Gaming to me is more than a hobby; its a creative outlet, its a form of escapism, and its a social gathering of friends. It started with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd in high school. Since than I've played and ran a number of systems, genres, and characters.
My favorite role to play is the game master. Creating the world, building a story, helping characters develop are all some of the most rewarding benefits to role-playing. And as long as I've been running games (1998), I've been creating stories, plots, adventures, drama, and conflict; but usually not really taking into account the players and their characters unless the character involves themselves in overall story.
Recently - past two years or so - my preferred systems have grown in options and complexity. This added complexity can make the game more immersing or can bog the game down with rules. With advise form other game masters, I've discovered a tool I've been using all along to a new application, "concept".
When running a game you always have a "concept" of how the story will go but apply that to the characters and your "concept" sets the kind of characters and their roles in the story. This makes the game easier on all fronts. Game masters have a clear idea of who the characters are and how they deal with their environment. Players have an understanding of what characters are useful and appropriate. And characters became part of the world with ties to its story; instead of cut and paste heroes.
"Concept" has become my biggest tool recently but its a tool that everyone involved must embrace to get the full potential. A well knit concept between the game master, the setting, the players, and the characters creates a magnificent story to behold.

I Am A: Neutral Good Human Wizard/Sorcerer (2nd/1st Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-14

Constitution-15

Intelligence-15

Wisdom-14

Charisma-15


Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Primary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Secondary Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Last night I loaded Ubuntu Linux on my computer. Now it is dead.
"Error loading operating system"
"GRUB error 21"
Looks like it is time to re format... and start over. Or at least that is what others with the same problems have done.

Most of my people aren't any more technical than I, but if you got any advise I love some.

Poor music, pictures, other stuff I can't get back... Damn it. I need a way to fix this.

It is true. The patch notes say so. Between levels 20-60 you gain more experience and need less experience to level.

Question: "What the hell does that accomplish?" Answer: "Old players can get more characters to 60+ faster."

Personally, I don't care either way. I just wish they'd add more mid-level (30-40) content. Not that needed anymore quests or mobs to level, I just like new stuff. It makes me happy.

... I wake up and want to take an half hour hot shower and another half hour to get ready for the day ahead. And then I just wish I could teleport to work.

and I got my first speeding ticket. Stupid speed traps!

Last night I had a dream... The dream started out very simple. I was driving a car. Not my car. A nice new shiny car through a field that was being used as a parking lot. There were people walking around in the field with backpacks and notebooks. I started to realizes I was near a school. Suddenly, I wasn't driving a car. I was pushing a shopping cart full of all my belongings. This didn't seem strange to me at the time. I found a spot and "parked" my cart. As soon as I stopped moving, some idiot ran up and start going through my cart. I got angry and pushed him away. I came to the realization that my cart wasn't safe but I had the feeling I'd be in some kind of trouble if I moved it. I moved it anyway. I don't know where, but I knew it was safe. I finally got to where I was going. It felt like a classroom with people sitting in desks but it had the shape and look of a basement. I walked in with nothing except a pen. I was clothed (not one of those dreams). I was directed to a table with stacks of paper on them by a what reminded of a nice old lady I work with. I knew that one of the huge stacks needed to be turned in. I ran over and filled it out quickly. I could hear the teacher, who reminded me of an idiot co-worker, starting the lecture. I finished filling out the stack, which had something to do with the military, and laid it on she desk. The instructor stopped talking and picked up papers. She then announced, "Justin got the first two questions wrong." I felt my blood boil. I dropped my head and spoke in a voice of menace and anger, "How is that any of their god damn business?!" The instructor had a satisfied smile on her face as I walked to my desk. It felt like the trip took years to find my desk. I passed people I knew. My sister, she was looking proud of herself. Shabnam, working on school work in an up beat kind of way. Skinner, goofing off in his chair with a small crowd of laughter. I passed others that I didn't recognize in different states of school life from all different years. I finally found my chair in the center of room. I was in the middle of everything, but I felt so alone.

If my OCD gets any worst I may actually do this.

And then I'd laugh... for 37 seconds.

All I ask out of a person who borrows my stuff is they respect it, return it to me in the condition I gave it to them, and take responsible for it until it is returned.

Someone returned a gaming book back to me this weekend and the binding was ripped... broken even. This person apparently had not notice what they'd done. When the said destruction was pointed out to them they had the balls to tell me, in the kind of self-righteous voice of a five year old, that is wasn't their fault, they didn't do it, and it wasn't done on purpose. As if these shallow defensive words of the guilty party make the wrongs done to my property all better. Sure, I'm angry at the person for not taking care of what they borrowed... but more so I'm disappointed at the lack of responsible and maturity of this individual. He didn't feel it was worth the time to take care of what  was trusted with him. He couldn't even step up and admit being the one responsible for its well being and blaming anything but himself. It is a sad state when the simple thing as lending books can lead to such immaturity.

I took her out, it was a Friday night
I wore cologne to get the feeling right
We started making out, and she took off my pants
But then I opened my DMG

And that’s about the time she walked away from me
Nobody likes you when you’re 23
And are still more amused by role-playing games
What the hell is ADD?
My friends say I should act my age
What’s my age again?
What’s my age again?

    Recently I read an interesting web book called Robin’s Law to Good Game Mastering. Great 32 page book on pointers and considerations for game masters of any game. In this book the author talks about the different types of gamers; power gamer, butt-kicker, tactician, specialist, method actor, storyteller, and causal gamer. In the context of role-playing games theses types help game masters understand their players better and what they want out of the game. Not every group needs to be the same kind and not everyone fits into just one type. Example is my old group had five players; a power gamer, a method actor/specialist, a causal gamer, a power gamer/tactician, and a butt-kicker/method actor.
    I started thinking about these descriptive types of role-players and how they related to other more “important” subjects like work, school, romantic relationship, entertainment, etc. I think it can really apply. Taking myself as an example; while role-playing I’m a storyteller (most GMs are), at work I’m a tactician (I want to solve problems), when in school I was definitely causal student (I was a “B” student), while in a relationship I become a method actor (I try acting like James Bond), and when it comes time for fun I’m a specialist (I prefer to play games over anything else).

Steve Jackson Games Verse US Secret Service

Funny little of info from the 90's hacker scares.

Steve Jackson Games Verse US Secret Service

Funny little of info from the 90's hacker scares.

Battlestar Galactica Session 1
Finished the box set yesterday and GAAA! I need session 2 stat... *grumble*grumble* cliff hanger *grumble*grumble*

Heros Session 1
Half way through session 1... I may get Tivo just for this show. Fraking awesome.

Dragon Can 2007
Admission... $65
Hotel... $200
RPG... $7
Boardgames... $5
Indie Films, chicks in costumes, hacky sack... Free
One weekend where everyone is as geeky as you... Priceless

that something bad is about to happened or already has happened. This doesn't help my sanity one bit.

Just so everyone here knows... I have a Blog on another site. 

http://crispythemighty.blogspot.com/

Check it out.

Last Friday I fought off hundred of angry consumers as I blocked their enterance to buy Harry Potter 7. I was roped into playing doorman. Don't laugh too hard, I can be very forceful sometimes. 

Either way it was a lot of fun. Costumes, party games, and chaos. I also bummed into Tiffiany, who I hadn't seen in forever (For those of you playing at home, that would be Mary's twin sister). I stayed after the sales were all done to help with clean up. I had a great time, even if I was exhausted afterwards.