Who says D&D is fantasy

Reported on the 'net COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 16-year-old girl has bagged a 10-foot alligator in a South Carolina swamp. In the middle of the night. With a crossbow. The State newspaper in Columbia reported that Cammie Colin won one of 1,000 lottery slots for the state's annual public alligator harvest. Hunters are required to use a crossbow or a harpoon. Cammie was the only person in her group authorized to shoot the 353-pound gator. The Lexington resident was with a guide, her father, an uncle and her brother in an 18-foot boat early Sunday in the headwaters of Lake Marion. They have 40 pounds of alligator steak in the freezer now. Cammie says most of her teachers are using her new nickname, "Killer." What do you think, is she a rogue? Sneak attack plus critical hit with maximum damage? I wish they would provide more crucial details. Was it a light or heavy crossbow? Did she kill it in one shot? Does she dress like Lidda? (I mean, what is up with those braids and that red nose of hers). After you think you have killed it, who goes and pokes the alligator with a stick to see if it is really dead? Adventures need to know this type of information.

Endless quest for the perfect summer beer - part 3

Summer is waning, the air is getting crisp, the leaves are getting ready to turn vibrant colors, and I did not write about Mexican beer! Once upon a time I drank Corona. I started long before it was the most heavily marketed of the Mexican Cervezas. Not fancy, just a good clean, crisp brew on a hot summer day. Then it happened: I started to get headaches from drinking just a few Coronas. Was it the dastardly buyout by some mega-brewing company that lead to this unfortunate turn of events? I will likely never know for certain but as I have blogged previously, AB products give me headaches. So long Corona, I knew you well. Now what. I have always liked Dos Equis, and still do, but that brew just does not have the hot summer day quenching ability that Corona had upon my tongue. Modela and Negro Modela are really too creamy to meet the requirements, and they too have become on my forbidden list for headache reasons (another AB buyout!). My old standby when I could not get Corona was Sol. It is a little less body than Corona but it is not too bad. The challenge is to find it, or any other Mexican beer for that matter, in the stores in this area. Corona has the market for Mexico beer space nearly locked up tight. Dos Equis sneaks in there but not much else. If you go to Mexico you will find Tecate and Presidente are on most menus. They are drinkable but far from my favorite. My current favorite is Pacifico. I took to drinking this on a trip to Mazatlan. Pacifico is the local brew there, started by a German immigrant of course. Apparently there was quite a large number of Germans who went to Mazatlan, and the remaining evidence can be found in the beer and music. I kid you not, you will hear oompah mariachi bands. Maybe I am remembering the trip fondly when I pop open a Pacifico, but I find them simple and refreshing, which is really what I want from my hot summer day brew. They are difficult to locate here outside of Mexican restaurants. Note to local retailers - stock them and I will buy them. I would recommend both Mazatlan and its native brew. What about you? What is your favorite summer Mexican cerveza?

My RPGless summer

Where did the time go? Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event. Oscar Wilde It is bad enough my group only gets together 1-2 times per month normally due to our combined busy schedules, but we had no regular game outing all summer. We had a busy summer, and the schedule was out of control. I suppose I am mostly to blame, but since I am DM at this time who is going to call me out (and have there character live, mwah, ha, ha, ha). We should break our gaming fast this coming weekend. Finishing a ship board adventure on Talk like a pirate day. Fitting. With such a long hiatus I will be recapping much from the last outing. I do not normally like to do that. Game logs and group memory is for that purpose. This time I will make an exception. What do you other DMs out there do?