Epic play IMO is not really all that different to me than regular play. It seems that the GM is the one who has to work the hardest at this. To keep the game interesting, to find encounters and combat rounds that don't bore the gamers. To me, it's more intense because of the long time gamers that know that something around the corner could be bad, but hey we can deal with it. That seems to be my problem. I have adopted the I can (along with my party members) can kick this thing in the butt. Fot the others, it may involve more, but with me as a pure Barbarian, I have all the numbers I need. I just go in there and kill stuff. Although there are several different things that are more intriuging (sp??). 1. Roleplaying Roleplaying takes on a life of itself in Epic level play. As a newer gamer, it's hard for me to get into this. While this is an aspect I DO want to develop, it is sometimes just easier to sit back and let the Paladin do all the talking. Takes something out of the game, but hey, I'm not here to WORK! :) But seriously, It is something I want to do, but going back to being new (funny how easy it is to blame everything on that!), I get tunnel vision and get into digesting things and don't act. I also weigh the 'feeling stupid' factor. If i make my character do this, am I going to look like a total geek newbie loser?? I know that my fellow players don't think that at all, but it's hard to overcome. I am getting into it, the Gm tending to try and force it down my throat :) . I do what I can. 2. Combat Combat is different, but not really. All your numbers are there on a sheet of paper. All you have to do is play like normal. I mean, yeah, you have that feeling in the back of your head that maybe this encounter could kill you, but it's not likely. It in no way takes away from my gaming experience. I see the reactions of other players when the GM says, you see this coming at you, what do you do. Newbieness takes the threat out of so many monster encounters. You don't know what you are encountering or facing. Because I know the Gm pulls out all the stops and ramps crap up to be lethal. It's more my mindset. Just go in there, beat on stuff and hey if something happens, well, there's always the Paladin to make things better. Well and sometimes the cleric..sometimes lol. All in all, I like the Epic level play. Not for the treasure, tho that is a great addition, but more for the hint of what may come at you. What you may have to do to reach a certain goal. Makes me think, it does. You have to plot your steps a little more carefully. Like in the last session. The party is in a house, and I hear something walking up. we roll for initiative. I could have just run out and starting flailing. And boy did I consider it. Well, it turned out that what walked up was like the 'ruler' of the plane we were on, and she was friendly. Not good if I would have dire charged, raged and beat the hell out of it. But I sat there for about 3 minutes on my turn and actually did consider doing just that. Once again, the Gm wins...making me think of my actions, not just go by rote, killing stuff. Pretty cool stuff. So all in all, do I like Epic level play? Yes i do. On several points. I like to hit 5 times and do 250 dmg a round. I like having 500 hps raged and knowing that while yes i can be killed, it's gonna take a badass to do it. While the badass' become more common, it's still kinda cool to take a hit that would have killed me at like 10th level and shrug it off. Again, my mindset tends to limit me to a point, but on the whole, it's all good.

This game can be frustrating at times. I know basics, like how to play but I don't know a whole lot of what makes it real and tangible. I should say I know the mechanics, but not the heart of it. It does tend to bug me when I chat with other people and they are going on about this and that and I have no idea what they are talking about. The frustration isn't with them, it's with the volume of material to be found and digested. I have no idea where to start or what to look for. All in all, my gaming experiences to date have been very good, but I just have to learn things one scrap at a time and it's a pain in the a**. You have all been at the point I'm at, maybe some of you were quite some time ago, but you have been there. Sitting there, just starting out, while your friends hash out the last big campaign they were on. "Mythos smacked the crap outta that thing. You remember that? I thought we were all goners, until Mysticelf cast that spell." You just watch and listen in a ignorant fog while that combat is rehashed for 20 minutes. Not bored or anything, just lost in the sauce. After a while, you just tend to write up your character background or read while the table does this sort of thing. You half-listen, picking up on familiar names and place, but for the most part you just filter it. There is no problems with it, and it tends to add more to the social aspect of the game, sharing something in common, a group dynamic if you will. But at the same time, it's like being on the outside looking in. This is something you deal with as a new player in a group that has been gaming together for years and years. IT also has it's benefits too. Being incorporated into that dynamic and treated as an equal the first time you take a chair at the table. While you may have to have things 'dumbed' down for you, they are explained with patience and forebearance. 'Ok, you have to have Gwendyl do this to roll for attack and add this. It's simple and I'm sure you will pick it up in no tme, but if you have questions, toss em out, we have enough people to answer them.' While I've advanced past that stage, anything I need to know is answered if I just throw out a question. As with anything that anyone is interested in, it becomes easier to explain when you really want one to grasp the concept. To understand you. Camaraderie and being at ease comes with the passage of time, though it doesn't take much time. Pretty soon your rocking and rolling, hackin and slashin with the rest of them. And thus ends my rant for the day.