D&D Babble: Sometimes wonderful, unexpected things happen.

As anyone who plays D&D - or any TTRPG for that matter - could tell you, the game is unpredictable and surprising. Most often in delightful ways. But my babble today and the title thereof comes from outside of the table.

For the past near-on-a-year, I've been playing D&D with a group of people on alternating Saturdays who're living predominantly on the North American coast. I got pulled into the discord server and the first thing I saw was the sheer amount of people connected to this dungeon master and went *gulp*. The gentleman in question has multiple games running throughout the week, all set within his world, all containing different people playing characters in this world which becomes influenced by their actions. It's a beautiful thing to see. 

And what is happening is also kinda rare in that his homebrew story is coming to a spectacular conclusion. The goodies are fighting the baddies and the odds are stacked against success, but they still fight and may just succeed and each player involved in the story is deeply invested.

From a DM-ing perspective, it's inspiring because it takes one helluva story and one amazing DM to garner such devotion. These are people who have busy lives and yet they make the time because they're captured by the unfolding story.

My Saturday games are detached from the events, but I'd have to be blind not to see the excitement of the other groups on a near-daily basis as things slowly come to a head.

And then the unexpected happened:

"Hey! Got a sec?" the DM asks me after our game. "I was wondering if you would be my second DM for the epic?"

...

......

..........

!

My brain stops functioning for a time as I try to absorb the enormity of the suggestion. At first I wonder whether he got the right person. Maybe he was meaning to talk to someone else. I mean his channel has over 60 people and mistakes happen.

Then I finally understood what Troy Baker felt when he got to the audition for the Joker in the Batman: Arkham Origins and, not knowing what he was there to audition for, spotted the dialogue that was undoubtedly from the Joker himself and went, "Oh God."

I composed myself, admirably, and accepted the honour with as much gravitas as I could muster.

Since then, I've been battling with brain goblins on a daily basis - much like I did when I took the Glentana gig. The emotional pendulum is swinging from glee to horror at a somewhat rapid pace. In many ways this is a bigger step for me than DM-ing in Glentana, because Harlen's shoes are fucking massive. And I will not be leading newbies. These are veteran players at a level of gaming and roleplaying that I have not necessarily encountered before. I'm used to sitting at the feet of experienced players. Sitting at the head of the table is going to be a challenge.

But it is a challenge I'm willing to take on and am taking on. I've already started prepping by printing out materials and making notes. Harlen has been awesome in supplying all the details, setting up everything, and making me feel as comfortable as possible.

My goal is a simple task, but I feel an enormously crucial one: As we come to the end of the story, make the conclusion worth the journey.

*cough* In other words, don't be a Mass Effect 3 *cough*

And I think I can do that. 

I'm going to absorb as much as I can. I'm going to forget myself, step out of my goblin-infested mind, and just present the best story I can for people who deserve their long and arduous journey to have a fulfilling end.

Gaming Babble: Sons of the Forest

So it's been a while. Not much to say in terms of what's been going on. Work, work, work, work, work, D&D! Sleep, Grounded, sleep, work... rinse repeat.

But then, on Thursday came something new...

... which was promptly interrupted by loadshedding and apparently a crashed Steam. But yes, Sons of the Forest, sequel to 'The Forest', is out on early access.

How is it? ... Pretty good. The first few hours was really rough as I took a while before figuring out things. I've not gone spelunking too much - creepy mutants creeping me out! - but I've run around the new island, and around cannibals who didn't like me running through their camps, and the game is very pretty. And good. So. Pretty good then.

The premise is that you're part of a squad who gets sent to an island to find a billionaire and his family. Soon after your helicopter takes a tumble in one of three locations on the map and you start off to continue your mission and survive and not get eaten by cannibals, not be killed by mutants, not starve, not thirst to death, or not find other horrible ways to expire.

There are a number of similarities to The Forest. Crafting has expanded but basically works the same way: Gather ingredients, combine them, boom. The difference is that there at least seems to be a lot more items available than before. Your inventory expands quite a bit and you have to swing your cursor around left and right to make sure you spot everything that you've accumulated so far. Being early access, there are a number of things subject to change. Currently some plants are hugely overpowered while others are pointless to gather. Some weapons are effective, others are like using a fly swatter on that big lady's ass in Resident Evil - meaning: pointless but amusing.

A big difference is how building works. There are a few pre-fab buildings that are built in similar ways to the original game: gather logs and lob it in the blueprint area. But the developers have decided to make free building a thing. It takes some getting used to and, as with all things, there are bugs, but I managed to craft a cabin for myself with a ramp and I'm currently working on a palisade-esque wall to surround the area. It's a lot of work but it'll be worth it, I'm sure.

Then there are the additions of companion AI. The first you encounter not far from where start. Kelvin is a useful companion who can't hear you swear at him... which is probably for the better. ;)

The other companion I've encountered so far thinks she's a gazelle. She runs her ass off the moment you swing your axe at a nearby tree, or when the baddies arrive. She eventually warms up to you if you do the things she wants you to do - like not swing weapons around her, not follow her or "chase" after her, etc.  

But this isn't Mass Effect. You're not here to interact with your companions to maneuver them into a er position. They seem to be helpful additions, but I haven't gotten far enough to see how helpful that is. I've only played 10 hours of the game, which is honestly not much but to get an impression of the game. From what I have gathered, I can say that the game does need a lot of work, there are still quite a few adjustments, tweaks, and bug squishing that needs to happen. But with that being said, I'm having fun. 

Still not keen on spelunking though... don't want to fight the mutants, eeeeek!