Gaming Credentials

When I was ten years old, my cousin gave me a 3rd edition D&D Player's Handbook as a Christmas present. I still remember pouring over the pages of it in the top bunk, reading by flashlight. It was another two years before I got a chance to actually play a game of D&D for real. I've been gaming on and off ever since then, for over 11 years now. I've mainly played D&D (3rd, 3.5 and 4th editions), but I've played other games including the Marvel Universe RPG, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, The Dresden Files, the Star Wars RPG. But D&D is perhaps my favorite, and certainly the one I have played most. Most of my time spent playing D&D has been behind a DM screen (metaphorically, as I disdained using a screen for a long while).

Being a DM is (for me at least) very rewarding. It's also a very difficult and often under appreciated job. As a DM, you are called upon to fill many different rolls, including writer, director, producer, baby sitter, judge, negotiator, artist, cartographer, strategist and secretary. Being a DM isn't something everyone can do, and doing it well requires a lot of practice.

I still remember my first time DMing, it was back before high school, and it was me and a bunch of friends. I only had a couple books, none of which were the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Monster Manual. As one can expect, the game was... well, terrible. But it's been my experience that everyone starts off terrible, and either improves or retires after that first time.

I'm not a perfect DM, and I still have a lot to learn. But, I've been told I am a pretty good DM, and I've got a bunch of experience (including DMing at a convention). Probably one of the more freqeunt recurring themes of this blog is going to be discussing the nature of DMing, advice, difficulties and whatnot. I just felt I should give a bit of background about my gaming career.

Concerning Hobbits

When I was twelve, The Fellowship of the Rings was the much anticipated movie event of the year. Before I saw the movie, I wanted to read the books, so that I would be familiar with the story beforehand.

I didn't even get to the part where Frodo left the Shire, much to my shame. I had a very hard time getting into the book, and the writing was very, very dry. I eventually did see the Lord of the Rings movies, and was very impressed with them. I never tried picking the books back up.

That is, until a few weeks ago. My beloved is "forcing" me to read them, partly because of her love for them, and also partly because of the upcoming Hobbit movies. I've finished The Hobbit, and am already further in The Fellowship of the Ring than I ever made it in middle school. There's multiple reasons for this; more time, greater ambition, wrathful girlfriend, and more literary maturity are probably the big ones. I am thoroughly enjoying reading the books, even if in my mind Gandalf sounds like Ian McKellen, and all the dwarves sounded like Gimli did in the films (Frodo at this point is whinier than he was in the movies, so to me he doesn't sound like Elijah Wood).

I am actually a little glad I put off reading the books for so long. If I had read them when I was younger, I wouldn't have the same appreciation that I have no for the impact of the books. It's clear to see the influences that Tolkein's writing has had on modern fantasy literature, as well as gaming. It's really fascinating, reading a passage and my mind automatically connects to things I've seen or read that were clearly inspired by the words I just read.

I am looking forward to finishing the Lord of the Rings, and after that, other works by Tolkien. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Hobbit films, which for me (and my love) cannot come out soon enough.

I believe introductions are in order

Welcome, reader, to Libris Dorkus. This is my first attempt at keeping a blog, but I'm hoping it proves at least modestly successful. So, what exactly will be discussed in this blog? Whatever suits my desires, really. But, topics that will frequently be discussed are as follows; gaming, literature, film, art, and life (musing about certain parts of life, as opposed to discussing specifics of my life).

Gaming is a large part of my life, and has been for more than a decade. I primarily take part in table-top gaming (board, card and pen & paper RPGs), but I do have an interest in console gaming, as well as LARP.

Literature is a bit of a more narrow focus for me. I read very few authors, and have a tendency to re-read novels often. But, my love has been encouraging (threatening) me to expand my horizons, so expect to see a fair number of literary discussions on here.

I am a frequent movie-goer, and also tend to watch movies a fair amount at home as well. I am interested in many genres, except for horror. Lately, I've taken to seeing mostly action/fantasy movies. Comedies these days tend to be... well, not funny, in my opinion.

Being an art student, I obviously have opinions about the art world, and art in general. I may discuss projects I'm working on, or a new artist I've discovered, or maybe even just talk about techniques and mediums.

Well, I believe that's all for an introduction. I intend to do a true post sometime this week, and will try and do one every week.

Until then, take care and game on.