To quote one of my players...

HOPLITES. IN SPACE.

If that makes you excited the way it does us and you haven't seen Hellas yet you might consider checking it out. He got an add for it when he received his order for Burning Wheel and told me about it. Of course, being the Bronze-ophile that I am I went over and downloaded the quickplay and it looks pretty neat. Hopefully I'll have some time at work tonight to read it over.

In the mean time I'm still waiting for Zach to send out the ENnies books. It's been three weeks now and I'm itching to get started. It looks like one of the books they got was Don't Lose Your Mind, the supplement to a game I loved last time I was an ENnies judge, Don't Rest Your Head. I think I meantioned it last time, but if not, the worst part about being a judge is waiting to see what gets entered. There's just so much good stuff out there right now.

Speaking of which, back to reading the Magic Burner so I can prepare for my new Burning Wheel game.

Judge voting

The ENnie awards, the gaming industry's awards handed out at GenCon every year, is currently voting for next year's judges. For anyone who is interested in throwing a vote my way my name is Jeramy Ware. I was a judge in 2007, and I've been nominated again this year. The voting margin is narrow, so every vote counts and is much appreciated. If anyone who wants to see the work I that I did last time you can pop over to http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/ where I blogged the whole process to see how I do it.

The voting booth can be found here: http://www.ennieawards.com/voting/judges.phtml

Thanks in advance for any support,
Jeramy

An example of Dresden character creation

One of my players did a fantastic job of writing out the exact method he used to create his Dresden character, and I've been granted permission to post it, so here it is:

*Lae Erg (Faerie name - given by mother)
*Russell Carver (Given name by Sophia Abaris)

High Concept: "Half-Fae Battle Wizard" (All Evocation, All the Time)
Personal Struggle: "My Father's Bargain" (Constant approaches by mother's minions, occasional distrust by the White Council in dealing with matters of the Fae, absolute hatred of father)

*Early Childhood*
*Father - the wizard Walter Carver - made a pact with the Sidhe Lady Siofra (Winter Court) for the life of his first born son in exchange for POWER
*Siofra made power play, trying to fuse a mortal line of wizards and the Sidhe
*Inherited Mother's Willfulness
*Intuitive understanding of magic's ebbs and flows - closely parallels Faerie Magic
*Father goes Rogue, becomes a Warlock and is "killed" by Wardens of the White Council - obviously, not dead
*Refused to take part in mother's plan - requested Asylum with the White Council at the age of 15

Skill Biases: Discipline, Conviction, Rapport and Deceit, Performance
Aspect: "Kissed by the Winter Court" (Appearance, Demeanor, Implied
Political Ties, Magical Aptitude, Smoochies with Maeve???)

*Apprenticeship/Rising Conflict*

*Studied under the tutelage of the witch Sophia Abaris - a Warden of the White Council
*As a Warden - Sophia excels at Evocation - a talent she has passed on to her pupil
*Apprenticed for 10 years, found his natural understanding of magic (and incidental usage of Faerie magic patterns) rapidly increased the progression of his studies
*Passed the tests to become a Wizard and was voted in as a member of the White Council at the age of 25
*Possible undercurrents of romance with his mentor
*White Council sometimes doubts his loyalty due to Sidhe heritage

Skill Biases: Discipline, Lore, Weapons, Scholar
Aspect: "Pupil of Sophia Abaris - Witch, Warden and Evocator" (Magic use, Lore, Weapon/Combat Skills)


*Novel*

"An Unnatural Union"

When a Warden of the White Council of Wizards is found slain - killed by internal watermelon growth, the White Council dispatches Wizard Russell Carver to investigate the possibility of an alliance between the Faeries of Summer and the Red Court of Vampires. But the truth is even more sinister than the White Council could ever have imagined. Can the half-fae wizard break apart an unnatural union between Summer, Winter and Vampire before they tip the war not just against the Wizards, but against mankind itself?

(Frankie's Addition)
With it being mid-summer in Texas, Russell decides to use his powers of persuasion to coerce his cousin, and occasional collaborator, Private Investigator Liz Carver, to help him narrow down the investigation. After all, watermelons are plentiful in this area and could have come from many different locations. The impulsive wizard’s got some good ideas, but it’s going to take some major digging to unearth this mystery.

Skill Biases: Presence, Empathy, Fists
Aspect: "Blood of the Thunder Dragon" (Asshole extraordinaire, maybe could be used in combat given his grandpappy's propensity for it)


Other Aspects: "Heir to a Dying Rage" - From Will's Addition (Heir to Ramon's curse - can tap to summon Ramon, or as people accuse him of creating the curse itself, consequences of the curse) , "Stubborn as a Ram" - From my addition to Kele (Use is obvious - hates to agree with people, thinks he's always right, can also be tapped positively for Will Power kind-of checks)

The introduction to my new 7th Sea game

The Explorers and their charge ducked down a tight alleyway just in time to avoid a half-dozen of the Cardinal's men as they rushed past. They were all breathing heavily for running and fighting, but there was exilleration there too. A mad amusement that can only come from battle.

The Montaigne swordsman gestured for the others to follow back out into the streets. "We are almost there," he said with a thick accent, and added under his breath: "I think." The streets and canals of the Vodacce city were maddeningly complex from a foreigner's perspective. Why in the world they would trust boats and stinking rivers to carry their goods and people through town, the swordsman would never guess.

They had only broken cover by a few steps with the cry came out. No one waited to be told, they simply drew their blades and formed a circle, backs together and waited for the press of men that was sure to come. The nobleman who was their charge smiled bitterly. "A raging battle through zee streets was not what I had intended when I asked you to help me put and end to a war." His words were chastising, but his eyes betrayed his amusement. His blade had proven no less eager to taste inquisitor blood.

The first group of inquisition soldiers threw themselves against the group, and for a moment there was too much confusion to hold a real conversation. Never-the-less, it didn't stop them from trying.

"Begging your pardon, your Lordship, but there was really very little choice after the Ussuran decided to take missuer Andres' cloak by wrenching it off his neck." He ducked one blow, caught another with his crossed rapier and main-gauche, and then kicked his assailant backwards to make room for a fatal thrust.

The big Ussuran snorted, and brought his blade down heavily onto the weapon arm of yet another brute, severing it cleanly. "I had no choice. It was a skin taken from brother hinde without permission. The thing screamed for me to set it free."

Their Avalonian companion laughed a bit."Next time someone's garments start yelling at you, could you give us a touch of warning perhaps?" He swung his axe in a tight circle, bringing all the force he could forward onto the neck of the man facing him. His face still bore a look of surprise as his head rolled into a gutter while the body fell back into a canal.

"Enough." The nobleman seemed amused by their banter, but he was on an important mission. A quick riposte and an almost surgical thrust into the heart ended his opponent, and he began to move almost immediately through the breach he had created. "We need to move before half the city is upon us." He glanced into the canal at the boats stopped there to watch the battle. "Follow me." With a smooth motion he dropped down into the canal, stopping long enough to tip his hat to the man whose boat he had landed in, and the leapt from ship to ship until he reached the far wall, and scrambled up it.

With a smile and a shrug the Avalonian followed him, not even glancing back to see his two companions finish off the last of the patrol and run after him. Within minutes they were away from the patrols, their enemies just a cacophony of shouts and alarms well behind them. The next time they ducked into an alley it was because they had arrived at their destination. The Explorers' charge knocked three times in quick succession at the door before them, and a tall Castillian dressed in black answered. "Missuers," Lord Defoe said as he introduced them to their host, "I present you with the Marquis Darius Vilanova de Castille."

The last of the Dresden rules fall into place.

So, yesterday the Dresden playtesters finally got our hands on the magic rues, and I'm just starting to tear into them. So far they look great, though I know this is an early draft, so I expect there to be some minor changes.

This is exciting to me, because I'm running two playtest campaigns, and thus far we've been glossing over magic, or postponing the game. I intend to get into the actual campaigns later, but I thought I should at least jump on real fast while I had a minute and let those who are waiting know that it's getting significantly closer to the finish line.

Now I'm off to actually finish reading all those rules. I'll post more when I'm done.

Legends fall

As we watch our legends fall,
We see the light they've brought.
The dragons slain,
Princesses saved,
The darkness that they fought.

And here we stand alone at last,
On lonely mountain top.
Dreaming dreams,
Telling tales,
Our quest will never stop.

We will meet in darkened taverns,
Fight and drink and win.
Sally forth,
Down shadowed trails,
Blazed by greater men.

So come with me my boon companions,
Let us fight in his brave name.
Swing your swords,
Sling spells and dice,
Adventure, laugh, and game.

Your loss will be felt world-wide,
Mourned in homes, offices and schools
We will prevail,
The darkness fall,
Because you taught us the rules.

By Jeramy Ware, March 4, 2008
For E. Gary Gygax.
July 27, 1938 - March 4, 2008

To me nothing seems more fitting than the first Dungeon Master should pass on GM's day. Now the day will truly have meaning.

Austin in the Dresden-verse.

This is my group's first attempt to create a city using the city-creation rules in the Dresden RPG. I've only read the first four novels, so what I have here may not jive completely with what came after, but here goes:

Outsiders point to Austin, Texas as an eclectic blend of the liberal and conservative, tech savvy and environmentalism, party town, and business center. This perception, however, barely reaches below the surface, no matter how hard the chamber of commerce tries to force the illusion.

This city isn’t some beautiful blend of ideology; it’s a town at war with itself. Environmentalists strike socially, politically, and economically at any attempt to bring business into town. New businesses bring pressure against the city council to extort rules exceptions and tax abatements. The city council leans on its citizenry, rewording long-standing ordinances to fit their agendas and transforming the roads that form the city’s arteries into illegal toll-ways. And all the while the citizens argue with each other, fighting over special interests and private agendas to the point where reform is impossible.

Nothing but rats, fighting for high ground on a ship slowly sinking into chaos.

Aspects:

• State capital
• Warring ideology
• College town
• Live music capital
• Partying on 6^th street.
• Keep Austin Weird
• Environmental battles
• Silicon hills
• Plugged in
• Bats at sundown
• Robert Venaliter owns this town

Who cares about the city?

Since the city was nearly abandoned by vampires of the Red Court in favor of better picking just to the south in San Antonio it has become a sort of haven for young wizards and hedge mages seeking to avoid the war. None of these are particularly powerful, but all feel a sort of vested interest in keeping the town neutral, and they’ve proven themselves willing to fight when necessary.

Just because the Red Court has abandoned the city, however, it doesn’t mean that the town is free of vampiric influence. Austin is well known as a party town, with 24/7 live music, bars, and college students out looking for a thrill. This is an image perpetuated and financed by the White Court, who find the young party-goers to be a virtual smorgasbord of emotion and appetite every weekend night.

Finally there’s the striking figure of Robert Vinaliter himself. A much-loved politician who keeps his fingers in every pie in the city, carefully riding the fence, simultaneously avoiding tying himself to any cause while convincing the people of the city that he supports them completely. Unimpeachable and untouchable, there is a darker side to Mr Venaliter however. The hedge mages of the city are convinced that he dabbles in the dark arts, and that the endangered bats that call the city home and give it its identity somehow answer to him, going forth at night as a legion of tiny spies gathering information for him to use against his enemies. Then again, they also believe that the toll roads serve as some sort of mystical process by which he purchases pieces of your energy a tiny bit at a time, so no one really takes such stories seriously.

Who keeps the peace?

For the longest time Austin was sort of a haven for the supernatural, kept as elysium by mutual unspoken accord. A group of aging hippy hedge mages did their best to keep the worst offenders in line, while the White Court made an example out of any of their own who went too far and began to scare away party goers and tourists.

Recently, however, there has been a subtle shift in the balance that threatens to ignite the chaos boiling just under the city’s surface. A new group of technologically adept vigilantes seems to be very aware of the supernatural in the city, and very willing to bring the finances and technology of the city’s formidable tech center to bear against it. No one knows quite what they do with the creatures they capture, but it’s clear that they see no difference between creatures of the Nevernever and mortal practitioners. Anyone who draws too much attention makes themselves a target. It’s true that they serve to keep the peace, but without a clear idea of who might really be behind their attacks (though hushed whispers speculate that a member of the Black Court might be seeking victims), one begins to wonder about their deeper motivations.

How do mortals cope?

Until recently the supernatural activity in Austin has been seen as little more than a joke, an urban myth the college kids use to scare one another when walking home from a late night on 6^th street. Lately, however, one is forced to wonder. No one outright says that they believe something weird is going on; well, not supernaturally weird, but everyone can feel the subtle shift in the air, and they seem to subconsciously draw themselves into small groups of like-minded individuals, fighting their little economic and political struggles as a prelude to real war.

All the while they laugh at themselves and proudly proclaim: Keep Austin Weird, as though the mantra would ward off the truly disturbing creatures that roam their streets.

What interests a supernatural tourist?

As noted above, Austin is home to a number of supernatural creatures and practitioners. Most of whom would be glad to help a visitor to the city in exchange for their service in whatever is to come. The White Court makes an appealing offer to the young and disenfranchised, with party’s drugs, liquor, and music available on-call, and the town’s hedge mages work well together to provide holistic and spiritual guidance to those new to their power.

The Driskill Hotel, a famous Austin landmark, is also home to the Suicide Brides, a pair of ghosts who each committed suicide in room 525, 20 years apart on their wedding day. For years the room was bricked up and sealed off from the rest of the hotel to try and contain their curse, but ten years ago the current owns tore down the brick as part of the hotel’s renovation, only to find the bath tub filled with crystal clear water, though the faucet didn’t drip and the floor was completely dry. To this day it is said that one can go to the room and refill the tub with water to speak with the brides, who seem very self-aware and tuned into the spiritual happenings in the city.

Lastly, there dwells in Barton Springs an exiled noble fairy of the summer court who calls the underground spring and pool her home. She is said to make deals with other fey creatures and mortals alike to protect her home and grant her a measure of power in our world. This fairy, fashioning herself as “Lady of the Springs”, may well have given rise to the environmental movement that seems to have completely gripped south-west Austin, a movement most easily identified with the “Save Our Springs” (or, SOS) Alliance.





A note: The character of Robert Venaliter is completely fictional and not based on anyone really (except maybe a tad on our corrupt governor :) ). Also, I can't help but equate Willie Nelson in my mind with the hippy hedge wizards. Does that make Matthew McConaughey an apprentice?

A busy couple of weeks.

Wow, I let two more weeks slip by...

Anywho, I've been keeping busy, which is good I suppose, but I took Saturday night off and vegged out, no games, no work, no planning adventures, and played a couple of mindless Flash games on the internet.

The primary reason I've been so busy was that I finally got around to running a Riddle of Steel one-shot that I've been thinking about for a while now. I called it Cry Havoc, and it was set in Briton in 419 AD. It was a lot of work, but it was a heck of a lot of fun. I spent most of the time boning up on the RoS rules, researching the time period, and writing up histories, descriptions, and character sheets for the pregens. If I get a chance I'll post them here some time, I think they turned out well.

Anywho, the game went great, with nearly everyone playing their characters to the hilt. I did have a couple who just couldn't seem to run their characters as written, but it didn't really matter at all. The roleplay was fantastic, the story was great, and the system held up well. Or, at least I thought so...

Some of my players weren't too happy with Riddle of steel, which is unfortunate, because I really want to use it to run my Pendragon campaign. Sigh. It is pretty darn crunchy, and the one combat we ran did take an hour and a half, but I think a lot of our problems simply came with lack of familiarity.

Ah well, maybe we'll try it again some time.

Other than that I didn't do a huge amount of game-related stuff. I own a small business and the end of January is a tough time, taxes and paperwork eat every free moment.

I did get a whole slew of Dresden stuff, and I'll be running my first playtest Thursday. I finally managed to get NDAs to all of my players Saturday, so thing with that will start rolling fast now.

I can't even begin to describe how impress I am with what I've gotten so far. City creation, which I'll be doing this week, is a neat addition, and the non-supernatural stunts are pretty damn cool. I desperately want to make a martial artist who uses Conviction and Fists to kick supernatural butt. A dedicated Taoist...

Anywho, I'll post more after we finish the first session later this week, but it's pretty darn hot.

Speaking of Dresden.... I've been putting off reading the background stuff we got pretty much first thing because I was afraid of spoilers, but I can't really do that anymore. I just finished book 4, Summer Knight, earlier this morning, and I don't see myself getting to the others any time soon. It's too bad really, they're a heck of a lot of fun.

Alas poor Spirit of the Century, I knew him.

My Spirit of the Century game ended last night, and, while I feel pretty good about how it ended, I'm pretty bummed about the aftermath.

The game itself was fun, especially the end. The final battle took place on an Atlantean outpost which had been raised from the bottom of the sea by a volcano. The group got into a gun battle through the ruins as the unstable city itself crumbled around them, slowly but inexorably falling into the volcano while they fought with the shadowy mastermind whose plans they had been opposing for the last three sessions.

It was brilliant, it was fun, and it really hit on all cylinders. In the end we finished an hour and a half earlier than usual without even noticing. Everything just flowed so fast and free that it was over before we knew it.

And then there was nothing. It was over.

It's a little sad really. We've played eight sessions in a row, and it's been so much fun, yet most of us feel like we're ready to try something new, and use Spirit of the Century the way we had originally intended, as a pick up game for those days when some of the group can't make it to our other regularly scheduled campaigns.

The problem is that one of our players is so into the game that I actually feel bad insisting on changing when its very clear that she doesn't want to. Even the thought of moving on to Dresden doesn't really excite her. She's really into the characters we made and the vibe we created, and as a newish gamer I worry that she thinks we won't be able to recapture it. The only other game she had played in with us was a Shadowrun game that ended disastrously with an out of character group blow-up that ended with the loss of two players.

I guess when your first experience with a group is tainted by two players who added so much stress and conflict that it felt like they were trying their hardest to tear apart the whole group you kinda hold on to the game that has been fun and exciting throughout.

Still, I really feel like it's time to step into something else (while keeping SotC in reserve for pick up games), and I have a lot of games I really want to do right now, but none of them really seems to interest her. At best I get a "Whatever you guys want to do," which I find infuriating.

Ah well, I guess it's back to the drawing board for now at least. I'm not going to attempt Pendragon with a group without total buy-in, and I know it's only a matter of time before I have enough Dresden to really get down and play, so maybe it's best this way.

Still, I'm going to miss that Spirit of the Century game.

A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.

Some switching around of games

Beginning work on playtesting the Dresden Files RPG is going to cause a few small problems in my group, most notably the fact that I have too many games, and not enough time. Now that is a very good problem to have. How many players actually complain that they have too much gaming to do?

Anywho, it's going to cause a bit of shifting in my current play schedule. Mostly because I'm too stubborn to give up the games I really want to run, and I've well and truly talked myself into playing Pendragon. Well, I've talked myself and my group into it.

I was a little shocked honestly. I expected some arguments when I broached it as our replacement for Spirit of the Century, but I think sometimes I don't give my groups enough credit, particularly that one. I always think I'm going to have to pull teeth to try something new, but they always jump right on board. It makes me pretty proud of the people we've gathered together. So many GMs out there complain about never playing what they want, and my players always just step up and tell me that they trust me to pick a good game and make it fun.

I love my players.

Anywho, the point is, I'm going to have to do a little shuffling. I talked up the Pendragon game so much I doubt I can back out now, so that needs to be fit in, and I have to make room for Dresden too.

I think for right now Dresden will take the place of the Spirit of the Century game we're wrapping up this Friday, but that really only gets me half the play time I want. I run Spirit of the Century every-other week, and I want to do weekly playtests. So I think the solution there is going to be running two Dresden games with two separate groups, both bi-weekly. That'll give me weekly playtests, and get a few more ideas from more players. For that, I think I'll see about moving one of my Spycraft games to a bi-weekly schedule. Then I can use my Sunday group to help out as well. That's not a game I'm running right now (one of my players is trying his hand at game mastering), so I'll have to ask, but I don't see it being a problem.

That just leaves Pendragon, and I'm not really sure what to do about that. It may just have to be put off until my Spycraft games end, which is really too bad. Mostly because I think my Spirit of the Century players will really enjoy it.

My plan is to actually run two Pendragon games, with two separate groups, on the same timeline, in the same world. Have them follow competing (though not necessarily fighting) lieges, and watch as hilarity ensues.

I could probably squeeze in one more game right now, but I doubt I could do two without giving up my Monday nights, the only night I keep for myself, and I'm just not willing to go there yet.

Ah well, good game ideas can wait, especially for something as good as I know Dresden is going to be, and it's only a matter of time until my Spycraft games both wrap up.

Huzzah! We have Dresden!

Ok, so I will soon have Dresden, in some form or fashion, but I'm very hyped at the moment.

If the new tag on the left isn't obvious enough, my group was selected to be a part of the Bleeding-edge alpha playtest that Evil Hat is doing, and from the briefest of teases I've seen so far I simply can't wait.

I've been wanting to run Dresden since I first caught the show on Sci-fi, in fact, I intentionally tapped a little of that vibe with the Eternal Warriors game that I recently finished up, but having really gotten into Spirit of the Century over the last few months I really can't wait to sink my teeth into this.

There will definitely be more to come.

What I've been up to, or Games Galore.

Since I stopped blogging I've done a ton of reading and writing, but I'll touch more on that some other time. Today I just want to talk about games.

I mentioned yesterday that I've been gaming more than ever before since I got back from GenCon, but I thought I'd go into just a touch of detail to show just how much that is true.

Right after GenCon I wrapped up the Shadowrun 4th edition, Scion: Hero, and D&D games I had been running. Not long after I got back I had my car accident and took a bit of time off, but I put that time to good use, writing, planning, and preparing.

When I pulled myself together we jumped right into two biweekly games (alternating Fridays). Part of the group and I started a fantastic Spirit of the Century campaign that's still going on (though, much to our sadness that will be wrapping up next week). It's been the most fun I've had with this group, but it's time to move on for a bit, and given the contents of an email I received tonight I might know exactly what we're moving to. More on that when I find out what I can say.

The other Friday game was a GURPS 4e Traveller game set just after the 3rd Interstellar War. That one's still going as well, but it has the whole group in it, and it's been more than a little rocky. Hopefully however the kinks are starting to work themselves out. We had some player changes, and these things always seem to cause a few grouping pains.

Let's see, what was next. I'm pretty sure the next game we did was a one shot Don't Rest Your Head game for Halloween. I took out a bit of the supernatural and ran it as a zombie survival horror game, which I think the system itself did perfectly. The game itself could have been better, but I think that had more to do with us as players than the game. We simply weren't in the mood, and it's hard to be scary when everyone is laughing and getting to know one another again (as per the "growing pains").

Right after that I started a new GURPS game on Sunday nights that I'll go into a bit more detail on later. It's a bit of a cross between Fireborn In Nomine, and The End. To date it may have been the most powerful time that I've had running a short-term game in the 25 years I've been gaming. Even though... strike that... probably because both characters ended up dying in the final act.... Sacrificing themselves to save the world.

In November I added a Saturday game to my roster as well. This one is a Spycraft 2nd edition game set in a world very much like our own. It's been a lot of fun, but I see it morphing very soon into something much deeper.

Finally, my newest game is a Tuesday night DnD game set in the Five Fingers. If anyone read my review on the other site you know how much I absolutely love that product. It's been a little slow, but we're only three or so games in, and I can feel it picking up steam, which is cool.

So, I guess that's it really. I know it's not a huge number, bt it is 5 games run 4 nights a week. Actually, that's not quite true. I forgot to mention that one of my players is running a short-term Sunday night Spycraft game now, replacing the GURPS game in which I killed his character. If this works out it will mark my first significant time as a player in 15 years.

As for what's next, who knows, but I'm dying to find out, and that's a first for me in a really long time. That's really how I know I've recaptured whatever it is that I had lost. It's not just that I'm gaming more, or even that the games are that much better. It's that I'm liking it more, having more fun, and looking forward to the future.

Hopefully this other thing will work out, but if not, who knows, I'm thinking Pendragon....

GenCon is a great cure for burn-out.

Yeah, I know GenCon was a long time ago, but I've been meaning to make this post since then.

I went into GenCon with some pretty heavy burnout. Like, thinking about stopping playing type burnout.

At the time I was in denial, calling it anything but burnout, but really, that's what it was. Maybe it had something to do with the ENnies, or maybe it was some difficulties my group was having. Heck, maybe it was just a touch of mid-life crisis, who knows. The fact is, it hit me hard.

And then I went to GenCon.

You know, at the time I was there I wasn't really sure I was having a great time. Nothing really worked out the way I wanted it to, I didn't really game much, I had no plan, and my friends were staying at a hotel so far away it may as well have been on the other side of the city.

And yet... I'm not sure how to describe it, but a week after I was home and rested I wished I could go back. I felt refreshed and revitalized, I found myself thinking about cons and trying to make plans to make sure I could make it back in '08. Basically I just felt like I had recaptured a little bit of that RPG magic that I had let drain away. Maybe it was all the great people I got to meet, or the new books, but I really feel like it was just something in the air. There's something about being surrounded by thousands of people who think just a little like you do.

Anywho, I just had to get that out of my system. I went from being at one of the lowest moments in my gaming career, to playing more than I ever have, and enjoying it like I did in the beginning. To me that's pretty special. Sappy, but special.

Thanks to everyone who was a little part of that.

And you thought I said I was back....

Yeah, so it turns out that right before the holidays is generally a bad time to start doing much of anything, even blogging. Especially if you're just gearing up for a court battle with the ex-wife.

Anywho, this is not about such things, so it's the last time I mention it, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for all the down time.