mapped out on graph paper... how classic is that?) and eventually moved to some mysterious caves outside of town. We got through one fight in the caves before having to call it quits, but I still had a blast.
One thing that has stuck in my mind was embarrassing myself- I was talking to Gary's son in character, and I said something like "This place is boring, let's kick up some trouble." Gary overheard that and took it as me complaining, and said "Bored, eh? More of a hack and slash guy? We'll get to that." I felt like a huge ass, and tried to say that I wasn't bored with the game, but he already was moving onto other people in the (15 or so member) party.
Anyway, the whole experience other than that one moment was great, and I made sure to derail the next Friday's D&D game for a long time while I told the story, and it remains one of my favorite experiences of all time. About a year later, my father passed away, and I wrote Gary to tell him (finding him through ENWorld, actually). Gary was kind enough to write back with some stories and condolences, which really helped me get through it.
So any stories I hear about Gary running games for people who appreciate it always make me smile.
Jack and I went back to the early 1960s when we both were subbers to Ted Paul's SF fanzine, Kipple. (Do you like Kippling? Don't know; never tried it.) L. Sprague de Camp also belonged to that company of readers. It was a place of lively exchanges for sure, although not so likely as were some of the Diplomacy zines I subscribed to such as Boardman's Graustark or Walker's Nehwon.
Anyway, it was a great shock when I learned of your father's death. He and I had had such a fine time discussing many things at that con--the name of which eludes me as well, but I believe it was in Ft. Wayne. I know that you must still miss him very much. His being at the con saved the whole from being a washout,m made it a memorable time for me
IIRR, Alex did most of the combat sequences in the LA game you participated in, but I took over to bring real action to the conclusion as the party was retreating from the cave entrance and an enraged wild boar of huge size came charging forth along the line of the strung-out adventurer party.
In concluding, the GM for the "realistic" games was James "Slim Jim" Rasch who was recovering from rheumatic fever when he was age 18 and his brother John and I were but 9. It is easy for me to remember his age because I carelessly gave him a sympathy card on his 16th birthday. As Jim was two years younger than my brother Hughie, I can affix both John's and my age at the time as well, for my brother was 9 years older than I.
Thanks Gary for filling in the details. I looked on my shelf and found the program: it was called JanCon, which I kept hearing as GenCon. Not surprisingly, the con seems to have disappeared since...
This one goes down as the best number one thread on any message board in internet history.
I've participated in message and bulletin boards for more than two decades and nothing, not a single discussion thread or posting, comes close to this thread.
There should be some eternal flame burning somewhere in this thread, it's that classic about what message board interaction should be about.
Kudoes to the mods who played, to Gary for GMing, and to Diaglo for being a good sport, too!
I must echo Xyxox! I'm sitting here reading this on a Friday night with a big grin on my face and my heart full of joy. Thank you, Gary, for this game and to all my fellow gamers for making this such a great hobby.
__________________ Truth: that which is. As in "that bus IS going to flatten you if you step in front of it."
Dave, just a brief word of appreciation. Your dad's works have brought me great delight, especially as I was growing up and first discovering science fiction. I can't thank him, so I hope you don't mind being my proxy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Col_Pladoh
If I do make it back to next year's GenCon I do hope I'll have what amounts to basically the same group of Mods again, so the dungeon crawl can be picked up from the base of those steps that lead down to the 2nd level. If the space and seating accommodations make it possible I'll happily expand the group to eight or nine players too. A noisy dungeon cart adds to the anticipation...
I'm grinning so widely my face hurts. Thank you!
__________________ - Piratecat, EN World Admin
Currently editing the 4e War of the Burning Sky adventure path. Support EN Publishing, get excellent modules!
Ah, Thunderfoot is good people so it's ok. Or maybe it's Treebore. Anyway, one of those guys with a "T" username is good people. I think.
But I'll always have you at the front of the stalker line, KC. My wait for my delayed flight at the airport just wasn't the same without you this year.
"I may be unconscious, but at least I still look good!" - - Me (at the Halfling Musketeers game GenCon '06)
On one hand, taking away their weapons is a dead giveaway that they will need them. On the other hand, by the time conflict starts the players will already have opened the rulebooks and found the parts that deal with bare-handed combat, performing disarm moves, and using improvised weapons. Players may blunder through dialog with shocking ineptitude, forget the name of the country they are in, or get confused about which side they are on, but once it comes time to roll for initiative they all turn into Sun Tzu. - Shamus Young DM of the Rings
Don't be envious of all of us. Some few, we happy few, were riding herd on a message board blowing up with 4e announcement drek while these guys were having their little party
Demand a raise...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Col_Pladoh
If I do make it back to next year's GenCon I do hope I'll have what amounts to basically the same group of Mods again, so the dungeon crawl can be picked up from the base of those steps that lead down to the 2nd level. If the space and seating accommodations make it possible I'll happily expand the group to eight or nine players too. A noisy dungeon cart adds to the anticipation...
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