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Dan Scott
Canada
Port Perry
Ontario
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It was a sad chapter in the book of BGitBR..
John had disclosed with me last week that he was leaving our company. He had found a new opportunity with another organization that was going to give him a career boost, a lot of travel, as well as a pay raise. The decision to leave the company was not something that he came to easily because he had mentioned that there were a lot of positives about being with us, but ultimately the decision to move was a positive career step.
And I agreed.
Our BGitBR events are scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month, and we did attempt to get some people interested last Tuesday but some last minute things arrived with our participants that had to put the event on hold. It was a shame, too, because I had brought Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft as well as Mansions of Madness. Last week I had decided against bringing Thunderstone: Dragonspire because I really wanted to play something with both a good story and minis. I felt that Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft and Mansions of Madness would really deliver on that effort. But it was not meant to be.
Despite not being able to play last Tuesday, John had ensured me that we would play the following Tuesday (today). It would be, after all, his last week with the organization and he promised that there would be players. So last Tuesday I packed up my games and went home at the end of the work day.
Fast forward to today. I imagine that there will be a lot of people who would want to take part in the BGitBR event (especially as it was John's last day) so I took the time to pack some games that I felt would cater to the audience, no matter what size it might be. I brought: Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft, in case we only had 5 players (or less), Dixit - in case we had six players with varying interest in the realm of boardgaming, and the Resistance - in case we ended up with anywhere between 7 and 10 people. I had emailed John earlier in the day to ask him how many players had confirmed.
Quote: About 3 to 4, I think.
So with his 3 to 4, plus myself and Indy, that would likely have us playing the Resistance.
The Resistance was a new game that I had acquired after hearing a lot of positive things mentioned on the "Game On with Cody and John" podcast so I ordered it.. as a side note, I also ordered the re-release of 'A la Carte', and I'm thinking (as one BGG member put it) that I may have to trade in my man card, even though I haven't yet played the game.
Anyway, while I was working at my desk today one of our co-op students, Jack, stopped by to say "Hi" and I let him know about the BGitBR event. I showed him The Resistance and tried to give him an idea of how it played, despite not actually having any experience playing it. I told him that we would be playing games and he was welcome to join - he was interested and committed to join in the event.
5pm rolls around and I haven't heard from John. I give him a call on his mobile phone and he lets me know that he's coming to the office with James. I asked him if anyone else was coming and he said that he didn't think so -
Quote: ...Something about last minute responsibilities blah, blah, blah.
So now that means it's me, John, James, and Jack. Indy pops over to say that if we had 4 players he'd rather duck out as he's heavily involved in the local community and would prefer to see through some tasks he was working on. I said it wasn't a problem because Canada is in the midst of a federal election and I know that Indy's involvement with this, as well as the local representative for the political party he is associated with, is very important to him.
John shows up with James and James promptly has to excuse himself because he has to see his boss for a bit. I sit down with John to review the games on offer and he decides that Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft would be his choice. I had only played a solo game but I did have a concept of the rules. I called Jack over to join us and I begin explaining the rules.
After explaining the rules we decide on playing Scenario 3 - "Klak's Infernal Artifact". John got first pick of characters so he chose the Ranger, Jack was given second choice so he chose the Fighter (this is his first ever foray into anything D&D - the fighter is the easy choice), I took the Wizard, and we set aside the Cleric for James in case he resurfaced to play the game with us.
Now I'm not entirely sure on the specific order in which things happened during this game, but I can tell you that James arrived during the first round of play, which was perfect. I know that I'm a crappy Wizard, because I tend to play as a very headstrong character and a wizard's lack of HP or AC is detrimental to my natural playstyle. As a result, my character quickly lost hitpoints - but didn't die.
John played his Ranger character well, exploiting the ability to search rooms even if he wasn't on a square that was adjacent to a unexplored tile edge, and Jack enjoyed running in to the foray and trying to kill monsters (even though the dice were most definitely not on his side when it mattered most). Our stalwart Cleric did what any stalwart Cleric should do - take hits, heal, buff, and support the team. . and I must say, for a guy who missed the first 20 minutes of explaining the game, James did surprisingly well at picking up and playing.
There were a few things that hurt us - namely nasty traps, an early round of multiple monster spawning, countless encounters but we stayed alive. There were a few times that both John and I were on our last hitpoint or two, but the luck of the cards, the luck of the die, and the timely support from our friends and use of our powers kept us alive.
When Klak came out we realized how slippery this villain would be to destroy. Klak was constantly moving away, opening up new areas and spawning new monsters. So, we made sure to anchor him by being adjacent and stopping his movement options. In time, we worked together to surround and destroy Klak before then moving on to destroy the artifact that he was working on - thereby winning the scenario.
It was another successful night of BGitBR. Jack was pleasantly surprised with the game and I'm sure he'll play again, although his co-op term ends with us at the end of the month. James is a dyed-in-the-wool gamer so he's down for playing whenever, as long as it won't interfere with his family obligations. Of course, I'm always eager to play so all I need is some advance notice and I'm good to go.
And John? Well, John doesn't start his new job for several weeks. He still wants to continue to play with us in both the long and short term, provided the time doesn't clash with his personal and professional engagements.
He's invited next Tuesday, so I expect he'll show up.
..maybe I'll bring Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon.
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