Final Week Fables: The McCroftman Trail

VERY late. As usual, a mix of rest and procrastination. But wherever you are in these trying times, I hope you’re doing well!

So, what’s the image inspiring May’s short story?

I knew we shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

AHA! Dwarves! SURELY these dwarves will be the focus of the short story?

…What do you mean not exactly?

Note: The following is a bunch of vignettes which are largely influenced and inspired by or connected to my own D&D character’s backstory and my head canon for it. It may seem disjointed or lacking any relatable context. But if you’d still like to read it, thank you kindly, and I hope I’ve arranged things in an entertaining way!

Just Write: Month 16, Week 1

Time for another writing report! How’d I do?

…What do you mean I wrote for the WRONG thing?

FOOL! ANY WRITING YOU ENJOY IS NOT WASTED!

Fabletop: Most Valuable Player Characters

At the time of this writing, the Covid-19 lockdown is still going on and my references to it are still current. Once this all blows over, this context and intro will be OUTDATED.

…Nevertheless! Why not read something I wrote to help you pass the time?

I know your choices are limited at this time of quarantine. But you know where your choices are limitless? The world of imaaaaaagination, where your characters can do anything you can think for them to do!

Within the mechanics of the game/universe.

And the norms of the narrative.

Alright, so what you can do within a game or story DOES depend on what makes sense as well. But hey, at least you can do it virtually without having to go out!

Fabletop Classes: Ranger Danger

I’ve finally done it. With this, I shall cover all the main character classes of D&D, staples of fantasy fiction and gaming. The champions and their abilities.

Today, I will end this series with the Ranger. And I will know that it is finished.

…At least until I decide to cover any extra ones that got added later. Because you see, nothing ever really ends.

Fabletop: Get On My Experience Level

YOU LEVELED UP!

Cutting deep there, pal.

…What do you mean growing a year older doesn’t count as leveling up?

…Alright, what DOES count?

Fabletop: Role Play In Games

WWYCD: What Would Your Character Do?

D&D and other tabletop RPGs can be boiled down to two things: The rules, and the writing. The crunch, and the fluff. The dice rolls, and the player roles.

Alright, that was multiple examples, but they all amount to the same pair! And today, I’ll be talking about the soul of the game: Roleplaying.

In other words, your old childhood games of playing pretend, only now with more MATH!

The Write Stuff: Year Two

So here we are, 2 years or so since I first started out.

2018 draws to a close. We’ve had a democratic victory in my home country, the passing of Stan Lee, and if I am to believe what I hear, the first genuinely good live-action Transformers movie, and Aquaman of all heroes representing the first fun DCEU movie. What a time to be alive.

So…How am I doing?

Fabletop: Electing To Campaign

It’s roleplaying game week on this blog, and so I am here with a simple guide on a topic helpful to most game masters: Planning adventures for roleplaying games. Or, in tabletop gamer terms, a campaign!

Kind of like the campaigns from Warcraft and StarCraft, only interactive and with crazy characters who never do what you want and hurtle headlong into disaster as you silently urge them to make the sensible choice.

No wait, EXACTLY like the campaigns from Warcraft and StarCraft.

Fabletop Classes: Making Clerical Terrors

Behold! Yonder lies our hated foe! With steel and magic shall we lay him low! BUT FIRST!

We decide who lives or dies. Be nice.

…We need healing for our ouchies and our booboos.

Fabletop Classes: Wizardly Applications

Don your pointy hats and ostentatious robes, get your character sheets and start picking out your most useful and overpowered spells, folks! This post has arrived, neither early nor late, but precisely when I meant to show it!

Masters of magic. Sorcerers supreme. Wizards of Waverly Palace…! …Oh, sorcerers are actually a different thing? Oh, OK then. So yeah, what ARE wizards?