Saturday, December 29, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Holiday Episode

Our heroes attempt to save Christmas!

Players: Eric Carlson, Gavin "SonikGav" Leaf and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Twenty Six: "Happy Holidays"

This week Eric and I discuss gifts for your gamer friends/relatives. Then we talk about a few of our other favorite moments in gaming.

If you have any feedback, suggestions (show topic or other) or questions you'd like answered during an episode, please feel free to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Issue 7

This time our heroes go to the Opera to keep an eye on Doctor Knight and Mr. Anders.

Players: Eric Carlson, Gavin "SonikGav" Leaf and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Twenty Five "Crunch Versus Fluff"

This week Eric and I discuss the balance between mechanical crunch and character-based fluff in building a RPG character.

If you have any feedback, suggestions (show topic or other) or questions you'd like answered during an episode, please feel free to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com
We also now have forums, check them out here: http://mechagm.forumer.com/index.php

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Issue 6

Our heroes investigate a series of robberies and are confronted by their strangest foe yet!

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson, Gavin "SonikGav" Leaf and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Twenty Four: "Tabletop vs Online RPGs"

This week Eric and I discuss our experiences with playing RPGs over the internet and how we feel the experience compares to playing an RPG with people at the actual gaming table.

If you have any feedback, suggestions (show topic or other) or questions you'd like answered during an episode, please feel free to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Twenty Three - Wargames

This week, Eric and I talk about wargames. We primarily discuss the various categories of wargames, and discuss some of the genres of such games.

If you have any feedback, suggestions (show topic or other) or questions you'd like answered during an episode, please feel free to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mutants & Masterminds - Star City Campaign Issue Five

This week our heroes find out some disturbing information about the bank robberies. Also, they begin investigations into a street gang with interesting affiliations.

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson, Gavin "SonikGav" Leaf and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Twenty Two "Our Current Games"

This week Eric and I talk about the RPG campaigns we are currently involved in. From the characters we (and the other players) are playing to what is currently going on in the game.


You can find info on the Star City Mutants and Masterminds game we mentioned in the podcast here: http://www.lordkat.com/wiki/index.php/Star_City_campaign
As always, if you have any feedback, suggestions for show topics or questions you'd like answered during the show, you can email them to us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Twenty One - Sexism In Gaming

This week Eric and I attempt to tackle the topic of sexism in gaming.

If you have any feedback, suggestions (show topic or other) or questions you'd like answered during an episode, please feel free to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Session 4

This week, our heroes investigate the names on the list they got from the florists. Then they track down Lodestone.

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson, Gavin "SonikGav" Leaf and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Session 3

This week, our heroes continue to investigate the people behind the series of Bank Robberies. Also, a figure out of Errant's past makes an appearance.
Note: We had technical difficulties in the middle of the session, so the recording is broken into two parts.
PART ONE:

PART TWO:

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Twenty "Happy Halloween!"

This week, Eric and I talk about horror in gaming, and then discuss the horrific situation of having a group of players for an RPG and no GM.

As always, if you have any feedback, comments, show topic suggestions or questions you'd like answered on a future episode, please email them to us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Sunday, October 28, 2012

MechaGM's D&D Tutorial Extravaganza! October 28 Session

The third and final tutorial extravaganza session. This week I am joined by: ThatDman, Zastaver, CaptainFreetime, Dylpage and SuperEffector.

Thanks to everyone who joined in on the tutorial shenanigans! I had a lot of fun with y'all. :)
-peterB

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Session 2

This week our heroes are joined by a new defender of justice, and look into a strange series of bank robberies.

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Nineteen "The Cultural Divide of Gaming"

This week, Eric and I discuss the various subcultures of tabletop gaming and our theories on why there is sometimes friction between them.

As usual, if you have any feedback, suggestions, possible show topics or questions you'd like answered during the show; please feel free to email them to us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mutants and Masterminds - Star City Campaign Session 1

This week, our heroes meet each other for the first time and fight a threat to the city from another world!

Players: Liam "Arclight", Eric Carlson and Nik "Y Ruler of Time" Freeman
GM: Peter "MechaGM" Bowman
For those who are interested, here is the link to the campaign background document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

MechaGM's D&D Tutorial Extravaganza! October 21 Session

This is the second session of the D&D Tutorial Extravaganza. This weeks players are: FenrirMoradin, Slatefield, Zaon, WordontheWind and Darthelmo.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Eighteen "From the Table to the Monitor"

This week, Eric and I discuss video games that have been influenced by tabletop games, video games that are adaptations of video games and touch on some tabletop games that have drawn on video games.

As always, if you have any feedback, show topic suggestions, constructive criticisms or questions you'd like answered on the show please email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Saturday, October 13, 2012

MechaGM's D&D Tutorial Extravaganza! October 13 Session

This is the first of three Tutorial D&D games I am running on my stream. The players this week are: Bluecoati, Celepheid, King Wazza and Zeth

Players: Bluecoati, Celepheid, Kingwazza and Zeth
GM: MechaGM

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Seventeen "Superheroic Difficulties"

This week Eric and I discuss the challenges of running and playing in a Superhero RPG. (and ramble a fair bit on Comic Books in general)

As usual, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions please feel free to comment below or to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Monday, October 8, 2012

A couple of Giveaways on my Stream!

Hey guys,

thanks to my good friend, Dan, I am now in possession of a couple of batches of points codes for the MMOs "Lord of the Rings Online" and "Dungeons and Dragons Online." Each code can be redeemed in the respective in-game store for (if memory serves me correctly) 1,500 Turbine Points.

So, what I think I will be doing is giving them away to viewers on my stream.

What is going to happen is this: I will be playing both of these games on my stream during the week this week. While I am playing I will be giving away codes for that game. I'll think of some way to fairly hand them out. If you are interested, just tune in while I am playing the game you are interested in getting a code for. Or, if you can't make it while I am playing for some reason, you can email me with the subject "MMO Point Code Raffle" to my hotmail account.

One note: you may not win more than one code per game. (if I have enough interest, I may par it down to one code total)

I'll post on Twitter when I will be playing which game. (also, if you click the follow button on my Twitch.tv page, you'll get an email notification when my stream goes live)

So come on by and have your chance to win a free code for either Lord of the Rings Online or Dungeons & Dragons Online!

-PeterB

A new campaign...

So, last night on my stream we had the brainstorming session for the new RPG campaign I will be hosting on my stream. We are branching out from D&D this time and moving into the four-color world of Superheroes!

That's right, true believers, we will be playing Mutants and Masterminds!

If you would like to read the campaign background document you can find it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ybaCziRiCKQ-rX6uwHgkWNDyh1kIr2Vke9tmwg6lm9E/edit

I will be joined this time by Nik, Liam, Gav and Eric (my co-host on Surly Grognards) as players.

I did not record the brainstorming session, but you can view the highlights on my stream page.

I think this is going to be a lot of fun, even though this will be my first time actually running a M&M campaign. (I'm going to have to spend some time reading through the rules before we start.

The game will be running Saturday evenings, starting at 5:30pm eastern, on my stream. (first session will probably be in two weeks)

I may have to shift some of the D&D Tutorial sessions to Sundays, which I will discuss in the email I will be sending out to the people who have signed up for it. (I'll probably send out the email on Tuesday of this week)

So, if you want to enjoy some superheroic action, come on by!

Excelcior!

-PeterB

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Sixteen "More of Our Favorite Moments in Gaming"

This week Eric and I recount more of our favorite moments in tabletop gaming.

As always, if you have any feedback, comments, suggetions for show topics or questions you'd like answered on the show, please feel free to either post them in the comments below or email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 25

Our heroes rush back to the Winter Court to deal with Varsaath once and for all... but Varsaath had no plans to go down without a fight. This is the campaign "season" finale.

Players: Arclight, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Saturday, September 29, 2012

A Surly Grognards Supplemental Episode - "D&D 4th edition basics"

I'm flying solo this episode as I explain the basics of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. I cover character creation, combat and a bit about skills.

As always, if you have any comments, feedback, suggestions or questions, feel free to comment below or to email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Friday, September 28, 2012

Everything Must Come to an End Sometime...

Unfortunately, the end is happening for the Shadowland campaign. The next session will be the last one, at least for the foreseeable future.

 Technically, the game will be going on hiatus, but most campaigns do not come back from that.

 Why is this happening? For various reasons, which I won't go into here, Chris and Scott are leaving the game. It's all amicable and there is nothing personal behind it. But with 40% of the PCs leaving, it's just too big a hole to fill mid-stream. So, after talking to Gav, Nik and Liam about it, we're going to wrap up the Varsaath plot and wrap things up there.

 Please do not bother Chris and/or Scott about why they are leaving the game.

 Needless to say, I'm dissapointed that the game is ending now. All campaigns do end though, and most end before things wrap up satisfactorily. This is really no exception. I'm currently trying to come up with a way to send the campaign off in a fun and memorable way, but obviously I can't guarantee that.

 I'm sure many of the people who follow the game will have questions about what I had planned and where I thought things were going to go... I'm probably going to hold off on that for now. This is in the hopes that, in some form, we will resume the campaign in some form or another. (with as much of the original crew as possible) But, as I said earlier, I don't expect it to do so.

 What, if anything, will we be doing after this? I don't know. I'm talking to some of the crew about what they want to do, if anything, after this. But nothing is remotely decided yet. When I have solid information I will post it here.

 I want to thank everyone who watched us have fun playing Dungeons and Dragons every week. Especially everyone who made fan art, wrote fan fiction, updated the wiki and the TvTropes page.

 Special thanks go to Chris, Gav, Liam, Nik and Scott. There would have been no game without you guys and it was an honor and a blast to game with you all. I hope to do so again in some manner in the future. It's been a great ride, hopefully the final session will be a good one.

 Happy Gaming, -Peter Bowman, aka MechaGM

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Fifteen "Sandbox vs Directed Campaigns"

This week Eric and I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Sandbox-style rpg campaigns versus Directed rpg campaigns. We also talk about combining elements from the two styles into one campaign.

If you have any feedback you'd like to share, possible topics you'd like to see explored on the show or questions you'd like us to answer during the show, please feel free to either post them in the comments below or email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com
This show is recorded on Tuseday nights at 7:00pm EST at: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 24

This week our heroes head to the tower of the lich Khaleed Vexis where they hope to find the last relic they need to deal with Varsaath Everblack. There they find some strange new foes.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, Sonikgav and Y Ruler of Time.
GM: MechaGM

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

MechaGM's D&D Tutorial Extravaganza!

Okay folks, as I mentioned on my stream the other night, I've been thinking about running a few D&D 4th edition adventures for the viewers. Primarily this is because several people have mentioned that they'd like to get into RPGs but have never played one before. Several other people have played RPGs before but have never played 4th edition D&D and want to try it. Lastly there are those who want to play D&D, or any other RPG for that matter, but can't find anyone to play with.

So, here is what I am going to do. Over the course of the next couple of months, I will run one-shot games on Saturday afternoons on my stream at: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm I'll post exact dates and times when I have more concrete information on that.

Here is what you need to have in order to play:

1)A desire to play 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons with people you've not met before over the internet. If you've never played before, you must be willing to learn. If you have played before, you must be willing to be patient with those who have not played before.

2)Approximately 5 hours available on an upcoming Saturday afternoon. (eastern time)

3)Skype and a working microphone and, preferably, earphones for your computer. (basically, it helps if your microphone doesn't pick up the audio from the skype call)

4)A copy of the most recent version of MapTool. It's totally free, and can be downloaded from here: http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=downloads#MapTool

5)A working internet connection.

Here is what you do not need to have in order to play:

1)Any experience with roleplaying.

2)Any experience with 4th ed Dungeons & Dragons.


It will be helpful if you have a copy of one of the following books: “D&D 4th Ed Player's Handbook”, “Heroes of the Fallen Lands” or Heroes of the “Forgotten Kingdoms”. Any other D&D 4th edition books you have will be a plus. If you have a D&D insider subscription, that would also work.

However, if you do not have any of the books and want to play anyways (ie, you want to “try before you buy), this can be accommodated as well. I will provide several pre-generated characters for people who either do not have the books or would rather not take the time to build a character. (or if you just want to try out some character I put together) I will try to provide a variety of characters so that you will get a character you think you will enjoy playing.

If you are building your own character, we will be starting at level 1. You can use any class or race from the following books: “Player's Handbook 1”, “Player's Handbook 2”, “Heroes of the Fallen Lands” and “Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms”. Backgrounds and Themes will not be used. This is because not everyone will have access to the material they are found in. If you want to use a class or race that is not in one of the listed books, feel free to ask me. Odds are I will say “Yes” unless it is particularly wonky or unsuitable for the adventure I eventually write up. (note: some of the pre-generated characters may well be from a book not listed above) You will get 100 gold pieces to spend on mundane equipment.

So, how do you sign up for this? It's simple, really. Send me an email titled “Mecha's D&D Tutorial”, and in the body of the email let me know your experience level with D&D 4th ed and/or RPGs in general. Also, let me know what D&D 4th edition resources you have at your disposal. It would also be helpful if you could tell me what sort of character you would prefer to play. (Defender, Leader, Striker or Controller) Lastly, let me know if you have any particular Saturday afternoons (eastern time) that you cannot make it. If you have a preference for playing with players who are as, more or less experienced than you are, feel free to mention this as well.

Send such emails to my hotmail account. (which is listed at the top of the blog page)


I expect that the adventure itself will take about 4 hours, tops, once we get started, but I also expect that there will be a period of around an hour where I will be explaining things to the newer players. So, you will need to commit about 5 hours to this if you do sign up for it.

I will try my very best to get as many people into games as possible. I will try to make well-rounded parties by character roles, and will try and get appropriate mixes of experience in each game. If I get flooded with too much interest, I may have to go with a first-come-first serve policy, but I reserve the right to mix things up as I see fit.

Also, I will be streaming the sessions and will record them and upload them to blip and this blog. If you are uncomfortable with that, please let me know. (if enough people are interested, and are uncomfortable with being on the stream/recorded, I will try to make a group of such people and run the game off the stream)

Hopefully, you will all have fun, and who knows... maybe some of you will end up deciding to put your own D&D groups together and playing your own games! :)

I think that is all for now. I'll post more details as I think of them.

Take care, and happy gaming!

-Peter Bowman, aka MechaGM

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

People have been asking how they can support what I'm doing here...

So I've been getting a surprising number of people who've been asking how they can support my D&D games and/or The Surly Grognards... and I've always said I do this for fun, not for money. Also, I've always felt uncomfortable with the topic. But, having had enough people ask (and still being the process of looking for actual work), I decided to accept tips.


So, what I've done is up at the top of the blog page, I've included my paypal email. If you really want to, and can afford to, you can send money to my paypal account at that email address. If you do, please mark the money as a gift... because that is exactly what it is.


Also, I want to reiterate, if you do want to send me money, please be ABSOLUTELY sure that you can afford the money. Believe me, I can understand wanting to support someone who is providing you entertainment when you're low on cash. And, honestly, in that situation I'd really rather you just enjoy the content, and maybe click on a few ads here on the blog... or re-watch the videos a few times so that I get more ad revenue from blip.


If you do decide to gift me some cash, I'll try to think of some way to thank you on stream. I'll try and think of something that will work in with what I do on my stream.


Lastly, I want to thank everyone who tunes into my stream and everyone who comes by here to watch the recordings of Grognards and the D&D games. You all make what I've been doing so much more fun and worth doing.


Thank you all... you guys rock!


That's it for now. Be happy, be safe and have fun!


Happy gaming,

-Peter Bowman, aka MechaGM

The Surly Grognards - Episode Fourteen: "How to Kill a PC"

This week Eric and I discuss player character deaths in RPGs. We focus mostly on how we feel they should happen, and how to handle the ramifications of them in game.

If you have any suggestions (including potential show topics), feedback or questions you'd like answered during the show, feel free to put them in the comments below or email them to us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Monday, September 17, 2012

Change of Schedule for Surly Grognards

Heya all, Due to a change in people's scheduling, I've had to shuffle around some things. Starting this week, "The Surly Grognards" will be on Tuesday nights at 7pm est on my stream at: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm . Obviously, I will still be recording the show and posting the blip embed here. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback, feel free to put them in the comments below, or email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com Thanks for listening to the show, and I hope we continue to entertain you and occasionally provide you with useful and/or helpful information! -Peter Bowman, aka "MechaGM"

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Thirteen - RPGs on a Budget

This week Eric and I discuss ways to save money and still have fun playing tabletop games.

Links mentioned during the show:
Ars Magica 4th Edition: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=AG0204
RISUS, The Anything RPG: http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm
Witchcraft: http://www.edenstudios.net/witchcraft/WitchcraftCorebook.zip
Neverwhere: http://www.postmort.demon.co.uk/files/Neverwhere.zip
Baen Free Library: http://www.baen.com/library/

As usual, if you have any suggestions, comments, feeback or questions you'd like answered on the show, feel free to comment here or email us at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 23

The party confronts Kiel Ralhausen again, see something unexpected and are captured by the Eastgate City Watch

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Monday, September 3, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Twelve - Combining RPG Genres

This week Eric and I discuss combinations of RGP Genres.

As always, if you have any comments, feedback or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or email us at surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 22

This session our heroes finally get the Scepter of Sehanine, but there are... complications.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Eleven - Genres in RPGs

This week Eric and I discuss popular RPG genres and the systems that in our experience work well for those genres.

If you have any comments, suggestions, feedback or questions please feel free to post them in the comments below, or send us an email at: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 21

The party returns from the Feywild and head out for Eastgate to look for signs of Lord Jadeis and information on the location of the abandoned temple of Sehanine.

Players: Arlight, Final Freek, Rollo T, Sonikgav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Ten - Our Favorite Moments at the Table

This week Eric and I discuss some of our favorite moments at the gaming table and why they were our favorites.

If you have comments, suggestions, feeback, questions or possible future show topics, feel free to either email them to us at surlygrognards@yahoo.com or leave a comment here.

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 20

This session the party returns to the Winter Court with the crystal from the Hag Queen's cursed cave. Serriah learns something she did not expect and Zelas makes a deal.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Nine - House Rules

This week Eric and I talk about using house rules in RPGs and tabltop wargames.

If you have questions, comments or feedback please feel free to leave them in the comments here.

Monday, August 6, 2012

The Surly Grognards: Episode Eight - Miniatures and RPGs

This week, Eric and I talk about using miniatures in roleplaying games, systems that "require" miniatures and systems that actively discourage them.

If you have questions, comments or feedback, please leave them in the comments below or email them to: surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Shadowland D&D 4th Ed. - Session 19

This week our heroes turn to the Queen of the Winter Court for help in dealing with Dahlia's affliction.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, RolloT, Sonikgav and Y Ruler of Time.
GM: MechaGM

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Surly Grognards Episode Seven - Pre-made Adventures and Campaign Worlds

This week Eric and I talk about the pros and cons of pre-made adventures and campaign worlds.

Reminder, if you have questions you'd like answered in a future show, or have comments/suggestions/feedback, please post them in the comments or email us at surlygrognards@yahoo.com

Sunday, July 29, 2012

D&D - Shadowland Campaign Session 18

The party arrives in Winterhaven with a plan to meet with Lord Jadeis. They also investigate what his plans might be, and possible ways to deal with Varsaath Everblack.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, Sonikgav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Monday, July 23, 2012

Surly Grognards - Episode Six: GMing 101

This week, Eric and I talk about advice, tips and tricks for Game Masters.

If you have comments, suggestions or questions, feel free to post them below, or email us at: SurlyGrognards@yahoo.com

D&D Shadowland Campaign - Session 17

The party heads out towards Welgard. After dealing with some attackers from the Feywild, they meet up with an old foe and discover something was afoot in Welgard.

Players" Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, Sonikgav and Y Ruler of Time.
GM: MechaGM

Monday, July 16, 2012

The Surly Grognards - Episode Five

This week Eric and I talk about how we got into RPGs (and gaming in general) and why we have stuck with the hobby as long as we have. Also we discuss teaching and learning games as a new player.

Special thanks to Muffin/Samhunny for the AWESOME title card. You can find her work at: http://midevalexponents2sqr.deviantart.com/

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Dungeons & Dragons - Shadowland Campaign Session 16

This week the party investigates various leads within Westgate. And a mysterious group reveals their return.

Players: ArcLight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time.
GM: MechaGM

Sunday, July 8, 2012

The party escapes from Lady Khairissa's palace into the catacombs beneath Welgard. There they meet someone from their past.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Our heroes discover the darkness behind the festival in Welgard and have to fight their way out of a deadly situation.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM

Sunday, June 24, 2012

The party fights the dreadful foe that is Varsaath Everblack. Afterwards, they travel towards Welgard and eventually arrive.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, RolloT, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
DM: MechaGM
note: we do have a longer than usual break after the first combat, sorry about that.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Our heroes set forth for Welgard, a town to the north of Westgate. En route, the come across a mysterious stranger with knowledge of a lost temple of Morradin's.

Players" Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, Sonikgav (out this week) and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM (ie. me!)

Sunday, June 10, 2012

This week our heroes confront the leader of the Primordial cult, the most dangerous foe they have met yet. Then they return to Westgate to report back.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time.
DM: MechaGM (ie. Me!)

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The party returns to Westgate with their report, and then link up with a Drow army to assault the Hobgoblin Cultist's army.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM (ie. ME!)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

The party continues to explore the caverns and deal with the hobgoblin primordial cult. Then they are faced with a difficult decision.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo_T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM (ie. ME!)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Our heroes set out to investigate the Primordial cult. Also, one of Darek's magic experiments might have unforseen consequences.

Players: Arlight, Final Freek, Rollo_T, SonikGav & Y Ruler of Time
GM: MechaGM (me!)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Our heroes fight off mysterious attacker from the Feywild and find out some unsettling information.

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo_T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time.
GM: MechaGM (me!)

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Our heroes investigate the ruins the Hobgoblin raiding party was exploring and find new and dangerous foes.



You can find previous sessions here: http://www.lordkat.com/wiki/index.php/Shadowland_campaign

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time

GM: MechaGM

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Our heroes finish off the Drug Cartel and go to investigate some mysterious raiders to the southeast of Westgate.



You can find previous sessions here: http://www.lordkat.com/wiki/index.php/Shadowland_campaign

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time

GM: MechaGM

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Shadowlands D&D 4th Ed Game - Session 4

This episode our heroes begin investigating a drug ring operating in the docks districts of Westgate.

You can find previous sessions here: http://www.lordkat.com/wiki/index.php/Shadowland_campaign

Players: Arclight, Final Freek, Rollo T, SonikGav and Y Ruler of Time

GM: MechaGM

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Living Forgotten Realms Group (D&D Community Campagin) 3/17/2012

A recording of the Saturday, March 17th run of CORM 1-5 "In the Bleak Midwinter."

A good time was had by all, as usual. :)

"There is something rotten in the city of Suzail. While a midwinter festival brings throngs of competitors, merchants, and spectators, it also brings an element of danger. When the host turns to heroes for help, they must uncover what lurks under the city's snow and ice. A Living Forgotten Realms adventure by Alana Abbott set in Cormyr for characters levels 1-4."



Players:

Derresh, Iain Carracher, Josh Murray, RyuPlaneswalker, Samuel Lawson and Skitch

GM:

MechaGM (ie, Me!)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Living Forgotten Realms Group (D&D Community Campagin) 3/12/2012

This is the recording of Monday, March 12th session of CORM 1-5 "In the Bleak Midwinter"

This is a fairly skill-challenge heavy adventure, and has some wonderfully amusing moments. I hope you all enjoy it.



Players:

Altore, Captain Freetime, Daniel Marsden, Jeremy Edwards, Loren Jensen and WordOnTheWind

GM:

MechaGM (ie, ME!)

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Surly Grognards Episode Four - Generic vs. Specific RPGs

This week Eric and I talk about the strengths and weaknesses of Generic (or Universal) rpg systems versus the strengths and weaknesses of rpgs designed for specific game worlds.



If you have commentary or questions you want answered during the Q&A section of the next episode, feel free to post them here, or email us at SurlyGrognards@yahoo.com

enjoy!

-MechaGM

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Living Forgotten Realms Group (D&D Community Campagin) 3/3/2012

Here is Saturday's run of AGLA 1-5 "Silver Lining"

We got started a bit late, but a good time was had by all! :D



Players were:

Slatefield, Skitch, Ryuplaneswalker, Derresh, DarkEye, IanCarricher

GM:

Me!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Living Forgotten Realms Group (D&D Community Campagin) 2/27/2012

And here we have Monday's run of AGLA 1-5 "Silver Lining"

Fewer tech derps this time, so that's nice. I hope people enjoyed it. :)



Players this week were:

CaptainFreetime, Bjornen, Cobolo, Marco Polaris and Akalistos

GM was:

MechaGM (ie, me!)

Saturday run of AGLA 1-1

Here is Saturday's run of "Lost Temple of the Fey Gods" (broken up into several parts, due to my local recording being very derp)

We had a bunch of tech issues during the game, so bear with us this week.

Thanks to quilleh for making the twitch.tv highlights from my stream shown here. :)

Part 1:


Watch live video from mechagm on TwitchTV

Part Two:


Watch live video from mechagm on TwitchTV

Part Three:


Watch live video from mechagm on TwitchTV


Part Four:


Watch live video from mechagm on TwitchTV

Players were:

Jeremy Edwards, Kevin Lowery, Robert Perreault, Rasmus Wernersson, Adrian Damaszek and Sami Ollikainen.

GM was:

Peter Bowman (ie, me, MechaGM)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Monday Living Forgotten Realms AGLA1-1 Feb 20, 2012

This time the adventurers are off to the lovely land of Aglarond... home to Demons, Undead and other nasties... oh, and also a forest full of fey creatures who are being corrupted by some evil influence.

Will our "heroes" save the day? Will they be able to survive a simple pit? How will they deal with having whimsey inflicted on them? Watch and find out!



Players:

MrCrow, Cluckers, WordOnTheWind, Alfougin, Akalistos and Altore

DM:

Mechagm

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Saturday run of DRAG 1-1

Hey all, here is the run of the adventure I ran on Monday with a different group of players! Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Online Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

Hey people, today I started up an online Living Forgotten Realms community, and ran the first adventure with the first group of players. I'll be re-running the adventure this Saturday for a different group of players. I was streaming the game on my JTV stream, and have made highlights of it, which I will share here:

Part 1: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm/c/7282

Part 2: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm/c/7565

Part 3: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm/c/7583

Part 4: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm/c/7599

Part 5: http://www.twitch.tv/mechagm/c/7623

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sorry for the delays

Between the holidays and a bit of a creative block, I've not recorded an episode in a long while. (as is pretty clear from the lack of episodes posted)

I plan to work on getting a list of show topics together so that I have topics for a few weeks in a row so that I don't have a drought like this again.

So, hopefully new Surly Grognards episodes will be coming sometime in the next few weeks.