Adventures of Taas

So my gaming world has been a little (read – a lot) stale lately.  The lack of gaming in my life has led to an even greater lack of posting on this blog (as evidenced by the fact it’s been almost two months since my last post?).

So with no MMO consuming me that has left me with a lot of time.  Now to be fair I started a new job back in April and that has been consuming an extra 10 or so hours a week BUT STILL there is quite a bit of time I’d usually be sinking in to MMOs that is just left wide open.

So what have I been doing with that time?  Mostly Team Fortress 2 but I’ve also started putting more time in to console games; mostly of the sports variety.

Now I am not alone here – I suspect MMO players around the world are currently in a bit of a slump (it happens every summer, just part of the cycle).  I can however say for sure that my usual gaming group (Chris, Evan, Jim (who doesn’t actually play games despite being a games developer)) is right there in the slump with me.

So when Jim approached us and said “hey, you guys should play Dungeons and Dragons with me” instead of doing the sensible thing and running for our lives we grudginly agreed.  Now I’m not talking Dungeons and Dragons Online, or an online game involving both dungeons and dragons…  No.  I am talking, travel to nerdsville, do not pass go, die a virgin, Pen and Paper Dungeons and Dragons.

Yes MMO industry – this is what you have driven us to.

But here is my confession: It is probably the most fun I’ve had in A Really Long Time(TM).

Our setup is pretty simple:  Everyone gets on Skype for voice chat, a few of us get on TinyCHAT for web cams (which has resulted in some hilarity) and we use RP Tool’s MapTool to play the actual game.  Jim is our Dungeon Master, Evan is playing a Warlock, Chris a Warlord, Steph a Cleric ERR THAT CHARACTER HAS SOMEHOW ALREADY DIED err Steph is playing some crazy thing involving swords and I am playing a Paladin.

We’ve done 3 sessions so far and we’ve been having a real fun time of it.  More than anything I think it is a social experience for us.  D&D seems to force you in to putting a bit of yourself in to it and it makes it a much more connected experience when compared to your typical MMO session.  Really in the end it’s given a group of friends an excuse to hang out and talk.

Jim has lots of crazy ideas – this one has really paid off   And that my friends, is in the lore.