What to put in a portable hole?

Last session, one of my players (Fede V.) decided that Falquian, his figher/mage-slayer, while in the city, will stock the portable hole he had gained the previous session. But he didn't tell me and we didn't do all the roleplay of the "shopping & buying"; he just made the list and anounced he was done. The dialogue was something like:

Player: "That's it, all we need is in the portable hole."

DM: "W-what? All right, read me the list."

Player: (reads the list aloud)

(everyone laughs)

DM: "You mail me that list, I'm gonna put it in the blog!"

And so here it is:

a freestanding bookshelf (already there)
a worktable (already there)
a comfortable cot (already there)
3 barrels of dried food (already there)
4 barrels of fresh water (3 were already there)
1 barrel of oil
5 bedrolls
5 winter blankets
5 cold weather outfits
500 ft. of hempen rope
10 lbs. of soap
a shovel
a miner's pick
a crowbar
100 trail rations
5 sacks (empty)
2 iron pots
flint & steel
2 tents
firewood (for some days)
a small steel mirror
3 manacles
50 iron spikes
10 wooden stakes
10 everburning torches
a grappling hook
a 10 ft. wooden ladder
a portable ram
a sledge
20 flasks of holy water

I don't know if all that fits in a portable hole and didn't do the math, but since I liked it so much I allowed it. As I recently read here, saying yes is more fun.

Finnaly!

Last friday when I got home there was a note from the postman that they had a package for me at the post office. Since they don't work on weekends, and I couldn't go on their office hours, today my wife went to get it. So, I came from work and there it was on my desk, a perfectlly bound cardboard box from Lulu and a post-it from her that today dinner was on me. I finally have in my hands the Labyrinth Lord's Advanced Edition Companion from Goblinoid Games! The binding and printing of the book are of great quality. The artwork is so old-school, I love it. Enough, I'm off to read it and plan my next capaign. Uh-oh, wait, I have to make dinner. :-)

D&D 2010 Season

Yesterday after several tries our group finally got together to start the Dungeons & Dragons 2010 season. It's the final leg to end the Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk module. I guess that by playing a couple of times per month we'll be finishing it around mid-year. There was no combat during the first session, only a couple of dices were rolled for some checks, it was all role-playing. It was a change of pace after several sessions of dungeon crawl and they were all longing for some time in the city. They did plenty of things, from selling loot, to buying equipement, enchanting items, interrogating a prisioner, following leads, information gathering, scrying a potential enemy, sending a message to Mordenkainen informing him about their plans and asking for advice, even communing with Boccob for guidance. By the end of the session they were ready to go back to the Castle.

Read An RPG Book in Public Week

Tomorrow ends the first "Read An RPG Book in Public Week" of the year. It's a curious event to promote the hobby. Click on the image above to find out more about it.

Two years...

It's been two years now since Gary Gygax left us. I'll never forget what I felt that day, it was a mix of sadness and frustration. Sadness for the loss and a state of emptiness that comes along. And frustration because I never had the chance to meet him at a GenCon or other convention. The chance to have a picture taken with him or having some book autographed by him. That day I promised myself to some day visit Lake Geneva. It'll be a sort of pilgrimage to the origins of D&D. To finish this humble homage I found a phrase somewhere some time ago that I think abridges this day's feelings: "Gary, you're critically missed."

Photo by Alan De Smet