Tanisevania returns!

Much to my surprise, the campaign in which I play Tanisevania is resuming this Saturday *blinkblink* This is totally awesome, mind you, since I do miss playing her (and this time, I’ll get to play her as I intended, without having to worry about a certain individual’s opinion of my roleplaying abilities). I was just under the impression that we weren’t restarting that game until the beginning of October because of schedule conflicts. Luckily, my llovely girlfriend thought we might be starting soon after all, and we were both unsure about it enough that I gave our DM (Heather) a call to check, and ta da!

Anyway, I need to get back into Tanisevania’s mindset quickly. And of course, her mindset is a bit…different than usual because she was still in love with Grim at the point we left off.

This is where I think we left off/what is going on with her:

After leaving Ni-Shan, we stopped back briefly on our home continent, then set out for another one (who’s name escapes me at the moment, and I don’t have my stuff with me, so no checking the map) in order to get Grim and Imari (a badass NPC) to a fighting tournament there. I also believe Grim is supposed to fight in it as a representative of the kingdom we set out from, since he is the King’s Champion. Anyway, after we got there, we agreed to help these two guys – Angelus and Magnus, I think – rescue their sister. In return, they would guide us to the tournament, since none of us have been here before. This is also a desert continent, so she’s been studying the wildlife a bit, having never been to a desert before. However, oweverHoweveshe’s not that happy with it – she misses trees, a LOT. I can’t remember if we’re in the middle of the tower with the sister or not – we probably are, or haven’t even gotten to it yet, considering that I don’t recall checking how hot the sister was (remember, Tanisevania is a big ho). Soooo yeah.

In terms of what happens next, though, Grim is no longer in the picture. He was played by our DM’s husband, who turned into a royal, flaming douchenozzle who runs from all of his responsibilities and everything worthwhile in his life. But that’s another story. I’m expecting our DM to do one of two things – either Grim and Tanisevania had a falling out, and as a result he left the party, or he died accidentally in some horrible painful way. I understand if she goes for the latter option, but I kinda hope she doesn’t, because if Tanisevania and Grim’s relationship is still solid when he dies, she’ll have to mourn him.

So, here’s how she’ll probably end up acting – If she and Grim have a falling out (no matter what happens to him afterward), it will reaffirm her idea that she can’t be in a relationship, and she’ll go back to being fine with being alone and screwing around with whoever she wants to (mind you, she hasn’t been monogamous at all this whole time she was with Grim either). If she needs to vent, she’ll likely vent to Indigo, and if she needs to angst about how love sucks, she’ll likely talk to Imari. If Grim dies before they break up, she will mourn him appropriately, but that in its own way will reaffirm her no-relationships rule – loving someone like that, and losing them, is just too painful, no matter how accepting of death she is. She’ll go through a mourning period, which I’ll need to keep good track of, and return quickly to her usual ways. Afterward, she’ll probably remember him fondly but realize it was for the best. And she’s not going to cast reincarnation on him, because coming back as something other than what he was would not have made him happy.

Damn, with all that in mind, I’m not sure which way I’d prefer our DM to go after all.

But moving on, here’s some things I need to do before Saturday:

~ Go over Tanisevania’s character sheet, backstory, etc.
~ Reread the most recent post about her here, to refresh my memory of the story.
~ Draw her, if I have time (as an artist, that will help me refamiliarize myself with her even more).

All this on top of planning for my own campaign this Sunday, and getting ready to take my trip next week. Busy busy busy. As such, will talk more later.

Session review, 09/06/09

Last night was the first official session of the relaunch of my campaign. Honestly, it didn’t go as badly as I thought it would. I did okay, DMing-wise, and everyone was flexible enough to work with each other despite the fact that two of the members are still total strangers to the rest of the party.

Things I should have covered that I didn’t – I forgot to have one of the players describe his character, and neglected to describe some of the NPCs in as much detail as they should have been described. I will have to correct that next time. Also, the party traveled together without incident for about a month, and I summarized over it. Yes, this helped with gameplay, but I should have had them roll Intelligence checks or something to see what they figured out about each other in that time (everyone seemed to keep to themselves as much as possible even though they were traveling together, so its not like they were sharing sob stories about their character history on their own). Will have to be more mindful of that as they travel together in the future. I also totally forgot to have the new characters roll spot checks for Gazit’s eyes – they are odd, and mark something very important about her past/abilities. I will have to remember to have them do that next time too, in a retcon kind of way.

Things that went well – like I said, everyone was flexible about getting the party together, and even though they knew out-of-character they they were supposed to form a party, they still roleplayed it out very well. Certain things were noticed that implied troublesome things about the new characters, but still they managed to stick together. They didn’t even throw me for any loops this time, and did a great job investigating the plot hook I threw at them. They were actually very creative about that, and managed to talk their way out of a battle, using the skills at their disposal to avoid it instead of randomly slaughtering NPCs. So very good on them, and we stopped right after that, so I hope what’s next will be worth it to them.

Other problems – the only other thing that I need to keep in mind is that one of the new characters, Abaddon (played by Alex) is EXTREMELY overpowered. This is not because of the numbers on his sheet, he just reeeeeeeally knows what he’s doing and how to play his character to the maximum potential. Luckily, the other new character, Galyn, is played by someone (Forrest) that also knows the game, and the rules, really well, so he acts as a great buffer between Alex and the rest of us. Yes, as a DM I should know the rules better, but I don’t, and my focus is really to have fun with this and not worry so much about the technicalities. Anyway, I will need to “beef up” encounters in the future to make them more challenging for Abaddon, and the rest of the party by proxy.

This means that I have a bit more editing to do for next week’s session (though not nearly as much as I had to do for yesterday). They have found potetntial help, but this help is going to test them to prove their loyalty to the good side. This was originally going to be a relatively easy test, and they will still think it’s going to be, but they’ll be misinformed about what they’re facing. Mwahaha. Basically all I have to do is make some of their enemies in this encounter higher level than I planned, and maybe throw a monster in to boot.

So, work for next week – make the upcoming fight more challenging, and adjust treasure accordingly (if its going to be hard, the reward should be worth it). Refamiliarize myself with the bad guys’ classes, too, so I won’t have to turn to the book for information every two seconds. Make sure that Joel describes his character, Dwyr, like he should have last time, and give better descriptions of the NPCs. Have Galyn and Abaddon roll spot checks to notice how weird Gazit’s eyes are.

That’s all for now. If writing things out like this helps me next week, then I’ll probably start writing reviews like this after each session we have. Like always, look for more later.

Plan? What plan?

My campaign is set to resume this coming Sunday. There were a couple of PC’s that were supposed to meet up before the party (as it is now) would have fully joined together, so I ran what was supposed to be a short session last night with just those two players. I had a plan, a road-map if you will, of how they were going to get from point A. Meeting each other, to point B. Meeting the other PC’s.

In true DnD fashion, the players did something totally unexpected that I was NOT prepared for, and instead of stopping the session so I could prepare (like I usually do), I kept trudging along and pulling things out of my bum, still trying to get back to my original road-map plan. To make a long story short, let’s just say that it didn’t work.

The players said the session wasn’t a total loss, and they still had fun, so it was worth it, but as a result I have to scrap EVERYTHING I had planned for the next two sessions. I have to re-plan all of this by Sunday, so I won’t have to put off starting the campaign. This is especially important, because the way I scheduled things was to have two sessions before I go on vacation in two weeks, expecting to miss 2 weeks of gaming while I was gone, and resume once I returned.

*headdesk*

To clarify, I am not upset at any of the players because I understand that this happens, but it still is really frustrating, and this place is, after all, somewhere for me to vent and talk about the game. Other DM’s will understand what I mean, though, right?

Anyway, here’s the new plan/idea that I will be working out in the notes:

~ The players have chosen to keep their quest a secret from the local good-aligned government, as well as the draconic heritage of some of the PC/NPC’s. They will be traveling the continent on their own, seeking out old temples and other places that might point them in the direction of where the dragons went.

~ The new players, who were supposed to be assigned to go with them by the government, will now be sent to follow and spy on them in order to find out what’s really going on – the characters proved that they were no threat and not aligned with the bad guys, but they are still clearly acting weird, so the Governor of the area wants to find out what’s really going on, and since there’s a truce in place, she can afford to send “troops” to do that.

~ Hopefully the new players have their characters meet up with and join the party instead of just following them all creepily. But I am making NO assumptions, since that always tends to bite me in the freakin’ ass.

So that’s the plan. Looks like I’ll have to just plan one session out for now, so Sunday will be covered, then see what happens, and take the week after to plan for the following Sunday.

I also think I’ll still try to have them meet up with the small army group they were going to be sent to, since they do seem kinda suspicious and the army CAN help them if they play their cards right. Which means that whatever temple they end up trying to find first will have to be in the direction of that base, and they should pass the base on the way there. Which also also means that they’ll have to roll spot checks to notice that they’re being watched from the base, and hopefully attack first, thinking they are about to be ambushed…..this will also draw in the ex-military status of one of the new PC’s, which can work to their advantage. Then, as per the notes, they will have to prove to the military dudes that they are trustworthy by ambushing the Orc spies for them – the military peoples will probably also send one of their own soldiers with them, to ensure nothing goes to crap (since the PC’s will have seen the inside of the base at that point, theoretically) and still hold one of the NPC’s as collateral. They should see the base at evening first, I think, when they’re all getting tired and need to rest. That might make them more likely to stop and try and get shelter from the base. Success in that area will earn them trust from some of the good guys, even if they don’t reveal their heritage and quest. Failure will mean fleeing again, which is still doable. If they leave Gazit behind, Neeta can use the charm thing to summon her, and they can overcome the one soldier that was sent with them to keep them in check. But hopefully things won’t come to that.

Apologies for the stream-of-thought-ness, I just haven’t worked this out yet, and this does help me. As usual, I’ll post more when I know more/when more happens.

Additions to upcoming session notes

Hello all! This is a post mostly for myself, as I have to make some additions to the upcoming session notes, since I've added a new player since I typed them up. Yes, this is the guy I have doubts about. But I think I mentioned before that I plan on having two sets of notes in hand - one including him, one not including him (so that's be the notes as they are now). However, I don't have the notes with me, so I have to make notes on the notes to update the notes later. That sounds more needlessly complicated than it is, really.

Anyway, here goes:

~ Abaddon (the new guy's character) will meet with Governor Callirhoe first, while Syma is outside waiting for Galyn (another new player's character). Callirhoe will ask Ilke, the Paladin that escorted Abaddon, to wait outside while she explains the situation to him alone. Callirhoe will take the ring from Ilke before the meeting, but give it back to her afterward, so that whoever's with him at the time will always have control of it. Callirhoe will explain the situation to him - the party has come from an Island-continent far across the sea that no one has heard of, to return the honor of dragons and reunite good dragons with the other good forces so they can be united and stop Garyx's forces, yadda yadda. She also tells him that two of the party members are draconic in heritage, and two others have heritage in other traditionally "evil" races, but through magic they found the true good in their hearts and their intentions. This group seems strong in and of itself, but could use additional force, and their eclectic nature makes it seem that Abaddon would fit in better there than with a division of the army. She will also be sending another individual from their own forces to monitor the group and report back to her of their adventures. Assuming Abaddon agrees to this, she would call Ilke back in, give the ring back to her, and explain that as soon as everyone has been briefed, the ring will be given to a worthy candidate in the group. She asks Ilke to take Abaddon to another room in that hallway (a sitting room with chairs and books) to wait until the entire party has been caught up. In that room he will find travelling gear (standard backpack, bedroll, etc.) and a cloak big enough to fit him. His weapons and other possessions, which were taken from him when he was arrested, are also there.

~ When Galyn arrives, and Syma brings him upstairs, it will be just after Ilke has gotten Abaddon into the other room. Callirhoe lets Syma stay, and explains the situation to Galyn - the party has come from an Island-continent far across the sea that no one has heard of, to return the honor of dragons and reuinite good dragons with the other good forces so they can be united and stop Garyx's forces, yadda yadda. She also tells him that two of the party members are draconic in heritage, and two others have heritage in other traditionally "evil" races, but through magic they found the true good in their hearts and their intentions. Because of his reputation, she wants to send him with the party, to a) make sure they don't try anything funny, even though she knows what they say is true, and b) to report back to her every month, by Sending or written message (though, assuming Gazit is trustworthy, Sendings are safer - still, she will leave the choice up to him, so whether or not he sends messages that can be intercepted will be based on if he thinks he can trust the group). He is also being sent along so there will be someone more familiar to her in the group to keep an eye on Abaddon, who she describes to him as a criminal with demon heritage, who has pledged to redeem himself by fighting against Garyx's forces. She asks him to do this, not orders, because of his history with Syma. If he demands payment, she will give him 300 gold to do it, hoping that makes up for whatever coinage he lost in coming here.

**Start actual session here, the above notes will be taken care of over e-mail

~ Assuming he agrees, she asks him to remain in the room, and calls for Abaddon again. A guard (who would have gotten there and stood outside the doors shortly after Abaddon's meeting, assume those guards were running late for guard duty) summons both Abaddon and Ilke from the sitting room. Ilke escorts him to the office again, Callirhoe asks for the ring again, and Ilke gives it to her. What it is is not explained to Galyn. Ilke is then dismissed, and nods formally at Abaddon as a goodbye. Callirhoe introduces Galyn and Abaddon, then, and then asks ones of the guards outside to bring in the party.

~ The party would come in and be introduced to Galyn and Abaddon, who may or may not have chosen to hide his features. Meeting and explanation of what Callirhoe has decided will go mostly as written already, except Abaddon will be there to hear all of it. The captain and first mate still decide to stay in the city, etc. Then, at the end, as everyone is released to go into the hall and get their things, Callirhoe asks Gazit to stay behind for a moment.

~ Once they are alone (Syma would have gone with the others), Callirhoe gives Gazit the ring and explains what it does. She urges her to take care in using it, and wishes her well. Gazit thanks her, puts the ring on the hand opposite the one she wears her ring of protection on, and leaves the room. Should take no more than 2 minutes.

~ Add Abaddon to the other notes as needed, since he'd get to go shopping with them too, and travel along with them until they reach Gnathon. The soldiers there wouldn't know who he is, so he'd get the same treatment as the rest of the party (except for Galyn). So just add him to everything, but that shouldn't change anything too much.

Aaaaaand that's that. Hopefully I can sit down and get this actually written out in my notes soon.

Also, on a semi-related note, my wonderful girlfriend gave me one of my birthday presents early!!! Its "Song and Silence," the supplement guidebook to Bards and Rogues circa 3rd edition. We play 3.5 though, so its definitely usable, and TOTALLY AWESOME!!! This means, of course, that the next character I play as just a PC (like in whatever game Heather runs after the game I play Tanisevania in is done) will have to be a Bard so I can utilize it. My plan of playing alphabetically through the core classes be damned, I say.

Will write again when it gets sooner to starting, either in my campaign or Heather's. I'll have to get back into the Tanisevania mindset too, after all, and think of how she'd feel after breaking it off with Grim for good. Probably angry and like she betrayed herself by making so many compromises for him. But I'll have to save that for another post.

New player, woes and worries

Ooookay, so last night my girlfriend (who, as I've mentioned, plays in my campaign) and I went to meet that potential new player last night.

Through all the e-mails he's been sending, and talking to him on the phone, he's seemed more and more like a competent individual. It looked like he might be a bit more conservative than the rest of us, but not in a way we couldn't work around. He also seemed like he was close to our age. Still, I wanted to meet him before inviting him into our home (just in case he turned out to be creepy or something), so we finally met for coffee last night. My girlfriend came along for extra security and moral support.

Its a good thing she did, cause I don't know how I would have reacted if it was just me.

First off, he's MUCH younger than I thought he was. I'm 24, and he's 17. That's not even legal age! I don't know if I'm going to get in trouble for letting him game with us. Should I be asking permission from his parents? Seriously, I have NO idea. But that aside, he's also MUCH more conservative than I thought. Not that he seemed put off that we're lesbians, but he did skirt the issue (in his e-mails as well, now that I think about it - he called it my "lifestyle" at one point, and I asked him NOT to, and he never said anything to that...). And when I warned him that I swear, he said that was fine as long as we didn't "overtly" swear. What the hell does that mean? And who is he to decide what we can say around the table? Oh, AND he's a Powergamer! Way for him to not mention that until I had already gotten him set up in the game! I've played with Powergamers before, but I've never DM'd for one, and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it.

*inhales deeply*

Anyway, I obviously have a lot of concerns. But now that he's put so much work into his character, and I've put so much work into getting him set up, I don't want to just kick him out.

So here's what I think I'll do. I'll let everyone know before the game starts that the first two sessions (however long it takes us to get through what I've prepared, actually) are a TRIAL PERIOD for all new members. So that excludes me, Kel, and Joel, since we've all played together before. It would apply, then, to Joel's boyfriend Forrest, and the new guy, since they're both technically new. After those first couple of sessions, I may ask a player to leave the game if I don't feel that they mesh well enough with the rest of the group. And obviously, any of the players can leave anytime they want. And if someone does something I can't deal with, like disrespecting Rule 0, or making their character do something REALLY HORRIBLE (there are certain things I can't stand action-wise), I can kick them out early. I'll just note that in the e-mail I send announcing when we're starting.

In the meantime, I'll keep getting the new guy set up, and add his character to the notes I have prepared. I'll also keep a copy of the notes as they are now, in case he walks into our house, sees the blatant evidence of our lesbianism, freaks out and runs away.

...Is it wrong that part of me wishes he'd do that, just so I don't have to deal with getting rid of him myself, if he is going to be a problem? ^^;

Hiatus over, sort of

Hello all. The campaign I play in is still kind of ... on pause, we'll say (since I'm not really sure if/when it'll be starting up again). However, my campaign is well on its way to starting *insert happy dance here*

As I mentioned last time I posted, I've got two players lined up. One is ALMOST ready to enter the game, the other will be as soon as he and I sit down and talk about what happened to his character since the last time certain other characters saw her (he played with us before graduating and moving for a job, but he's back in the area now). Also, I heard recently from a guy who saw a flyer I put up in ye olde local gaming shoppe about the fact that I needed players. We're talking about his character right now, and what he has in mind sounds very interesting and fitting for the setting. For those of you who want a clue, think Etrigan from the DC Universe. I hope he works out - I intend on meeting him before I invite him into my home to play, just in case he gives me the heebies. Over e-mail he seems totally competent and cool, but on the phone he seems a bit awkward. So we'll see what happens.

More interestingly, because we were going through gaming withdrawal, last night my girlfriend and I (my girlfriend plays Neeta in my campaign) pulled out the two characters we created for situations like this and gamed a bit, just the two of us. Her character is a Halfling rogue named Gitana, mine is a Gnome bard named Rasurda (they are adorable, even with weird head proportions). What I came up with dealt with something from their past catching up with them, in the form of some bounty hunters that they dealt with before.

It didn't go exactly as planned. What what "supposed" to happen was that the bounty hunters were to kidnap us and take us to their boss, who we inadvertently stole something from. He was then going to offer us a choice - he could turn us in for theft, or we could work for him to pay for what we stole.

What actually happened was this - my girlfriend, not knowing that things were going to be okay, got worried that her character was going to die (understandably, even though she knows I wouldn't do that to her). Rasurda was defeated quite quickly by one of the bounty hunters, but Gitana was actually doing very well against the other two, considering that a) it was 2 against 1 and b) they were both one level higher than her. She had managed to lift a wand of "Wall of Ice" last session, and cleverly used it to trap all 3 bounty hunters in hemispheres of ice. It also turned out that she had a healing potion, which she used to revive Rasurda, and they fled back into the city the bounty hunters fought them in (which was only like 2 miles away).

Now, the two of them had actually been staying in the city for a couple of weeks prior to this - Rasurda wanted to stop somewhere and begin building herself a fanbase. So they knew their way around, and were able to quickly find a place to sell the thing they had stolen, then use the money to quickly buy magical protection and weapons. Gitana then used her status as a follower of Yondalla, and a donation of 100 gold, to find us protection in a hidden place underneath the only shrine of Yondalla in the city.

It turned out, by the way, that the only place that could afford to buy the thing we stole was the Royal jeweler. So the item - which is a large diamond worth more than 12,000 gp - is in the hands of the royal family now. The fact that Rasurda has a fanbase here, is easily recognizable, and returned to the city in a very injured state, will also prove very much to our benefit.

Since my girlfriend doesn't read this blog, here's what's going to happen next:

Upon freeing themselves and following us back to the city, and being unable to find us, the bounty hunters will ask around and find out where we sold the jewel. Knowing that its in the hands of the royal family, they will retire at an Inn for the night. The next day, they will go to see the King/a representative of him, and try to pass themselves off as normal mercenaries on behalf of the Lord who owned the diamond originally. However, they're really assassins, and not very good at diplomacy. They'll be find out, which will reveal their Lord's connections to the Assassins Guild (which is why they were working for him). This Lord happens to fall under the jurisdiction of the King of this very city, so an investigation will be launched into the nature of his work. The assassins will be imprisoned. Also, because the story of what happened to Rasurda will have spread, and because she is so loved, the assassins will not be able to get to her or Gitana even if they escape/are released. Her fanbase will protect her and anyone she cares about. Beware the power of fanboys/girls, bitches.

I only hope that Gitana and Rasurda stay in town long enough to see this happen. If not, they'll hear of it in the next town they stop in.

Back in the game

Wow, its only been FOREVER since I updated this.

Anyway, as I accurately predicted in my last post, the game in which I played Tanisevania is still on hold/over. Our DM still isn't sure if she wants to continue it, considering what happened, and that is totally understandable. As such, I've changed the profile image to that of Gazit - the most prominent NPC in the campaign that I run. You can see the full, color image of her here.

Speaking of my campaign, by the way, it is almost out of its own "on hold" status. I've got two new players, one of whom played in this game before it had a plot, and I'm all prepared for at least the next two sessions. Hopefully my DMing skills aren't too rusty. They're going to be getting into the real thick of the story now, so I'm exicted to see what happens, and how they interact with the new PC.

That's pretty much it for now. I'll be trying to post more often, now that I'm DMing regularly again. At least to complain about the frustrating bits, hehe.

Doom, not on hold

Okay, forget everything I just said. Something has happened, and apparently we're not gaming ever again (in that campaign, I mean). As usual I'll keep you posted, but it really looks this time like I'll be having to post my own version of what happens to Tanisevania.

Doom on hold

All right, some new developments: our DM has decided that she wants to keep running her game, just to have a shred of normalcy in her life still (which is totally understandable, I feel, considering what she's going through). As such, we will be gaming tomorrow night. Yay!

Though I am happy about this, since I want resolution for Tanisevania, I am a bit worried about a couple of things.

One - DM's husband, who I'm not exactly happy with, also plays in that game. And his character and my character are in love. Now, I believe I am a good enough roleplayer to work beyond that, but its not going to be easy and I just hope it isn't too unpleasant - especially since I'm afraid seeing her husband's character involved with someone else's character will remind our DM of real life.

Sooooo maybe I'll have my ho-ish character avoid sleeping with Grim that session, in interest of minimizing that. There's plenty of NPC's for her to boink. Good thing she's a slut (and proud of it), and that Grim doesn't mind.

Two - we have recieved word that another player, who was a friend of mine but really used and hurt me, will be at the session tomorrow. Balls. This will prove even more of a problem. Not that I'm worried about confronting him, I just really really really really don't want to ruin the normalcy for our DM. I already talked to her about it, and she understands if there's going to be some drama, but still. I guess all I can do in that case is hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

All that said, I am really happy I get to play Tanisevania again, and just hope that we keep playing so her story will have an ending I don't have to make up.

Planning for doom, Tanisevania, and Nielsa with fans

Okay, long story short - life is exploding. The DM of the game I play in, and her husband (who is also a friend of me and my girlfriend), are having some very bad marital problems. That is their business, so I won't get into it here.

However, all of this affects game. Of course, that is the least of any of our concerns (we as friends are just worried about them). But I am aware that this is going to affect gaming somehow, so I need to talk that out for myself here, just in case the worst happens.

DM's husband plays in her game, so I bet that one might be ending soon, if we play another session at all. Or maybe she'll just kick his character out, I dunno. Regardless, that is the game I play Tanisevania in *points to current avatar*, and I might not get closure for her as a character. In that case, I mean if that happens (which I would totally understand, seeing what DM is going through), I'll write something up that explains what I think would have happened to Tanisevania, and probably draw something about it too. And if my llady wants, and figures out what would happen to Kaleena, I'll do the same for her character.

As for my game, that's also up in the air. DM's husband plays in it, and while I'm going to try to still be friends with him, what he's done is pretty unforgivable. We're going to hear him out, but there is a very real possibility that I won't want him in my game anymore. This is after losing one other player, which would bring my group down to two - me and my girlfriend. I'm still determined to NOT put my game on hiatus again, since I've put so much work into it, so if that happens I will have to ask around and see if anyone I know is interested in joining my campaign. I might also ask DM to join it, cause I think in that case her game might have also been cancelled (like I think the two bad situations might go hand-in-hand) and I know she'll want a form of escape, any form of escape. I could also advertise at the local gaming shop for players. I know the owner, and he has a corkboard for people to advertise shit on, so I'm sure I could get him to let me put fliers up.

Soooo yeah. At least I have a tentative plan.

As for character-stuff, Tanisevania and the others are out of the Mage Academy and on their way to another tower to rescue this random girl, then onto the fighting tournament. If we play again, I'll keep you posted.

And as for my next character, Nielsa.....well, DM's husband was supposed to run that game, and now I don't know if a) he'll run it at all, or b) if we'll be invited. If for some reason I don't get to use her as a PC, she'll definitely be an NPC in one of my campaigns. I also came up with an interesting concept for her fighting/dancing style. As some of you might have noticed from all the notes I posted about her, her two passions in life are fighting and dancing, and the way she fights looks very much like the way she dances. I've also been interested, at least a little bit, in fan etiquette and the use of fans for other things than cooling yourself. So, with that in mind, I've decided that her preferred style of dancing is fan-dancing (think Memoirs of a Geisha, people), and she fights with War Fans in a similar fashion. Bad. Ass. Will have to draw that soon, and post a link here.

That's pretty much it. As usual, we'll just see what happens.

Getting back into the Tanisevania groove

Although I said a few posts ago that we'd be gaming again that night, well, that didn't happen. So tonight will be my first gaming session is a long time. Its the game I play Tanisevania in, I mean - what's going on with my game is still up in the air *insert mental image of Badger the Gnome tearing her hair out here*

Anyway, I just read over my latest few posts about Tanisevania, to get myself back into her mindset, and I'm looking forward to the session.

Another update, though - after my DM read "Desert Musings," I got a little roleplay e-mail. It said:

"As Tanisevania settles back when the others rest, she feels a calm and comforting warmth wash over her. A gentle female voice seems to come from all around her and yet no where at the same time: take heart, child, your faith and love shall be rewarded. The others don't seem to hear it. The voice is gone as quickly as it came, but the feeling lingers."

Right after that, Tanisevania checked to make sure nothing or no one unexpected was around, and after some more questions from me to my DM, it was determined that the feeling of warmth was not familiar, but felt like something from a memory or dream instead. Tanisevania decided to trust the feeling and the message, and has been reminding herself of it every time she feels guilty for what she's chosen to do.

I theorize, by the way, that the message came from either the earth itself, or her mother, who died in the birth of Tanisevania and her twin sister.

Now, that said, I hope for a fun and drama-less gaming session tonight, after such a long hiatus *crosses her fingers*

Whoo, false alarm, and Dave Arneson

In case anyone actually reads this and cares what happens to my characters: the situation regarding the game I play Tanisevania in has been slightly alleviated, so it looks like that game is not going to be cancelled after all. Woot! Prepare for more Tanisevania-related craziness in the future, to be followed by Nielsa craziness. Booyah.

As for my game, well, life keeps throwing me unexpected stuff, so I don't know when we'll be playing it next. But its not going on another hiatus, dammit.

And on a more serious note, may Dave Arneson rest in peace. Without him, DnD would truly not exist as we know it. And in case you missed the Order of the Stick tribute, click here - http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0644.html Once again, Rich Burlew says it better than I can.

More Tanisevania introspection, and Game Drama

Oooookay, first off, here's some more random Tanisevania musings. The party is crossing a vast desert right now, and she's putting off what she thinks she should be doing, so I wanted to get her thoughts in order before we game tonight. Note - while Tanisevania and Frances belong to me, the gaming world and NPCs belong to our DM (Heather), and all other characters belong to their respective players (Grim to Wayne, Vesa to Mark, Boltark to Brennan and Kaleena to Kelli). Please don't use ANY of the characters, including mine, without permission. Ha, as if anyone would be inspired by this to create something else *awkward laughter*

Soooo read on if my passable attempts at writing interest you, otherwise skip this separated section here to less personal DnD talk.
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Tanisevania – Desert Musings

This. Is. So. Boring!

Tanisevania sat atop her camel, just behind Grim, Kaleena, and Vesa, in their ever-growing caravan. They were crossing the desert of Solbrek to reach the Mage Academy that Boltark wanted to visit. Then – because they had agreed to help in exchange for guidance across the sand sea – they were to accompany the brothers Magnus and Angelus to another mysterious tower, where their sister had been taken captive. Then onto the Corelon Zepheroth, so that Grim could fight and prove his strength as King’s Champion. Then, finally, to the south beyond the mountains. The dying forest was there with, hopefully, the truth about the horrors happening to the precious world she loved so much.

She knew she should be fascinated – she had never seen a desert before, and they were a part of nature too. But after days and days of nothing but sand and sunlight, she was getting impatient and irritated. There were no plants, no lush greenery like that which had comforted her soul since she was a child. Yes, she honored this place as a necessary part of nature…..but she had to admit, it was far from her favorite part of it. At least the mountains ahead, where the Mage Academy lay, would be cooler and made of familiar stone and earth. Or at least she hoped so – Magnus and Angelus hadn’t specified, and she didn’t consider herself adept at predicting the climate of this place yet.

She looked behind her at the rest of the group – Boltark, Mariah, Imari, Kankuro, Indigo, Akatia, and now Angelus and Magnus. Although she was frustrated with the journey, she had to admit the brothers were easy on the eyes, and intended on bedding one of them as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Not that that was likely to happen soon. There was no privacy out here, no cover or anything to sneak behind for a moment alone with anyone. What she did sexually was important to her, and an important part of her worship of nature. It reminded her that her body, and all people’s bodies, are wonderful parts of the natural world that can do amazing things and should be honored and worshipped in accordance. There hadn’t been much of that worship going on lately, which only added to her discomfort. It wasn’t that she really cared what people would think if she suddenly dragged Angelus or Magnus or Indigo or Grim off and had her way with them. But she knew it would make some of the onlookers uncomfortable, and she wasn’t much into voyeurism anyway.

She sighed, turning her gaze back to the front of the group. Kaleena was chattering on about something, and as usual Vesa was egging her on, while Grim looked annoyed with them. At least they weren’t trying to provoke him. Well, at least for now. She really appreciated the effort all three of them had put into being “friends” after the fire incident; and she appreciated even more than that how Grim had been so accepting of her love, and understanding of the way she was despite her feelings. She had been so terrified, especially on that first sea journey back to Iskendurun, that jealousy would surface and their relationship would end just as all her others had. Despite the past and her expectations, however, they were managing to make it work. It was as if they had settled into a kind of groove, a way of being together that fit for both of them. They didn’t talk about it much, but she hoped it was the same way for him. She didn’t even feel guilty for sleeping with other people anymore, though she was afraid she would have at first.

The only guilt she felt, really, was that she wasn’t turning around this instant and going straight to the southern forest, as she had been charged to do. That mission was her reason for being here, after all. She wouldn’t even have met her companions if it weren’t for that. Part of her felt like she was betraying her people and nature itself by seeing to Boltark’s, Angelus and Magnus’, and Grim’s needs first. That part screamed inside her heart that she should go to the forest immediately and ignore the needs of the others. Her use for them was over – she managed to get a place in their caravan, and got them to take her here. She should abandon them now and fulfill her duty.

But so much had happened – she was in love with Grim now, Kaleena was like a little sister to her, and the others were like family as well. Some of them might follow her if she left, but most would not. Not only would it break Grim’s heart if she did such a thing, but the rational part of her told her that she needed them. She had no idea what lay beyond those mountains, what had poisoned the forest. It would be arrogant of her to assume that she could confront it all on her own. She would need their help, and could only hope that they would follow her there after the tournament ended. Surely nature itself would understand that – the sacrifice of her life because she was not willing to wait would be a waste. She supposed, if anyone in her Order challenged her decision, she would explain it to them like that. She prayed such a challenge would not come.

She looked down at her lap, surprised out of her reverie as Frances nudged her hand. Smiling sadly, she itched behind her friend’s ears, knowing that things were even worse for the poor badger. Her friendship and support was very important to the Gnome Druid, knowing what Frances had left behind in order to be here with her – the forest, her home, safety. She had considered setting Frances free of the bond they shared several times throughout this quest, to protect her or make her life simple again. But the badger always agreed to follow her, no matter how dangerous or uncomfortable it would become for her. That touched her heart, and she was more grateful for it than she would ever be able to express.

Tanisevania let her thoughts drift off as the group stopped for a bit of a break, and slid off the camel, setting Frances down on the ground to explore while she joined the others. It couldn’t be much longer now. She just had to be patient.
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Okay, that aside, things have been a little crazy in terms of our gaming group itself and I need to vent and think.

Earlier this week, our DM (Heather) sent out an e-mail saying that she was cancelling her game. The way it was written hinted that there was a lot more going on than just her desire to stop DMing, so my girlfriend Kelli and I (Kel, by the way, has played Kaleena, Tharf, and Leila) went over to her house to investigate. This is after we tried e-mailing her back and calling her a number of times, and she didn't respond.

The thing about our gaming group is that most of us are good friends as well, so when life itself is getting crazy, gaming is affected. But our concern in this case was whether or not Heather was all right. Even though we were saddened at the possibility of her game ending, that's not the most important thing going on here. I won't get into details, because its their business, but there is quite a lot of drama going on in Heather's life right now, and as a result of how she was feeling, she cancelled her game.

After talking to us and other players about what's going on, she's decided to keep running it, and we will be playing tonight. I'm relieved and very happy that she's changed her mind, because I care a lot about Tanisevania as a character and want her story to have a resolved ending, but I'm still worried that Heather isn't enjoying herself.

Some people have said to me that gaming isn't about the happiness or enjoyment of the DM - that the only thing that matters is that the players are having a good time. Having been on both sides of the table, I disagree wholeheartedly with this. Yes, player happiness is important, but if the DM isn't enjoying her/himself no one is going to have a fun, rewarding gaming experience in the long run. Happy DMs make good plots make good campaigns. So while I'm excited to still be playing Tanisevania, especially since her subplot is going to be resolved soon, I'm still worried that this isn't what Heather wants. I guess we'll have to see after tonight's session.

This has also affected my campaign a bit, since its made up of a smaller handful of the same players, one of which is directly involved in the drama. We've had to postpone sessions a lot lately because of work schedules and such, and due to certain factors of the drama that I can't get into, I was afraid that one of the players wouldn't be able to game as often - or shouldn't, I should say, because they might be using it as an escape from their own home. But since Heather's running her campaign again, I think mine might work out too.

And even if that one player has to leave the campaign for a while, I do not intend on postponing my game. My campaign has gone through a LOT of hiatuses, and now that Heather might be cancelling her game, I know how the players of my game must have felt every time one of those hiatuses happened. I also remember how people used to talk about my campaign in the past tense, as if it was already over, and how guilty I felt then. But it has a cohesive plot now, and I've put a lot of work into it, and I am not going to let it die out. Granted, I might have to invite someone else to play, cause I like having 3 players better than two and I think I can handle that number of people well now (which is a totally separate thing from the mini-campaign I run for just me and Kel, when we're going through gaming withdrawal). But hopefully I won't have to do that.

Again, I guess we'll see what happens. Seems like I'm ending a lot of these posts lately with that kind of sentiment ^^;

Nielsa - Roleplaying Applications

Aaaaand in case anyone is dorky enough (like me) to be interesting in the Roleplaying Applications of the Races of... books, here's my answers to all those questions posted in the Gnom section of Races of Stone, for Nielsa:

Nielsa Brandywine – Roleplaying Applications

Psychology (page 35) ~ Nielsa believes that the greatest truth is the force of Good, and it is something to be fought for. This drives her quest for perfection as a Monk – she believes the way to find perfection for herself and her way of fighting is to use her talents to combat the evil that has invaded the world. The idea that there might be “evil” people within the safe area who are on the same side as her has not occurred to her, so whoever she meets, she will assume goodness in.

Illusion and Truth (page 36) ~ While Nielsa appreciates Illusions and what they can do to improve the appearance of things, she does see falseness in it, and gravitates towards Truth instead; especially because of the personal perfection all Monks seek (that in itself is a search for truth, I think). She does not see her pranks as involved with either, as she uses them to have fun, and is not opposed to the use of illusion to change appearance or hide things that need protecting.

Arts and Crafts (page 36) ~ Nielsa appreciates the arts, and likes music very much. However, the closest she has come to an artistic pursuit is her dancing.

Technology and Magic (page 36) ~ Like all Gnomes, Nielsa sees technology (and tinkering) as an art, though a practical, very useful and necessary one in these times. She also approves of magic, since it can a) make life easier and b) fight the enemies they have in ways melee combat cannot even come close to. The fact that her mother is a wizard doesn’t hurt either.

Love (page 27) ~ Nielsa wants to find love, just the one person meant for her. She does believe, very romantically, that there is a perfect mate for each person. As a lesbian, she knows her situation is a bit different from the hetero-normalcy in most humanoid cultures, but she still thinks it is possible for her to find her “soulmate.” Being such a romantic, she doesn’t want to be alone, which is why she stays with Gormlaith so long even though they’re not that compatible. She realizes and is grateful for how loved she is by her family, and that love has influenced her decision to have children someday. If she meets someone she is interested in, and thinks this person may be attracted to women, she will be honest about it with them instead of flirting with many people. While physical attractiveness is obviously a factor, personality and life goals are also a big factor in her attraction to someone. If they aren’t committed to the fight for good, and to settling down someday and building a family, she won’t bother at all. As such, she is not interested in one-night-stands either, though she enjoys sex as much as most people.

Gnomes at War (page 38) ~ Obviously, the Gnomes’ usual views on war might be different considering what is going on. Still, Nielsa is probably more violent and warlike than most Gnomes in her devotion to fighting the Big Bad. She likes fighting, believing that she fights for the good of the world, and that the war that’s going on is truly necessary for there to be peace someday.

Death (page 38) ~ Because of the nature of war and the need to move on and keep fighting, Nielsa will mourn in a way both similar and different from most Gnomes. She will appear in mourning for the appropriate time (a few years), wearing darker colors, refraining from pranks, etc. However, she will still continue to fight in the war as best she can, taking no time away from that task. It does not seem to her that stopping the fight would honor the dead at all, as the fight is for good itself. If one of the other PC’s happens to die, she may try to give them a Gnomish funeral, but will step back if she is stopped or if it is clear that would not have been what they wanted.

Society and Culture (page 38-39) ~ Technically, because Nielsa has chosen a path that is non-traditional, she is considered a Rebel in the Gnomish class structure. However, she is not disillusioned by her culture – she loves it, and wants to see it continue. Her attitude is probably that of the Middle Class, content with her lot in life and the possibilities she faces.

Gnomes and Other Races (page 42) ~ Because of her upbringing in the temple, Nielsa is likely open-minded and fair in dealing with most (if not all) races. Her assumption that all of her allies will be good-aligned lends to this. Since most Monks are human, she tends to be very friendly to them, and she is also friendly to Dwarves as they share similar qualities. She feels sorry for the strain all half-breeds must feel, and will not hesitate to share that opinion or be especially nice to them. If she meets a person who is part of a traditionally evil-aligned race who demonstrates goodness to her, she will trust them as she trusts everyone else based on their actions.

Religion (page 42) ~ Nielsa believes in the Gods, hoping that they promise both a peaceful afterlife and the eventuality that good will prevail over evil. She’s not especially devout, but she utters her prayers to Garl Glittergold.

History and Folklore (page 46) ~ Since Nielsa desires change (in that she wants the evil to be defeated and for peace to be achieved), she sympathizes with Gelf’s desire for change in the “War of the Twins” story. However, she wants contentment too, and thus sympathizes with Garl as well. She likes to believe a balance will be struck between the two forces – contentment and change – when peace is accomplished.

History and Folklore (page 48) ~ As for Giant Killer legends, Nielsa appreciates and enjoys the stories, as she does with all tales told to entertain. However, she thinks the stories don’t apply to current times that much, as there are more dangerous things than Giants to face.

Nielsa Brandywine

I can't believe I didn't post this here yet!

Even though the campaign I play Tanisevania in isn't over yet, our DM says it's beginning to wind down, and as such many of us are preparing for the next one - meaning, of course, the design of new characters.

Some context - this next campaign is being run by Wayne, who ran the ones I played Cyd and Zoey in. All of his campaigns connect somehow, and as such, this next one takes place 60 years after the one with Zoey. At the end of that campaign, most of the floating continents that the populus lived on fell to the more wild earth-surface, and an army of golden soldiers serving a Goddess named Shir'Tar have invaded. The only safe and civilzed place is one big city, protected by the Emperor (who is an Irda, and friend of Zoey and Tharf). The new characters will be starting at Zoey's academy, which exists to train warriors of all kinds to fight the golden soldiers.

So, without further ado....

Nielsa Brandywine – Gnome Monk

Names: Owlenae Wedanna Miniver Pinvana Nielsa Brandywine

Owlenae (means “beloved jewel,” given by her mother)
Wedanna (means “diamond,” given by her father)
Miniver (means “white, fair, smooth,” given by the elders of Gnometown)
Pinvana (means “swift friend,” given by her friends in Gnometown)
Nielsa (means “victory of the people,” taken by herself right before she leaves Gaia’s Rest for the Academy)
Brandywine (family name)

Name usage: Both of her parents commonly refer to her as Wedanna, or Weda for short. However, if her mother is angry at her, she calls her Owlenae (like showing the seriousness of the situation by using the name she herself gave her at birth). The adults of Gnometown call her Miniver, and she uses that name in formal situations, like when meeting nobles of other races. The monks of Gaia’s Rest would also know her as Miniver, as that’s how she would have introduced herself to the superiors there. Her friends in Gnometown call her Pinvana. She chooses Nielsa when she starts at the Academy and everyone there will know her by that name, but she still answers to all the others.

Age (at the start of the game): 40

Appearance: Stocky, well muscled. 3’3” tall. Weighs 45 lbs because of her musculature. This stockiness may suggest Dwarven ancestry far back in her lineage, and most of her family shares the same body type. Has long white hair, light brown skin, and bright blue eyes. She usually keeps her hair tied up in two buns on either side of her head, close to her ears. Rounded features and an oval-shaped face, not beautiful, but cute, and she uses this to her advantage when needed. Dresses mostly in browns and purples.

Alignment: Lawful good – She believes, in this time of war, that it is necessary for rules to be in place in order to protect the people and make it easier for the forces of good to fight the evil that infects the Earth. None of her pranks would ever break any rules or laws, either. She understands that a person’s path or belief system is their own, and will say so, but probably acts very annoyed when someone breaks a rule or disregards someone in need. In the latter case, she’d probably step in to help that person in need, all the time glaring at the one who ignored them. She’d blindly obey any authority they meet up with, unless they try to force her to do something she’d consider wrong. In that case, her personal code of right and wrong would be stronger.

Personality: She is very girly, enjoying feminine clothes, jewelry, romance, etc. She is also quite a prankster, much to the annoyance of her comrades at the monastery. She loves dancing just as much as she loves fighting, and sees them as related things, so the way she fights looks a lot like dancing. She is kind, and wants to help people as much as she can, but can tend to be a bit righteous and expect such goodness of others (especially if they are trained to fight). She can be serious, as her training has taught her, but also light-hearted and have fun, as her culture has taught her. Also, although her family has a history of creating alcohol, she doesn’t drink it, preferring to remain clear-headed at all times.

Orientation: She is a lesbian, and will have an ex-girlfriend at the monastery that she broke up with before going to the Academy. She does want to find love again, and if she finds it while fighting in the war, she will welcome it if the other person is also committed to the fight, so it won’t distract from that. Despite being a lesbian, she does want to bear children and raise a family someday, considering there are probably few Gnomes left and she loves her race and culture, and doesn’t want to see it die out.

Backstory:

Before the fall of the continents, Nielsa’s family specialized in the making of very sweet wines. Not all of them chose that path, of course, but enough did that the name was given to them several centuries ago and has persisted. The family was typically large and very extended, with relatives in many towns (this would have been considered a rarity, since Gnomes have few opportunities for conception). However, less than ten of them remain in the safe space now; some that has been living in the towns that fell in the safe space didn’t survive the fall, and while they remain hopeful for the rest, they have to assume the worst. Still, they try to keep their spirits up as they rebuild their lives in Gnometown.

Nielsa’s parents, Raspalla and Varel Brandywine, met and married less than a decade before the fall. Varel has three brothers, but knows not what happened to them – the other Brandywines in the safe space are his cousins, their children, and his own mother. Raspalla married into the family, having grown up in another town. Her parents both died of a sickness before the fall, and she has one older sister name Fenae who also survived. Their family line has always been a very small one – it was rumored for generations before this that its women were infertile, rarely conceiving children and carrying them to term. The men of that family also produced very few children, lending more to the rumors. This did not bother Varel at all – while he would welcome children, his family was so large that fertility did not seem a problem for them, and he loved Raspalla so much that he was willing to take that chance. After their wedding, they had built their own home near Varel’s mother’s. After the fall, however, the four of them (Raspalla, Varel, his mother, and her sister) all moved into one home together, with Varel’s cousins and children living nearby.

Twenty years later, Raspalla conceived. Because it had taken so long for her to do so and because of her family’s procreative history, her friends and family treated her like something very fragile. Part of her resented this, as she wanted to be of use to the rebuilding of the Empire, but because she feared she would miscarry she did everything she was told and let herself hope for the best. Against all odds, she was able to give birth to a healthy baby girl. Raspalla named her Owlenae (meaning “beloved jewel”), and Varel named her Wedanna (meaning “diamond”). As the years passed, however, they both came to refer to her as Wedanna, or Weda for short. Raspalla only calls her Owlenae when she’s angry with her, as if the use of the name she herself gave the girl at birth will show the seriousness of the situation.

Growing up, Wedanna proved herself a very strange combination of qualities. Her interests always fell within more “feminine” realms, but she was tough – standing up for herself and anyone the other children were bullying. It was expected that this would result in her getting beat up a lot; however, she also took to fighting and was able to hold her own against children years older than her. Because of this, by the age of 15 (human equivalent, roughly 7) her friends had dubbed her Pinvana, which means “swift friend.” She did not take to the arts, but appreciated them, focusing instead on beautiful clothing and jewelry. Raspalla, who had been a wizard by trade before the fall, tried to teach her some magic to see if her skills lay there, but she lacked in interest in it beyond illusions used to “pretty things up.” Varel, who had taken up swordplay in addition to his family’s trade, tried teaching her some of that, but she didn’t seem to like weapons either. Finally her aunt, who often watched her and some of the other children while their parents were busy, noticed that in her play she moved around in ways that were like dancing. Fenae herself had been a dancer, traveling with a band of bards and minstrels, before the fall (the only reason she was with her sister when it happened, and thus survived, was because she had just left that troupe and was staying with her until she decided what to do next). She asked Wedanna if she’d like to learn to dance, and when the girl said yes, she took to teaching her. After a time the elders of the new community wished to give her another name as per tradition, did not really have much to go off of in terms of her interests. Since learning from her aunt, she had taken to dancing as much as she had taken to fighting, but she had not yet chosen a path of study for herself that they could shape the name around. So they named her Miniver, meaning “white, fair, or smooth,” because of her hair color.

Then, at age 17 (human equivalent roughly 8), she finally took notice of the monastery, Gaia’s Rest, that was being built nearby. Once she discovered it, she walked there every day and bothered the monks who were around, asking them many questions about it and who they were. Some of them obliged her, at least for a little while, and so she learned about monks and hand-to-hand combat through their answers. She would also watch them practice, if they would let her. Watching their movements, it occurred to her that dancing and fighting had similarities, and this captivated her imagination. Quickly she became enamored of that way of combat and the possibilities she saw in it, and decided she wanted to give it a try. She was almost 20 years old – the age at which young Gnomes at traditionally sent out for schooling. So, shortly before her 20th birthday, she went to her parents and begged them to let her go there. Both Raspalla and Varel were hesitant to let her do this – after all, she was still a child, and Gnome monks were almost unheard of. This might also mean that she would find her way into the war, and they did not want to send her to her death. They consulted their family and the community elders, and after much discussion, it was decided that it would be best to let her do as she pleased. They submitted a request to the superior of the temple that she be trained, and waited for approval. When it finally came, Wedanna was overjoyed, and began to prepare to leave immediately. Her family made her wait until her birthday, however, afraid they would not get to see her again for some time.

On her 20th birthday, then, she finally set out for Gaia’s Rest. She introduced herself to the superiors as Miniver, since she had learned to use that name in situations involving people older or more skilled than herself. Everyone at the temple came to call her that eventually. She threw herself into the training, including the building that still needed to be done, with vigor and enthusiasm. The teachings of the Monks shaped her mind and heart, and the temple itself became more home to her than Gnometown ever was. However, she still missed her family and the place she grew up, mostly because of the closeness and light-heartedness there. The life of a monk is an individual path to perfection, so even though they all worked together in training, it wasn’t quite the same. This longing manifested itself in a new hobby – pulling pranks. Most of the other students, and masters, didn’t really appreciate this, but she kept at it anyway. The few that were amused by her antics became her friends there, and though she didn’t have many, she valued the ones she did have. Also, she would visit her family every time she was given leave to, and make it as clear as she could that she did miss them. In these visits she would continue to take dancing lessons from Fenae as well, if she was willing to give them. And though she became a bit more serious because of the belief structure her chosen path formed, she continued to be proud of her people and her culture. Finally, as her style of fighting developed, something of her love for dance and the idea she had about dancing and fighting incorporated itself into her movements. Though she uses the same styles her peers and masters use and have taught her, the way she moves her body in combat looks like a blur of both things.

Because of how young she was when she went to the temple, she also hit puberty while she was there, and discovered that she was attracted to girls instead of boys. She struggled with this at first – the fact that there were so few Gnomes left meant that children were needed to continue the life of her people, and because of how much she was loved, she had decided she too wanted to have children someday. She made one brief attempt to be with a man, dating one of her friends – a human man named Alfried. In this attempt she also slept with him. It happened only once, and she hated every second of it. She broke up with him afterward (though they were able to remain friends), resolving to be honest about herself from then on. Gnomish views on love are flexible, after all, and there had to be a way to have a child even if she was with another woman, she’d just have to figure it out when she got to that point. However, she still kept her sexuality a secret from her family, in case they had high hopes for her reproductive potential.

Shortly after this and close to her 40th birthday, when she would be “mature” by Gnome standards, she started dating another one of her friends. Her name was Gormlaith, a half-Dwarven-half-human woman who had started her training just before the fall. She lost all of her family in it, and before she met Miniver, she had attempted to make close ties to the Dwarves to “replace” that loss. However, because she shunned most Dwarven traditions (including that of traditional male/female marriage, since she’s a lesbian too) they did not take to her as she wanted. This made her a bit bitter, and since she lost her family so young, she is slightly…unbalanced. She was one of Miniver’s first friends at Gaia’s Rest, and once Miniver stopped dating Alfried and came out to the group of them, she began dropping hints that she too was attracted to girls, and to her. Miniver found her physically attractive enough, but wasn’t that attracted to how angry and jaded she was. But since there were no other options, and in her hormonal-ness she wanted to be with a woman sooner than later, she decided to give it a try. Gormlaith became needy and clingy from the start; still, Miniver stuck it out.

This is the point at which she’ll be when she is given the opportunity/orders/whatever to go the Academy. She’ll still be using the name Miniver in Gaia’s Rest (I plan on having her take Nielsa right before the game starts), and still be dating Gormlaith with disinterest. Her family will also still be oblivious to her sexual orientation.

Oops, forgot something!

I forgot to mention how things are going with Tanisevania, since that was the last thing I posted about before my last post.

Things are going well. Tanisevania confessed her love to Grim, and he said he feels the same way, and they agreed to continue acting like they always have. There were a few months of down-time, as we journeyed from continent to continent, and in that time she got more comfortable with the mechanics of her relationship with Grim, especially as it didn't crash and burn. She's doing her best to let herself be herself - meaning, in blatant terms, that she still screws whoever she wants. They're not exactly lovey-dovey; mostly, I think, because that would be awkward for me and my friend who plays Grim. So I assume their love functions like the love between Rose and The Doctor in seasons 1 and 2 of the new Doctor Who series - they both know they're in love, and its obvious by certain parts of their behavior, but its subtle and they don't need to say it all the time.

Yes, I just compared DnD to Doctor Who. And I feel proud of my geekishness.

Now I'd better go actually do my job ^^;

Thoughts on my own campaign

Before I start, I feel the need to mention that its been so long since I wrote here, I totally forgot that I changed my user-picture last time. I am quite special.

Anyway, in case I hadn't mentioned, I started my campaign up again - complete with plot-like goodness. It has been going very well in general. I've had trouble DMing in the past, but it seems like I've finally found my own way of doing it that makes it enjoyable not only for my players, but for me as well. I have to do a LOT of preparation before each session, but at least its working out, and I do feel its worth it.

This last session, however, was pretty bad. It was decided last-minute that we needed to start right after I got home from work, which annihilated my preparation time (all I needed to do was print stuff and bookmark certain pages in the DMG, but still), and since I was just getting off work I was quite frazzled. One of my players was exhausted and had a toothache, another was having a very bad day, and there's only 4 of us all together. So, needless to say, it didn't end that spectacularly. The players took their journey in a direction I hadn't anticipated, which I can handle normally, but since I was so frazzled I didn't know what to do and as a result looked even less prepared than I already did. One of my players is a DM as well, and he's really amazing at it, and he has this tendency to be obviously judgemental of how I run my game, and he started doing that, so that didn't help matters either. In the end I just sent everyone home in the middle of what we were supposed to be doing, since they threw me for a loop I didn't anticipate (which was just really stupid of me, if I had thought things through I would have realized that they might choose what they chose and could have been prepared for it), and have put off working on any gaming stuff all week. I haven't even given them XP yet.

In the past, this would have made me freak out and put my game on another hiatus. But a day later, certain things in my life kind of exploded, and my llady hasn't been having a great week either, so its made me re-evaluate what happened. Moral of story - one bad session is not enough to end a campaign. Plus. we're headed in a really interesting direction. The characters are about to land on a war-torn continent, having to introduce themselves to people who a) have never heard of the place they come from and b) will hate some of them right from the start. The part of the continent they'll be landing on first is very Greek in culture, too, and I love Ancient Greek everything, so I am quite stoked for that. It should make some gorgeous drawings, if I ever get to draw my own stuff again. Plus, there were still pirates in the bad session, and everything's better with pirates.

That's all, really. I just needed to get that out before I play in Heather's campaign tonight (the one I play Tanisevania in). Hopefully things will go smoother and I'll have more happy DnD stories next week.

Player tendencies vs. Character design

Over the last couple of sessions of the campaign I play in (not the one I run), I have come to an interesting conclusion. No matter how a player designs his or her character, if there are certain truths about the player or the way s/he plays, those truths will show up in the character despite its initial design.

For example, say some bloke creates a Wizard character with an Intelligence score of 17, but he himself is as dumb as a rock. No matter how smart the Wizard would be if he were real, he will always act much stupider in-game, since his player doesn't think the way a person of 17 Intelligence would think.

That's relatively easy to understand, and I think widely accepted in the gaming community already. However, I think this kind of thing applies to other aspects of roleplaying characters.

So for a more personal example: I'm a very romantic person. Raised myself on fairy tales and all that jazz. So, the characters I play tend to get into romantic relationships, and often with my girlfriend's characters, since it would be awkward otherwise. I was criticized for this, so I tried to prove a point by playing a character who is very much not a relationship person, and sleeps around. I mean Tanisevania, my current character, Gnomish Druid. This was very difficult for me to do, since she started sleeping with characters played by my friends, but I muddled through it and it was going very well for a while.

Still, certain parts of my romantic tendencies kept popping up. She kept sleeping with one other character more than others, validating it by believing it was necessary for the plot. This character became her best friend since they spent so much time together, and kept growing closer, even though she still slept with whoever she wanted. She even taught this character that if a person wants to be sexually active with many other people, that's fine and a lot of fun, so he behaves that way to a certain extent too.

And then, this character got very angry and stomped off one night to continue the quest without us, and my character got more worried than angry at him, and realized that she had succumbed to my biggest pitfall.

Yes, Tanisevania is in love with Grimsflame. And this is especially ironic considering that he-who-plays-Grim is the one who criticized me in the first place.

So in this example, no matter how hard I try (and I did try as hard as I could and did everything I could think of to prevent it), my characters will end up falling in love with another character. Its less awkward when its my girlfriend's character, since I love her in real life, but even if I try to prevent that, it'll just happen with someone else's character or an NPC. And you know what, the game is less fun for me when I try to fight that tendency. So screw proving any points from here on in.

This actually happened with another of my characters too, one that was already sorta paired up with my girlfriend's character. They were already sleeping together, but it was platonic, until my character, Cyd, had to make a decision regarding my girlfriend's character, Leila. And the only reason she would have made the decision she made was love.

Of course, Cyd reacted much differently to this realization that Tanisevania did. Cyd got angry at herself, but directed that anger at Leila instead, and even when that anger passed she never told her the truth about how she felt. Only when they became Goddesses, and had eternity together, did a) Cyd confess that (if even in words) and b) Leila reciprocate.

Tanisevania's plans are altogether different. She got very upset at first - she has broken many hearts with her sexuality in the past, and thinks that since she did that, she deserves to be rejected now. But thanks to what some of the NPC's said to her, and how my girlfriend's character Kaleena reacted when she found out (how people would normally react to such news), she's decided to risk telling him anyway. She tried already once, and failed, and almost told him again, but decided against it because we were headed into a very important meeting. Grim's kind of....oblivious to certain things, this included, so she has set an intricate plan into motion so that he might understand better when she finally gets the courage to say the words. He used to have two tiny metal goblin heads attached to the two smaller braids on his beard, but they've gotten "lost" throughout the course of the campaign (we do have a Kender rogue, after all). So Tanisevania is getting them remade, and she's bought herself a very nice kimono, since Grim seems to like how she looks in one (picture this, on a fat Gnome woman, in green - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/oa_gallery/Bayushi_deceiver.jpg ). She's going to make herself look extra pretty, and dress up in that kimono, then present the new goblin heads to him. Then, if he's willing, she's going to cast Owl's Wisdom on both of them - on herself to fortify her willpower, and on him to up his wisdom and understanding. Then she'll tell him. ...And if it goes badly, she may have to ask the arcane casters if they have any memory modification spells ^^;

Oh, and if anyone cares to see what these characters look like:

Tanisevania and Grim - http://comethime.deviantart.com/art/Educational-Relationship-94595610

Leila and Cyd - http://comethime.deviantart.com/art/Fantasized-73527805

Shite + fan = KABOOM!

The very end of last night's gaming session was very intense. Like wow.

At first, it was all good. We had a couple random encounters. Tanisevania talked to/hit on Indigo as the group travelled. We stopped to camp and had two uneventful watches.

Then, third watch happened. Kaleena, our Kender rogue (played by my llovely girlfriend), and Vesa, our human bard (played by our friend Mark) always take third watch together. And since Vesa enjoys Kaleena's Kendery antics, he encourages them, often to the torture of other party members. This is especially true of Kankuro, one of the NPC's, and Grim, our Dwarven barbarian (played by our friend Wayne). Grim has been getting really sick of their antics affecting him, but has not said anything to anyone about it, so his frustration has just been building up and building up and building up. And apparently he's been getting frustrated at having to restrict his behavior because of Tanisevania's beliefs, despite the fact that she told him that a) he doesn't have to do anything because of her and b) she doesn't want to control him.

So last night, after another incident where Kaleena and Vesa turned Grim's armor plaid, then bronze, he took watch with them. The two of them got bored and decided to go find something to surprise everyone with for breakfast, and ended up finding poison ivy instead. Kaleena, not knowing what it was, asked Vesa, and he told her it would make her really itchy if she touched her skin with the (gloved) hand she had picked it up with. Then he told her they should go give some to Grim, and Kaleena, not knowing how bad "itchy" really meant, agreed whole-heartedly. Kaleena managed to touch him with the hand that held the poison ivy before, and was very bother-and-climb-all-over-him-or-at-least-try-to in doing so, so he knew something was up. His point in taking watch with them was to catch them doing something to him, so having done so, he decided to retaliate. His plan in retaliating was to try to throw Kaleena into the camp fire.

...Yeah.

Vesa got between them, so Grim threw Kaleena at Vesa, who was able to catch her and stand his ground. However, Grim then tried to bull rush both of them into the fire. Kaleena jumped away, and even though Vesa got an attack of opportunity, he still ended up in the flamity-flames. All of this commotion woke up the rest of the party, including Tanisevania, who was screaming at Grim to stop. Vesa got out of the fire and cast Suggestion on Grim that he was cold, suggesting also that he should warm himself over the fire. Grim leaned over it, and Vesa tried to use his whip to trip him into the fire too, but it didn't work. At this point both Kaleena and Tanisevania were still shouting and screaming at them both to stop; Kaleena shocked that it had gone this far when she only wanted to lighten the mood, Tanisevania mortified at Grim's actions.

So Tanisevania shoved Vesa away from Grim, and once Grim was up, lit into him about what he had done. He defended himself by saying that they were always screwing with his stuff. She told him that harm to material goods is not the same as harm to another living being. He told her that she'd feel the same way if they screwed with Frances, her animal companion, like his stuff had been screwed with. Hurt especially by this because he compared Frances (who is her closest friend) to an object, she grew angrier. At this point, both Vesa and Kaleena has jumped into the argument too. Then Grim just exploded, shouting about how he hated that he's always the one doing something wrong and how he always has to do what Tanisevania says and he always gets harassed and picked on and etc. Then he turned his back on Tanisevania mid-sentence, wished us all a painful death, and stormed off (planning to go on to the capital without us). This left all of us (especially Tanisevania) staring, shocked, after him.

This is what's going through her head right after that, and will be going through her head for the rest of the night: She had no idea that Grim was so upset about all those things, since he never talks to her about that kind of stuff. Still, he had no right to say those things about Frances, and wish that they all die. He also had no right to claim that she restricts him from behaving certain ways, since she made it clear to him on several occasions that she doesn't want to control his behavior. She had hoped he did not have it in him to do that to Vesa, or to anyone that wasn't an enemy. She realizes that she has given him a lot of allowances, overlooked things that she normally wouldn't overlook. She realizes that despite her nature, and her pacifism, she is a little bit in love with him. She is worried about him going on to the capital all alone, but in her pain and anger, will not go find him now. And she'll probably end up crying herself to sleep :(

Soooo yeah. Yay for crazy game angst.

Getting in the Mood, again

So obviously there's been another big gap between postings ^^; My gaming group has met all of once in the last month or more, due to life's little complications, so I haven't had much to write about. We're playing again today, however, so its time for me to catch back up on where my character left off.

Tanisevania managed to find the Ni-Shanese Druids after all, and after being invited to feast and chill, she got to talk to an elder named Jin. She told him why she was here, and asked about the Disease. Apparently that has not reached Ni-Shan's forests yet, though they are aware of its existence. She also told them about the tower of undead, and it turns out they were oblivious to it even though it was only 2 days away from them. Concerned, Jin decided to send one of his own - a very very pretty Gnome boy Druid named Indigo - to accompany her back and take a look at the tower. They left immediately, and immediately Tanisevania began flirting, as Indigo is very attractive and she wants to jump his bones.

They reached the tower, and got inside safely, then met everyone as they were waking up that morning. She introduced him to Frances, and the rest of the group too. Vesa is making his dislike of Indigo clear, because they have the same Cha. score, and Grim is suspicious (not out of jealousy, apparently, but because he thinks everyone is a ninja). The group agreed to move on to the capital then, since we've been recruited as bodyguards for the Ambassador we rescued, and that's where he needs to go. Tanisevania asked Indigo if he was going to come along, since he was only sent to check out the tower. He asked her if she wanted him to, she told him that she thought the answer to that was obvious. At that, he agreed to come along after all (stating also that he didn't have orders to return immediately anyhow).

So off we went, and that night, Kaleena and Vesa spent their watch using Kaleena's bag of colors to dye something of everyone's as a surprise gift. Some of us were angry, some were pleased. Indigo's hair is now actually indigo, which he doesn't mind, and Tanisevania's drum is aqua on top (the leather that's stretched over the top, you know).

Aaaaaaand now I gotta go, cause my boss is back. Dammit.