Lair Assault

Today was my first attempt at Lair Assault.
Guess what? I didn't die!
Plus, we totally made it through both parts of the encounter with only one perma death.
Which means, WE WON!

I'm pretty sure that is only time I've ever used the term "we won" when referring to a Dungeons and Dragons game. Usually there is still some lingering fear that another bad guy or group of bad guys or undead guys or slims or gargoyles (I hate those damn gargoyles) or giant spiders or god-only-knows-what-other-kinda-crap is going to jump out from behind a tree and...

SURPRISE, it's time for another fight. You have blown your dailies, yet quite spectacularly I might add, on that big baddy your party just vanquished. Now there are these jerks, popping out of the darkness trying to kick you while you are down. You rally your forces and manage defeat those puny foes, only to come out in the end way worse than you started.

But what if you don't make it? What if your lovingly crafted character perishes to a crappy minion? You built her, nurtured her from level one to the wonderful PC she was. Now you must bury her. You pack away that marked up character sheet in a drawer, never to be seen again. All that is left are the memories of epic times long past. As you mourn your loss, you roll up a new character and start again.

Lair Assault it completely different. You prepare an OP character and walk into that encounter with a death wish. You are well aware that it's all or nothing. You are courageous and even reckless. The game is fueled by adrenaline. You spend encounters and dailies like it's going out of style. But if you die, it's no big deal. It's expected. Success is unusual. You even gain "glory" for death.

I highly encourage anyone who has played D&D to attend a Lair Assault game. Use those games as an opportunity to create a fun-to-play character, maybe something different that you won't be too attached to. Learn to work together and strategize as a team. And if you don't make it, not to worry, there will always be next week. You can try again then.

My Lair Assault character. Level 8 Unaligned Shield Dwarf Warpriest (Death Domain! BABY!)

 

 

My favorite power. It may not be spectacular, BUT it's very useful. 

My beautiful new dice. I'm waiting on another set and a block of d6.

Hello All

My husband introduced me to the world of role playing, but not the kind you might imagine, the Dungeons and Dragons kind. I had always been interested in trying D&D but I had never really known anyone who played on a regular basis. Alex (my then boyfriend and now hubby) had a pretty regular group of guys who he played a multitude of different role playing games. I asked him if I could join in the next game that started. And his group allowed me to play.

Unbeknownst to me, female gamers are rare. The boys teased that most of the girls that game are just as smelly and unpleasant as stereo-typical male gamers.

     I decided it was time to break the following stereo-types...
          1. Girls are bad at role playing
          2. Female gamers are gross, smelly, fat and all around unpleasant
          3. Girls couldn't possibly "get" how to play

For Christmas that year Alex got me the following gifts, "Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game" by Shelly Mazzanoble, "Heroes of the Fallen Lands" - D&D Essentials and a full set (two 7-die sets and a block of D6) of pink polyhedral dice. I was set!

    NOTE: Shelly Mazzanoble's book is a great introduction to the world of D&D gaming. I recommend any female that is interested in gaming picks up "Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress". The book gives an overview of the basic rules and excellent girly analogies for playing.

I have been a wizard, sorceress, fighter, barbarian, and a cleric. I have played in home-brewed games, modules and participated in Wizard's D&D Encounters. But I have always played with a table full of boys and some times the testosterone is just too much!

So in the spring of 2011, I decided it was time to start my own gaming group. There were a few qualifications to join...
          1. You had to be new at gaming
          2. You had to have taste for adventure
          3. You are a girl!

I got together a motley group of girls, including my best friend, girlfriends of the guys Alex's gaming group, one of my gay, male friends (he was allowed to join), a friend of a friend who had lost her usual all male group and moi, as DM. And with-in those Sunday nights, the Screaming Pussy-willows emerged; a group of female PCs ready for adventure!

We played every Sunday night. But work and school schedules started to get in the way and I began planning my wedding. Our weekly adventures went by the way-side. Until now!

Starting January 22, the Screaming Pussy-willows will rejoin in an all new, original adventure in the Shadowfell. The PC line-up has changed a little but the fun and excitement is sure to still be there as always.

Stay tuned for DM notes, as I will post all their adventures and the original story I have created after the PCs have experienced it.