I'm up early today. I have no idea why. Everyone else is asleep, including both children. When you have young kids, "Sleep when they sleep," becomes a mantra of sorts. I've been getting up early for work for so long now that sleeping in past seven or eight o'clock is a rare luxury. When it hits, insomnia tends to strike me after 3am.
No gaming scheduled for this weekend. Adam is moving, so we did Ravenloft last weekend, instead. I've had to weigh my options on the workplace D&D game, given that I've got several projects that are either due or coming up within the next few weeks/months. There are other logistics, too, that came into play, and I've ultimately decided to suspend workplace D&D for an indefinite period. It was fun while it lasted.
With the coming release of Star Wars Saga Edition, I'm interested to try the new game mechanics out. I'd like to see what my friends Rodney and Owen have cooked up. I've been role-playing Star Wars since the first edition of WEG's version came out. I stubbornly resisted the d20 edition of the game when it was released, but somehow I was eventually drawn in and converted to the ways of the New Order.
Saga Edition seems solid to me, based on what I've seen. There are changes, some subtle, that I'm not too sure about just yet. Not having played it, I can't say for certain how game play will be affected. I can only look at what has been done and hypothesize about how it might influence the flow of the game. It's supposed to be faster, and I suppose I can't really complain about that. As much as I might like a good fight in any d20 title, they can get bogged down.
Amy, my wonderful wife, has been making not-so-subtle comments as of late. While she is enjoying the Ravenloft game, she has an undeniable preference for Star Wars. "Why aren't we playing Star Wars?" she asked (though I daresay, it might not have been a question on her part).
"Because Saga hasn't been released yet," I said. "Once Saga is out, I'll be happy to run Star Wars again so we can try the new system out."
But what of Ravenloft?
I've got this horrible reputation as a DM/GM who starts games and campaigns, but rarely finishes them. It's a curse of DM ADD, or so I like to think. Though I've felt a pull to run other games in the time since Ravenloft started, I've had little real desire to. It's a lot easier to run a module than it is to create your own adventures, NPCs, encounters, etc., from whole cloth. I spend my off-hours writing freelance game material, so running Ravenloft is almost like taking a vacation from "real" DMing.
So, yeah, I'd like to run Star Wars when it comes out; conversely, I don't want to stop running Ravenloft as a consequence. Running two campaigns concurrently is a possibility that I've entertained, but that opens up a new can of worms regarding scheduling, time, and eventual player and/or DM burn-out. It's tough enough to get five people together every two weeks for a single campaign; trying to coordinate the same five individuals to show up for two games is like herding cats.
The schedule that might work is a two on, one off sort. For instance, Ravenloft one week, Star Wars the next week, and then a weekend of rest the following week. Repeat. This puts three weeks between sessions (which, admittedly, stretches the limits of keeping a game's momentum flowing), but I can't seen any other option being feasible.
I've said it before, I'll say it again: growing up sucks. There's never enough time to do the things you want to do. When I was a kid, running two games (each week, mind you) would have been more that just feasible; it would have been mandatory.
I'm going to lay down on the sofa for a bit and listen to the birds chirping outside, I think. Despite my waking up in the pre-dawn hours, I'm hardly well-rested. I'm still pretty tired, and I know that Stephen will be awake within the next two hours. I'm planning to get some work done this morning, which means I'm going to It's A Grind. But when..?
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