Converting Adventurers League PCs From XP to ACP Was A Snap

When I played D&D 5E at my FLGCS Adventurers League night on October 30th, I sort of fudged my PC's qualifications to participate at a Tier 1 table. According to experience points, my PC was still 4th level. However, the PC could've been fifth level and unable to participate in Tier 1 modules. Why? Cause Adventurers League switched from experience points to advancement checkpoints as inspired by Xanathar's Guide To Everything. Originally, Shadowrun Missions was scheduled for that day so I wasn't planning on converting any of Dungeons & Dragons PCs to the new system. Despite knowing plans changed, I didn't convert any of my PCs and guessed...


Beginning this upcoming Tuesday, I'll have the option to game as much as I have the entire 2018 so far to date! Home game, it wouldn't be a problem. However, the majority of the gaming will be via Adventurers League. Can't really not convert any of PCs to the new advancement checkpoint system if I want to game, now can I?


Fortunately, the conversion is more tedious than complex. Felt more of throwback to doing homework in math class!


Now before the Adventurers League police cuff me for not convert my tortle monk to ACP (advancement checkpoints), I had perused the conversion rules beforehand. The number of advance checkpoints a PC possesses after conversion is a ratio multiplied by the number of checkpoints required to advance in level. Since a player decides whether to round up or round down, I chose round down. Nuno the ninja tortle monk would not be automatically bumped to level 5 upon conversion.


Nuno did level though as he leveled upon the module's completion. Despite rounding down, Nuno had enough ACP to raise a level even if I had chosen slow progression.


Cool,


Now, I had to convert the other characters.


Grogg - another PC I could've converted to a higher level. He would be eighth level (character and class) and eligible for another feat or ability score improvement. Remain undecided on what options I want yet. Round down it is. One more module to decide...


By the time I converted my third PC, Morland Doyle, conversion was a breeze. Won't be able to play Morland any time soon though. Following conventional rounding practices seemed sensible to me. Rounded down.


Tor - really love playing my Tempest Cleric whom I've patterned after Gaiman's Sandman and what I've heard is Apotheosis's interpretation of Thor. I wanted Tor to remain Tier 1 a little while longer so I rounded down. With Slow Progression, two modules should be the minimum for Tor to reach Tier 2. Honestly, don't know how my play-style will fit the upper tiers...


Last but not least was my very first Adventurers League PC, the Dragonborn Paladin Ser Rhogar. Conversion was a snap. Pretty much converted him to one ACP almost exactly. Maybe I'm old school but you don't round to 2 if it's 1.13... Frankly, the hardest part was determining whether it paid to convert Ser Rhogar as I hadn't played him since Season 7 began. The PC died right a month prior so I had to determine if he had enough gold to pay for a Raise Dead spell-casting service. Suppose not playing a Tier 2 PC in over a year influenced my decision to round down as well.


Overall, the hardest part of converting my Adventurers League PCs was repeating the process four additional times. I began playing table-top RPGs back during the days of AD&D 2E. I'm used to character advancement taking a little while longer. Rounding down was an easy decision. After all, I can participate in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 modules longer than otherwise.


Wouldn't hurt to create a new level 1 PC though...


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

A Beginner's View of Fury of Dracula and Secret Hitler Games

Had the opportunity to participate in a board game/party game session with a Halloween flavor today. Only had the chance to play two games, Fury of Dracula and Secret Hitler. Never player either games before but I enjoyed them both. Since there's no time quite like your first, here's what I thought of them.

Fury of Dracula

Board games are hit and miss with me. They tend to have a steep learning curve. Often you're learning on the fly too. Repetition and observation are generally the keys to my grasping an individual board game. I found Fury of Dracula both an example of the prior sentence and relatively easy to grasp. Of the four participants, the two experienced players did the heavy lifting, ie one played two characters while the other took the role of Dracula facing off against the rest of the table. When I began, I had no clue what I was doing. By the end, I had a strong grasp of basic fundamentals and strategy.  After five turns,  I was struck by the unfolding narrative. Couldn't resist taking pictures and knew I just had to blog my experience.

A quick primer: Fury of Dracula involves two - five players where one side is comprised of four characters who opposed Dracula in Dracula (Mina, Van Helsing, Seward, and Lord Farnsworth - hadn't read Dracula in ages so I was confused who this was) face an opposing player who controls Dracula. Gameplay consists of the players accumulating resources and traveling Europe looking for clues towards Dracula's whereabouts so they may destroy him. Each turn has a day/night segment. When a week passes, despair becomes stronger. Furthermore, when Dracula's activities clear off the board or when an agent/he defeats one of the characters his influence total grows. Should Dracula reach 14 influence (think that was the exact number), the game ends. Dracula wins. The other players must destroy Dracula to win the game (or force is life total to 0...?)

 I controlled Dr Seward, which helped me learn the game as not only did he recover from damage easier but he could possess more resources.

The Rule Book





Took this shot when we were about five turns in. Dracula had just taken to sea; and our characters were scattered about Europe.

We had deduced Dracula must've come ashore by this point and was still ashore as he was feeding. The group was checking out nearby seaports to narrow our deduction as towards his whereabouts.

Aha! Dracula has gone back out to sea. Meanwhile, Dr. Seward travels by sea to where we deduced he had made landfall. Fortunately for the good doctor, played by yours truly, he had the resources to easily dispense with the vampire laying in wait.

Five turns afterward including Dr Seward's triumph over the vampire, the rest of the group travels toward Northern Europe as they strongly suspect Dracula may have travelled to England. While Seward begins the trip back to mainland, Lord Farnsworth begins the trip over the English Channel.

Upon reaching London, Lord Farnsworth discovers Dracula in London. Van Helsing joins him and battle commences! While Dr Seward and Mina Harkness guard the nearest ports, Dracula is forced to flee as bat. However, Lord Farnsworth is badly injured in the process...

The fiend escapes out sea again - albeit weakening himself in the process. We start the process of deducing where he fled once more.

We spread our hunt outward. Against Doctor Seward's better judgement, he uses resources from an event card (there are event cards that aid Dracula and those that aid the hunters) to travel to South-western Europe. Van Helsing travels by sea through two different seas (the game subdivides the seas into several) and reaches the mainland. Meanwhile, the badly injured Lord Farnsworth investigates one of places in England where Dracula last was located. He encounters a vampire...

Alas, Lord Farnsworth was dispatched by the vampire! The vampire clears the board. He awakens in a hospital not too far from Dr Seward. Unfortunately, Farnsworth defeat boosts Dracula's influence significantly. Despite our best expenditure of resources, all Dracula needs to win is to hide. He does so.

Game over.

The game ran about two hours. A tense two hours as neither side was close to victory until about the end. However, when the end came, it was quick! Pretty confident a more experience group of gamers could play Fury of Dracula faster. Took us awhile to get a sense of what to do. Plus, those of us who played the hunters used a very conservative strategy.

Secret Hitler

A party game emulating Weimar Republic. The players are assigned roles. Many of them are assigned the role of liberal, while two are fascist - one of which is Hitler. Each turn the players vote to confirm the President's choice of Chancellor. If the vote fails, a different player becomes President. If the vote succeeds, the President takes three policy tokens, liberal or fascist, and selects two. The chancellor then selects the policy. Should there be five liberal policies, liberals win. When three fascist policies be selected, the President can attempt deducing who is Hitler and kill him. Another alternative is if Hitler becomes Chancellor both Hitler and the other fascist wins.

A quick and easy game. Had a lot of fun despite not being very good at it. During the course of two games, I never did figure out who was Hitler nor who was fascist when the end point was triggered.

Overall: both solid games. I'd have to play Fury of Dracula another time or two but right now it's solid 4 out of 5 stars. Could easily see giving it a five out of five. Because Secret Hitler is more of a party game and one I am not very good at, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. Good for parties.

Happy Gaming!

Next time.



Review: Tobin's Spirit Guide and Halloween 2018 in Review

If you're reading this, it means the powerful spirit and deadly opponent of the Ghostbusters, Samhain, did not prevail and usher us into Eternal Halloween. Indeed, the second day of the Halloween duo/trio, All Saints' Day nears its end. As I've mentioned in years of Halloween blogging past, tomorrow marks the less celebrated All Soul's Day. However, I'm calling it a wrap as of tonight. Not saying there won't be reviews forthcoming. They'll just be scattered throughout the course of the year. No sense engaging in an Eternal Blogging Halloween, right?

You may be wondering how I plan to approach this All Saints' Day blogging? Ready to read the exciting preamble outlining how I will proceed? Er, no. You can read the title...

Fine.

Yep. I'll actually be blogging in the reverse of the title of this post by looking at the month of 2018 blogging and then reviewing Tobin's Spirit Guide.

Scroll down to the review if a rehash isn't your cup of tea.

First, I started the month by highlighting elsewhere in the Blogsphere that another blogger had adapted the Headless Horseman for the setting of Blackmoor (created by D&D co-creator Dave Arneson) using Savage World game rules on Dave Arneson Game Day. At the time, I stated I would endeavor to convert the Horseman of the North to D&D 5E stats. I admit I don't always (often) follow through with my blogging promises. However, this time I did. If you missed the entry cause you were busy celebrating Halloween or couldn't keep up with several days of Halloween blogging you can find the conversion here.

My second Halloween blog entry was my compilation of past Halloween blogging. Here is the compilation for your convenience. It was my second annual compilation. Like to think tonight is my getting ahead of next year's...

Then, there was OneBookShelf's Halloween Treat Scavenger Hunt. Unexpectedly, blogged twice about it. Here is the first and second posts. With a whopping fifteen treats from five sites, I really do hope to review them before next Halloween. That is if I am not like Charlie Brown kicking the football that is...

Fourth, it wouldn't be Halloween unless I provided a bunch of spooky links. This time I brushed off my neglected Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet blog "column" to provide some with a more Halloween flavor. Here it is.

My fifth was a textual capstone of the Halloween Sunday Comic Strips that graced newspapers and online the Sunday before Halloween. Just realized, I never did the same on Halloween...

Yeah, I am lumping together similar entries and treating them as one... No point treating posts with the same concept separately.

Sixth post is more of a stretch as far as Halloween blogging goes. I just felt the session ended with a very Halloween-like flavor.

Last, my Halloween post where I basically write about how the cartoon the Real Ghostbusters exposed me to the Celtic/Gaelic holiday of Samhain and is the inspiration of much of my Halloween blogging the last several years.

Also, I did mention I finished reading a book too. Meaning it is time for....

My Review of....

Tobin's Spirit Guide!



Front cover



Back Cover:

The book is written by Erik Burnham (a writer for IDW Ghostbusters comics) in the guise of Dr Egon Spengler and Dr Ray Stanz.

Illustrations were drawn by another IDW Ghostbusters comic alum: Kyle Hotz.

Here's a sample illustration of the villain Samhain. Really, the central character to yesterday's Halloween post. Honestly, He looks better here than in the show. More menacing.



Anyway, the book is written as abridged version of the actual Tobin's Spirit Guide, which includes anecdotes of the Ghostbusters experiences as well as a Rogues Gallery of the baddest of the bad.

Tobin's Spirit Guide collects many of the ghosts and incredibly nasty beings the Ghostbusters have fought in the movies, comic books, video games, and animated series. A tall order considering the comics occur in a separate continuity from the Real Ghostbusters. Furthermore, each media has its own unique tone.

Burnham and Hotz tackle the differences by creating a unifying continuity that modifies some entries and encounters from how they were originally presented.

For instance, Slimer was a companion of the Ghostbusters in the Real Ghostbusters. Heck, ABC practically made Slimer the main character when they relaunced the series as Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters from the third (really, the second but the true second season was syndicated) season. There were Slimer shorts focusing exclusively on Slimer!

Not so here. Slimer is trapped within his own containment unit.

Samhain? There is no reference towards his aversion to light. Spoilers basically how Samhain was defeated in When Halloween Was Forever involved light. Lots of light. In Tobin's Spirit Guide, nope. Attrition weakens him.

Another change I noticed was in regards to Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. Fondly recall watching as a child on the Real Ghostbusters Stay Puft's face turn as he became a good guy who would occasionally help out. Stay Puft always ended each story back inside the containment unit. But he's Gozer... Kid me never made that connection. Suffice it say the book nixes this. Stay Puft isn't a good guy. Not a one shot either.

Quite certain they made other changes; but I haven't watched the Real Ghostbusters in decade or two. So I couldn't point them out. Nor have I read every comic (IDW and otherwise) nor played the video games. Any changes to those ghosts and big bad supernatural entities I couldn't tell you.

However, the listing is pretty extensive. The nostalgia factor is high. Marked about big time seeing the ghosts from the movies and reading about each ghost was expanded beyond their 30-second appearance.

 Like me, if you are closer to your forties than childhood, it's great reading narrative vignettes aimed at a more mature reader. Would love to see this creative team tackle some of these ghosts and major supernatural baddies within the comic. In other words, I would buy the comic more if the older rogues gallery made appearances.

The art is excellent too.

Overall: If you're a fan of Ghostbusters in all the different forms, if you've ever wanted to read the Tobin's Spirit Guide, if you want a good Ghostbusters read involving the old crew, I highly recommend tracking down this book. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

See you both next time as well as next Halloween season.



Halloween 2018: How the Real Ghostbusters Taught Me About Samhain

Today's the day. Okay, tonight's the night as the day's almost over. Halloween, to be precise.


Honestly, I didn't do much of anything Halloween. Wore a Ghostbusters shirt. Finished the Ghostbusters tie-in book, Tobin's Spirit Guide. Review is forthcoming for another day. Instead I want to focus more on what tonight's entry is really about...


If not for the 80's cartoon the Real Ghostbusters, I haven't the foggiest idea when I would've learned about Samhain. I was a young whipper-snapper when Episode 1 x 08 When Halloween Was Forever aired on ABC. To me, Halloween was costumes, candy, and spooky monsters. Watching the episode was apocalyptic.


I learned there was much more to Halloween than I thought. My childhood eyes were opened to the notion that the practice was rooted in a much more ancient practice called Samhain. Without the episode an question, Halloween wouldn't receive much attention on this blog. Definitely wouldn't care about the practices, customs, and superstitions of other cultures. Hence, all the different articles I link to.  Heck, I certainly wouldn't have spent hours watching stuff on YouTube in preparation for this post. For instance, as an American I take pumpkins for granted. They make carving jack o' lanterns easy. Early practitioners of Samhain had to carve turnips!


Which I learned watching this video:

Familiar Faces: Samhain



What? Learned that from a video about a Real Ghostbusters video? Yep. The main villain in question called himself Samhain. He had a pumpkin for a head. Considering he was freed from an Irish relic, there's a bit of a continuity problem since pumpkins are an American thing. Who says 80's cartoons didn't have educational value?


Because the villain Samhain opening my eyes to the wider and ancient nature of Halloween, he was easily my favorite. When he returned the next year during the third season (it's complicated...), I was hooked. Pretty much became a fan of the show throughout its remainder as Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters marking out at slightest easter egg and anticipating when the villain would next appear. Not to mention spending hours watching anything Ghostbusters-related the last several days... ahem...


Granted none of this renewed furor would've been awakened but for two things. One, reading Tobin's Spirit Guide. Two, discovering episodes of Real Ghostbusters are available on the Internet Archive including When Halloween Was Forever. Well, until someone suit complains and the videos are pulled...


However, until they pull them, why not watch When Halloween Was Forever and pretend Halloween 2018 will last just a little bit longer? So I am going to include the video from the Internet Archive here. My first attempt at embedding from Internet Archive so here goes nothing...


Nothing it is. Video would playback in draft form but fails in published form. So I am just going to try providing a link instead. On Internet Archive, here's Real Ghostbusters Episode 1x08 When Halloween Was Forever. That'll take you to all the files. Click on Parent Directory and you'll be taken to the video itself. Couldn't figure how to link to the video itself...








Now you too can experience how I learned about Samhain for the first time, while enjoying the 80's classic of the Real Ghostbusters!


Happy Halloween!


Next time.

Halloween '18: An Unexpectedly Howling 5 Takeaways D&D 5E AL 10/30/18

If I waltzed into my FLGCS to discover, Shadowrun was cancelled the sole Halloween connection would've been feeling akin to a trick. Except I knew more than a week in advance I'd be playing D&D 5E. I had also made known in advance to the table musterer (the person who organizes the tables at organized play events provided the players don't do so themselves) I would love to play the first module in Season 8, DDAL08-01. What I didn't expect was anything remotely resembling Halloween within the module. Since I've lumped a costume party into a Halloween-type module, an event that did occur for us definitely qualifies. Normally, I don't mention the module's name in my five take-aways but I make an exception here because of the impact.






Spoilers past the first three take-aways if you haven't played DDAL08-01 and don't wish to be spoiled:






Five Take-Aways:


Never really  though a D&D PC could mimic the Iron Man villain Whiplash until now - Ignoring the armor suit wearing Whiplash in the Iron Man two, Whiplash is a Marvel Comics villain who dual-wields two whips. Never in my wildest imagination have I EVER conceived of a PC who dual-wields two whips in D&D 5E. Heck, ANY edition for that matter. Tonight, I witnessed a Human Fighter PC with the Dual Wielder crack two whips in combat. The character was surprisingly effective too. As it's only Tier 1 (levels 1 - 4), I don't know how effective the PC performance in upper tiers will be. In Tier 1, the PC was a badass. Plus, the puns about flogging took on a whole level in conjunction with Waterdeep's punishment for some crimes.


Fey Presence is an excellent situational power - While I've played D&D 5E situationally for a number of years now, my gaming has been situational and inconsistent. If anyone's used Fey Presence, I've forgotten it, the power was used in a way none of my PCs benefitted, or the power failed. That being said, one of the PC concepts on my bucket list is a character with a strong connection to the fey, which includes a warlock with the archfey patron. During one of the combats tonight, Fey Presence was used successfully to maximum effect where the entire party derived benefit. No longer do I view the Warlock power in the abstract; and I have an idea how to use it.






SPOILERS for DDAL 08-01 Await


My Ninja Tortle Had the Potential to travel in sewers for the first time - It's no secret my tortle monk is inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While it feels like a waste at Tier 2, mimicking knowledge of the sewers with the Dungeon Delver feat is a concept feat too good to pass up. Heck, I almost took it at fourth level! However, sewers travel never came up during the entire time I've played my tortle. Either that or I forgot... Regardless, I've never had the chance to view travel via sewers as a regular thing. Until now. We almost went into the sewers. Joked about doing so. Didn't. Not sure if it was the right decision. Suppose I could've placed this above the spoiler section but then I would've been stating the module is set within an urban environment.




Loved the sandbox feeling of the module - Sandbox gaming and Adventurers League are not two things that normally go together. I loved how the table pretty much got to decide how it would address the flow of the module. Depending on table make up, how the players play, and DM fiat, the module will change. Heck one encounter played out completely different from how a player experienced it his previous TWO times.




Halloween Spoilers


Ambience and monster type can make the difference whether a module has horror elements - We had a wise-cracking, pun-flying table. Any attempt to amplify the horror moments would have fallen flat. However, a more serious table or a table willing to let itself be spooked would find the encounter fitting for Halloween season. D&D simply isn't a horror RPG. There is non-mainstream horror mechanic that either forces your PC to flee or freeze up with terror. Entering a room filled with extremely morbid art depicting bloodstains, death, and a cemetery is a page right out of a horror RPG. Provoking the shopkeeper/artist to attack you in a fit of rage while transforming into a werewolf in the process in such a place is as Halloween as you can get. The party wasn't  heavy magic nor armed with magical/silver weapons! With the right group, the mundane becomes the horrific. A day away from Halloween and the connection is right in your face.


There you have it my unexpected Halloween-related Five Take-Aways.


Halloween is tomorrow.


Later.

Halloween '18: Horseman of the North Converted to D&D 5E Stats

On Dave Arneson Game Day (and first Halloween post of 2018), I stated I would convert a fellow blogger's creation the Horseman of the Northern Downs in Blackmoor to D&D 5E stats. My caveat was I would convert once I understood Savage Worlds more. Eh? Just making it more complicated than it should. Instead, I'll use the Savage World stats as inspiration and go from there.


The Monster Manual is full of different kinds of monsters. Instead of creating the Horseman of the North from scratch, modifying an existing monster is the order of the day.


Paging through the Monster Manual, the Revenant catches my eye. Conceptually, the revenant matches the Horseman nicely. Like the revenant, I conceive of the Horseman as CR 5 foe. A tough foe for Tier 1 (levels 1 - 4 ) party; but Tier 2 and beyond shouldn't troubled by the Horseman too much. After all, the Horseman is inspired by the Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane is no match one on one with a CR 5 foe as it should be.


However, the revenant doesn't fully emulate what's presented within Savage Worlds stats of the Horseman of the Northern Downs of Blackmoor. Ergo, a modifying I will go. Note: I am not going to sweat adjusting the final CR as this'll be more sausage-making than a fine-tuned conversion.


First, pretty clear the Horseman is a rider created out of the ether. Both rider and mount are the same creature. For simplicity, the mount will only enhance the speed, while providing a charge action with the lance. A centaur's speed and charge ability are perfect fit.


Leading to the second change, no Multi-attack. Damage output decreases substantially from the standard revenant as most of the damage will come from a lance charge. I'm only picturing one attack during a round with the saber. Since there's no stats for sabers in D&D 5E, scimitars match my idea of a saber. Horseman of the North may be a bit week for a CR 5; but it balances out the upcoming change to a standard revenant...


Third, Revenants aren't immune to non-silvered or non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing weapons. According to the DMG, modifying a CR 5 creature in such a way practically doubles the CR. Since the Horseman attacks those travelling the Northern Downs, the damage immunity doesn't trouble as much as a dungeon encounter would. In my mind, this is a solo encounter meant to induce terror. If the party can't deal with the damage immunity, then they should take advantage of the terrain at night to flee.


Leading me to the fourth change from a standard revenant. Conceptually, the Horseman of the North attacks random travelers because it doesn't know whom the object of its hatred is. Whatever vengeance it seeks to enact is blind. Therefore, the Horseman can't declare vengeance against anything. So it's attacks aren't augmented in anyway. Now, the Savage Worlds stats doesn't possess a Vengeful Glare trait from what I can ascertain. However, I like my headless horseman intimidating its quarry holding up a jack o' lantern. Think, I'll keep the frightening effect from the glare by having the Horseman tossing a jack o' lantern at the chosen quarry and using some of the mechanics to emulate the fright inducing effect.


The fifth change is the Savage Worlds Horseman wears chain. I'll just say the Horseman of the North 5E wears a chain shirt increasing the AC to 15.


And with that I give you the (Headless) Horseman of the North D&D 5E:


AC: 15, HP: 136, Speed 50 ft


Str & Con 18, Dex 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 18


Saving throws: Str +7, Con +7, Wis +6, Cha +7


Damage Resistances: necrotic, psychic


Damage Immunities: posion, non-silvered or non-magical slashing, bludgeoning, and piercing weapon attacks.


Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned


Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 13


languages: understands but doesn't speak Common, Elvish. (I'm picturing a silent monster except for maniacal laughter)


Charge - see Centaur in Monster Manual.


Regeneration, Rejuvenation, Turn Immunity - See Revenant in Monster Manual


Actions:


Attack: +7 to hit with lance 1d12+4 piercing or +7 to hit with scimitar for 1d6+4 slashing. I'm old school and prefer rolling for damage.


Frightful Glare: The Horseman of the North hurls a flaming jack o' lantern at its chosen victim. Wisdom save (15) or be frightened of the Horseman of the North for 1 minute. At the end of each its turns, the frightened target can repeat the saving throw to end the frightened condition. Disadvantage is imposed if the target sees the Horseman of the North.


CR: 5


Ah, my very first D&D 5E monster I converted from another game system. Once again, I would like to thank the blog, The Gnomish Embassy, for inspiring today's blog entry.


Shucks, Halloween is only a couple days away now.


Happy Gaming and next time!

Halloween 2018 Sunday Funnies (Comic Strips)

Halloween is Wednesday. Sunday is waning away. Occasionally, I love reading the Sunday Funnies, the comic strip available within the Sunday newspapers, Comics Kingdom, and Go Comics. Haven't blogged about them in awhile. As Halloween is roughly three days away, why not blog about Halloween-oriented Sunday Funnies?


Ideally, I would have done this sooner. However, I was both distracted NFL football and the cloudy weather. For some strange reason, sun peaking through the clouds or blue skies are a prerequisite to my devouring the comics page on a Sunday. Reading them at night, just feels off. Yes, I am going to live blog my thoughts on each strip!


Once again, only the Halloween-themed strips will be mentioned. While I read strips like Prince Valiant, they won't be reference if there's no Halloween connection.


Note: if my blogging perks your interest in a given strip, many are available to be read online for limited time.


Let's begin.


Comics Kingdom


Sadly, none of the strips I follow, ie delivered by email, had a Halloween connection.




Go Comics


Frank and Earnest - A cheeky gag referencing retail stores tendency to erect displays for holidays months in advance as Ernie is trying on Christmas and Valentine's Day costumes on the same day as the Halloween party.


Cul de Sac - Despite warning from her brother, Alice accidentally loses all her Halloween candy when her dad surprises her. Pretty funny although the last panel felt flat for me. It's like 'oh look I received all the candy you hate!'


For Better and For Worse (note: the strip is also available via my local newspaper. For days when I don't read it, I follow FBFW on Go Comics) - Elizabeth is sewn a dinosaur costume by her mother. Punch line revolves around how quick the costume is fashioned versus how quick mending work is done.


Last Kiss - The one panel strip grew on me when I used to read the defunct Comics Buyer's Guide. This one is a tad adult-oriented as the non-costumed woman says to the guy dressed as a devil she's going as a nymphomaniac. I laughed.


Gasoline Alley - Slim volunteers at a haunted house dressed as skeleton. There's a very technical albeit out of the box description of a skeleton. Liked this one for the Halloween costuming visuals. Didn't flow too well. Would've been more effective during the old days when strips would receive more space on the Sunday page as it felt... choppy. Couple readings are required before understanding the scene transfers spooky to kooky.


Heathcliff - The strip depicts Heathcliff and an assortment of Halloween monsters (Frankenstein, Mummies, Ghosts, Witches, a vampire, a werewolf, and a skeleton) putting on a musical performance. Some spooky fun.




Sunday Newspaper


Zits - Nice play on Frankenstein before the strip's joke about Jeremy not being familiar with the song, 'Monster Mash' in addition to doing household chores.


Blondie - A real good strip where the possibility of kids trick or treating using drones is explored. Rarely do I find modern day Blondie strips funny but I chuckled here.


Hi & Lois - Bored Chip decides to do a trick while the family is pumpkin picking and pretends to be the Headless Horseman. I cracked grin.


Sally Forth - A multiple universe gag. Overall, it is neat the Sally Forth strip acknowledges since the Sunday strip happens on a day other than Halloween, the strip is chronologically set before Halloween.


Wizard of Id - The Wizard recruits a Giant Spider to create some Halloween décor to his wife's chagrin. If I read this during a sunny morning I would have guffawed.


Pickles - A joke about eating all the Halloween candy before the trick or treaters arrive. Okay, maybe I should have included spoilers for this one...


Peanuts Featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown - If I read the small print correctly, the strip was originally printed in 1971. Linus and a shade-wearing Snoopy sit in the pumpkin patch awaiting the Great Pumpkin. Linus wonders why Snoopy is wearing sunglasses at night. Snoopy infers it's a disguise. Pretty funny.


Rose is Rose - Kids go through process of carving a Jack O'lantern, which some chipmunks carry away. Cute little story.


Foxtrot - Drats! I forgot the geeky kid's name. Well, anyway... He announces to his sister that he's taking his lizard, Quincy, trick or treating as themselves. She remarks about the lack of imagination. Final panel depict Quincy going as the kid and kid going as Quincy. Talk about an inventive take on the 'going as yourself' costume.




There you have it. A quick rundown on today's Halloween-themed Sunday Comic Strips along with my thoughts on them as I read them just now.


Already said Halloween is three days away so... Next time.

Halloween '18 Edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet

Months have passed since I last compiled official rulings on D&D 5E rules via Crawford's Twitter. Lack of rulings hasn't been an issue. I just haven't blogged about them. Instead of random rulings, I plan on lumping them according to a theme. Since Halloween is days away, the theme for the latest installment is Halloween.


Anyone who's glanced at Appendix N knows the works of H.P. Lovecraft inspired Gygax. As did the works of A. Merritt. Horror is an entrenched element of D&D. What separates D&D from those sources of inspiration is the protagonist have a chance, eventually, maybe, to defeat the horrors. The downside is some of those horrors... become mundane... as a result. Another thing is Dungeons & Dragons has evolved to the point where PCs could become the source of the horror as well, ie Necromancer & Warlock.


As such, I ignored anything from a PC perspective. If the ruling pertains to warlocks or necromantic powers, not included here. Furthermore, as much as I like Lovecraft, his influences aren't used along their original horror roots. Ergo, only mainstream Halloween monsters will be referenced here. Like vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like.


So here ya go:


Levels don't influence stats of Animated Dead - The dreaded Necromancer casts Animate Dead on the corpses of a level 0 peasant and a level 20 fighter? They both rise and use the stats of a normal zombie. So no worrying over the 20 hit die zombie!


Vampire bite is unlikely to tranform during combat - Here's clarification stating hit point max must be reduced to zero before transformation occurs. Combat must really be proceeding poorly in an unorthodox manner for the victim here...


Reincarnate can't be used on undead - You encounter an undead creature. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I cast Reincarnate on the undead creature? What will it come back as? DM: Spell fails. Undeath changes creature type. Depending on how other bring-back-from-the-dead spells work, this ruling may nullify them as well.

What if you really want to bring a zombie back to life? True Resurrection is the solution. Normally, I am used to Crawford referencing the books themselves. This particular answer is found within the errata.


Is tracking a vampire in mistform to its lair and staking it the only way of dispatching it once it becomes mist? - Many times Crawford will say 'read the text' but by using jargon.


What comes first? The vampire's bite or the grapple? - No, a vampire doesn't automatically hit if their grappling their target. However, the bite comes after the grapple.


What happens to Vampire Spawn when the Master is Destroyed - We destroyed the Master Vampire? All the Vampire Spawn go poof, right? No. They become free-willed, full-fledged vampires now. An instance where targeting the Big Bad right away may not be the best strategy...


Dead and Undead Attuning Items - Dead is a condition. Undeath is a creature type. So yeah, the vampire can attune magic items.


There ends the Halloween edition of Official D&D 5E Rulings By Tweet.


Happy Gaming and Halloween is four days away!

Halloween '18: OneBookShelf Expands Halloween PDF Treats

If you told me my next Halloween 2018 blog entry after my annual OneBookShelf Halloween Treats entry was a follow up, I wouldn't have believed them. Believe I had other blog entry topics in mind but I did whatever George R.R. Martin does while writing the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel and NOT blog. However, I said if I discovered anymore PDF Halloween Treats available on OneBookShelf site I'd blog about it. True to my word, there are new treats.


I just thought they'd recently discovered hidden gems. Instead, OBS expanded them to two more sites. They are Storytellers Vault and DM's Guild. Both links conveniently direct one to both the Halloween sale (31% off select PDFs) and the icon containing the Halloween treat.


Storyteller's Vault


Bat: New Blood - a scenario for Dark Ages Vampire (World of Darkness) where a Tremere and an alchemist have created alchemical blood...


Jack O'Lantern - Beckett's Vampire Folio 1: Carne's Rebellion for Vampire: The Masquerade


2nd Jack O' Lantern:  Same as the 1st...


3rd Jak O' Lantern: Demon Translation Guide - How to convert the Demons from Demon the Fallen to Demon the Descent (Chronicles of Darkness)


Going to assume only three treats are available.


DM's Guild


Ghost: Seasonal Surprises vol 1 - How to create a Halloween themed adventure for D&D 5E


Jack O' Lantern: Monsters of Horror (which one can acquire from a different site as well).


2nd Jack O' Lantern - A Night of Masks and Monsters (A Requiem of Wings #1) - 5E adventure for Characters level 3 of table of 3 - 6 PCs.


3rd Jack O' Lantern: Heroes of Mists - Expanding Curse of Strahd to fit the setting of Ravenloft more (for D&D 5E)


Surprised there were 4 treats here! Provided you didn't check out the other sites that is.  I'm assuming this will be all goodies though.


Halloween is 6 days away!


Next time.

Halloween '18: Tricks and Treats OneBookShelf-Style

Let's see. It's mid-October? Check. Check OneBookShelf sites DriveThru RPG, DriveThru Comics, and DriveThru Fiction to see whether they've commenced both the Halloween sale and the Halloween Icon Trick or Treat offerings? Heck, yes! Check. Way back in what seems like ages pass, the Drive Thru sites began a Jack O' Lantern search where you'd embark on scavenger hunt throughout an individual site for jack o' lantern icon. If you clicked on the link, you be rewarded with a treat (ex. a free e-book) or a trick (a gag). In recent years they've expanded the icon type beyond jack o'lantern to other Halloween icons. Think of it is a trick or treating OneBookShelf style!


I've participated on and off for YEARS. One major reason why I've accumulated quite the collection of e-books at OBS is due to the Trick or Treat event. This year, I am going to blog about each find per icon per site. Breaking from tradition of years past, I provided a link to the three sites in question in case any reader seeks a treat or trick. You'll have to create an account if you haven't done so already. Note: The event should last a week or two. Don't recall if they cancel it on Halloween or week before. It just started so it should last several days. I'm betting it'll last as long as Halloween sale does but don't quote me...




For those who prefer surprise thereby SPOILERS below.






Drive Thru RPG:


Witch Hat: Fear Can't Hurt You. A Halloween scenario.


Jack O'lantern: Monsters and Other Childish Things: Curriculum of Conspiracy


2nd Jack O'lantern: Head Shot! Zombie Apocalypse Action Role-Playing Game






Drive Thru Comics:


Witch Hat:Children of the Night - Community Content = new monsters for Ravenloft


Jack O'Lantern: Adam 2.0 Black Swan #1 graphic novel


Candy: 'Til Undeath Do Us Part E-book




Drive Thru Fiction:


Witch Hat: Monsters of Horror - Community Content = 6 movie monsters adapted to D&D 5E


Jack O'Lantern: Sins of the Father RPG


Ghost: The Black Spot - a storytelling RPG (Side note: I've apparently acquired a copy previously. Guessing a previous Trick or Treat?! Probably should read it sometime then...)


Interesting observation: If you're logged into the other sites at the same time, those finds appear at full price in the carts of the other sites. May want to search through the other sites one at a time or be prepared to remove stuff from the shopping cart. Perhaps that's trick! If you have multiple storefronts open at once, you must remove stuff from the carts or get charged!


There may be more than three tricks or treats per Drive Thru site; they're scattered about in places I am not used to. A true scavenger hunt indeed if that is the case. However, three treats (I'm assuming such...) per Drive Thru is enough for me. I am content.


Halloween is twelve days away!

SRM Combined FAQ ver 1.2 Is Like an Ad for Kill Code and Other Thoughts

After Tuesday, the next Shadowrun Missions Organized Play event at my FLGCS is mere couple weeks away. Chicago arc is winding down for us. The Neo-Tokyo rapidly approaches for our group. Catalyst released a Shadowrun supplement or two. Oh, the latest Combined FAQ released today. Among its highlights is enabling players of both the Chicago and Neo-Tokyo (yes, folks are playing Season 9 right now. We're a tad... behind.) arcs to incorporate the new combat and matrix splatbooks, Street Lethal and Kill Code, into their PCs.


For those who want to take a peek, here's Combined FAQ Ver 1.2. Since shared courtesy of Google Doc, I have no idea if they update the location with a different PDF. For all I know, my previous FAQ entry links to this version as well...


Thoughts


Reading the Kill Code section does a great job encouraging me to pick up a copy of the book. Or download as it's a mere ebook at the moment. Plus, it's not just for deckers and technomancers too. Wonder how cyberware such as Wired Reflexes is enhanced by something from a matrix book?! The prospect of  Technomancer groups similar to magical groups is pretty cool too.


Other changes of note...


The FAQ does point out Missions must deviate from Core Rules from time to time.


There's Shadowrun dice?! Sweet, my physical books count as NERPS!!! Awesome. Will come in handy in two weeks! Hmm, our group should make our own Shadowrun shirts...


Palming is addressed. Glad it's default-able in Missions.


Ways don't cost double Karma once play starts? Good change since PCs are confined to specific arcs.


Finally, PCs do have a specific list of chemicals they can use. Considering Neo-Tokyo's no gun policy the list may receive much use...


There's an errata for a Season 5 module too.


A nice incremental change here. Nothing earth-shattering but does expand options.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Tuesday Night Gaming Will Be A Regular Thing Again!

Before I begin, I want to apologize to any mobile users who view this blog's mobile version. On Saturday, when I mentioned the 'Halloween' label, I assumed one can see labels on the right-hand column. That is the case for the Web Version. The Web Version is the version I typically use for blogging purposes. Rarely, do I consult how this blog appears on mobile. Well, turns out I was wrong. The mobile version only lists posts. No links. No blog roll. No labels. So I apologize to any mobile readers scratching their heads.


How does labels relate to this blog post?


Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of the year, my FLGCS moved its organized game play events to Tuesday Nights. Back during the early days of this blog before my gaming drought, I participated in a regular Tuesday Game and would blog about it. I've included the label with my 'Five Take-Aways' because the sessions occurred on Tuesdays.

Simple enough, right?


However, it wasn't a regular thing because my schedule didn't allow it.


Thus, whenever I used the label it felt hollow. Wasn't a regular Tuesday Game.


Next month changes the dynamic. My schedule will soon allow me to game regularly on Tuesday nights at my FLGCS. Heck, I could play in a home campaign as I could attend reliably.


Does this mean I'll play every Tuesday night? Maybe. Significantly, more than once a month.Which is all that matters.


Will be nice to have a regular, as much as organized play is, Tuesday Night Game again.


Next time.

Halloween 2018: Blogging of Halloweens Past the Second

I am getting a jump on my Halloween blogging early this year. Maybe. Hopefully. Posting more than one or two posts before mid-month. Or thirteen days prior...


Last year, I compiled links to all my previous Halloween blogging along with a byline for entry. Make it easier for those that don't want to scroll down and click on the Halloween label. Time is money after all! Plus, clicking the label brings up EVERY Halloween labeled post so it's more convenient for the discriminating reader too. Since last year was the first, why not do a second?


I had the notion I would blog additional Halloween-related entries over the last year. Didn't quite happen. Funny, right?


We'll start with last year's compilation spanning entries from 2015 and 2016. I am NOT repeating the bylines here. C'mon... Think of it as Halloween scavenger hunt!


2017


D&D PC costume party - was my first original 2017 Halloween 2018 entry. Basically,  a game report (really should do more of those...) of when my Half-Orc Barbarian Grogg attended a costume party during Adventurers League module.


Three Halloween Links - Shared three links concerning unorthodox burial and funeral rites, Polish folklore of monsters,  and a Polish poem that inspired the Witcher.


Walking Dead Season 6 Marathon First Half - I marathoned season 6 of The Walking Dead on Netflix about half way. Here's what I thought of each episode. Should probably finish the season this year...


2017 OneBookShelf Halloween Jack O'Lantern Tricks and Treats Haul - 'Nuff said. Other than the tricks, I haven't read any of the free PDFs yet...


2017 Sunday Comics Page Thoughts - Aha! Something I did read! My two cents on the Halloween-themed Sunday Comic Strips in the Sunday Paper.


Shadowrun Missions Module that best fit a Halloween theme - A game report of a Shadowrun Missions module I felt could serve as perfect fit for Halloween night.


Halloween Night - My entry on All Hallows' Eve. A potpourri. Check it out... if you dare!!!


Technically, my post on October 1st combining Dave Arneson Game Day and Halloween counts as previous Halloween-related post as it precedes this compilation. So if you haven't read it yet, here it is for your convenience. Still haven't converted the Horsemen of the North to 5E yet...


Halloween is roughly 25 days away!


Next time.

Happy 68th Birthday Peanuts Gang!

Two historic occasions occurred upon this day. One, this will be my 365th blog entry. If I blogged daily, I've finally reached a full year's worth of blogging! Only took... er a decade and roughly four months to do so.


What's that, you say? You want to know what tonight's blog entry is really about? It's not enough for you to bask in my blogging accomplishment?


If you're response to my question is "Good Grief!", you're much closer to the second milestone and what today's blog entry is really about... The 68th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip and the Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang!

Image courtesy of the Charles M. Schulz Museum

The Peanuts comic strip holds a fond place in my heart; and while my interest did wane at times, I've grown to appreciate the strip more and more the older I get. Plus, I find I identify with the characters more as I age while the stay the same age locked in comic strip time.

What better way to celebrate the Peanuts comic strip than a twenty minute video primer on Schultz, the comic strip itself, and its cultural impact? Runs about 20 minutes and there is an ad at around the 14 minute mark that lasts 2 minutes.



Pretty neat. I admit I never knew one or two of the bonus facts mentioned after the ad. No spoilers...

Speaking of Peanuts I do plan to finally kick that football, er read the holiday-oriented strips and blog about them this year. Unless the football is pulled away...

Happy 68th Birthday Peanuts comic strip!

Till my next 365th blog entry! Even if it takes another decade...

Next time.

Blog Spotlight: Never Say You Can't Combine Halloween with Dave Arneson Game Day

October 1st marks two special occasion to this gamer and blogger. One, Halloween is roughly thirty-one days away. Long-time blog readers will note Halloween receives a great deal of notice here. I've also played Dungeons & Dragons for ages. As such, I thank the creators of D&D, and by extension the inspiration for the hobby of table-top role-playing games, for hours of enjoyment. However, the early days of RPGs was very rough-and-tumble and one of the co-creators, Dave Arneson, didn't garner the attention and praise as much as he should. To rectify that, fans such as those at The Comeback Inn have declared October 1st, Dave Arneson's birthday as Dave Arneson Game Day. They have an event page too!


Who is Dave Arneson? Writer James Maliszewski  (his blog Grognardia is linked too within the blog roll to your left) wrote a quick primer on Arneson for Goodman Games (publishers of Dungeon Crawl Classics among other game lines). The Comeback Inn forums reproduces said piece here. Among Arneson's creations was the setting of Blackmoor. That's important for later...


I really wanted start October with a Halloween-related blog entry, while also blogging about Dave Arneson Game Day. A couple problems. First, Dave Arneson Game Day doesn't naturally lend itself to Halloween. Plus, I didn't really do much for it once again other than check out a couple links.


However, among those links was a blog entry from the blog, The Gnomish Embassy, which did in fact combine Halloween and Arneson's setting of Blackmoor. As such, it's time for another installment of Blog Spotlight where a hype another blogger's stuff!


The combination in question is the Horseman of the North! Remember the story Sleepy Hollow and legend of Headless Horseman? Well, the Horseman of the North is that very concept imported into the setting of Blackmoor! Only downside for this D&D player is that the stats are for the game Savage Worlds. While I am familiar with Savage Worlds rules, I am not fluent in them. So I can't speak so much for the stats. However, I do love the story of the Horseman of the North so once I acquaint myself more with Savage Worlds a 5E conversion could be in order. Well, unless the creator converts Horseman of the North first...


Heck, I should probably check out The Gnomish Embassy blog more thoroughly too!


Happy Dave Arneson Game Day!


Halloween is in 31 Days!


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Initial Thoughts on DC Universe Streaming / Subscription Service

Couple weeks ago, IT launched. Mid-month strikes me as on odd time to kickoff a monthly streaming/subscription service yet DC decided it was the perfect time to officially launch its new DC Universe. Haven't binged any movies or television shows. Didn't chat all things on DC using the forums. Can't say I've spent hours reading any of the comics offered online. What I did do was sample enough of everything (except the forums) to get an initial first impression of DC Universe. Since October is literally a day way, now makes a good a day as any to give my two cents. If I waited until October, I may as well as wait until I've done all the above, right?


Forums: Pretty much stated in my opener, I never used them. Honestly, I don't really plan to. Unless of course actual folks on DC visit the forums. Then, I will participate gleefully. Interacting with creators is tremendous fun indeed.


Television: While none of the Arrowverse shows are available on DC Universe, there are plenty of gems. The cancelled-before-its-time Constantine is here. Birds of Prey. Heck, the live-action Superboy, which was among my wishlist when I was 'deciding', is among the shows offered. There's animated shows such as the classic Superfriends as well as Bat-man: the Animated Series. Initially, I thought only the first season was available for each show. Thought it was very strange that multiple seasons were mentioned until I noticed a dropdown box wherein the user can select a specific season.


The quality of the video is top-notch. Matches quality offered by the likes of Netflix and Hulu. Speaking of Hulu, fast-forwarding through an episode of Batman:TAS did NOT trigger any breaks for advertisements. Leads me to believe, there are no commercials! Another neat feature is one's progress on an episode is saved so you pick up right where left off. You can also add a series to your favorites.


Movies: Among the initial offerings are the Christopher Reeve Superman films along with the animated movies of which DC recently released a tenth anniversary collection. As a recent purchaser of said collection, only a small handful of them are available for streaming on DC Universe upon initial launch. So I don't feel foolish along that front... Did feel the movie selection was a bit low; but it is the initial launch. Other than that I haven't streamed any of the movies yet so that awaits further comment.


Comics: Initial selection is quite extensive.  Most recent comics offered digitally, ala Marvel Digital Comics - digital issues aren't available for purchase at the moment, stop at Rebirth issue 1s. That said, there's samplings of New 52, post-Crisis, and in-between. Dark Knight Returns is available to be read digitally online. Personally, I am pumped Johns/Eaglesham's Justice Society of America's first eleven issues are offered. Looking to become familiar with Captain Marvel/Shazam before the upcoming Shazam! movie? Well, Ordway's Power of Shazam! awaits your perusal.


I've read a smattering of comics online via several platforms from Nook Digital Comics to Dark Horse Digital to Marvel Digital Unlimited on my PC. Have to say DC Universe perfectly aligns the page with screen! Art and lettering is perfectly readable. No shrinking nor enlarging is required. Don't have to toggle from panel to panel nor toggle from panel readout to full page layout. Like television shows, DC Universe saves your progress on a given comic. Plus, titles can be added to a favorites list.


The two cons I see with the digital comics is there is much duplication among titles (which is rather odd) and I haven't noticed a search option yet. If offerings rotate, the bloated list is fine. Otherwise, searching through the comics library will become a hassle once it expands.


Overall, my initial impression of DC Universe is very favorable. A heavy user might worry about the size of the initial content. If this is your only streaming service and your first foray into digital comics, I could see one binging through the library within maybe six months. On the other hand, I don't forsee myself exhausting the initial launch within twelve months of my subscription. Maybe by the fifteenth month. However, the original programming such as Titans and Doom Patrol will have debuted by then. Quality-wise, I am quite pleased as well. We'll see how my opinion changes once what's new is well-acquainted.


Periodic updates to come.


Next time!

Five Take Aways from Shadowrun Missions on 9/25/18

Huzzah! After months passing without playing my Shadowrun Missions character Nox, tonight on Tuesday Night Game sessions at my FLGCS we finally did so. We were a little rusty especially with a couple of relatively new players. Yet, not as rusty as we've been after past the hiatus or two. The eighth and final season of the Chicago arc is definitely heating up. If the next mod or two were to begin In Media Res (start with action), I wouldn't be surprised. Learned the hard way that not preparing for any eventuality leaves my character at a disadvantage. Well, I am kind of exaggerating there as only my play style was impacted...


If you read yesterday blog entry, I did use reagents quite a bit this session. My combat mage did attempt to bind a couple elementals spending a Middle lifestyle's worth to do so. The one elemental played a pivotal role... Boosting spell limits with reagents had a moderate effect. Nothing too earth-shaking; but the original limit imposed by the spell's force was exceeded on both occasions.


Now the follow-up to yesterday's blog entry is out of the way AND the focus is off me, here's five take-aways from tonight's session of Shadowrun (5E) Missions.


Never leave home without grenades or an ambulance-rigged with autodoc - If you ever saw the series Firefly/movie Serenity, there's a scene involving Reavers when Jayne says to Mal 'Don't you wish I brought some grenades!' Shadow runs involve discrete missions. Setting-wise, grenades are a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. However, once again, without one of PCs carrying grenades (and a lot of C4!) we wouldn't have gotten far in the module. A different PC's character drives a converted ambulance equipped with autodoc (a device that's kind of like bacta tank from Star Wars), which helped quite a bit and could've helped more.


So if I attack an opponent while moving past, my opponent can't attempt to strike me and halt my movement?! - As D&D 5E rules, we're well aware of opportunity attacks when opponents moves by. Furthermore, some abilities grant the ability to halt movement. Shadowrun has an interrupt action called Intercept whereby a character can spend a portion of initiative to melee strike the moving character and potentially halt their progress. We've used that to great effect against NPCs as have NPCs done so to PCs. Well, there's a loophole to that rule. Very first sentence states that if a moving character doesn't attack them then... Major revelation.


If a blow knocks me prone, my wounds can prevent me from standing?! - Speaking of another rule we discovered tonight, we learned the potential difficulty inherent in standing prone when injured. After a PC was knocked prone by a sniper's bullet, we learned not only is it an action to stand but an attribute test modified by wound penalties is required to stand! Really affected the tempo of the scene...


A one-two combo of spending then later burning the same point of Edge leads to a heroic feat - One of the new PCs had to spend a point of Edge in order to carry a downed NPC out of a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, due to the Intercept interrupt action, said PC was placed subjected to a potential attack which would have impeded his progress with the hapless NPC. The player burnt the PC's spent Edge point to NOT be hit by the attack. By the game mechanics, the PC would not have evaded the attack otherwise. Very cool indeed.


Narration is a great way to speed our progress through the module - Its hard to tell if our rust and/or experience is what slows our progress through modules. Coupled with increasing epic scope of Season 8 Chicago modules, our table simply won't complete a module within a four hour time limit. The GM bypassed many encounters by narrating the outcomes based on input given by us. We'd easily spend multiple sessions if we played out every last scene. Not an option for us.


Once I actually blog my game reports, I did something new. Using my smartphone, I took photos of some of the combat scenes as we weren't using theater of the mind. Really should have snapped pictures sooner as describing the action can be a pain otherwise.


That's all.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

SR5: Drams of Reagents Are Deceptively Expensive

If everything goes to plan, I will play Shadowrun Missions for the first time in months tomorrow. What better way to prepare than by updating my PC, Nox the Combat Mage, right? Yeah, I should've had Nox updated sooner but it beats updating the character tomorrow. How does that relate to tonight's topic?


Part of updating a character is spending nuyen. I've long come to the conclusion that magicians really should use reagents in Shadowrun, fifth edition.


Reagents are magical components by the way, which enhance magic or are required for specific magical skills such as spirit binding.


Normally, a mana-slinger won't need a ton of reagents to bolster spells or aid in summoning spirits. Improving the Force in drams on reagents won't drain the credstick. They're like pocket change, chummer. Spend more nuyen getting dirt from a contact.


Binding spirits, on the other hand, cost double digits per Force of the spirit bound. A magician's credstick won't be worth drek if multiple high force spirits are bound. A Force 6 spirit costs more than a low lifestyle in credits!


The summoner/binder magicians with multiple bound spirits can easily spend a High lifestyle worth of credits in reagents.


Mighty costly considering one dram is 20 nuyen.


Certainly explains why there aren't more than two bound spirits encountered at any given time too.


Definitely won't happen in Missions. Nox can afford it because the PC has been low cost maintenance.


So I have a new appreciation for the value of reagents and bound spirits.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.