A Special Thanks to PAX East & The Role Initiative!
Hey guys, welcome back to my website! Now, before we get into today’s post, I would like to thank all the wonderful players at my table, and most of all the organizers of this wonderful event. Now, you may be wondering “What’s PAX?”. PAX is a convention where gamers (both digital and tabletop) gather to shop, play, and experience new things. As for the East part, that should be easy enough to figure out. Before I get into the Dungeons & Dragons (DND) portion of this article, let me tell you about a few other tidbits you may be interested in, if not skip the following paragraph.
We had the pleasure of having our pictures taken in a bubble pit with a giant ant statue hanging over it. We then ate some GREAT grilled cheese from a food truck outside the convention; I think it actually saved our whole group a lot of trouble when my younger brother downed a full bottle of caffeinated soda because it gave him the energy to make it through my two-hour Adventurer’s League slot. Now, you’re probably wondering who I’ve been referring to as “The group”. The group consisted of my older cousin, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s brother, and the 101th. (Who are the 101th you ask? Comment, “Team 101th”, or something similar if you want me to get into it more in a future article.) And yes, I did get some cool stuff including a set of dice, and a mini that I will be using at an upcoming event.
On to the DND portion of my adventure! The Role Initiative assigned me a segment of Remnant of a Dream (CCC-TRI-30), a packet of five one-hour mini-adventures. My six players sat down and we began. Initially, I was nervous to the point where it was hard for me to speak and the first 15 minutes consisted of me stuttering in fear as the party grew more and more unimpressed. Then I regained focus and was ready to move the party into the meat of the story. I waited for a player to say, “We leave the Inn,” but instead everyone wanted to make about a dozen investigation and arcana checks on some magical items given to them for a puzzle later in the game. No hate though, because the my DND group would have done the same thing. After MANY detect magic and investigation rolls, the party headed off to the cave that housed a powerful magic item that their druid employer sought.
When they arrived at their destination, they discovered three unusual slots carved into the walls of the cave. As they approached, I put my poker face on to make sure I didn’t give anything away. I was prepared to have the group study their notes for a good half-hour and then have four or five failed attempts at solving the puzzle. Instead, the group one-shotted the puzzle which revealed a chamber containing a ghoul and ghast who were subsequently obliterated by the party. I’d like to call out that this party rolled better than any other group with whom I have ever played. They succeeded on EVERY SINGLE roll — including the ones that were practically useless — like a 19 perception roll that revealed a deer in the woods or a natural 20 investigation roll that determined the type of stone in the cave.
The last thing I would like to do is thank The Role Initiative (Garret, Deb, Eric, Mark, and all the other volunteers) for continuing to give young Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts — like me! — mythic opportunities like DMing at PAX.
Subscribe to HatCHOWDER on YouTube and comment for a shoutout in a future video. Until next time, may all your rolls come up nat 20!
