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Why the name 'Parrying is for wimps'?


A good question that deserves an answer.  I have been playing fantasy based role playing games since the mid 80s....during that time the main group of players i have explored dungeons with, defeated mythos creatures with, flown into the sky as a superhero with or died valiantly with on a field of battle have shouted certain phrases in the heat of the dice rolling moment that have stuck with us as a group, almost like the myth or legend that persists in classical tales.  One of them is 'Parrying is for wimps', this normally precedes a fool hardy belief that the dice will smile on you in a characters particularly precarious scene.  Maybe the character was on their last few hit points and was intent on killing the end of level baddie, maybe they had a few endurance points and had to hold up part of collapsed building using their super strength, maybe they were going to overcome insurmountable odds....whichever situation it is that the character finds themselves in, when the the immortal words  'Parrying is for wimps' is shouted across the gaming table, you know either a legendary event is about to happen, or a character is going to end up become another piece of paper (or nowadays a digital sheet) filed away never to be seen again.

So this blog is about role playing, my experiences and friends i have played these games with and my own personal take on experiences i have had.  

I expect there will be a 'history' section covering my entry into roleplaying and how my gaming history played out.  I'll write play reports of scenarios i am currently playing and also descriptions of scenarios i am running, the characters reactions and a reflection on how i could run the adventures better in the future.  I hope through the play write ups you may get some handy tips or different perspectives when playing or running games that you can then use in your sessions.  This blog will contain spoilers as i 'll be describing scenarios in detail!

There'll be other RPG related topics i write about based on my experiences or views on the topics.  

As you will have guessed from the opening lines, i am of a age that grew up without the internet and all things social media, everything was either done in person or not at all for nearly all of my gaming life.  The revelation of virtual gaming and the communities 'out there' really only came to my attention when lockdown occurred in 2020.  Since then my gaming has increased significantly, i have joined various discord servers, made some virtual friends and enjoyed several online conventions.  This in turn has led to a massive increase in my listening to actual play podcasts and other gaming related podcasts.  

A month or so ago I posted some descriptions of games i have played in on a discord server, just one or two and then someone types - 'You should start a blog'.  So now i have and here is the start.  Hopefully you'll find it a useful resource and gain some amusement from it as i try and figure out how to best use this software and how i can improve as a game keeper and player.

My next blog post will relate to the Cthulhu scenario 'Blackwater Creek' which i have been running on the discord server for RPG Nook: RPG Nook - YouTube

Ta ta for now and remember Parrying is for wimps!

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