Tabletop Gaming is Alive and Well

Thanks to The Save or Die Podcast for reading my email and passing along my shameless piug for this blog.

Hear the podcast at this link
http://saveordie.info/?p=1034

I mentioned back in September that I was listening to this podcast and how much it reminded me why I love my hobby. It also spurred me to become more active in creation. I have started working on a campaign world to set adventures in. My children and I have begun to play again (using a house-ruled version of the Moldvay set, despite my intent to return to my Holmes roots.) And I am working on some other ideas with an intent to publish.

The gaming hobby is so much more available now than it seemed back in the 80's. Finding a gaming store used to be a 90 minute bus ride to a hole in the wall, or a single shelf at a tiny bookstore. Now the local gaming stores have more open gaming demos, so you can try out a game before you invest in it. And finding the game you want can be as easy as typing the name into your browser. The hobby feels more alive and less secretive now.

What is your gaming experience? Do you want to start some? Give it a try; role-playing is not dress-up, and its not funny voices surrounded by dim, dark walls and flickering candles, as some of the lurid movie-versions would have many believe (I'm looking at you Tom!)

I have raised my own gaming group

I love playing games with my family. I have raised my own gaming group, as it were. Every Sunday is our game night: the kiddos take turns picking out a game for the family to play. We have played Munchkin Zombies, Uno, Three Dragon Ante, and Apples to Apples. We haven’t played D&D much recently, except for some of the current playtest of the 5th edition, but I am itching to play again.

Recently a new podcast, Save Or Die, has caught my attention and brought back memories of playing with that original box set that ruled my youth. The hosts are all very articulate and remind me of many of my friends (DM Glen reminds me of my best friend, Rob: gruff sounding, but a great conversationalist). Their topics revolve through Basic D&D (the set I started with and the Mentzer Red Box) from the history of the game to points of controversy or interest within the rules. What really amazes me is that every edition of D&D is still being played by someone, somewhere. Every fan has a favorite edition or favorite parts of several editions, and everyone’s edition is the best one. Personally, I just love to play, nearly any edition will do.

I have aspirations of creating a campaign setting (a world of extreme natural forces and elder evil beings; a place just begging for heroes to save it), and playing with the family. I am thinking of chronicling my process here as a way of keeping myself on task. It may only interest me or my players, and if readers want to skip every “world creation post,” I will vary my topics and keep this blog from becoming a one trick pony.

Coming soon: ArchaBorea. Primitive. Savage. Where even the grinning cactus will eat you…