D&D with Kids! Tools of the Trade

Tonight's game was postponed due to scheduling conflicts and believe me my youngest (Stealthy age 6) said many time he couldn't wait to play, "Dungeons of Dragons." No, I don't correct him cause I think it's cute! Despite not being able to play, we did get a bunch of D&D hype going on this week.

D&D with kids! "Chasing Pigs"

I have taken my first steps into indoctrinating my children into the world of role-playing games and that of Dungeons and Dragons. I watch them "roleplay" with each other all the time in their imaginative play together. I heard many times, "Ok now I say, Back you foul beast!" as the oldest swings an imagined sword of fire towards my oldest who is pretending to be Slimer from Ghostbusters. He in turn says, "I've leveled up so your fire sword can't get past my slime armor." So, I know they have the imaginations. They have these basic pre-programmed ideas of fantasy, swords, of powers and of levels of monsters and of fighting bad guys. I figured it was about time to get them into RPG's, especially Dungeon's and Dragons.

Shadow of the Demon Lord story

I am re-posting this entry with some news. An NDA has been mostly lifted and I am finally, FINALLY able to share a dark secret! Since about the beginning of 2014, I have had the honor and privilege of being a playtester for the very first game from Schwalb Entertainment, LLC, Shadow of the Demon Lord.

Here's the thing. I could talk about Robert J Schwalb's ridiculously long list of design credits (D&D 5th Edition, A Song of Ice & Fire Roleplaying, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, everything else). Or I could tell you all the ways Rob's twisted mind has spewed forth this game of apocalyptic dark fantasy. But you don't care. What you care about is that this game is really, really, REALLY good. It's super easy to learn, even for people who've never played a tabletop RPG before. It's super easy to run and write adventures for. The narrative presented below is actually a session that I ran for my group of playtesters. Some parts of the NDA are still intact so I can't really go into details about story creation but let me tell you, this session was created completely on the fly, in the moment, and done with the greatest of ease!

Character's are built around a path system that lets you build any kind of character you want, now matter how out-there, and still be as effective and involved as any other player. And most importantly, every single time I've sat down at the table to play it, or run it, I've had a blast.

Now to the Narrative: 
Some of you have read this before, if so I've changed some wording because... Well now I can say say some stuff! For the others, I hope you enjoy...

Renholder is a human "looking" traveling priest, spreading the word of his heavenly father to all who will hear.

Bjorn and Gandr are both Jotun, decendants of the great giants of the North. They are traveling together by sea. Gandr is a child whose parents were recently killed and is now in the care of his uncle, Bjorn.

Andron, the Orc, was on his way back from an outpost to find his village ravaged by plague. With nowhere to call home he took to the road.

They all descend upon a small Nordic-esque fishing village. The two giant-kin arrive by trade ship from the north. Once docked, a member of the ship’s crew frantically yells something to captain in a foreign tongue then points towards the village. The captain pulls out a telescope and spies the area. He drops the telescope and begins barking orders to his crew. The crew quickly ushers the passengers off the ship, raises the gangplank and rushes the ship back out to sea. The other two players enter the town from different ends, one from the east and the other from the south.

Edge of Darkness Campaign Pt 1.

Haven't posted on here in a while, but I started a BRAND NEW campaign and want to share. Maybe I'll have time to continue this one, unlike some of my previous campaigns.

Renholder is a traveling priest, spreading the word of his heavenly father to all who will hear.

Bjorn and Gandr are both “giant-kin” and are traveling together by sea. Gandr is a child whose parents were recently killed and is now in the care of his uncle, Bjorn.

Andron, the Orc, was on his way back from an outpost to find his village ravaged by plague. With nowhere to call home he took to the road.

They all descend upon a small Nordic-esque fishing village. The two giant-kin arrive by trade ship from the north. Once docked, a member of the ship’s crew frantically yells something to captain in a foreign tongue then points towards the village. The captain pulls out a telescope and spies the area. He drops the telescope and begins barking orders to his crew. The crew quickly ushers the passengers off the ship, raises the gangplank and rushes the ship back out to sea. The other two players enter the town from different ends, one from the east and the other from the south.