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	<title>Dice Monkey &#187; Actual Play</title>
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		<title>Day 2 GenCon: Stretching My Gaming Muscles</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/08/day-2-gencon-stretching-my-gaming-muscles/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/08/day-2-gencon-stretching-my-gaming-muscles/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bridget</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Game Stores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaming Conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GenCon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=3287</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 253Day 2 easily put was even better than day one!  We had a fabulous time.  We arrived in the dealer hall at about 11 am.  Got to enjoy looking through the booths.  If it&#8217;s gaming related and you like it then chances are very good that you can find it here! I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 253<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1855" title="Bridget" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500045259_1858889_7273.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />Day 2 easily put was even better than day one!  We had a fabulous time.  We arrived in the dealer hall at about 11 am.  Got to enjoy looking through the booths.  If it&#8217;s gaming related and you like it then chances are very good that you can find it here!</p>
<p><a href="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo221.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3297" title="Photo221" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo221-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>I have been waiting to get my hands on a set of <a href="http://www.gamescience.com">Game Science Dice</a>.  I&#8217;m rather particular about the dice I choose to play with.  The sharper the edges the better and I have seriously never seen a set of dice that have such a razor edge.  They are incredible.  One of my favorite features of their booth is that you could buy complete sets in a color that you like OR they had open bins of various colors so that you could create a mix and match set.  Which is exactly what I did.  It&#8217;s the typical 9 die set: 1 d20; 1 d12; 2 d10; 1 d8; 3 d6 and 1 d4.  The other exciting thing you could find at their booth were some very unique dice i.e. a d3, d5, d14, d16 and the ever inclusive d-total!</p>
<p>The other shining moment of my morning in the dealer hall was getting to meet <a href="http://www.shellymazzanoble.com">Shelly Mazzanoble</a>.  After interviewing her and the dialogue back and forth over that it was so nice to meet in person.  She is even sweeter in person.  My husband also took the moment to &#8220;call out&#8221; R.A. Salvatore for having killed Chewbacca.  <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />   We did a little more wondering and picked up a little stuffed animal for our son.  All the parents out there know you can&#8217;t show up back home empty handed&#8230;. hahaha!</p>
<p>Spontaneity has been one of the best parts of this weekend.  We had purchased tickets to different gaming events but simply ended up selling them back at the customer service booth.  At one point we were on our way to play a board game when we got a text from the <a href="http://www.feartheboot.com/forums">TOFtBTCH&#8217;s</a> letting us know that 2 spots were open for a Star Trek Tactical game.  We jumped at the opportunity, especially myself as I am a huge Star Trek fan!  Though once I sat down I was pretty intimated.  The rules were rather complicated but it turned out wonderfully.  Everyone was pretty much in the same boat as me and didn&#8217;t really have a clue how to play.  Especially since it was a game that has been out of print for YEARS!  The game was action packed and just plain awesome.  It was so good that I plan on writing about just that in the coming week; therefore, I am now going to move on with the highlights of day 2!</p>
<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3298" title="Photo220" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo220-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />Now, due to this incredible game and an apparent inability for the two of us to follow directional signs Mark was a few minutes late on the panel for the GM&#8217;s Jam session held over in the Marriott! I stood in the corner while he talked because I hadn&#8217;t wanted to disturb anyone by walking across rows of chairs to get to an empty seat.  It was fun to watch the dialogue occurring between the audience and the members of the panel who came from notable sites like Dante from <a href="http://www.stupidranger.com">Stupid Ranger</a>; DNA Phil from <a href="http://www.gnomestew.com">Gnome Stew</a> along with Jeff &amp; Zach from <a href="http://www.rpgcircus.com">RPG Circus</a>.  It was pretty much back to the dealer hall where we wandered some more trying to find something that Mark would want to buy.  He still hasn&#8217;t decided on his large purchase!</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3299" title="Photo219" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo219-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />Later that evening we went over to The House at Union Station, a small underground bar, for the Media Meet &amp; Greet.  It was nice to meet up with fellow bloggers, podcasters &amp; videocasters; even if it had that notable awkward cloaking of a first-blind date <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />   Everyone knows each other through our sites and to meet in person was a bit stiff at first though within about 45 minutes everyone was talking and laughing like a group of old friends.  I got to be the note taker while Mark, Quinn from <a href="http://www.atwill.omnivangelist.com">At-Will</a> and Enrique from <a href="http://www.newbiedm.com">Newbie DM</a> chatted about projects they want to create and complete <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>What a great day Day 2 was!  Definitely excited to be starting Day 3!  It&#8217;s gotta be even more awesome? right?  Yeah you know it will be <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>GenCon Day 1: &#8220;I married Wil Wheaton, didn&#8217;t I?&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/07/gencon-day-1-i-married-wil-wheaton-didnt-i/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/07/gencon-day-1-i-married-wil-wheaton-didnt-i/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaming Conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GenCon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouse Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warhammer Fantasy RP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wi Wheaton]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=3267</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 219You&#8217;ve seen Bridget&#8217;s post, now here&#8217;s my perspective. Waking up at 5am is never fun, except on one day: The day of GenCon. We woke up bright and early and hit the road for a three-and-a-half hour trip down to Indy. Arriving around 10:30, we moved to find parking, and I was [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 219<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />You&#8217;ve seen Bridget&#8217;s post, now here&#8217;s my perspective.</p>
<p>Waking up at 5am is never fun, except on one day: The day of GenCon.</p>
<div id="attachment_3281" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 254px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3281" title="6a00e54ee7b6428833011570494c05970c-350wi" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/6a00e54ee7b6428833011570494c05970c-350wi-244x300.jpg" alt="" width="244" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Yes, that Wil Wheaton.</p></div>
<p>We woke up bright and early and hit the road for a three-and-a-half hour trip down to Indy. Arriving around 10:30, we moved to find parking, and I was stopped at a red light. Who should walk across the street right in front of me? Wil Wheaton himself! If I wanted to, I could have hit him with my car! Sheldon would appreciate that.</p>
<p>This was both a geek-out moment, as well as ironic, since once we parked, we went straight to the GenCon Mainstage to see Mr. Wheaton. He talked all about gaming, and I related to more and more of what he said as the talk went on. Finally, at one point, Bridget turned to me and said, &#8220;I married Wil Wheaton, didn&#8217;t I?&#8221; Yes, honey. Yes, you did.</p>
<div id="attachment_3269" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Sienna.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3269" title="Sienna" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Sienna-300x253.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="253" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">I made character sheets in photoshop for all the characters. This is one of them. Click to enbiggen.</p></div>
<p>After that, we went downstairs and met up with <a href="http://www.rpgblog2.com">Zach</a> and <a href="http://www.bonescroll.net">Jeff</a>, who I&#8217;m co-hosts with on <a href="http://www.rpgcircus.com">RPG Circus</a>, as well as Michael from <a href="http://stargazersworld.com">Stargazer&#8217;s World</a>. Nick &#8220;Necronomitron&#8221; from the FTB Forums showed up, and Jeff, Bridget and Nick joined me for Mouse Guard! The game began simply enough, but got out of hand as they began investigating some thievery in the town of Wildseed. The game got wildly out of hand, with me completely running things on the fly, ignoring checks and how the players turn is supposed to work in Mouse Guard, and just ran with it. I tried to get Michael to play, but as he stated in his wonderful german accent, &#8220;I am a man, not a mouse!&#8221; I&#8217;ll post up a full report on the game after GenCon.</p>
<p>After that, which the players enjoyed (I&#8217;m glad, because once again, I felt like I was fumbling along), we met back up with Michael (who had left because he was sure he was going to murder the piano player nearby) and found a quiet spot to play Warhammer Fantasy 3e.</p>
<p>Bridget played a Dwarf Troll Slayer (yes, you heard me right), Michael played the Human Roadwarden, and Jeff played the Elven Envoy. The game went well, mostly a big fight with some beastmen, and everyone seemed to have a good time. I think Jeff is ready to accept it&#8217;s not a board game. We did discover that the rumors are true: the Troll Slayer is very overpowered. Wow! Bridget&#8217;s character could practically look at a beastman and it would disintegrate.</p>
<p>After that, we went for a brief stop in the Dealer&#8217;s hall to see Tricia, our sister-in-law who works at Fantasy Flight, then off to dinner and a late showing of Inception.</p>
<p>Blew. My. Mind.</p>
<p>And that was all! We got to bed around 3am, and have since hit the dealer hall to hob-nob with the rich and famous of gaming!</p>
<p align="left"><a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=GenCon+Day+1%3A+%E2%80%9CI+married+Wil+Wheaton%2C+didn%E2%80%99t+I%3F%E2%80%9D+http://6zp44.th8.us" title="Post to Twitter"><img class="nothumb" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/de/tt-twitter-micro4-de.png" alt="Post to Twitter" /></a> <a class="tt" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=GenCon+Day+1%3A+%E2%80%9CI+married+Wil+Wheaton%2C+didn%E2%80%99t+I%3F%E2%80%9D+http://6zp44.th8.us" title="Post to Twitter">Tweet This Post</a></p><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save"><img src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/plugins/add-to-any/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share/Bookmark"/></a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Day 1 GenCon, A Success!</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/07/day-1-gencon-a-success/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/08/07/day-1-gencon-a-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:51:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bridget</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaming Conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GenCon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouse Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warhammer Fantasy RP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=3273</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 163Well ladies and gentlemen, I have completed my first day at GenCon and am about to begin day 2.  Yesterday was absolutely wonderful.  It was an early trip to Indianapolis from Chicago; not a bad drive at all.  I feel as though I have completed my first gamer pilgrimage.  GenCon is my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 163<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1855" title="Bridget" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500045259_1858889_7273.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />Well ladies and gentlemen, I have completed my first day at GenCon and am about to begin day 2.  Yesterday was absolutely wonderful.  It was an early trip to Indianapolis from Chicago; not a bad drive at all.  I feel as though I have completed my first gamer pilgrimage.  GenCon is my gamer Mecca and now I really feel like part of the group.  Though I did admit to Mark the closer we got the more anxious I was that I might not be gamer enough to fit in here <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   Good news&#8230; I was just fine! Woo!</p>
<p>We were able to skirt into parking, after nearly hitting Wil Wheaton.  Perhaps that&#8217;s an exaggeration, he walked in front of our car while going across the crosswalk <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   I told Mark it was his first geek celebrity sighting and we hadn&#8217;t even parked yet.  Score one for GenCon</p>
<p>The first thing we did was to hit the main entrance hall and pick up our media badges.  How fun to be handed this pass that could give us the key to a new and unique gaming experience!</p>
<p>We ran to catch Wil Wheaton&#8217;s &#8220;I&#8217;m Wil Wheaton and I&#8217;m a Gamer&#8221;.  It was a fantastic seminar where Wil discussed the importance of gaming and especially the role it could play between parents and children.  As a parent myself, albeit of a little one who isn&#8217;t gaming yet, I felt like it hit home.  Mark and I are very excited to teach Gabe how to play once he gets just a tad bit older.</p>
<p>Quickly from there we were able to meet-up in the lobby with Jeff from The <a href="http://www.bonescroll.net/">Bonescroll</a>,  Zach from <a href="http://www.rpgblog2.com">RPG Blog 2</a>, Michael Wolf (aka Stargazer) from <a href="http://www.stargazersworld.com">Stargazer&#8217;s World</a> and Nick better known as Necronomitron on the <a href="http://www.feartheboot.com/forums">FTB</a> forums.  After the introductions a game of Mouse Guard was started.  Zach had to leave for other events and Michael wandered in and out watching our game.  There was the stunted start and stop of everybody learning a new game but soon it was filled with plot ideas and advancements and event the dragging of a &#8220;bad&#8221; mouse back to the guard by his tail.  All in all a very good time.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3274" title="Mark Warhammer" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo213-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3275" title="Warhammer group" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo215-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />A quick lunch and a little walking around the convention center looking for another open game table led us to the Hyatt Regency&#8217;s 3rd floor.  After lots of set-up, Mark, Jeff, Michael and I all sat down to play Warhammer Fantasy.  The game was wonderful, once we all figured out what we were doing, again!  I played the Dwarf Troll Slayer which couldn&#8217;t seem to miss hitting and destroying opponents.  Now for anyone who reads my writings regularly I don&#8217;t tend to be a fantastic roller but maybe GenCon is different?  Michael was wonderful at intimidating our snively merchant at the end of the game with such wonderful statements as &#8220;I think I may hear the beatmen returning and they will eat whoever they find.  They don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re alive or dead&#8221;.  It was awesome.<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3276" title="Photo214" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Photo214-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></p>
<p>We got to wonder the dealer hall but only for a few minutes as we stopped to see my Sister-In-Law who works for <a href="http://www.fantasyflightgames.com">Fantasy Flight Games</a>.  We are really looking forward to heading back in their today for some compulsory dice shopping and playing some really interesting looking demo-games!</p>
<p>This completes my first day.  On to day 2 and I can feel that it&#8217;s only going to be better than yesterday!</p>
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		<title>The Journey to Black Fire Pass</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/07/27/the-journey-to-black-fire-pass/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/07/27/the-journey-to-black-fire-pass/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warhammer Fantasy RP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=3215</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 179On Saturday, I attended the Journey to Black Fire Pass event at the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center. (Warning, from here on out, there&#8217;s spoilers!) The idea behind the event, was that it was an introductory adventure to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3e. There didn&#8217;t seem to be much support for it, as [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 179<br/><p><img class="alignright size-large wp-image-3202" title="wfrp-jtbfp-3d-right" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wfrp-jtbfp-3d-right-569x1024.png" alt="" width="341" height="614" /><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />On Saturday, I attended the Journey to Black Fire Pass event at the <a href="http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_npm.asp?eidm=13">Fantasy Flight Games Event Center</a>. <strong>(Warning, from here on out, there&#8217;s spoilers!)</strong></p>
<p>The idea behind the event, was that it was an introductory adventure to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3e. There didn&#8217;t seem to be much support for it, as only one player (me) and one GM showed up for it. Ross Watson was in the store, and I convinced him to join me, so it was the two of us against the world.</p>
<p>I played a Dwarven Agent, while Ross played a Slayer. We were brothers, whose brother went missing after traveling to Black Fire Pass to deliver a shield to a Dwarven stronghold through the pass.</p>
<p>Our GM was&#8230; competent. Not the type I&#8217;d normally play with, as he was disorganized, and unable to think on his feet. I think Ross and I quickly realized if this game was going to be fun, the two of us were going to have to make it that way, so we really got into character. We were shouting in dwarfy voices, bickering like Dwarven brothers would, and inciting town mobs against elves. It was pretty fun!</p>
<p>We ended up fighting grave robbers, tracking down leads, and facing off against Orcs and Goblins in the Pass itself. Poor strategy worked against us, and, in the end, both of us were slain. Before we died, however, we did learn that our brother had been killed in this pass as well, so it seemed appropriate.</p>
<p>The scenario was well written, with a lot of depth. I had a good time, not because of the GM, but because of the entertainment Ross and me brought to the table.</p>
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		<title>A Great WEEK For Gaming!</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/07/24/a-great-week-for-gaming/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/07/24/a-great-week-for-gaming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouse Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warhammer Fantasy RP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=3197</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 200Forget my last post; it didn&#8217;t cut it: it&#8217;s been a great week for gaming! On Thursday, I sat down with my brother, sister-in-law and Ross Watson to play some Mouse Guard. Yes, that Ross Watson, the designer of Deathwatch and Rogue Trader. How&#8217;s that for intimidation! If you&#8217;ll allow me a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 200<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />Forget my last post; it didn&#8217;t cut it: it&#8217;s been a great week for gaming!</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3198" title="MouseGuardSketch" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/MouseGuardSketch-219x300.png" alt="" width="219" height="300" />On Thursday, I sat down with my brother, sister-in-law and Ross Watson to play some Mouse Guard. Yes, that Ross Watson, the designer of Deathwatch and Rogue Trader. How&#8217;s that for intimidation!</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ll allow me a moment to digress, before the game, while Andrew (brother) was finishing up working at the store, I sat down with Tricia (sister-in-law) and played both Drakon and Cave Troll, two great games, and we were able to finish a game of both in one hour. Tricia is a brutal player, and won both games. She holds no punches, and is sneaky and manipulative. In other words, everything a player should be.</p>
<p>Back to Mouse Guard&#8230; I&#8217;m glad the players had fun, because, even though I did as well, I felt like an utter failure. Things didn&#8217;t go the way I expected, I got flustered over some rules I couldn&#8217;t figure out, I forgot how a lot of stuff went, and in the end it really, really wasn&#8217;t my best job GMing.</p>
<p>Ross was fantastic. He&#8217;s a great guy, and played a mouse whose instinct is to always tell a story. He would. At length. He had a story for any situation, and couldn&#8217;t keep his nose out of trouble. They ended up fighting off a crow and a badger, but when they went back to town, he began telling tales, describing the crow as &#8220;big as an eagle,&#8221; and the injuries he sustained as from those of a bear rather than a badger.</p>
<p>In the end, they succeeded at their mission, and Ross walked away with the most Persona points from doing so well at his character. It was great to have him at the table.</p>
<p>Yesterday, before surprising my brother with a birthday dinner at Old Chicago, I went over to his house, where I played with Tricia, the Sadler twins (who I played in that WFRP game with), and Brady&#8217;s fiance. We played a game of Condottiere, a card game by (who else?) FFG.</p>
<p>At Andrew&#8217;s surprise party, he received, among other things, WHFRP, so he&#8217;ll have his own set now, as well as the Winds of Magic supplement. I had some great conversations with the Sadlers, Ross, the FFG art director, as well as Dan Clark, the co-creator of the FFG game Android.</p>
<p>It was great to be among so many gamers and geeks. It feels like a small taste of GenCon.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3202" title="wfrp-jtbfp-3d-right" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wfrp-jtbfp-3d-right-166x300.png" alt="" width="166" height="300" />Today, I&#8217;ll be playing in the Journey to Black Fire Pass event, which is a demo scenario for WFRP (which I learned is pronounced &#8220;wiffrip&#8221;) at the FFG Event Center, then, this evening, we&#8217;ll be either playing Android or Battlestar Galactica. I look forward to it!</p>
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		<title>Roleplaying without Roleplaying: Runebound</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/06/13/roleplaying-without-roleplaying-runebound/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/06/13/roleplaying-without-roleplaying-runebound/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Board Game]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=2996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 290We&#8217;ve had a couple of bites from people interested in joining a new group, but haven&#8217;t actually met face-to-face, so in the meantime, Bridget and I have begun trying roleplaying without roleplaying. What do I mean? I mean that I pulled out Runebound the other night and we marched around the lands [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 290<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />We&#8217;ve had a couple of bites from people interested in joining a new group, but haven&#8217;t actually met face-to-face, so in the meantime, Bridget and I have begun trying roleplaying without roleplaying.</p>
<p>What do I mean?</p>
<div id="attachment_2998" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/rb3.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2998" title="rb3" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/rb3-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">An example of Runebound in play</p></div>
<p>I mean that I pulled out Runebound the other night and we marched around the lands of Terrinoth, which is the world of Descent, Runbound and Runewars, adventuring and fighting all manner of monsters.</p>
<p>In the game, each person plays a character that can be found in Descent, but instead of dealing with all the players in one dungeon, each hero is their own adventuring party, battling monsters throughout the land and gaining allies and treasure. The normal game would take a few hours, but we basically just played until we were ready to go to bed, playing for about an hour or so.</p>
<p>Doing so, we realized it felt like an actual night of gaming, with no set goal in mind, just going around and fighting monsters and getting loot.</p>
<p>We plan on sitting down and playing a little bit more soon, and this time, save our character&#8217;s upgrades and locations so we can come back to them anytime. It&#8217;ll be like actual roleplaying&#8230;</p>
<p>Sort of.</p>
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		<title>Mouse Guard: No Power Cards&#8230; No Fun?  Not at All!</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/21/mouse-guard-no-power-cards-no-fun-not-at-all/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/21/mouse-guard-no-power-cards-no-fun-not-at-all/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 13:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bridget</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[4e D&D]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouse Guard]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=2880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 432I am a pretty hardcore 4e D&#38;D gamer.  What can I say:  It was my first real gaming experience;  I&#8217;m comfortable with it.  I like it.  Besides a little side-step into a Savage Worlds game, Descent or even Munchkin here and there&#8230; well, I always go back to 4e. What makes me [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 432<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1855" title="Bridget" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500045259_1858889_7273.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />I am a pretty hardcore 4e D&amp;D gamer.  What can I say:  It was my first real gaming experience;  I&#8217;m comfortable with it.  I like it.  Besides a little side-step into a Savage Worlds game, Descent or even Munchkin here and there&#8230; well, I always go back to 4e.</p>
<p>What makes me like it so much? It lays things out pretty black and white in front of you.  For example, you&#8217;ve got a battle mat that has either been drawn on or covered with some terrain. Alright, so a solid picture of where I am&#8230; check.</p>
<p>You get to have a little miniature that&#8217;s customizable to your character.  I like painting and constructing minis.  Now, I know what I look like&#8230; check.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2888" title="powercards-sample1" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/powercards-sample1.png" alt="" width="250" height="349" />Power Cards.  Very cool, not sure I need to say much more&#8230; just kidding&#8230; I will explain.  You see, I actually have far too much imagination in a game for my own good.  Power Cards in many respects keep me grounded.  I get to lay them out and separate them into great little piles. *Side note: my personal issues with OCD love this part* <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>When we head into battle I know exactly what to do: grab a card, read the description, add a bit of flourish and move on to the next player.  Abilities are even spelled out in the form of &#8216;daily&#8217;, &#8216;encounter&#8217;, and &#8216;at-will&#8217;.  I&#8217;m not really required to know how strong an action is either.  It tells me.  Depending how deep we are into a combat or how far into an encounter, I have a general feel for which kind of card I should grab.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ok,&#8221; you say, &#8220;we get it&#8230; you like it&#8230; now what in the world does this have to do with Mouse Guard?&#8221;</p>
<p>Alright, alright I will tell you.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2882" title="Baron" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Baron.jpg" alt="" width="378" height="529" />We played a full encounter-based game the other night.  The &#8216;we&#8217; here was Mark, Samaira (a regular in our 4e gaming group) and myself.  Mark was our GM.</p>
<p>Now, it was a little rocky to start with.  Because Mark had never run Mouse Guard before, though he has read the core book cover to cover about 10 times, we opted to go with one of the pre-generated adventures in the back of the book and use the characters that were created for it.</p>
<p>I chose to play Baron,  a little but brave defender of the Mouse Guard.  He had a pretty typical Nature score, meaning in most ways he was mouselike with all mouselike tendencies.  On the other hand, he was a great little creator and would stop at nothing to protect the others in his party.  Other than those few descriptors and a character sheet covered with information that made <em>NO SENSE WHATSOEVER</em> to me, I got started with my first Mouse Guard game.</p>
<p>Long story short: it was awesome.  At first I had a lot of stumbling, and not just because of the learning curve but with role-playing in general.  On your turn you can choose to attack, defend, feint or maneuver.  What exactly did that mean? Well, as far as this game was concerned, we rolled the dice and then depending on the outcome we explained our actions as descriptively as we could.</p>
<p>That was a little tougher than I expected it to be.  For instance: sure, I could have just said, &#8220;I attack.  I stab with my sword!&#8221; but that&#8217;s not much fun.  Mouse Guard lies a lot within the <em>flourish</em>.  I got to stretch out my imagination&#8217;s legs.  It felt good.</p>
<p>Another complete difference, Mark touched on this in a <a href="http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/18/failure-is-fun/">recent blog of his</a>, failure is a more significant part of the game.  Sure in 4e if you don&#8217;t succeed in a roll it can definitely add to the game and create intricacies. The difference in Mouse Guard is that if you don&#8217;t fail, then you essentially don&#8217;t have a game.  The task for our adventure was to deliver the mail along a road that ran thru the Mouse territories.  We made it thru four cities before a single thing happened because our rolling was pretty good.  It wasn&#8217;t until we rolled poorly that we came upon a raven and had to do a bit of maneuvering to solve the problem.</p>
<p>Then the fun started.</p>
<p>The raven saw our mailbag and decided it wanted it! Samaira&#8217;s character would feint and try his best to keep the mail out of the hands of the raven and I would dive and roll and stab, doing my best to intimidate and distract him.</p>
<p>In the end we had to reach a compromise because Samaira had made the raven unable to fly but he still wanted our mail.  In what I thought was a pretty clever moment of negotiation I pointed out that the raven&#8217;s goal was not to steal the mail but to steal the mail bag.  Therefore, we got to keep the mail and sent the raven off with the bag and shiny buckle.  It was definitely an interesting game.</p>
<p>By the end of it we were feeling pretty confident with the rules and we&#8217;re looking to play a few more times before we make our big move in a week.  It&#8217;s a fantastic game that is easy to pick up.  One that I highly recommend you give a try.</p>
<p>So in conclusion, though I&#8217;m still a hardcore 4e fan (have no doubt!), I really found that I didn&#8217;t &#8216;need&#8217; any accessories besides some dice to really enjoy role-playing <img src='http://dicemonkey.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>No Power Cards =  No fun?  Not At All!</p>
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		<title>Mouse Guard RPG: Delivering the Mail</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/16/mouse-guard-rpg-delivering-the-mail/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/16/mouse-guard-rpg-delivering-the-mail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 May 2010 13:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mouse Guard]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=2833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 383Last night, I ran my first game of Mouse Guard ever, since receiving the book for Christmas. The morning of, Bridget suggested that since Samaira (one of our regular players) would be coming over that evening, perhaps I could run a little Mouse Guard. I was very excited, and dug up all [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 383<br/><p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2835" title="Quentin2" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Quentin2.png" alt="" width="339" height="406" /><img class="size-full wp-image-1851 alignleft" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />Last night, I ran my first game of Mouse Guard ever, since receiving the book for Christmas.</p>
<p>The morning of, Bridget suggested that since Samaira (one of our regular players) would be coming over that evening, perhaps I could run a little Mouse Guard.</p>
<p>I was very excited, and dug up all the materials I&#8217;ve printed up, including a map of the Mouse Territories as well as some pregenerated characters straight from the rulebook. I decided that the Delivering the Mail mission was the easiest to run.</p>
<p>Yesterday night, once Gabe was down, I gave the character sheets over to Bridget and Samaira and let them choose which of the four characters they wanted to play. Bridget chose Baron, the halberd-wielding patrol mouse with a heart of gold, whose only goal was to protect his patrol mate, while Samaira chose Quentin, the archer and cartographer, whose whole goal was to make sure the mail was delivered safely. Their mission was to deliver mail to different towns in the territories successfully.</p>
<p>I was really worried at first, as the two of them looked over the character sheets and I could see them becoming overwhelmed. Me having never run the game before, was almost tempted just to pull up stakes and suggest we play some Yahtzee or something. But we pressed on, and continued.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2843" title="CM Capture 27" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CM-Capture-27.jpg" alt="" width="352" height="465" />A successful assisted Scouting check led the mice through mouse territories just fine, dropping off mail to the different villages along the way to Gilpledge. In the last night of their journey, however, as they searched for some place to camp out, they stumbled upon an old hollow tree log where a raven had made its nest. It spotted their bag of mail, and decided it needed the bag for its own.</p>
<p>This was the first time any of us had tried any conflict in MG, so none of us were sure how it would turn out. After some lousy rolling on all sides, the raven ended up with a disposition of only 3, while the players disposition was only 2. Ouch. It was going to be a quick fight.</p>
<p>It took a little getting used to the order of events in a conflict, with the scripted actions and the like, but before you knew it, they were playing like pros, coming up with clever ways to distract the raven and keep it from getting to the bag. In the last round, Quentin chose a Maneuver, while the Raven chose a Feint, knocking down the rest of the mices&#8217; disposition, but with Samaira&#8217;s excellent Maneuver, she was able to remove a trait from the raven, which she chose the Flying trait.</p>
<p>The mice had lost, but the raven had a broken wing. It was time for compromise.</p>
<p>Bridget, with some quick thinking, said, &#8220;wait, what&#8217;s the raven&#8217;s goal in this fight?&#8221; I told them what the book said, &#8220;steal the mail bag and fly away.&#8221; Bridget suggested that the raven grabs the bag, but all the mail spills out on the ground. He didn&#8217;t really care about the contents, so much as the shiny buckle on the bag, so he hobbled off to tend to his wing and bask in the glory of his fancy new bag.</p>
<p>It wasn&#8217;t too bad a loss for the heroes, as Quentin scooped up the mail and turned his Guard Cloak into a makeshift bag.</p>
<p>The next morning, they awoke to some cold spring rain, so Baron used his Construction skill to build an umbrella out of leaves and sticks. I allowed them a +1 success to their Health rolls to keep from getting sick from the rain, which Quentin succeeded at, and Baron failed at. He came down with a bit of the sniffles as they finally made it to town.</p>
<p>And that was the end of the session for the night. It was short and sweet, and went really well for our first time out of the gate. I look forward to trying the game again sometime soon.</p>
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		<title>Lords of Dust: The End</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/07/lords-of-dust-the-end/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/05/07/lords-of-dust-the-end/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 May 2010 13:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[4e D&D]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eberron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lords of Dust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ravenloft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=2762</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 231It was the last session for both our Lords of Dust 4e Eberron campaign, and for our gaming group, the Game Knights. As is fitting for such a melancholy occasion, we downed a bit of tequila throughout the night. Bryan was running the game, and as you recall, in the last session, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 231<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />It was the last session for both our Lords of Dust 4e Eberron campaign, and for our gaming group, the Game Knights. As is fitting for such a melancholy occasion, we downed a bit of tequila throughout the night.</p>
<div id="attachment_2763" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 296px"><img class="size-full wp-image-2763" title="SharnCityofLostSouls" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/SharnCityofLostSouls.jpg" alt="" width="286" height="400" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Sharn, City of Lost Souls</p></div>
<p>Bryan was running the game, and as you recall, <a href="http://dicemonkey.net/2010/03/30/lords-of-dust-the-end-of-aldan-vane-for-now/">in the last session</a>, Aldan Vane went with Tana the Eladrin Wizard into Ravenloft to allow the others to escape. So for this session, I was playing Tilli Wayfare, a female Gnome Wizard I had made with DDI. With an enormous spellbook in her repertoire, I knew she was up for the challenge.</p>
<p>The other heroes awoke in the dragon&#8217;s cave they had all departed into the snowglobe from, with the dragon nowhere in sight. Tili stood nearby, having been sent by the dragon to help us.</p>
<p>The mouth of the cave looked directly towards Sharn in the distance, and it didn&#8217;t look good. The city was burning.</p>
<p>The dragon arrived, and informed us that the city was under attack by the Lords of Dust, who had summoned an army from the Shadowfell. Hopping onto the dragon&#8217;s back, we raced towards the city.</p>
<p>Knowing that the corrupt Church of the Silver Flame had been working with the Lords of Dust, we made our way towards the church, fighting armies of undead along the way. All around, the city burned.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2764" title="strahdvonzarovich" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/strahdvonzarovich.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="358" />We finally arrived at the church, where a steady light emanated from the inside. Heading inside the front doors, organ music creepily flowed throughout the chamber. A large, dark cloud swirled around the center of the room, while cultists chanted. Emerging from the cloud was none other than Strahd Von Zarovich, master of Ravenloft. He had actually escaped from his prison, and was prepared to rule Eberron with an iron fist. This would not do.</p>
<p>We attempted to stop him, but he was too strong. Finally, with a wave of his hand, he hurled us into the cloud, knocking us unconcious.</p>
<p>We awoke, in a field. The sky above was blue, the long grass green, a windmill was slowly turning in the distance.</p>
<p>We heard a noise behind us. Turning, we saw standing there Tana and Aldan.</p>
<p>&#8220;Damn it,&#8221; Aldan muttered.</p>
<p>We were in Ravenloft.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>And that was the end of the campaign. Everyone was really bummed out that we were all done, but really liked the end that Bryan gave us. Even though Bridget and I  are moving soon, leaving the story with a bit of a cliffhanger gave us hope, like we&#8217;ll definitely get together with everyone and see what happens to these characters someday.</p>
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		<title>Lords of Dust: The End of Aldan Vane (For Now)</title>
		<link>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/03/30/lords-of-dust-the-end-of-aldan-vane-for-now/</link>
		<comments>http://dicemonkey.net/2010/03/30/lords-of-dust-the-end-of-aldan-vane-for-now/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mark</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[4e D&D]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Actual Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eberron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lords of Dust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ravenloft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicemonkey.net/?p=2595</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Number of View: 313Sunday night&#8217;s game of D&#38;D was excellent. Bryan is running the game right now, and doing great. Previously, we had discovered a snow-globe, which we learned was housing a demi-plane which had been created to seal off a small village from the rest of Eberron. Apparently, the only way to keep the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Number of View: 313<br/><p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1851" title="Mark" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/n500065948_477273_1248.jpg" alt="" width="60" height="60" />Sunday night&#8217;s game of D&amp;D was excellent.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2597" title="snow-globe" src="http://dicemonkey.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/snow-globe.jpg" alt="" width="246" height="340" />Bryan is running the game right now, and doing great. Previously, we had discovered a snow-globe, which we learned was housing a demi-plane which had been created to seal off a small village from the rest of Eberron. Apparently, the only way to keep the village&#8217;s rift into the Shadowfell at bay was to trap the village inside this glass dome.</p>
<p>The golden dragon ally we had made cast a ritual to teleport us into the globe.</p>
<p>We arrived in a world devoid of almost all color. The way it was described to us was that the saturation was turned way down. What looked like snow was settling around us, but when we tasted it, we realized it was ash. So igniting my enshrouding candle, the party entered the city, searching for any clues as to where the rift had opened. We investigated the small church near the center of town, finding it gutted and burnt out. Same with the rest of the buildings in town. Eerie.</p>
<p>Some villagers began approaching us, and initially, we tried to communicate with them. But they continued their advance, their eyes pitch black. When they lashed out at us, we sprang into action. But as the villagers fell, they released from their bodies dark wraiths we then had to fight. Luckily, Aldan is a Ghostblade, so he was able to ignore their insubstantiality a little and do some impressive damage. Going through the rest of town, we were beset by more villagers until we were able to sense the presence of the rift off in the distance.</p>
<p>Arriving before the gate, we couldn&#8217;t figure out how to seal it. It appeared to be against a hill of some sort, and when we began to dig into the hill, we discovered that a thin layer of ash was actually covering the body of an ancient, massive shadow dragon. It appeared the dragon had opened the portal, and had since died. Using the Swordmage power &#8220;Be Gone&#8221;, Aldan teleported the dragon&#8217;s body into the portal, hoping to close the gate once the dragon was gone.</p>
<p>No such luck, for beneath the dragon&#8217;s body was a nest, full of eggs. Hatched eggs. Uh oh&#8230;</p>
<p>Before we knew it, we were surrounded by shadow dragon hatchlings, angry we had banished their mother, even if she  was dead. Pillar, our Warforged Ranger, was appalled at the idea of killing baby dragons, so we incapacitated most of them and threw them through the rift. Which began to collapse.</p>
<p><em>Fine, </em>you say, <em>that&#8217;s what you were there for, right?</em> Sure, but we weren&#8217;t too excited about the fact that it looked like the snow globe was collapsing, and we were still inside with no way out.</p>
<p>Before the portal completely collapsed, a figure emerged from the portal. It was an eladrin with silver hair, and dressed in a red renaissance-era dress. She wore an eye patch, and had a mechanical arm. Introducing herself as Tana, she told us she had a way to get us out.</p>
<p>A note: Tana was Bridget&#8217;s original character in 4e, an Eladrin Wizard, who, in our last session of the campaign, took out her eye to place the Eye of Vecna within, before being teleported to Ravenloft. Also, note that we weren&#8217;t playing in Eberron in that original campaign, so it would appear that certain planes of existence overlap campaign worlds. Cool. When she showed back up in this game, Bridget got really, really excited.</p>
<p>Anyway, back to the story.</p>
<p>She explained to us that this rift was not only to the Shadowfell, but to the Domains of Dread themselves, AKA, Ravenloft. She would be able to open a portal back to Eberron, but would only accommodate three people. There were four of us. The fourth would have to return to Ravenloft with Tana.</p>
<p>Aldan told everyone else to hurry, before it was too late.</p>
<p>&#8220;Are you sure you want to do this?&#8221; Tana asked.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have been to the Shadowfell before,&#8221; Aldan said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not like this, you haven&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
<p>The party fled through the portal, and Aldan and Tana departed into Ravenloft, just before the demi-plane completely collapsed.</p>
<p>Now, whether Aldan is gone forever or not, remains to be seen. I&#8217;m excited to see where his story goes.</p>
<p>Next week, I start up playing a Female Gnome Wizard, which I&#8217;m really excited for. With an extended spellbook, she&#8217;s got a ton of options for her choices of powers. Looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Until next time, keep rolling 20&#8242;s!</p>
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