Reverb Gamers 2012 - #30 & 31

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #30: "What lessons have you taken from gaming that you can apply to your real life?" - Reverb Gamers

1. Bad things happen to good people. Why else would you have an adventure? We right the wrongs!
2. Halflings are fun! A little humor makes any bad situation somewhat bearable.
3. Imagination is our greatest asset. With it we can talk our way out of almost any situation.
4. When in doubt, cast fireball. Because blowing shit up is always fun!
5. Never underestimate a +1. It's the little things that kill.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #31: "How would your life be different if you'd never gotten into gaming?"

I think that gaming has helped to draw me out of my shell and has turned me into a more confident person. For some people, when you play a character, you're not always playing yourself and sometimes that can be really hard to do with people that you don't know very well. In my case, I usually always play silly characters and I'd like to think I'm a pretty silly person in real life. It's hard to show that side of myself with people that I don't know because not everyone tolerates silliness.

I'd also like think that gaming has shown me that the straight forward approach isn't always the answer to every problem in life. There are different ways to solve a problem and sometimes you have to get creative and use your imagination. Gaming has also taught me the importance of working together with a group of people. I've always been a very independent person and I never liked it when people bothered me while I was working. When you are part of a role playing group, you often have to work together to overcome difficult situations or you fail.

Mix CD - 01/29/12

1. The Trucks - Titties
2. Metric - Gold Guns Girls
3. Cults - Abducted
4. Ben Harper - Morning Yearning
5. Blood Red Shoes - When We Wake
6. The Constellations - Perfect Day
7. Parachute - Something To Believe In
8. Gotye _ Somebody That I used TO KNow
9. Trent Rezonr _ Immigrant Song
10. Kleerup feat. Lykke Li - Until We Bleed
11. Agualung - Strange & Beautiful
12. Foster the People - Call It What You Want
13. Ke$ha - Crazy Girl
14. Ladyhawke - My Delirium
15. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls
16. LMFAO - Sexy & I Know It
17. The Cure - Underneath The Stars (Renholder Remix)
18. Pendulum - Witchcraft
19. Le Tigre - Phanta
20. The Airborne Toxic Event - Strange Girl

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #28 & 29

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #28: "Do you have any house rules when you game? What are they, and why do you use them? If not, why not?" - Reverb Gamers

We still use the 3.0 rule that if you role two 20's in a row & confirm the last 20 as a critical, you automatically kill your opponent. At least, I think we're still using that rule. We haven't had that happen in a long time. We also use "racial HD" when creating a PC. This was something that was in the Pathfinder beta test and they removed it in the final version but I think it's a great idea. It gives a first level character a few extra HP and allows them a little extra survivability.

We also give our PC an extra HP and an extra skill point for each level of their favored class. Technically, you're supposed to pick either an extra HP or an extra skill point but our DM says it's easier to keep track of them when you just do both.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #29: "What does the word "gamer" mean to you? Is that different than what other people seem to think it means?"

I think a lot of people think of computer or console games when a person calls themselves a gamer. However, I think gaming is a broad term and that it could apply to anyone who plays RPGs, CCGs, LARPs, video games, board games, etc.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #25, 26, 27

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #25: "If you game enough, you're bound to run into someone being an ass. What's the most asinine thing someone's done in a game with you? How did you react? Did that experience change the way you game?" - Reverb Gamers

 Oh, where to begin the list?  The thing that probably annoys me the most is when someone does something to be purposefully contrary.  To quote the line from "Shit Dungeons & Dragons players say" - one guy says, 'Dude, you're being a dick!' and the other guy says, 'I'm just playing my character!'  It's one thing to create a character that is silly or likes to play pranks but to make a character that is going to cause strife within the group on purpose is unnecessary.

The only reason that I would think someone would make this type of character is because they are a dick in real life and no one wants to play a game with that type of person.  At least I don't.  It makes the game unenjoyable and tedious, because you know this person is always going to cause problems with the NPCs and they are always going to be contrary & difficult.

We've had a couple of players like this in the past and they usually end up getting kicked out of the game because no one wants to game with them.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #26: "Who or what was the most memorable NPC you've ever encountered? Why?"

I guess maybe it was Ladonna from the Dragonlance RPG. One of the guys was playing a wizard and he had to go to the towers to take his test. I was playing a Kender and she "found" one of Ladonna's rings. Of course, Ladonna didn't notice the ring was missing until my character used it on accident. We were talking about the wizard's dog and my kender says, "I wish Stinky was here" and POOF! there he was! It turns out that it was a ring of wish and if we had not been inside the tower, where bloodshed is forbidden, Ladonna would've slaughtered my character.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #27: "If you were an Ent, what kind of Ent would you be? Or, what other NPC creature would you be? Why?"

I guess there is only one sort of Ent that I know about and it's the big, living trees from Lord of the Rings.  I can't imagine that it would be very fun playing a big, slow tree.  So I'd have to go with another sort of NPC creature (although nowadays, most creatures in the monster manuals can be turned into a playable character).  My most favorite was the pixie and I played her for a brief time, using Pathfinder rules (I think). 

She used to visit this old wizard, who thought she was his familiar.  She'd do things for him because it was fun but not because of any sort of magical bond between the two of them.  She liked to visit his tower because he had lots of interesting things and he also had a dragon egg.  She would go and talk to the egg and one day she came to visit and found him dead.  Drow had invaded his tower and they were going to steal the dragon egg but it hatched while they were there.  Randy was playing the dragon character (his name was Abraxus and he was a silver dragon).

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #24

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #24: "Have you ever been to a game convention? What was it like to be surrounded by so many other gamers? If not, would you like to go to one? Why or why not?" - Reverb Gamers

I've been to Gen Con twice and I went to a local convention called Who's Yer Con a few years ago. It was really cool to be around so many people who have the same interests that I do but it was also a little intimidating and overwhelming.  There are so many different games to try but I've only played D&D 3.0, 3.5, Pathfinder, & Vampire: The Masquerade.   I've also played a little bit of Magic: The Gathering but not enough to feel comfortable playing it in a competitive setting or with people that I don't know.

I also didn't have a whole lot of interest in systems that I didn't understand.  I've always felt that since I didn't have a whole lot of gaming experience that people wouldn't have the patience to teach me how to play something new and I didn't want to look stupid by asking questions that may seem simple or common sense to a long time gamer.  And to be honest, I always feel really awkward when I'm meeting people for the first time.

In 2011, I started following a bunch of awesome people on twitter that were talking about gaming and it got me interested in a lot of different systems.  It's really helped to talk to people that have a lot of knowledge in other systems and to have them answer my questions without ever acting like I was asking something silly.  When I went to Gen Con this year, I got to play a really cool board game that I had never played before.  They guys that I played with were really patient and the game was a lot of fun. 

I also got to play in a Pathfinder game with some of the people that I met on twitter (@rolling20s aka Tracy, @d20blonde aka Liz, @sandchigger aka Bryce, & @alpharalpha aka Bill) and it was one of the best games I've been in.  It showed me that I really do know a lot more about gaming than I thought I did.  Later that evening, I played Fiasco for the first time with Liz, Jeremy (@WastexGames), Bill, and Tracey (@NachoPKB) and this was one of the most fun games that I've ever played.

I'm really looking forward to going to Gen Con again this year and meeting even more people from twitter and hopefully playing in all the games. 

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #21, 22, & 23

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #21: "What's the best bribe you've ever given (or received as) a GM? What did you get (give) for it?" - Reverb Gamers

Candy. My DM's love candy. Randy's favorite is Reese's Pieces and Rob likes Heath candy bars.  I wouldn't say that we get any extra special treatment for bringing them candy but the DM might go a little easier on us if he's in a good mood!

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #22: "Describe the worst game you've ever played in. What made it so bad? Did your fellow players help, or make it worse?"

I've been in several games where I haven't had any fun and they are usually pick-up games at the game store or at conventions.  I think the reason that I find these games so bad is because I don't know the people and I'm not familiar with their gaming style.  It also doesn't help that you have a limited amount of time to finish your scenario so the DM has to rush through things.  This leaves little room for role playing or creativity on the part of the DM and players. 

That's not to say that all of the games that I've played in at conventions and game stores are bad, but the majority of my experience with them hasn't been positive.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #23: "Have you ever experienced Total Party Kill (TPK), or been close to it? What effect did that have on you personally? On your group of players? Have you ever used retroactive continuity (retcon) to save yourself? Why or why not?"

Oh yes! The most memorable TPK was when we were playing the Ashardalon campaign. Our group found a dracolich and we were at a high enough level that we should've kicked it's ass but we just rolled really bad that night. Our cleric could've destroyed the undead creature but he kept fudging up his turn undead check. Then our wizard went and got herself dropped into a pool of acid, where she drowned. She had resistance acid but couldn't swim in it.

The wizard had been experimenting with cloning since she was afraid of death and when her character died, her clone was awakened. She attempted to summon the party back and ended up summoning players with alignments opposite of the original PCs. It made the game very interesting to play the same characters but with a different twist and it was a lot of fun.

Our most frustrating TPK was in the City of the Spider Queen module. I don't think we made it past the first 10 pages. That module was devastatingly hard and it seemed we were faced with creatures that had a challenge rating that was 5 times what we were. This TPK was very frustrating and demoralizing and we didn't attempt it again until several years later.

Souls For Smuggler's Shiv #3

Astrid was seriously hurt so she took some of the potions that we found on the ship and was able to get her Dex back up to 9 and her Con up to 10 but it was still a serious impediment.  We decided to take the NPCs inland and try to set up some sort of shelter for the night.  Jerzy and Sasha (NPC) were able to find a tree big enough to support the 9 of us and by using planks from the ship, we built a temporary shelter.

That evening, we saw the dead rise from the sea, filling the night with a ghostly luminescence.  We were far enough away from the water so the dead did not notice us and they went about the night crawling over the ships, performing the same routines they had in life.  Jerzy and Astrid performed a song together and during their performance, a large winged creature dropped a dead goat into our campfire, which we ate.

We went over the Captain's log the next day and discovered that the Captain had become obsessed with Ieana and that he had switched the course of the ship to this island at her request.  It was decided that we should explore the island to try and find a way off & to hopefully find the Captain or Ieana to kick their asses...errr...question them.

Instead, we found a hut that contained a yellow musk creeper and one of it's zombies.  Chin, Jerzy, & Marcus were all infected w/the creeper's spores but Astrid was able to throw oil on the plant and she got Jerzy to set it on fire.  Fortunately, we had found some berries from the viper nettle plant and it cured the guys of the creeper's deadly disease.

We also met a creature named Pezock who turned out to be friendly.  She invited us into her home and after singing a song with Jerzy, declared that they were now married.  We decided to take her back to our camp, only to discover that the cannibals on the island had invaded it.  They killed Gelick (NPC) and kidnapped the rest.  We had to rescue them so we made our way to the camp that Pezock said was to the south of us.  On our way there, Jerzy spotted one of the cannibals and fired an arrow at him, sending him fleeing.  We went up to the cannibal's lookout to investigate and ran into him and 4 of his friends.

Marcus advanced to meet them, while the rest of us held back and the raging barbarians knocked him down.  Astrid put 2 of the cannibals to sleep and ran forward to try and help Marcus but she was also knocked down.  Fortunately, Pezock is a bad ass and she helped Jerzy & Chin kill the barbarians.  Astrid & Marcus were stabilized and healed and we went back to Pezock's home to rest and regroup for the night.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #18, 19, 20

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #18: "Have you ever "cheated" on a die roll/random chance outcome, or looked up a quest solution on a fan site? Why or why not? If yes, was it worth it?" - Reverb Gamers

Nope.  But there have been many times where I have wanted to cheat.  It's especially tempting on a night when I'm rolling really bad and I just want one success!  But in the long run, it makes the game less fun for everyone if there is one character who always makes every skill check and hits with every attack roll.  One of the things that makes the game so much fun is the unpredictability of it and when you do succeed, it makes it even sweeter.  Especially if it's a critical success!  And sometimes the failures help to make the game more fun because they encourage creative thinking.  So you didn't make that disable device check?  Find a different way to open the door/break the trap.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #19: What's the weirdest character you've ever played? How did you end up with him/her/it?

The weirdest character that I ever played has to be the Malkavian vampire that was obsessed with babies.  I was playing Vampire: The Masquerade while I was pregnant with my first child and I got the idea that my character was made a vampire while she was pregnant.  Malkavians always have some sort of derangement that they start out with and so I decided that the loss of her child is what drove her crazy and she was obsessed with babies after that.  As a result, she would ambush pregnant women at night and rip the babies from their wombs.  Sometimes, she'd steal babies and she would carry them around but she never remembered to feed them so they would always die and she would be carrying around a dead baby.  Eventually, the other vampires would get tired of the smell so they'd take it when she wasn't looking or she'd put it down somewhere and forget where she left it.

The guys in my Vampire group that it was the most fucked up character ever.

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #20: What was the most memorable character death you've ever experienced? What makes it stick with you?

This is a really weird character to remember but it was one of the first that I had played with my gaming group.  It was a halfling bard named T'angela (she was based on the character Olive Ruskettle from The Finder's Stone Trilogy books).  I can't remember what campaign we were playing or what level she was but we were ambushed by a bunch of vrocks.  The vrock has 4 natural attacks and if it hits with all 4, it had the special ability: rend, which allows it to rip it's victim in half.  So we have a bunch of vrocks coming at us and one attacks T'angela and hits all 4 times, then rips her in half.  I don't think I had been playing her for very long but it was such a brutal attack that I remember it fondly.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #16, 17

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #16: "Who was the most memorable foe you've ever come up against in a game? How did you beat him/her/it? Or did you?" - Reverb Gamers

I'd have to say that this is a toss up between Ashardalon and Tyranthraxus.  Both are definetly BBEGs of epic proportions and we had to go through some epic quests to gain the tools (and levels) needed to defeat them.  With Ashardalon, the thing that made his demise the most memorable was that Rob sacrificed his most beloved character, Raven, in order to defeat him.  I've talked about this game before, but suffice it to say, Raven was an evil Arch-wizard who was on the path of redemption.  She had been swayed from her path many times but she always found her way back.  In the very end, when she was in the grips of the evil dragon, she chose to break her magical staff and the resulting backlash destroyed him (I think in 3.5, there were tables that you would role randomly on for destroying magic items.  I'm not sure if Pathfinder has those because we haven't come across destruction of a magic item yet.)  Raven finally reached her atonement through her willing self-sacrifice and ended up saving the Forgotten Realms.

The thing about Tyranthraxus that was so fun was that my little halfling rogue, Blackberry, gained 8 levels from draining the Pool of Radiance (leveling up is always fun).  The battle was so freaking hard and I thought that we were going to die many, many times but we were able to work together as a team and we defeated the evil demi-god.  Well, Blackberry and Samsung the dwarf and Upton, the human wizard worked together as a team.  Edrick, our elven paladin kept throwing his weapons and falling asleep and getting eaten.  He was no help at all. I really liked this campaign because I've read all of the books in The Finder's Stone Trilogy and it was really fun to add my own chapter to the story (it's supposed to take place after the books).

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #17: What was the best reward you've ever gotten in a game? What made it so great? How much do you need tangible rewards (loot, leveling, etc.) to enjoy a game

My halfling, Blackberry, gaining 8 levels for draining the Pool of Radiance was pretty damn sweet.  It made her 18th level and they were all in rogue so she had some pretty kick ass abilities.  Playing a high level character is always a lot of fun.  In the game that I'm currently playing, my character just took a level in witch and she gained a pretty awesome familiar.  It's a little lizard creature (can't remember the actual name but I'm calling him Chompy) and through it my character gains DR 5/electricity, +2d8 to any spell that has electricity, & +2 to stealth.

Once, I was playing a character that I thought was a human wizard but it came out during the game that she was actually a fey creature.  Randy, the DM, took a facet of my back story (she was the only dark-headed girl in a family of all boys with blonde hair) and said that my character was actually the result of a liaison my mother had with a fey.  I got to change my stats and add some cool abilities to my character.

I like the rewards that the DM thinks to personalize towards each player, like my witch's familiar or allowing me to play a fairy creature.  I like the little touch of whimsy that my DM's create because it keeps me invested in the story and it helps to draw me in.  Finding magic items is always a cool thing but when the DM adds a little something extra to it because they know you will appreciate it makes it much more exciting!

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #13, 14, & 15

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #13: "Who's the best GM/storyteller/party leader you've ever had? What made him/her so great?" - Reverb Gamers

I've had 2 really great DM's since I've started playing D&D.  Rob and Randy played in the same group and they would take turns running a different campaign every few months or so.  When I joined the game, Randy was running it and he was really invested in the story.  The other guys were all playing characters that they had started from first level and Randy was running a story from a module but he was using it to weave in parts of a story that he was creating on his own, that had bits and pieces from games he had played with a different group.

Robbie has a great gift for story telling and adds flavor to any story he tells.  It's one of the things that makes his games so exciting.  He also runs from modules but you can never count on him using everything that is in the book, because he likes to add his own bits and pieces to the story.  It's one of the reasons that I didn't mind playing in his current campaign, even though I've already been through most of that module.  I know that he's going to change it and what might have been important the first time around might not be this time.

One thing that they both do is that they take their players personal wishes into account.  Robbie has let me play a pixie and Randy has made my character a fey creature because they both know that I love that sort of thing.  Neither one feels bound by any sort of rules when it comes to making the game fun for the players.

"REVERB GAMERS 2012, #14: What kinds of adventures do you enjoy most? Dungeon crawls, mysteries, freeform roleplaying, or something else? What do you think that says about you?"

I like a good combination of all 3. I've played in games that were mostly dungeon crawls and while that is fun at first, it gets really boring after a while.  The same thing can be said about to much role playing - all of that talking gets to be boring after a while.

I guess maybe it says that I have a short attention span and need a lot of variety to keep me entertained!

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #15: "People often talk about the divide between what happens "in game" and "in real life." Do you maintain that divide in your own play, or do you tend to take what happens to your character personally? Why?"

I'd like to think that I can keep "real life" seperate from "in game" but there have been a few times where I think that the two have gotten mixed.  Of course, this is totally from my perspective but there were a few times where I had a personal issue with another person and it seems like we would tend to fight more in the game.  It's hard not to take things personally at times and I've learned that the only thing that I can do is to not get upset during the game and talk it after the game.  If there really is an issue then something has to be done to resolve it because it makes the game uncomfortable for everyone involved. 

Souls For Smuggler's Shiv #2

Astrid, Jerzy, & Chin started this session on the deck of the shipwrecked Jenivere, hoping to find answers to our current situation.  Our paladin, Marcus, was waiting on the rocky cliffs above our ship, ready to pull us to safety should we need it.

The ship had been broken in half when it crashed upon the rocks and Jerzy and Chin climbed up on one side, while my character was on the other.  Astrid had been lowered down upon the mast and she had to crawl across it to reach the deck.  Since the ship was broken in 2, she was able to see into the lower levels and she noticed the corpse of one of the sailors that had been tangled up in a hammock, with a knife in his back.  Astrid jumped across the 10 ft. gap and joined the other two on the other side of the deck.

Chin & Astrid decided to go below deck to see if they could find anything and Jerzy stayed up on the top deck (because Scott wasn't there yet and we didn't want to take control of his character).  We found the Captain's Quarters and all of his loot, plus the stuff that belonged to our NPC cleric.  As we were leaving we noticed a huge sea scorpion on the other side of the ship that was trying to get through a closed door.  Chin wanted to use Astrid as bait to lure the sea scorpion to our side, while he went to the top deck and jumped across to the other side.  He wanted to shoot one of the ballistas at the creature.

Unfortunately, Astrid didn't really like the idea of being used as bait and as we argued over our strategy, the sea scorpion noticed us and jumped across the gap to eat us.  We backed up to avoid being eaten and Astrid tried to shoot at the scorpion with her crossbow but missed & shot Chin in the back instead (I didn't have the precise shot feat yet).  We were able to retreat back into the captain's quarters and the sea scorpion couldn't get to us because it was too big to fit down the hallway.

Scott showed up during this encounter so he had Jerzy shoot at the sea scorpion with the ballista and made a critical hit to pin the creature's claw to the deck.  Chin and Astrid ran to the top deck and the creature dove into the sea, only to leap out and attack us again.  It cornered Astrid and attacked her, forcing her to make a fortitude save or be poisoned.  In Pathfinder, you have to make two consecutive saves to stop the effect but Astrid failed all of her saves (6 of them).  By the end of the encounter, she had a Dex of 3 and a Con of 2.  If either save had reached 0, she would've died.

Marcus climbed down the cliffs when he saw that we were in trouble and Jerzy swooped down from the sails to rescue Astrid from the sea scorpion.  Once the creature was defeated, we finished searching the ship, to find the cook & the first mate dead, both of them covered with what looked like snake bites.  Astrid found some maps and they were able to determine where they were at in relation to where their ship was supposed to dock.  Astrid also used her bardic knowledge to recall that this area had tried to be colonized and there were temples underground dedicated to something called "The Eater Of Knowledge".

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #10, 11, &12

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #10: H'ave you ever played a character originally from a book/TV/movie? How did the character change from the original as you played? If not, who would you most like to play?" - Reverb Gamers

I have not ever played a character from a book/TV/movie but I have played in a very established book setting. If you have ever read the Dragonlance books, it's pretty established that certain main characters are going to die and certain other things are going to happen.  So when we played a campaign in the Dragonlance RPG, we were on a very strict timeline, where certain things were GOING to happen, whether we wanted them to or not.

The same thing goes for the campaign that we played in the Star Wars Saga RPG.  There were times that we were trying to change the course of events and in the end, our actions actually helped to bring them about.  It was really interesting the way our DM would take the established story and work our game into these tiny holes so that it was one continuous narrative.  He would even go so far as to have us interact with some of the main characters i.e. Darth Vader or Ladonna in the Dragonlance RPG.   

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #11: "Have you ever played a character that was morally gray, or actually evil? Why or why not? If yes, did you enjoy it?"

We have started a few campaigns where we are all playing evil characters but they never seem to be a long term thing. The most memorable was probably the Drow game that we played in Forgotten Realms 3.5e. We were members of a lesser house and we were trying to raise the status of our house within the society. Not only did we have to worry about the lesser houses trying to take our place or the more prestigious houses viewing us as a threat, we also had to watch the other members of our house and make sure they weren't plotting to sacrifice us to the goddess Lolth.

Some of the group really enjoyed the intrigue and planning that went into this game but it wasn't really my thing.  I prefer RPGs that are much more collaborative because I think we should be working together as a team against the DM's monsters, rather than against each other.

And that leads me to the next question...

REVERB GAMERS 2012, #12: "Do prefer collaborative or competitive games? What do you think that says about you?"

As I previously stated, I prefer my RPGs to be collaborative because it can lead to hard feelings amongst the players if you kill their character. Although, to be honest, I don't mind when my characters die because I get to make a new one. But I do have a lot of anxiety about doing something that is going to affect another person's character because I don't want to piss them off.  People put a lot of time and effort into creating their characters, I would go so far as to say that some people even put a little bit of their heart and soul into it, and they can get really upset if you do anything that makes them deviate from their original character concept.

I do like to play some competitive games, like Magic: The Gathering or Scrabble.  Those games are designed for people to beat the stuffing out of their opponent and you go to the game knowing that you either win or loose.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what my preferences say about me.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #9

"Have you ever played a character of the opposite sex. Why or why not? If yes, how did the other players react?" - Reverb Gamers

In the 10+ years that I have played D&D, I have never played a male character - until now.  I am playing a male dwarf named Agnes Aleguzzler in my friend Kevin's Pathfinder game.  I think the reason that I have always played a female character, up until now, was that I was the only female in the group.  Honestly, it doesn't make a lot of sense because the guys in my group have never had an issue playing female characters but for some reason, I have always felt obligated to play a female character.  I am not the only girl in Kevin's group and so I felt comfortable playing a male character this time.

I remember the first time one of the guys in my D&D group picked a female character, I was a little surprised.  They were so nonchalant about it, too because it really wasn't a big deal.  It was great when Randy would play a snooty elf female because he'd even pitch his voice a little higher and his mannerisms would be a little more effeminate.  Rob has also played many female characters and he was really good at it, too.

If there is any awkwardness about me playing a male character in Kevin's game it's probably due to the fact that Agnes is kind of a lech and he hits on all of the females.  It's actually kind of fun to play that kind of character because when I play my female characters, I tend not to be that way.  I find it easier to "flirt" as a male character than I do as a female, maybe because I know that it won't be taken seriously.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #7, 8

"How do you pick names for your characters?" - Reverb Gamers

I usually try to let something about my character influence the name that I pick.  For instance, I'm currently playing a savage skald in my friend Rob's Pathfinder game and the class in and of itself suggests a very Nordic name (Astrid).  However, when I'm playing a halfling, I usually try to pick very silly names.  Once, during character creation, I decided to name halfling after my phone because it sounded very halfling-ish (Blackberry).

If I get stumped on picking a character name, I will often google for fantasy names or Irish/Celtic names because those usually sound pretty fantastic.

"What's the one gaming accessory (lucky dice, soundtrack, etc.) you just can't do without? Why?" - Reverb Gamers

Well, dice are usually pretty important to my gaming because you can't play D&D without them.  I don't really have a lucky set, though.  I usually pick my pink dice, just because they are pretty but if they aren't rolling well, then I will go to another set.  My Dragon Chow dice bag is also pretty important because without it, my dice would probably get lost.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #6

"Describe your all-time favorite character to play. What was it about him/her/it that you enjoyed so much?" - Reverb Gamers

Oh wow, this prompt is actually kind of hard. I have so many characters that I love and it's hard to pick just one.  Most of my characters have been either halfling rogues or human wizards.  I know it's not very versatile of me as a gamer but those are the 2 things that I really have the most fun playing.  Something that really makes it fun for me is that my DMs would always takes my back story and find a way to work it into a major plot point in the campaign (they tended to do this for all the players).  It's really nice to feel like my character is important to the story.

If I had to pick an all-time, absolute favorite then it would probably be Lily, a human wizard.  She actually started out as a joke but I got to play her up to 22nd or 23rd level.  Our group was trying to get rid of the Dragon Cult and prevent the return of Ashardalon.  I think we were playing the Heart of Nightfang Spire module and our party was TPK'd while trying to fight a dracolich.  Robbie was playing an evil wizardress named Raven and luckily, she had been experimenting with cloning.  When the party was killed, Raven's clone awoke and attempted to summon the party back by using an epic level spell.  Unfortunately she wasn't able to cast the spell as it was written (Robbie didn't role high enough) and she summoned back the party from an alternate plane (everyone's alignment was switched).

Instead of summoning back the opposite of my original character, Randy, the DM, talked me into playing a good version of Raven.  We were sitting around the table and as Randy was describing what happened when Raven botched the spell, he got to me and he says, "She looks just like Raven."  Robbie brushed it off but Randy said, "No Rob, she looks JUST like Raven."  Robbie's reaction was priceless as I sat at the table and pretended to be petting a white cat (Raven had a black cat familiar, so Lily's familiar was a white cat).  It turned out that my character was actually from this plane and that Raven was from the opposite plane but that our characters had been switched at birth, somehow.  We finished that campaign with an anti-paladin, an evil cleric, & 2 arch-mages and in the end, Raven redeemed herself and killed Ashardalon by sacrificing herself. 

Best. Campaign. Ever.

Souls For Smuggler's Shiv #1

This is the second time that I've played a character in Paizo's Serpent's Skull AP.  The first time I played, Randy was running the game and we played for several months but we didn't complete the module.  Robbie is running the game this time around and I think we are going through the module at a much faster rate.  We started the game on January 8th but I've been too lazy to blog about it so I've back-dated this entry to the date that we started.

I don't really have an in-depth story for my character.  I decided to play a savage skald because I saw some people talking about it on G+ and it seemed like a cool concept.  My character's name is Astrid and she comes from the Northern lands of Irrisen.  The reason she is adventuring is because she is hoping to find an artifact to help her people defeat Baba Yaga.  She has no idea what that artifact could be but she is hoping she will know it when she finds it (translation: the DM will come up with the artifact [if one exists] and give me clues about it throughout the AP).

The adventures starts when Astrid and the other characters board The Jenivere.  Astrid and two of the other characters board the ship at it's northernmost port in Magnimar and they are on the ship the longest, almost 4 months.  The ship is heading to Sargava but due to mysterious circumstances, the characters wake up on the beach of a deserted island with no clue as to how they got there.  Their first encounter with the island is the eurypterids that come swarming out of the sea to nibble on the toes of the unconscious heroes.  We eventually defeat the creatures, despite our sickened and disoriented status.

Marcus, the paladin, decides to head off into the jungle to search for shelter but he is caught in a dangerous pit trap and badly wounded.  We are able to get him down and Ishirou (one of the NPC's) gives his only healing potion to the paladin to save his life.  It's decided that we need to stick together as a group and that we should scout out the ship wreck of The Jenivere, which we can see in the distance.  We need to gather supplies and we are hoping to find the keys to the manacles which bind Jask (another NPC).

We are able to make it up the cliffs that overlook our shipwreck without incident but the only way to board the ship is to climb down onto it's surface.  The cliff face is slippery with sea water but there are vines clinging to the surface that we can use to climb down.  However, despite the aid of the vines, Jerzy (our ranger) & Chin (our fighter), both manage to fall into the water, where they risk being dashed upon the rocks.  Astrid ties one of the vines around her waist and she has Marcus lower her down to the ship, so she is able to make it without falling in.  Chin is able to swim to the boat and Aerys (an NPC) dives into the water and is able to help Jerzy to the boat.

The game session ended as the three of us gathered on the deck of the shipwrecked Jenivere.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #5

"Have you ever introduced a child to gaming, or played a game with a young person? How is gaming with kids different than gaming with adults?" - Reverb Gamers

Yes!  I have 2 little boys, ages 6 and 7, and I've gamed with them many times.  Mostly, it's been board games like Chutes & Ladders or Sorry but we also play a lot of video games together, like Lego Rock Band or Kinect Adventures.  I bought a card game from Wastex Games last year, called Reversal of Fortune, and my 6 year old kicks ass at it.  I thought I was going easy on him but he's actually really blood thirsty when it comes to that game!  Maybe it's because "treasure" is involved. 

I have done some rpgKids adventures with them and they really like that but now that they are getting a little older, I'm looking forward to introducing them to Pathfinder.  I want to try out the Pathfinder Beginner Box because I've heard that it's really easy & it's a good teaching tool for kids as young as they are.  It will be awesome to have an in-home gaming group to play with on a regular basis!!!

Masters of the Fallen Fortress

There was another Pathfinder Society game out at Saltire Games this past Friday and I had nothing else to do, so I RSVP'd to play.  I made a fighter so that I'd have the option to play something else just in case everyone else brought a magic user to the table, like the last time.  Her name is Six and she's a mercenary for The Sczarni faction.

I had originally RSVP'd to play the #3-01: The Frostfur Captives scenario but the DM wasn't comfortable with running for 7 people because it makes the scenario less challenging & combat takes forever with that many people.  There was another guy there who had already played this scenario so he offered to run a different scenario for half of the group.  I initially wanted to play the Frostfur scenario but I decided to go with the other DM.  I'm really glad that I did because it was a lot of fun.

Sean, the guy running the game, hadn't DM'd a PFS game before but he did a really good job.  The other two people, Tracy & her fiancee (I can't remember his name), were also a lot of fun to play with.  We actually had a well balanced party.  I had my fighter, Tracy had a rogue, & her fiancee was playing a gnome witch named Rumple (who capered about like a jester and spoke in rhymes).  We had an NPC cleric to round out our party and she actually came in really handy. 

Sean ran The Master of the Fallen Fortress module for the 3 of us and it wasn't like the other PFS game that I had played in.  There were no faction objectives to accomplish and it assumed that the party members already knew each other and that we were just out, exploring some old ruins for treasure.  I'm not used to playing a fighter and the characters that I typically play usually hang out in the back of the group because they have low hit points.  With the exception of the rogue checking for traps, my fighter was in the front the whole time.

We encountered a pack of wild dogs, a giant spider, bats, and numerous troglodytes during our exploration of the tower.  My character was actually knocked down to -7 HP but the cleric was able to cast Revoke (or Rebuke) Death on her and bring her back and heal her.  To be honest, my character was responsible for a lot of the combat that we got into.  There was one situation that we could have avoided because the creature was sleeping but Six tried to shut the door and woke the creature up.  She also moved into the giant spider's territory, provoking it to attack.  And then there were the bats...

Sean had this awesome DM die that he would roll at times when we wanted to do something outside of the scope of the rules and depending on the symbol (they had smiley faces and frowny faces and other random symbols on them) various things could happen.  At one point, we found a hidden door but the rogue broke the lock so Six used a strength check (which she made) to open it.  The hardness of worked masonry is DC 30 & instead of telling me that my character couldn't break through the door, Sean rolled his DM die and based on the outcome of the die, it was determined that the door was old and rickety & she burst through.  Fortunately, Six made her reflex save and she didn't fall into the chasm on the other side.  But she did wake up the bats on the ceiling, which swarmed her.  Rumple cast sleep on Six & the bats, knocking them all out and the rogue was able to use sleight of hands to pull Six out from underneath them without waking the sleeping bats.

We finally got to the top of the tower and encountered the BBEG, which was another troglodyte, and his pet crocodile.  At this point we had to rush through the final combat because the game store was closing but we were able to defeat the BBEG and his pet and pillage all of the treasures.

Chosing The Lesser Of Two Evils

I want to write about politics but I'm not sure how to organize my thoughts.  

I have a serious question.  How do I go about researching the candidates who are currently campaigning to be our next president?

I've googled them all.  I've read the articles about them at the news websites.  I've tried to read about them on their own websites. I've read the positive stuff and the negative stuff.  I watch the news.  Even after all of this information, I still feel like I don't know anything about any of the candidates.

I voted for Obama back in 2008 because I liked what he had to say and I liked his ideas.  But unfortunately, it seems like he had to spend so much time and energy getting his health-care reforms passed that once it was done, he just lost steam.  I know that he's done other things, like finally getting the troops out of Iraq, but it just seems like all of the talk that came before he was elected just noise.

I also know that Obama has had a tough time getting things done because the Republicans and the Democrats don't want to work together.  This is nothing new but it seems like the fighting has been worse since he took office.  There is all this talk from the politicians about how they all need to work together to solve issues but no one really seems to be doing it.  It seems to me that there is even more inner-party fighting than normal.

And truth be told, I don't want to vote for Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum or any of the other Republican candidates.  I don't understand what Ron Paul means when he talks about "sound money" although I like the idea of getting rid of the "corporate stranglehold in Washington".  I don't think Michele Bachmann or the rest are even worth looking into.  And honestly, I don't feel like I should have to read a "statement of faith" on any of their websites.  Their religion should have nothing to do with why I vote for them.

So it comes down to voting for Obama again and potentially having another 4 years of nothing or voting for someone that I don't understand or that I feel as if I have to sacrifice some of the things that I think are important for the greater good of the nation.  I might feel more comfortable doing something like that if I felt like everyone else made decisions like that, too. 

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #4

"Are you a "closet gamer?" Have you ever hidden the fact that you're a gamer from your co-workers, friends, family, or significant other? Why or why not? How did they react if they found out?" - Reverb Gamers

I am proud to say that I am NOT a closet gamer.  Everyone who knows me knows that I am a big geek.  I've even tried to recruit people that live around me to play in a D&D game, although that didn't go very well.  The local moms group that I am a member of knows that I will very rarely go to an evening function because I am most likely gaming. My husband is not a gamer but when we first started dating, I let him know up front that I played D&D every week.

I'm happy to say that I've never gotten a bad reaction to telling anyone that I was a gamer, at least not to my face.  I'm sure that the other moms think I'm weird but I'm fine with that.  My husband's aunt did tell me once that she wished I didn't play D&D.  When I asked her why she didn't want me to play, her response was that it wasn't right with god.  I told her that we were actually playing in a campaign where our characters were priests of a church and that we were conquering evil (I really was playing in a campaign like this at the time).  She thought that seemed alright and hasn't said anything to me about it since then!

The Workout Part 2

5 minute warm up

Phase 1
Focus on legs
   DB squats 1 x 15 (12.5 lbs)
   Machine leg curls 1 x 12 (40 lbs)
   Machine leg extension 1 x 12 (50 lbs)
   Leg Press 1 x 15 (50 lbs)
   Treadmill - jog three minutes & build the intensity gradually.  Not to a sprint level but so that it is somewhat challenging.

Phase 2
Focus on the shoulders
   Seated Machine Press 1 x 12 (20 lbs)
   Standing DB Lateral Raises 1 x 12 (7.5 lbs)
   DB Shrugs 1 x 12 (12.5 lbs)
   Stepper - 3 minutes (build intensity so that the last minute is challenging).

Phase 3
Focus on triceps
   Lying DB triceps extensions 1 x 12 (12.5 lbs)
   Triceps Pushdown Cable 1 x 10 (30 lbs)
   Seated Bench Dips 1 x 12 (30 lbs)
   Elliptical - 3 minutes (high intensity, but you should not be gasping for air).

Phase 4
Focus on abs
   Fit Ball Crunch 1 x 15
   Double crunch 1 x15
   Bent knee leg lift 1 x15
   Stationary Bike - 3 minutes (high intensity) followed by 5 minute cool down at low intensity.  Stretch for five minutes.

Today I warmed up on the treadmill for 25 minutes before I went into my workout.  My legs and abs were a little sore for yesterday but no so sore that I couldn't move.  I notice now that my arms and shoulders are also a little sore but it's also not bad.

I had a scrambled egg w/fat free cheddar cheese for breakfast but I noticed that I still felt a little nauseous by the end of my workout.  I tried not to gulp down water during my cool down, like I did yesterday but it didn't really help my stomach, either way.  I extended my cool down to 15 minutes.

I'm going to alternate between yesterday's workout and this one for the next month, gradually increasing my warm up & cool down times to 1/2 hour and increasing my weights and reps.  I may also try to extend the cardio intervals up to 5 minutes, instead of 3.  I probably won't blog about my workout everyday and only post about it when I increase weights, times, etc.  

The Workout Part 1

The bad news is that when I weighed myself this morning, I had gained back 15 lbs since the last time I weighed myself (back in June).  Although, to be honest, it's not as much as I thought it was going to be.  I'm also not too stressed about it because if I can stick to my plans, I'll loose it again really quickly.  However, it does mean that I now need to loose 95 lbs, instead of another 80 lbs. 

I started a new fitness routine today.  This was today's workout.  There is another one that I will do tomorrow and then I will alternate between the two.  I plan on sticking to this routine for the next month, increasing the amount of weights that I use and maybe the number of reps that I do.  I also want to slowly increase the amount of cardio that I do before and after each set.  Today I warmed up for 20 minutes on the treadmill, walking at a very brisk pace.  I extended my cool down to 10 minutes, instead of 5.  It made my workout a total of 60 minutes, instead of 30.

5 minute warm up

Phase 1
Focus on chest
   DB incline chest press 1 x 12 (10 lbs)
   DB Flyes 1 x 15 (10 lbs)
   Machine chest press 1 x 15 (40 lbs)
   Treadmill - jog three minutes & build the intensity gradually.  Not to a sprint level but so that it is somewhat challenging.

Phase 2
Focus on the back  
   Lateral Pulldown 1 x 10 (60 lbs)
   Cable Row 1 x 12 (90 lbs)
   Seated Machine Row 1 x 12 (50 lbs)
   Stepper - 3 minutes (build intensity so that the last minute is challenging).

Phase 3
Focus on biceps
   Standing alternate DB Curls 1 x 10 (10 lbs)
   Seated Incline DB Curls 1 x 12 (10 lbs)
   Machine Curls 1 x 10 (30 lbs)
   Elliptical - 3 minutes (high intensity, but you should not be gasping for air).

Phase 4
Focus on abs
   Bicycle Maneuver 1 x 15
   Double crunch 1 x15
   Bent knee leg lift 1 x15
   Stationary Bike - 3 minutes (high intensity) followed by 5 minute cool down at low intensity.  Stretch for five minutes.

I felt a little nauseous as I was moving into phase 3 and 4 and when I sat down to stretch, I started to get a little light headed.  I had a cup of sugar free oatmeal with milk for breakfast, along with a cup of coffee and to be honest, I don't think it was enough.  I may have to switch back to a scrambled egg & save the oatmeal for an afternoon snack!  I also drank a lot of water (at least 64 oz.) during my workout and that may have also made me feel sick.

So far, I'm doing very well with my calorie intake.  I am starting to feel hungry again, after eating lunch at 11:30 AM and the afternoon is my big snacking time and the time when I'm most likely to make poor food choices.  It's only 2:30 PM and I'm trying to wait until 3:30 for my snack because that's when Xander gets home and the boys have their snacks.  We will probably eat dinner around 5:30 today.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #3

"What kind of gamer are you? Rules Lawyer, Munchkin/Power Gamer, Lurker, Storyteller/Method Actor, or something else? (Search "types of gamer" for more ideas!) How does this affect the kinds of games you play? For example, maybe you prefer crunchy rules-heavy systems to more theatrical rules-light ones." - Reverb Gamers

If I had to classify myself as a type of gamer I would say that I'm probably The Clown.  The Clown is defined by kotaku.com as someone who likes to make the other players laugh and who has lots of great one-liners.  Now, I'm not saying that I'm the funniest person at the table but I do like play silly characters and I like making people laugh.  My favorite race to play is halfling and that, in and of itself, lends to being silly.

One of my favorite memories is when one of the other guys was playing a paladin of Torm and I was playing a halfling character.  Whenever the paladin would say that something was his "duty" or talk about the "god of duty" you would hear my character say "doody!" in a tiny, squeaky voice.  It was so freaking funny and now none of us can say the word "duty" without saying "doody!" immediately after.  And yes, it did get on the  paladin's (and the player's) nerves but being annoying is part of a halfling's job description.

Another fun memory was in the Dragonlance RPG setting.  I was playing a kender and one of the other guys was playing a gnome.  In the DLRPG, gnomes are constantly trying to invent things but their inventions almost never work.  However, in this case, this gnome's inventions worked almost all of the time and he found out it was because my kender wouldn't stop touching them and she kept changing things on the inventions that would make it function.  My kender also made "best friends" with everyone - from a black robed mage to a blue dragon.  She also "borrowed" a ring of wish from Ladonna, a very powerful and evil black robbed wizard.  What did my kender wish for?  She wished for Stinky, the dog of our mage, to be with us.

I really can't help but to be silly when I game and I've tried to play serious characters but it just doesn't work out for me.

My Life As A Mixtape

Jessica did this awesome post over at her blog and she did it as part of a blogging group thingee that I totally missed out on.  However, I really liked the idea of this post so I decided to do one myself.  It was really hard to narrow it down to these few songs and I know that I'm leaving a lot out.  It's also interesting to me that these are the first songs to popped into my head and the memories that I associate with them.

The topic was this: What was the soundtrack of your year? Of your life? Which songs most strongly represent the various eras of your life? What songs were playing for the most crucial, formative moments of your life? Or, if the chronological approach doesn’t work for you, which songs best capture the different facets of your life? (Childhood, Love Life, Adulthood, Loss, Growth, Career, Happiness, Sadness, etc.) Please elaborate. (courtesy of Bethany/Katie)


Side A - Childhood & high school

Star Wars VI - Victory Celebration - I remember my dad took me & my brother to see this movie but it cut out 5 minutes in & my dad was too impatient to wait for them to fix it & we had to leave.  When I finally did get to see the movie, I fell in love with Darth Vader.  Age 6.

Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer - One of my best friends in New York was in love with Bon Jovi & we listened to them whenever I went to her house, age 9.

New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough - I was at a friend's slumber party and they played NKOtB all night. Also in NY, age 12.

Bel Biv Devoe - Poison - my parents split up & my mom moved us to Pennsylvania, where hip hop was all the rage.  I remember some kids were talking about Poison and I thought they meant the band.  Turns out they were talking about this song, age 12.

Michael Bolton - Time, Love, & Tenderness - parents got back together & we're back in NY for a brief time.  I listened to this song over and over and over.  I was in love with Michael Bolton & his long, flowing hair, age 13.

N.W.A. - She Swallowed It - Back in Indiana & I was going to a public school in the middle of "the hood", age 14.

Pearl Jam - Alive - I got a Pearl Jam tape for my birthday and I remember a girl that I was friends with asking me to pretend it was hers so that she could impress her boyfriend, age 15.

Radiohead - Creep - I was a sophomore in high school and I got this cassette for Christmas from a boy at school, age 15.

NIN - Head Like A Hole - This was the very first band that I got to see in concert without my parents, age 17.

Side B - College & up until the present

The Cure - Friday I'm In Love - I got the Wish album for Christmas on cd & I felt like a piece of my heart had been returned to me, age 18.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Sir Psycho Sexy - driving to Lafayette, IN with my best friend Mandy.  We listened to Blood Sugar Sex Magik the whole way there & back, age 19.

Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want - College. This tape never left my radio, ages 18 - 20.

Velcro Fish - Mac & Cheese (Made By Chris' Mom) - I saw so many great local bands in the late '90's with Mandy.  So many memories of driving to shows. "How far is it?" "I dunno but he drew the line really long on the map." (couldn't find a video for this one) Age 18 - 20.

Type O Negative - Love You To Death - I heard this song for the first time in Lafayette, IN and also met my future ex-boyfriend for the first time, age 20.

Tool - Sober - pretty much most of my early twenties. I was in the throes of a massive depression but I didn't know what to do about it.  I was hospitilized with a blood clot & lost my job within the same month. Also had to move back in with my parents and broke up with my boyfriend. Ages 22 - 24.

Puddle Of Mud - Control - I remember dancing to this with my boyfriend (now husband) as we were packing his things up to move him in with me, age 25.

You Are My Sunshine - my first child, Alexander, is born.  For the first time in years, I finally feel like I'm sane & that maybe I can handle being a responsible adult, age 26.

Itsy, Bitsy Spider - my second child, Zachary is born, age 27.

The Killers - Mr. Brightside - playing this song over & over on Rock Band, age 32.

Clint Black - Like The Rain - I'm not a fan of country music but this song was played at my brother's funeral, age 27.

A Perfect Circle - Blue - Sitting around with my 2 best friends, we'd always pause to listen to this song when it came on, age 33.

Jimmy Eat World - The Middle - I've played this song a million times on Rock Band but today is the first time that I've actually listened to the lyrics.  I think it's very appropriate for me at the moment, age 34.

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #2

"What is it about gaming that you enjoy the most? Why do you game? Is it the adrenaline rush, the social aspect, or something else?" - Reverb Gamers

I know that when the term "gaming" is used, it's meant in the most broadest sense, i.e. board games, RPGS, video games, etc.  But when I answer this question, I'm answering it in respect to RPG's in general and to D&D/Pathfinder in particular because that is what I have the most experience with.

One of the things that I like the most about gaming is using my imagination.  I think that I have a great imagination but being neither a writer, musician, actor, or artist I don't have a lot of outlets for my imagination.  Gaming is a great way for me to use my imagination and I have an absolute blast coming up with different characters playing halflings.

I also like the problem solving aspect of gaming.  Solving a puzzle that the DM has put forth and doing it in a way that they didn't expect is a lot of fun!  It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it is very satisfying.

The social aspect of gaming is also a good thing.  I like getting together at least once a week with a group of friends to game.  Since I am a stay-at-home mom, it's nice to have an activity outside of the house that doesn't involve my kids!

Reverb Gamers 2012 - #1

I'm a day late jumping on to this bandwagon but here it goes.

"What was your first roleplaying experience? Who introduced you to it? How did that introduction shape the gamer you've become?" -  Reverb Gamers

I first started gaming in 2000, right before 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons came out.  I remember that my very first character was a witch and the guy running the game didn't bother to make us memorize THAC0 or any of the other rules because he planned on switching to the new rules (thank jebus for that because MATH IS HARD!).  When 3rd edition did come out, we found out that there were no more "specialty" classes so we converted my character into a wizard.  Her name was Brin and she had a cat familiar.

The guy who introduced me to gaming was named Bob & I used to work with him.  We played with 2 other guys, my ex-boyfriend & one of his friends named Moose (and before anyone starts into the whole "you only gamed because of your boyfriend" thing - my ex played BECAUSE of me, not the other way around).  I think we only played one or 2 sessions because Moose didn't like D&D and he ran around killing everything and getting us into trouble.

Later on, I met a guy and during conversation I mentioned that I had played D&D a few times.  He told me that he also played and introduced me to the group.  I played D&D with that group for almost 10 years before personal differences got in the way but hopefully, I'll get to start gaming with one of the guys in a new group again.  We went from using D&D 3.0 to 3.5 and then we switched to Pathfinder because we didn't want to buy all of the new books coming out with 4.0.  I also learned how to play D20 modern, Star Wars Saga Edition, & Vampire with these guys.

I think that at first, by playing with a group of more experienced gamers, I was always unsure of my role playing/gaming abilities.  I was always afraid of making mistakes or of not doing something "right" and I was very self-conscious.  I didn't like to make decisions for the group and I hated being put in situations where I was in charge.  Now that I've gamed with other people, through games at my FLGS & at conventions, it's shown me that I do know a lot about the rules and that I'm pretty decent at role playing and I'm becoming much more comfortable as a gamer.  I also am more open to playing new games that I don't know the rules for because I know that I will pick them up pretty quickly.

Resolutions 2012

1) Weight loss - I managed to loose 80 lbs last year and I'd like to reach my goal weight this year.  Another 80 lbs to go!  To accomplish this goal, I need to do the following:

• Start eating better again - picking healthier foods & controlling my portion sizes
• Learn how to cook healthier meals
• Start planning out my menus to alleviate bad food choices
• Exercise - I was going to the gym 5 days a week when I lost the most weight

2) Gaming - I have always loved playing D&D but I'm really starting to enjoy the whole "gamer" culture.  This year I'd like to::

• Go to Gen Con, Who's Yer Con, & The Origins Game Fair
• Play more Pathfinder - be it a regular home game and/or Society play
• Learn to play new RPG's 
• Introduce my kids to Pathfinder, with the beginner box
• Have a weekly "game" night at home with my husband & the kids

3) Improve my mental attitude by doing the following:

• I need to learn how to let go of the past and to not dwell on the negative things
• I want to become a more positive person
• I need to spend less time worrying about the people who don't like me and more time appreciating the people that do
• PDGAF!!!

I'm going to keep the list short this year.  Last year, I had 20 items on my list and I accomplished maybe 4 of them.  I'm picking the 3 things that I need to work on or that I want to do to make me a happier person. 

Here's to 2012 and all of the opportunities that it may bring!!!