Role-Playing Games - My Ramblings On
Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Orcs, Goblins, Dragons, and Halflings. Vampires, Werewolves, Changelings, Hunters, Prometheans, and Psychics. Clerics, Warriors, Wizards, and Rogues. Honorable, hammer of the god paladins and necromancers who worship the dark energies they try and control. Heroic figures and shady villians. They are all extensions of who we are, of who we wish to be.
Have you ever noticed that most people when playing Dungeons & Dragons, The Pahtfinder Roleplaying Game, World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, Dark Heresy, etc., whatever it may be; always seem to take on a similar role with all of their characters? Some play the self-sacrificing hero, the back-stabbing douchebag, the wise spellweaver, the uncaring brute, or …
Vacant Position on Board of Directors
One of our Founding Five and a member of the Board of Directors, mister Nick Henley has decided to step down in order to continue his pursuits in his field, and to prepare for a move. The board was sad to see Nick leave, but we are proud of him and wish him luck in all his endeavors. But, we must push forward and fill his chair per our Bylaws, and because his leaving has left us 12 feet shorter. Seriously, Nick is tall. Our average board height is in the negatives now. This must be fixed!
So, we are seeking applicants to fill the vacant position. Any member of O.G.R.E.s, over the age of 18 (due to legalities), may seek the spot. The position would be interim until the next scheduled election in 2012 ends and new board members are elected. Th…
Necronomicon
Necronomicon 2011
Why have you left me? I tried to modify the 4-2-1 con rule specifically to cram as much into the weekend as possible and still, you went by so fast. I can't believe I have to wait another year for your wonderous presence. For those interested, my house rule is: at least 4 Red Bulls, 2 bags of Skittles, and 1 bottle of Febreeze per convention day. I don't recommend this variant for n00bs. Also, warn those around you that you may sound like a dolphin on helium by the end of the convention.
As always, I had a fantastic weekend, met lots of "interesting" people, had many conversations that pushed my intellectual boundaries (and that's saying something), and played lots and lots of games. Also got to push my new group SHAG , hop…
First meeting of Spring Hill Area Gamers (SHAG) played Revolution by Steve Jackson Games after warming up with Castle Panic by Fireside Games. 10/2011
Spring Hill Area Gamers (SHAG)'s first meeting included playing Revolution by Steve Jackson Games (with the Palace expansion). Earlier in the evening we warmed up with Castle Panic by Fireside Games.
We meet the first and third Wednesday at the Panera on 50 in Brooksville. Check meetup.com for details.
Announcements
We've got numerous announcements to make, and I don't even know where to begin!
- 1 The Oggies
- 2 Rank Restructuring
- 3 Aggressive Expansion
- 4 Seeking Members with Artistic Talent
- 5 Leaving Wikia
This is less of an announcement, and more of a general reminder that The Oggies are still ongoing. Vote here at The Oggies/2011 (direct link: Vote.OgreLair.org). Members may actually email their votes in to the Director of Communications for full credit (and vote online too!), but even non-members are encouraged to vote in the online polls.
We've been discussing our basic Ranks, and brainstorming a way to make them more themed and less militant. Though we may still use the same insignia, and we have no set plans to change the number of ranks, we may begin renaming …
Hurricon Wrapup
We had a great time at Hurricon 2011 in Orlando. We ran RPGs for 45 players, and many more played tabletop minatures, board games and many other games. As far as RPG, we had five tables in a room, filled them all for some slots, but always had three tables going. I had a load of walk in players, mostly for Pathfinder Society.
We ran the interactive for Living Forgotten Realms on Sunday, a ten hour games. We also ran multiple sessions of Paizo's new Pathfinder Introductory module. There was some discussion about OGRE, and how to coordinate better.
Looking forward to Gatorcon 23 OCT, Megacon 16 FEB 2012, and Recon 26th APR 2012.
See you there.
Tuesday Truths: The female Xbox is the one with Fable in it.
Hello, Big Daddys and Little Sisters!! Welcome to Tuesday Truths, my name is Lacey, the mystical blue fairy to your heroic adventurer. LISTEN!! This week's subject of controversy is the idea that, from one console to another, certain demographics may be lost or gained. Also, I'd like to give a bit of a look at video gaming from the perspective of a casual gamer; I.E. the ones who haven't gone 4 days with a catheter in for the release of a new game.
The realization came to me this last New Years Eve: I was having a dorky-fun night of rhythm games, fighting games, and karaoke with my adult friends, and few teenagers for good measure. Every console in our house has its own basis for being popular, and not all of them appeal to everyone. After…
Tuesday Truths: Unconventional Convention Gaming
Hi everybody! I'm Lacey, and this is Tuesday Truths, where i point and laugh at stereotypical gamers so you don't have to lift your precious controller-conditioned hands. Now that convention season is over for a couple months, i've decided to take a look at the closest thing you'll ever get to a one night stand (and being cool,) convention roleplaying. No, i'm not talking about pretending that Princess Peach over there is actually a girl... i mean one-shot games, pre-gen characters, and a chance to walk away with a bit of swag (and maybe a reputation point or two.)
Bear with me now, my convention experience is relegated to small local cons, like OMGcon, Paducah's own anime and gaming convention, and Little Egypt Wars, Carbondale's tabletop…
Another College Gaming-related Survey
Hello everyone. A few months back I linked to a survey study being conducted on the social benefits of tabletop role-playing games by a student at Middle Tennessee State University. Through much promotion, or as the internet says it - whoring, we drummed up a great deal of participation for them. That did not go unnoticed, and I was recently contacted by another student doing a similar study for the players of MMOs: Massively Multiplayer Online games. Many of us tabletop gamers also play the occasional MMO (the Quilt City Ogres even have their own guild in World of Warcraft), so if you do or have in the past - please take a moment and take the survey.
The survey can be found online here.
16:01, October 5, 2010 (UTC)
Major changes to our wiki coming
Hey everyone. You may have noticed that we recently did a major custom overhaul of the OgreLair.org wiki. Well, it seems it was for nothing, sadly.
Coming soon, every wiki on wikia servers will be changing over to a new look. A great deal of information can be seen on Wikia's Community Central portal. Some users may even be seeing it here on our site if they aren't logged in. When we say its a major overhaul, we mean it. We're going from this....
...to this (different wikia wiki used for example)...
Actually, the above example is a best-case changeover. Immediately after the hit, for a few days until all the coding gets fixed and we get our current theme moved over, its going to look extremely weird.
The menu on the left will soon be see…
Everything I Know About Warhammer 40K, I learned on Uncyclopedia.
Warning: This blog is made to be a parody, and should not be taken seriously in the least.
So there i was, at Egypt Wars waiting for the Hobomancer game to start. I planned to watch dorkness unfold, hoping to capture some moments of gamers being atypical. Weaving my way through the table-sized dioramas made of foam and particle board, i knew i was about to witness something almost unknown to the outside world, and foreign to even the most seasoned tabletop gamers. The banner on the most official-looking table said Rogue Trader, and i knew it had to be Warhammer.
Now, i'm about the furthest thing from an expert in this field, and right about now, i'm relying only on observation and a 12 on a Knowledge (Obscure Gaming Cults) roll...
Warhammer i…
Camp Oggie: Gamer Torture Session?
Hey Boy Scouts and City Slickers!! Welcome to Tuesday Truths, i'm Lacey, your humble guide to the stereotypes and common misconceptions that gamers face. This week, i'm taking a look at the idea that gamers and their ilk are sissies when it comes to the great outdoors. The idea that gamers never leave the house is a common stereotype, added to the fact that we envision video and online gamers specifically as a pale, matrix-jacked version of their former selves. Parents complain that it's hard to get kids outside these days, due to the proliferation of video-related entertainment, and general malignant laziness. But is it really true that technology has caused us to part from our hunter-gatherer roots to the point that we are unequipped to …
Give A Little!!
Hey Ogres!! Long time no see! I'm back from a short hiatus with some interesting ideas about taking back the title of gamer, and making it a good thing. We all know that groups of all kinds band together in the name of gaming, and accomplish amazing things, but too many of those accomplishments are in the roleplaying arena. We stand at a period in history in which we all have the potential to help out our fellow humans, across the globe, but we are often at a loss for how to do it. Sending money is helpful, but not very gratifying for most, and some of us only have the luxury of time and effort, not cash. Sometimes, it's just a matter of not knowing HOW to help out.
Well, a group of gamers out of Iowa created Gamers for Humanity, a non-prof…
Tuesday Truths: Reviewing The Gladiator... not that one.
Hey there, comrades and defectors! I'm Lacey, and this is Tuesday Truths, where we play the meddling kid to popular culture's villainous views on gaming. This week's blog will be looking at an amazing novel by author Harry Turtledove,famous for his plethora of alternate history stories.The The Gladiator was written for young adults, but carries a heavy gaming theme along with the political what-ifs of the Crosstime Traffic novels. Like many of Turtledove's alternate histories, The Gladiator takes a look at the possibility of a world that pivots on a single event in history, such as the Confederates winning the Civil War, or the Axis of Evil winning WWII. The timeline of the novel revolves around the United States of America "losing" the Co…
August Annual Awards Drive
As we approach August, and afterwards the last few months of the year and OgreCon, we prepare for the handing out of our Annual Awards. The Awards program exists to spotlight our great members. Anyways, I just wanted to remind everyone that you need to get your awards in for the annual awards in time for us to be able to count them before OgreCon - where they're officially presented. Since OgreCon is planned for September of this year, the end of August is the cut off date for Annual Awards. This means you can consider work or contributions by a member since August of 2009 to count towards the awards.
You can nominate by contacting me via email integrated awards nomination forum located here.
You can see all of our awards by clicking th…
Tuesday Truths: The Duct Tape Means It's Masterwork.
Hey there, anachronists and bystanders! I'm your loyal mythbuster, Lacey, and this is Tuesday Truths. This week, we will be considering Dungeons and Dragons' strange younger cousin, Live-Action Roleplay: LARP, for short. You know the guy: never seems to be out of character, comes to games dressed in a pointy hat? Or maybe he's the one who attends too many Ren Fairs, or Civil War Reenactments. Either way, LARP never seems quite accepted among other gamers. In a world of dorkiness, it hardly seems possible (to the average person) that there are games that have a worse reputation than D&D; and that the very mention turns your average dork into a snobby, squeamish teenage girl.
First of all, it's called live-action because you get up and act ou…
Tuesday Truths: People listen to Jack Chick?!!
Hey there, samaritans and exclusionists! Welcome to Tuesday Truths, i'm Lacey and i'll be guiding you down this wacky rollercoaster ride for your soul, MWAH HA HA HA!!! I mean, today we're going to take a look at the Myth that was perpetuated almost solely by one man, Jack (MF) Chick. It goes a bit like this: If you play D&D, not only could you go to hell for playing with 'dark magic,' but you might also be so distraught over the loss of your character that you commit suicide.
The well-known 'Chick Tract' called Dark Dungeons. tells the story of a young cleric named Debbie, in a strangely female dominant Dark Dungeons game. (One might begin to think, after reading some of his writing, that Jack Chick is sorta sexist.) The tract starts out …
The Ogswald Academy
Coming soon to OgreLair.org members will be able to partake in the Ogswald Academy, named after our mascot Oggie the Ogre. This academy, at present, has two separate institutes: The Oggie Institute which has many courses on how O.G.R.E.s operates and functions, as well as Officer and Policy courses; and the Institute of Gaming, which will feature lots of fun informative courses on the history of gaming, different elements from popular games, and the like.
So far, thanks to a few behind-the-scenes Ogres, we've got a great start on courses and can't wait to see yet another benefit of membership take off. Fun and educational, the Ogswald Academy will be yet another tool for our members to use as they wish.
If you think you've got a great idea for…
Operation OMG Con. Success!
Bonjour, OGREs!
Davo here, back in action, after a few weeks hiatus. This will be another brief update, and really unrelated to my position on the Board.
Mostly I just wanted to thank everyone who came out to OMG Con this year and participated in our various activities! Everything from our point of view was a great, great success and we are super glad. All OGRE hosted games were filled to capacity with some overflow, honestly, and every person who played seemed to be thrilled at the outcomes!
I, myself, played a new game this weekend, of which I am the master. If you wish to disagree or attempt to disprove this statement, I shall instruct you gladly.
What game, you might ask? Munchkin Cthlulhu.
As a second, more related order of business,…
Tuesday Truths: Gaming in Media.
Hey Boffers and Bikini Babes! Welcome to Tuesday Truths: investigating and dispelling gamer myths faster than a wizard with a fireball fetish loses an eyebrow. Forgive my tardiness, last week's blog was lost to a WMD (wikia maintenence debacle.) I shall trudge on, dear readers, as this s a subject near and dear to my heart: Gaming, and gamers, as presented in the movies, television, and webshows.
Or, as it should be called, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
First item in question: The Gamers: Dorkness Rising All Lodge wants is to finish and submit his adventure to be published, but first his party has to survive to the end of the story. The big snag here is that his group is lacking a centering force, and a valiant NPC (non-player character) …
Dungeons & Dads: Raising Tabletoppers in a Halo world
Kids like shiny. It doesn't matter exactly what it is - loud colors, interactive television shows, or the classic car key - kids love shiny. So, how can we compete and bring kids up to appreciate (and hopefully love) tabletop games when we have a world of visually stimulating competition on the console and computer markets?
The answer, is simply, by numbers. The allure (or at least one of the many) of tabletop gaming is that you can interact in-person with other gamers and most-likely like-minded individuals, resulting in friendship and good times. So, instead of trying to teach your toddler the ins and outs of systems, the math of character creation, or the appreciation of a paper book for gaming, just include them in your circle of gamin…
Tuesday Truths: The Elusive Girl Gamer
Welcome, Ogres and Gents, to Tuesday Truths. This week i'll be talking about the many myths related to girls in gaming. This one hits close to my heart, as i am of the female anatomy, despite the fact that there are no women on the internet (thanks to 4chan for ruining the web for us.) Obviously, female gamers exist. And, considering that i still get those strange looks (i'm weird, but not that weird,) when walking into comic stores, the common stereotype of gamers being uncomfortable around women is based in a tiny bit of fact. Pair this with the fact that there are still people in the world who don't consider women equal to men, and you get one defensive dice-slinging girl at times.
Most people have heard or experienced part of this stere…
Ask a Dungeon Master: Welcome!
Welcome to the first edition of Ask a DM, or "Coming In On A Wing and a (celestial black)Bear". I will, no doubt with some help from the occasional guest or even readers, be answering frequently asked, or even very specific, questions about running, hosting, and generally being a part of a tabletop game. I will be posting these lovely blogs on mondays, but not necessarily every monday. I'm guessing probably twice a month for now... at least until there's a high demand for more.
What this blog is:
- a place to visit for assistance on gaming matters.
- me offering my opinions on such things in an attempt to resolve issues that arise when gaming.
- a way for EVERYBODY, not just me, to discuss the questions asked. There is rarely a single right answer. I…
Middle Tennessee State University Gaming Survey
A student at MTSU is currently conducting a survey among both tabletop gamers and console/computer gamers. The goal is to highlight and quantify the benefits of social interaction and development that can come from gaming, especially traditional tabletop or LARPing style gaming that has a physical aspect. We're making a call to see if you could please take the time to do the survey that fits you best (if you're more of a tabletop or LARP gamer, then only fill out that survey, and if you're more of a console or computer gamer, then only fill out that survey). The more data they have to work with, the more precise they'll be able to be. Positive gaming studies are a rare and great item, so please - please - take the few seconds to take th…
Dungeons & Dads: An Introduction
Hello all. As you may have recently noticed, we're adding new weekly Officer Blogs by some of the Board of Directors here on OgreLair.org. As the only parent and only married individual serving on our board, welcome to my family-themed blog: Dungeons & Dads.
Before I begin next week with the feature, which will be posted every wednesday afternoon, I suppose it is only proper to introduce myself and my family to you. My name is Hooper and I've been married to my wife Aimee for just over a year. I have a daughter from a previous relationship that predominately stays with us instead of her birth mother. Her name is Katherine Renee Hooper, and she'll be three years old here in late July. My wife and I welcomed our son, William James Riley…
Tuesday's Truth: An Introduction.
Hey gamers and Ogres. I'm Lacey, and this is Tuesday's Truth. This blog is intended to cover the reality of some of the better-known myths in dorkdom, gaming, and related issues. We've all heard the popular generalizations about gamers: they're guys with no social skills who live in their parents basements, girls don't play games, D&D is related to occult activities. Most of them are outrageous enough that the average person can take it with a grain of salt, but some have led to more serious actions bordering on discrimination, violence and lawsuits. I intend to dig up the roots of these myths and expose the truth to gamers and curious parties alike.
I'd like, if i may, to take you on a journey... lol. (Dork reference) In order for this blo…
A Short Introduction
Hey guys!
Its Davo here, your new OGRE Editor-in-Chief, just checking in.
We've got a lot of upcoming changes here around the OGRE Lair, so keep an eye out for what is to come!
As a quick introduction, I suppose, I shall let everyone know that my intention as Editor is to, first and foremost, make sure all the current content available is grammatically and typographically accurate, to the best of my ability. Parallel to that in importance is making sure everything is well composed and a worthwhile read. I know from personal experience that great concepts can turn sour by poor content, and that is something we do not wish to fall victim to here.
As a second order of business, if any chapter or person associated with the OGREs has any fiction wr…
New Chapter Spotlight
As the Director of Communications I am lucky enough to get to speak with many new and potential members on a frequent basis. As these new chapters form and grow, our organization as a whole strengthens and becomes better. Today I'd like to highlight some of our new and upstart chapters:
The Friendly City Ogres are a chapter of the Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts operating out of the city of Athens in the eastern portion of Tennessee. The name is a reference to the city's famous nickname: the "Friendly City." They formed in early 2010, and have their very own members named Hooper (how can I not love that?).
The Sic City Ogres are a chapter of the Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts active in Harrisburg, Illinoi…
The ability to terrorize!
So I have officially realized that the best thing to do in any game is simply to annoy the enemy till he charges at you and then plant a real or metaphoric claymore. Let's say you annoy the crap out of another player in D&D with illusion spells. Then they run at you and they realize that the sound of the fire breathing dragon, was definitely not a Ghost Sound spell. Aside from this, Im also do it on COD:MW2. Running out and shooting down the hallway a couple times with a fully auto shotgun then running away while your friend plants a claymore is quite amusing. When those three terrorists flip around the corner and go BOOM! and your friend Austin yells, "Explosivo Boom Boom!" it is quite an entertaining occurence! Especially the smack talk …