Forgot to mention that my nephews, S. and Z., of whom I've blogged on several occasions are moving away...as in, the other side of the country.
This is a sad turn of events for yours truly (and my wife, too, to be honest) as we will miss these guys a lot. But their dad got a very good promotion that entails them moving to the Washington, DC area and after February we don't anticipate seeing 'em too regularly. Though you never know...their parents may send 'em west in the summertime.
Oh, and we do get out to the DC area every now and then...maybe every other year or so...but I doubt there will be much time for gaming in our short visits.
Still, I'm pleased I have sowed the seeds I have. The kids love D&D and Labyrinth Lord. The wife and I got to attend S's birthday a couple-three weeks ago, and I got him a new set of dice and four classic B/X modules: B3: The Silver Princess, B6: The Veiled Society, X1: Isle of Dread, and something else I don't remember right now...maybe X2: Castle Amber? I know it was an Expert set module and one that I already owned, but I don't think it was X4, and I wouldn't have given him X5 without the other.
Anyway, both he and his older brother were very excited to get both. I may have mentioned earlier that they've been trying to run Labyrinth Lord but have complained that DM'ing the thing is too hard (or complaining that one or the other "doesn't do it right"). I think those of us that grew up with the original B/X take for granted the inclusion of introductory modules: B2: Keep on the Borderlands and X1: Isle of Dread for the Moldvay and Cook/Marsh rules respectively.
I feel very strongly that these adventure modules help to inform play...that is, they provide a template for beginning DM's, a "how-to" for running an adventure.
Heck, it's possible that some of the ubiquitous "okay your adventurers all start at the local tavern" scenarios descend in part from the tone set by those initial adventures set in B2 (not that the action begins in a tavern, but the tavern of the Keep is a fairly detailed location in the module, providing much in the way of assistance, hirelings, rumors, and of course food).
Anyway, I haven't had a chance to check in with those kids (busy, you know?) but I'm certain this year's winter break has featured at least some LL adventuring for them. And I'm glad I got to show them the ropes...the game is one they can carry with them wherever they go in the future.
Ok...gotta' catach a couple hours sleep now. Today is going to be a HUGE day.
: )
B2 and X1 effected me enough to make up amateur modules along the same thing; not duplicates (I'm not gary Gygax or Cook or anyone like that who is creative and talented; I wouldn't want to duplicate what is already good enough as-is). But, the goal was free "old school" modules that at least give people a resource to use in case they can't get the originals. They can be found on my SCRIBD account.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribd.com/people/documents/4414110-jd-neal
And other beginner gamer ideas, solos and such. I hate posting references anywhere, but they're free and I expect people are reasonable enough to look them over and see if there's anything they like about them.
I mean, heck, some are OGL which means a person could legally take and improve and modify them, without worries. Within some limits, but nothing to worry about for anyone who's just a gamer looking for something to help them spread the gaming vibe for others.