Friday
Went out to a Sabbat game in Riverside. Took a lot longer to get free from work than I suspected and a lot longer to drive out. You’d think the freeways would be kinder at 8:00 PM… but no.
Mr. Finger was off his game, I thought. Have to admit,
< rant >
If you’re gonna take a bunch of people who are not only brand new to your venue but playing MC 1 characters with less than 3 xp on their sheets… you do not throw them against an equal number of 9th Gens throwing 18 to 20 Traits, okay? This only accomplishes one thing: it makes people not want to come back to your venue.
< /rant >
Saturday
Spent a lazy Saturday cleaning. The Cookie Queen provided good company. Later that night my buddy savageplanet ran a hack ‘n’ slash D&D game. I invited latentblue to come along to get her first look at what that kind of game looks like.
We waited four hours while the other members of the party sold off their old magic items, bought new ones, and spend xp. Four hours. We both fell asleep.
The game “started” at 6… we left around 11. They had just started “playing.”
Sunday
I played 7th Sea. Really. And I had fun.
Playing 7S so close after the D&D Boredom Fest gave me a new D&D Rant. Trust me. It’s a short one.
< rant >
The system promotes inactivity. It’s simple. In L5R or 7th Sea, you have to think to get raises. You have to be creative. You have to be active.
“I want to shoot him in the eye,” you tell the GM, and the GM gives you raises. You have to think and be active.
In D&D, everything is on your character sheet. All your advantages. There is no incentive at all to think. You already have everything figured out for you. Your Base Attack Bonus is already figured. All your advantages come from stats, Feats, and Skills. There is no need to think at all. All your thinking is done for you.
This is why I get so bored at D&D games. I can’t think. I can’t come up with creative solutions for problems because all of my advantages are already listed for me on the sheet. I’ve never had a DM give me a “circumstance bonus” for any of my creativity in a D&D game because all my advantages are already right there. It’s almost like I’m cheating because I’m taking advantage of my…
< /rant >
< wake up stick >
OH. MY. GOD.
Harrison Bergeron.
With his glasses with a different perscription in each lens.
With his mis-matched ankle weights.
With his head phones that send random loud thoughts.
That’s what D&D is. It’s a measure to make sure none of us people who actually ROLEPLAY take advantage of our roleplaying skills! Everybody’s got their own advantages listed right there on their character sheets. Why do you need anything more?!?!? It’s RIGHT THERE!!!
I’ve had a revelation. Time to spread the good word. I’ll see you soon.