Weekend warriors, Spring 2012 edition

Banner for martial arts classes near Boston, Massachusetts — Martial arts for all ages

On Sunday, 25 March 2012, Janice and I attended an open house at Guard Up! in Burlington, Massachusetts. The staff was friendly and helpful, and we enjoyed the martial arts demonstrations.

The Nerf battles, role-playing, and stage combat were popular among youngsters, so I talked to an instructor about European historical combat training. I’ve been interested in swordplay for years and own several blades and wooden practice weapons, but I’m not especially familiar with the German longsword, short sword and buckler, or other fighting styles.

The kendo demonstration was impressive, but that Japanese form would probably require more energy and discipline than I would enjoy. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fencing. I donned some protective gear and learned the most basic moves. I managed to work up a sweat, and I won in my sparring matches, albeit against an instructor who was going easy on me. The more formal classes have clear benchmarks on individual progress.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how interested I am in long-term competition. All the typical restraints or excuses apply — I’m starting in middle age, am out of shape, and am concerned about the time and expense. I also wonder how much contact there is in the historical weapons classes. I dabbled in the Society for Creative Anachronism back in college, but found myself a better archer than duelist.

I plan to attend another free session to try to decide. Both the historical weapons and fencing classes are on Wednesday nights.

Relocation reflections

Eastern Massachusetts — Boston's suburbs

Yesterday, Janice and I picked up the keys to our new apartment. The previous evening, more boxes were delivered for our move, and we enjoyed a Valentine’s Day dinner at Acropolis, our favorite Greek restaurant in Needham, Mass.

As we continue packing and trying to sell excess items — with breaks for the annual Westminster dog show — here’s a quick look back at the places I’ve lived.

Childhood in New York City

–1968 to 1970: Lower West Side of Manhattan

–1970 to 1978: Kingsbridge Heights, the Bronx

I have hazy but fond memories of growing up in New York. The cosmopolitan mix of cultures and cuisines, including immigrants like my parents, made me who I am. I also recall the eventual spread of urban blight as pleasant parks filled with refuse and noisy gangs, especially around the summer of 1977.

Adolescence in Westchester County

–1978 to 1986: Dunwoodie, Yonkers; Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains

Although my brother spent more of his formative years here than I did, I recall hours spent biking around, hanging out with other kids on Westerly Street, and discovering my lifelong hobbies with high school friends. Most of the people I knew then were of Irish, Italian, or Central European descent. My “Vanished Lands” fantasy campaign setting and “Vortex” space opera date back to this period.

College in Upstate New York, post-grad year back downstate

–1986 to 1990: State University of New York at Binghamton

–1990 to 1991: NYPIRG at Queens College-CUNY; Yonkers

Not only did I meet Janice and other friends during this exciting period, but my most rewarding (if least paying) job was teaching urban studies as a community organizer in Flushing. I recall walking through rain, my then-lightning metabolism helping digest dining hall fare, and late-night conversations about life, the universe, and everything.

Grad school, first adult jobs, and marriage around Washington, D.C.

–1991 to 1992: Arlington, Virginia; the George Washington University

–1992 to 1999: Park Towers in Falls Church, Virginia; BNA

The Clinton years were prosperous. After getting my master’s in international affairs, I spent a few years working my way up from being a file clerk to a copy editor. Our apartment was small, but we were within walking distance of restaurants, Metro rail, and comic book and game shops. Several college friends and my family also moved south.

Boston, Massachusetts

–1999 to 2000: Somerville

–2000 to 2003: Windsor Gardens, Norwood; CW/IDG

–2003 to 2012: Bobsled Drive and Dale Street, Needham Heights

–2012: Windsor Village, Waltham; TT

Janice and I first visited Boston during our honeymoon in November 1995. We liked the compact, historic neighborhoods and then-plentiful bookshops, and the information technology boom later provided both of us jobs. While I’ve gone through career and health ups and downs since then, we like living back in the U.S. Northeast, and we hope to continue exploring New England!

This site is -redacted-

More reactions to D&D5e

The Known World of early D&D — Mystara, an early D&D world

As I noted yesterday, the big news in fantasy role-playing was the announcement of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and even early playtesting. I hope that gaming can still thrive, albeit with fewer fans than in the 1980s or early 2000s. Technology, rules systems, and playing styles have evolved, and I’ve enjoyed the social side of the hobby for almost 30 years.

My groups have been speculating about D&D5e for a few months now, and initial reactions among them and various bloggers were wary. Some people, who like D&D3.x and Pathfinder, hope that Wizards of the Coast can return to something like the D20 Open Game License rather than D&D4e’s more restrictive Game System License. We debated whether WotC should try to widen its audience and pursue younger gamers or whether it needs to win back lapsed role-players and those who stuck with earlier editions. It should try to do both as the industry leader.

Others, who like how D&D4e tried to be more balanced and streamlined, hope for a more modular approach to the complexity level of the rules as characters and monsters advance. I’d like D&D5e to offer more support for role-playing, world-building, and pickup and one-shot games. German designers and Lego have been successful with board games that are potential entry points into the hobby. Dungeons that you can drop a random group of players and characters into, evocative settings, and the potential for long-term story and character development are all important.

I think an introductory D&D5e boxed set is likely, with more focus on pregenerated elements and online character management. Tactical combat will continue to be important, but I think the “fantasy punk” flavor will be dialed back in an attempt to win back some people alienated by the massively multiplayer online (MMO) style of D&D4e. As I said yesterday, WotC will still need to prove that D&D5e is better than already available prior editions and competitors such as Pathfinder.

In addition to the rivalry among fans of D&D4e vs. those of Pathfinder, I’m also still following the development and debates around rules-light and retro-clone (or “old–school Renaissance“) games. I may not have minded memorizing the AD&D1 Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide about 25 years ago, but I now want to spend less time worrying about rules and be able to run fun games easily. For example, based on the success of the “Broken Chains” scenario during Byron’s visit, some of us are considering using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre instead of Pathfinder for telecom fantasy games.

Here comes D&D5e — my initial reaction

D&D Basic Set module — My first D&D adventure

I’ve been working on a longer blog post about my recent and upcoming games, but Wizards of the Coast has formally announced that Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition is in the works.

For the past 30 years, I’ve been an early adopter of new editions of the most popular tabletop role-playing game, and I’m definitely curious about the direction that Hasbro/WotC will take.

On the other hand, I’m fine with running and playing other fantasy rules systems, including Pathfinder and FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre, so D&D5e will have to offer a significantly different experience (and better for me) to win gamers like me back.