"When life presents you with a chart, you must roll on it"

Shawn | March 13, 2008 in Dorktalk, Journal | Comments (3)

Tonight, when faced with the decision of which movie to watch on a DVD of 5 and 1 we all agreed upon omitting, it was agreed that we settle the confusion by rolling 1D4 (for those of you who aren’t familiar, that’s a four sided gaming die)…
We are such dorks.

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R.I.P. Gary Gygax

Shawn | March 6, 2008 in Dorktalk | Comments (2)

Tags: Dorktalk, Gygax

(per www.telegraph.co.uk)

Gary Gygax, who died on Tuesday aged 69, invented Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), among the first, and certainly the most influential, of the role-playing games which had their roots in fantasy literature and which, though they often used no more than pencils, paper and dice, had an immense impact on computer gaming.

Indeed, in one poll Gygax tied with JRR Tolkein (in 13th place) for his influence on gaming in general; perhaps less flatteringly, Sync magazine placed him at No 1 on its list of 50 Greatest Nerds of All Time.


	Gygax: the greatest nerd of all time

D&D sprang from Chainmail, a miniatures wargame which Gygax had devised with Jeff Perren in 1971. By this stage, Gygax’s devotion to gaming had led him to organise a convention (there were around a score at the first meeting) in his basement.

But from this start in 1967, he met David Arneson, with whom he was to create D&D, and the meetings developed into GenCon, which now attracts tens of thousands of gamers each year.

Ernest Gary Gygax was born on July 27 1938 in Chicago and was taught to play cards at the age of five, and chess a year later, by his mother.

His father, a German-speaking Swiss immigrant, was an orchestral musician who first encouraged his interest in fantasy and science fiction. L Sprague de Camp, Jack Vance and Robert E Howard (the creator of Conan the Barbarian) were early favourites. By contrast, he “yawned through” Tolkein. (more…)

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Critical-Hit Deck

Shawn | November 28, 2007 in Dorktalk | Comments (1)

Tags: D&D, D20, Dungeons & Dragons, RPG

This 52 card deck from Game Mastery is proving to be a really fun addition to our group’s gaming night. It seems Paizo, former Dragon and Dungeon magazines publishers, have used their connections and made a smart move into the open source D20 accessory market. Game Mastery has been releasing modules, maps, and item cards that correspond to their release which are pretty cool too. This is a stand alone accessory that can be used in any game.

So how it works is simple, when a player confirms a critical hit, they get to draw a card. On the back of each card there are 4 results, one for each damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, and magic). The cards are fun and easy to implement in battle and provide for some interesting combat situations.

The deck introduces one mechanic called Bleed. Bleed is the loss of life or ability points each round after the crit until the character is magically healed or takes a round to perform a DC 15 heal check. I like the bleed rule, it adds another element of realism to combat. The directions included suggest a few ways to use these cards, I will be letting PC’s draw but only “bosses” and significant monsters and NPC’s can draw from the deck as far as antagonists go. The deck can have some pretty nasty outcomes so best to use it in moderation with the PC’s as the focus I find.

The cards are attractively illustrated and laid out, the freshly severed orc head splashing across the card side-up is perfect! I’m also very excited for the January release of Game Mastery’s Critical Fumble Deck, though I doubt my players are! *evil cackle*

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Munchkin

Shawn | November 27, 2007 in Dorktalk | Comments (2)

Tags: D&D, games, Munchkin, RPG

I’m a little late on this one, but if you do any fantasy role-playing and don’t take it too seriously, you gotta play this game. I had a great time playing Munchkin over the Thanksgiving weekend with fellow gamer nerds Earl and Amy.

Yes Brydon, I know you’ve been screaming about this for months, you were right ok. Anyway, I plan on purchasing the basic (fantasy in this case, there are several genres) and corresponding expansion over the holiday months. My gaming group plays 3 Dragon Ante and Inn-fighting when a night runs short or we need a break, Munchkin will make another fine downtime addition.

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On Being a Dork

Shawn | September 23, 2007 in Dorktalk | Comments (6)

Tags: D&D, dork, nerd

Ok, so have I mentioned I’m a big dork? It’s true. I embrace my nerdiness. I carried the burden of dorkness mostly undercover through my younger years. I adapted as best I could and kept my nerdy interests to myself. I was never ashamed, just tired of being beat up. Luckily, I made it through high school alive, and realized shortly thereafter that it was ok to be smart.

So what the hell is a dork, a nerd, a geek? Check this out for the Wikipedia meaning and a pretty interesting origin of the word nerd. I suppose it would be one who slavishly pursues intellectual interests, sometimes to the point where they suffer in social aspects (like intra-personal relationships, fashion sense, perhaps even personal hygiene…). They are stereotyped as socially retarded, overweight, single, pasty white men, who live alone or with their parents. They make up the bulk of all comic book, anime, sci-fi, and fantasy enthusiasts, and look like a giant adolescent still going through puberty. (more…)