Skip to main content

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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Games Expo 2023 - fun was had by all...except when the Hilton bar ran out of ale!

 It’s been a crazy few weeks – three weeks ago the household was laid up with a ‘virus of unknown origin (yeah right…)’, two weeks ago I watched Luton Town Football Club achieve the impossible by gaining entry into the Premier league via the Play Off finals at Wembley, then the weekend after I attended UK Games Expo at the Birmingham NEC.  I had no idea what to expect as I had only visited Expo once before for a day trip quite a few years ago with the family. This time I was in for the entire weekend.  My Expo buddy was Jon who I play Delta Green with so at least I wouldn’t be Billy no mates. The Expo gods were watching out for me so despite rail strikes and a slight panic about the hotel I walked into the Expo halls and wandered around on the Friday afternoon, my wallet fearing what may be coming its way as a number of items caught the eye.  I had meant to be playing in a Cthulhu game on the Friday afternoon, but it had got cancelled earlier in the week, which was a shame. During my w

Grogmeet 2023 – a right load of heroes, villains and demons……………

 Grogmeet 2023 has finished and already I am looking forward to 2024. This year was my third year attending (second full weekender) and it didn’t disappoint. For those who don’t know, Grogmeet is (not) a gaming (convention) weekend and is organised by Dirk the Dice and Blythy from the Grognard Filespodcas t. This year they had really pushed the limits of their organisational skill set and we had three venues to navigate between for games – Fanboy3 , The NorthernMonk and the Whitworth Locke and a pilgrimage to the hallowed place where Dirk and Blythy sometimes record the podcast – otherwise known as The Lass O Gowrie . This is all in Manchester btw. I stayed in the same hotel I was in last year….or so I thought…..it is a very complicated story not worthy of space here, but suffice to say Dirk was right and I was wrong about the location we stayed in last year. There, I said it and am publicly shamed. Anyway quickly moving on…………. On the train up from darkest Milton Keynes on the Fri

How often does Innsmouth turn up on your doorstep?

 Ah yes, Innsmouth, kind of like Skegness but with even more buggy eyed people (don’t shoot the messenger :>), or maybe Blackpool but without the stags and hens, more fish and squid. Either way something fishy is going on when we consider Innsmouth. Luckily for me I didn’t have to travel to remote parts of Massachusetts to experience it as The Innsmouth LiteraryFestival was being held up the road from where I live in deepest darkest Bedfordshire. It was remarkable really, you go years without a sniff and everything being in ‘that there London’, and all of sudden this festival pops up. I got in touch with the organisers ( Innsmouth Gold ) a few months ago and said if they needed any help I’d be happy to lend my time (not sanity of course). Turns out one of the duo that is Innsmouth Gold plays RPGs and so I invited him to the gaming club I attend (Bedford Gladiators) on a Monday night, and before you know it his character was confronting the mythos before you could say ‘cthulhu fht