It's the end of the month, so if you're like me and like to read lots of OSR blogs, you've definitely seen this:
I didn't have the time to devote a post a day to these questions. Hell, a lot of the questions really don't deserve a post all their own. But hey, if you're curious...
1. How I got started. I'd been watching the D&D cartoon, reading Endless Quest books, and had seen tempting glimpses of the actual game back in 1983/84. So for my 11th birthday, my parents got me the Mentzer Basic Set.
2. Favorite playable race. Humans. I've played my share of Elves, Half-Elves and Halflings, and rarely Dwarves and Half-Orcs. I've never played a Gnome. In 3E, PF, and 4E I've tried a few other races. But then until recently I've mostly been the DM so I don't get to play a lot. My current main character is (as you'll know if you read my play reports) a Sleestak, and I'm enjoying that. But most of my characters tend to be humans.
3. Favorite playable class. Thieves or Rangers. I like crafty, sneaky types, where I need to try and use my brain as much or more than my brawn.
4. Favorite game world. We played a lot of Known World (later known as Mystara). Lots of good memories of that game. I don't know if would still interest me now, but I did enjoy it a lot when I was young. I think all the expansions (Gazeteers, 2E products, etc.) kinda ruined it for me. I enjoyed the wide open-ness of the setting from just the Expert Set and Isle of Dread.
5. Favorite set of dice/individual die. The crayon-fillable dice from my Basic, Expert and Star Frontiers box sets. I use them exclusively for DMing and use other dice when I'm a player.
6. Favorite Deity. Can't really say I have one.
7. Favorite Edition. See question 1 above.
8. Favorite character you have played. Farley the Halfling. Dex 17, Int 3. Survived the old Known World campaign, and got up into Companion Set level "attack ranks."
9. Favorite character you haven't played. Not sure if this means someone else's character, a fictional character I like, or a character I rolled up and love, but never got to run. So I'll ignore it for being too vague.
10. Craziest thing that's happened to you (blah blah). So many it's hard to choose only one. Once, I ran an adventure where the PCs had to break into the castle of Dungeon Master (from the cartoon) and steal his underpants (it was a geas or quest spell I think that made them need to do it). There have been some pretty crazy adventures lately in Ur, but no panty raids yet.
11. Favorite Adventure you have Ran. Ravenloft. The original module. With my old Yamanashi group.
12. Favorite dungeon type/location. Megadungeon. Especially the one I'm making.
13. Favorite trap/puzzle. Can't say I'm partial to a specific one, or even a type. But if it's clever or interesting, and makes the players think, I like it. I don't mind gotcha traps, because gotcha traps are more realistic. But the puzzlers that players (whether I'm one or not) are more gameable.
14. Favorite NPC. Swarthy the Sailor. Every time he appeared (in the old Known World game), he was missing another body part or had a change of pirate pet (parrots, monkeys, etc.).
15. Favorite monster (undead). I like wights a lot. Not too tough, but their attack is one of the nastiest in the game.
16. Favorite monster (abberation). I've always liked the Malfera in the Companion Set, although I suppose that's a planar creature actually. What are the 3E monster classifications doing in what's supposedly an OSR thing? Or was this broader than just the OSR? I only noticed OSR blogs doing it.
17. Favorite monster (Animal/Vermin). Giant spiders. Because spiders.
18. Favorite monster (immortal/outsider). Djinn/Efreet. Lots of fun to use as a DM, because they can be a real help to the party or a big hindrance. Especially if they're bound by a ring/bottle that summons them.
19. Favorite monster (elemental/plant). Shriekers. They don't do anything but summon other monsters or alert monsters that someone's trying to sneak by. And yet they're worth a fair amount of XP for low level characters.
20. Favorite monster (humanoid/natural/fey). They're sort of one-trick ponies so I'm not sure why I like them so much, but Red Cap Brownies.
21. Favorite Dragon color/type. Green dragons. Mostly because green is my favorite color and it's the traditional dragon color. Their breath weapon is hard to resist, too.
22. Favorite monster overall. Orcs. There are so many interesting ways to use them, but even if you stick to the traditional way, they're still fun opponents to fight.
23. Least favorite monster overall. Hard to say. There are a lot of monsters I don't like and will likely never use. Should I just say flumpf and move along?
24. Favorite energy type. Well, we got through the silly lists of monster questions, and get this? Moving on.
25. Favorite magic item. Now this is a real question. And a tough one. The staff of wizardry is pretty sweet. Until it's out of charges, you can use more spell slots for utility spells and still be able to help the party out in combat in many many ways.
26. Favorite nonmagic item. Rope. Samwise Gamgee said it best, it's always a good idea to have a bit of rope.
27. A character you want to play in the future. A gnome illusionist/assassin. Because I've never played any of those.
28. A character you will never play again. Achaz the Elder (Achaz the Younger is still viable). Achaz the Elder was killed by black dragon breath on his second or third adventure. His son carried on the family business and had more success.
29. What is the number you always seem to roll on a d20? One between 1 and 20. My blue d20 from the Basic Set used to seem to come up 17 quite often. Could be a flaw in it. One I'm happy to exploit to my advantage. But it's probably just all in my head.
30. Best DM you've had. Justin. His Vaults of Ur game is tons of fun, and he and I seem to often see eye to eye on what's fun about D&D.
So there you have it, folks. And while you didn't have to click on my blog 30 times this month to find out all this, I think this way's likely better anyway. And I don't really care much about my blog traffic anymore. People that like my stuff read it. That's good enough for me. So thanks for reading!
The Witch for ShadowDark - Esme Valethorne
3 hours ago