Surprise!

[Alexander Salkin]

So I showed up to run the usual EotS game for our weekly group at a friend's house and found the mood was rather subdued. I suspected that everyone was tired from Labor Day weekend and we might have a low-energy game. A shame, but that can happen. I readied myself to push on through regardless.

One of the players comes in shortly after me hauling bags of groceries. A little unusual, but I figured he had food shopping to do and since he was running late, he just wanted to bring it all in.

Nope! All of a sudden my players light up with "Congratulations"! They planned a little surprise for me after EotS made the final 3 and I had no idea!

It's been a great day here and I just wanted to share the cheer from the EotS squad. From left to right, using their character names to protect the guilty, we have Clintovious (ranger) (with the fluffy CR20 cat threat known as Donut), Screech (cleric), Roan (paladin/warlock), Bramble (cleric), and Chad (bard). Not able to make it today was Shazz (artificer). I formed this group out of a local FB gaming group post that I made around (or just after, I don't remember which) the time I submitted Eye of the Sorceress for the contest. The last few months have been a wild ride with everything involved and I couldn't be happier.

Included are bonus cat tax pictures of the local fuzzy mascots, Donut and Amira.

[SwampCreature]

That is SO COOL!!! What a great group of supportive friends!!!

[mianngu]

@Alexander-Salkin I love this! I love that this group of friends formed around your story! How has the campaign been going? Do they love the story as much as we do? Also please say more about that amazing dice bag!!!!!

[Alexander Salkin]

@mianngu I certainly hope they're happy, ha ha! But yeah, they're a great group. I think it's been going well, they're starting to see how the smaller indirect aspects of the campaign can lead to steps toward their ultimate goal and the deeper historical lore that explains the relevance of what's going on in the world of Tau. These things put a certain nuance on what's around them that can't be discerned at first glance. We've done around 8-10 sessions of EotS by now and it's been a lot of fun to explore the world with a new group like this. I've tried my best not to give them too much of a plot-hammered linear path, but just enough thread pieces for them to follow the tapestry, so to speak. Of course, nothing but quick reflexes can protect the heroes from a sudden wandering cat on-the-board attack. The heroes might be seeking magic, but Donut and Amira are there for attention and power loafing on the map.

Ah, you've noticed my dice bag! I LOVE THAT THING. So, my old black/white spiderweb pattern dice bag (the usual pouch style, unlike the mushroom one) had seen a lot of campaigns over the years, but between the string tie becoming loose and the inevitable coffee stains that come from being at the game table, it was time to retire it. I visited a local punk rock flea market at the local club where I go dancing and I found the mushroom moon bag for sale by an indie vendor. It was one of those times where you walk by something and then immediately walk backward, fixated on something you just glanced at, you know?

I'm not sure if the original purpose was to be a dice baggie, a small art material holder, or a pouch for reagants but I fell in love with the rustic pattern. It's just one of those things that spoke to me. It has a little zipper on top and it does a great job of keeping my myriad of dice in check. I think it only ran me about $10 which feels like a bargain.

[Alexander Salkin]

@Alexander-Salkin So, um, a quick errata to my last message. I have no sense of time whatsoever. According to my players, it hasn't been 9 or so games. It's been 21 sessions so far.

Imma just go sit in the corner with my dunce cap now.

[Mariano]

@Alexander-Salkin It's either been a lot of fun and time is flying, or your players are spending so much time exploring you feel like they're making a third of the progress you'd expected lol