Skyrim Release Party

I've been working incredibly hard on my NaNoWriMo novel and am well ahead of the scheduled word count with 28,081 words down out of 50,000 required to win the event.

However, it's not been all hard work (i.e. laying on my couch with a laptop and an electric blanket for my joints).

Thursday evening I went to my local game store and I ran a custom D20 based game that I developed along the storyline used in the game Skyrim.

That's the skeleton of a Beholder on my t-shirt. Ever had a DM who looked like me?

We reached our local mall at closing time with a bag of miniatures, a map that I had created, and characters that I pre-generated for the event.  Also present for the release of Skyrim was a group of local LARPers (Live Action Roleplayers). This group uses foam weapons and sometimes real armor (or just padded armor) to stage medieval style fights.  They were very cool to speak with.

Even though the game wouldn't be released until 12:01 A.M. by the time we arrived at 9:15 there were already thirty or forty people waiting.  As the night wore on over 400 people were collected in the mall in a massive, snaking line waiting for the game to come out.  Luckily a ticketing system kept everyone in a set order.

To pass the wait with fun the LARPers and I had been asked to entertain the crowd by the woman who was managing the event.  I hadn't run a game in a few years, but I quickly got into once I found some willing players.

Once they got to the end of the session they had to fight this big dragon!

That's the custom map that I made using an image of snowy terrain that I added hexes to demarcate feet of space that the players minis needed to navigate. Having minis isn't necessary with table-top RPGs but it does make it easier for the players to make tactical decisions when they can literally see what I see in my mind (and may or may not successfully communicate).

Well all in all it was a fun night. I had a great time being a DM. I got a couple of free posters in exchange for my effort and got to meet some cool people.  It was a festive atmosphere.

It turns out Skyrim is an excellent game and very immersive. I found the beginning to be a bit scary because of the total immersion into the world.

The next day I woke up in pretty intense pain from standing and sitting over the course of the three hours we were there.  This is the price I always pay for events, whether they are great fun or awful.  This is why I can't work and have to be selective about what I do for fun.  Still totally worth it!