Full time gaming
I stopped at Borders today to thumb through the new Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide - I haven’t received my copy yet - and I was thinking “I’ll need to retire if I want to use all the stuff in this book!”
In fact, there are a lot of great D&D and RPG books out there and it’s tough to find the time to read them and play - time is in high demand and short supply.
Who has the time to go from level 1 to 30?
Even if you play once a week it’s a long shot. People have school, jobs, they move, or they have kids, or they get bored.
But where there’s a will there’s a way so I decided to change my attitude…
How will I find the time to go from level 1 to 30?
Well, I’ll throw something out there:
If you and your D&D friends feel like taking some time off and come play D&D in Hawaii - I live on Kauai - I think I can get you from level 1 to level 30 in 10 days of intense gaming.
Mornings are for the beach. Afternoons and evenings are for gaming.
I’ll help you score cheap plane tickets. I’ll find you a place to stay for cheap. I’ll find some place to play. I’ll even be your Hawaii tour guide!
I know it sounds crazy but it would be a lot of fun, wouldn’t it?
Tell me what you think!
Leave a comment or shoot me an email (yax@dungeonmastering.com)
32 Comments
12:49 am on August 22nd, 2008
Any pinacaladas?
12:54 am on August 22nd, 2008
Mai Tai - that’s the drink over here.
3:48 am on August 22nd, 2008
You should do it annually and name it YaxCon!
Hawaii > Indiana.
5:34 am on August 22nd, 2008
1-30 in 10 days……sounds like a reality show.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=239202
Everyone there has been playing for 2 months and most of them are still at level 3…
5:38 am on August 22nd, 2008
Guy, now I cannot come, but if you do this thing next year, count me on for sure!
Really, I’m not kiddin’
Obviously if you don’t mind an Italian guy in your party… (wondering about language barrier, nor racism issue ^_^)
For me is ok any period of the year.
6:27 am on August 22nd, 2008
I’m on my way!
(I wish)
7:11 am on August 22nd, 2008
Man, I am so there! Just let me know when and where and I will be making reservations.
8:06 am on August 22nd, 2008
That would be awesome!!
8:31 am on August 22nd, 2008
Yax, I envy you; D&D and Hawaii too, what more could anyone ask? You need FANTASY when you live THERE?! Seriously, it sounds like a great offer, let’s face it after the drought I have had the last few years I would be happy with an invite to Blackpool, Lancs. for a game! (I live in Bolton!) For a game with a fascinating guy such as yourself I’d quite probably walk it! Unfortunately short of a real life Magic Carpet I doubt I can make it anytime soon! Gomez, don’t worry about the language, “An offer you can’t refuse” sounds just as good in Italian-flavoured Orcish, players can usually make sense of each other one way or another; I once played in “pidgin” German/English with my Grandsons, two of whom ARE German and were giggling with laughter when the Red Dragon spoke in “thunderous” and sulphur-smelling German - they were translating for the English two! There ARE no real swear words in German but it SOUNDS like you are cursing! And let’s face it, they make better beer…*nostalgic sigh*!
8:42 am on August 22nd, 2008
Yax I would LOVE to do that! (as would the rest of the Geeks in my group) sadly I lack the level of disposeable income for that amount of time off! *sniffle
9:37 am on August 22nd, 2008
A fortnight in Hawaii spent playing D&D? Oh what a glorious dream.
Sadly it’s probably going to have to remain just that for me. The missus would go spare! 0_0
10:45 am on August 22nd, 2008
What a great idea, but my wife and kids will never agree. Perhaps when I retire….
12:05 pm on August 22nd, 2008
In my group we play once a week, and I just started the habit of letting everyone level at the end of each session. Keeps the game moving without me feeling like I need to tally up XP all the time and keeps my players’ interest because they come back to something new each week. Heck, even at that pace it takes somewhere in the 7-8 months range , assuming we meet every single week without fail. Works out great.
12:14 pm on August 22nd, 2008
Fucking college…getting in the way of golden opportunities of draconic proportions since Socrates committed suicide…
12:14 pm on August 22nd, 2008
@Questing DM: The people whoe hâve player for 2 months and are still level 3 probably don’t have a goal of going to 30 in less than 2 weeks!
@Boyo: maybe I should make it official and make it YaxCon (or ExpyCon - which would be adequate because of all the XP being dished out)
12:14 pm on August 22nd, 2008
YaxCon. I’m so down.
12:53 pm on August 22nd, 2008
My mail server crashed last night. If you sent me an email I haven’t received it. Sorry
12:59 pm on August 22nd, 2008
I would but I don’t have any money. But one day I will try
4:29 pm on August 22nd, 2008
Chris, tell the missus she can play too if she wears a grass skirt! Aloha, *sigh*!
Ian
7:22 pm on August 22nd, 2008
That has got to be extensive gaming. If you go by the average of 10 encounters per level (I am calculating this as a maximum here), and each encounter for most of the games I have ever played in averages at 1 hour and 30 minutes, you are looking at 1.5 hours times 29 levels. This is 435 hours, or 18.125 days of nothing but encounters. That’s not even taking into account the necessary slimmed down story line. What are you going to do, throw them against double their level per encounter?
P.S. - If I could get away with it, I would still want to give it a try.
8:04 pm on August 22nd, 2008
Yeah. There’s no way the 10 encounters per level happens on 30 levels in 10 days.
I’m always torn between handing out XP and handing out levels. I don’t give XP anymore because it’s a hassle to calculate everything. I also think it’s nice to level up when it makes sense in the story.
Someone suggested by email (Donzito I believe) that players have to use all their powers at least once between levels and I like that.
8:06 pm on August 22nd, 2008
Oh and encounters can’t all last 90 minutes. Under 30 minutes should be the norm. I’m pretty sure I can nail that as a DM, especially playing with the same players 10 days in a row. By the end of the week encounters will just fly.
11:17 pm on August 22nd, 2008
Okay, averaging 30 minutes per encounter, that means you only need to spend 14 hours and 30 minutes a day for all ten days on encounters, plus the random story element. Add in the fact that you would level the players when it makes sense to, I will concede that you could indeed accomplish this mighty undertaking. Good luck!
6:59 pm on August 23rd, 2008
That sounds great, Yax! Count me in!! ExpyCon 2009!!
10:27 pm on August 23rd, 2008
just how cheap are we talking here? I’ve got the time and the inclination. If the price is right, i’ll make it there somehow (living in ireland and my passport has expired but i’ll find a way even if i have to fold up in my wife’s luggage!)
11:03 pm on August 23rd, 2008
I think I’ll need to come up with some tentative dates and break down the actual cost of accomodations, food, etc. then people can look up plane ticket prices from where they live and the “project” can move forward.
I got a lot of replies about this and I still think it’d a kickass project. More on this soon…
8:38 am on August 25th, 2008
Can we make it during the Northern Hemisphere Winter? I’d have a lot better luck convincing the wife and kids to spend the time and money to go to Hawaii when there is snow on the ground
8:32 am on August 30th, 2008
Hi, im new on d&d, but i love it…
im also the dm of mi friends (they havent play more than the first game in mi campaing) and we all wish to be there (in hawai) but we are yust finishing higschool and we cant go… but dud, your idea its the heaven, wish i was there…
8:45 pm on September 5th, 2008
Remember that not all encounters need to be combat!
2:20 pm on October 27th, 2008
Hey dudes Im still real keen for this - Count me in for a defo (thats one!) anyone else to raise the count?
Fazzir
10:10 pm on November 14th, 2008
My wife and I are actually MOVING to Kauai this december-ish because of her work. We found this page because we were woriedly checking to make sure there were going to be gamers there. We are *SO* there!
11:47 pm on November 14th, 2008
I’m still thinking about this. Usually when a project sticks around for a few months it means it will become reality at some point.