| These are the three brave souls that volunteered themselves to suffer under the tortures of my first D&D game. Jen and Matt started at the beginning, and Art joined later, once he wasn't at college anymore. Between the three of them, they bring a great variety of experience and ideas to the game. I appreciate this, as it challenges me and teaches me a lot about being a Game Master. |
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Jen is a friend of mine from my second year of college, where we met in a Visual Basic programming class. She majored in Biology and has since graduated. She's engaged to another Biology-lover, Gerry. Jen has been described as both my pitbull and my personal street gang. You can learn more about her by checking out her web-page here. Jen is a relatively new paper-and-dice gamer, as she had only done on-line role-playing until I dragged her into my circle of gaming friends in mid-2002. She brings to the game the fresh perspective of a gamer with none of the assumptions or biases that often come from years of gaming. Jen's character is Eilythia, an Elf that grew up in an otherwise-strictly-human city. She was pulled out of her familiar home and landed in the Quest for Balance by the Mountain Priest of Refton, who had been a sort of mentor to her. During her travels, she has enjoyed meeting many other races, including (much to her delight) several families of Elves. She has also gained a unique mount: a Chocobo, whom she has named "Ray", do to his original yellow coloration. At the Elemental Temples, each of the Elharu have sent one of their children with her, so that she now has 5 Elnar that accompany and protect her. |
| Matt has been a friend of mine since late high school, when some gamer friends of mine dragged me into their circle (kicking and screaming, but apparently not hard enough ;). Matt recently graduated with a Film degree and has an internship doing film editing. He lives a little over a mile from my Mom, so I usually get to see him on the weekends (when I'm not baby-sitting). Matt is a very experienced gamer and one of the two best GMs I know (I'm not going to tell you which one is the best, because that would start a pissing contest between them, and, besides, I don't judge them that way). He's really my in-game mentor, giving me advice on how to better deal with situations and characters and players, as well as keeping my feet on the ground when I make stupid mistakes or try to run off in some totally irrational direction with things. He also keeps me on my toes by doing the most unexpected things in the game, and I'm learning how to adapt quickly to changes in plan. Matt's character is Rayne, a conflicted young man whose nearly-absent father is the Captain of the Guard in Refton. His goal in life was to be as good as (if not better than) his father. But, over the course of his adventures, he has begun to learn that even knights are human, and there are fights in life which don't involve a sword. Despite his near entanglements with evil, he has managed to stay on the path of Good and is now finally becoming that which his heart always longed to be. His steed, Spot, is a trusted companion, as well as being good in a fight. Rayne also has 6 Elnar in his company - 5 from the temples he has visited and one "cross-breed" that he discovered along the way. |
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I met Art also in high school while hanging out with gamer-buddies over lunch periods. Since long before that time, Art has been an artist. He has studied art for several years a Ferris, and a good sample of his work can be viewed here. He also enjoys chatting on the internet and loves cats (everything from house cats -- of which he has 4 -- to tigers -- of which he, sadly, has none). Art is also an experienced gamer and brings a lot of uniqueness to every game he plays. In my game, he plays what might be described as "the thorn among the roses". Amidst the dreamy mists of fantasy, he introduces the raw and the untamed. This is both a challenge and an aid to the game, since he rocks the boat I've so carefully constructed, but, in doing so, helps me to see how far I have strayed from reality. As the real world has contrasts of the smooth and the rough, so must a game, or it loses all purpose. Art's character is an Garau, an Elf bordering on the un-tamed sort. He was raise by traders (who dealt in slaves as well as other sorts of goods) and sees the world as a collection of resources that can be turned to a profit. His rough nature may easily startle or frighten the dainty Elves and Halflings of the northern parts of the world, but he is good at heart and joins the Quest with ferver. He acquired a Dire Wolf as a mount, which he is now training. He joined the party in time to visit the Fire temple, and has 2 Elnar from the temples he's visited, along with one that he found while exploring with Rayne. |
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