Wednesday, July 30, 2008

38 Watch

I am not sure how I stumbled upon 38 Watch but I am glad that I did. It is a Fan Site about the new (relatively speaking) 38 Studios.

The site is a work in progress. I like the set up and I like the the way it looks. Grish, the administrator, seems to be very personable and involved. If you are looking for a place to keep up on 38 news check this site out. Ladies out there. let's show the men just what a presence we actually have in gaming and go sign up!!

*hugs*
Geth

Monday, July 28, 2008

DC Universe Online not just for PVP'ers

Somehow I got it in my head the DC Universe Online was going to be a good hero vs evil villian PVP fight fest. I was a comic book reader, you know, way back when they were published on stone tablets. So I was a bit disappointed that DCUO was not going to be my kind of game. PVP is really not my thing. I was happily surprised when I saw this. It was taped at Comic Con this past weekend.

I am mostly a solo and small group player, with the once weekly raid thrown in to spice up the game play. I can not wait to make my own super hero. Gaming Grannie, the kind, motherly, compassionate hero that throws empty game boxes at the villian? Or uses a chocolate pudding ray gun? Ok maybe that is a little silly but I am still looking forward to checking out this game.

If you haven't already pop over to MySpace to check things out.

*hugs*
Geth

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Back to EQII

I have been playing more EQII recently. Don't faint ...I got my tradeskill level up to 64!! For me that is a record. I have gotten 2 levels in one day!! Just one more level and I can finally finish my last heritage quest, "A Thorn of Old". Yes I know that I can easily ask someone to make the weapon for me but I really like to do things on my own.

I even worked on some of the tradeskill quests. I would like to see more of these. They were fun to do. My goal is to get to level 80 and do the tradeskill epic. May take me another year but I will get there!! The extra-experience weekends have added just the extra push I needed to head back to the stove. I just wish they would say how much extra experience I am getting. I also wish that I could see how much experience I earn with each food creation and how much more experience I have to go to level. For all I know I could be getting .000000001% extra experience.

I like WoW for experience information. It tells me how much experience I get for each mob or quest. I even have an experience bar addon that figures out how many more kills I need to get the next level. It shows me how much experience I have and how much more I need. I know EQII gives the % but 10% of what? Not sure why experience has to be such a secret.

I also finally got the "Overthere" Hammer. Taken me this long to get all the quests done. Thanks to Bruinen, Xxable and Winkins I was able to get the quests done. I find it very hard to solo mobs in RoK. I thought I played my class pretty well. I have recently been given some advice on Achievement lines to consider.

Oh more and more people are trickling back into EQ2. Some are actually new to the game. Yesterday we invite 3 more people to the guild and 2 old players logged back in. The old players are going through a bit of the "Damn I can't remember how to play". We are doing our best to help them =). Josgar is a one man advertising team for EQII. Someone should name something after him, maybe Josgar's Felwithe Dream? Since he dreams of living in Felwith one day! That young man is one of the most positive EQII players I have ever met. The only thing he ever complains about is not being able to live in Felwithe! Oh and not going to Fan Faire this year. I know I will miss him!! Josgar thanks for all the hard work you do!!

*hugs*
Geth

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Gwydhar will be at Fan Faire

Back in Atlanta in 2006 a friend of mine was a vendor at Fan Faire. She goes by the name of Gwydhar and she does amazing character renderings. This is the one she did of my little ratonga. To be honest I like the way Gethani looks in this picture better that she actually looked in the game at the time!! I asked her to send me some information so I could try and get it out to fellow attendees. Her work is really great and I can not think of a better way to save a memory of Everquest or Everquest II.

Artist Gwydhar Bratton Returning to Fan Faire!

Original Custom Renderings of YOUR Everquest or Everquest II Character

Some of you may remember her from the 2006 Fan Faire in Atlanta, sitting at her table quietly turning out custom character renderings. Nothing like a work of original art to bring your character to life!

Gwydhar will be returning this year to the Fan Faire in Las Vegas for a repeat performance! If you didn’t have a chance to turn your character into a work of art now is your opportunity. Gwydhar will be doing live, custom character renderings again this year, black and white for $30 and color for $40. Just bring a screen shot of your character and we’ll do the rest!

If money’s tight (isn’t it always?) we’re offering discounts!

Order before August 12 and we’ll take $10 off the top.

OR

Order your rendering at Fan Faire and let us ship it to you afterwards and get $5 off and FREE shipping (and you won’t have to cart it home in your luggage!)

To order or for more information email gwydhar@gwydhar.com

For Examples of Gwydhar’s work visit http://www.gwydhar.com



See you at Fan Faire.


*hugs*

Geth





Monday, July 14, 2008

My Journey to Dungeons and Dragons

In 1974 a little known company, Tactical Studies Rules, Inc., released Dungeons and Dragons. I was 18. At the time, I would have no reason to have heard of this company or its game. I was already working full-time not the least bit interested in games.

Several years later, I was in the United States Navy, stationed in Long Beach, California and I walked into a store and noticed an area with Dungeon and Dragon books in it. By this time I was avid fantasy book reader. So this definitely caught my eye. I was 25. I looked through the books and found out it was a fantasy game, played with pen, paper and imagination. I thought this would be so much fun. Bringing the books I read to life. I tried to get people to play but they mostly thought I was crazy, that DnD was either a kids game or some form of devil worship. No one I knew played. I never did go back to that store and pick up the books.

Eventually I just started getting the books or box sets just to look through them, hoping that eventually I would find people that played. Wishful thinking on my part.

I got married, had kids. They grew up. My son got me into computer/console games. Then Everquest was released and to me this was an answer to a prayer! I can play something akin to DnD online!!! Not the same, did not much need to use my imagination others used theirs to create a fun world with monsters, quests, elves, orcs, ranger, clerics and other people from all over the world!! I gave up my hope to play the pen and paper game and just enjoyed where I was.

Fast forward to 2008, I am now 52 years old and I am still playing computer/video games. I also go to a Buddhist Temple on Wednesday nights. (Be patient this all ties in!) During our break times it is fun to chat with the other attendees. There is this guy Jim. I was never really sure how to take him but we talked off and on. Not sure how we got onto the subject but he mentioned he played Dungeons and Dragons and a group was just starting a new 4th edition game. I told him my story and how exciting it must be to actually play. My son has played off and on. (He is now playing Shadow Run). Friends I knew on-line played but I did not live close enough to play.

When I saw Jim again 2 weeks later, he invited me to play!!!! OMG!! Even at 52 I was very excited about actually playing a game I have dreamed of playing for over 30 years!! They have a group of 10 people playing. Get this, 5 guys and 5 gals!! I was thrilled!!

Yesterday was the first time I played. I was a little nervous. I really do not role-play in MMO's. I was worried that I would not fit in. I only knew one person there. I took the role of an Elf Cleric (the half elf ranger was spoken for). Off we went. They actually started the game a week before. They other players had the history of their characters already set. So I had some catching up to do.

We are all playing teenagers ranging from 12-18. We are setting out on our first adventure. I can not recall all the classes or races, but we have 2 guys playing brothers. One is a Human Wizard, age 16; the other is a Half Elf Ranger, 14. The ranger is definitely the more mature of the 2. The wizard was so excited about being able to blow stuff up (what wizard isn't?) that he hardly thinks before he acts and gets the group into a world of trouble! Watching this southern guy hollering and waving his arms around cracks me up! From now on every wizard I imagine is going to have a nice southern drawl!.

Is 10 players too much? Yesterday we had 8 playing. It was hard to find anything to do in the downtime between battles. I mean after all only so many people can search a desk. During much of the gameplay I just watched, trying to learn what dice to roll, what spell to use. These people have been playing DnD a while, even though 4th edition is new to them. I have insinuated my personality into the game. I let the wizard bleed a bit before I healed him. We also do not zap bears anymore, we scare them first. It is going to be fun to see how this group of players and their characters progress. I did feel at ease and I am sure as my role-playing skills develop I will have way more fun.

If you have never played before give the game a try. I am glad I never gave up on this dream. I hope there is a dream out there that you have not given up on and you may end up fulfilling it tomorrow!!


*hugs*
Geth

Friday, July 4, 2008

The Star Trek Experience is Closing

I was grouped in WoW last night, when one of the party members mentioned that Quarks is closing in September. I was saddened to here this, as I have spent several fun filled days and nights at Quarks. I know this is going to sound silly but going to Quarks is one of the reasons I go to Vegas in the first place. I am not much of a gambler (read not at all) so I look for other things to occupy my time and give Las Vegas my money.

I have been watching Star Trek since the original series first aired. I has a school girl crush on Mr. Spock. I truly wished I could travel with them to "Seek out new worlds". At Quarks and The Star Trek Experience, I get the chance not to mention it is the only place I can find Romulan Ale.

I hope the owner of the Experience does something with the idea at one of its many theme parks. I am going to Vegas in August and I plan on spending way to much time at Quarks. Taking a tun of pictures for a nice Quarks scrapbook! If you happen to be in Vegas between August 9-18th stop by Quarks, I will be the one that has blue in her hair!

*hugs*
Gethani