D&D Snippets

[Pisha]

A hobgoblin paladin? I love it! (we had a hobgoblin npc for a while, I grew quite fond of him).

Our main D&D game has a goblin Arcane Trickster; after playing with him for over a year, any party without a "monstrous" PC just feels wrong!

Your first paragraph is just beautiful. One of the best I've ever read. First paragraphs are a right nuisance to write, I hate them with a passion, but that was fantastic. You give us all the information we need - we know we're in a bar or inn, we know something is up because she cannot see the character smile (somehow I knew it was male). And yet, there is something very sad in the writing. Something a little melancholy. It grabs you and makes you want to read the rest, to find out what's wrong.

Heh, well... thanks. *blushes* That's exactly what I was going for, I'm glad to know it came across!

The description of Phut and Tuph is very cute too... probably because it reminds me of the half-orc/halfling friendship we had right at the start of our game (players were married and decided their characters knew each other).

IRL, they're a brother-sister team. I was a little unsure of them at first, cuz they were the only players there that I'd never gamed with before, and because I'd never gamed with a kid before either (the player of Tuph is about 12 or 13), but they won me over in about 10 minutes. (Phut especially is hilarious - his player describes him as "The orc who was too stupid to know he's supposed to be evil.")

I like the way you describe him thinking and debating with himself to reveal their evil or not. You do a fantastic job of letting us know he's a paladin without ever coming out and saying it (except right at the end). You bring him right to the brink of being a Miko - and then ever so gently turn him write around. You also have made me very curious about the glowing and the fire and what the hang happened when they were prisoners.

Well, the prisoners thing doesn't really have a story behind it - Hakar and Tree were investigating some Big Bad Evil thing, and the Big Bad Evil found them first and captured them. Rescuing them was the plothook to get them introduced to the rest of the party. Given their respective backstories and their innate stoicism, I'm pretty sure they both consider it an embarrassing inconvenience more than anything else.

As for the rest of it... yeah, without giving character secrets away, Hakar has some anger issues. He tends to roll a lot of self-imposed will saves, and the GM is fully aware that he'll need to prepare an Atonement side-plot for the day he inevitably fails one...

I'm glad you liked it.

I second this. I have no idea what WoD is, but I'm still interested

WoD=World of Darkness. Another tabletop/LARP game, dealing with fantasy/horror themes in a modern, urban setting. Vampires, werewolves, mages, fairies, and even weirder stuff, although the flavor varies depending on the edition. My favorite game (and favorite character) comes from here.

Growing Pains
or Mama, it's Time to Let Go

Spoiler

Show

Lirrin came charging into the family room, waving a piece of paper above her head. She slapped it down on the table and announced

“I know what I want to do!”

As soon as she said that, I knew my baby girl had grown up and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I felt my heart constrict as I picked up the paper she had laid on the table. I knew my daughter, and I knew that whatever she wanted to do would involve her standing in front of others and would likely get her killed.

She has a big heart, my girl.

I smiled at her, so young and so exuberant, and read the notice:

Citizens of ‘Area’

As you are aware, the Plague of Shadows has ended. For this, we thank the paladin Lord Lester, and the group known as The Celadians.

This plague has taken a toll on all of us. However, we are all dependent on the protection and commerce generated by the city of Dandanagan. To ensure the survival of this city, we need replacements for members of the city guard lost to the plague. Therefore, we request that all willing citizens report to the Central Barracks in Dandanagan by ‘xyz date’.

In serving your city, you serve us all.

It seemed a little grandiose to me, but it had clearly captured Lirrin’s imagination.

“You want to become a city guard?” I asked, a little baffled I’ll admit. I had pictured – well, more for my firstborn. She was so vibrant, so vital, so much in love with life. I had always imagined her leaving this village; but only so she could move on to bigger and better things. Leaving to join the city guard of Dandanagan? Not quite what I’d had in mind.

“Absolutely!” she beamed at me

“Why?” I asked the question a little more bluntly than perhaps I should have, as Lirrin gave me that hurt look that was so devastating when she was a child. “I’m not refusing you child, I’m just – curious. It’s not what I had expected from you.”

She looks at me, puzzled

“What do you mean Mama?” I sighed inwardly, taking care to hide it from her. How was I supposed to explain that I had always anticipated more from her without making it sound as though I was disappointed in her choice. There was nothing wrong with being a city guard after all.

“You have such a thirst for adventure” I said finally. “I had expected that you would eventually leave to seek adventure and a fortune.”

“But – being in the city guard will be an adventure!” Lirrin’s voice rose with excitement. “I’ve never been to a big city before, and there’ll be adventurers and temples and paladins and and maybe even-” her voice dropped to a whisper “the Celadians.”

Ahhh, hero worship. It’s been a while since I felt that tug. I carefully laid the piece of paper back on the table.

“Lirrin,” I started, very carefully keeping any concerns out of my voice. I could talk them over with Rikad later. “If this is what you want, then your father and I will support you as much as we can. All I can ask is that you take care of yourself – and, write us often?”

“Thank you Mama!”

She beamed at me, and in two steps had pulled me into a massive hug. Great gods that girl is strong! Perhaps she’ll do better than I think.

I absolutely love this. If this is your example of "not very good," then I REALLY want to see your "better" work! Of course, I may be biased... I love slice-of-life snippets, where you get to see adventurers interacting with their families. The stuff that rarely gets a chance to come out in a regular game. I think you captured the bittersweet feeling of being proud of your child, while still fearing that their choices would get them killed, quite well. And then the odd sense of let-down, that the chosen dangerous profession wasn't quite as extreme as expected... it was cute, and very believable. I wanted to hug them both.