Why is it so hard to be a gaming parent.

Recently I have been getting the itch, the itch that says I have been away from tabletop gaming for too long. Having two young children however does not make this easy. Now I'm sure there are those who are saying what's the problem here, set a day aside and go out to a local club or group and hang out and chill for a few hours. Now here is how it is for me, I work a job where I am working sometimes very long shifts that do not have set days. I also do not like leaving my wife for several hours in the evening to try and get both tykes to sleep on her own, especially when I have been at work all day.You could say at the end of the day I do feel guilty about going out as my wife has recently decided to leave work to be the primary carer for the children and as such doesn't get a lot of  free time to herself, I'm sure this is a common problem with a lot of spouses as well.

So some of you out there are going ok so why not do it from the comfort of your own home. The internet is great for rpg's nowadays what with all the online tabletop programs why not  just do a game online. Well here is the next problem, my kids ... don't really have a set bed time. Now before someone rants at me, at the moment my eldest is not even 3 and is not in preschool and gets plenty of sleep and so you know no bigge, So long as my eldest is in bed and trying to go to sleep by 10 I'm happy, Also we are a co sleeping family so its not a case of me dumping them in bed and letting them scream it out. The other one my lil daughter is not even a year so she's a temperamental sleeper at best. Getting back on topic this obviously means there will be little ones trying to get my attention whilst gaming which can be a distracting for other players. SO yeah lots of problems to overcome but where to start.

Here was my great plan I would assemble a group of friends to game with at a non fixed time every 2 weeks or so and I would be the GM. Why am I the GM? Simple, I am the person with the kids its me who is struggling to commit to a group so I will run the game so I can set the time and day we play etc so this sounds great. Turns out not so much. It seems that putting a group together to game has been somewhat difficult, so far I have encountered players who don't want to play the games I want to run  (who doesn't want to do Iron Kingdoms I mean seriously). I have players unwilling to commit because of not wanting to put some time aside every 2 weeks to a random date we'd all set. Setting a day hasn't helped with that either as the only other day I have off consistently is Sunday and that's when it seems to be everyone else's games night (fair enough). My favourite one of all is that the ones who are interested and never get back to me at all when I'm setting up dates for games.

So now at my wits end unable to even get a random one shot game going by placing a call out amongst my peers has now driven me to despair, What is one supposed to do to get a game going, are there any other gamer parents out there having the same problems and trying to come up with solutions? Or maybe do we need a place for hard working parents with little free time to get together somewhere online and sought out gaming groups. A place where we can set up our groups and say This is what free time I have what can you guys do lets get together like every two weeks and adventure.

Hi I'm Fen Tiger and I would love to run a iron kingdoms game every 2 weeks for some folks if they don't mind gaming between half 6 and half 8pm GMT.. Also please be warned there will be screaming munchkins from time to time.

T T T TRIPLE KILL!

So I have finally begun a monthly Iron kingdoms campaign you can watch us play live on twitch at www.twitch.tv/fen_tiger. So far weve had 2 games split over 3 sessions. And hoo boy never taken that long to do a average sized dungeon. Ill set the scene we had 4 players:
• Dwarven mechanik/seaforge commission and merc treasurer played by rob
• Ordic aristocrat/miltary officer and captain of merc company played by my wife Kylie
• Iosian gunmage/duelist played by Dave
• Caspian Sorcerer/Alchemist played by Jenny

This merc company low on funds and loaded with ammunition land at ternon crag after a disastrous mossion in Llael. Immediately the taverfrn is found drinks are drunk Rob goes off buying needed materials with there dwindling money.

They find out that the Sheriff is looking for a geoup of well armed people to look into citizens gone missing from there own homes in the dead of night. They track the missing persons to a abandoned mine shaft.
Inside the shaft they find monstrous grotesc creatures carving up the citizens of ternon crag and immediately death ensues. Straight into combat the party find out how terrifying combat in the iron kingdoms can be as one of the beasts takes a pistol and shoots Dave for mass damage. Immediately the team comes up with a new plan everyone behind Robs labor jack which proceeds to tear onto them. Feeling confident that a 2 wide corridor and a jack what takes up all the room will contain hold back the butchers of doom.

Next session comes along Jenny was not avalible and we were down a team mate. Continuing into tje mine they find the coridkrs widen tears stream from robs eyes. As new combat rages on. Perception rolls are taken each turn for all the beasties nearby. They soo  find that the creatures have managed to circle around the party and attack them from the rear. After a quite epic combat round is resolved the party search the roo.s to fi d loot vlasting powder and jerkyed remaoms of humans dwarves and trollkin.

Due to outside reasons we had to due the second half of the session the followong week. This time my wife was unavailable but Jenny was and the boss dight ensued. 1 boss monster, 2 lieutenants and 3 minions. The team adopted rhe plan of plugging the hole with a jack and Rob  plugging the end gap. And this is where the party learned the next part of ik rpgs combat viciousness.

Jenny and dave now only have one choice to shoot over Rob as hes in the way of there target. So there is rob and his jack plugging the gap taking a beating getting bloodied up by the lieutenants at the same time bullets and ice spells are going over there heads. Then the unthinkable happened jenny shot a boosted spell at the lt dighting rob missed she then rolled to see if she hits rob and she does dealing almost max damage as robs armour stat is reduced when hit from behind. Rob goes down bleeding out.  At this point the team begins to panic a lt and the minions ard down but the other lt and the boss are still standing and the boss has got full health.

Jenny tries to revive rob whilst dave holds the gap as the jack continues irts last order.unable to revive rob jenny stands there confused and unable to figure out what to do dave defiant that they can take the beasts or die trying.  Suddenly as if spurred on by the gods the dwarf wakes up nearly dead and orders the two to run as they do he blows the blasting powder taking the jack himself and the monsters. With the explosion and caved in the mine juat as the group escaped.

So wounded physicaly and moraly the party sets off to town to get there reward and set sail to Corvis the city of ghosts.

It was by that point I realised 3 games ive run with rob in and 3 times his characters have died. Unlucky or divine planning ... ill nevet tell.

Lets talk AVP (also known as birthday weekend and me and the boyhs are ranting)

So here it is my 1st 30 minute audio rant with me and the guys.
I would have had this out sunday or even Friday of my bday weekend but when we were recording and i went to hit stop audacity crashed meaning I have had to restore it through 150 or so temp files. Oh and audacity does not have a auto recover function.

So here it is Fens audio rant starring: Me Fen
                                                       Zozh
                                                       Sam
                                                       Luca

In this rant we mostly talk abiut the new game Alien versus Predator as well as.

• Dawn of War 2
• Nomis
• I phones
• PS3 blackouts
• Fanboyism
• Iron Kingdoms

And many more.
Warning Spoilers in this audio rat (or semi spoilers in Zozhs case)
Enjoy Fen


Download              

Go To FileFactory.com

Whats going on after thj witchfire Campaign (also titled OMFG I FORGOT TO )UPDATE WEEKS AGO)

Ok so i  was meant to update this weeks back but im a very busy man so I apologise. This audio rant / voice blog / whatever is basicaly talking abvout what i have been after the Wtichfire Trillogy what is not alot since i have kinda been hella busy with work and other things. But anway to make up for things i am also going to be posting the last session as a live play (that my players didn't know  i was recording muahahaha). So until then enjoy my voice later.

.....

Oh yeah here is the link

Witchfire legion of lost souls run throughj part 1 *WARNING SPOILERS*

So Yeah i got bored terying to write up 2 months of gamming sessions in one go so i did this instead. I ranted over my microphone. I am also joined by al and Dave near the end. Enjoy

You can download the audio rant from here.
Download witchfire lols recap part 1.mp3 from FileFactory.com

1DVD volume of Slayers = 1 session of D&D

So its been a 2 weeks give or take since I got back from London Expo YAAAAY. Much fun was had and i me Scary go Rounds John Alison WHOOOOT. Among other things I brought some more shineys (mm shineys). But not much for myself this year as previous expos why you ask. I had to buy the missus her shinnys for the celebration of the day of her birth. So was kinda happy shes into all thigns geeky made buying her shinnys easy whilst there. Have to say grr to Ryan for buying the only 2 copies of night school that we could find at the expo, havign your sister ready to slaughter you is one thing but slaughter me over manga is something entirely new.

Then therse the freebie goddie bag. This year at 1st I wasnt impressed with the goodie bag a DVD a Hell Boy figure and wwe stickers and albume plus the usual extr gubbins of a poster and flyers.
But then We get Sundays goodie bag 2 Hellyboy figures 3 yes 3 DVD's and the wwe stickers i shall thourghyl burn those later.
SO I now have 2 copies of slayers volume 1, Escaflowne volume 5 (to go with my 1st 4 volumes of the series) and gundam wing volume 8.

Now Slayers is somethign ive been meaning to watch but hadnt got round to then volume 1 lands in my lap I think hey lets see hwat its liek then.
So im sitting there watching the 1st 6 episodes and by the end of it although im not a adict it has however made me chuckle.
Why? simple answer its a anime about a D&D campaign in my eyes. Ok not just D&D (for those who have been brain dead since the 1970s or who just dont care that means Dungeons and Dragons) it's a session of any pen and paper Fantasy RPG. Your main character a sorceres who makes thigns go boom and loves treasure. She is accompnied by a dim wit fighter. So far the bases are covered. Sorcerer hordes the lovely precious loot and then sells it off yada yada. Oh and then they find in the loot a powerful magic item. There then attacked by unknown assailants for this said item what a evil mastermind wants.

Yeah this has all the makigns of a D&D game. Coem on from a Games masters perspective at one tiem or another hav you had players whove had those kind of sterotypes?

Answer YES

Do they horde there treasure likme anything?

YES

From the players point of view arent you always finding strange magical items you have no use for what your then attacked for later on thus leading you into one hell of a plot

YUP.

Oh and the 1st ep yeah fighting a dragon is that tough ie good luck makign a dent on it.
and vilalgers beging for your help. Hey i got a big sward i wear armour sure i can help ... for a price.

Anyways DMed my 1st session of Iron Kingdoms using pathfinder. Was good ony 2 could make it 1 being the ever lusious missus. So the arcane Mechanik and the fighter (pirate yaar) aka the missus defended the caravan from th Swamp Gobbers I had the caravan leader and his driver get into action and tossed otu a freep otion considering it WAS 2 against 12. bur rhey came out on top. Havent calculated EXP yet as havent decided yet if im using the standered experience progression or the slow or quick one. I fell this decision must be made before next session.(next week I hope). SO yeah they made it to Corvis made it to the temople and to see father Dumas and off they go checking on grave robbign sites. It made me laugh when the arcane mechanik said in person to the Father about walkign dead and zombies oh hoho I had the dear fathers eyes light up. I dont think zombies is a normal occurence in Corvis now is it.
Down Side I forgot to introduce one very delightful young lady to the party bu they did spot her i nthe upstairs of the temple. So when they head back il lbe sure to introduce them.

Now I roughyl know what all my players are now going to be.

As ive stated so far I have a:

• Arcane Mechanik
• Fighter (she be a pirate YAAAR)
• Paladin who wants to go Warcaster
  
• Nyss Barbarian
• Sorceress
• Nyss IK ranger going towards rifleman

with possibly one more on the way who I dont know what hell be.
The Nyss barbarian and Paladin are lovers (out of game and in (couple players tsch)). As I asaid the paladi nis goign towards Warcaster (which he can meet the 1st pre-requisite at level 10). So i helped him out by advising him to put some of his skille points into and most of those skills are corss class ouch.
THe Barbarian as shes Nyss I made her a deal she can have a Nyss claymore but she gets very little starting gold (everyone got 300 shes got alot less). She agreed as she got the shinny big katana lookign blade.

Dont know the rangers motivations part from he wants to go rifleman.

The Fighter I designed to the girlfriends specs (she dosent like doing all the stating so i get lumbered with it). She wanted to be a pirate so I made a fighter based around her pistol and sword. Hope it will work out. She is a pathfinder fighter however so it may just (yay awesome pathfinder classes ftw).

Are arcane mechanik I think has are mad inventer poitn of the Iron Kingdoms universe covered.

The sorcerer. Kaiketsu always has to be a more comic relif character. I love it and hate it. When he said to me he wants to make a magical girl type of character I knew this was gonan be one of those times i mutilated a young puppy. To be honest after workign it out it wasnt so bad. A sorcerer with a air elimental blood power pool not oo shabby to be honest, oh and a scythe and her spells focus around buffing people.
After talkign with Kai about his religion and human sub species we worked round the idea of why a 14 year old gil was wandering though the Cygnaran countryside. being of sulese heritage Situated her birthplace in the protecterate of menoth. As Menites dont like spell casters she would probaly have been burnt at the stake not good. So instead she ran away from her family and escaped into Cygnar.
I think my players all wih little or no experience of the average D&D session outside of my table will find Kai a scary individual.

Well thats all for no I must be gttign rerady for work. Accursed Luna for gettign me adicted to Vocaloid. Accursed Girlfriend for showing me very sexy outfits she was thinking of buying. Accursed internet distracting me.