If you don't like rock 'n' roll

[satanicpanics]

Who: Eddie, Tim, you
What: Open Dungeons and Dragons time (no knowledge of D&D necessary)
When: April, before Easter
Where: Marche du Lac (if Tim got the permission)



{ Note: This post can be used as a free for all event type situation and tags can be made amongst yourselves, not just for Tim and Eddie! }

Before D&D

[ Maybe you received a letter slipped under your door. Maybe your invitation was by word of mouth, or maybe you spotted a flyer on the community message board, so big and bold that it’s practically screaming at you.

Either way, the message is loud and clear: Dungeons and Dragons is happening at Marché du Lac, and regardless of whether you’ve met Eddie or Tim, you’ve been invited. After all, too many players is a better problem to have than too few.

The whole thing is kind of slimmer pickings than Eddie is used to. There’s no goblets full of sugary beverages or an assortment of chips, but with the Aurora blazing overhead, there is popcorn courtesy of Tim. Maybe you were nice and brought something to share. It would be appreciated—but food is not the focus of this meeting.

Eddie is practically guarding the door, but it isn’t to keep others out. Tim is a flight risk, and he’s not taking any chances on losing his only opportunity to actually play the game. As people enter, he bows deeply and shoves a character sheet into the hands of newbies. Those who have played in Eddie’s previous campaigns are greeted with a bright grin and also provided sheets should they wish to begin anew. ]

Welcome, weary travelers. Yes, I’m back. Yes, I remember…most of you.

[ Listen, some of you are just new faces to him. It can’t be helped. ]

Now, the wind has changed direction since our last meeting, and, uh…I will not be the leader of your adventure this evening. That honor goes to young Timothy over there. But if you need help with character sheets and math, I’m here to provide. House rules apply, so if you’ve ever picked up a handbook in your life, forget you ever did. And if you’d be so kind, you can do me a favor and make sure Tim doesn’t try to slip out, ‘kay? ‘Kay.


D&D

[ It’s very difficult to thread out an actual campaign—believe me, I’ve tried, but please consider this a wildcard prompt for any in-campaign shenanigans that might have occurred. Snapshots sof the game, questions, arguments, accidentally hitting your DM in the face with the dice, unprecedented bathroom breaks that draw the game to a stop, you name it. Spectators are also welcome! The prompt is you oyster, and there are no rules here. ]


Mingling

[ All in all, the campaign goes well enough. Perhaps there were a few stumbles, but Tim did not run off andEddie did not backseat DM (but god, he wanted to), and if you stick around, there’s plenty of time for mingling in the aftermath. Talk amongst yourselves

If you want Eddie, he is decidedly not mingling. Not really, at least. He seems almost renewed by the fact that he actually got to play a game and wasn’t stuck DMing, and he’s already back at the table with a handful of popcorn, scribbling ideas for his next campaign in a notebook. ]

Comments

This is your Dungeon Master:

[ployboy]

Before

Tim is not allowed anywhere near the doors. He has been exiled to this boundary- a makeshift border between Him and Them, a jump rope arranged in the form of a half circle around his chair at the head of the table. Not even the promise of going to fetch his popcorn machine will have Eddie budge. Tim is left waving awkwardly, occasionally, to the people who come on in. He guards his notes, his folding screen, viciously.

This is the most seen he's felt in weeks.

"A good way to look at it is, what do you want to get out of this game," he offers to someone needing help with their character. "There's no wrong answers. It's about being creative. But think- do you want action? Adventure? Do you want to make friends, or are you the last of your clan on a quest for vengeance?"

(Eventually, someone else has to haul the popcorn machine from the Center to the General Store. But hey-- popcorn! Get your DM some, because he's not allowed to leave his circle, and he may bless you by granting a wish...)

Lotta Dungeons, some Sneaky Dragons

[These prompts will be spam and dialogue heavy-- are you sure you want to do that?]

1. There is literally no point in licking the doorknob.

2. Please don't.

3. Oh...kay. Roll for cup check.

4. Well poetry is nice and everything but do you take the road less traveled? You have four seconds to decide. One, two...

5.Congratulations- the swamp is on fire and you need a saving throw now!

[This ain't his first rodeo. There's straight faced humor, a voice trained to convey urgency when needed, and an ability to read the strengths of not only the characters but the players. Tim works to keep the spirits high.

Congratulations traveler, soldier, thief or other: tonight, despite the odds, you and your band of misfits survived.

-except for that one moron who licked the doorknobs, sorry not sorry. Don't ever do that again.]

After

[He's quiet. Which may very well come as a relief for many.

Tim has decided: why not reward consistency, for the players who will want to return? Ask your DM what comes next and he'll call a small meeting. Returning characters may ask for a special item. A level gained. A spell appropriate to their growing experience.

Of course, being one-shots, every campaign is fresh and players might choose to create new characters as well.

There's no guarantee that who you play with now will be available to play this game at a later time.

Quiet, Tim then sets out to clean up. Louis will kill him if he doesn't. And besides that, it's just good manners.

Good game, everybody.]

Lotta Dungeons, some Sneaky Dragons — 5

[castitas]

[ She still. Cannot believe. That even despite he's running this game... he didn't invite her to come to this. Like thank goodness for Eddie Munson for having the sense and kindness to invite her but seriously Tim? Like, sure. Okay. It's fine.

And she even came prepared with her own character. Eddie helped her put together a character and everything last year. It's... painfully obvious considering it's Kate — a human paladin by the name of Lady Catherine of Arcadia. But like, to be fair, it's not like she's ever played Dungeons and Dragons before she ended up here.

There have been particular looks his way but she inhales and rolls. ]

I got a fifteen. And I have a plus one in Dexterity, so— [ Her eyebrows raise. ] am I okay?

[ployboy]

[How was he supposed to know, and besides-

Can't talk, honey, there's evil afoot.

Tim clicks his tongue. Is unaware he clicks his tongue.] Lady Catherine takes some bludgeoning damage from the Black Dragon but she's out of range of the warlock's fire spell. [-a look to the warlock in question-] Remember there's a cooling off period after certain attacks. [Kate:] Choose one: try and extinguish the fire of the swamp that everyone. is. in. or save only your nearest friends, or... attack the dragon? You just took damage. Keep that in mind.

[castitas]

[ It's fine. They talk about this later.

Kate notes down the damage, head lifting at the options presented. Oh, crap. She steeples her hands, considering in thought. Deal with the fire, save her nearest friends or attack the dragon. After taking damage. ]

I... don't have anything to put out the fire. [ She looks sheepishly around the table. She's pretty sure she can't pray for divine intervention. Attacking the dragon alone would be stupid. ] I need to save my friends. That way we've got a better chance of dealing with this with more people standing.

Can I use Aura of Protection?

after

[castitas]

[ It's after. She wants to catch him before she has to get back home, before the Lieutenants start to worry. It was bad enough having Lieutenant Irving's fretting when she'd gone to the church just before midnight for Christmas Mass — at least it's not that late yet. But she should probably get going.

And yet—

The skies are darkening, but there's a low kind of gloomy light in the air with the twilight. She's hanging back, with most people having left to return to the cabins they call home in this place. There's only a few people left, still chatting while Tim busies himself with cleaning up. No time like the present.

She still can't believe— ]

Hey. [ She fidgets with her hands, twisting her fingers. ] That was actually pretty fun. You did a real good job running it.

[ployboy]

[It's one thing to be social during a social event-- yet Tim can't help but wonder: is he about to screw this all up? There's already the internal debate of what to not do. When Tim sweeps up a lost scrap of paper (math madly scrawled on both sides), he looks up.

Doesn't know what to make of her fidgeting.

But he smiles, and only wishes certain other people weren't around to see it (but that's another layer of complexity to this conundrum, and one Kate shouldn't be made aware of).] It's a lot of moving parts at once, huh?

[Amused, conversational. Fun... she did think it was fun.]

Thanks for coming. Everybody caught on faster than we had thought. Maybe next time I'll actually have to make you work for the potions and spells crafting.

[castitas]

Yeah. [ Kate huffs out a small laugh. ] There's a whole lot going on. You kinda get the hang of it eventually, though.

[ Even if it's vaguely stressful at times. She doesn't wanna get her character killed off, okay? She's very attached to Lady Catherine, she worked real hard on her. Kate's face scrunches up briefly as she smiles. Oh, Lord. Please, she's not that much of an expert to deal with that—! ]

Maybe keep to baby steps, at least for a couple more sessions yet.

[ Next time, though. ]

Why— [ Her mouth remains open for a few beats and she cuts herself off before she inhales, cheeks puffing briefly — a little awkward. ] It... would have been nice if you'd invited me.

[ Y'know. Rather than Eddie inviting her. ]

Before

[shoving]

Bruce almost didn't come. Shock of shocks. DnD's appeal had long since waned for him, replaced by real monsters in the dark who were not subject to the whims of a DM. They did what they wanted and people suffered for it. But...well Tim had asked and Bruce felt compelled not to be a disappointment.

At least not at this point in time.

When he comes to the game, he intends to spectate. Become one with the shadows of the room and watch the game unfold from there with minimal interference from him. He'd prefer it if they didn't even realize he was there.

But knowing Tim as minimally as he does, Bruce is aware it's only a matter of time before he's spotted. So maybe this time he'll take the initiative and approach Tim instead.

"Are you always DM?"

[ployboy]

Can't hide if Tim's been looking expectantly towards that door- not for Bruce but for someone else (there's a real moment where Tim wonders if this is a hallucination, the heartbreak and homesickness hitting too painfully in one fell swoop). Unable to leave his summoning circle and unwilling to... wave hello to someone that Tim Drake has only met once, he turns back to pointing out the attack differences in character classes to a puzzled noob who never asked for any of this.

Bruce actually approaches, which is another exercise in self-restraint and not jumping out of his skin.

Bruce just complicates things like that.

But Tim, eager to forget reality, flips over a sheet of dialogue when B-- when Jack Shaw speaks up. He drums his fingers across the blank face of paper now, and hums. (Again: nervous.)

"Not always," he drawls. "Usually. It's been years since I DMed back home. And it's the first time we try this here." He jabs a thumb to the Big Haired Broski. "Eddie's idea. And he already introduced me, but, hey. I'm Tim. And I... forgot your name?"

Like first impressions, fresh starts are a pain in the side.

[shoving]

It's what he does: skulk in the shadows and make things difficult for himself and everyone around him. Tim wouldn't be the exception. Not so long as Bruce's orbit is something he couldn't fully escape from. Bruce had already decided he would keep his distance. But only so far. He doesn't like whatever feelings Tim drums up in him, but he's not in any position to fully rebuff him. Tim knows where he sleeps now.

He doesn't expect much from the conversation. A bit of banter, maybe. Some small talk. Exchange of pleasantries. Something to make his presence known - maybe even felt a little - before he slithers off back into the shadows to watch. The people, at least. He's not really interested in the campaign. He wants to get a feel for the population here. A better one than what he got from the community center the day he arrived.

So imagine his surprise when Tim offers a name that sounds genuine. More so than Callum had. He doesn't have any memories to go with the name, unfortunately. He doesn't know where he would fit in, but imagines it's after Jason.

It does make him wonder how many more were there and what had this other Bruce been thinking?

"Bruce."

It can be an equitable distribution of pains in the side.

"We met at the community center, remember?" Of course he does.

Dungeons, 4

[solitarysoul]

Uh...b-but...t-they both might be dangerous, right? We don't know which is better...

[He was always like this, wishy-washy and relying on the other players to make decisions.]

[ployboy]

[He speaks! Tim nods, acknowledging the concerns.]

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both

[That's it, man. That's literally all he remembers of that poem. But it's better than continuing the count, right? 3, 4, 5--

Three... and ...a half...]

Left or right?

he will actually pick next tag just give him a moment

[solitarysoul]

U-uh um...I-I...

[This is actually distressing for him, okay. What if he picks wrong? What if he steers them into danger or they miss something important on the other path? What if he fucks this up beyond repair? Why did people let him make decisions like this?!]

before; (closed to eddie)

[stevieboy]

What the hell, man?

[ Steve walks out of his room with the letter in hand, because, well, why would Eddie slip it under the door when he could just give it to him? But also - ]

You know I don't do this nerd shit.

[satanicpanics]

[ Because just asking can be easily tuned out. A letter is attention-grabbing, and Eddie can practically count the seconds until the door swings open and Steve comes wandering out with it in hand. ]

Uh huh. You’ve only said, oh…twenty times?

[ He’s settled on the floor, drawing up more flyers and letters to pass out. He’s not letting his first opportunity to play in a campaign in months get taken away from him. He plans to invite everyone who will listen, and poor Tim can handle it from there. ]

But, uh, you know, Steve, I don’t think your Sunday nights are exactly bursting with activity here, so unless you have plans to shovel snow…

[ He trails off, glancing up with a grin. Are you really going to deny him this, Steven? ]

[stevieboy]

I've been here, like, a month. I'm not this desperate for something to do.

[ Yet. Steve fears that time is nigh, but he has to do something to keep it at bay. ]

Maybe I wanna go play hockey or something. You know, something cool.

Louis de Pointe du Lac, store proprietor, vampire

[flambeaux]

Louis greets his guests (potential customers) with his usual practiced smile, all Southern charm, though he is disappointed his offer of jazz vinyls on the record player is soundly turned down. Louis is the host, but he knows nothing about D&D beyond a disjointed explanation from Tim. In theory, the front of the Marché du Lac can and should be used for small community gatherings, but Louis imagined they were going to be for sharing coffee, live music, or book clubs, not fantasy buffs munching on popcorn. (They better clean up after themselves...)

Like Eddie, Louis also thinks Tim is a flight risk. Anything that keeps Tim out of trouble is fine by him, though Louis doesn't like the way he looks at sweet innocent Kate.

Louis is never seen eating. He hovers curiously near the table despite himself, arms crossed over his old-fashioned suit.

"I've read stories and played table games, but never together." Okay, Grandpa.

For lack of anything better to do, he flicks open his lighter and pops a cigarette in his mouth because it was 1940 when he left New Orleans, and he forgets most of this evening's crowd are from times when people didn't smoke inside.

[ployboy]

It's a special kind of hell to have so much unbridled energy coursing through his body, and to be in such close quarters around so much-- fuel. Food. But exposure therapy, playing with his own new limits, had ended with only fantasy violence. And it's worn Tim down just as he'd hoped.

So the great flight risk himself now walks slowly, inspects the floorboards, shuffles chairs back to their place in the attempt to find the last of the errant popped corn. He had slipped outside only to watch for Laelaps; the wolfdog wasn't stupid though, and she had no reason to wait around outside with only angry birds for company.

Back to the store and the smell of gamers (sorry- as in, actual excitable human bodies), burnt corn, and cigarette smoke, Tim exhales. Admits, "Okay, things got a little out of hand." But, "Luckily there wasn't any smooth jazz to expedite the debauchery, huh."

Seriously, it wasn't his fault! If anything, he put a masterful stop to-- dragons.

[burying]

"Think the preferred term is 'roleplaying'." Kieren offers with a small, crooked smile.

Has he played DnD before? Nope. Well, other than the discussions and attempts of trying to rope Kieren into it all by Eddie — who's the reason Kieren's here tonight. Like fine, he's giving in. He's here. He's not eating any popcorn (he ate before he came over). He's... going to play DnD.

God help him.

"It's kinda like playing pretend. But— more detailed. And not exclusive to kids."

i'm sorry i had to

[flambeaux]

Louis looks at Kieren like he crawled out from under a rock like some fell creature. He is reminded of when Claudia first started saying crass things just to embarrass him.

"...Kieren, this is not the place to be discussin' what goes on in the bedroom."

Roleplaying.

[solitarysoul]

"It's weird...I thought it was really odd at first. But its kind of fun!" He's not very good at the role-playing part but he's still played a few times.

kate marsh | life is strange

[castitas]

☮ before dnd — eddie

[ Eddie Munson is very much a welcome back to see back in the Northern Territories. He's actually a pretty sweet person and she's honestly missed him, even if Kate can't really say she knew him as well as most people. She'd probably never admit it, but she even missed his late-night Aurora Shows — the ones that often woke her up and kept her up most of the night. She'd be pretty grumpy those times but she's an early bird, okay. She doesn't stay up late.

(Eddie is hope that the others who disappear might eventually come back.)

So of course Kate took him up on his invite of doing a game night. She's brought in notebook and character sheets — kept safe this whole time. Because you never know, there'd be always a chance DnD could happen again. And if not, it's a nice memory to keep. ]

I like how you ending up back here immediately means more Dungeons and Dragons.

[ Although she does immediately pause, brow furrowing. ]

Wait, you're... not being the DM—?

☮ mid-game

[ Kate's character isn't all that surprising. Eddie helped Kate put her together last year, even if it's probably super cringey: Lady Catherine of Arcadia. A Paladin Human of noble birth who chose to leave her family and riches behind to set up a path of righteous to protect the weak and innocent, fighting the hordes of evil and annihilation. And yeah. She's Lawful Good. Which potentially leads to some... conflicts within the party, such as: ]

1. "Put it back. Right now."
2. "We agreed to do it for the price offered. You can't go back on it now."
3. "We're not taking the law into our own hands, we have to tell the guards."

[ Listen, she's not being a stick in the mud. Don't @ her. ]

☮ afterwards

[ Kate is totally not purposely hanging back to speak to Tim. She's totally not. Do not call her out on her. She's just chilling. Hanging out. Sure, she's slow to pack up her stuff. Loitering a little. Maybe she's just here to chat to people about the session. That sorta thing.

But she's not hanging back for any particular reason that is Tim-related. Not at all. ]

[satanicpanics]

[ As pleased as he is with himself for luring Steve Harrington into a nerdfest, of all the people to arrive, Eddie is happiest to see that Kate accepted his invitation. It’s true that they don’t know one another particularly well, but he always respects someone who puts as much effort and thought into their character as Kate has.

She also sat with him when he couldn’t sleep due to the glimmer fog, and he’ll never forget that. ]

Shocking, I know. But, uh, the problem with DMing is that you don’t actually get to play the game. Pulling the strings is kind of a game in and of itself, but I’ve been Dungeon Master for the last…seven games I’ve done? So as much as it absolutely pains me to turn the reins over to someone else…

[ He wants to play, pure and simple. Grinning, he leans in and drops his voice to a stage whisper. ]

Pretty sure Tim is one clear path away from bolting though, so…we’ll see how the evening turns out.

Game, 3

[solitarysoul]

We don't know if we can trust them, though. Or if they'll react in time.

[Levi's been playing a bog-standard human fighter because writing characters is intimidating he's not creative okay. Also neutral, but neutral good and Levi's distrust of authority shows through at times.]

Before

[solitarysoul]

[Levi's been to some of these before. He never plays anything but a bog-standard human fighter and isn't really good at the "role playing" part but he's trying. He's that shy, socially awkward member of the group who mostly stays quiet. He started to grow a bit more comfortable at later sessions, but since Eddie's been gone he's likely regressed.

He takes the character sheet with a soft smile.]

T-thanks. Its good to see you again.

[Is it? He's not sure how he feels about that. Eddie was, to him, dead but now he's here again. It is good to see him again, but it opened up a whole lot of confusing and worrying feelings and ideas Levi'd rather not try to figure out.]