I wasn't going to join the blogrimage this year, but after hearing Pradeepan talk about Soylent this morning, I decided to join the fun. Besides, I started something new yesterday, so all I need to do is write an extra blog post today to catch up.
So, for the next 29 days, I'm going to explore what it takes to be a Pathfinder RPG Game Master. If that sounds like I've reverted to childhood and gone back to playing D&D, you're right.
It should come as no surpise to those who know us that my wife and I both played Advanced Dungeons & Dragons when we were younger. Neither of us played a lot; I would have played more if I had the opportunity. We did start one campaign together, but we didn't get very far before married life (both ours and the DM's) brought our gaming days to a halt.
As our kids grew up, family game time has included Settlers of Catan (before it was really mainstream in the US) and Carcassonne, and more recently Risk and Munchkin. Munchkin is a humorous card game that distills the essence of tabletop role-playing games to a quick one-hour romp. My teenagers enjoy it, and also like the longer-play games. So it's only natural that I decided we should at least introduce them to AD&D.
Tabletop RPGs have changed since we last played, but one thing has stayed the same: it costs a lot to buy all the books and modules you need to get into the game, and since my goal was to just run through a relatively quick campaign to give them a taste of the game, I really wanted a simpler solution than going all in.
I thought that solution might be the Dungeons and Dragons Red Box Starter Set, which supposedly lists for under $20. There's only one problem: Wizards of the Coast has been focused on a new release of their bigger game, Magic: The Gathering and is planning to release an all new edition of Dungeons & Dragons next summer. Stocks on items like the Red Box were wiped out at Christmas, and the online price has skyrocketed.
I learned some of this when I stopped in at Comic City in Pontiac a couple of weeks ago. The rest I figured out online. My trip wasn't a total loss, because I was just in time to discover the fresh release of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1, but the game would have to wait.
We shopped around, but Comic City is the only local store that even carries the Red Box, so I waited until Serenity #2 released last week, and tried again on Friday night. I talked more with the guys at the store, and when my ten-minute visit was over and done, I walked out with two comics and the Pathfinder Beginner Box.
Read more on my Blogrimage page.