Ragnar Forgesplitter is dead

In a rousing D&D session last night, my neutral good dwarf bard character came to a valiant but ignominious end: in a protracted battle against a hill giant, an unfortunate concatenation of events (die rolls) lead to his demise. Ranged along a hillside with his allies against the rock-throwing giant, Ragnar stumbled as he attempted a crossbow shot and and fell down the slope. As the giant closed, a comrade attempted a similar shot, but accidentally hit Ragnar in the back. Managing to rise to his feet, bruised and bleeding, Ragnar faced the giant, who stove in the dwarf's head with his mighty club, "crushing it like a melon" according to the DM. The remainder of the party and their allies managed to overcome the giant with teamwork, even after he used Ragnar's body as a weapon of assault.

I was moved by the outpouring of emotion from human, elf, and dwarf alike at the death of Ragnar. A traditional dwarven funeral was held as soon as possible, according to custom; in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Wayfarer's Foundation in Purim.

But even as the battle raged, I was rolling the attributes for a new player character and plotting the storyline that would allow him to join the party.

Long Live Narley Noopin!

art credit: Claudio Pozas

Narley is a Lawful Good Gnome Monk. I got pretty lucky on the attribute rolls, and he's a tough little bugger who should be fun to play. I have to move into a different mindset now; Narley has motivations, goals, and skills that are quite different from Ragnar, although there is still a connection to the underground world. I think the team is re-integrating fairly painlessly, although we seem to be proving the old adage about how when one member of a team changes, the relationships throughout the entire team change.

Excelsior!

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Yesterday was a work 'n' play day. Before the action-packed evening, NatDog and I carpooled into campus to do union stuff and grading stuff and conference stuff, and to watch the snow come down. This weather is almost unbelievable, from sandals and shorts to snow in less than a week.

In a few hours, Otis and I will be heading off to Spokane for an Ani DeFranco concert and a visit with Gweekers (who just called!) and Mikey. The pass report is not happy, but not too nasty either; it will turn out to be a cautious and deliberate trip, I think, but at least we have plenty of daylight to burn.

I should start getting ready for the trip, but first some shout-outs:

Thanks to NatDog and TomCat for watching the monsters while we're gone; sorry we didn't hit the Dom Polski or the Hideout with you last night, but it was getting hairy just as you called. Next time!

Heys to Dingo, who hasn't intersected my orbit for a while but who has kept me amused with email news.

Thanks to my D&D team for some excellent play and company; with especial thanks to Johnbai for all the homework he does and to Soapy for not bringing those damn tasty potato chips this time.

Bon Voyage to Neds, who is off to the East Coast for an extended trip in a few days.

Heys to Yojimbo, who has been trying to get together with me all week but the timing has been lousy.

And here's to Otis, who was a zealous roleplayer last night and who has been a busy, somewhat achey, and slightly overwhelmed player in Real Life. Hang in there!