Gwendolyn Kestrel's Journal

General Updates

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:12:56 GMT

Posting to my journal after a near year absence. I suspect I'll have more time and energy to keep up my blogging.

Last week, I gave my notice at Wizards, and my last day will be July 27th. It was a difficult decision, but one I'm quite happy with.

I'll be doing a vigorous job search after I leave the company, looking both inside and outside the gaming industry. For instance, there are many fine theatres in the Seattle area and I'd be happy to get a staff job with one of them in management or publications.

Ashland, Oregon

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 23:39:56 GMT

Heading off to Ashland, Oregon next week for the Shakespeare Festival.

Seeing 3 plays: Cyrano de Bergerac, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Merry Wives of Windsor.

I always enjoy Ashland vacations. It's a lovely small town, so intently focused on the theatre. Vacationing there for 3-4 days is absolutely perfect. Time enough for to see some plays, walk around town, and enjoy the place.

Geeking Out Last Night

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:01:43 GMT

This fall, a new set of campaigns is starting up at Tindalos House.

Traditionally, the first weekend of the month is taken up with gaming.

Andy originally ran a game. It grew. Then he ran different sessions of the same world on Saturday and Sunday. Very tiring and it grew. Recently, Andy's run on one day and Greg's run on the other. These ended and they're starting up a new set.

Andy's running an anything-goes Greyhawk campaign and Greg's running a military war-focused campaign using Heroes of Battle and Red Hand of Doom. The number of players has grown. So, on one of these days, Scott (one of Andy and Greg's longtime D&D/high school friends) will be running a third campaign to make it so that everyone who has been playing can do so and a few folk long on the list can be added. (No, they're not looking for more players.) I'll be playing in Scott's campaign which will use the Shackled City as a base.

So, that's a long winded intro for talking about last night.

Last night was great fun. I wanted to work out some character ideas for my character.

There have been so many cool books that have come out in the last year, I knew I wanted to play with some of the new D&D "toys" (races, classes, etc.)

Often, in both tabletop D&D and online games, I play supportive characters: buffers, healers, maneuverers who give the rogue flanks, etc. Many of my in-combat actions have been geared to helping or setting up another character.

For this campaign, I want to do something different. I want to be a very independent operator. I don't mind giving folk buffs, but don't want that to be my main modus operandi; I don't want to spend my precious actions on it.

So, the dragon shaman from Player's Handbook II looked interesting.

For race, I wanted to be one of the races I drafted for Races of the Dragon, either the Dragonborn or the Spellscale.

Starting with that, Andy and I spent several hours last night, hashing out ideas, looking at possible feats, build choices, and options.

Considered and discarded were dragonborn aasimar, goliaths, and spellscales. A wide variety of multiclassing was investigated: Dragon Shaman with Paladin, Fighter, Marshall, Bo9S classes.

Final Race: Dragonborn Warforged. Oh, it's cool. Good mechanics. The Con boost helps the Dragon Shaman. The Cha hit hurts a little, but overall strong. As a warforged dragonborn, I get to keep all of the type/subtype traits. So, lots of immunities. I lose the crit resistance and many things, but I like what I retain.
In addition, there's so many story potentials here.
Breath Weapon from Dragonborn.
Wings as a feat.

Final Class Combos: Warblade and Dragon Shaman in pretty even increments. Taking a few of the abilties of the Tiger Claw discipline (referring to it as "Dragon" Claw, of course).

Gives me lots to do as a front-line fighter. I also contribute to the party with my auras. Here's a couple of the coolest bits: The Sudden Leap maneuver's sweet, letting me jump as a swift action once/encounter. With my draconic wings giving me a +10 to Jump checks, and the eventual Leaping Dragon Stance giving me another +10, I'll be leaping around the battle field so well, I don't think I need the second Wing-based feat to give me a fly speed.

But what's really awesome overall is spending a night with my husband, just geeking out and collaborating on a new character.

Lapses

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 18:12:49 GMT

So, what the heck, it's been more than a while since I've posted. I'm throwing in the towel on any idea of "catching up" (which proved a block to me posting) and you'll rejoin the conversation of my life in media res.

Working Away from Work

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 22:45:58 GMT

Today, I attended a talk on Law and Order in Online Games up at the University of Washington. Daniel Pargman, a professor from the University of Skovde in Sweden, spoke about how both the community of players and the computer coding of the game impact the social norms. An interesting talk.

Because I'm going to dinner up here in Seattle, I decided to see if I could reduce my amount of travel time. I arranged to take all the materials I'd need and work on one of the many campus computers. It has been a fantastically productive day. I've been able to do a great deal of work without interruption or distraction and have even indulged myself in a 10 minute break to update my blog. Sometimes a change of environment is a perfect spur to creativity.

Currently, I'm serving on the development team, so I'm not doing whole-cloth creation, but I still had a lot of revisions to input and new entries to write. It has been great.

The Last Six Months

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 22:40:31 GMT

Well, I've been doing a lot of things, and it's obvious that updating my blog has not been one of them.

Theatre

In addition to The Woman in Black, at ACT (see previous entry), Andy and I have seen about a play a month.

Noises Off! I adore this comedy. It's fantastic live, but the movie version's also good. Andy and I saw it with his brother Greg and Greg's girlfriend, Adrienne.

The Mystery of Irma Vep (yes, it's an anagram of vampire). This was another 2-person play that was absolutely fantastic. Andy and I saw it with Jesse and Beth Decker.

Just the two of us went to see Tea at Five, a one-woman play about Katherine Hepburn starring Kate Mulgrew (from Star Trek Voyager and more).

We'll be seeing more in the future with my recent purchase of season tickets at the Renton Civic Theater.

Holidays Gwendolyn-Style!

Celebrated "Easter." (Andy's family divvies up the holidays and we have Easter.) His mom and aunt were away at Mariners' spring training (both avid baseball fans), so we hosted the family holiday about a month after it's calendar date. Twelve people (Katie and Bill [Andy's folks], Al and Gail [Andy's uncle and aunt], Erin and Eric and their children Clair and Maddie [Andy's cousins], Greg [Andy's brother] and his girlfriend Adrienne, and Andy and myself. Twelve people. Salad, chicken parmesan, pasta, veggies, and homemade raspberry sorbet for dessert. It went well.

My birthday. Well, I was actually born on December 11th, but December's an awkward time to fit in another celebration. A few years ago, I decided to move my birthday by six months to June 11. This year, I decided to have some friends over to share readings of poetry, fiction, etc. We had nibbly food and lounged around reading everything from T.S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" to J.R.R. Tolkein to "Chinese Arithmetic" a New Yorker short story about a chronic erection to a rather funny real-life anecdote about a summer job at a sawdust factory. Extremely diverse selections. I had an absolutely wonderful time. In attendance were Katie, Bill, Greg, Chris Galvin, Jesse and Beth Decker, John Rateliff, Janice Coulter, Faith Price, Andy, and myself.

The Week in Review

Sat, 26 Feb 2005 00:31:26 GMT

Been a busy week, over all. Nearing the end of my project at work. Pretty pleased with how it's coming together, though I'll be working over the weekend to get up to my word count.
Wednesday night, Andy and I celebrated a late Valentine's Day. We went to an early dinner at the Union Square Grill. Fabulous food, rather expensive, but worth it.
After dinner, we went to the ACT Theatre in Seattle to see The Woman in Black. It's a play where two people play most of the parts. A mystery that managed to be quite spooky and very entertaining.

New Zealand Retrospective

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 00:35:37 GMT

Recently returned from two weeks in New Zealand. I've been playing with the electronic pictures we took, making collages with the PhotoMix program. I'll be giving photo albums of the trip to Katie and Bill (my parents-in-law) and Greg (my brother-in-law).
The three of them, Andy (my husband), and I took the trip together. I was the primary scheduler/events coordinator. Although I'm not overly fond of event planning for a group such as ours (diverse tastes and opinions, and a fair amount of doubt on my part that everyone involve is communicating their wants and needs openly and clearly), I'm sure I was much happier in charge of the process than as a bystander.
I'm very schedule-focused and I like to have things arranged and reserved well in advance. Others in the group are much more relaxed and catch-as-catch can. I find I'm not content with that. For example, I can't stand to be around smoke. Even if it's a restaurant/bar where the smoking is at least 10 feet away, I'll start to feel sick: nauseous and drained of energy. Finding a non-smoking restaurant for dinner isn't hard, but it does require some advanced thought.

Sherman Alexie

Wed, 08 Dec 2004 00:27:24 GMT

This week is an employee appreciation week at Wizards.
Sherman Alexie visited Wizards today as a contributor to the 30th Anniversary coffee table book. He's a charming speaker that related how he became interested in D&D while growing up poor on the Spokane Reservation. His tale was moving, amusing, and simultaneously depressing and uplifting.
When I heard him speak on NPR some months ago, I received the distinct impression that his engagement with the game was a fond memory of the past. I was pleased to learn that he is currently running a monthly D&D campaign.

New Job!

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:17:38 GMT

Starting next Monday, I'll be shifting from my post as Managing Editor of roleplaying games at Wizards of the Coast to full-time design! I am absolutely thrilled.
I've worked hard to get this opportunity. I took on a lot of freelance over the last couple of years and have striven to improve my design skills and knowledge of game mechanics. I'd work all day as an editor and go home and write.
Now, I'll get my writing/designing fix in my day job. I'll occasionally do freelance, but not for a while. My new boss, Chris Perkins, seems to understand my propensity for over-committing and has recommended/required that I not take freelance for at least six months. I think it's a good call.

Compliments at Work

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:13:32 GMT

Wearing kicky high heels today. They were a gift from Andy for my birthday. I had noticed them in a Victoria's Secret catalog and thought they looked sexy. A lovely gift. Wore them to work. Got a compliment. Feeling good.

Gettin' Back in the Groove

Tue, 11 May 2004 00:52:14 GMT

Working at finishing up an editing project at work. My computer's being rather a slow poke in printing, which gives me a welcome excuse to post on my livejournal.

So many different, random things have happened over the past few weeks.

One day, I drove up to the University of Washington. Unusually, I had only a $50.00 bill on me. The parking garage would not take it as payment for the $8.00 fee. I scrambled around my car and purse collecting as much spare change and fast-food dollar bills as possible. I was still $2.00 short. The driver of a car leaving the garage and getting a refund for a short stay saw my plight and volunteered the two bucks I was short. So incredibly sweet! I try hard to give strangers kindesses, but it always surprises and pleases me when I'm the recipient. Interestingly, the UW food court broke the $50 when I bought a $0.97 cup of tea. A very weird experience overall.

Pain

Tue, 30 Mar 2004 23:58:34 GMT

Pulled a muscle in my abdomen. Really laid me out for the last week. Hence, not much in the way of posts.

Friends

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 22:13:28 GMT

I've recently used my website and my blog as an excuse to email some old friends. It's difficult to keep in touch with folk who live elsewhere.

Two people with whom I've been able to maintain contact, mostly through email, are Rob Nicholls and Molly Brewsaugh. They're both very dear friends. I would that I were a better correspondant with them.

My Website

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:36:15 GMT

It's up at gwendolynkestrel.com. Yipee!

Monstrous Madness

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 19:15:31 GMT

Andy's running a fun voting bracket on D&D monsters: Monstrous Madness. Yesterday, the kobold made a good showing against the mind flayer, but lost to the illithid.

Website

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 19:11:14 GMT

Well, I worked on it last night and finished. Seemed fine, but today, I can't reference it. Very odd. Can't even get into my control panel or my webhost. What makes it very weird is that Andy uses the same webhost and his site is just fine.

GwendolynKestrel.Com

Mon, 15 Mar 2004 23:00:26 GMT

Did a lot of work on my website last night. The basic structure's mostly finished, and I've made great progress on the content of the pages.

I had a severe technical difficulty. Silly thing, really. I had installed the FrontPage extensions on my webhost and later had changed my password. This prevented me from posting my page. The Cedant (my webhost) customer service folk were very responsive and kind, but after trading a number of emails and trying different solutions, I had to solve it myself.

Here's to uninstalling and reinstalling!

Wednesday's Roleplaying Endeavor

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 01:24:04 GMT

I feel that the paper-based roleplaying went well. It accomplished what I wanted with the three different types of character sheets. The novice players were appropriately lost. The experienced players took their knowledge base for granted, assuming that everyone had their information. Led to a bit of awkwardness in play, but it bore out my thoughts on familiarity with semiotic domains.

Digital Literacies Characters for RPG

Wed, 10 Mar 2004 05:08:55 GMT

Just sent off the characters for the RPG to my group members.

Wheylan Tex Jones
Grizzled Gunfighter
Novice Player

Str13
Dex18
Con10
Int8
Wis8
Cha10

AttackDamage
Sht +53d6(Rfl)
Sht +52d6(Pstl)
Pch +21d4+1

Skills
Clb+1
Ntc-1
Rd+4
Spt+1

Equipment
Rifle, box of rifle ammunition, pistol, box of pistol ammunition.

---------------------
Bitty Bee
Local Piano Player
Intermediate Player

Strength8(Youre a little weak, not very physical.)
Dexterity15(Youre rather dexterous, good with your hands.)
Constitution10(Average health.)
Intelligence15(Youre very smart and good at figuring things out.)
Wisdom10(Your perception ability is average.)
Charisma15(People tend to like you.)

AttackDamage
Shoot +02d6
Punch +01d4-1

Skills
Climb-1
Knowledge (local)+4
Notice+0
Ride+2
Use Rope+4

Equipment
Pistol (6 shots). 10 additional bullets.

---------------------
Aces Malone
Traveling Gambler from Out of Town
Intermediate Player

Strength10(Youre average.)
Dexterity10(Youre average.)
Constitution10(Youre average.)
Intelligence10(Youre average.)
Wisdom10(Youre average.)
Charisma18(People really like you.)

AttackDamage
Shoot +02d6
Punch +01d4-1

Skills
Bluff+6
Climb+0
Knowledge (local)-4
Notice+0
Persuade+6
Ride+0

Equipment
Horse, trail rations, large amount of money.

---------------------
Hiccups
Town Drunk
Novice Player

Str10
Dex10
Con18
Int10
Wis10
Cha12

AttackDamage
Sht +02d6
Pch +01d4

Skills
Ntc+0
Rd+0

Equipment
Bottle of whiskey.

---------------------
Teach
Schoolteacher
Experienced Player
The higher the number, the better.

Ability Scores
These scores range from 3 (inept) 18 (incredibly good).
Strength10(Characters Strength scores determine both how accurately they punch as well as how hard they hit. A good Strength also helps with skills such as climbing a rope.)
Dexterity10(Characters Dexterity scores determine how accurately they shoot a gun as well as how good they are at manually-focused tasks like tying a rope.)
Constitution10(Characters Constitution scores show how hearty and healthy they are. Someone with a good Constitution score can take more punches before he or she drops.)
Intelligence10(This score determines how many skills you have.)
Wisdom10(A high Wisdom score means that youre not easily influenced and you make up your own mind.)
Charisma18(This shows how likeable you are, combining both prettiness and force of personality.)

AttackDamage
Shoot +02d6(Accurately shooting a gun depends largely on a characters Dexterity score. The type of gun determines the damage.)
Punch +01d4-1(Characters Strength scores determine both how accurately they punch as well as how hard they hit.)

Skills
All of the skills in this game can be used by anyone, even if theyre not listed on the characters sheet.
Bluff+4(This skill helps you lie or trick someone.)
Climb+0(Based on your Strength and skill.)
First Aid+0(Helps treat injuries. Based on Wisdom score.)
Knowledge (local)+0(How well you know the people and places nearby.)
Notice+0(A bad score here might indicate youre deaf or oblivious. A good score shows you hear well.)
Persuade+4(This skill aids interaction when youre being tactful and generally honest.)
Ride+0(Dexterity-based skill. Shows how well you ride horses.)

Equipment
Chalk, paper, ink, pen.

---------------------
Doc Smith
Doctor
Novice Player

Str10
Dex10
Con10
Int10
Wis18
Cha12

AttackDamage
Sht +01d4
Pch +01d4

Skills
FA+10
Ntc+4
Rd+0

Equipment
Medical bag, derringer pistol (2 shots).

---------------------
Fists Sawyer
Local Saloons Bouncer
Intermediate Player

Strength18(Youre very physical.)
Dexterity10(Youve an average score.)
Constitution14(Good health.)
Intelligence10(Youre not smart, but also not dumb.)
Wisdom10(Your perception ability is average.)
Charisma10(Some people like you. Some dont. You really dont care.)

AttackDamage
Shoot +12d6
Punch +51d4+4

Skills
Climb+6
Knowledge (local)+1
Notice+0
Ride+0

Equipment
None.

---------------------
Morning Osprey
Native American Guide
Experienced Player
The higher the number, the better.

Ability Scores
These scores range from 3 (inept) 18 (incredibly good).
Strength12(Characters Strength scores determine both how accurately they punch as well as how hard they hit. A good Strength also helps with skills such as climbing a rope.)
Dexterity12(Characters Dexterity scores determine how accurately they shoot a gun as well as how good they are at manually-focused tasks like tying a rope.)
Constitution12(Characters Constitution scores show how hearty and healthy they are. Someone with a good Constitution score can take more punches before he or she drops.)
Intelligence10(This score determines how many skills you have.)
Wisdom14(A high Wisdom score means that youre not easily influenced and you make up your own mind.)
Charisma10(This shows how likeable you are, combining both prettiness and force of personality.)

AttackDamage
Shoot +33d6(Accurately shooting a gun depends largely on a characters Dexterity score. The type of gun determines the damage.)
Punch +21d4(Characters Strength scores determine both how accurately they punch as well as how hard they hit.)

Skills
All of the skills in this game can be used by anyone, even if theyre not listed on the characters sheet.
Bluff+0(This skill helps you lie or trick someone.)
Climb+1(Based on your Strength and skill.)
First Aid+2(Helps treat injuries. Based on Wisdom score.)
Knowledge (local)+0(How well you know the people and places nearby.)
Notice+2(A bad score here might indicate youre deaf or oblivious. A good score shows you hear well.)
Persuade+0(This skill aids interaction when youre being tactful and generally honest.)
Ride+10(Dexterity-based skill. Shows how well you ride horses.)

Equipment
Rifle, box of ammunition, horse, rope, trail rations.

---------------------
Haws (Horse)
Cow Hand
Novice Player

Str15
Dex15
Con15
Int10
Wis8
Cha8

AttackDamage
Sht +32d6
Pch +31d4

Skills
Rd+10

Equipment
Horse, pistol (6 shots).

Introduction to Roleplaying Games

Tue, 09 Mar 2004 21:59:07 GMT

Working with my Digital Literacies teammates to get an Introduction to Roleplaying Games as part of our presentation. Laurie came up with a lovely, but I fear too complicated, quest.

Here's the bulk of my reply to her.

I've run some introductory games before and here's some things I learned:

1) Make it easier to relate to, while still being "not yourself." Settings like the Old West or the Roaring Twenties are familiar enough to a general audience. Fantasy is, honestly, a bit hard to adapt to unless you're a fan. Shouldn't be just present day, though. That limits options and blurs what's okay for you to do and what's okay for your character to do.

2) Simpler is better. It will take a group much longer to accomplish a task than you would think.

3) Start with some action

4) Should end with a rousing good fight or the clear satisfaction that they've finished whatever the task is.

After thinking last night and talking with someone here who does demos and reading over your concepts. Here's what I suggest

Old West setting. The place/time and character types are pretty easy to understand. Most people will get "You're a grizzled old gunfighter" better than "You're a dwarf monk."

Four encounters.

Encounter 1: It's mid-day, a woman comes into town, yelling and screaming that her son's fallen down an old mine shaft. She'll hurriedly give them the details. The PCs might stop and get some equipment in town (the General Store will be happy to loan anything to help the child) or the PCs may head directly off to the site of the accident.

Encounter 2 (I adapted your bridge idea, putting a time stress on it so they'll have to make decisions quickly): Dealing with the mine shaft. Make it a wooded area about a 1/2 mile out of town. The child is hurt and unconscious at the bottom. We should reward creativity or preparation here.

Encounter 3: After rescuing the child, the PCs find a chest of gold. A good Knowledge check or asking around enough will reveal that it's from a bank robbery that happened in a nearby town a couple of weeks ago. What the PCs do with the money will be up to them. Return it for a small reward and the glory, keep it all?

Encounter 4: A) If the PCs have thought about the fact that the money was only meant to be hidden there temporarily, they could set up an ambush.
B) If no ambush, the bad, bankrobbing gang comes riding into town, shooting it up. It's up to the PCs to combat them. (We roll die for the bad guys.)

Here's a Start on Characters (omitting gender, but most will adopt the stereotypical/historical, I bet). I'd like to have 9 which will give us a spare. I don't think we should have characters ourselves (we'll be all the other townsfolk and bad guys with whom they interact).

Grizzled old gunfighter (focus: gun combat)
Bar's piano player (focus: people interactions and local Knowledge)
Traveling gambler on way to poker tournament (focus: people interactions and Dexterity-based skills)
Bouncer at the bar (focus: strength)
Town Drunk
Doctor
Cow Hand
Native American Guide
Schoolmarm

The Physical and the Mental

Sun, 07 Mar 2004 03:36:32 GMT

Been having a good day. Did some writing, got up and worked around the house for a little while. Felt good to be moving around, also rewarding to see the house improve. Might even get down to the bottom of the laundry pile!

Getting some good ideas on my group's presentation for the Digital Literacies class. Bouncing around thoughts with Mark and Laurie (my teammates).

Now, I'm back on the computer, focusing on writing adventures. Currently working with a 1930's Chicago setting.

Deadlines Loom

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 22:40:05 GMT

Finishing up my current project at work. I always dread running a spellchecker for an FR project. Very slow and time consuming.

Coming up on the presentation for my Digital Literacies class. I'm one of three folk fascinated by gaming. We've been thinking hard about how to incorporate a game into our offering next week. Ties in well with the issues of identity that's been part of the course.

My freelance deadline's a large, looming figure, too.

Much to do this weekend.

Fighting a cold or some other malaise. Been very tired and groggy lately. Hard to get things done in the evenings.

Sleepy

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 01:47:29 GMT

Can't seem to wake up today.

Identities

Tue, 02 Mar 2004 00:51:12 GMT

Digital Literacies
I'm taking a class on Digital Literacies at the University of Washington. It has really been making me think hard about issues of literacy and also of identity. For my final project, I'll be creating my own website. I want it to be a general, all-purpose site that reflects my diverse interests/identities. There are too many, though. Even just choosing primary identities, I have about a 1/2 dozen roles.

Games
RPG Designer
RPG Editor
RPG Player
Boardgamer
Computer Gamer

Academia
Student at University of Washington
Teacher at University of Phoenix

Personal Life
Wife
Cat companion (can't really say "owner")
Traveler (In November, I'm going to New Zealand for the first time. Planning, preparation, and research will be a significant portion of my life until then.)
Avid reader

So many aspects to each of the identities I've listed, too!