LARP Project

Rather than playing any games last week, I've been piddling around with a LARP project.

If you are interested, read more here.

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon

Last week, I went on about my increased output of posts, largely due to the Dominion of series.

Well, I may have spoke a little too soon. My production has dropped off considerably. Throughout most of this year, I have had a backlog of posts, which I space out through the month. Right now, I have nothing in the tank.

What factors are causing this drop-off?

1. LARP

LARP season has returned and I find myself dedicating more free time to LARP preparations.

For example, I worked on the helmet and shield (not pictured) for my death knight NPC.

I also spent time working on scenarios for this season and prepping other NPC costume bits.

2. Crash and Burn

Starting in July I got caught up in a Voidfighter bug. I played some aerial games in anticipation and then planned a project after the rules came out.

But it was all short-lived. The rules failed to hold my attention and the project slipped into oblivion.

3. What Next?

Similarly, my engagement with Dominion of has faded. Don't get me wrong, I still love the rules. I just don't know what I next want to do with them.

• Previously, I went all-in with ancient battles, playing all 36 of the scenarios in the expansion.
• I also did Lexington-Concord and Bunker Hill.
• I played a few 19th century campaigns (Austro-Prussian, Austro-Italian, and Russo-Turkish) using Spear and Bayonet. I could upgrade to Bismarck, but I'm a little variant'ed out.
• I have one campaign, set in my LARP's fantasy world, but it's not gripping me.

I just don't know what era or campaign I should game next. Nothing is grabbing me at the moment.

Going Forward?

I'm using Nocan as filler, but that is not enough. From my experience, however, these doldrums don't last forever. I just need to ride it out.

Nocan Season 5

Nocan is now a veteran of the arena. Let's see how he does in his fifth season.

Preliminaries

• Prelim 1 - vs. an experienced wizard. The wizard gets in 2 hits. Nocan? Nothing, all misses. He loses 2-0.
• Prelim 2
• Nocan knocks down a novice elf archer in the first pass. That sets the tone for the rest of the bout. Nocan wins 7-0.
• Another 7-0 demolition, this time of a novice dwarf axeman.
• On to the semi-finals! Nocan faces an experienced barbarian
• Nocan hits on the first pass. He leads 1-0
• The barbarian hits. Nocan uses his skill to avoid a head shot (reroll!). Tied 1-1.
• Both knock down their opponent! Still tied, now 4-4.
• Nocan hits in the final pass, but the barbarian knocks him down! Nocan loses 7-5.
• Prelim 3 - Nocan leads a veteran dwarf 4-3 going into the final pass. But the dwarf knocks him down. Nocan loses 6-4.
• Prelim 4 - Nocan fights an experienced goblin and loses 2-1.

Regional

Nocan reached the semis of one tournament, so he gets an invitation to the regional championship.

• He faces an experienced knight.
• The knight barely misses a knock down but still gets a head shot. Another reroll reduces the damage. 2-0 lead for the knight.
• Both miss.
• Nocan knocks down his opponent but the knight scores a hit. 3-3 tie.
• The knight gets in a head shot. Nocan loses 5-3.

Not quite as good a season as the last one, so Nocan is a bit disappointed.

He does not level up. All the fighting is catching up to him; the aches and bruises of the arena keep him up at nights. Can he do this much longer?

I think Nocan needs to win a regional at least to advance to level 4.

Nine Month Check In

Normally I wait until the end of the year to discuss my annual prognostications (which are usually wrong). 

Trying to predict my gaming for the year

Something struck me recently so I wanted to make a few comments.

On Pace for a Record Number of Posts

By the end of August I had 90 posts; 98 by the end of September. That is more than 10 of my last 12 years of blogging. My average over those last 12 years has been 84 posts in a year. I am on a pace for 130; my best was 126!

The Dominion Series Has Revolutionized My Gaming

The Dominion series by Steve Parker of Ork Publishing is largely responsible for that. With such quick games, I find myself pulling out my counters and dice far more frequently. And of course, I like to record the results; I use this blog as a wargame diary. Naturally, this has increased my blog post count.

The next question - will it continue? I suspect it will.

GADD is Good

I joke about having GADD - gamer's attention deficit disorder. By this, I mean that I can't focus on one thing but instead jump around between games and eras a lot.

I mention this because I took a look back at my predictions for the year. I predicted GADD (when isn't that true for me?) but I also focused on my Micro Dungeon rules. I have barely touched those since January. What happened? GADD of course. Once I discovered the Dominion games, I went off in a whole new direction. But that's OK. As I mentioned above, Dominion revolutionized my gaming, resulting in far more games completed! So GADD was a good thing.

Planning is Bad

A corollary of this is that, for me, making plans and setting priorities for gaming is bad. Many years ago, I stopped doing new year gaming resolutions. I feel like it was a good decision because it allows me to go with the flow and experience new things I did not plan. Like Dominion. If I had locked myself into strict plans, I may not have tried it. I'm glad I did.