Long Rest : Line Shift - Workload & The Unexpected

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Long Rest : Line Shift

Workload & The Unexpected

Watson Stonebridge

 

I've been told it is a right of passage for a blog to miss a promised deadline. I guess that means I am legitimate now, eh? Workload and time management are a fickle mistress. I had planned everything out that I could. The Reapers playoff run, prepping for my sessions, time for the sessions themselves, and even time to write my blog entries. Everything was perfect. And then the unexpected happened. I took a bad hit in the first game of the playoffs and it messed me up bad. I didn't tell anyone, but I started suffering pretty severe migraines for the rest of the series and few a week or so afterwards. I told myself I didn't want to let my team down, but in hindsight, and looking at my stat sheet, I think I may have anyway. We were all still proud of ourselves for making the playoff run, but falling out in the first round stung, even as a late addition to the team. I felt like I should have done more to prove to the team that I was worth their selection.

 

I definitely want to take a moment to thank the Reapers management, Maximus, for taking a waiver on a kid like me, and Cody Lachance; who came into the league a the same time as me and helped make me not feel like the only newbie on the team. I hope we get to play together again sometime soon, and if not, then I plan to wreck you when we go head-to-head. Nothing personal, bud. I definitely need to give a shout out to Kjell Nilsson, who helped me my first day on the team as I wandered the stadium, utterly lost. I may still be wandering those cheese steak smelling halls to this day if it were not for you. I suppose that would not be the worst way to die, smother in chopped beef, cheese, and onions.

 

Things did not go much better after the season ended though. A few teams reached out to show interest in drafting me, but I was in so much pain, even looking at a screen to try and comprehend what they were asking me made me nauseous. It got to the point that after I got better, I simply felt like it was too late to try to fix what I had screwed up, and maybe I'd only make things worse. “Hello sir, sorry for the delay. I have been suffering from migraines.” is not exactly the best opening line to give a team faith in you. Philadelphia and migraines do not exactly mix well, right Nolan Patrick? I can only imagine how my draft stock crashed after not responding to multiple managers. I can only hope that one of them reads this blog, I suppose, and accepts my sincerest apologies.

 

The Dungeons and Dragons game has been going great though! We did delay our start due to my ailments, but the players that joined have been a joy. Okay, its been pure chaos, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when your lives are usually revolving around the strict diets and practice and game times, etc. I have realized I am playing what is called a “beer and pretzels” game. Though, I'm realizing its more like beer and pizza as Anime Protagonist and Tyler Walker always show up with both. I made a corner in my flat to make room for the game. We are going to start playing virtually on something called Roll20 and maybe move to in person games once it is safe to do so, which hopefully is soon. I could go for some non-contact human interaction... I meant hockey! I also realized I may have a dice addiction. I just blame it on all the different things I need to be prepared for. We had a few people offer to join and after reviewing their choices and meeting with them (virtually) we settled on two.

 

Gunnar Odinson @BOOM, who is also going to a time of change as he was recently traded to Toronto, and Tynan Sylvester @diamond_ace , another new player to the VHL joined our little game to start. They have been great to have around and the five of us have gotten along swimmingly and the vibe is I think what we all need, especially this offseason. I did some research about how to start a campaign of Dungeons and Dragons and the main thing I found out was that we needed something called a “Session 0” and it made me realize that something like that isn't just good for the game. Its a tool that could, and should, be used in lots of places. A Session 0 involves all of the players coming together and talking about things they want in the game and the kinds of things they don't. You may be thinking “oh they want magic items, etc.” but it is more than that. I had an entire idea for a story involving dealing with slavery and racism, but multiple players mentioned that they do not want that involved in the game, as this is more of an escape for them, than a way to confront those issues. The key thing that you pick up from these sessions is the importance of listening. Not just hearing the words people say, but active understand and listening to intent.

 

I obviously scrapped that idea and figured out another direction, and if the players do not read the blog, then they won't even have any idea that I was planning it. Another thing that we reviewed was the fact that I would be blogging about the game periodically. The players all agreed that they were fine with that and they looked forward to how people would react to their shenanigans.

 

We will be having our first session in the coming weeks ad cannot wait to share with you all how they get started. Next time on Long Rest : Line Change – It All Began in a Tavern.

Edited March 14, 2021 by duckberg32

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