Audrey and the girls and I got a second game of D&D in with Bryce and Sara on Friday night. This is brilliant because playing with them is a riot, but it also gives us time with grandbaby Robin. His folks developed a desire to play after watching the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" episode of Community a while back, and the girls and I were only too happy to accommodate them. With Bryce recently becoming employed at Fort Langley for the summer, there won't be a lot of opportunities to play, but Audrey and the girls thought it might be good to have a backup character on hand just in case.
At any rate, Friday night saw Kota Rohm the rogue, Wren the wood-elf druid, Anja the cleric of Thor, Milenne the monk and Dura the dwarf fighter making their way into a goblin lair in hopes of rescuing a farming family and hired hands who had been kidnapped in a raid earlier that day.
There are many ways to enter an underground complex of indeterminate size and which is full of monsters of unknown number and disposition. Thanks to a poorly-rolled stealth check and a tripwire-triggered cave-in and alarm, this particular insertion could not be described as either smooth or silent. Thankfully, Wren's Animal Friendship spell convinced one of the wolves to turn on its goblin handlers, which not only evened the odds a bit but also made the fight even more entertaining.
Our heroes eventually triumphed and took a short rest before entering the next room, which contained the prisoners, three goblins and an immense, throne-like chair. The party rushed into the room, swiftly slaying all but one of the goblins, but were completely unaware of the enormous bugbear hiding alongside the wall by the door.
When I put the miniature for this chair-owning brute on the table, I was rewarded with the same quiet acknowledgement of impending doom epitomized by Wile E. Coyote holding up a sign that reads, "In heaven's name, what am I doing?"
Thankfully the bugbear's initial attack on Anja missed, as it can deal an additional 2d6 damage when striking by surprise, which would almost certainly have dropped her - and she's the healer.
Fenya's monk made her way over to help and took the shortest route to the foe, causing Glory to roll her eyes in exaggerated exasperation. Looking at Fenya's positioning, I understood and asked Glory if she wanted to say anything before Milenne's move was finished.
With pronounced gravitas, she took the figurine representing Milenne and in her best pseudo-whine said "FLANK HIMMMM," before moving it behind the bugbear, so they would each be on opposite sides of it and have an increased chance to hit. (I should stress here that the additional Ms are for emphasis and not volume - Glory exercised considerable restraint, I thought.)
"Oh, yeah...right" said Fenya, thus chastised.
Watching your kids learn, whether it's the ABCs or tactical stratagems, is awesome.
And last night I got another reminder as we watched Glory on Netflix. It's a great film that holds up really well, and which certainly merits re-watching in the age of Black Lives Matter. In the opening scene at the battle of Antietam, there are a variety of establishing shots, some of which depict a variety of regiments moving to and fro prior to hostilities.
At one point, a familiar banner is briefly but plainly visible. Audrey and I both pointed at the screen and in one voice cried out, "IRISH BRIGADE!" (Please note: these capitals account for both emphasis and volume, as Glory will no doubt attest.)
Poor Glory was baffled, but we filled her in on how we had learned of the famed Irish Brigade at Gettysburg, and how I'd had a beloved sweatshirt with their banner on it for many years.
Whether banner-spotting or looking for tactical advantage, it's reassuring to know your kin are on the same wavelengths.
Like when Sara baked us a cake to thank us for coming over and playing D&D with them, for instance!
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