Caltrops are the great equalizer. With few exceptions, whatever is charging at you will stop or at least slow down when confronted with caltrops. I believe the party in my high school group kept the caltrop industry churning at high speed across several planets and alternate dimensions.

We surround the only entrance with caltrops.

We lay down a 20 by 20 spread of caltrops on the main highway. Seeing as this highway is on the side of a cliff, we are going to fly out of here.

Does a thrown caltrop do 1 point of damage? What about 20? They're kinda like shurikens, right?

The other thing they liked were mules. Mules could carry more loot, who cares about looking heroic. If push comes to shove, the retainers (and the magic-user) can ride mules while the rest of us have horses.

The ten-foot pole was also quite popular as well as iron spikes and a small hammer. Honestly, the fear would eat the party up sometimes when they spiked a door shut and laid out caltrops around it.

My favorite, however, were thieves' tools.

When I was younger, I had no conception of how they worked or what was included in the kit. The group and I figured that there were some wires, an earhorn (for combination locks), some ball bearings, maybe a bit of acid,  a bag of lime and some rope. Whatever it was, I liked to think of it as a non-magical bag of holding that always produced what was needed for a particular lock or trap. I wanted to create a real kit that with useful things for modern-day so that I would be ready for anything, too.

Looking to the Future

I want to play anything in the future. I am still trying to overcome a bit of nervousness and run a game on G+. I wanted to join an existing group, but Wednesday are really hard for me. I may ask to join a friend's in-person group, even if they are playing a Dungeon World hack of Edge of the Empire. I really want to play/GM again really soon.

But my favorite character to play in the future will hopefully be a character in whatever my son's campaign will be. It will be a while, but we're getting warmed up for it. Tonight I was the Dolphin Torch, an alternate-earth version of the Human Torch that is a dolphin that lives on land. Tonight's encounter was the Invisible Woman (my daughter), Mr. Fantastic (my son) and me (the Dolphin Torch) going camping and roasting food on a campfire that I started.

The food items included pickles, iron plates, dinosaur meat, s'mores, hot dogs and tires. This was his list of ingredients.

Alas Glendon, Never Again

It's not that I didn't like Glendon, the Elf, it's just that he was all 18s. Playing a character that is perfect at everything is just no fun at all. Nope. No fun.

What I Always Roll

I always seem to roll an 8 on a d20. I tend to roll 3s on a d4, 5s on a d6 and 19 on a d%.

I do not own a d30. I hang my head in shame.

The Best DM I Ever Had

That was easy. +Scott Roche. We used to rotate around the DM'ing duties, but I really liked his adventures. Maybe this is why he is beginning to enjoy some success as a writer. GO BUY HIS BOOKS!

Seriously, we would be a little less gonzo, but we had to really think our way out of issues. There was no wand of fireballs to blast our way out, not that it would have helped at all, but there was always a reward for being clever. And no, hammering every door shut and laying out acres of caltrops wouldn't help you either.

He was much better at traps than I was and he could make interesting plots. Early on, I was very much of the "Kill things and take their stuff." He was more of a story guy and I really really liked that. I like to think that I run things more like him because of that.

Oh, I'm still somewhere between Races of Carcosa and The Wizard of Oz, but the answer will tend to be what you find, not what you exterminate.

On to the Next Episode

La-da-da-da-dahh
You know I'm mobbin' with the DMs 3.

You know, Stelios has an idea for some extra days in the challenge. That's why I finished the rest in this post. More than anything, actually writing has helped me to feel more creative and more like finishing certain projects. So here is his list:

  • Greyhawk: how a campaign should be published or just an old antique?
  • Elminster: should he live or die?
  • Do you allow Monty Python quotes at the tabletop? Why or why not?
  • Why to you love/hate/feel indifferent to 4e?
  • Is your character drunk yet?
  • Is D&D Next D&D last?
  • Do you spend more time talking/posting about gaming than actualy playing?
  • How do you kill a flumph?
  • What were the last words of your last character who died?
  • Do you think you're addicted to D&D?

The question about Monty Python quotes should go without saying. However, I do know some folks that do not allow them.

Elminister should die. Yeah, I said it. It's time for new blood.

I could go on.

So I'm looking at making my own list, so to speak. I hope to keep up the posting pace at about every other day. I also plan to have more stats for S&W stuff. I plan on including a few things from the above list as well.

See you Saturday. 🙂