Fits and Starts

One of my skills is seeing patterns in separate bits of information and then putting those bits in order in a way that makes the pattern work better overall. 

It is this skill that got me jobs working as an Event Coordinator for a Comic Book/Fan Media Convention company and as a Dog Walking Manager managing over 200 walks a day in six different locations across New York City. 

It's all pieces of a puzzle and knowing where the pieces fit.

At the beginning of the month - and therefore the year - my good friend Dave mentioned that one of his hobby goals this year is getting into an ongoing Fantasy game. 

Now that may sound easy to all of you, as Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder campaigns are all over the place these days. It seems you can hardly walk ten feet without tripping over one. That may be true in most gaming circles but if you've ever looked at this blog before today you'll surely know that this isn't the case with my groups. 

Let's break it down:

The primary GM in three different groups of players, totaling around 15 individual gamers between them (some members overlap a couple of groups) is me, and I don't run Fantasy very often. Given the last dozen campaigns I've run and any I am currently running, I think one of them was Fantasy oriented. Maybe two. 

So finding someone to run a Fantasy game requires that Dave look outside the core groups,

Unless...

My friend Leo was getting a little frustrated with the Numenera campaign he's been running for almost a year now. The games' schedule is supposed to be monthly but it's been inconsistent due issues ranging from player availability to holidays to people being out sick. Even when the regularly scheduled sessions are run, inevitably one person is missing and with only a GM and three players one can feel like a lot. 

Recently we had to reschedule and when it came up, no one responded with their ability to make it until a couple of days after the date announcement. No one said anything to the effect but it was feeling like there was a lack of enthusiasm. Leo was starting to get a little down. 

Then it hit me...

I asked Leo, who I know likes Dungeons & Dragons (yes, we remain friends), if he would run a D&D 5E campaign for Dave and I and whomever else he wanted to add. At the very least he'd have Dave and I who are generally quite consistent and we'd be two players who wanted to play the game he would be running. After all, we asked for it. 

Now I know what you're thinking (I have that power), "Wait...D&D for YOU and Dave? YOU'D play D&D?!? On Purpose???"

Well sure...I'll explain.

It wouldn't be my first choice for an RPG campaign (let's face it, it wouldn't be my 51st choice) but I could tell Dave was really eager to play some Fantasy and I also knew I wasn't in the mood to provide it. Let someone else do the heavy lifting for a change. 

In addition, Leo had said to me recently, on more than one occasion , that "You would probably like D&D 5E with the right DM". Challenge accepted! Let's see what this hunk a'junk can do.

Meanwhile, our next regular Numenera session has been preempted as a buddy of ours wants to test out a Star Wars homebrew system. We're getting together for a one-shot and I get to play Star Wars as a player. 

This year is already starting out with bang and a twist. A Twang? A Baist? Well it's starting out interesting I'll tell you that. 

Now...characters...

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