Inconsequentials & Trivialities

Organizing chaos

Last RPG post for at least a few days, I promise.

Dungeons & Dragons, well, actually, Wizards of the Coast, does a public play thing. Every Wednesday, kinda wherever one may roam, there’s this thing called Adventurer’s League, D&D Encounters. It’s essentially the first few chapters of whatever the current campaign season is. The first season was Tyranny of Dragons. The second was Princes of the Apocalypse. And the third (current) season is Rage of Demons. So on Wednesdays, various game shops (and other places) host public play. It’s an opportunity for new and veteran players to come enjoy an evening of play. Every shop has a coordinator; towns/counties have a Local Coordinator. I guess there are area coordinators and regional coordinators, etc. Well, I am sort of the store coordinator for TimeSync Gaming in Salem. Mostly that means that I make sure that there are DMs to run the tables. On the one hand, it’s a good fit for my need for structure. On the other hand, my need for structure can make it a little frustrating when others don’t feel the same need.

For the past couple months, we’ve been running the main storyline, Out of the Abyss. But in November, we are giving the DMs a break and running a different series of adventures. We run three tables each week so we need three DMs. One of my DMs for tonight is calling in sick. I only have 2 DMs for next week, and possibly only 1 for the following two weeks (me).

It would be nice to feel like I didn’t have to go tonight, because I am flying to Minnesota early tomorrow morning (more on that tomorrow). But then there is that over-developed sense of responsibility.

Reading: Elminster: The Making of a Mage, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, Underwood and Flinch

Forgotten Realms current events

I’ve recently been playing D&D again. The setting in which we’re playing is the Forgotten Realms. Now, I used to read the FR novels back in the early 90s; I probably read around 30 or so back then. So I figured, I’ve got this; I’m familiar with this setting. But it turns out that my knowledge of ‘current events’ in the realms is 130 years out of date. I guess I need to get caught up. But where to start? My friends, if you know me, you know I have a sickness, a terrible compulsion. Yes, I’m a completionist. I can’t just start something in the middle. I thank God that I am often able to stop before I get to the end, but I MUST start at the beginning.

So, I’ve got some work ahead of me. 🙁 A week ago, I purchased a dozen FR books that I did not already own. I’m in the process of tracking down what I do have, and catching up from where I left off 12-15 years ago.

Fortunately, the interwebs have got my back. This page will prove to be an invaluable resource as I track what I own, and what I’ve read.

Wish me luck!

Tabletop RPGing

After years of, at best, occasional tabletop role-playing gaming, I find myself all of a sudden quite busy with Dungeons & Dragons, and to a lesser extent, Shadowrun.

Back in Modesto, I met from time to time with a group from the college to play whatever was on the table for that period of time. We played some D&D 3.5e, Dark Heresy (loved that campaign!), or really whatever the GM du jour was running. After moving north, I was without a regular gaming group for a long time. I started playing Call of Cthulhu with a group, and that was fun, but we only met once per month or two. We tried other games such as A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, and Shadowrun 4e, but the players were rather spread out geographically, and coordinating availability was a challenge. Meanwhile, it turns out that there are some great tools available nowadays to facilitate online play. Rob, the GM for Shadowrun, had us try playing online and it has worked rather well.
At the same time, I’d pursued my nascent interest in Shadowrun by attending a few public play sessions up in Portland. Not wanting to drive back and forth so much for that, I looked for a similar group here in Salem, but to no avail. So, I’d have to start such a group.
I scouted out a few game shops by dropping in for some weekly D&D public play sessions and before I knew it, I was playing D&D with folks a couple times a week. I also started my own online D&D campaign with some friends from Facebook.

Rob got busy at work, so had to suspend his SR game. In its place, I am running yet another D&D campaign (Out of the Abyss). Finally, I am a player in an online SR game that meets every other Sunday at 11am Pacific time, and another D&D campaign that meets on those same Sundays later in the afternoon. Not sure how I’m going to juggle those, to be honest.

It’s sort of funny how the wheel turns. This hobby I was fully into back in the 80s has reclaimed a very large portion of my time. At least I enjoy it. 🙂

Challenge accepted

Rizzachill suggested challenging ourselves to resume writing on a daily basis. So, being a goer, here I am.

Let’s be honest, my writing isn’t what one would call compelling, or even interesting really. But that’s ok. This is really for me to attempt to exercise a little creativity. Very little as the case may be.
You can expect posts about roller derby, role-playing games, television, the Winnipeg Jets, the Minnesota Vikings, and whatever other randomness strikes me.

Full disclosure, I’m starting a few days late so these first couple posts are being backdated. Hey, at least I’m honest about my cheating.

Up to 23 – All because of derby

Create Your Own Visited States Map

Creative expression challenge

Over the past two days, I went back and re-read hundreds, thousands of my old tweets. It should come as no surprise that it left me feeling quite nostalgic.
I miss the interactions I had with many of those people, particularly my friends Bonnie and Betty

You, my faithful readers, know that I just adore my friend, Betty. She’s been someone who I’ve leaned on, and in turn supported. Betty possesses a creative soul, but has not always found the time, inspiration, or motivation to give expression to the butterfly within her.

So, caught up in the spirit of all those past tweets, I asked her if she was currently pursuing any kind of creative challenge, and if not, would she be open to one.
She was game, so I’ve issued her the following challenge:

Phase 1: Write a short story (between 800 – 3000 words) with a title selected from the following:

One More River to Cross
Girl On A Raft
The Magic Pencil

I have two more phases in mind, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her up front. She has until Dec 7 to deliver her story.

Only 19

Create Your Own Visited States Map

Cuvette verte

Last weekend I attended a multi-game event. In truth, I was somewhat disappointed. Very few skaters signed up to come play. For the black and white scrimmages, each side typically only had 6 or 7 skaters. There were enough skating officials for 2 crews, but not enough NSOs for even a single full crew. I found out when I arrived at the event that I was sort of a crew head and I was expected to do some on-the-job training for the other NSOs. Some of these NSOs were the freshest of the fresh, only experienced in a single position (and not well trained at even that one). Others were of middling experience and did fine. And a couple who were pretty inexperienced really ended up doing quite well.

Some expected games got cancelled due to lack of teams to compete, and an already short schedule got shorter as the weekend progressed.

From what I could tell, the weekend was pretty beneficial for skating officials. They each got a lot of individual feedback from the tournament head ref. So, good for them and all.

The biggest problem is that this event was so far away from home. It took 4-5 hours to get there and I spent a lot more $$ on food (eating out) than I would have had I stayed home.

Ah well. It could have been worse. And I did get to see some people I already knew and meet some other cool people. And any weekend in which I have plans is better than a weekend wherein I have nothing to do.

Full, but not too busy

Had a good weekend.

Friday after work I went over to Liz’s place to feed her cat, water her plant, and do laundry. Watched an 80s movie on Netflix while I waited for clothes to cycle. Had plans to meet some people for dinner at Don Pedro’s Time on Portland Road that night, and in order to get in my scheduled run, I timed my departure to put me at the restaurant (3.4 miles away) at the correct time. Had a couple tacos, rice & beans. The point of going to this place was to check out their alleged cabbage salsa. #fail 😉 My source had mistaken what was available there. The food was good nonetheless. Afterwards, I ran back to pick up my car and laundry, taking a shorter route (2 miles). Rather surprised that I was able to do the distance and especially that running after I ate seemed easier than the first leg!

Saturday I went to help paint at the Mad House, then tried another Mexican place, El Grullense, for lunch. No cabbage salsa there, but a delicious fried chicken meal! Later in the afternoon I rode up to the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove to complete my passport. Nice place. Fed cat, watered plant.

Couple hours later, rode in to Portland to Darth Bling/Andy Oakley’s place to stay the night. Bling had fixed up some rice and curry (which was delicious) and we spent the evening watching derby movies (Brutal Beauty and Blood on the Flat Track).

Early Sunday AM, Bling and I rode our bikes up to Centralia to get some breakfast. The Rainy City Roller Girls were doing a fundraiser at Applebees. Nice ride. Cold on the way up, but pleasant on the ride back.

Made it back to Portland by 12:15/12:30, took a few minutes to stretch, then back to Salem. Fed cat, watered plant.

Spent the late afternoon/early evening with my gaming group getting started with Shadowrun. I think I’m going to like this game. Finished off the evening by re-watching the last 3 episodes of series 1 of Dr Who and watching episode 1 of series 2. That endeavor is going to be painful.

NSOing

For the past 7 months, I’ve been volunteering with the local women’s roller derby league, the Cherry City Derby Girls, as a non-skating official (NSO). NSOs are responsible for a variety of tasks at bouts including score keeping, tracking penalties, time keeping… all the records management duties. This is distinct from the job of the skating officials (SOs or refs) whose role is to enforce the rules and ensure safety. Refs wear black and white striped shirts and are on skates. They carry and use whistles and call penalties. NSOs carry stopwatches and/or clipboards and wear… well, there is no sport-wide ‘uniform’ for NSOs. Some leagues use matching shirts, some leagues specify a color to wear (or avoid wearing), and one league I visited last weekend seemed to have no dress code at all for officials of the non-skating variety.

Something I am ever sensitive to is the development or perpetuation of arbitrary class distinctions. There are some who seem to view the role of the NSO as inferior to that of the refs. I’ve observed that many derby folks, NSOs, refs, and skaters alike, effectively devalue the work of NSOs by thinking , “Oh those tasks are easy. Anyone can learn to do them with just 5 minutes of instruction.” I’ve seen it stated on tournament applications, “If you aren’t selected to ref, would you be willing to work as an NSO instead?” I even had one Head NSO of a league tell me that NSOing has always been seen as a stepping-stone to reffing or being a team skater.

I tell you, NOBODY would say about reffing, “Oh that’s easy; I can teach you how to do that in 5 minutes.” I double dare you to find someone who would say, “If you aren’t selected as an NSO, would you be willing to ref instead?” And wouldn’t we consider it ridiculous to think that being a team skater is merely a stepping-stone to NSO work?

Here’s a blog post from someone who points out the value of NSOs. http://blog.fabulouslorraine.com/2013/05/just-nso.html?m=1

Happily, it looks like attitudes are evolving. WFTDA (the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) has recently implemented a certification system for NSOs to mirror a similar procedure that already existed for SOs. I’m confident that in a year or two, many refs who aren’t selected to work a given tournament won’t meet the required qualifications to work as an NSO. By emphasizing the need for specific training and experience, WFTDA is taking steps to demonstrate how important the work of NSOs is. I find this encouraging.

I consider all of us to be part of a team. Skaters, refs, NSOs, coaches, and other volunteers all have different roles and each is needed to get the job done. I feel fortunate that my league has demonstrated that it values all its members.