We're Back in the Saddle Again!

Well, the other truism is that all things change. And with a little bit of maneuvering we have re-started the RPG game club and are off and running.

We have two games running right now. The continuation of Keep on the Shadowfell is Thunderspire Labyrinth. Our Heroes have dwindled in number somewhat and haven't even made it to the adventure proper as of yet. They are currently distracted in Fallcrest while the slavers still run amok throughout the countryside. In fact, the reputation they have garnered holds them to a rather high standard as most of the populace expect heroes to be of good intent. The happenings on the horizon, however, will soon give our heroes no choice bu to act.

The other campaign currently running is The Forgotten Realms. The heroes are currently in the city fighting off a goblin invasion. Evidently the Goblins were seeking to retrieve a magical dagger, but our heroes managed to foil the attempt. I can't give many hints here as I am playing in this one. We'll have to hope Shawn C. (DM) has a few good hints to drop our way.

There continues to be a slight interest in other games and Mr. Jones is still working up several campaign ideas--though they may not be used until next year. Conspiracy X looms eerily up ahead in the distance. Champions continues to be a possibility as does GURPS space, Ymiria (D&D 2e) and an Oriental Adventures game set in the East of Ymiria.

And we bid a fond and sad farewell to Cody Barnett who has had to drop out of the club for family reasons. We will miss him and his inimitable playing style. Draconis was much loved and will be sorely missed around the tavern tables and dark corridors of dungeons yet to be explored.

Shawn C. has also made a motion to cancel Thunderspire and hold Forgotten Realms two days a week. His ostensible excuse is that he isn't "liking" it any more. Regardless of the fact that Thunderspire proper hasn't even begun yet ; ) Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that his thief caused quite a problem for the whole party at the docks into Fallcrest, eh? Maybe he isn't liking being invisible nonstop? Now that you mention it, anyone who went into the little magic shop seemed to come up tricked in some way. Did you allow him to take your magic item behind those beaded curtains? Better double check it. And Narumata seems to find everything less and less substantial. He's not just invisible anymore. Time to find a high level Wizard and soon. Who was that peculiar little shopkeeper anyway?

At any rate we have taken a poll and the results are as follows:

Should we cancel Thunderspire and play FR both days?

Lenny: NO
Hunter: NO
John: Doesn't care
Greg: Doesn't care
Cory: YES
Mr. Jones: NO
Zach W: NO
Zach G: YES
Shawn C: YES
Shawn K: NO
CJ: YES
William: NO
Dalton: NO

So thus far it looks like Thunderspire Labyrinth will continue every Tuesday. We should probably make a general rule that one person can't cause a whole club vote simply because they are displeased with how things are going. This makes it complicated for everyone else and can cause confusion if not downright bad feelings. This issue has already come up when we tried to go to more than one game a week. Cody Barnett helped us by recalling that we had already had a legal vote, and that it shouldn't have been over ruled. This is what allowed Cody to DM Dragons Among Men for a few weeks. But now we are down to two since Cody had to leave.

Keep in mind the club structure is still in a somewhat fluid state. We are still ironing out club rules; especially what it takes to be a DM, and how many games should be played at one time. I have talked this over numerous times with various club members and the whole club. What I have learned is that we have to have structure and somebody has to enforce it. I'll admit I am probably the worst when it comes to being too lenient. The fact is, and Shawn has been big on this, we need to enforce conduct and rules. There have been a lot of suggestions for rule changes and how to start the club next year. I am currently redesigning the club constitution to try and reflect these changes.

But let's face it. While we all may hate abiding by structure of rules when it isn't to our benefit or liking, we all like gaming. And in order for a group as large and diverse as we are rules are a necessity. The fact is that in order to have a steady and reliable game that isn't changing every other week we have to have rules and structure.

For those of you who may be interested in how we are going to do the club next year see the next year post.

So we're all in this together 'cause we love gaming. Let's not bail on a game just because we have a bad stint. Stick with your DM, give it a chance, and it usually end up being pretty cool in the end.

Until the next post or the next die roll, this is Imlyn the Wizard signing off.