Ethesis wrote:
I've got to say that it was pretty cold when I showed up and I was amazed at the strategic placement of the module.

I'll leave it like that, since there were some pretty sharp swords present.

Thanks to Steve, Paul, Gus and John for showing up...we had a great time just talking and hanging out....always great to meet a bunch of folk with the same interests that don't look at you weird when the names "Lawrence Schick", "Woodgrain", "Gary Gygax", "Dave Arneson", "Judges Guild" and "Blackmoor" are brought up in casual conversation!  
 We first met at the local Starbucks....like it's hard to pick out the D&D guys when they are carrying copies of Inferno! (not exactly light reading at the Bucks).  Those D&D uber collectors just have a look about them....after talking about everything from Robert E. Howard, Scandanavian heroes,  nuclear power and Chaosium games, we walked across the parking lot for a brunch at the local Dennys.  I can only wonder what the poor family behind us thought as conversation turned to Arneson vs Gygax, the history of TSR, and various game artists of the classic era, I think I saw the sign of the cross being made at the nearby tables....
  Then we headed to my house (specifically, my  backyard) for some swordsmanship lessons.    Below are some pictures from the backyard sword swinging demo.  Both Steve and Gus brought some hardware, and we got to whack the hell out of some liter bottles filled with water. I have to admit afterwards I'm REALLY interested in getting a sword or two, once I saw how much fun it was and how much improvement was witnessed after just a few tries.  Why, I'll be ready to take on an orc or two (ok, maybe a goblin kid) before long....
  Steve and Paul had to leave due to other commitments, so I showed Gus and John around and dug out the goodie drawer with my white boxes, RPGA and R series, Chainmail, Gygax signed goodies, and more. The funniest part was finding a Blasted Land, Fez:Valley of Trees, and Beastmaker mountain at the bottom of the drawer....I had completely forgotten I had them!  Hell I may have an Erol Otus sketch notebook around here stuffed in a box waiting to be discovered!!!!  After showing the guys the absolute mess of my collection (in about four different places in my house, and not in any sort of order), we headed to Generation X to pick up a few items.....John and I loaded up on DCC Goodman Games stuff we didn't have.  When we got back, Gus and I did some haggling (ok, no haggling at all, we both got some goodies!) and made a few trades...love making game related trades!!!!  After Gus left, John and I commenced to finishing off a pizza and some Shiner while watching the Michigan/OSU game (with John attempting suicide after the game by trying to cut his throat with a dull copy of X1....).  All in all, a great afternoon with some great guys....
     Hopefully we can do this again sometime, perhaps next spring or summer.  Anyone who lives in the area who can attend, you should, because it's great to see the faces behind the names.  It's also fun to find out that everyone I meet from this forum not only has a better job than me and makes more money, but looks to be in better shape.......
 Here are a few snapshots of the gang....



Steve (Ethesis) takes a swing....



Paul (Geoff Dale) takes a stab at eviscerating a bottle...



Gus (Gus Landt) wonders if he can slice John (KingofPain) arm off as easily as he sliced the bottle....



Gus (Gus Landt) demonstrates why it is NOT a good thing for the mage in his brand new cloak to stand too close to the fighter when he whacks the head off the pesky kobold.....



The North Texas Acaeum crew: Mike (Badmike), John, Gus, Paul and Steve

Mike B .

killjoy32 wrote:looked like y'all had a blast there guys!

great to see. now if steve would get his butt into gear and organise a UK meet, now is the time

Al

It was great.

BTW, for more on swords:  http://www.adrr.com/sword/

http://kriscutlery.com/medieval/celtic.html as well.

Some neat stuff out there.

Could I have looked like a bigger retard in that third picture?  

Like Mike said we had a lot of fun on Saturday.  I found out that if you can't swing a baseball bat you probably can't swing a sword very well either.  It took me a few tries to get the hang of it but I finally was able to make a few decent cuts without knocking the bottles off the platform.  As tall as I am I just complained that I wasn't used to fighting halflings and needed to adjust my stance.  

Glad everyone got to make it and definitely looking forward to the next get together.  

I think its funny how you form pictures in your head about how you think folks look like when they post, only to find out that they look nothing like what you thought that they would at all.    Weird how that happens.

Plaag wrote:
*nod* Indeed.

Course Brian with you saying you look like your avatar, well..

ShaneG.

True. Although my head is a bit bigger and my hair is a somewhat darker than Butters, there is defintely a resemblance there.

Oh yeah, and I do actually have chin too, unlike Butters.  

VermilionFire wrote:
And the new wife is letting you out of the house to hang out with the boys.  

Mike is a dead-ringer for another guy I know from Texas (Austin).  It's uncanny, must be something in the water there.

Just good old fashioned southern inbreeding.....my mom's side of the family are cajuns, so.....

Mike B.

Sounds like you guys had a blast, hopefully I'll be able to make it next time around

Beyondthebreach wrote:
Hey Mike, how many times are you going to loose track of these only to find them again?  

http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1389&highlight=beastmaker+fez+blasted

Wow, that's a callback....how can you remember these things when I don't????  So anyway, I decided the disappearing Mayfair items should find a nicer home where an owner doesn't lose track of them....Beastmaker and Blasted both were claimed by fellow Acaeum members this morning; poor Fez I (the runt of the litter) is still awaiting a new owner.
     I have this sickness called compulsive hoarding I'm trying to break out of (only half kidding.....)...all this stuff is nice to have, but when it keeps getting misplaced, it's time to find it a new home.  God knows what lurks in the depths of my storage shed....

Mike B.

VermilionFire wrote:Mike is a dead-ringer for another guy I know from Texas (Austin).  It's uncanny, must be something in the water there.

Funny, Mike looks just like a guy I know who lives in Houston.  I think we're on to something here.  

Thanks for the pics and stories, guys.  Looks like a lot of fun!