It's that time of year again and time to write some RPG blog entries. It's been a very long time since I've updated. It's year four for me, so I've been around for better half of these. I might pick up with the normal blog writing this school year as I will be starting a new adventure in China, but that's not why you came. It's RPG a Day month and we start with First...
This year's prompt list is purposely open ended so "First" can be any number of things. To put it out there, although I may have mentioned it before in one of the other responses, my first RPG had to be the Marvel Superheroes--FASERIP--from TSR. I ran it mainly for my younger brother and one of his friends. I'm not detailing that one because I'm sure it's in my blogs somewhere.
My response to "first" this year is that it's the first time since 2013 that I don't have anything going as a player or a GM. I am in the middle of a big move from teaching in the United Arab Emirates to teaching in China.
The UAE has quite the table-top community if you know where to look for it. It is mostly made up of expats, but a few locals have the bug too. I joined up with Gulf Roleplaying Community--which you can find on Facebook--that runs mini-conventions for play from time to time. This led to having a cup of coffee with a small group in Abu Dhabi. For those not in the know, the UAE is small on the map, but big in real-life. In spite of my love for the hobby, six hour round trips every Friday were not sustainable. From there I found Roll*20. Without a doubt virtual table-tops are the next best thing to live tables. I ran and played many different campaigns and one-shots with varying degrees of success. Flakiness on the part of other players--and sometimes the technology itself--causes frustration, but I've been able to play more often with more people via this medium than I ever have before. Finally, a live gaming group did appear out in the blight where I lived. The group has had many roster changes, but I was one of the founding members who established it in 2015. Many an adventure was had, and hopefully many more to come...
...but for me, I wrapped up the Roll*20 at the end of May. My latest group having ended with a whimper rather than a bang--but still on good terms--not knowing how or even if Roll*20 plays in China. I had to duck out of the live group out in the provinces of Abu Dhabi toward the end of June, but I am pleased that it will live on for at least another school year. Although with my exit, all of the founding members have moved on. So, for the first time in a long time--no playing, no running, and no immediate plans to pick things up again.
Tomorrow--Unique
This year's prompt list is purposely open ended so "First" can be any number of things. To put it out there, although I may have mentioned it before in one of the other responses, my first RPG had to be the Marvel Superheroes--FASERIP--from TSR. I ran it mainly for my younger brother and one of his friends. I'm not detailing that one because I'm sure it's in my blogs somewhere.
My response to "first" this year is that it's the first time since 2013 that I don't have anything going as a player or a GM. I am in the middle of a big move from teaching in the United Arab Emirates to teaching in China.
The UAE has quite the table-top community if you know where to look for it. It is mostly made up of expats, but a few locals have the bug too. I joined up with Gulf Roleplaying Community--which you can find on Facebook--that runs mini-conventions for play from time to time. This led to having a cup of coffee with a small group in Abu Dhabi. For those not in the know, the UAE is small on the map, but big in real-life. In spite of my love for the hobby, six hour round trips every Friday were not sustainable. From there I found Roll*20. Without a doubt virtual table-tops are the next best thing to live tables. I ran and played many different campaigns and one-shots with varying degrees of success. Flakiness on the part of other players--and sometimes the technology itself--causes frustration, but I've been able to play more often with more people via this medium than I ever have before. Finally, a live gaming group did appear out in the blight where I lived. The group has had many roster changes, but I was one of the founding members who established it in 2015. Many an adventure was had, and hopefully many more to come...
...but for me, I wrapped up the Roll*20 at the end of May. My latest group having ended with a whimper rather than a bang--but still on good terms--not knowing how or even if Roll*20 plays in China. I had to duck out of the live group out in the provinces of Abu Dhabi toward the end of June, but I am pleased that it will live on for at least another school year. Although with my exit, all of the founding members have moved on. So, for the first time in a long time--no playing, no running, and no immediate plans to pick things up again.
Tomorrow--Unique
