In our first installment of HTBGG we looked at deciding what type of game you want to play.  Sadly, that was the easy part!  So now that you have decided on a game you want to play and there is no one to GM it.  You know the core material well enough or have read it enough times to understand it and you figure “I can GM, why not?”  Before you jump in, you should [...]]]>

Forcing friends and evilly coercing others…

In our first installment of HTBGG we looked at deciding what type of game you want to play.  Sadly, that was the easy part!  So now that you have decided on a game you want to play and there is no one to GM it.  You know the core material well enough or have read it enough times to understand it and you figure “I can GM, why not?”  Before you jump in, you should know that there are a lot of situations that can arise before or during GM’ing that can be bothersome.  This is where I come in.

In all honesty, getting a group together can be a big pain in the arse, but it is your first step to being a good GM.  Here are some helpful tips to finding the right players:

a)      Selling yourself:
You have to drum up interest and hype yourself quite a bit, but do not oversell yourself either.  You do not want players walking away thinking you really did not live up to our own hype.  Any GM should have enough confidence to make themselves sound somewhat awesome.

b)      Advertise:
Go to your gaming stores and put up flyers or talk to the owners and mention that you want to run a game.  See if they have a forum you can post on. Try local meetup sites as well.

c)      Interviews:
When you start to get responses make sure to talk to your potential fodder (gamers) either face-to-face or via email.  Make sure they are not complete loonies and also make sure they are open to many concepts and ideas. Make sure no one is easily offended, since gamers are nerds and geeks — offbeat and/or adult topics could easily come up.  Also make sure they are decent people and decent conversationalists.  All of this helps in the long run, especially if this is going to be a long-term campaign.

d)      Be awesome:
Early on, establish your expectations for your players and yourself. Ensure that everyone knows what they are getting into.  And always ask questions that might help you.

Here is my list of questions I ask potential gamers:

1)      What types of games have you played in the past?

2)      What type of character do you normally play or want to play?

3)      Not that it will definitely happen, but are you okay if your character dies?

4)      Can you work as a team, even if it means having to compromise from time to time?

5)      Is there anything that offends you?

That’s it, 5 simple questions. When you talk to the rest of the players that want to join, you can figure out how they will all mesh together.

This is the end of Part 2, look out for Part 3 in the next few weeks.

Live long and prosper,
The Dave

Note: I am NOT here to promote any games of any sort.  No one is paying me for this.  If I bring up a game it is because I am FAMILIAR with it.

At the request of multiple people, I have decided to start a series of articles based around one thing, how to be a good GM/DM.  I’m not sure how often this article will appear, but each one will contain one or two [...]]]>

DMs and GMs and games, oh my!

Note: I am NOT here to promote any games of any sort.  No one is paying me for this.  If I bring up a game it is because I am FAMILIAR with it.

At the request of multiple people, I have decided to start a series of articles based around one thing, how to be a good GM/DM.  I’m not sure how often this article will appear, but each one will contain one or two tidbits of information.

First let’s get some awkwardness out of the way here.  There’s really no difference between a GM (Game Master) and a DM (Dungeon Master).  DM’s tend to be more of the traditional dungeon-crawl style RPG like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder, while GM’s are considered any other game that does not have extensive dungeon crawls.  But really, it’s just different names for the same thing.  I consider myself a GM, because the game I started with had no real dungeons.  You can also have ST’s or story tellers, but this name was brought about by White Wolf as they felt ONLY their game told a story.  Sorry, I got back on a soap box for a second; White Wolf is a good gaming company.  From here on out I will refer to the person running the game as a GM (as that is what I am familiar with) and the players as fodder.  So now we have that weirdness out of the way, let’s get down to the meat and potatoes.

The first order of business should be deciding on what game you want to run.  This can actually be a hard decision.  There are a lot of games out there and when you walk into any gaming store you will be inundated with a slew of choices.  If you have played before, use that experience to figure out what you like.  There are so many types of games that vary in play style including fantasy high magic, fantasy low magic, steam punk, Victorian age games, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, detective, and the list goes on and on and on. Look up reviews for games that interest you. Amazon can be useful here, they usually have sample chapters in addition to the reviews.

Armed with your new knowledge of different games; head into your local game store and pick up a game core rulebook and maybe an expansion or two if you have the money.  My personal suggestion is this: go to the store often and play in other games.  Listen to what people have to say and what they might want to play.  The reason for this is, even though you may have a core group of friends who want to play, what happens if someone leaves?  I will bring up fodder (players) in another chapter; in fact the fodder will be the focus of multiple parts of this series.

I hope you enjoyed part I of my new series, look for more in Part II which will be coming to a Nerd Up blog near you.

Most sites come out with their best of 2011 list sometime in mid-December.  I think this is rubbish!  2011 was not even fully over, you  fuxtardz, who knows what might happen between mid-December and January 1st? So with that out of the way, here weee goooooooooo!  *Disclaimer: I will only be focusing on the things I can actually talk about.

1)Best video game (console): I had to really think on this one.  In the end, it came down to either Skyrim or [...]]]>

Most sites come out with their best of 2011 list sometime in mid-December.  I think this is rubbish!  2011 was not even fully over, you  fuxtardz, who knows what might happen between mid-December and January 1^st? So with that out of the way, here weee goooooooooo!  *Disclaimer: I will only be focusing on the things I can actually talk about.

1)Best video game (console):
I had to really think on this one.  In the end, it came down to either Skyrim or Batman: Arkham City.  Both were great games!  I enjoyed pretending I was Batman and taking on the thugs and villains of Arkham. It was very nicely done, but a bit too short.  Skyrim, well, let’s just say I have yet to even finish it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great game.  The arrow-to-the-knee jokes did meme themselves out a bit, but oh well.  I will say I fully enjoyed/am enjoying it, but my next entry has taken over my life.

2)Best video game (PC):
Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR)… really, do I need to say any more?  The gameplay is just wow, the story is fully immersive and makes me feel like it is tailored to me, and me alone.  I get a spaceship, which I have nicknamed Slave 0.12 as it looks like Fett’s Slave I. And I get to be an awesome bounty hunter!  Really, it’s a great game and thus far has not disappointed in the MMORPG department.

3)Best new TV show:
This is a hard one for me.  There were a lot of good shows that deserved a nod in this category: some on hiatus, some cancelled, some returning for season 2.  There really was a lot to consider, but I had to go with Game of Thrones on HBO.  Why?  Because it’s nice to see a fantasy book turned into a very well-done show.  Most of the time a book gets absolutely slaughtered in the transition to the small screen, so it made me very happy to see one that is pretty faithfully made.  Add in all the craziness and Sean Bean and bam! Best show of the year.

4)Best movie (all genres):
I chose to stick with the movie I thought was the best of the year overall, or else I would have to break this down into god knows how many categories.  But deciding on just one movie was hard. I mean, we had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, Captain America, The Muppets, etc.  It was a year of great geektastic movies!  My pick is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.  Why?  Because it was the end of an era.  These are books kids grew up with about the same rate that Harry did in the books.  It was amazing to see this type of love for a book in this modern digital age.  And then to be able to watch the characters grow in the movies was even better. My only wish is that when Voldemort enters the afterlife, he is reunited with his nose.

5)Most epic event:
My wedding.  My wife and I were married on October 29^th in downtown Raleigh.  It was a cool ceremony full of zombies, references to the movie Up and just tons of things that made it us.  We tailored everything to us all the way down to our Boston Crème Pie wedding cake with a topper that had a zombie bride, groom and 2 zombie dogs.  There was a TARDIS and a fez. Moss from The IT Crowd even made an appearance on a shirt.  But what made it epic was I got to marry my best friend.

So 2011 was an awesome year for a lot of things.  And there are a lot of things to look forward to this year as well.  Here is the short list:

1)The Hobbit!!!

2)Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning (Xbox360, PS3, PC)

3)More blogs, artwork from Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit, Susan Z’s first blog, and possibly podcasts from us here at Nerd-Up

4)John Carter

5)Brave

6)The Hunger Games

7)The Avengers

8)The Cabin in the Woods

9)The Dark Knight Rises

10)The 2012/2013 NFL season

11)My wife finishing her PhD

12)And the list goes on and on

So enjoy folks.  I look forward to providing you more entertainment in the year to come.  I wish you all the best and I will get with you soon!

Over and out,

-The Dave

(Or I used to have a life, but then I took an arrow to the knee)

I spend 40 hours a week at a job that is just so-so.  That feels like time wasted to me.  Much of my time is spent on tedious work or dealing with clueless users who break their laptops with a vengeance.  There are days it feels like my job is a black hole sucking my life away.  Honestly, I am thankful I have a job [...]]]>

(Or I used to have a life, but then I took an arrow to the knee)

I spend 40 hours a week at a job that is just so-so.  That feels like time wasted to me.  Much of my time is spent on tedious work or dealing with clueless users who break their laptops with a vengeance.  There are days it feels like my job is a black hole sucking my life away.  Honestly, I am thankful I have a job in this economy.  Things could be worse.  Or… things could be extremely awesome!!

Enter Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, or the figurative arrow to the knee of life.  There’s a phrase that’s uttered repeatedly by the guards in the game.  It goes: “I used to be an adventurer, until I took an arrow to the knee.”  You really need to hear this done as a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation.

I distinctly remember telling my soon-to-be wife that the Friday after our honeymoon was Skyrim Friday and I would be dead to her.  At first she took offense to this, but she understands I am a gaming geek, and realized it worked in her favor.  It meant I would be busy and she’d have uninterrupted time to work on her PhD.  I play everything: table top RPG’s, board games, card games and video games.  I could spend hours in my own little world, doing just what I want to do — gaming.  I don’t even have to be productive about it, which makes Skyrim all that much better.

The first week or so of playing was fine and dandy.  I felt like I could put it down at any point. Then I killed a few dragons and got sucked into a civil war between two factions in the land of Skyrim.  I couldn’t abandon my new NPC friends — they NEEDED the Dragonborn to help them save their castles and villages from dragon destruction!  After I liberated the city of Whiterun from the evil Imperials, I met a guard who touched my heart.  I call him Stormcloak Guard Bob.  I make sure to stop in and see him on my adventures so he can tell me about how he used to adventure, until he took an arrow to the knee.  Oh Stormcloak Guard Bob, you poor sodding bastard, will your life ever be as fulfilled as it used to be?  Will that arrow injury ever fully heal?

The main quest of the game is to figure out why dragons are being resurrected and then go kill the Big Bad.  My guess is if you just went about the main quest, the game would take you maybe 30 hours to complete.  But not Skyrim!  Like with its predecessors in the Elder Scrolls series, there is a lot to do in this game.  I’ve spent at least 50 hours finding items for people in towns or running through dungeons to see what cool items might be there.  I have also spent countless hours mixing herbs together to make potions, or smithing armor, or enchanting armor with cool effects.  There is SO much to do!

This is what my real life has devolved into thanks to Skyrim.  I get home from work and take care of my husbandly chores and then I turn on the Xbox and go adventuring, all so Bob can tell me about his knee.  Thankfully my wife does not work on her paper all the time, so she breaks me out of the routine and I can pull that jagged arrow out of my knee and enjoy the world around me.  Still, for those few glorious hours most weeknights, I am an adventurer, I am the Dragonborn, and I kick ass!  If you’re looking for something to pass away time or you need something to really immerse you into its environment, then I highly suggest this game.  They did an amazing job. Well, until they took an arrow to the knee.

(Just a rant)

Hey all, Dave here back in the saddle again.  As you may have noticed, we are slowly rebuilding Nerd-Up into an info/news dump with a touch of podcasting when we can.  The site will house our rants, news stories, and anything we find cool or amusing.  Part of the process is a redesign of the site and logo, which the magnificent Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit is doing.  He really is magnificent, take note.

Well, he said he needed some nerdy [...]]]>

(Just a rant)

Hey all, Dave here back in the saddle again.  As you may have noticed, we are slowly rebuilding Nerd-Up into an info/news dump with a touch of podcasting when we can.  The site will house our rants, news stories, and anything we find cool or amusing.  Part of the process is a redesign of the site and logo, which the magnificent Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit is doing.  He really is magnificent, take note.

Well, he said he needed some nerdy imagery to add to the white space in one of the logos.  I immediately went to The IT Crowd (a default nerd item for me),  grabbed an image, and linked it to give him inspiration.  Then for shits and giggles, I went to Google and typed in “iconic nerd images”*.  The results were horrifying.  There were your obligatory images of San Diego Comic Con, a Spock cartoon**, a t-shirt with some Super Mario imagery, Stan Lee, a D&D setup, a stuffed minotaur and of course Doctor Who.  Yes, typical nerd items and there were a fair amount of them.  But mixed in with the images I consider actually nerdy were some alarming photos.  They were photos of people who were definitely part of the cool crowd, wearing thick-rimmed glasses*** and nerdy clothes like button-up shirts with bow ties.  NO!  Bad hipsters!   I promise you with all of my heart and nerdy soul, that is not what it means to be a nerd.

So, for all of you out there that were picked on when you were young for playing D&D or collecting comics, this post is for you.  For those who had to wear the thick-rimmed glasses with no other choice and had to tape them up when they broke, this post is for you.  For those who were shunned and looked down upon well before nerdiness went mainstream, this post is for you.  Go ahead call me a nerd hipster — I was a nerd before it was cool.  I can deal with that, because I know I will be a nerd long after it is cool and I am 100% comfortable in that and love my position in life.

*Here is the link for proof… linky

**I found it funny that Google docs has decided that spock is wrong, but Spock capitalized is right.  Love Google.

***True story, in Raleigh there is a growing epidemic of these hipsters having the frames only, without even plain glass or plastic in the frames.

You know it had to happen folks, someone had to make the first W00t post.

So welcome to NerdUp where we will provide you with all things nerdy / geeky/ dorky / obscure.

For my first post I want to talk gaming now granted that is not the topic of our first episode but hey I don’t care.  I love gaming, in fact if you are here you probably do as well.  Notice I said probably since not every nerd is a [...]]]>

You know it had to happen folks, someone had to make the first W00t post.

So welcome to NerdUp where we will provide you with all things nerdy / geeky/ dorky / obscure.

For my first post I want to talk gaming now granted that is not the topic of our first episode but hey I don’t care.  I love gaming, in fact if you are here you probably do as well.  Notice I said probably since not every nerd is a gamer.

Well honestly let’s discuss, what is your favorite type of gaming and why?  How long have you been actively gaming and what is your favorite game of all time?

Mine? My favorite type of gaming is tabletop or RPG boardgame because it leaves so much to the imagination.  There is so much you can do and think and well if you are a perv like me, every game session has at least one uncalled for remark.

I have been actively gaming for well over 10 years, I got a late start people!  I started with Vampire the Masquerade and moved into a homebrew named Midian which is an excellent homebrew if I do say so myself and can be found at http://lost-souls.servebeer.com

And my favorite games of all time are Midian for tabletop and Runebound for boardgame followed up closely by Infernal Contraption for a quick but friend devastating card game.

So there you have the first actual post about nerdiness.  Now I need to get back to work, the world of IT calls and I must beckon.