I am not sure why Drawing a Blank (original) is a Core adventure, rather than a Dragon Coast adventure – it’s set in Westgate, after all, and it ties into a bunch of Dragon Coast story awards. Susan and I wanted to play it because we like Westgate, in fact. Matt J. was kind enough to DM on request, and we were joined by Newpaintbrush and choroidplx. This was another one of those bard/sorcerer/paladin/warlock ridiculously attractive groups. As a result, the module provided absolutely no opportunities to use social skills. I snickered. I also got more satisfactory use out of Reed’s bard multiclass, both with nick of time heals and skillful acrobatics. Fear the half-pint. ...

Crystal Clear (original) is the sequel to Sense of Wonder, and Collin and Ensa played that, so we wanted to do the followup. Happy day: Matt J. was willing to run it online! Our illustrious fellow players were Eltherian, Xalcairn, Kazordan, and Ryven. Good crowd, well-balanced party. Matt brings the tactical challenge in a way I find really enjoyable. Tough but fair! And he doesn’t slack off roleplay-wise either. The first fight was a tad dull only because Collin can’t pull out all his tricks against single opponents. The second fight was brutal – we lost initiative and people didn’t spread out very well. But thanks to Collin’s Heal training and Ensa’s quick heals, we survived. The last fight was less challenging and still fun. ...

And at last, we reached the grand finale of the Embers of Dawn mini-campaign with Quench the Fire of the Raging God. That is pretty damned epic for a campaign that takes the PCs from level 1 to level 4. I, for one, am pooped. Although man, such a great group – I’d run for those guys forever. (Jon, Peter, Mark, Noah, and of course Susan.) The module… you know, it’s not as good as MINI 1-2 or MINI 1-5. Those two were the pinnacles for me. But it wasn’t bad at all. The combat with the slew of insubstantial monsters was tough and a bit grindy; the skill challenge that called for six successive Thievery checks would have been bad if I hadn’t modified it liberally. On the other hand, I like the opening sequence of investigations, I love the party, and the final fight is nicely epic. ...

On Saturday, Xalcairn ran The Thin Grey Line (original) for me, darksydex, Elden, Genolen, Neofax, and Blackmantle. It was nice and smooth and fun. We kind of floundered in the early portion of the module, thanks to a completely non-social party, but with liberal use of assists and lucky die rolls we worked through our tongue-tied problems. The combats, conversely, were not too bad at all. There’s an annoying sort of cliffhanger at the end. I guess DRAG 1-3 is the sequel? I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

Did I run The Sea Drake (original) last night online? Yes I did! Chalk up another new module for me; I’d never played or run it before. My players were Xalcairn, Domingo, Dareus, Genolen, Tracker, and Zeitgeist. Good crowd, balanced party, fun times. I really dug the combats. Which is a good thing, since this is one of those modules with no skill challenges. I think the second roleplaying encounter in the beginning was a bit much; the author wanted to get some Moonshae Isles feel in there, but it’s kind of NPCs talking to NPCs blah blah. I maybe could have GMed it better face to face, not sure. ...

So I don’t forget: Ring of the Dragonborn Emperor (+3 damage on close attacks) Ring of the Radiant Storm (roll radiant damage twice, take the highest)

Collin is my fighter. As with all my LFR characters, he is built with an eye towards effectiveness and an eye towards roleplay, which makes two eyes. That’s how you know I’m not a beholder. In practice, this means he’s a sword and shield fighter; I haven’t gone for the maximal damage cheese but I do like him to be pretty good at what he does. Which is minimize incoming damage and control the location of enemies on the battlefield. He can push and pull like nobody’s business. ...

Saturday Tracker ran The Gibbous Moon (original), with cenakor, Xalcairn, Maelwys, logopolis, and I playing. It wound up being somewhat of a grindfest. We started an hour and a half late, and Tracker didn’t quite read some of the monster stat blocks carefully enough which extended the first combat by a bit. (The Deathlock Wight Resurrect power revives undead at half bloodied hit point value, not at bloodied hit point value. Ooops.) I dunno, one of those things, I guess. ...

Whoa, I forgot to record the weekend’s games! It’s cause I flew to Austin on Sunday night and I’m still catching up with myself. On 4/9, Friday night, I ran Brothers In Arms (original) as an exchange with Tracker. My other players were logopolis, codman, Xalcairn, and Nimrand. It’s not a combat heavy module, and I am not totally surprised that I didn’t wreak terrible havoc on anyone, although I did have some great moments when a dark creeper died and blinded half the party for four rounds. It’s a fun adventure and I still want to play it with Alesk sometime.

This is the second time I’ve played The Night I Called the Undead Out (original). I’ve liked it both times! Susan and I went down to Games & Stuff to play it, cause it’s nice to get down there every now and again. Mac was our GM, and he did a great job. Chris, Tom B., and Jonathan were our fellow players. The usual complaint about TNICtUO is that it’s really long, which it is. I am inclined to think that cutting out the third fight would not be the worst thing in the world, and it’s how I’d abbreviate it if I were running it in the 3.5 hour slot that Games and Stuff allows. But that’s after playing it twice and thinking about it some more. And the thing is, it’s an awesome module no matter what. ...