Notes From a D&D Game

DnD

I wrote this up as a summary and recap for the players in my ongoing D&D game. I’m trying to give hints on unfinished business and give clues and pointers to future adventures. If you’re a player in my game, first, thank you for reading my blog! and b, I’m still editing this so don’t use this as the final version.

It’s my intention to provide this as an example of campaign prep and how much information to give to players. It may or may not be helpful, but I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

The current status quo as of the end of Season’s Turn, 502 A.C.:

In Nabalee, the mysterious Lady Etum is building the fishing village and sea port into a powerful trading center, since it sits on a deep and sheltered cove, and is a stopping point for the road north to Warjos Dos and Deception Bay, as well as the road east over the Mourner’s Mountains into the Rusva Vesta Vale and Kopno’domas.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • Kobolds and lizardfolk are on the move; travelers report seeing small bands of them camped out or marching through the forests.
  • Lady Etum is still searching for items recovered from shipwrecks; especially a ship’s wheel that is purported to allow travel to other planes of existence.

At Galath Ashelenor the enjoys of the Mahalaman Queen are settling in. In addition to companies of orcs and elves, there are administrators, laborers, and scholars. Regular Mahalaman patrols turn away sightseers and treasure-hunters. More Mahalaman swanships arrive as the days pass, and now a sizable fleet is anchored offshore.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • The elves are dredging up Grenjolm’s ship but it’s slow-going: the ship was burnt down to the timbers before it sank.
  • You didn’t hear it from me but a friend of a friend said that the Half-Elven Prince was kept in the dungeons underneath.
  • Elves are searching for some kind of magical seed. Weird, innit?

In Port Deception, there is talk of the river-pirates starting to work together, united under the leadership of a person called, variously, The Ghost, Ether Eddy, or Moonwhisper. River merchants are hiring guards, adventurers, and spell-casters to protect their cargo.

  • Some kind of spider infestation is creeping up from the south. Brass spiders! Believe me or not, my cousin got bit by one, I swear on Rhoban’s hoppy thumb.

In Warjos Dos, the Seldaline has established himself as the primary civil administrator; Emil Warjos finds himself disregarded and ignored, and splits his time between the Brewtemple and the Lighthouse. Ohtar and Maegor are the town’s watch. The former watch captains, Sevastian and Tulia, are rarely seen and may have left town. 

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • Illbahn, the Wizard of Warjos Dos, and Emil Warjos, are organizing search parties for some kind of tomb, or vault. That might be where they sent Sevastian and Tulia.
  • This Ghost fella might have found some secret tunnel into the city, and he’s using it to move stolen goods. The elves don’t seem to care at all! Warjos woulda put a stop to it and that’s for certain.

On the far side of the Mourner’s Mountains, in Kopno’domas, the religious leaders war with the mercantile houses, each of their attention focused only on themselves and their immediate enemies. The city is both sleepy and at sword’s point. The de Agosta family, a major player in the city’s politics, have withdrawn, mourning the loss of their troubled son, Grenjolm, and House Bhorosh, whose history goes back to the Old Empire, appears to have taken advantage and are ascendant.

Leads, clues, loose threads:

  • A string of murders has got the city on edge. The victims, of all races but eladrin, are found dead, whole, exsanginated. Horrific!
  • The Azure Heart druids have been sending acolytes to Turmlina Prison, buying, or laboring, for more turmlina gems. Are they up to something?

Right now, in this moment

General

Back to the job hunt today. Yesterday was a holiday so there weren’t that many jobs posted I would qualify for. Today I found a few, including at least one where I have a personal reference – one of my friends in my D&D group is a manager at this business and said he’d speak highly of me. Any way I can get past the gatekeepers and gain some kind of advantage, right?

Things are kinda dire but I’m so full of negative energy lately, I don’t want to focus on that right now. I imagine you are as tired of reading about the stress as I am of writing about it. No, I am going to try to be positive.

I’ll start with the basics. Right now, today, I have a roof over my head. I have a comfortable bed to sleep in. I have food to eat, and my health (the cough has cleared up) and I’m able to move my body anywhere I need to go.

I have family and friends who love me. I am involved in fun things to do with my time. I can write and get my words out there for anyone to see. I have the freedom to engage with silly, happy, frivolous things that I enjoy.

For right now, in this moment, I have enough. I am safe. I am surrounded with the love of my inner circle. I am enough. This is enough.

Tomorrow will take care of itself. Yesterday is behind me. Right now, tonight, is what I can focus on.

I am aware there are many many folks out there who do not have what I have, and I acknowledge their pain and their suffering. Right now I know that I have done, and will continue to do, everything I can to help them. My current safety provides me with a base that I can leverage at least some care toward them. I don’t have much, right now, but at least I have that.

We often enjoy stories where one person’s decisions can make a tremendous difference for the lives of many. When it comes to us and our decisions, however, we rarely allow the possibility to effect change. We do have power; each of us, but especially all of us. Working together. As a community. Organized. Strong, in numbers too big to ignore.

It starts, however, with us, individually, moving from our place of comfort in the direction of unity and justice. Before we march side-by-side, we must stand up and be where we are, right now. Stand on steady feet, on stable ground, and pick a path forward. We can do it but we have to think we are capable, first.

I am strong. I am capable. I achieve my goals. My path foward is marked and it is a path I can walk. I start my forward motion from here, where I am now. In relative comfort, with enough to fulfill my needs, and the health and strength to get going.

Let’s Go There

Music

I’ve had a song stuck in my head for the past couple of days. And I think when you know what the song is, and I tell you the parts that are lingering in my mind, it will probably explain a lot about how my life is going now.

The song is grunge, 90s, rock, with a cruncy guitar and a deep-voiced male vocalist and the hook catches my attention right away. I am the kind of person who absolutely listens to, and tries to contextualize, the lyrics, and the opening stanzas are about not wanting to wake up from a beautiful dream. Hiding from the painful, hate-filled, stressful, disconnected real world; that is a yearning I share, more and more every day. I’m dragging my ass through the day-to-day, trying to make sure that every day I’m doing everything I can to try to get the income and resources that will let me keep a roof over my head. It’s bad, and feels like it’s getting worse.

The ones we have elected to lead us are absolutely not on the same page as the majority of us. They diminish and dismiss — or worse, oppose — our protests. We stand together and say “not in our name” and they claim we’re on the side of the enemy, an enemy they’ve demonized and dehumanized. The people our leaders listen to just want to collect as much profit as possible, stockpiling away billions that are generated by the labor we are all forced, under pain of death, to generate.

It’s obscene. I know no other way to describe it.

My dreams can be so much better than the real world. In part because sometimes, rarely, I can dream lucidly. If you’re not aware of what lucid dreaming is, it’s the ability to regain control and consiciousness while still in a dreaming state. When that happens, it feels like I can actually do magic; anything I can imagine becomes possible, at least as long as I stay asleep.

I’m not sure the vocalist for this song is singing about lucid dreaming but it’s clear that when they are sleeping, they see a perfect, love-filled, beautiful world. In the second verse, they even admit that the dreams help them see how imperfect the world, the real world, is. And finally they sing about making their dreams and the world the same.

“Let’s ask; can we stay?” is the line that nearly brings me to tears. Who’s permission do I need to stay in a perfect world? What sacrifice do I need to make in order to make the earth and my dreams the same? My aching heart, my tired soul, my punished mind and aging body, would give almost anything for a real world that is even slightly better for us, all of us, the ones whose blood make things work but do not get to retain the rewards of our efforts.

The final refrains of the song are where my hope does not feel able to meet the vocalists’ hope. The music swells, the vocalists’ voice lifts and roars, the guitars crunch… and my own spirits fall. I replay the song, hoping this time my shriveled heart will be able to keep going.

With him up up, I’m not strong enough to take these dreams and make them mine.

But maybe you are. Can you take me higher?

School’s Out

DnD, Gaming

It’s late but I’ve gotta write something. Which is weird because I’ve been writing all day. My D&D players gave me, the Dungeon Master, homework, which isn’t normally how things work.

Just joking. What happened is that a couple of my players wanted to do some research during their downtime to follow up on in-game plots and characters. They gave me a list of topics, and I told them the game mechanics of how that would work, and then I sat down and wrote out paragraphs of information, from the stuff everybody knows, to the facts that only learned scholars know after years of study. It was fun!

Mechanics-wise, the rules for downtime research in D&D 5E are pretty straightforward. Each topic takes about a work-week of time (5 days), and at least 50 GP in fees, bribes, or materials. At the end of the week the player makes an Intelligence check; the higher the result, the more information gained. Spending additional money gets a bonus to the roll; every 100 GP above and beyond gets a +1, up to a maximum of +6. And having access to a good library or knowledgable sage gets advantage on the roll.

Since it’s an Intelligence check, I also allow the players to apply the bonus for any applicable skill proficiency they may have. Researching magical items, for example, can benfit from a proficiency in Arcana.

The table in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything for downtime research shows a scale, from one piece of lore to up to three pieces of lore, which kind of breaks my brain a little. I just wrote out a bunch of stuff, getting more and more detailed as I went, for each topic. I was a little sad that the players won’t see everything I write, unless they got really lucky, so I didn’t spend a lot of time on the more esoteric stuff.

There’s also the matter of complications, which for research are pretty low. A complication comes up at a rate of 10% per week spent in research, and range from mild, to gaining a rival or finding oneself obligated to another quest or adventure. All fun stuff!

But I’m really bad at keeping secrets. I want my players to know things. I want to reward them for their curiosity and engagement with my silly secondary world. Ah well, such is the nature of games. They’ll find all this out in due time, one way or another. My philosophy as a game master is that I try to only prep stuff I’m going to actually use. Now that I’ve come up with these plot hooks and lore, I will find ways to introduce it.

This group of players I’ve found myself in are a gift. They’re mature, intelligent, thoughtful. They pay attention to my silly plots and characters, take notes, show up to nearly every session ready to play. It’s terrific and I am so glad to have this bright spot in my life right now. So when they ask me for more information about the game and the world, I am more than happy to provide it to them. Having players like that makes worldbuilding easy. It’s so much fun. Did I mention the fun? I’m having a lot of fun with this campaign and this group of folks.

A listing of recent positive habits

General

Another Saturday night and I ain’t got no… topic to write about. Let me just do some typing for a while and see what comes up. Today has been a slow day for me. Since becoming unemployed and having my dad move in while his space gets remodeled, my days have been bland and blah. I spend 80% of my time in my apartment, only leaving to go grocery shopping, or to get my dad to his appointments. I sit in my computer room looking for jobs I can apply for, rewriting my resume, or zoning out if there’s nothing else going on. Sounds super mentally healthy, huh?

I do carve out some time to work on my D&D game. My next session is next week, and I’m very much looking forward to it. Still need to get a handle on what my players want to do next but I have so many ideas for new plots or advancing the plots they’re interested in that my plot cup runs over, so I’m not worried about having enough material to start the next chapter off with a bang.

All my friends have stayed in touch but have been very hermit-y, if I can steal a word my friend Christi made up but describes exactly how we all feel. Tracy has been dealing with family stuff and work stuff, Christi has been doing work stuff for her business, my sister has been doing work things while also dealing with the house repairs from the January ice storm, my nephew and niece have just been working… we’re all just keeping our heads down and trying to get through to the good times that have to be coming. Right? Good times are coming?

I do manage to get at least 30 minutes of walking outside done a day. That’s been very helpful to get my body moving and get a break from sitting and staring at my screen. Once my cough clears up, and if the weather stops being so gray and rainy, I might start trying to jog-walk again. That was good. I’ve been trying to get at least some fiber-rich food daily, which also helps my body feel like it’s not running on fumes (where by “fumes” I mean “carbs in the form of sugar” mostly.)

Because dad has been helping with groceries we generally always have food in the house, which has also helped with my budget and with nutrition. Before dad got here I would eat out or order expensive delivery all the time, but I don’t do that when he’s here. I do sometimes, rarely, like once-a-week, sneak out to get a burrito or tacos or teriyaki from someplace close by, which makes me feel a little guilty for not sharing with dad. On the other hand, dad also goes across the street to a local bar for booze and sometimes food, so he’s not the only one not eating every meal at home these days. It balances out. Right?

Other habits of course include posting at least 500 words here daily, which is hard sometimes, like tonight, but other times, like last night, incredibly easy and fun and produces a story that I enjoy telling. The slog makes the good posts stand out and feel worth it. This is a habit I like pursuing.

But here’s to better times ahead, folks. Sending love to everyone, no exceptions.

The Devil and Bean Dad

Music

In the car with dad, me driving, him riding shotgun. I was driving carefully through busy freeway traffic, navigating west on the Banfield on our way to a doctor’s appointment for him.

My Happy playlist was on shuffle, volume low, but I caught the opening chords of a driving buzzing guitar riff, and John Roderick’s warm, dynamic, resonant voice sang

“American schools called you Starlight
in fourteen point type
Ten times ten, and then
your most brutal-ful smile”

and I couldn’t help but turn the volume up and try to sing along. My voice, ravaged by a persistent cough and allergies, couldn’t keep up even at my best, but I did nod my head along to the beat.

Dad, his neck artificially stiffened with the metal rods the surgeons used to repair his broken spine, looked over at me from the corner of his eye, his head turning like Batman, from the shoulders. Dad’s mouth turned into a little smile.

“I,” I said, “have such… complicated feelings about this song.”

Dad’s eyebrow crooked a question at me that I could feel even though my eyes were fixed forward out the windshield. The wipers intermittently wiped away droplets of rain, squeaking just over the music.

“I don’t imagine you’ve ever heard of The Long Winters, but they are basically John Roderick. I’m pretty sure this whole album was written and performed by him, maybe with some session players from Seattle. I first heard him play as an opening act for another band I love.”

Long pause as the memories of standing at the edge of the stage of the Aladdin Theater, next to the speakers, listening to John Roderick and Sean Nelson from Harvey Danger, performing together. And at my side, she leaned into me, softly singing along. I felt her tiny but strong body fit perfectly against mine, my arm around her lower back.

“It was an early date with… Deb.” Or as my friends at the time called her, Devil. I scoured my memory. I don’t think Deb ever met any of my family. That had actually been a red flag. “You never met her, but Deb and I had one of those hot-and-cold relationships. We were either madly in love, or hated each others’ guts. And since we discovered The Long Winters together, when he sings about the New Girl, I can only think of Deb.”

“You erased so many mistakes
By sitting up and smiling
Your solo show
I hope it never closes
It was the ride of my life
Twice, you burned your life’s work
Once to start a new life
And once just to start a fire”

I laughed, loudly, suddenly, in the car. I gestured with a free hand, palm down, showing one level, then moving my hand up to cut a higher level. “And then, on top of all of that, there’s the whole Bean Dad thing.” I laughed again, feeling dad’s confusion at the reference.

“I don’t know what that means,” he said, finally.

“I know, I know! Sorry. So several years ago, John Roderick got canceled on Twitter for making a dumb joke about making his daughter cook some beans. He was trying to be funny, to play a character, the mean dad who makes his child do something hard to teach her a lesson, and it did not go over well. He got pushback, and instead of just saying he was exagerating, he doubled down and pushed back even harder. Eventually he deleted his Twitter account, stopped making his podcasts, and the Kids Online called him Bean Dad. It was silly and stupid.”

“If my nephew or neice were in the car right now and this song came on, they would have their own reaction to this, probably a very negative reaction. But damn, if I don’t love their music.”

So many complicated feelings in one song. And despite my attempt at explanation, I was quite certain dad had not even the slightest idea what I was talking about.

We drove over the ramp from the Banfield onto I-205 South, in the gray Friday rain.

Elegy for the job-searcher

General

Another day behind me. Another night of sleep and bad, anxious dreams ahead of me. Another unknown day after that. My life right now is stuck in place, running hard but not advancing. Sucks, but that’s what is what right now.

I’m astonished at how hard it is to land a job. I got low-balled by a recruiter today. They said they had a position with a client locally, 6 months-to-hire, sent a job description that is 100% a senior desktop system admin job description, and asked me for my “rate” twice. I replied with skepticism, saying it’s odd they’d ask me first if the client has clearly budgeted for this role, but said my floor was $35/hour.

The recruiter replied that they had only budgeted $20/hour, which is barely above minimum wage. I just stopped replying. That’s not enough for a full-time position for me. OK, if they had told me something like $25/hour up front, I would probably have applied, but since they made me name my own price, I clearly wasn’t their candidate. Ah, well.

At this point I would probably accept $22.50 for a part-time job that was close by to home, just to get some income coming in. But if it was full time and had a commute, it wouldn’t be worth it, even if the money would cover some of the bills, because it would leave me exhausted and unable to look for better work. I’ve done that low-wage terrible job before (worked at Target over the holiday season) and it was brutal. A trap, at least for me. I’m already old and out of shape, and those jobs demand a lot of a person. I was lucky in that I had another low-paying job that was slightly less stressful at the time.

I don’t know, maybe I’m being too picky, still, even as the stress and bills are piling up. I just need a break. Some hope. Where’s my good news? I’m out here waiting for it, working for it. I’m applying to every reasonable job in my market and for my skill set, and nothing seems to be happening. Recruiters tell me that it’s brutal out there, and they would know, I think. Recruiters don’t get paid unless they fill positions with people, and if they think it’s brutal it’s a bloodbath.

I’m still here, posting daily, making this place my sounding board, my crying wall, my stake in the ground, my broadway marquee. I have skills, I just need to find someone who will pay for them. Where are you, employers who value customer service, technical troubleshooting, and clear communication and documentation? I’m right here. Discouraged but continuing.

This system is heart-breaking. It wears us down. But for now, it’s the only system we’ve got. While my dream is of a better world, the current world is the one I have to spend my waking hours in. Have to go on, irregardless of the odds and the anxiety. My duty is to remain.

Random Small Updates

General

Not sure what to write about tonight. I’ve started a new post a couple of times but no topic or idea emerged after a couple of hundred words so the other posts just petered out. Maybe what I need to do is string together a bunch of random small updates!

Update one: Streamed Fallout 3 again tonight on my YouTube channel for over two hours. I started out in Minefield and made my way stealthily up the street, picking up frag mines as I went, avoiding the scripted car explosions, and managed to out-snipe the sniper. Got the loot, then died twice exploring the houses and the rest of the town, hilarious. Finished off a couple other Moira’s quests (injuring myself and mole-rat repellent) and left it off after taking out some raiders and super mutants. Sadly, I muted myself at some point in the last hour to cough and forgot to unmute myself. I did end up with four views, though; my most successful stream! Yay!

Next stream is Sunday afternoon, 4 PM Pacific, 26 May, where I will try not to die sneaking past mirelurks. After that, not sure what to do? Should I work on the main quest and try to find Galaxy News Network, or should I dick around with side quests, like Big Town? I’ll decide later.

Screenshot from Fallout 3 showing the protagonist (white boy with glasses, head covered by a motorcycle helment, holding a submachine gun up, along the irradiated Potomac River. The DC ruins are in the background.

I’m in an exercise competition with my friend Christi and normally she kicks my ass. In the past she’s closed every ring twice every day, getting maximum points. This time, we’re basically neck and neck and it’s confusing. We don’t really like to compete, we just do this for motivation. But, y’know, still. My goals are: stand for at least one minute an hour 12 times/day; burn at least 550 active calories per day; exercise for at least 45 minutes per day. I almost always close all my rings, and especially during a competition.

Got a lot of doctor’s appointments for dad coming up. Hazards of getting old, I suppose. He’s grumpy about it but sees the need to keep going. I’m glad he’s here and I want to do whatever I can to help him.

No job prospects lately and it’s depressing as Hell. If you have or know about a position for a system administrator, senior help desk, or customer service agent in Portland or remote, please please please hire me. My resume is posted on my Hire Me page, in fact. I would also consider technical writing positions, copywriting gigs, or whatever you’ve got. Need income fast kthxbye.

I’m sure I’ve posted here previously about XOXO Festival, an art-tech conference held in Portland that showcases independent creators, writers, gamers, and social media stars, and run by the incredibly empathetic and enthusiastic Andy Baio and Andy McMillan. The last one planned was canceled when the pandemic hit, sadly. Well, they’re back for one last time! Coming this summer to Portland with a stellar lineup. I’ve volunteered before and will be volunteering again because a) I can’t afford an actual ticket and b) I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Dungeons and Dragons and Diplomacy

DnD, Gaming

One of my players in my Dungeons & Dragons game has told me that they want to do something bold, dangerous, and secret from the rest of the group and I am allowing it. They want to take a group magic item, walk into a hostile encampment of enemies, and try to negotiate a trade for a different magic item the party missed earlier in the campaign.

I have no idea what’s going to happen. Could go pear-shaped very quickly or could turn out to be an amazing move that makes or breaks the story. The only way we’re going to find out is through play and that is very exciting to me.

Sure, I’m the Dungeon Master and I run the game; at some tables that means I am in complete control over the past, present and future storylines that will happen. What a dumb and boring way to play a game though. I like being surprised during play as much as anyone else does. Why else would we use random chance in the form of dice rolls, if we did not want to introduce at least a small amount of chance?

No, I don’t prepare stories for my players. I prepare situations: People with motives, ways for them to get or lose power, locations with authentic furnishings in logical locations. I then put these things in the path of my players and let them react to them as they see fit. Story will naturally arise out of that interaction. Once we have a new status quo, I shake my box of people, things, and places again, and see what the new configuration is, and we do it all again.

The player in particular who is kicking off this new storyline is a warlock, of course. High charisma, so I think they’re confident in their ability to talk things through. And if the events turn against them, they have their powerful patron (a fiend, of course) to back them up. And the item they want to trade away is something that they know to be sacred to the enemy they’r meeting, which is also in their favor.

Things I know that the player does not, and which I will couch in vaguaries in case they’re reading my blog: the strength of the enemy NPC’s feelings about them and the object; the location and value of the item the warlock is trying to gain; how far they will go to gain this item; lastly, what the NPCs will do once they gain this item, their plans and the consequences that will fall out after this trade is concluded.

Things I do not entirely know: how the other players are going to react to this action, and what they might do once they find out. At least part of the play is going to be determining if the warlock can succeed in stealing this object without their notice; the plan might die on the vine, actually.

I am not in control of the outcomes, and neither is the player, and that is making for a pivotal session of play. Stay tuned.