Free RPG Day!
I usually do not write back to back like this, But I just got an email from Paizo that needs to be shouted from the rooftops
GET YO' FREE RPG MAN! Per Paizo:
Pick up the free game products at participating retail stores this Saturday, June 15.
Paizo is proud to again sponsor Free RPG Day 2019 and will release the We Be Heroes? and Skitter Crash adventures, plus the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: We Be Heroes? storybook for free on Saturday, June 15 at participating retail locations. Players are encouraged to check out the program's event locator at freerpgday.com, join in the fun and grab a copy of Paizo's Free RPG Day offerings while supplies last.
These special adventures were created specifically for Free RPG Day 2019. The print editions will be available for sale and free PDF downloads will be available on paizo.combeginning July 1, 2019.
Pathfinder Module: We Be Heroes?
As an undead army pushed forth by the Whispering Tyrant stirs in the Southern Fangwood, driving the local animals to flee in terror, the goblins of the Crookedtoes tribe suddenly find their bellies empty and growling for food. Worse, the tribe's best scout has gone missing, and the chief has tasked the four brightest members of the Crookedtoes to go out into the woods and find out what happened. While searching for the missing scout, the goblins stumble across a wrecked farmhouse on a hill and discover a group of knights camped nearby. Though the knights have retreated from the undead army menacing the area, they have decided to make one last, desperate stand: an endgame doomed to wipe out both the knights and the Crookedtoes settlement. Now, the four goblins must test their mettle—will they emerge as victorious heroes, or fall to the might of the undead scourge?
We Be Heroes? is a Pathfinder Playtest adventure for four 1st-level goblin characters that gives players and GMs alike a taste of the Pathfinder Playtest rules. They can be downloaded for free at PathfinderPlaytest.com. The adventure adds a twist to the familiar modules We Be Goblins!, We Be Goblins Too!, We Be Goblins Free!, and We B4 Goblins!, Paizo’s popular series of Free RPG Day adventures!
Starfinder Skitter Crash
The galaxy’s favorite skittermanders are back and ready to help—but this time, they're the ones in trouble!
After a successful salvaging mission, the heroes are riding a joyous high aboard their very own starship. However, angry space pirates with a grudge crash the party—and then a bizarre interstellar cyclone engulfs both sides’ vessels and flings them into a strange world's atmosphere! Thanks to the help of a tiny mining vessel, the skittermanders are able to escape to this swampy planet. Once they take in their boggy surroundings, it’s up to the furry heroes to track down their ship, avoid vengeful enemies, work with the sluglike scholars living in the muck, and find a way off this dangerous planet once and for all!
In addition to this freewheeling adventure, this book includes four pregenerated characters that are ready to play, with full stat blocks and backstories. The inside covers include all of the maps needed for this adventure. Plus, the inside back cover provides some guidance for items our helpful skittermanders might have scavenged from their previous forays!
Skitter Crash is a wild romp of an adventure intended for four 3rd-level skittermander characters who are exploring and trying to escape a swampy world, written for the popular Starfinder Roleplaying Game.
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: We Be Heroes?
The goblins of the Crookedtoes tribe suddenly find their bellies empty and growling for food. Worse, the tribe's best scout has gone missing, and the chief has tasked the brightest members of the Crookedtoes to go out into the woods and find out what happened. While searching for the missing scout, the goblins stumble across a wrecked farmhouse on a hill and discover a group of knights besieged by an undead army. Now, the new heroes must test their mettle—will they fall to the mighty zompigs or emerge as victorious heroes?
We Be Heroes? is a Pathfinder Adventure Card Game adventure designed for starting characters. It requires the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Core Set to play. If you have only the Core Set, you can play this adventure with 1-4 characters. To play with 5 or 6 characters, you will need to either add characters and appropriate boons from an Adventure Path box, or add 1 Class or Character Deck for each additional player.
I bopped over to freerpgday.com to take a look and see if there was anything near me in Indianapolis that I could get. Turns out Saltire Games at 11723 Pendleton Pike is participating. I plan on reaching out to them on Twitter to make sure this is true and will update if needed!
E3, The Sims, and Me
The year is 2006. We could go back even further, but we will start here. A very distraught Leslie is in Kokomo Indiana. This is where people go to get pregnant and die. That is all they do there (and meth). But I am there. After living it up In Lafayette for a time, running out of money and with no healthcare, I have tucked tail and returned home. I have two shitty jobs and an even shittier outlook on life, thanks to living back at home with someone I do not mesh with at all.
I am working on myself. Truly. I have re-enrolled in school and am going to get my associates in computer information technology. I am working with a therapist and was surprisingly diagnosed with something that has plagued me my whole life. I got medication for it and it made it easier to return to school.
Life is still hard though. I am in a town I do not want to be in. Small town, small mentality. It sucked the soul out of me. All of my friends wanted to party and drink and I was slowly growing out of that phase in my life. I wanted more. I wanted stores that don’t close early on Sunday evening. I wanted a nightlife that included culture and local music. I wanted the demands to attend church to stop. I. WANTED. MORE.
I ended up spending more and more time by myself. Friday’s were for Chinese takeout and a rental from blockbuster. I’d also get popcorn and a candy if I was feeling extra. I’d work on homework and look for a better job. I’d also play The Sims.
My mother didn’t understand my fascination with The Sims. “Go outside!” she would say. “You can do all of the things you are doing on this game in the real world!” Could I though? Could I really? Is there a way to Ctrl+Alt+C in my life and type in MOTHERLODE and be the recipient of $50,000? If that is the case could someone give me this secret, because mama still got student loans to pay.
Could I then use that cheat code multiple times in order to get the house I want, work whatever career I find interesting, because it doesn’t matter how much I make, I have plenty of money? Could I randomly find a man, eat a bunch of fruit and give birth to twin girls like I wanted?
The Sims was my escape. An escape I so desperately needed in such a trying emotional stage in my life. I would build generations of families and pass down the wealth. Create elaborate houses for them to live in with every whim cared for.
Meanwhile, I was floundering emotionally. For the first time in my life school was going great, I’d found a job that while the pay was still horrible, the pay was better than anything I’d earned. My personal life was in shambles. But two years was all I needed.
I played The Sims. Constantly. I didn’t have much else to do, so this is what I did. I retreated into this world. It may have been a little unhealthy, but it kept me sane. For every verbally abusive instance I endured, The Sims was there. I invented lives, better lives than I ever thought I would get to live. I was happy. My characters were happier than I ever thought I would be.
Two years came and went. I met someone. I graduated, I left a shitty life and even shittier job behind. I moved on to more schooling and a bigger city. Life was great. My Sims playing slacked off a bit. I still grabbed the other itineration of The Sims, because I love the game. It’s no longer an escape for me however. It is just a pure joyous pleasure to play.
It’s 2019. I am in a wonderful job. I have a house of my own. A family that I care very deeply about, and I still play The Sims. This time, I let a Geeky Baby join me on the designing. She is fascinated by the babies. “The baby is crying! Help it!” I don’t really use cheats anymore. I like them to work their way up. The latest family started in a house half built I got on the exchange. She kept doing freelance work until she could afford things for it. She met a guy, got married, had a baby, had twins, and is living her best life with them. They have money, they have things, everyone is pretty much happy.
This is my Sims Story.
EA is not at E3 this year. They had their own thing called EA Play. It was here where they announced a new expansion of The Sims 4, it is called Island Living. It looks like fun. There are mermaids and dolphins involved which is always a plus for me. The island (Sulani) changes based on how you care for it. Knowing me it will be a desolate island with one beautiful but foreboding house in the background. They also teased a magic expansion pack this fall as well as some goodies for Pride, starting June 18th. I can’t wait.
I will probably pick it up and play the expansions with Geeky Baby where she demands I paint everything black. We will fuss back and forth about it, but I will eventually create a house that she can make all of her own. EA, thank you so much for creating a game that provides so much merriment to me. It also provided a light through the darkness of my life at a certain time.
Aftercharge – A Gaming Review Featuring Quinzel
Aftercharge
I was gifted with a beta access code for the game Aftercharge. After looking at the instructions, it seems that it was for three players. I reached out, got a few additional codes, and gave them to Quinzel and her husband so we could play together. Imagine mine (and her) surprise when we realized that we couldn’t play as a unit and that it was luck of the draw when we played.
Aftercharge is a first person shooter. You either play as a Workonic or a Enforcer
Quinzel and I decided to chat after playing. Here is our dialogue.
Leslie: Straight off the bat, I’d rather play as an Enforcer rather than a Workonic. I get to shoot things. Um, that sounds sort of sociopathic.
Quinzel: Yeah, on that note I'm fairly certain the Workonics are the good guys and the Enforcers are the bad guys. I think I chose the dark side here..
L: I didn’t see it as good guys vs. bad guys. The enforcers needed the power to live, the Workonics...didn’t like the power? Wanted it destroyed? It didn’t make much sense to me why they were trying to blow up my power sources. That’s what they got shot.
Q: Idk, I think the Workonics were some punk asses. All I could do as a Workonics is hide, and then beg one of my friends to bring me back to life. It's a hard sell to play the game as a Workonic. Both me and my husband felt the Workonics needed something...extra? The Enforcers are where it’s at.
L: Maybe if we had a backstory on why they were trying to tap out the power sources and why the Enforcers were trying to kill them. That said, I did not do too bad as a Workonic. Check the score yo:
I am really good at running around like a maniac and hiding. That is my sole goal of life. Please don’t notice me. I am in my corner kicking ass and taking names.
Q: But...but...shields! Like, I could just put up shields and it's
all good! I also loved the enforcers had that tracking device on their guns. Make it a little more panic??? To see a Workonic pop up. My kind of fear <3
L: I would see the tracker go off and like clockwork, I would start flailing. My gun would be all over the place like it could see through their invisibility. I really need to work on my steadiness. Even though this was a beta, I did not have any glitches at all. The only issue I had was waiting a little bit for the game engine to match me up with a team. Even then, I let it run for about two minutes, ran to get a drink, and by the time I got back, I was matched up. I was playing on PC. What about you?
Q: Oh man it was the opposite for me. Super duper glitchy. Kinda like Vanellope in Wreck-It Ralph? I was like( OOOO!! I'm on the roof now!! Annnd back on the floor. One thing I enjoyed even through the glitches was the graphics. Very well done! What do you think?
L: I think I am used to college student gaming programmers. I figured this was going to be amaturish in its designs. But no. This was a really pretty game. I did enjoy the graphics. I was cracking up however at the one woman Enforcer. The way she was drawn, I could instantly tell she was a woman, and it wasn’t her...body, it was more the way she was moving. I don’t know how to describe it.
Like, take a look at her:
I guess she is kind of curvy. I don’t know. Also, while I was looking, there are actually two female Enforcers. Here is the other:
They both seem feminine to me. Maybe I am just being silly, I don’t know.
Q: I meannn, Huntress and Tinker give it away for me. I am glad at them not having overt feminine features (super small waist, big boobs, lack of armor) so I will give them that. But I agree, I could kind of tell by the way they moved...when I spent a lot of time hiding as a Workonic ?
L: What, you mean bra armor with midriff bared and mini skirts with shin guards don’t do it for you armor-wise? /sarcasm
Q: Mmm, yes bare skin is so battle ready. Skin is the new helmets, ya know?
Getting off topic a little, sorry. I'll just ask, would you buy this game?
L: For me to buy this game, there are a couple of things that need to happen. 1) I need to be able to pull together a team myself. Choose my people and all of that jazz. I don’t like playing with unknowns if I can help it and that is the main reason I dragged you and your hub a dub in to play this with me. 2) While not a requirement, I would absolutely LOVE IT if I could choose which side I am playing for. However, I can see them not making that an option. If you think of Fortnite for example, you don’t get to choose which side you are playing on in the Battle Royale. However, in Fortnite, you do have the option of grouping up with people that you know. What about you?
Q: I personally need the Workonics to have just one more feature. Yes, it can be done winning as a Workonic, as you proved, but there needs to be more. Enforcers has guns, trackers, shields, and an energy force that doesn't rely on someone else reviving them. So I need Workonics to match that. As far as random groupings, I had a couple of 10 year olds yelling at me, which reminded me why I like to pick my groups too. Let me compete and yell at my friends why they didn't revive me. It'll create memories for a lifetime ? With those two things added, yeah, I'll buy it. It seems like it could be a wang dang doodle of a good time.
L: So it’s settled, two girl gamer thumbs up. I am not sure when Aftercharge will be out of non beta and for everyone’s consumption, but it is something you should take a look at. Oh! One more thing before I go. You guys remember in the 90s, if you were in high school, you would have that one friend that would do the squat “prison pose?” One of the characters on this game does that when they are lining up your matches. BUY THIS GAME BASED ENTIRELY ON THAT IF YOU WANT TO AND NO ONE HERE WOULD JUDGE YOU! BY NO ONE HERE, I MEAN ME, LESLIE.
Q: I'll judge you with a high five. That's expert decision making right there
L: It’s like that time my friend’s brother made his first paycheck and then spent the entire 200 dollar paycheck on Faygo.
Life Lessons Learned from Freeplay: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss
Y'all know I'm a bookworm by now. I was excited to add Freeplay to my Goodreads list, but I wasn't expecting to get a life lesson out of it. Seriously, every page I just sat on my couch like "Well, shit...time to make a change."
Freeplay: A Video Game Guide to Maximum Euphoric Bliss was finished in less than a day. A quick read that I assumed would go into more scientific evidence about how video games actually make you happy, ended up being one of those long car rides with your dad while he gives you a lecture about life using gaming as a metaphor.
And honestly, that is just what I needed.
Jordan Shapiro, the author, is a dad himself, so that could explain it. Shapiro actually got into gaming as an adult while playing with his children and it brought them closer together.
And much like the good father he is, his book taught me so much about life that I really need to A) quite strongly recommend you read it for yourself but also B) share some of his wisdom here.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book and how they will stick with me:
As a perfectionist, I needed to learn that losing wasn't the end of the world. Just like in gaming, you learn more about how to beat your bosses from losing than you do from winning.
How many times in life did I need to restart, try another level, even repeat the same level again? I felt like a failure and that I was giving up. But the thing is, I wasn't taking the whole cartridge out, I was pressing the restart button.
And how many times have I been too afraid to take a risk? To jump into a new relationship when I wasn't sure if I would get hurt again? To quit a toxic job because I didn't have a new one lined up just yet (and before you say anything, I found a new job two days later. This quote is the truth).
I was surprised that this book even spoke to the social justice. With all that's going on in the world lately, it's good to be validated that I'm fighting the good fight.
And finally, I'll leave you with this quote. it reiterates on losing, but man is it powerful
KantCon Proves That Gaming is for Everybody
KantCon is a tabletop convention located in Overland Park, KS. Every year, gaming enthusiasts get together to do what they love most: game.
From my Instagram Takeover on Saturday, you could tell there were plenty of geeky vendors in the gaming halls. There was no shortage of dice holders, merch with gaming references, and D20 dice. In fact, one of those dice was a big old stuffed version that I plan to buy for me- I mean, Bby-8.
But attending a gaming convention can make you question yourself. Am I enough of a gamer to be here? What kind of knowledge do I need to have to go in?
The answer: None. Seriously, come as you are. What are your other excuses?
"I have kids and don't have a babysitter"
Bring them with you. Seriously. KantCon is a very family oriented convention. There is even a Kids KantCon gaming area, where there are board games, soft lightsabers, and even a Make Your Own Mask station. I saw older children playing in the main hall with the best of them.
"Seriously, I don't know much about games"
The thing I loved about KantCon is that you could have walked in their accidentally, said "cool, I'd like to attend, but I've never played a tabletop game before" and someone would be willing to show you how to play.
There was no gatekeeping here. Everyone here was so polite and willing to teach anyone about the world of tabletop gaming.
There was a very nice gentleman that told me everything I needed to know about Artemis. There was a small area set up with about 4 laptops and a projection screen. While also helping those in the middle of their gameplay, he even came up to me and explained how the game worked. The best being is that it would work on almost any computer system. No gaming upgrade needed. I need to review this game at a later date because he had me convinced!
"I don't live in Kansas, silly"
Ok, that's a fair excuse. However, if you don't have plans to visit that neck of the woods. I encourage you to look to see if there are any tabletop gaming conventions in your area.
Overall, I think most cons try to be inclusive, but KantCon really means it. Not once did I run into anyone who was like "You don't know what that is?" *scoff*. Children and adults alike were on the game floor, having an amazing time. Above all, everyone was super respectful and kind to everyone.
My only complaint? That I didn't purchase this.
What do you guys think? Is this something that would make you want to go to KantCon? Holler at me in the comments section.
The Games We Play
With a baby in the house that needs almost constant attention (she throws a massive fit if we put her in her baby gate and do not join her), I do not get to play video games as much as I used to. I am also her primary caregiver. This is not by choice, If I put her in her father's arms and walk away, a scream that rattles the bones of the dead is emitted out of her. It doesn't happen every time, but enough that she is basically my shadow.
When I do get a chance to play, my game of choice is Guild Wars 2. I play a Sylvari named Andewyn. On my birthday I recieved the expansion Heart of Thorns. I have logged roughly 3-4 hours of game play since recieiving. I love it so much, but my time to play is limited to when Geeky Baby is sleep or out of the house. When she is at daycare, I am at work, so you know how that is.
Andewyn looking tough
The night I was acting goofy and made that guy stand next to me because he reminded me of Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid
One of the podcasts I listen to, Hello from the Magic Tavern, keeps advertising this game "Total War: Warhammer." I am dying to play this game. It looks like so much fun. I have never played the Total War series, so any thoughts anyone may have would be great.
I was totally bummed (Anyone on the Facebook page could have told you) that they closed down production of the newest Fable game. Fable is what initally got me into gaming. Before that, I enjoyed watching people play, and basically backseat driving their game, but I never wanted to take the reins.
First there was Fable, then Fallout 3, then Elder Scrolls, then (oddly enough) Quake and Everquest, Everquest 1999, and Guild Wars. There are other games sprinkled here and there, but these are the major ones.
I also enjoy watching people stream different games I may not play on Twitch. It gives me the backseat driving on gaming I crave without driving anyone crazy.
Espionage Cosmetics
