Bidi’s World

The first day at GameStorm was a booming success for me. Today was essentially a chance for those who had preregistered to get an early start. Though I don’t have enough experience to say with any authority, it is my understanding that more gaming conventions these days are having early start days.

On the agenda for this evening there was really only one thing that really caught my eye though. There was a D&D 4th edition demo as well as a demo of the new D&D Mini’s system.

They were both a lot of fun. I think I’ll be using the new mini’s rules going forward for sure. The dynamics just make more sense than they used to. The new rules also fall closer in line with how the RPG mechanics work so your not constantly reminding yourself “5′ step here, no 5′ step there” among other annoyances.

I like the way the 4th edition RPG played out as well. I felt like my special abilities were more accessible due to how often they cycled. This added immensely to the fun factor of playing the game. There will be a bit of a learning curve to it but only because of how unfamiliar some of the new mechanics are and not because they are any more difficult. I think someone coming into the game fresh will have a much easier time of it.

One thing in particular about 4th edition I thin will work very well is how difficulty levels of encounters are now calculated. The new system is much simpler and as such building encounters or scaling existing encounters for odd sized groups looks much easier. I don’t know if I’ll go out and buy a bunch of fresh 4th edition books as soon as they hit the shelf but I will make the move eventually for sure.

• GameStorm 10 (0)
• RPGA Events at GameStorm 10 (0)
• Living Arcanis and Nerdcon 2007 (3)

GameStorm 10 starts tomorow. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I first heard about it at Nerdcon 2007. I had no idea that there was a decent gaming convention so close to home.

So far I’ve signed up for a D&D 4th edition demo, Shadowrun for beginners, Living GreyHawk for beginners, a beginners Star Wars RPGA game, and of course a Living Arcanis game. I’m also hoping to get in some card games too including a Magic the Gathering and a World of Warcraft TCG tournament.

I know that some of the guys I’ve been playing Living Arcanis with lately are going to be there. My ranger has hit level 4 and is becoming quite deadly with a bow. With some luck we’ll be able to sit down and game a bit. I also hope to make a bunch of new friends as well. This should be a really fun week.

• RPGA Events at GameStorm 10 (0)
• GameStorm 10 - 4th Edition Demos (0)
• Living Arcanis and Nerdcon 2007 (3)

Today, November 3rd, was Worldwide D&D Gaming Day. From what I can tell this was the fourth year they’ve run this particular event. Beyond just encouraging everyone they can reach to go out and game today, they also had a special event setup at participating game shops around the world. One of my local gaming shops, Ancient Wonders, was one of them so I went down there to check it out.

The event consisted of a packet for a dungeon master and a group of five players to run a scenario. Not only was this my first Worldwide D&D Gaming Day but it was the first time I’ve sat down with a group of strangers for some serious gaming in about 20 years. I’ve tried to get a game going with my immediate family but that really isn’t the same thing. Beyond being only a partial group which has an entirely different dynamic, but nobody else in my family has the love for D&D that I have. We’ve barely done more than just the Basic Game at this point.

I was really nervous about heading down there but I am so glad I did. Everyone was so friendly and I left there wishing it could have gone on forever.

The scenario was pretty cool. Each game was supplied with a set of miniatures, stat cards, playing map, module, and dice for the dungeon master and a d20, prepared character sheet, and stat card for the miniature of the character for each player. There were five characters in the adventure consisting of a paladin, fighter, rogue/fighter, sorcerer, and a cleric. Our dungeon master did a great job. He kept it from being too easy but didn’t over complicate it at the same time.

Other than some strange liberties the game designers took with some of the details of the scenario it was essentially a regular D&D 3.5 edition game. The anomalies were interesting. For example, there is a common adventuring pack that almost all characters start out with as a rule of thumb. This has been a D&D tradition for as long as I can remember. This pack usually consisted of some oil, 10′ pole, metal spikes, rope, and a hand full of other odds and ends. These characters had none of that. There was also the choices of spells the various casters had to use and the odd balance of some of the statistics.

Once we completed the scenario it became clear how these things would have changed the course of the game though and since this was a small one off adventure perhaps the desire was to limit possibilities. Dice rolls were not in our favor today however and alternative methods of making our way through the quest would have been appreciated. The game just before ours ran about three hours. Our game ran about five.

In the end though, we all had a blast. I learned a little more about playing D&D and have the bug to want to play more than ever. Next weekend is an event in Portland, OR called Nerdcon 2007. I’m planning on attending to see if I can get in on even more games. At the very least, I know they have some Munchkin games going, which I love, and our dungeon master from tonight is going to be there running some games. I look forward to seeing how it goes.

• Living Arcanis and Nerdcon 2007 (3)
• GameStorm 10 - 4th Edition Demos (0)
• GameStorm 10 (0)