Matthew Hunter

Session Map The first full game session. Dean (Thic Duc), Mary (Kriselle), Doug (Thorbald), Larry (Fafhrd), and Karl (Burgess). We left the initial group of six people investigating the Sage’s Tower. With one of the players missing, three party members remained just outside the bottom of the staircase, cowering in fear and inexperience… Fafhrd and the Mouser advanced boldly to the right, encountering two doors. One led to a room filled with animals, most of them in cages, but several giant rats and several bat-like creatures turn and rush the party in a frenzied mob.

After a routine trip to Rookroost, Tom o’ the Seven Sevens puts out the word to all residents of Dunwitch. Trouble is afoot, he says. The realm needs those of strong arm, quick mind, dextrous fingers. More than that, the realm needs men of good heart and a thirst for adventure. (“What about ale?” “Aye, that too, but adventure first!”) All men and women nearing adulthood but not yet settled in their lives, or yearning for something more, and especially anyone who is feeling the call of destiny or who has ever been the subject of a prophecy, are requested to gather in the tavern for an announcement that will have a profound impact on their lives, the lives of all their friends, and even the lives of their livestock and pets.

Pyrzival (A gnome fighter played by Brian) in the Evil Overlord campaign Pyrzival was born to two tutors to the royal household in the Great Kingdom. When he was young his parents took employment with the King of Nyrond to tutor his children. Pyrzival seemed destined to be a tutor to noble children as well, as he soaked up not only how to teach but also the information they were teaching – that of science, engineering, mathematics, and astronomy.

Warin (Human cleric played by Coby) A novice cleric with a yearning for adventure at the beginning of his career, Warin was born and raised on a farm outside Rookroost. Taught to be helpful and kind to his parents, and seeing the state of the world in the Bandit Kingdoms, he joined the small church of St Cuthbert in Darkshelf upon reaching adulthood, hoping that the church would teach him to spread the doctrines of law and order throughout the land.

Tiberium Elyse III (A paladin played by Chris) Tiberium grew up within a minor noble family located within the County of Urnst. His grandfather, Tiberium the Elder, was granted knighthood and a small estate after making a name for himself in a campaign against an invading tribe of orcs. In the course of that campaign he rescued a gnomish tutor known as Pyrzival, who he later employed as a tutor for his sons.

Leah (Half-elven Ranger played by Mariel) Leah is a ranger whose association with Barron keeps them both in a moral grey area. Her father was an elf, and her mother was a human mage who went insane. Having more elfish features physically (than Elward) she was less teased about being a half elf… but everyone talked behind her back about being the daughter of a crazed mage. She ran away with Elward to escape her past and became the smarter, more level headed half of the treasure hunting duo.

Thic Duc (Human Monk played by Dean) A monk from a distant land (Nyrond), Thic Duc walks the earth in search of impressionable individuals who can be brought to perceive the truth of the one true god. So far, he has successfully converted two people: Kriselle’s parents. He would desperately like to complete the set, and the two have spent many hours discussing philosophy, fungi, and religion while peacefully fishing for mushrooms.

Many years ago, when I was a young man, or perhaps a boy in the process of becoming a young man, I walked into a bookstore and bought a book that would change my life. I bought the book on the basis of the cover, because the cover was the coolest thing I had ever seen: a man wearing sunglasses drives a car in a futuristic city. You understand, I say he drives the car because that is what one does with a car.

There’s not much to say about Adapt and Overcome (The Maxwell Saga), the third book in Peter David’s series about a young man who joins the space navy and comes of age amongst a series of increasingly improbable coincidences. It’s fast, reasonably fun, and the infinite improbability drive is set to just a notch below winning the lottery without buying a ticket. The author’s complete failure to grasp his readers’ comments about his main character’s plot invincibility in prior books is a charming mirror of his main character’s casual stroll through explosions, firefights and love affairs that never seem to leave a scratch on him.

The one-line review is that Interstellar is the movie that 2001 should have been. It has a mysterious anomaly orbiting Saturn, a realistic depiction of a space mission to investigate and explore. But it also has so much more: incredible, moving performances from the leading actors and actresses, an emotional investment on both the personal and the species level, strange and wonderful and terrible things to find, and a powerful human drama that plays out across that background.