Lore master, Level One

Beginning

The story starts a long time ago.  For many who are reading this, it may even be a lifetime ago.  Let me start at the beginning–well my beginning, anyway.
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Dungeons and Dragons Online® (DDo) is just celebrating its 16th anniversary.  And this is where my story starts.  ​

 My husband (AKA Chappy), who’d played Traveller RPG by Game Designers' Workshop when he was young, redeployed to the US excited that Dungeons and Dragons was about to introduce its MMORPG. That was February 2006.  He joined DDo and, like most gamers with new content, was lost for hours in the garage smoking his cigars while saving Stormreach.  We moved very shortly thereafter, and I and the kids (ages 6, 8, 11, and 13) would take turns on a shared computer while Chappy, in a new garage–same computer, new cigars–played with us one at a time.  He had his own account, and the kids and I shared an account.  We soon realized that we’d require a 3rd computer and 3rd DDo account–because the family that “slays together stays together.”  I took the hit and re-started my toon Rhenn the Bard on the new account.  While I was at work, someone had to run my toon at all times so that I could get caught up with everyone else and we could run missions together–well half of us at a time, anyway.  It’s probably important to understand at this point that we homeschooled our kids.  When not studying or working on life skills, we were honing our problem-solving skills in a virtual land of myth and dragon. 
 
That was a lot of info to understand this: I’ve never moved out of the MMORPG understanding. All the math was done for me–all that was required of me was to hit the letter E or mash my left mouse, and my Bard swung her staff in a cool arch; and choose my armor based on what I thought looked amazing.  I chose my feats at whim and songs for what sounded cool to me (not the actual sound, but the title of the song).  I didn’t understand the purpose of Bard or how to maximize the benefits–or contrive benefits–from my toon.  The kids, however, took to the whole process much more thoroughly than I had.  For years now, three of them have been dungeon masters for pen-and-paper, first Dungeons and Dragons® then Pathfinder® by Paizo.  They all play various other MMORPGs while Chappy and I’ve remained very active on/dedicated to DDo. 
 
Then Ashleigh came to me with the idea for Twilight Tabletop Games, llc (you can read about that here). And as the jack-of-all trades, I find that I too must lend my hand to writing content.   ​

But

I don’t even know the world that I’ve been traversing for 15 years let alone the new one Paizo for which we are creating content. So, my next step? Ask Ashleigh and Nick for guidance. Where do I start my understanding. Ashleigh jumped right on it and comprised a list of books in order of usefulness. Her list is thus: “Start Here!” (yes, she used an exclamation point): 
      ◻ Background Lore 

• Lost Omens World Guide 
• Lost Omens Gods and Magic 
• Lost Omens Ancestry Guide 
• And a map of the world 

      ◻ Game Rules 

• Core Rule 2nd edition 
• Game Mastery Guide  

      ◻ Bestiary 

• Bestiary 2nd Edition 
• Bestiary 2 2nd Edition 

      ◻ Adventures 

• Troubles in Otari 2nd Edition 

That was the start. I am to follow up with “Then, Go Here” which includes: background lore books “Lost Omens: Legends”, “Lost Omens: Grand Bazaar”, and a third that I’ve lost the title of at the moment; Game Rules with “Advanced Players Guide,” “Secrets of Magic,” and “Guns and Gears” (I’m REALLY looking forward to that last one!); Adventures that have their own sub-cats like “Abomination: Ruins of Gauntlight,” “Abominations: Hands of the Devil,“ “Abominations: Eyes of the Empty Death,” and “Malevolence.” 
 
Nick was surprised she started me where she did, but he didn’t argue. I am in awe of my boys actually. They brew characters that keep their Game Masters on their toes. And when they tell me the toon they are creating and why, my first question is: but how did you know to do that? So when I came to Ashleigh and Nick, he said he learned about the world by studying the monster manuals (and he is the go-to when Ashleigh wants to home brew a monster—and I will be going to him too).

So I did

So I did start. I have the map of Golarian at the ready as I am working my way through “Lost Omens: World Guide.” There is A LOT of information, but it is starting to make sense. I am up to the Broken lannds. Pretty cool beans. ​