Desperately Seeking Joy: Thankfulness Edition Day 6

 

Day 6: Funky T-Shirts

I am a t-shirt addict. Like... I literally have a different t-shirt to wear each day of the year and then some! I love celebrating with t-shirts and I love how funky they can be. This thankfulness reminder is brought to you by SnorgTees and their really adorable D&D Christmas t-shirt that I ordered for myself and my daughter.

Dungeons & Dragons: One Shot - The Haunt (Part 1)

 

I wanted to do a fun little Halloween play with my family and our friend, so I looked around and found the #1 recommended Halloween One Shot: The Haunt. I know there are tons of options out there, but this one kept popping up and it's a haunted house, so I figured it'd be good to go. While I prepped for the One Shot, I wasn't disappointed with the interesting twists and turns of the content.

The characters were recommended to be at Level 4 or 5. I had my group make Level 5 characters. The only information I gave them was that it was a haunted house in the woods. What they created was up to what they thought they might need.

Bazhlissh - Yuan-ti Pureblood Druid/Circle of the Stars (Lawful Good)

Gretchen Whispermouse - Halfling Wizard/School of Divination (Chaotic Good)

StarShadow - Kobold Rogue/Arcane Trickster (Chaotic Good)

Stash - Halfling Rogue/Inquisitive (Neutral Good)

I also already anticipated the scenario taking at least two sessions and not one, because my daughter, who is the kobold, is only 10yo. So we couldn't plan on a day-long session of play, but instead I split it into two pieces. The split is perfect, but I also have to see how the adventure unfolds so see how my daughter is doing.

Since this is a One Shot, the group didn't have much of a backstory. So I started with one of the suggested adventure hooks and wove a small backstory around that. 

The group is known for their hunting of the supernatural in the area. They just finished a case dealing with werewolves and were wrapping up the case with they were approached by Mayor Thom. Mayor Thom explained that people had been going missing when traveling around the notorious Montarthas Manor. People suspect foul place, but have been unable to locate any beasts or other questionable creatures in the area that could be causing these people to disappear without a trace. It had been rumored that some sort of spirits might be attracting and attacking the people. 

I, as the DM, decided that the group takes the assignment and they are able to do some research in the village before heading to the manor (as a few had knowledge of history skills to use). I used the background to give the players some idea of what they're exploring and some history of the manor. I mostly focus on factual information, allowing for other speculation to come to light while they explore the manor. This would be the information about the night hag, Gertrude.

They start on the path to the front door of the mansion. Gretchen uses calk to create light and then they spend their time trying to get in. Gretchen is, of course, obsessed with the blue eyes that are staring out at them from a window nearby. I thought for sure that it would be difficult to get them to walk away from the door, which is part of the setup, but they finally decided to look for another way in and I was able to do the cool, creepy door opening. 

Their first encounter is in the Manor Entryway and really put the small band of investigators to the test. The gargoyles came to life and were only responsive to certain types of attacks. It rendered my rogue useless and I had to lend aide to the others as they tried to take them down. It was a rough first encounter and put my crew on high alert. We needed an immediate rest to recoup.

In the next room they finally met the doll. I used a picture of the Annabelle doll from the Conjuring Universe movies. We shrunk her, though, so she was a smaller version of the movie doll version. My friend became obsessed with her, wanting to "be friendly" with the doll. The rest of the group became interested in the portcullis that was blocking the stairs and the griffin statue. 

I didn't have much happen, because they weren't pulling on the griffin statue's paw and they moved on to the tea room where a chandelier fell on Bazhlissh, but he succeeded a dexterity save to get out of the way. 

With some guidance, they were able to find the secret passage and the rest of the first floor was investigation. The best part was when they encountered the Zombie Beholder in the pool area! My husband and my friend knew how horrible Beholders were and freaked. But I didn't roll the disintegration ray, so they lucked out. 

The final part, before going upstairs, was the basement and I had to essentially tell them to either go in the basement or skip it. I think that's one of the things that I don't like about the way this is planned out, but I guess it really is just a make a decision moment. And when they got down there, I thought it would take them a while to figure out the puzzle, but it took them hardly any time at all. 

And it was with the basement that we ended our first session.  My daughter was so upset, because she wanted to keep going. The flow of the first part was really great, but it was a school night and it was getting late, so we had to call it quits. Appropriate stopping points sometimes aren't at the time we want.

Desperately Seeking Joy #6

 

Every time I get an email from a politician, I think of that exchange in Clue:

Cop: What's going on around here? And why would you lock me in? And why are you receiving phone calls from J. Edgar Hoover?

Wadsworth: J. Edgar Hoover?

Cop: That's right! The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation!

Colonel Mustard: Why is J. Edgar Hoover on your phone?

Wadsworth: I don't know, he's on everybody else's, why shouldn't he be on mine?

It just makes me laugh inside. This was brought up, because in my trash email there was an email from Pete Buttigeig (the campaign). A good laugh to start the day.

The majority of the morning was spent muddling. I paced excessively. I hemmed and hawed over what to do with myself. I did some small tasks requested of me by various people and did a bunch of shopping for my mom. But then... as I was sitting on the couch just flipping through the lists of recommendations or coming soons on Netflix... I saw it...

If you haven't read Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and it's sequel, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, and you love quirky romantic stuff around the holidays... oh my goodness... The books are edgy and have language and sexual references and can be a bit over-the-top with the Dash sections of the book, but they end just so very sweetly. I do so love them. So when I saw this trailer, I wasn't sure what to think... if I was excited that they made it into a Netflix series or if I was devastated that they toyed with the idea of turning it into a series that will probably be canceled and will screw up all the beautiful images of romance that I have in my head. I admit... I cried. I couldn't figure out if it was from happiness or sadness, but I am excited.

Before settling in for a game to help exercise my broken mind, we had to run up to my daughter's school and pick up her book club book. Then we also swung by the grocery store for a few items and picked up lunch at Kwik Trip. They had a new pizza called the Oktoberfest pizza. It had brats and onions and peppers and cheddar cheese on it.  It was pretty ok.

Once we were settled again, I finally got to play a game. I can't tell you the last time I played a board game, it has been such a long time. But I pulled out a game that was a familiar and yet new: Ticket to Ride: United Kingdom. 

Due to my head being so very off, I knew I wasn't going to win this game. But I had fun trying. We were within 4 points of each other. We discussed the different aspects of the game that caused that four point difference and it was interesting enough.

It was then time to work with my daughter on her Halloween One-Shot character. My husband walked her through the process. My daughter was having an absolute ball. She chose to be a Kobold Rogue/Arcane Trickster named StarShadow.

It is going to be a fun little adventures. A Halfling Wizard, Halfling Rogue, Kobold Rogue, and a Yuan-ti Pureblood Druid. I swear... we make the strangest groups of people. 

The night wrapped up with a quick movie that we rented for cheap on Amazon Prime Day. You Should Have Left was a movie that was on my list for a while and is a Blumhouse Production. To mean that's more of a hit than a miss, but you can't always be sure. 

It wasn't a horrible movie. It kept us guessing, but it also had those moments where you weren't, "Clearly this isn't working and you 'should have left.'" Hahaha! But it raises some interesting questions about the supernatural. The movie uses some typical American Gothic tropes and for this film... location is important. Sadly, it leaves some problems  with the believability factor that is supposed to hook you and the twist at the end, for us, was an obvious surprise. 

I'm glad I rented it and didn't buy it, because it isn't one of those supernatural films that makes me want to watch it again to catch more details. The film takes its time to make sure you absorb the details in the same way the characters do. But it was interesting enough for a suspense film for the evening.

Today was littered with joyful moments, but it was a good bit of a muddle and feeling indecisive about so many things. I just hope tomorrow is better.

Dungeons & Dragons Tuesday #2

Today was the first day of our new campaign! I worked diligently to get the Out of the Abyss campaign set and I'm really nervous about it! More nervous than I was about running Tomb of Annihilation (see entry here). I mean... annihilation sounds way more intimidating, right?

My daughter, husband, and I spent the last week preparing our new characters. We have another campaign where two characters are the same race. Two dragonborns! My husband, though, is a supermassive randomizer and rolls for many things, so he didn't pick a dragonborn to copy my daughter. I, personally, was irked, because I like diversity, but who am I to really be upset about it. Whatever makes them happy, because the game is really about them.

• My Daughter: Winter (Female, Dragonborn, Paladin, Level 2)
• My Husband:  Shestihop Yarjerit (Male, Dragonborn, Bard, Level 2)
• Me: Sprout (Male, Firbolg, Druid, Level 2)

My husband chose a background (Inheritor) that has his mentor leave something behind for him. It's supposed to be special, and he's a bard, which made me immediately think of a scarf! So I found this neat scarf made by someone else, but I changed it to fit him. So OUR Scarf of the Vermilion Bird has these properties:

I adjusted some things to fit the situation better, but I also figured I could adjust things as he levels, too, like adding back in the original regenerate. My husband's character could discover it does THIS or has another secret charge, etc. Really excited about this item and it's so beautiful!

Speaking of neat items, I was scrolling through my twitter feed and I found a Dinosaur Cat that will find its way into my daughter's campaign.

Adorable Dinosaur Cat. Good for a caster's fimilar or possibly a companion for a BeastMaster. #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5e #dndhomebrew pic.twitter.com/YgebDjNEvB

— LgbtDnD (@LgbtDnD) July 9, 2020

Clearly, my daughter who loves cats and dinosaurs is going to need to encounter these and she'll have to attempt to coerce it for a pet. I can see her using all the little cat luring strategies her grandma taught her. That's a story for another day.

Today's story, though, is a sad one of defeat and heartbreak. For the GM, not the players. I completely dropped the ball and felt completely out of sorts running this adventure. All of my optimism going into this just flew out the window. I think my head was just in a bad place and it made it difficult to stay organized.

So we played Chapter 1 of Out of the Abyss. The characters were dropped into a prison cell waiting to be transferred and sold to the people of the Underdark. They had been in the cell for 4 days and were just dying to get out. And therein lies the problem. They're supposed to be looking for information and planning an escape, but they'd been in the cell for 4 days. Part of me feels like I messed up that part of the story, but then again it did say to roll that kind of thing. So that was the first big no-go.

Second was trying to get my two players to talk to the people. This adventure was definitely made for way more people than 2 and a DM-PC. I tried to do my part as a PC and gather and share information, etc., but it just broke my heart when things didn't come together. My husband was trying to get information and talk to characters (I forgot there was a magic block on the cell and he accidentally spoke with a spider). My daughter didn't know how to gather information and struggled to remove herself as a storyteller and just become the character. She'll get there. I mean, she's only 9yo. Granted she's had four years of being in numerous plays a year, so.... But she did slip into it as we went, but she always just wanted to explain. I get the comfort zone thing, because I still do it with Marvel when I get to play. Even though you love your family, sometimes it's just hard to be truly vulnerable in an RP way.

THEN when somethings finally did happen (I scraped the day-to-day cell thing and immediately switched gears to break-out-day), the creatures that showed up were way too powerful for Lvl 2 PCs. The PCs broke out of the cell with the help of a drow traitor. The drow guards were distracted by an attack of chasme and a demon, which weren't supposed to show interest in the escaping prisoners if nothing drew their attention to them. So it was a mad scramble and the worst part was that my husband's character was knocked out by the chasme immediately, because he failed his CON save. I gave him the orc, Ront, to play as part of our "attack team."

None of them had weapons, either, so they had to raid the guard rooms to get things, which is fine, but they weren't the types of weapons that felt like they would be effective on the chasme. My husband, though, was thrilled that they were hand crossbows. He had wanted to buy one when he made his character, but here there were tons of them! There were also tons of bolts! When they did get their weapons, they didn't need them, because they had enough rope to try to climb out of the place to safety and now have to fight the supermassive big bad guys. (My husband used his scarf to float down. Yeah... I left that spell on the scarf just for this.)

We didn't actually get to encounter any of the main people, like Asha. It just wasn't in the cards for how things were playing out. I was so flustered. My husband and I were working together for rules and how things worked to the point where my daughter said, "It's like you two are the DMs and I'm the only player." Oh gosh that hurt my heart. It wasn't even that I didn't know all these things. My husband was doing his own "I'm a veteran D&Der" and wanting to do this and this and this, so he was looking up how to do this and this and that. Then all of my information went out of my head, because I was so flustered I could barely hold a thought.

My saving grace was my characters, at least. I do a great spider voice and I had my distinct voices for the dwarf, my firbolg, and some other characters. My daughter absolutely loved the spider voice, because she likes cute high-pitched voices like that (reminded me of Twiggy on Episode 45 of Critical Role - Campaign 2, which I'm watching right now).

I also like playing my firbolg. I think I got a little bit of the personality I want going already. I'm attempting to make him a practical person. Fingers crossed for that.

At least, when it was all over, my daughter had a good time and enjoyed the experience and is excited for the next one. And really... that's all that matters in the long run. We're doing this for her and if she's getting joy out of it, then we're good as gold.

By the time we finally wrapped up around 8:38PM, both myself and my husband were exhausted. Our daughter, though, was gungho to keep painting her minis! So at a very early 9:30PM, I made my way to bed to fall asleep while my husband wrangled the wee warrior away from her paints and to her pillow.

We usually start our campaigns around 4ish. Today I had wanted to start earlier, because all of the players were just us and time wasn't an issue. But someone (or ones) needed a nap and we didn't get going until 4/4:30PM, which I'm learning is the WORST time to RPG in our house. One, the dogs eat at 5PM, so what are they doing from 4-5? Whining for their supper. Then the phone was ringing with all these non-personal phone calls. My mom was also texting me AND called, which is fine, but add all that together and it was rough getting focused. I actually had to turn my mom away and felt bad about it, because I know things are rough for her, but I know she'd understand that it was a family thing and Isabelle is so into it. When we see her next, Isabelle is going to go crazy showing her all her cool stuff.

So the second campaign is maybe not going as comfortably as the first, but it could also just be due to all the external and mental elements that threw up roadblocks. Dunno, but our daughter had fun. WINNING!

Having to unequip her things, because she was captured!
She had just bought them an hour ago.

Non-D&D Related Events Today
I finally sold my bike kiddie caddie for $75! Boy do we need the money. Only took 5 years!

My Disney Marvel Masks came! So I now have the Hulk mask! The rest are patterns, but whatever. I still agree with my husband that these are soft and almost feel like comfy undies for my face. Haha!

My husband's friend, out of the blue, asked him to tell me, "he wished he had a teacher like you growing up." Awe!

Grant Imahara, who I love and adore, passed away last night. He was only 49. 10 years older than me. I always hate saying stuff like that, but it's a mortality thing. Live life and all that. I loved all the amazing work he did and he was just such a fun guy. I wish I had met him or known him, but I was and always will be a fan of his amazing mind at work. He touched my life in more ways than I can list or explain, which is a feeling many people out there are experiencing. My heart goes out to those who knew him, for the pain they are feeling at the sudden loss of such a wonderful person.