Off the Rails

Dungeons and Dragons was... interesting in the last session. One of the players came this close to fleeing the scene entirely while the other two seemed like they might follow him at any given point. They were in a village about to be eradicated by a raging orc war band (which was partially their fault) and, understandably, weren't keen on defending the settlement side-by-side with pitchfork-wielding militia. Fortunately they were rallied by an NPC paladin who later on tried to arrest them all (plot related). Of course this stirred them up and it wasn't long until they actually left the village in a hurry and took refuge in the nearby forest.

This was, in a way, a real boon for me because that's exactly where I wanted them to go! I could have tried to rail road them at any given point but I kept giving them choices; choices which they have, so far, made in a way that continues the story they are involved in. Basically they haven't followed the path I set out for them, but they have arrived at their destination regardless. I think Sam is getting excited about one character that he hopes will become a recurring villain (his rogue also dealt a rediculous amount of damage in a critical sneak attack on a big orc barbarian - he was rolling 2d4+4d6 damage!); Nick was delighted that his bard was finally showing proficiency in combat; and now that the characters are relying on skulking around the wilderness Bob will have the chance to use his ranger's skills effectively.

They left some key NPCs/plot hooks behind when they left the village but I really don't see the need to force these elements upon the players so I'm just going to have to build around them.

I finished painting five Gorkamorka models; now I'm on to modelling my trukk my lone yoof and "on foot" models of the trukk's driver and gunner. I'm still looking forward to playing Gorkamorka but I could really do with some dry weather so I can undercoat the models I have yet to paint!

Nick bought GTAIV at the weekend and although I've been playing it a lot I'm not addicted. I could give up any time I want! It's a very good game. So good that there are moments in which it transcends the series and begins its own legacy. There is a heck of a lot of detail in there; so much that you could practically live out your own life within the game itself. The designers included an Internet, television stations, radio stations (of course), and even people to socialise with! So if you really didn't have any friends or a life you could have a surrogate existence within GTAIV and forget about the outside world. Blimey.

I could write a lot about GTAIV but I'm not prepared to turn this blog into a thousand word review or essay. Not, at least, without completing the game first. Suffice to say I think at some point it may be compared with the likes of Fallout 2 and Morrowind for "take over your life" potential.