The Code Word, is Pepperoni
What a week in gaming! Each D&D game was terrific, from the higher tiered play all the way to folks just starting out in Icewind Dale and I have to say I really enjoyed all the player interactions and roleplay this week. We spent much of an entire session trying to work out a code word for weather the warforged should engage in combat or not, and I honestly don't think the group decided on anything at all. Im going to go with Pepperoni for now and let the possibilities present itself.
It may sound silly but this is a really great example of what makes a TTRPG like Dungeons and Dragons great. In what video game can one plan an adventure by interacting with friends and NPCs with limitless possibilities? There isn't one, not yet and that is why we play. From the streets of waterdeep to the western continent of Katashaka we sure have some amazingly creative players and it is amazing to watch.
On to the game recaps!
Monday PIFONs found Ara's ship! They also found that a bandit they have been tracking was on board. Naturally the party plotted their take over and, as soon as the dice started rolling that plan fell to pieces and the fighting ensued. We pick back up with the PIFONs this week as they seem to have the upper hand on the takeover of the ship and capture of the bandit.
Mad Mage Monday was an interesting evening. Some weird drow stuff was going down and the players fresh off battle with a number of strong fighters and magic users didn't have any trouble exploring and laying down the few enemies they ran into. This week they will circle back to some treasure they left behind and have a chat with their unlikely patron here on level 3 of the undermountain.
Tuesday night in Katashaka was an amazing T3 level battle with lots of magic and different enemy types. I really enjoyed watching the players in action, being synergetic and helping each other defensively as they took on some mighty strong arcane threats. It was pretty cool to see them be challenged but also each had an opportunity to shine and show off their class skills and player smarts.
Monster of the Week as a fun romp through cinematic monster history and an encounter wtih something new to the team - a biokinetic little girl able to manipulate organic matter. The secret to the mystery lied with her and I think the players figured things out a little ahead of the players characters, due to some interesting dice rolls. I'll remind them they have luck points next week! But seriously this system is fun when players fail forward - win or lose it's sure to be a good time.
Wednesday night resumed our Mad Mage way down on level 7, and I really don't know how to recap this without spoilers. Lets just say faerie dragons, giants, castles, and mage slayers were involved and some superior clever thinking from the characters has them holding the upper hand coming into this week's game.
Thursday's Rangoon Platoon was an epic fight with tricky fae creatures... the good news is the hero with no name got their name back! Remember kids, never give a fae your name! A few mysterious figures ghosted out from the Grandfather tree and seem to be owing the party a bit of a debt. Can't wait to see where we go from here.
Friday I hosted a corporate event where we did a mini hex crawl through the forest looking for a bugbear hideout. We did this mostly theater of the mind on zoom and it was a blast. Love these folks and am excited to host them monthly. Should be fun next month as we infiltrate the hideout!
Saturday in Icewind Dale found our adventurers with several moral quandaries and believe it or not a conversation about the nature of pepperoni and onomatopoeia. We had plenty of laughs but things got serious when the adventurers followed some ogre tracks into a cave - what could go wrong?
Sunday morning I hosted a family with a custom one shot and we had an absolute blast. Another game mostly on Zoom with a shared screen for locations and such worked perfectly. It was a pleasure hosting these folks and I really hope they have many more D&D game days together. I both hated and loved the ending, which as far as one shot goes is about as perfect as one can get!
Whew, that is a good amount of gaming this week! I had a blast hosting each one and as always, Adventure in courage friends!