HERO Games

Image: www.herogames.com

I've played quite a few role-playing games (of the rolling dice sort) over the years. I started out with D&D and then played quite a bit of World of Darkness in college. But of all the systems I've ever played, HERO Games is my favorite.

I was introduced to HERO Games when my husband and I made our first friends after moving to North Carolina. They were a geeky couple like we were and they were looking for some gamers to join them in a weekly game. I jumped at the chance because it had been years since I had been in a regular game. The system they played in was HERO Games.

It took a little while to get used to the new system, but I quickly fell in love. Character creation can take a while because it is a system that is very character orientated. But there is a computer program,HERO Designer, that speeds up the process a great deal.

You can play any sort of game you want in HERO from fantasy games to superhero ones to anything in between. There is combat like in other role-playing games, but the stories tend to be more character driven. I've played in games that there was little to no combat but it’s still very fun.

When you create your character, you decide on a variety of things like strength, intelligence and other things you would find in other games. You can put points into how attractive your character as well, which is a neat little quirk of the system. But the most interesting thing, to me, is that you get to give your character advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantages can make the games very interesting, especially if your GM uses them. I think the most unique disadvantage I've seen was when a friend of mine played in her first game Her character was completely blind, which is a huge disadvantage. It made things difficult for the whole party sometimes, but it made things interesting as well.

For anyone who might be looking for a new role-playing system to play in, I would greatly recommend HERO Games. It will probably always be my favorite system because of the story and character driven elements to it.

Dragon Con 2013 - Sunday

This is the 3rd installment of my Dragon Con Trip Report. Click the links for Friday's post and Saturday's post!

The Sunday of Dragon Con is always the last day for us because we like to get home as early as possible on Monday since we have a three and a half hour drive. Plus I had to work the next day so I like to rest and recover on Labor Day.

Sunday we slept in a little. I slept as long as Emily would let me, but I let Todd sleep for a while after that. Emily and I played the Dino Hunt Dice that I had gotten her the day before. I won the first two games, but she stomped me on the third game.

We got Todd up and I got dressed. I wore my American McGee’s Alice dress and it was really comfortable. We got down to the con and went to the Sheraton for another ghost investigation panel. It was just as interesting as the first one we went to, but there was a jerk in the audience. They did a q&a session after they did their presentation, and this guy started basically attacking them. Saying that that must not think that their research wasn't good or true if they hadn't entered some contest where if you prove the existence of life after death you’d win a million dollars. The spirit hunters didn't know what he was talking about and he was just really being a dick. After he said his piece, he just left.

I know that people are skeptics but there is no reason to be a dick about it, especially at a panel on the paranormal track. Dragon Con even has a whole skeptics track for those who don’t believe. It was just rude.

But from there, we went to get in line to see a paranormal illusionist. Neither Todd nor I knew what to expect but it sounded cool and we were already in the Sheraton. It ended up being awesome! It was creepy and interesting and his tricks were top notch. He had a lot of audience participation and it was one of the highlights of the con.

From there, we were going to head back to the food court, but it had started pouring and we didn’t have an umbrella. We waited a few minutes but when it looked like it wasn't going to let up anytime soon, I broke down and bought an expensive umbrella from the gift shop.

I huddled next to Todd and we made it back to the Peachtree Center without getting too soaked. My feet were wet though because I was wearing my crocs. Since it was pouring, everyone had come inside so it was suddenly very crowded. We had to wait in line just to get into the food court. We got food and then went back to the Marriott (and had to wait in line again) to wait for the last panel I was going to be on.

We had about an hour before the panel started and ended up being first in line. We ate our lunch and had fun

Phineas and Ferb cosplayers!

people watching as we waited for the panel. Since I was a panelist, I got to go in early which was cool. The panel was on Phineas and Ferb and it was a lot of fun. We had a pretty full room and a few Phineas and Ferb cosplayers!

Once the panel was over, so was Dragon Con for us. I was beat and there wasn't really anything else that I wanted to do so we headed out.

It was an interesting Dragon Con. I didn't go to any of the huge panels this year and found that I had more fun going to the smaller panels. It was crowded but I still had a lot of fun and will be back next year!

Cosplay and Snobs

An example of piss poor cosplay

So I have another Heroes of Cosplay rant. I love the show for the beautiful costumes, but sometimes the attitudes on the show annoy me to no end.

In this week’s episode we see Monika being uber bitchy at every turn. I’m not sure why and I’m not sure if they edited her to be that way, but her attitude really sucked. Especially when she was so mean to Becky who I think has made some wonderful costumes. Cosplay should be about wearing costumes and having fun, but Monika sucked all the fun out.  It was a shame too since Fushigi Yugi is one of my favorite animes.

Now I’m not a very good cosplayer. I buy costumes and I hobble other ones together. I hand sewed my Kaylee layer cake dress and it turned out ok, but it’s falling apart now. I've had people look down at me for even thinking about making the layer cake because it’s complicated. I was told that I shouldn't do it unless I can sew really well and I got a snotty attitude from another layer cake cosplayer when I marched in the Dragon Con parade a few years ago.

Yes, it was kind of crappy, but it turned out better than I thought. And I had fun wearing it, which is the point of cosplay. Now I wouldn't complete in any of the cosplay contests, especially at Dragon Con, because I know my costumes aren’t that great. But I cosplay to run around in a fun costume.

I wore three costumes at Dragon Con this year. Two of them I bought and one I put together. I didn't get a lot of people asking me to take my picture, but a few people did. I can’t imagine not wearing a costume to Dragon Con and I had fun wearing the ones that I did. Unfortunately, there will be those snobby people who look down at other cosplayers because their costumes might not be as great as theirs.

Dragon Con 2013 - Saturday

This is the 2nd installment of my Dragon Con Trip Report. Click the link for Friday's post!

I got Todd up bright and early on Saturday morning so we could head back down to the con. I have marched in the parade the last few years and I had signed up to march with the WhedonVerse folks again. Because of a trolley being put in downtown, the parade route and the staging area had to be moved. So I was a little neurotic about trying to find the new staging area.

Without too much difficulty, we found it. I gave Todd my bag and told him I’d call him when I was done. It was about an hour wait before the parade started. It’s always fun to watch all the other people in their great costumes. I think my favorite this year was the Steampunk Tigger that walked by.

The parade was awesome to be in as usual. I twirled my parasol and waved as I walked with the other Firefly folks. The crowds watching seemed massive, even more than last year. But everyone seemed to enjoy the parade.

Once the parade was over, I went to meet Todd. I was supposed to meet him in the area outside the Walk of Fame. I walked all the way around there twice and didn't see him. So I started calling and texting. I have anxiety issues normally so when I couldn't find him and he wasn't answering his phone, I felt a panic attack creeping up.

Finally he texted me that he was in the food court and had no signal. I told him where I was at and waited, trying to push back the panic. He showed up, with food and we ate. From there, we decided to go back to the dealer’s room o’ doom. Emily had pleaded for an Artemis stuffy to go with the Luna one we bought her. I stopped by the BPAL booth to sniff a little and talk to Beth. I got my picture with Beth too.

Then we went deeper into the 2nd floor of the dealer’s room. We started out by a food vendor and I got some yummy lemonade. I went over to the Steve Jackson Games booth to look for a dice game for Emily. One of the vendors took a long time to help me out and recommended Dino Hunt Dice. I got that for Emily. She loves it because it’s easy to play and she gets to roll dice. From there, we circled around looking for the vendor we got Luna from. We got turned around quickly but finally found another vendor who had an Artemis kitty. I got it and we got the heck out of the dealer’s room o’ doom.

There was a panel I wanted to go to in the Sheraton about a ghost investigation in NC. Todd grumbled about having to walk all the way to the Sheraton, but since he didn't have anything else to do, he came with me. We were about an hour early for the panel. We sat on the floor across from the room, by a power outlet. We changed our phones up a little and I read on my Kindle since there was no signal at all. Once the room was open, we got great seats right up front.

The panel was really interesting. Both Todd and I like watching ghost shows on TV and we live in a haunted house. The hour flew by and we left the Sheraton to hustle over to the Hyatt so I could meet the Fraggles.

Fraggle Rock was one of my favorite shows as a kid, so I wanted to get my picture with Red and Mokey. We made it just in time and were able to get into the room. We waited about 45 minutes so I could get my picture. And we each got a free autographed mini poster which Todd was geeked about.

I had planned on going back to the Marriott to see the Phineas and Ferb panel, but the crowds were making me feel a little claustrophobic. So we opted to go back to my aunt and uncle’s house. It was a long day of battling the crowds, but I had a lot of fun.

First Day of Pre-K!

Emily started school again today. Because the cut-off here is August 31st, she still in preschool. She's in the Pre-K class this year.

Emily was very excited to get back to school. Most of her friends from last year are in her class this year. Todd is also excited since he'll use the time she's in school to work on his school work.

I'm very happy that my little girl loves school so much. I hope that continues as she gets older!

Dragon Con 2013 - Friday

Me and Kathy Najimy

In year’s past, we would drive down early on Thursday so we’d be able to get our badges. But since I have been working from home, I don’t have any vacation time. So I worked on Thursday until 3:30 pm and we left after that.

Last year we did the same thing and made it through the pre-reg line in about ten minutes. We hoped for the same this year, especially since I was on a panel at 10 am.  We got in line about 8:30 am and it was wrapped all the way around the Sheraton. I was worried that we wouldn't make it through in time to get to my panel.

Thankfully the line moved pretty fast and we made it inside after about 45 minutes. The line for pre-reg was really short and we just had to go through the queues. We made it out in plenty of time and hustled over to the Marriott for my panel.

I made it in time for the Princess, Fairies, and Pirates panel which was through the Kaleidoscope track. It was basically an all things Disney panel. I was one of the panelists and we all had a great time taking Disney with a packed room.

From there, Todd came with me to the Sheraton. I was supposed to take part in a Disney photo shoot since I was cosplaying as Snow White that day. I got my parade wristband while we were there, and then I started feeling really lightheaded. I hadn't eaten all day and I knew that I needed to get food.

We headed back to the food court and got lunch. It’s always fun to just sit and rest in the food court while people watching. By the time we were done, it was about an hour before the dealer’s room and Walk of Fame would be open. So I opted to give blood.

I have very small veins, so some years are more difficult than others to give blood. This year was one of the smoothest. The person got it in without any issues and it didn't take long for my bag o’ blood to fill up. I got my snack afterwards and my t-shirt (which I lost somewhere), and met up with Todd.

We headed to the Walk of Fame which is where all the celebrities do autographs and pictures. We did a walk through and figured out who was there and which autographs we wanted. My first autograph was Sylvester McCoy who was one of the Doctors in Doctor Who as well as being Radagast the Brown. He was very nice.

Todd got some autographs and we headed over to the dealer’s room. This was in a whole different building this year, now in the America’s Mart. I had hopes it would be less crowded, and in some ways it was, but the layout was really confusing. I found what I needed for my Kaylee costume right away and got to sniff some BPAL. I also got a few other things like a stuffed Luna for Emily. But we had some issues finding the exit when we were ready to leave.

We went back to the Walk of Fame and got the rest of our autographs. I got my picture with Kathy Najimy and the actor who plays Hershel on The Walking Dead. I got the rest of the Hobbit guests autograph my Hobbit poster. Todd got a couple of the Walking Dead guests and Adrian Paul. Everyone was very nice.

It was really crowded on Friday, more so than usual. So I opted not to do anymore panels. We got some supper in the food court and then headed back to my aunt and uncle’s house. I was pretty beat from all the running around and I had been woken up early by my small child. Plus we were going to have an early day with the parade on Saturday.

The Bad of Dragon Con

This year was my 7^th Dragon Con. Always there are good and bad things about the con. I’m sure if the bad outweighs the good, we’d stop going. But so far that hasn't happened. I’ll be covering the good things in my day by day con reports.

The biggest bad of Dragon Con this year were the crowds. Usually Friday and Sunday are less crowded, but there was a huge amount of people on Friday. And it got more crowded on Sunday when everyone went inside when the thunderstorms started. Of course, Saturday was insanely crowed as usual. Sometimes it was hard to move.

Since I had to work until 3:30 pm on Thursday, we had to get our badges on Friday. Last year, it took maybe ten minutes to get through the reg line and we had hoped for a similar experience this year. Alas, last year was a fluke. We got in the line that was wrapped around the Sheraton around 8:30 am. The line did move pretty fast and once we got inside, it only took about five minutes. The problem was that pre reg and at con reg people were put in the same line outside. It would have taken a lot less time if they had a way to separate everyone from the beginning. But we made it through in about 45 minutes so I was able to make my panel.

The last big bad of the con was the move of the dealer’s room to the America’s Mart. It seemed like a good idea because supposedly it would give more room for the dealers. But it was still really crowded and the layout was super confusing. We got lost and turned around a lot especially when we were trying to find the exit. It wasn't a great move in my opinion.

That was it for the bad. There was a lot of good of Dragon Con this year. I’ll be posting about each day starting tomorrow once I get a little more rest.