Dungeons and Dragons

Geez. Almost a year since my last post. Crazy how life just continues to happen, regardless of what you do.

But I wanted to blog about something that's been going on since last fall...

We bought a Playstation 5 last summer while we were in the States, and I dutifully packed it in my carryon to bring it home to Barbados. We bought it to replace the aging MacAir that we had been using for VPN access at home so we can watch US-based streaming services.

Side note: have you tried accessing Netflix when you are outside of the US? Very interesting and an entirely different line-up of shows and movies depending on where you are. But I digress...

So, a neat feature about the Playstation 5, is it has its own VPN. And it works most of the time. So that's great. The first game we bought was Harry Potter. We each had our own character and if one of us had progressed further than the other, we would help them with the puzzles and stuff. It was fun.

But then Baulder's Gate 3 dropped for the PS5, and I was keen to buy it, based on all the reviews. Plus, it was D&D-based, which is something I had not played since my undergrad days and, quite frankly, missed. Not just nostalgic, you know? But something that was a big part of my adult formative years. Plus, since it was set in Forgotten Realms, I know all the lore and background -- having plowed through all the FR books back in the 1990s -- as well as playing a MUD (look it up, younger peeps!) that was based on FR.

In short, I missed playing D&D over the years, but now had a chance to play.

Did I mention BG3 is co-op? No? Well...it is. Co-op means at least two people can play at the same time. In BG3's case, it's not just multi-player over the internet, but also "local co-op" -- so you can play next to each other the couch ("couch co-op") as well. My wife, an avid gamer and board/table top game player, had never played D&D. It was fun to walk her through stats and classes (and subclasses!). Once she had the basics figured out, and how D&D rules worked, we played a campaign through to the end. And it was so fun!

Then my sister-in-law -- who had no D&D experience at all -- bought it and played through. She didn't get it at first, and was kind of bored? I guess. She could have gave the speed runners some good game, she finished it so quick. But she missed a lot of the nuance and storyline. She had a hard time understanding why we were raving about it. So, after spending a week with us, and my wife showing her the ropes, she got really, really into it. And now they have campaigns of their own, even though we live 4000 miles away. So fun. Thanks, D&D and Larian Studios!

I have to say, BG3 is so similar to tabletop D&D, including the first step: character creation. My wife and I spent at least an hour creating our characters, including the backstories. "Although raised in a family of wizards, my dwarf never got the magical abilities, so she focused that disappointment and anger into becoming a badass fighter," my wife told me as we were exploring one of our first regions.

Long story short, we are enjoying the co-op gameplaying experience -- both couch and over the Internet. And the D&D style of BG3. My wife is also having fun trying out new characters for each campaign, including the campaigns with her sister, and my sister-in-law and her husband also have campaigns they run solo and together.

It's been really great! Plus, it's brought D&D back into my life. The combinations are endless in BG3. Hats off to Larian Studios!

One more thing: BG3 is quite the programming feat...there are not only race- and class-dependent abilities, but race- and class-dependent conversations. One misspoken response can lead to a devastating battle or a peaceful solution. The gameplay and interaction seems endless. We'll be playing it for years, most likely.

At least until something else comes along to our liking.

Popular posts from this blog

Malls of West Amman

Image
Probably my favorite mall feature: The animatronic T-Rex in Galleria Mall at  Christmastime. Notice Santa with pterodactyls. A bustling metropolitan area with more than 4 million people, Amman has lots of things to keep a Travelist busy. There are ancient ruins, museums, Arab souks, architecture, restaurants of all kinds (and price-ranges)...and the list continues. There are also no fewer than a dozen universities scattered throughout the city limits. And Amman keeps expanding. The city changes so fast that Google Maps can’t keep up with it. For example, where last month there was no road, unexpectedly there is one now, or where there were just a few pilings for a bridge last month, suddenly there is a new bridge. Their construction crews certainly work fast here! For some reason, malls have always fascinated me. It may be that I grew up without them, only visiting them around Christmastime with my parents until I was in college and lived in “The City”. Or it may be the p
Read more

...The Dead Sea Highway, Resorts, and Religion...

Image
One of the many ventifacts along the Dead See Highway. They are everywhere. Just take a look below at the short video clip... After a relaxing breakfast, we headed for the Dead Sea via the Wadi Araba. This route follows the “Dead Sea Highway”, which stretches from Aqaba in the south to almost the northern tip of Jordan. It also nearly-parallels the Jordanian-Israeli border. Heading out from Aqaba, the highway is pretty desolate for the first 150km or so. But, as a Geographer, there’s still much to see! Guard towers follow the route, Bedouin herders wander alongside the road with their animals, and the dark-colored desert pavement gives way here and there to deflation hollows and the occasional small erg (dune field). All the while, large alluvial fans and mountains of Jordan tower on your right side and the plains and hills of Israel & Palestine sit to your left. We spent some time looking for Jebel Haroun (Aaron’s tomb—of Old Testament fame) and scoured the desert pavement f
Read more

Shobak

Image
After pretty much traversing Jordan’s width and breadth – from Aqaba in the south to five miles from the Syrian border in the north and the Dead Sea in the west to As-Safawi in the east – there’s one place we keep returning to again and again: Shobak (sometimes spelled Shabak or Shawbak). Yes, the Dead Sea Highway is quite unique, the Eastern Desert magical, and Wadi Rum vast. But Shobak is...well...different. Kind of a high plains desert that captures all my favorite components of each major physiographic province in Jordan.  Shobak is about a two-hour drive from Amman, along the Desert Highway and en route to Petra. The town itself is best known for its castle . Built along the caravan/pilgrimage route between the Gulf of Aqaba and Syria by King Baldwin I in 1115 AD, it stood for several decades and repelled Saladin’s forces for two years later in that century. It’s also out of the way – you can’t see it from any main by-pass road as you can with other castles like Karak, Azraq,
Read more