Adventures - Dragonslayer Eras - BOB's Birthday Game - Wedding Crashers - Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game Planning
Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game
This was the second large gathering of players all live together after we had our Tenth Anniversary Game. People from around the Country flew in for the weekend to play and meet each other face to face. Of course, we kept it online as well for everyone to be able to participate.
The campaign continued the Wedding Crashers story arc that was the first in the For the Love of Mist Era. The group had left the Jistille Estates to travel deep into the swamps and through rebel territory.
Discussion Threads
- Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game - In Character Discussions
- Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game - Out of Character Discussions
- Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game - Session Summary
- Twenty-fifth Anniversary Game - Songs of the Day
Chat Log
| 2018 06 02 |
Character Quotes
[Dominic (Calvin)] If we stick the priestess' head onto a poker, we have a puppet
[Aeiria (Elizabeth-51008)] She's just a figurehead, then.
[Lisa] Stupid doesn't get you out of combat!
Feed Back & Recollections
I described what the players were doing for this day as "the group is escorting the Princess through rebel territory to a wedding they were not invited to." It was amusing that almost no one blinked or questioned if this was a good idea or not.
Nyrma: So on Sunday you want to go and do something outside
Mario: Yeah we will want to do something fun
BOB: Jaw drops
Nyrma and Mario laugh
The Players that attended that game session 🜛 :
Calvin Williams
BOB's Recollections
25 Thoughts
1 - I am grateful that I have been able to do something that I am passionate about for all these years.
2 - I am happy that my brother John continues to play still after all these years, even with extended breaks from the game he has made an appearance at least once a year every year.
3 - I smile when I think of all the fun quotes over the years and the crazy situations that the players get them selves into.
4 - I am pleased with myself that I created a complex enough and real enough world that the players get very immersed in and care about what happens to more then just their characters.
5 - I smile that players notice that they have adventures that span years of real time and wonder at my planning.
6 - I am glad that I have good bones for the campaign so that making details up is easy to do.
7 - I am very grateful that I stumbled upon that KloOge booth at GenCon all those years ago (2003). The program is not perfect but it has served us very well for more than 15 years now.
8 - I am glad to have friends like Lisa who followed along with the campaign for a couple of years without playing to give me feedback and commentary on what was happening with the characters.
9 - I am happy that when the game hit a lull near the end of 2009 the players decided to keep on playing and just restart with different characters.
10 - I am glad I keep notes and a Roll Call page to have a reminder of all the wonderful people that have played with us over the years.
11 - I am proud that we have always been open to everyone to play with us and there are only a dozen times over 25 years that we did not have a woman in the game that session.
12 - I am grateful to my wife for understanding that this is important to me and working with me to continue this week after week.
13 - I enjoy the fact that I have been able to support many artists over the years in hiring them for art and maps for our game or purchasing their products. John once commented that it was like having our own personal boxed set created for us.
14 - I like that our Milestones are impressive but the important thing is that every week players want to come back just for the joy of playing.
15 - I really enjoy the idea that we play a game called Dungeons and Dragons but it has been so rare over the last decade that the group has been in an actual dungeon and the dragons they encounter are varied and always a source of deep discussion on how to handle them.
16 - I enjoy how new players come to us and get so immersed in the game.
17 - I love how people new to roleplaying join us and don't know any other way but to be immersed and care about a game.
18 - I am proud we have had 50 players over the years and so many of them have left a mark on our game.
19 - I am happy that for the most part it is a question of time and not loss of desire for people to stop playing with us.
20 - I am very happy that players can go years away from the game but be welcomed back and fit right in with the current players.
21 - I smile to think of old players, what they did back when, and wonder what would they do with the situations now
22 - I love that the players know that their actions matter and the campaign world changes based on what they do.
23 - I enjoy the challenge of finding something interesting and entertaining for a group of players and an ever expanding cast of characters.
24 - I laugh in wonder that there are children of players who are now old enough to play in our game who were not born yet when we started.
25 - I am confident that this game will continue for a long time because of these players.
Roll Call - All of the players that have made our game what it is over the years.
Touch stone players: This group of players is who I think of when I feel like the campaign has shifted into a new way.
- John - started it all with wanting to explore and push boundaries and still keeping a history of what was happening.
- Marco - came to us young, grew as a player and became a source of 'just have fun, don't worry' that helped many others through situations
- Lisa - In starting fresh and new during our restart she forced everyone into more full in character almost all the time game play
- Carissa - Came in and helped capture for everyone the joy of hanging out and playing together, jokes & summaries & songs exploded from everyone
Players with major influence on the game and how we played
- Rob - great calming influence on everyone able to look long term and see how the players could change the world
- Fritz - loud, happy and glad to be part of the group. Pushed everyone to live on the edge and challenge what they could do
- Lorie - by sheer will forced everyone to be part of a family, to know that they were part of something bigger than just themselves
- TMO - great experience coming in and helped everyone to see how being part of the group was fun and stumbling into situations could create all sorts of new adventures
Players who had far too short of a time with us
- Barb - great influence around the table, making sure everyone had fun, started the tradition of food and cooking for the game
- Jeff - amazing roleplayer with just the right amount of out of character joviality that made everyone enjoy being around him, still think of his interactions in and out of charcter
- Mike L - great person, amazing roleplayer would not let someone not be part of the story
- Duane - local comic book store owner who had never played before and blew everyone away in the few months he was with us
- Eric - great roleplayer, deep understanding of his character's motivations and how they were different than his own, fun debater
- Devin - cared about the structure of the game and doing his best to help others have access what they needed to make their own decisions
Core players who formed the backbone of our game, almost all played over 100 sessions with us
- Christy - wanting to play to explore and learn all about all the possibilities she could try, her laughter at the table made everyone else laugh
- Robert V - the chance to be silly and play characters that would be more than willing to get into trouble and help others get out of it
- Brian - always partnering with someone to make sure that everyone had someone who had their back
- Hans - strong core belief in good over might, of playing a character as an example to aspire to
- Mario - there with a quick quip and a do what we should to do work together, coming back years later solidifies the group that it does not matter how much gets done, it is if you had fun
- Sean - always here, always steady, great person to depend on for anything you needed in game or out, fun character concepts and great at figuring out the logic of a situation
- Spring - great participatory awareness, she could zero in on a character that was being sidelined and bring them back into the fold, always willing to do what was needed
- Mike - steady keep things moving forward presence, get people excited about a new adventure, lots of knowing how the world would change and taking advantage of that
- Beth - a deep belief in her characters, created deep attachments for other players to latch onto and enjoy the game
- Kaz - willing to try something new, knowing where her comfort zone is, binding the group of characters together to show them they are better as a whole than apart
- Guy - happy to cause chaos, add a quip or a jab but then do his best to make sure everyone gets through
- Michael H - new to roleplaying extremely loyal and just wanting to help and do the best he can for everyone
And this is only half of the players that have played with us over the years. I can think of an anecdote in game, a talk about something out of game, something that brings to mind every one of the 50 people who have made our game so enduring and fun.
Thank you to everyone for so many years.
6/6 Mario
So tonight makes it the fourth night in a row Jo-Ann had the same comment: "You know, I am in awe of the players who came out this weekend. To travel to someone else's home, in essence a stranger, to meet up with more strangers, and spend a weekend with these strangers, is really putting yourself out there, it's a true risk. I don't think I would do it. it's almost like a real life adventure." I couldn't agree more. In the same situation, I honestly don't think I could, or would, do the same. Kudos to you all.
I was looking forward to meeting you all in person since the announcement, and I wasn't disappointed. TMO also had a quote, again paraphrasing: "I had to make sure I didn't fall back as a wall flower, because I am quiet until I am comfortable." Well, it sure did seem that he was comfortable enough to be himself, as we all were. And that is a reflection on all of us. I can't wait til we all get to meet up again for another marathon session.
Lastly, a huge thanks to Bob. The hours of planning to get everything right: from the game, to the airport rides, to the food and activities, it went off flawlessly. Thank you Bob. I hope you know how much the effort was appreciated.
6/7 TMO
There was really only one part where I started to fade out, briefly on Saturday evening, and I think that was more overload/tired than anything else. I've been to enough conventions that staying engaged during the game was easy enough. It was the socializing outside the game where I was most worried about fading away. But already knowing all of you made it much easier. And I'm very glad to now have faces to put to the players.
Thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible. I'm very glad I was able to make it.
6/8 Guy
it was amazing to see so many players both new and old logging in to celebrate 25 years of an amazing and sometimes frustrating campaign. Im glad to be a part of this game and to be able to once again play more frequently. Bob Thank you for all the fun all the aggravation and just for an absolutely amazing time.
6/12
After all this time, I cannot believe just how much fun all of you were. It was great to finally meet you all in person and put a name to a face. I had fun each and every day for sure. But, being welcomed right away on Friday night when everyone was a little, well, you know, was just what I needed to feel welcome right off the bat. I feel that I should thank each and every one of you for the welcome I received and the fun I had. I cannot remember the last time I took a true vacation and in my opinion, I wouldn't have spent it anywhere else.
I feel that while Bob obviously deserves the best thanks for keeping this game exciting and interesting, as well as being the gracious host, that I should also thank everyone else and especially Mario since he helped to cook!
I'll be honest. There were so many memorable quotes and hilarious moments that it is hard for me to pick them all. I think my biggest mistake (and I thought personally hilarious) was when Ilero and Hugh got surrounded by skeletons and Bullywugs and I was all just like "You all are right there on the map next to us... We'll be fine." and then Bob casually mentions that they were several rounds away due to the map scale. And to paraphrase TMO "WELL! THE ICONS SHOULD MATCH THE SCALE." I lost it completely.
Also, I have decided that I would be a terrible parent. I'll have to rectify poor Mercy's situation as soon as we get back. We're going to need to work on getting her educated and well, I suppose Hugh should get an education on putting NPC Children in dangerous situations.
Thank you all for the fun and memories. I will cherish them. I don't have many true friends in my life. But, I do consider our group to be part of my circle. I hope that we won't have to wait another 25 years to meet again :). If anyone of you is passing through Hell (AKA Phoenix) drop me a line and I'll take you to lunch or something.
Michael
P.S. Guy, if you are reading this. Please stop shooting arrows at the Guard who has 6 Hill giants next to him yeah? :)
