Character Creation

I am in the process of learning how to roll up a character from scratch- no husband help (well, not much!) and no computer program trickery. Yet. I always start out great- find a name, roll up some ability scores, do the modifier math and choose my skills. The I hit the speed bump- what class did I choose? Why oh why do I always research the skills and abilities the classes need to make them work after I roll them? A high intelligence always sounds really good- until I realize I chose a fighter, who doesn’t need to be able to read, write and figure arithmetic out there in the wilds- she needs the strength to be able to pick up that broadsword, much less the dexterity to dodge the answering smite of that goblin she’s attacking!

(side note here- when did this font get changed to 8.1?! I am so sorry! I can’t even read this as I’m typing it- how can anybody out in electron-land read it? Much less with their coffee in the morning over eggs and bacon?! I’m fixing it as we speak. . . )

Anywho. . .I’m trying to learn about this gaming addiction err, I mean this new hobby of mine, rather than just relying on the boys (insert batting eyelashes here, ugh) to do all the math for me, or to tell me which feats to take at level such-and-such. Oh, and who is Paizo kidding with this textbook they call the Core Rulebook? I can’t read this thing in bed, propped up with my cup of tea, it’s too heavy! The only place I can read it is at my desk, hunched over like it’s finals week and I’m crunching for a  History term paper! Ugh. This thing is a brick. But it has waay better pictures than my old schoolbooks ever did- so shiny, and pretty! Merisiel kicks butt in this book! (yes, I have an Elf Rogue- doesn’t everyone want to be Merisiel? Ahem.)

Sooo. . . I am slowly building a new Elf Sorceress (girls are sorceresses, boys are sorcerers. just sayin.) The new pamphlets outlining the continent and cultures of Tian Xia are making me crazy with all the ideas I keep getting: rogue-ninjas and samurai-fighters, not to mention the kitsune and tengu, and new branches of Elves, oh and all the new mobs they’ve created for this new continent. All new, all the time! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish choosing my weaponry- quarterstaff and dagger, definitely, but how many shuriken does a girl need up her sleeve, anyway?

A new Adventure (Path)

Saturday we held the first seating of a new game for the Jade Regent Adventure Path- that would be for the Pathfinder game system. Sigh- I knew when I bought all those Essentials books that theirs would be a short life, but I had hoped not that short! Oh well, 5th edition won’t be here for a while yet, so there is still hope. They are sitting on the shelf to my right, glaring at me accusingly. Well, some of them are sniffling and clutching their blankies, but you get the idea.

Saturday’s game, however, was a great excuse to increase the Pathfinder bookshelf by a few more needed items- specifically the Dragon Empires Gazetteer. Yes, it’s very cool- we’ll get to that in a bit. We also picked up the winter issue of Kobold Quarterly, a gaming magazine that is doing well for itself it would seem, judging by the new colour content- yaay Kobold! Keep up the good work! I love when the small companies are able to stay afloat long enough for their product to become the Next Big Thing.

We created a new table this year- due to schedule conflicts we lost one of our longtime favorite players last summer, and had been too busy over the holidays to audition new players until this year. Our gaming community has been steadily increasing the female- quotient in recent months, much to our delight, and we were able to introduce some new friends to our little home game- we now have three girls at our table! Saturday was soo much fun! Food, chit-chat, gaming, cheesecake- what more could you ask for? Goblins? Check!

Introducing a new player to the game was the name of the game this time around- and I think we did the job admirably! A Potluck lunch, followed by a short answer-and-question session, we then rolled straight into a getting-to-know-your-character scenario that was fun and interesting. Wizards, a rogue and a cleric, and a quick-witted GM who saved the day with a helpful Goblin Cleric, this table seemed to work well together- no one died, everyone got their spells off, and no one was left out of the action. I think that’s the most important part of any game- keeping everyone in the game play. Whether you win or lose, if you don’t know what’s happening, and your character isn’t active, you’re not having fun and you don’t want to ever see these people again! So we made sure to give everyone lots of activity, storytelling and time to ask their questions, and I think it actually was fun for everyone. . .

So- two of us tried out the new Kitsune character race, and decided it was kind of a mixed bag. Lots of fun to bust out as a Fox in the middle of a raid? Yes! And how nifty is that Bite attack? Nice! But I found the background a little difficult to work with- I generally play quiet, reserved and aloof Elves, and found it too hard to try to incorporate the “ mischief and trickery” aspect of the character during my first run. I do, however, fully expect her to be easier to role-play in future encounters.

I did think that a Kitsune Rogue was more effective (Thanks, J!) than the Kitsune Wizard- Rogue’s tend to be more Mischief-inclined, and have more opportunities for trickery (Slight-of-Hand and Back-Stabbing-Repartee come to mind here), although I have some ideas for a smart-mouthed wizard’s companion and a Rhyming-Spells themed wizard for future games. Ahem.

The Kitsune profile can be found in the Dragon Empires Gazetteer, along with the Nagaji, Samsarans and Tengus. Lots of beautiful illustrations, maps, Deities and a fully-loaded background for this new land set in the Pathfinder universe, it’s an ideal resource for your new home game. Or something to read as you wait for Game Day to start, Or if you’re sitting in the parking lot waiting for your kids to get out of school.

Or if you need a setting to show your favorite Dragon-lord who’s really the boss. . .

A new idea

Well, that didn’t last long did it? Everyday I write on Magickwyrds I see this template, which I love! The colours and textures of this background are so lovely- I wish I could paint a room in my house to look like this. And everyday my fingers itch to come back here and write about something. . . magickal. I thought three blogs was too hard- they are barely enough! I would have to write three posts a day to cover everything I have to talk about this year!

But that’s a bit much, don’t you think? So, maybe we’ll just meet here a couple of time a week, and discuss things like civilized people, shall we? I’d also like to change the focus a little over here at the Griffon’s Grimoire. I know I had some pretty grand ideas last summer, but it got intimidating to follow my own rules, and I let it get not fun to be here, so this time around we’ll just focus on the fun stuff, shall we?

Whatever that turns out to be. No rules today- only lists! This weekend I was making a list of all the Pathfinder Characters I would like to create this year, and all the things they need to make it in their little world.

Weezrds are fun, so they can stay here. Clairiks are. . . kinda tedious looking, so we’ll save them for later. But I think I need a Tank, because a Roog has no business being the first through the door- (and because most of the boys just stand around outside in the hall wondering what to do. . .)

Then there are the kinds of Characters to be! Gnooms and ilves and duwarphs and. . . Kitsune! And Ten glues! and Half-a-flings!

Well, this list just got unmanageable, didn’t it? And that much more fun. . .

When I started this blog, I had just begun hanging out with gamers, and learning to play the game. Now, a few short months later, I have two binders full of character sheets, and AR’s and Chronicles, and my own set of rule books, and more dice than my husband!

. . . What do you mean, no I don’t have more dice than you? Hmm. I need more dice, then. But I need to see them, cause you can’t tell what the colours are online. . . what’s this kon-ven-shun I’ve been hearing people talking about. . .