5.06.2011

Finding the Path

Odd how we meet people. Take, for instance, my introduction to my latest gaming friends. It all started with Twitter and a pain in my ass (sort of literally).

Working in the ecommerce industry, it was necessary to be connected. So I started a Twitter account. I then decided I wanted to keep professional separated from personal/gaming hobby, so I created an account for that. I figured out hashtags and found some gamers. Soon, I heard talk of Pathfinder.

My current gaming group (CGG) had decided to forgo 4th edition D&D, since it seemed incompatible with the stack of 3.0/3.5 books we already owned. But when I heard about Pathfinder, my interest was peaked.

Around last spring, I had a wedding planned for summer. Problem was, I was having complications from severe “unspecific colitis” that I had the previous summer. I was sincerely afraid of having issues during our wedding or honeymoon. I bit the bullet and elected to have surgery on my digestive system in order to (hopefully) prevent any further issues and add some very missed comfortableness back into my life.

As a little care package (to me, from me!), I decided to pick up a few things to get me through my home- and bed-restricted post surgery blues. Samurai Champloo, Surrender (an erotic memoir – don’t ask), Rocco DeLuca’s I Trust You To Kill Me dvd, and the Pathfinder Core Rulebook.

My immediate reactions were, “these new caster abilities are amazing – more spells!” and “holy s#|t, CLERICS!” Sure, the other classes seemed improved too (particularly the ranger and paladin), but the caster classes? Revolutionized from 3.5, I tell ya! Of course, I dove in, got some more books, and by GenCon I was running it for my CGG.

But, ah… life gets in the way. My CGG had a way of not staying current. Players came and went all the time, usually during crucial campaign moments. I tried to structure, organize, add more players (Dragonlance campaign with 7 PCs, oh my), subtract players (Ptolus campaign with 3 PCs)… nothing work. I grew frustrated, a good deal of it because I was putting in the work to write and run these campaigns. Finally, I threw in the towel.

Then, a light from heaven… I clicked on the Pathfinder Society link on the Paizo site. Responded to a post on the message boards. Found a game in the Indianapolis area.

PFS opened up a whole new world of possibilities. And a whole new can of worms. Like, guys who really don’t shower, or guys who belch in your face as you move your mini on the battle-mat. But the worms were worth the possibilities – which included three cool guys with the same sense of humor, the same gaming style, and the same dedication to the game as I had.

I like to think of myself as a geek elitist, which I s’pose means I am hard to please. So falling in with a group of guys who don’t belch in my face when I move my mini pleases me. The fact that they like to see a campaign through to completion pleases me. They have lives, jobs, other interests, and this pleases me.

The great thing about this hobby isn’t your favorite system, or the cool miniatures, or the opportunity to be creative. Well, those ARE all great, but so to is this: people you can relate to, who are just as organized/dedicated/anal as you are.

Or, guys who belch in your face when you move your mini. If you’re into that sort of thing. I'll tell you one thing - it sure beats a knife in the colon and a pain in the ass!

2 comments:

  1. Admittedly, I've only played Pathfinder three times now, but I'm just not a fan. Maybe it was because the guy that was teaching my gaming group is kind of an elitist jerk, but we've been really happy with 3.0.

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  2. I am a total elistist jerk, but that's no way to run a game. Pathfinder is 3.0/3.5 compatible, but still not for everyone. For me, it's less the system and more Pathfinder Society Organized Play that is so rewarding.

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