Of course, the big flaw with OGL content was that it often didn’t include monster names; the exceptions are the Advanced Bestiary, Tome of Horrors, and one or two others. Granted, it’s hard to copyright something like “Red Devil,” or a name from real-world history/mythology, but it’s annoying as sin when you have to come up with witty replacement names for Dracodiles and Nerubians. Never mind that most of the monster manuals is verboten.

For the most part, I changed the names to be something different (unless it was banal, like “Tough”), but if they’re notably awkward just make them whatever the heck you want. Besides, it’s not like the players should ever now.

I realize this one is somewhat similar to the Cave Creature template from Advanced Bestiary, but I think they’re two sides to the same process. Cave creature is an inherited template, representing an evolutionary change in a species: its offspring becoming modified to the subterranean environment. Deep-dwelling, by contrast, is more representative of adaptations in an individual creature: it’s been living underground for a while and has honed its senses to survive in a light-less environment, but it hasn’t, for example, evolved past eyesight and replaced it with echolocation (blindsight).

I’m also half tempted to rename the quickplate “subterranean” since that’s both accurate and unrelated to the original, but whatever. If Privateer has a problem with the name, I’ll change it.

Deep-Dwelling

A deep-dwelling creature is one that’s adapted to subterranean life: its eyes have adapted to near darkness, its senses of smell and hearing have been honed. This is a gradual development, but it can happen to any creature—even groups of creatures—that have either wandered underground or been trapped there.

Speed: The creature gains a climb speed equal to half its base speed.

Senses: The creature gains darkvision 60 ft., lean, scent.

Saves: +1 to Fortitude.

Abilities: Add +2 to Constitution and Dexterity.

Skills: The creature gains a +4 racial bonus to Perception and Stealth checks.

Restrictions: This quickplate is not typically applied to creatures Large size or greater, and it cannot be applied to creatures which are native to subterranean environments.

Special Abilities: Lean (Ex): Food and water are harder to come by in a subterranean environment, and the deep-dwelling creature adapts to having less of these. It requires half as much sustenance as its base type.

CR: No change, or increase by +1.

Sample creature: Cave dinosaurs came to mind, so I picked a nice big one, Allosaurus from the Bestiary 2. Dinosaurs, like most monsters, are easy as heck to template, since they don’t have a lot of special abilities to repeat, giving them short stat blocks. And besides, it has a nice Hollow Earth/Center of the Earth flavor to it. I could see some dinosaurs getting stuck beneath the earth (or dragged down by some serpentfolk/drow animal wranglers, and ending up loose somehow) and adapting to subterranean life, stomping around and eating whatever it bumps into.

Deep-Dwelling Allosaurus

CR 7

XP 3,200
N Huge animal
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +28

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +10 natural, –2 size)
hp 103 (11d8+55)
Fort +14, Ref +9, Will +7

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., climb 25 ft.
Melee bite +14 (2d6+8/19–20 plus grab), 2 claws (1d8+8)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 talons +14, 1d8+8)

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 10
Base Atk +8; CMB +18; CMD 29
Feats Alertness, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Nimble Moves, Run
Skills Perception +30, Stealth +10; Racial Modifiers +12 Perception, +4 Stealth SQ lean

I juggled two of its Perception ranks into Stealth since it’s a class skill, giving this big guy a snowball’s chance in hell of sneaking up on something. Other than that, it’s a very minor bump: +11 hp, +3 to Fort, +1 to Ref, +1 to AC and Touch AC, and darkvision. Probably not the best choice in hindsight, since it already had scent. And now it has a climb speed, for no well-defined reason. I’m not sure it’s up to the snuff of a CR8, like the template implies, since the only thing on-par is its health and saves, so I left its CR alone.

I’m used to competent, optimized characters in large groups who would make mincemeat of this thing, so I tend to lowball CRs in general; if your group isn’t optimized, or has few members, bump the CR back up.

So, let’s try another monster, one that doesn’t already have several of the template’s features. How about a lower-level threat? For some reason I was thinking of trogs, except those guys are already subterranean. So what about something bounding across the savannah plain? And no, what came to mind wasn’t a lion, but megafauna in everything but name.

Deep-Dwelling Axe Beak

CR 3

XP 600
N Large animal
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +9

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+4 Dex, +2 natural, -1 size)
hp 26 (3d8+12)
Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., climb 25 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d8+6)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks lean, sudden charge

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +7; CMD 20
Feats Run, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Perception +9; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Lean (Ex)

Food and water are harder to come by in a subterranean environment, and the deep-dwelling creature adapts to having less of these. It requires half as much sustenance as its base type.

Sudden Charge (Ex)

When making a charge attack, an axe beak makes a single bite attack. If successful, it may also attempt to trip its opponent as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the axe beak cannot be tripped in return.

Great, both of my choices have had climb speeds at the awkward 25-foot increment. At any rate, giving a creature +2 Con and +2 Dex is a lot more noticeable at lower levels, though it’s not going to ruin the characters that much more as a CR2 than a CR3. Its damage output and attacks remain unchanged, making it a passable foe, but probably not a major one. Unless it uses its Sudden Charge to stack with its climb speed, which, while hilarious sounding, probably doesn’t work RAW. Up to the GM at that point.

Looking at both of these, I’m going to put the template’s CR modifier at “CR: +0 or +1,” since I’m not sure it does enough to make monsters that much more deadly. It’s kind of like the Celestial/Fiendish templates put on a low-level monster; it just doesn’t feel like it’s advancing things enough to take on four average characters at a level above the creatures’ base stats.

There you have it.

This and the new No Quarter article gives us our first glimpse at some actual hard facts. There’s at least four books planned, the die system is similar to Warmachine/Hordes, and it has classes.

Of course, the thing I hear the most about this product is that no one believes it’ll actually exist. But I think those days are behind Privateer Press. The people responsible for the delays in the original IK RPG no longer work there. The company has demonstrated their devotion to getting products out on time with the Warmachine/Hordes 2.0 book release (What, like out of 12-13 books, one of them was delayed? That’s a pretty good record.) So I believe this product will exist on the day that they say it will. My question is more about the support products – how often will they show up?

The weird thing is that I’m still not necessarily excited about this product. Even though I love the Iron Kingdoms and would place it as one of two settings from the d20 Boom that still interests me. And I think that’s because the previous iteration was just so thorough. There aren’t really any unexplored questions I have about the setting. The Character and World Guides of the d20 versions were ridiculously thorough. They still meet all my setting fluff needs (not to mention Five Fingers, the Monsternomicons, etc. etc.) Really, the only thing the game needs is a better mechanical basis…which its hopefully getting. But it’s kinda hard to get excited about a new version of math.

This is not to say that I won’t be getting this when it comes out. Just that I’m less excited than I feel like I should be.

Iron Kingdoms Role-Playing Game

Definitely excited for this one.  I still haven’t found a group to game with around here, else I’d be playing the current IK D20 setting.  I like that they’re going to be tying this so closely to the Warmachine/Hordes gameplay.  I can see how this would allow for a very quick transition to large battle scenes of a type which are usually pretty hard to portray in normal RPG play, while still maintaining the core player interactions that RPG players look for.

Excitement score: 8/10.  It’d be higher if I could find a gaming group to play with.

Warmachine: Colossals

I have seen the future, and that future is epic.  No, not regular epic, epic epic.  Or legendary, if you’re a rebel like me.  The next expansion book for Warmachine will be called Colossals and will introduce the third tier of warcasters for each faction as well as colossals themselves.  Leaving the latter for… well… later, here’s the list of legendary warcasters who have been confirmed:

• Cygnar: General Adept Nemo (Same title as the epic tier, but now with 100% more young female assistant)
• Khador: Vladimir Tzepesci (I’m on a horse.)
• Menoth: Mikael Kreoss (I’m… also on a horse.)
• Retribution: Dawnlord Vyros (Me three!)
• Cryx: None leaked yet.

While I love Kreoss as much as the next guy (And probably more), I was honestly hoping the legendary iteration wouldn’t be on a horse.  I can see why legendary Vlad got himself a mount, being a horse lord and all, but Kreoss doesn’t have the same cavalry associations in his fluff.  Anyway, cool stuff in this batch.  Now for the colossals!

In the backstory, the colossals were the predecessors to warjacks, huge city-destroying constructs that were used to defeat the Orgoth occupiers six hundred years ago.  They were abandoned because they were approximately as nimble as the buildings they destroyed, and were more expensive than the rest of the military combined.  Thus the first warjacks were begotten.  Well, now the Iron Kingdoms’ various wars have turned into arms races, and each kingdom has independently decided to return to their ancient roots, only with modern arcane and mechanikal developments.  They’re all listed in the video above, but here’s the list for your enjoyment:

• Cygnar: Stormwall
• Khador: Conquest
• Menoth: Adjudicator
• Retribution: Hyperion
• Cryx: Kraken
• Mercenaries: Galleon

These are what was teased on the back cover of No Quarter Magazine #40.  They have not one but two damage grids to demonstrate their massive armor and durability, with weapons systems on both sides and on a “super system” turret as well as dual open fists.  They’re effectively (There’s some debate as to exactly how effectively) warjacks, which means they’re included in a warcaster’s battle group, can be allocated focus, can be affected by battle group spells, and can execute power attacks (plus two new ones).  They’re roughly 18-20 points each, Field Allowance 2, and are massive.  Only Stormwall and Conquest are complete to the point of being ready for release, and just for reference the Conquest is as wide as the Throne of Everblight is tall.

Excitement Score: 10/10.  A third Kreoss and a building-sized warjack with dual flamethrowers and rocket launchers?  It’s my birthday and Christmas come early all at once.

War Room

The last big announcement for Warmachine and Hordes players is the release this spring of War Room, an app for iOS and Android users developed by Privateer Press in cooperation with Tinkerhouse Games.  The app, which is free for download, allows users to build army lists and access the stat cards for each of the models and units included.  The cards are all hyperlinked for easy rules reference; damage and status can be tracked dynamically; and users can see opponents’ lists over the Internet.  The app also has a turn clock for players to run their own games.

Like I said, the app itself is free, and it comes with the cards for each faction’s battle box or equivalent.  Users can buy access to a faction’s complete deck for $6.99 each.  That access is permanent, and comes with free lifetime updates and instant errata publication. I’m excited for this app; though I don’t own an iOS or Android product myself, I can use a borrowed iPad and with a little bit of luck leave my rulebooks and stat cards at home when I go to a game or event.

Excitement score: 8/10.  It’s not a great new product in itself, but it definitely looks like a great new peripheral.

The first is Dark Sun. It has been my favourite since I first read it all those years ago.

The other is the Iron Kingdoms setting, by Privateer Press, which grew out of their Warmachine/Hordes miniature game, a sort of fantasy steampunk world. The gaming system they used was an adaptation of the 3.5 AD&D system, and sadly it didn’t quite work, being prone to the flaws that plagued 3.x.

Privateer Press have announced that they are working on a completely new system for the Iron Kingdoms setting, one not based on D&D. What that system will be we don’t know yet, but if if captures the flavour of the steampunk setting (and makes gun viable, unlike the 3.5 system), I am going to be interested.

When more details come to light I’ll share them.

I started painting miniature models four months ago. Most people when they are first introduced to this hobby buy something from the industry leader Games Workshop. For example, I picked up the Assault on Black Reach boxed set with models intended for use in the Warhammer 40k game system. Something you will rapidly learn if you do any comparison shopping is that Games Workshop products dependably have the highest prices you can find anywhere. The pricing is a source of bitter resentment among some Games Workshop customers. The Internet has no shortage of bitter angry forum posts, YouTube videos, blogs and so on. Games Workshop customers are consistently angry, unhappy and resentful toward this company. I don’t feel this way because I stopped buying stuff from Games Workshop.

Here is a positive action plan to help foster your own happiness and inner peace while shopping for models. As soon as you see the Games Workshop logo on a product you are holding, stop immediately, drop the box, raise your hands to a defensive position and carefully back away from the box toward the nearest exit. Then retreat to your car, quickly drive home and buy something online from another company at a lower price. At this point I would recommend enjoying a moment of silent reflection to meditate on how much your life has improved because your recent positive choices. That was quite a close call indeed.

As you read this you may ask yourself, “If I don’t buy from Games Workshop what other company would I buy from?” That is an excellent question to ask and it is worthy of thought and research. In order to help answer this question I hope to make several blog posts summarizing the offerings of Games Workshop’s various competitors. It is my conviction that many Games Workshop customers chose that company because they just happen to be ignorant of the many excellent products available from competitors at lower prices. Buying from Games Workshop is like suffering from a curable disease. It’s unnecessary. There is help out there. We can do this together.

This post is about a company called Privateer Press. I understand this company is fairly successful. I have the impression that they are the second most popular miniature war game company next to Games Workshop. I base this opinion on the number of people I know who play their games. I don’t have any survey data or anything so formal to back this opinion up. Anyway this blog post is to help you decide if you want to buy into their game system. I want to share with you all the information I have collected from the Internet and help you make an informed decision.

Balance in Warmachine and Hordes

Before I proceed let me just say that I haven’t either bought or played any products from this company. I am confessing to you that I am not any sort of expert on their games. I am like you a consumer and a gamer. This is my perspective. Although I can’t seem to resist poking fun at Games Workshop I promise that I am going to strive to be unbiased and objective about the offerings of Privateer Press. Here goes.

The flag ship product from Privateer Press is called Warmachine. They also have a second very similar game called Hordes. The Privateer Press web site calls Hordes the “feral twin” of Warmachine. The two games are intended to work together. Gamers sometimes refer to the two games together by the slang word “Warmahordes.” You could take your army from a Hordes game and have a battle with your friend’s army from Warmachine. While the Privateer Press web site insists that the two games are “fully compatible” I have read posts that suggest that the company has some difficulty balancing the rules between the systems.

What is rule balance you ask? Well war games like these have different factions. Each player chooses a faction and collects his army of models from said faction and then goes to battle against other players of different factions or in some games the same faction. There is this notion that in an ideal “balanced” game, each faction would be of equal strength and have an equal chance of winning against any opposing faction. Gamers like balance because it means that players win or lose based on their skills and knowledge and not based on arbitrary advantages gained from picking a certain overpowered faction. Games Workshop has a reputation for deliberately creating an unbalanced game. Every time Games Workshop releases new models they release a new codex (rule book) with the models. Typically the most powerful units in the game are also the newest models recently released. Cynics claim that Games Workshop deliberately skews the balance of its game to drive sales. Every time they want to sell some new models they release new rules for said models that make those models the most powerful in the game. Gamers get annoyed with this because it reduces the overall quality of the gaming experience. Knowledge and skill no longer achieve victory in the game. The way you win the game is just to plunk down your money on the newest models and then you will be unstoppable. Some gamers will switch factions constantly so that they can always be playing an army of the latest models. This is called “codex hopping.” These players tend to spend huge sums of money on the hobby and they tend to consistently beat the players that don’t switch factions. The players that don’t do codex hopping resent the ones that do. These are all the sorts of problems that arise from having an unbalanced game.

This would lead you to ask, “Are Warmachine and Hordes balanced?” The answer to that question is not a “yes” or a “no.” It is difficult to make a balanced game because you want each faction to be unique, interesting and different from all others in meaningful ways. At the same time the game designers want each faction to have an equal chance of winning. So it is hard to achieve balance. Warmachine players sometimes assert that Warmachine and Hordes are better balanced than the Games Workshop games. Warmachine and Hordes games are certainly not perfectly balanced and they do have problems where certain units seem overpowered. That said, greater balance seems to be a selling point for Privateer Press.

Warmachine and Hordes Models

Miniature models for war games are manufactured to a certain scale. Warmachine and Hordes models are described as having a 30mm scale. That is supposed to be the distance from a model’s eyes to the ground. For comparision Warhammer 40k models are in a 28mm scale. So these models are all slightly larger than what most new war gamers are familiar with.

Miniature models are made of various materials. They can be made of either plastic or metal. Plastic is cheaper. Metals are more expensive but I have heard it said that metal models have finer detail. Some people find the metal models to be worth the additional cost because of the greater detail. Privateer Press makes an awful lot of metal models. I think most of their stuff is metal. A disadvantage that comes with metal models is that you cannot modify metal models as easily. Some hobbyists will heavily modify their plastic models by cutting them apart and attaching pieces (bitz) from other model kits. Someone might cut off a monster’s head and replace it with an alternate head for example. Weapons are often replaced in the same way. They call this “converting” the model. You can’t really cut up a metal model this way so that is one complaint that hobbyists have about Privateer Press’ choice to use metal. A related complaint that hobbyists have about the Privateer Press models is that they can only be assembled in one way. Other companies might sell a model kit with extra pieces that provide a variety of options. For example one model might come with three head pieces that could be used. So often the hobbyist has some flexibility and choice when they assemble. Privateer Press doesn’t include many extra bitz and so their really isn’t much flexibility in the assembly of their models.

The models for Warmachine and Hordes tend to be a lot of larger models. They have a lot of these things called Warjacks and Warbeasts. Much of your army will include these large models on bases that are 30mm wide or even larger. Other games might have you making a lot of infantry units on 20mm wide square bases or 25mm wide round bases. Privateer Press likes using larger models.

When two players play Warmachine or Hordes, the first thing they need to decide about their game is the point size. Every miniature war game that I know of has some kind of points system. Each player receives the same amount of points and their models are “bought” by using points from the pool. This is supposed to ensure that each army is of approximately equal strength. Adjusting the point cost of each model is one of the main ways that game designers attempt to achieve balance. Most games of Warmachine or Hordes are 25 or 35 point games. Some times I have seen battle reports online with games of 70 points or higher. You can play with as many points as you want to. Most games though are 25 or 35 points. A 35 point army usually consists of between 20 and 25 models although you might end up with more or less based on your unit choices. Based on the army lists of other players that I have seen in online forums, I would say that a 35 point army of models will cost you between $260 and $350. It varies depending on your specific unit selections. If you opt for an army with more models then you will have to spend more. This is a rough estimate. A 35 point game between two players who are each familiar with the rules will take about 45 minutes to complete. When you haven’t yet got a good grasp of the rules your games will take longer as you have to keep looking things up in the rulebook.

Almost all the models are sold individually or in small units of six models or less. There is one product called, the “Two Player Battle Box.” This boxed set contains 17 models, dice, ruler, rulebook and some other literature. The models are divided into two forces one group of Khador and the other a group of the Protectorate of Menoth. The Two Player Battle Box sells for one hundred dollars and it is a good value. If you are interested in either the Khador or Menoth factions you should seriously consider it. If you like one of the other factions, you have fewer options. There are one player Battle Boxes for almost all the other factions. Each one sells for fifty dollars. The Battle Boxes always tend to be the best value for the money. Once you know which faction you want to play, look for a Battle Box for that faction. The Battles Boxes make ideal first purchases.

Choosing a Faction

Which faction should you choose? That is a difficult question to answer. There are six factions in Warmachine (if you count the mercenaries as a separate faction). There are another four factions in Hordes. You could choose any of these. Some people choose a faction based on the fluff or the fiction that goes with each faction. If for example you think that undead skeleton monsters are really cool, then you will likely enjoy playing the Cryx faction. You might choose a faction based on what type of models you like to paint. You can take a look at the sculpting of each model and base your decision on that. Often players will choose a faction based on the game tactics that go with each faction. Each faction lends itself to certain tactical play styles in the game. I don’t really feel that I know enough about this game to make recommendations on which faction to choose. I just recommend that you put some thought into the decision. Remember many players collect multiple armies from multiple factions. This is not a decision that you have to be married to until your death. I want to include a link to this helpful guide for choosing a faction. This is a great guide by Fireman Tim that I found on a forum. It is incomplete because it has no content about the Retribution of Scyrah faction or the Mercenaries. I believe that this guide was written before those factions were released. There is nothing at all in this guide for the Hordes game. This a Warmachine only guide. For further information and guidance on choosing a faction, I encourage you to research on your own.

Warmachine Faction Guide

Other Games and Products by Privateer Press

That is essentially all that I have to say about the Warmachine and Hordes games. I also want to also briefly mention other products sold by Privateer Press that you might consider. Privateer Press has a free iPhone app called “iBodger.” This is a great little app for tracking your collection of models. If you have an iPhone and you’re into Privateer Press then definitely download this app and make use of it. There is also an Android version of the same app.  Privateer Press has a magazine called “No Quarter.” The magazine has articles about all things related to the Warmachine and Hordes games.  Game tactics, model painting, terrain building and product previews are the magazine’s contents. They come out with six issues a year. A single issue is $5.99 and an annual subscription runs at $48. Privateer Press sells its own range of paints called, “Formula P3.” These paints come in little pots. They sell them in six pot packages intended to include all the colors needed for a specific faction. One of the six pot packages is $18. You can also buy individual pots for $3.50 each. They sell other hobby supplies including paint brushes, black and white spray primer, a wet palette, a “How to Paint” DVD, plastic clippers, a pin vice, a file set, hobby knives, supper glue and so on.

There are a number of other games sold by Privateer Press. They have a Role-playing Game rule system for their fantasy world. It’s called the Iron Kingdoms RPG. You can use miniature models with this RPG. They sell a good number of models for this specific purpose. The have a game that uses prepainted models called, “Monsterpocalypse.” This game is about fighting battles between creatures such as King Kong or Godzilla. Each player uses his own collection of models. The rules for this game are constantly being changed and updated as new models are continually being released. To remain competitive as a player you need to keep buying the booster packs that contain new models. They have a science fiction “sports” game called Grind. Grind is a sport played by giant steam powered robots. These robots kick around a giant spiked steel ball on a playing field suspended over molten lava. This is a board game that uses miniature models to represent the robots. It is five models to a team with two teams. They also have a few other board games and card games. I will not mention these because they don’t use miniature models.

Well that is my overview of all the products sold by Privateer Press. I hope that this information is helpful to you and interesting. I send my best wishes to you my readers. Take care.

Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.

~ Annie Besant

So, there I was.  Being all boo-hoo and woe-is-me. Some of you saw what I was trying to get at and came alongside.  Others of you called bullshit.  Maybe not here, to my face.  But you did it just the same.

And then there was Lisa.  A comrade!  A fellow traveler of this lonely road.  Her comment on that post took my breath away.  How common is it to find a first-time reader who leaves such thoughtful, engaging and empathetic words?

My other first thought?  Great.  Another online companion.  Someone with whom I could break the real-life bread of fellowship if only miles and miles didn’t separate us.

Don’t hear that wrong.  Please.  I have many friends that I’ve never met who rock my world.  We chat on the effbooks.  We exchange emails and Christmas cards.  You start Spotify playlists for me.  We get along swimmingly, and I count you as part of a growing list of people I call friends.  And not because Mark Zuckerberg gave me permission to do so.  In fact, I choose not to use the word “virtual”  for you are a real person, with blood and bile and brains that house a tender soul.

And so I naturally wondered if perhaps Lisa was one such online friend and I failed to make the connections.  Only, to my great surprise, it wasn’t just any Lisa.  It was Danira!  She of the Big Fucking Sword!  The Yin to my Yang!  The Gwyneth Paltrow to my Jack Black!

With whom I’ve spent glorious months riding a boat and thwarting the best-laid plans of pirates and leviathans alike.  With whom I’ve ridden horseback upon the winter-ravaged planes of western Immoren stoking the fires of giant war machines.  She who saved my ass in a tavern once, and fought valiantly against an undead librarian while I waited in the hallway perusing books about the restorative-yet-hallucinogenic properties of hooaga leaves.

Dexter Duchovic’s long-lost love had sent a flare over my wreck and rescued me.

We ended up chatting for an hour or so and then agreed to meet up with our respective SOs for coffee before the holidays run out.  And the best part?  She’s relocating from the impossibly faraway north side of town down to my neck of the woods, as the crow flies.  Where her woman-cave awaits, with a mini-fridge and a real table and folding chairs, and possibly a couch for when we get tired and need to crash for a few minutes.  And shelf after shelf of books for mining and tweaking.  And her maniacal cackle as she initiates, upon some stupid adventuring decision, like choosing to lift the lid off some not-so-random and yet completely out-of-place toilet, that rite of all great Dungeon Masters – the Total Party Kill.

Lisa and I, we did what friends do.  To borrow and turn an old phrase, we played ping pong over the abyss of our sorrows.  We laughed amidst the pain.  And we agreed to make it through together . . .

[Flickr photo is by abdul / yunir and is protected]

Nine years it has been since I was exiled from my homeland.