[WOD] Austin by Night: EPIC Vinnie Recap

So, I have not blogged about Vinnie much, if at all. I have very specific thoughts and ideas for him, and I am having a difficult time deciding if I want to blog about them or keep them secret.

Vinnie IS a Vampire, but it's tough to get outside advice if I don't seek input. So, I'll give you the very best of the very best... or something. This is a recap of several sessions, boiled down to the most relevant and understandable details (as far as I can, anyway).

[RPG] Dissonance

I know, without any real preface or explanation, that I don't like OSR and/or old school stuff. It's just not for me. That doesn't bother me. I know what I like... it's pretty simple stuff.

What's simpler than 4 chords and incredible attitude?

Jeff had a really interesting post recently about the apparent lack of a first level as he sees it in the Next iteration of D&D. He went on to talk about what he DOES like in a game, which generated a metric crapton of comments. His follow up post had a real eye opener for me. One of the guys responding made an off the cuff remark about CoC, which struck me in a very particular way.

I don't enjoy a fragile first level character for a D&D game. It makes me all kinds of mental to consider that my D&D dude might die the first session out of the gate. (I don't like a D&D game at all, really; but that is beside the point.) However, I fully enjoy (and expect!) a fragile " first level"character for CoC. I LOOK FORWARD to the inevitable decrepitude, insanity and/or mangling of any character facing the Eldritch horrors, but not for D&D.

The question of the day for me boiled down to: Why?

What makes one character being a meat puppet unconscionable, while the other is gladly given as grist for the mill? I have absolutely no illusions that if I were playing, my CoC character could live long enough to gain a lot of experience or make a prestige class; and I am totally ok with that. Reconciling that against my angst about a D&D character's prospects becomes something I want to do, just to keep my head from spinning.

I have a thought or two, but I'm hesitant to put it out there right yet. I'd love to hear whether any of you have similar dichotomies, and if so, how you reconciled them with each other.

The Games that Shaped Me

A little while ago, Frontline Gamer put out a charge to all of us, to think about the games that have shaped us, and talk about when, where, why and so on.

Well, I can't really let that Brit have all the fun, now can I?

I told him I had a lot, and I felt a post was probably a lot more appropriate than a quick reply over on his blog. So here we are at mine, with my ever so verbose thoughts.

After the jump, of course.

Xenos and 20 sided dice!

Hey folks, SinSynn here.

Lately I've been having deep hobby thoughts, because I'm missing something. I know exactly what it is I'm missing, too.
I'm missing my Xenos.
Y'all know I luvs me some Xenos.
It's more than that, of course. It's everything that accompanies them.  The fantastical sci-fi settings, the crazy-cool tech gizmos and weaponry...the tentacles, and the refreshing screams of humans as they TASTE DISENTEGRATOR!!!!!!
(or somesuch variant thereof)

*Hey, whatever works, amirite?*

Flames of War- B,G & G hurts my feelings :(

'If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again'
- Aaliyah

Hey folks, SinSynn here.

So, uh....wow.
The new Blood, Guts and Glory book for Flames of War has literally catapulted the American Tank Destroyer Company to the top of the heap, as far as Late War 'killer lists' are concerned. The recent win at the Adepticon Nationals by Task Force A, combined with a dedicated list from the new book has seen a lot of attention of late.
Dunno what the big deal about Task Force A is, since it's an older list from Turning Tide. Also, the guy who won Nationals wins ALL the FoW tournaments, ever, so whatevs (results are here, for those interested). Axis lists took three spots in the top five, and Best General was an Axis player, so I'm OK with that whole thing.
Be advised that 'sportsmanship' and 'fluffiness' comprise a large part of the overall scores at official FoW events, and the Flames tournament system is beyond awful (also be advised: my opinion), so again, whatevs.
To me, 'best general' is the Tournament winner. End of story.

I'm not particularly concerned about American TD companies, since I'm fairly sure Battlefront will be nerfing them.
Why? Using your recce move, followed by a double time to place your security section right in your opponent's face and then springing the TD's is...pretty foul, I gotta say. Not particularly game-breaking, though.
What is game-breaking is that they can still spring the TD's even if you shoot the entire security section DEAD.
That's right- Tanks Destroyers pop outta burning jeeps, can deploy six inches forward from said jeeps (ambush rules apply), and get their full Rate of Fire...with AT 13.
Excuse me while I make this face:
-_-
Please fix this, Battlefront.
Sheesh.

No, my issues with B, G & G start with this guy:

*Say hello to the Easy Eight. Iz magic, apparently*

Pimpin': Headshots from the Heart

DaveG over at WargamingTradecraft.com is doing some awesome THIS SATURDAY!!

24 hour marathon of playing the video game Borderlands to raise money for the Childs Play Charity. The entire event will be broadcast online, hosted by more friends and volunteers.

Full details can be found here: http://www.wargamingtradecraft.com/2012/04/charity-headshots-from-heart.html

But basically we’re asking for pledges on a per-headshot-kill basis, direct dontations, and / or offers to cover expenses for the event itself. (Such as equipment, streaming, etc)

As for a minature gaming tie-in, I’ve been sponsored by MiniWarGaming to paint 4-6 Borderlands themed miniatures (the 4 PCs, Moxxi and Marcus) with full Work-In-Progress shots over the next month and a half, to be auctioned off during the event. 

The WIP on those guys have been BONKERS. You should check them out and give Dave some love/cash/stuff for a great cause. 

The Last One

For the most part, I try to be a relaxed and laid back person. I'm not a "princess" by any real stretch of the definition, and I laugh at fart jokes just as easily as the dudes around me.

I tend to get pretty fussy about birthdays. Mine in particular. I would love a giant surprise party, or a big day of being spoiled rotten with "all the things". I also love throwing birthday parties. I think a birthday is a reason to celebrate and adore planning. Whether it's cake and ice cream or LAN parties or strippers and booze, I want your celebration to be perfect for you. I love going all out and seeing smiles on my friends and family's faces on their special day. Unfortunately, most people I love are not real fond of big birthday things.

I am very easygoing about most other holidays. I have never been one of those 'decorate for every holiday' people. I try to find meaning in the everyday,but I still value certain special days. For the past few years, Mother's Day hasn't been that huge a production at our house. We've been busy growing our kids and our business, and time for celebrations (big or small) has not been our priority.

This year, our family has really felt those choices in stresses and pressures, and the need for employees and TIME AWAY from the store has been huge. We were all kind of coming apart at the seams, some more than others. We started spending more time together as a family, and as we did so, I started to become fully cognizant of the face that my kids are growing up.

My son is 18, and while he may not be ready to move out right this minute, that time isn't too far off. I rarely get maudlin, but I'm very aware that I may not have another Mother's Day with both my kids at home, and this might be the last one.

I'm taking just a little time to acknowledge that being a mom has been important to me, and I've done the best I can. Family *IS* a priority to me, and I'm working hard to be an awesome inspiration and model to these wonderful people I've been given the privileged to raise. I've got a lot more work to do, but thinking about this time ending has me a little rough around the edges.

TheBoy, Waylon, TheGirl and TheDude 

It's not quite over yet. I still have some awesome left in me. TheBoy, TheGirl and TheDude enjoyed going to the Hed2Hed Show a few weeks ago. I took my kids to a bar to see a metal show with their dad, for their dad's birthday. I was there for my son's first pit. I watched and laughed as he was offered a shot by the Jaeger Girls. I watched my daughter rock out, banging her fool head off. I saw both my kids look stunned at my reaction to American Head Charge (I think they thought I was going to humor TheDude. Hellz no, I wanted to see "Martin Cock" and "Mr. H.C. Banks III").

I have a few more surprises and a little more time with them- and even if it is "the last one", I'm going to enjoy this Mother's Day.