5/31/13

Five for Friday 22: GURPS, the Church of God, and Group Showering

The Keep
Last weekend, I had the privilege of gaming with most of our Monday Night Gaming Group for a 9 hour face-to-face session. It was the first time that they have actually seen me and the most amazing event of the day is that they let me play, even after seeing me. Rob and Tim have covered the session in more detail here and here (you can check out the pics of Dwayne's keep as well).
On our way to meet the baron.
Here are five awesome things about last Saturday's gaming session (in no particular order):
  • Dwayne's Keep: There are lots of great pics on his blog, Gamer's Room
  • Playing a GURPS spellcaster: Until Saturday, I have only played one character in GURPS, a very simple dwarf with an axe. On Saturday, I played Belafore, a Viking priest. It gave me a chance to experience another part of GURPS, namely, the magic system. One more step in my GURPS newbie journey.
  • The Church of God Prayer Meeting: We rented a small conference room at a Days' Inn and there was a prayer/worship session going in the next room. I could imagine their fervent prayers on our behalf as we were loudly fighting skeletons while trying to gain entrance to the Blood Oracle. I was expecting them to rush in and perform a mass exorcism on the spot. I have to admit that we were shouting a lot during combat and a few f-bombs were dropped.
  • Spending time with Tim and the Happy Whisk: Tim and his lovely bride opened their home to me for the night. We had a great visit and I came away with a box of lovely parting gifts--gaming stuff and lots of goodies from Whisk's couponing expeditions. Very generous. More than makes up for the leaky air mattress and the weird moment when I went into the bathroom to take a shower, only to be followed by Tim, his wife, and both of their dogs. I did wait until they left before undressing and showering, but I chalked it up to the west side of Pennsylvania having different hygiene and hospitality customs than those of us on the east side of the state. Maybe they were going to scrub me down with the dogs?
  • The Group: For me, the joy of gaming is really not about the gaming stuff but about the group of people at the table. I am still a casual gamer at heart. It is the group that keeps me coming back.
On our way to the Blood Oracle.
All in all, it was a great time. Thanks, guys!
All Spread Out: We are a fun group, but tactics often elude us.