It's a safe bet that as big as D&D is, as many rules there are, classes and feats to choose from, it's going to take a while to get used to it all. Everyone's bound to screw up at some point. Your character died because you forgot to add your strength modifier to damage and didn't kill the big baddie before he could kill you, you forgot to increase your spells per day for a few levels, I'm interested in hearing what your story is for your biggest gaming goof-up. Post in the comments, or email us at girlsrolling20s@gmail.com Don't be shy. We don't bite... often...
For me, my biggest mistake was about character growth with my first character. She was a CG half-elf rogue named Ranel. I'd made her for another game before I started college and joined my first group. She'd really only been played once, and I wanted to use her again when I joined DM's game. I started around level 7 or 8, I believe, and Ranel was originally very low level. With DM's help, I upgraded her to the proper level and joined in the game.
A few levels later, I was getting worried about her. Our game was somewhat combat heavy, and I was afraid she wasn't strong enough to survive the combats much longer. I think I was spending a good amount of time hiding versus fighting. DM took one look at my character sheet and was absolutely shocked! I remember he even later commented he was amazed I'd survived that long in the first place. Newbie me had completely forgotten to add my Constitution to my HP each level! I was just taking the base roll of her d6! I occasionally still do this. I may have also been forgetting to add my feats and ability score points as I leveled. Basically, if it wasn't explicitly stated in the Rogue section of the player's handbook, I screwed the pooch leveling her up. After that, DM had to sit down with me a second time just to get her back up to normal. I'm just glad my major newbie mistake didn't end up biting me in the butt and costing me a character that I ended up taking to epic. That would have sucked.
How about you, Ravi?
Incidentally, my biggest mistake I ever made was actually WITH Ravi... and could have cost me the character, had the rules of the fight been different. I was fighting a demon until first blood (half hit points), and I was actually doing okay... he still won, though. The next fight, I realized I forgot to add my Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider bonus to my damage rolls... a whopping +6 PER HIT. I felt like an idiot.
Happy rolling!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Couples Gaming Revisited
Ravi here.
First off, I want to apologize, mostly to my sister, for not making a post as I was not feeling well. I love you dearly Indeah and thank you for keeping everyone entertained. Just glad you're feeling better :)
Now, I will tell you a story... about the other side of couples gaming. Take note: this is NOT saying that couples should never ever game, but this is a glimpse of worst-case scenarios. Yes, SCENARIOS. Same people, two different fails. Insert dream/memory transition here.
So, one of my friends, we'll call him Guy A, decided that he was going to DM a game. He shows up at my house with his girlfriend, Girl A, and takes me to the house of his friend, who was hosting. We will call this friend Guy B. Guy B was insanely good-looking, mind you, and Couple A was trying to get me to consider going out with this guy. I think you all can see how poorly this is about to turn out.
Anyway, we get our characters in order, get settled in, and the game starts... and the DM only pays attention to his girlfriend. So, of course, Guy B and I get incredibly bored and start having side conversations while DM and girlfriend pretty much have in-game sex. Guy B decides to flirt instead of playing until it's time for me to go home. Not a lot of actual gaming there.
A FEW DAYS LATER, Guy A decides to try hosting ANOTHER game, this time with me, Guy B, and a couple I'll call Couple C. We all show up to the appointed place, and... well, we didn't even get past character creation this time (In all fairness, character creation can take a LONG-ass time). The couples paired off and that left me and Guy B to awkwardly flirt and he decided to ask me out. Guy B stood me up for the second date. Is he still alive? Actually, yes, he's one of those people that is so dumb that it's more entertaining to keep him alive and watch him suffer. In short: we got nothing done and the group fell apart on top of it all. Insult to injury.
The moral of the story is: KNOW YOUR Gaming COUPLES! If they can put aside the relationship and play, this is a good gaming couple! If they can't... run like hell. Bonus points if you flip them the bird on the way out. (And this is why I will never date anyone I game with again.)
Happy Rolling!
First off, I want to apologize, mostly to my sister, for not making a post as I was not feeling well. I love you dearly Indeah and thank you for keeping everyone entertained. Just glad you're feeling better :)
Now, I will tell you a story... about the other side of couples gaming. Take note: this is NOT saying that couples should never ever game, but this is a glimpse of worst-case scenarios. Yes, SCENARIOS. Same people, two different fails. Insert dream/memory transition here.
So, one of my friends, we'll call him Guy A, decided that he was going to DM a game. He shows up at my house with his girlfriend, Girl A, and takes me to the house of his friend, who was hosting. We will call this friend Guy B. Guy B was insanely good-looking, mind you, and Couple A was trying to get me to consider going out with this guy. I think you all can see how poorly this is about to turn out.
Anyway, we get our characters in order, get settled in, and the game starts... and the DM only pays attention to his girlfriend. So, of course, Guy B and I get incredibly bored and start having side conversations while DM and girlfriend pretty much have in-game sex. Guy B decides to flirt instead of playing until it's time for me to go home. Not a lot of actual gaming there.
A FEW DAYS LATER, Guy A decides to try hosting ANOTHER game, this time with me, Guy B, and a couple I'll call Couple C. We all show up to the appointed place, and... well, we didn't even get past character creation this time (In all fairness, character creation can take a LONG-ass time). The couples paired off and that left me and Guy B to awkwardly flirt and he decided to ask me out. Guy B stood me up for the second date. Is he still alive? Actually, yes, he's one of those people that is so dumb that it's more entertaining to keep him alive and watch him suffer. In short: we got nothing done and the group fell apart on top of it all. Insult to injury.
The moral of the story is: KNOW YOUR Gaming COUPLES! If they can put aside the relationship and play, this is a good gaming couple! If they can't... run like hell. Bonus points if you flip them the bird on the way out. (And this is why I will never date anyone I game with again.)
Happy Rolling!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Couples in Gaming
You never know who you're going to meet when you sit at a table to roll with a new group. And you can meet ANYONE in a new group. If it works out, you'll have a group of friends. If you're lucky, you end up with a new best friend you can go to and lean on when you need. Like my sis <3 If you're really insanely lucky, you may even meet someone more special than the others. The person who makes you laugh and smile more than anyone else, makes you feel like you're special. You may find someone to love. If someone had told me when I went to sit down with the DM and work on my first character that, six years later, we'd be married (and it's about time you two got married!), I wouldn't have believed them. We were really lucky.
There's a lot of varying opinion on two people around the table being a couple. Most people won't care (Example: our group). If this is your group, congratulations. You've got a good team at your back for when trouble rears its ugly head. Or heads, in most cases. With others, though, it may cause some concern, and it's within reason (I have several good stories for this). If the couple is two players, there's concern of them doing special things for or favoring each other over the other teammates. If there's a break-up, what happens to the characters in question? Some DMs might not even play with couples to avoid potential drama. There's also the risk of distracting each other while playing, or having a lovers quarrel over the table (With every group I've been in but ours: EVERY FLIPPING TIME). If it's the DM and a player, other players may be concerned about favoritism, and what's going to happen if the player's character accidentally ends up the victim of a failed save? For people not in a relationship with another player, there's a lot that feels like it could go wrong. Heck, for those IN a relationship, there's a lot that feels like it could go wrong, especially when the relationship is newer.
I didn't know how dating my DM was going to work out. I wondered about most of the above when our relationship was new (although I didn't have to worry about how our other players felt; they're the ones who got us into it in the first place!) It worked, though, and I believe most of it was because of one simple idea: When we sat around the table, we left everything behind. We still loved each other, and still do, but when we sit at the table to play, it doesn't matter. Bring dice to the table. Bring papers, pens, computers, books. Don't bring your relationship, and DEFINITELY don't bring your drama. The in-character drama is so much juicier anyway.
Happy rolling!
There's a lot of varying opinion on two people around the table being a couple. Most people won't care (Example: our group). If this is your group, congratulations. You've got a good team at your back for when trouble rears its ugly head. Or heads, in most cases. With others, though, it may cause some concern, and it's within reason (I have several good stories for this). If the couple is two players, there's concern of them doing special things for or favoring each other over the other teammates. If there's a break-up, what happens to the characters in question? Some DMs might not even play with couples to avoid potential drama. There's also the risk of distracting each other while playing, or having a lovers quarrel over the table (With every group I've been in but ours: EVERY FLIPPING TIME). If it's the DM and a player, other players may be concerned about favoritism, and what's going to happen if the player's character accidentally ends up the victim of a failed save? For people not in a relationship with another player, there's a lot that feels like it could go wrong. Heck, for those IN a relationship, there's a lot that feels like it could go wrong, especially when the relationship is newer.
I didn't know how dating my DM was going to work out. I wondered about most of the above when our relationship was new (although I didn't have to worry about how our other players felt; they're the ones who got us into it in the first place!) It worked, though, and I believe most of it was because of one simple idea: When we sat around the table, we left everything behind. We still loved each other, and still do, but when we sit at the table to play, it doesn't matter. Bring dice to the table. Bring papers, pens, computers, books. Don't bring your relationship, and DEFINITELY don't bring your drama. The in-character drama is so much juicier anyway.
Happy rolling!
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