entranceway | video } and that is when we heard it: the sound of rollin' dice

Hey people! [Dipper grins, bouncing on his heels. If he hasn't slept much since the event, it's hard to tell, but considering how much sleep he got that weekend, it's really all averaged out to his usual semi-exhausted state.]

It's been a while and we've got a lot of new people so I thought it was time to remind people about the weekly game I'm running.

[He holds up an epic looking box.]

Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons! Which is pretty similar to something called Dungeons and Dragons or Warlocks and Warriors or probably some other magic stuff and other magic stuff that's found in any number of different worlds. It's tabletop roleplay, and it's awesome. If you're interested in escaping this weird fantasy world for a different, better weird fantasy world where you can fight evil and do magic and be awesome, let me know. Or just show up. I can help you make a character and show you the rule book.

[A beat.]

It… doesn't require as much math as you think it does. But you still might want to bring a calculator.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You have Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons here?

[finally, something good exists in this world??]

We do! Come join us, Fiddleford! It's a motley crew but I've found that participants from other dimensions really spices things up.

I can only imagine what kind of characters that they've come up with... speakin' of which, who are you playin' as?

[Is it the same one as from when we played thirty years ago, or have you changed it up since then?]

Oh, you know, the usual-- A mage skilled at ranged combat, high intelligence. I have his full sheet around here somewhere.

[And ART. You just KNOW he has sketches lying around somewhere--he always did.]

[Fiddleford actually manages a chuckle at that, not at all surprised to hear what kind of character Ford is playing.]

You'll have to show it to me sometime, along with any sketches you've got so far. [Hmm] I'm thinkin' about goin' with a bard, high intelligence of course.

[Still debating what to do about stats to boost, either focusing on a bard's support skills during combat or support skills outside of combat...]

Certainly! I'd be happy to draw up a bard if you give me some initial design ideas. This is going to be great! Just like old times! Or uh-- moderately recent times, in your case.

[... You know what, he's in too much of a good mood right now to touch that comment.]

Well I can tell ya right now what's an essential detail of my bard's character.

[And then he holds up a banjo that had been previously resting off-screen...]

Fiddleford! [His tone is actually fake exasperation, and he does a terrible job of hiding a grin. He too is in such a good mood that he really can't be ~~too~~ irritated about the addition of a banjo.

This Is Fiddleford.]

Alright, alright! I'll help you design your banjo-playing, high-intelligence having bard.

[Hahaha]

Happy to hear it! I'll even play somethin' fittin' for the adventure too, if you'd like.

[Like he did for Dipper, he strums out a few chords on the banjo now that almost sound like you could hum along the Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons to it...]

[Stanford almost objects, but the simple strumming is actually a nice breath of fresh air. It's been quite some time since he's heard actual live music. He grins.]

Okay, okay... Something with suspense, then! And a good cadence to it.

Yeah! I've been running a game here for a while now. You should come hang out. We can definitely use more people who actually know how to play.

I'd be honored to! I'll need to put together a new character sheet here, I reckon, but it shouldn't take long at all.

[Since he already has some idea of what character he wants to play, so he'll be able to fill it out quickly.]

What class are you thinking of?

I'm thinkin' a monk, or perhaps even a bard--I certainly got the know-how needed for one, I'd think.

[And that's when McGucket picks up a banjo from somewhere that had been sitting previously off-screen and strums out a tune that one might find themselves quoting the DD&MD oath along to: With pen and paper, shield and sword, our quest shall be our sweet reward...]

[Ah, the banjo. Nice to know he retained something from his sanity days and didn't just start playing it when he lost his mind.]

Bards are hard to play effectively, but I feel like you can probably handle it.

[Indeed: ask Ford sometime about how he had to ban Fidds from playing the banjo after 8 because of how excessive his playing was when they used to work together.]

Of course. 'Sides, a challenge like that can make playin' the game more interestin', right?

Only if you're ready for it. Believe me, I've played with some terrible bards.

Oh yeah? Got any good stories to share with that statement?

[give us the deets, kid]

I wish. Mostly just people not realizing what a support role is. Like, it's not that you can't be a bard and have your moments of badass, but for the most part you're there to give everyone else bonuses and make them more badass. It's awesome when done well, but most people want to be the one doing the cool stuff, not helping others do it.

I get what'cha mean: back when Stanford and I played together in college, there were occasionally other players we'd play with that would have that kinda stubborn attitude. Some arguments would heat up faster than a hot tin roof in July as a result.

[Maybe that was why the two of them had more fun just playing on their own most of the time.]

[Dipper nods. He knows how that is. He's played with people who were there for the story and people who were there to hit monsters. One was definitely more fun than the other.]

You get a lot of minmaxers?

A few, sometimes. Usually they weren't too bad, or at least found a way to be amusin', but then there's one that would find a way to break up the game somehow and that could be frustratin' to play with if done badly.

[Dipper shakes his head.] Never split the party. That's, like, adventuring 101.

video } and that is when we heard it: the sound of rollin' dice

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