No game after all...

I commented earlier on this blog that I was looking forward to gaming this past Tuesday. Well, I got ready to go when Mike called me back. Turns out game was cancelled. So no role-playing for me. On the bright side, I did get to chit-chat for a little bit. Found out Mike has a blog, which I have added to my blog roll.

Hopefully, I'll get some RPG'ing in during February.

Enjoying my Retro Duo Part 2

I hit a milestone for my Retro Duo as I purchased a game. Granted, I have four games already but I figured why not buy a fifth. Afterall, NES and SNES are no longer expensive as they once were. So I went to one of the secondhand video games stores. There, I saw a copy of Captain America and the Avengers for the 8-bit NES. As a long time comics fan, and with fond memories of the arcade game, I purchased it.

Once I got home I decided to play it. Only to discover that so far it doesn't resemble the arcade game. At all. Now, I could be confusing this with the SNES version. Will have to check with game faqs at a later time.

Confusion aside, the game plays alright although I've discovered that I am no longer used to the stiff controls of older games. That it'll come in time. What's frustrating is like my other four games I've also reached a point where I'm stuck. Oh well. Practice and Game Faqs makes perfect. Hopefully...

Enjoying my new Retro Duo

One of the gifts I received for my birthday was a Retro Duo which can run both 8 bit and 16 bit NES/SNES games. In addition, I also received 4 games which were Castlevania's 2 and 3 as well as Mega Man X and Super Mario World . Needless to say most of my gaming is this. While I have played all four games, Super Mario World has gotten the most "love" for two simple reasons. The game can be saved in places and seems to require less skill than the other three. It also has the quirk where beaten areas can be replayed. The drawbacks are that I know I've missed some hidden areas/items and that certain areas require a lot of practice and skill to get passed. Hopefully, I haven't hit a dead end as far as skill goes.

I guess that's why when it comes to video games I prefer RPG's. They have save points and are easier for a guy like me to play.

Finally I might game Tuesday...

I haven't gamed since two or three weeks after James Mishler's last Greyhawk session. After a schedule switch at work, a happy coincidence is that I'm off Tuesday. So I'll get to play in either the Greyhawk or a different person's homebrew. Looking forward to playing some RPGs.

On a tangential note, I'm considering getting back into Magic the Gathering. Then again, I've been considering that on and off since 2004. If it happens, it happens.

Over a month of no posting

Well, its been over a month since I've posted. Short answer: Lack of desire. As I can't say with 100% confidence that I can play or run a game, I've been disinclined to discuss gaming. Its been awhile since I've read any comics. There were things I considered discussing, and may still, but wound not.

Just felt a need to explain the void.

Winter is a pain

Even though I was born during winter, I am not a fan of the season. Living in Wisconsin, its the one season when the temperature can easily kill you. On top of that driving becomes difficult. So more time for indoor activities like reading and gaming, right? Reading, yes. Gaming, not so much when one has to drive. Travel factor becomes even more of a hindrance when the DM lives around a half an hour away on back country roads. Alas, James Mishler's Gary's Greyhawk Campaign won't be happening tonight. As I was looking forward to it I'm not happy. Here's hoping there's a game next week.

More links added and more to come...

Over the last month or so, I have added more links to various sites or pages. I'm still in the process of adding more so I'll go into detail then.

Added some more links.

Well, I added some more links. I finally got around to adding a link to Adventure Games Publishing. Other companies that I have added links to are Mongoose and Goodman Games. Necromancer Games forum is listed under communities simply because I lurk on the forum a lot. A real challenge was figuring out where to place ComicMix. ComicMix is a combination site that consists of news, "web"comics, community, and opinion pieces. When I realized I liked the site for more than just the free online comics, I placed it in the general header. Must admit I haven't spent much time there in awhile as I am behind on reading the comics that I buy. Last but not least, I added Xeveninti's blog to my blog list because it combines "old-school" with the new school of 4E.

A curious observation or two...

I just noticed that my two posts are dated Friday. Right now, its past 1am Saturday. I guess my time settings may be off...

On another note, I figured out how to use the link button. I've been wondering how to do that. Guess it was simpler than I was making it out to be. Honestly, I haven't played around with the various options at all. Just been keeping things pretty basic. Yep. All the same its very amusing.

Interesting News: Material that can improve mileage

One site of interest to me is ScienceDaily. On occasion, I peruse the site to discover cool new science news. Today, one of the headlines is about a material that may be able to improve gas mileage. You can read about it here.

Granted, more research is needed before we'll see such material used in a tailpipe.

Opus newspaper strip ends

Finally, a post about comics. Alas, its about bad news. The comic strip Opus is ending. I'll miss seeing new strips in the Sunday paper.

Pathfinder Age of Worms Campaign ends

Sadly, my Age of Worms campaign incorporating the Pathfinder rules has ended. While I was growing increasingly frustrated with the game, I was planning on running the campaign until either its completion or "TPK". I just wouldn't consider it as part of Paizo's open playtest. The game moved too slowly to actually playtest anything. Up until a month or so, the first mod hadn't been completed. Finally, when it looked like all the players would be able to play I learned some bad news. I wouldn't be able to run it. My work schedule is changing such that I don't have a reliable day off. Therefore, I can no longer run Age of Worms on Tuesday. Thus another one of my campaigns ends unfinished.

Sigh.

4E game part 2 tonight

Well, tonight is the second, and probably the last, session of my 4E pick up game. I've enjoyed it. Perhaps I'll comment on my 4E experience thus far as I now have three sessions under my belt now.

Later, I'll also comment on the future of my Pathfinder game as well as other gaming activity as soon as I learn more... Good times.

Updated blog links...

Once again, I've added more links to the blog. Added more gaming communities as well as comics communities. Also I included Newsarama and Paizo, finally. Its about time I included a link to Paizo. Don't intend to do so with Wizards D&D site as Insider will soon be a pay-site. Although I might make an exception for the Star Wars page.

Now, I need to figure out how to link to specific posts...

RPGA Log-in Redux

Well, I finally got my RPGA log in to work. Now all I have to do is change my password and I'll be good to go.

Then, I'll finally take the judge's test. Provided it loads on my computer...

Fun and games with RPGA log in

Way back in August WOTC announced that it was merging the DCI and RPGA log ins. When I read about it on a yahoo group I thought I wouldn't have to worry about it. Flash forward to Monday and what would have been my first LFR session. We were trying to figure out what published mods could be played via RPGA. To do so, we had to log in. One person has been having trouble lately logging in. So I tried to log in, only to discover that my number was affected by the changes. Today, I tried to log in. After many password attempts I gave up.

That makes two. My first problem with WOTC online was forum log ins. Now RPGA log ins. Needless to say this makes me even more wary about DND Insider. They have much longer road to go if they want to actually charge people.

My Gaming Life Status

My life when it comes to gaming has been in a state of flux for the past month. Up until just recently, I had a 3.5 game going on Mondays that felt a little off. I'm no longer playing in that game not because I quit but due to the DM putting the game on hiatus. We were about have session TPK where the minions of the evil druid in the Sunless Citadel are about to hunt us down for burning the druids notes - by accident. Alas that day fell on Labor Day. Then the DM returned to college for the first time in ten years. The game is on hiatus with only one session left. There's no replacement game as the DM was the nucleus that held the group together. Therefore, like the previous Monday game, this game is on hiatus until the DM can return as either a DM or player.

So now my Mondays are free to play Living Forgotten Realms. That is until my work schedule changes or my schedule changes cause I got a new job.

I put my Pathfinder game on hiatus cause two players were uncertain about their status. So I decided to do a pick-up 4E game cause it supposed to be easier to modify than 3.x. Needless to say both players think they'll be able to play within the next month. So I'll run 4E for the next two sessions. Why? The other GM won't be ready this Tuesday and the next Tuesday is my game (as per the player that only plays in my game). The following Tuesday (aka the one after the upcoming Tuesday) will be one player's first 4E experience. Then we'll decide whether or not we'll continue playing Pathfinder or play something else. One of the players has ordered the Pathfinder Beta.

In a month or so, James Mishler's Greyhawk game should resume. I'm looking forward to playing more AD&D 1E set in the World of Greyhawk. Although some of us wouldn't mind doing some playtesting...

Granted that all depends on whether or not my work schedule changes or not.

4E Next Week

I'm actually going to play some 4E next week. There's talk of playing a LFR session on Monday all that's required is finding a place to play - and ordering a mod. I plan on playing a human control wizard which I made in June. Only took me twenty-nine minutes for character generation. When I transfer the character to a character sheet I'll also add the details for having Waterdeep as a background. Don't know what I'll pick for a bonus language yet. Looking forward to seeing the Swordmage in action.

This Tuesday I was going to run my 4E pick-up game with pre-gens until two players couldn't show up. Of course, at the other two players urging, the game will occur this coming Tuesday cause they want to play the PCs they made. When I said I preferred pre-gens cause it was just a pick-up game. Since I believe they'll use those characters when they do play LFR (neither are playing in Monday's potential session) I don't feel to bad. So next week three players will venture through a modified Kobold Hall. Maybe a fourth player but I won't hold my breath knowing his attitude towards 4e...