I hope that everybody had a great holiday! The weekend went really fast, and I’ve got a game to prep for. We all have our weak points, one of mine is 100% improve, I can do it, but it isn’t very satisfying to me, and it isn’t my greatest skill, though I do work on it from time to time, I prefer to DM games where I have a better understanding of where it is going. While this takes some doing, on game day, everybody at the table, including me, can have a bit more fun. I tend to feel singled out and too much in the spotlight when we do improve games, our time to play is limited, and when a game doesn’t feel up to par for me, I take it very personally. We are our harshest critics!

My family did help me out for this kind of thing; wilderness adventures are not my strongest point, I’ve improved at it over the years, but it is still something that I need to work on, so this Christmas my kids got me Outdoor Survival by Avalon Hill, this is an old RPG Board Game put out in the 70’s which was recommended by the Original Dungeons & Dragons ruleset to play wilderness sections. Even in modern games the principals of this game are still present, however this was one of the few times when D&D strongly recommended a competitors product to play the game. Of course TSR quickly developed their own system, but talking to OD&Ders, this method is still far superior to anything else. It allows a more advanced game, and provides techniques that can add more depth than what I may currently have. I did get a chance to look everything over while I made sure that the game was complete, and I really wish that I had this thing for last game! I’ll have to have some players come over sometime so that we can just play it as is.

I was thrilled to get it! My very first Avalon Hill game! These things just were never available in this area, but it was something that people talked about. On its own it is a game that is supposed to test wilderness survival techniques, another interest of mine, plus I can use it for D&D? Needless to say I am very stoked to finally have it.

My wife also went way above the call of duty; I’ve been using the same DM screen the entire time I’ve been a Dungeon Master, the original REF1. I take really good care of it, but it is a paper product and since it has seen regular use for over twenty years, it is very very worn and starting to fall apart. I’ve got a tear on one of the spines that I’ve been meaning to tape up but never do and every game it just gets worse and worse. Replacing it isn’t an option because the market says that this is now a collector’s item and the prices are nuts, but my wife hates looking at that poor dilapidated old thing, mentioning it every game. She did some research on-line and came up with an idea of making one out of wood. We love DIY projects, but she is a nurse who keeps nurses hours, which are crazy, and for the last few weeks, unknown to me because I work graveyard shift, she’s been staying up until 3am working on this project. This is one of those things that really makes me kind of emotional, she didn’t have to do that; but it emphasizes the kind of person she is. That takes so much love!

She says that she’s not quite done with it, she’s got some hardware coming in the mail that she wants to put on it, and she wants to put some magnetic strips on the inside so I can hang papers from them, but this thing is just so beautiful already! I mean, look at this thing!

It gives me more room, better security behind the screen, but I can still see over it, it stores nicely and this one is not ever going to wear out. A good screen is something that we all take for granted, and I use mine a lot! She even put some nice pictures on the back. Words can not describe how this makes me feel, just the time and effort on her part makes this my favorite present! As far as I’m concerned, she won Christmas!

Anyway, this weekend went fast, and next won’t be much better, and then it is game night, so I’m not sure how much I’ll get done on this blog, in the next few weeks but we’ll see how it goes. Once again, happy holidays, friends!