Nick the Genius

With several members of my D&D group already posting their own game reports ( The Talking Bookcase , Untitled Games , and Mad Traditions ), and with me needing to stay more engaged with the game, I decided to do something a little different with mine. If you look to the right you will see I have added a new page, where I will be posting my reports. They are going to be dramatic retellings of our adventures, told through the eyes of my character, I am extremely rusty with my writing ability and greatly encourage feedback and criticisms. Enjoy.

<UPDATE> page removed, link to the story: part 1

When I was in grade school my parents, probably scared silly by Reagan era Republicans, refused to let me play D&D, because it was “demonic”. Leaving how ridiculous that is aside, I spent my childhood mostly immersed in single player video games.

As a result, while I have played pen and paper games several times, I have never really gotten that hang of them. Take for example the campaign I am currently playing. The group, except for me, is largely made up of experienced pen and paper players, most of whom have played several campaigns together. I, on the other hand, have only played several short lived games, most of which not D&D. That, coupled with my general lack of computational skills, and being used to games that hide all the number crunching from me, makes me a fish out of water.

I tend to spend a longer amount of time figuring out game mechanics than my fellow players. This means I have a hard time remembering how much to add to my rolls and in trying to figure out which ability I should use next. This makes me feel like I am always a step behind everyone else, and tend to just ask them what I should do next, instead of figuring it out for myself.

This makes it hard for me to keep my mind on the game. So, when a tiny break from the game winds down, and the story pick back up, I sometimes miss the cues to get my head back in the game. At best I miss some important information and at worst I cause the group to backtrack in order to catch me up. Trust me, when that happens it is as much embarrassing for me as it is annoying for the group.

I intend to spend more time making myself familiar with the rules of the game, in an attempt to make it easier for me to play. Perhaps, more than anything else, I need more practice, and to remember to pay attention.

The other day one of my friends asked me if I would rather be a dragon or ride one. I immediately responded with: “be a dragon”. Suffice it to say, I like dragons. A lot.

Some would say that this is unhealthy and that I need psychiatric help. They are probably right.

This whole conversation came about because I play D&D with a good group of friends. The other day we came back from a month long hiatus and played a rousing 10 hour session that saw our group (who I insist on calling the Tunnel Inspection Team. Think about it.) level twice. We met many colorful characters, fought ruthless villains, found a boat to protect us, but the crowning moment was when I befriended a dragon.

Let me repeat that… I befriended a dragon.

It was the best thing ever.

His name is Merc, he is green, and we plan on hanging out next Saturday, maybe sit on some gold or something.