AMBER DIE II

As Frodo would say... "It is done."

I just finished my scond marathon with the incomparable ORDER OF THE AMBER DIE, a passionate, dedicated group of Pathfinder players that go back, uninterrupted, to 1987. They have graciously invited me into their cabal, and After 38 hours of play in 3 days, yes, you read that right, I am still working to process my thoughts. Good time to slam out a blog while I wait on my patio for HARD SUIT PRIMAL proof copies to arrive (I'm dying.)

Where to begin? Maybe the drawing. I always draw while I play. I've included some of my sketches from the last three days below. I did about 14 pieces. Look for mor ein forthcoming PAtreon, Paizo and AMBER DIE posts.

As for what happened, well, like all great role playing there is almost no way to recap the saga of events that took place in this our second marathon in the SKY KING'S TOMB adventure path. Our group is a large family of dwarves, Clan Firecask, and we have traveled far, faced perils innumerable, and found new frontiers of friendship together. I even got to share the table with Joe O'Brien from Glass Cannon, not to mention Adam Smith, the group/team's MASTERFUL GM, and all the badasses whose names shall remain their own. Suffice it to say we finished the entirety of volume one of the adventure path, to the letter. And when i say to the letter I mean everything, every detail, every NPC, every map, every combat, to the exacting standards of the source material.

To get some cogent thoughts going, let me start with the gamemastering in this experience, since it is my focus, lifelong journey, and livlihood. There is a vast amount of hyperbole in our hobby, so please know that nothing I'm saying is exageration or over-the-top 'that was great' snow jobbing.

Adam is the avatar of the total GM. Every stat, every roll, every prop, every spotlight, every cheer every jeer, every voice, every sock-footed nat 20 dance. There's so much to celebrate and learn from him that I count myself truly fortunate to call him friend and gamemaster. It's horrific to imagine a bullet list for these learnings, but let me try, for your sake, dear reader...

• Precision: Too often in modern RPG culture is 'streamlining' touted. Too often are deep, thorough reads, months and years of careful thought, and arduous late nights of note-keeping and sheer dedicated work undercelebrated and overlooked. The 'lazy' GM is too often used as a lure. Not here. Adam delivers to the inch. Precision makes source material live and breathe, and offers long, slow rewards that simply have no parralel in the saving of one's time. Dedication to precision make the hobby explode with surgical tension, crescendos of challenge, and brain-busting realizations, as a player, that these gears and cogs are meshing TIGHT. Do the hard work. Be precise.

• Energy and Flow: I set a high bar with exuberance as GM and player. Adam renews my vow to always bring 110% of my soul to the table. No distractions, no fatigue, no moaning, no U-turns, no breaks. Pure nitro.

• Depth: To say that AMBER DIE play experiences have insane lore depth is a total failure of words. Modern D&D has almost become a cartoon parody of itself. Thousands of clones and funny-gimmick RPGs sidestep the entire problem of lore. Worse yet, WOTC D&D seems to almost make fun of itself. In Pathfinder, under Adam's watch, the world of Golarian lives and breathes with serious, consistent, endless lore. The torch is not only held, it is blazing. I strive for this in all my work, and after feeling let down by many fo 5e's stylistic treatments of their own world, the depth here is simply beautiful, quilted, emotional, badass.

• More Depth: The lore of Golarian is only the surface. In the hands of AMBER DIE's team mentality, entire stables of characters are lovingly built and organized into packets, with sub-packets for each level. The arc and revelation of a character is so well-puzzled, especially by our mechanics captain, that one can truly FEEL the beauty in complex, powerful, nuanced builds. Forget 'easy' or 'rules light,' in this team, we embrace the entire machine. There are dividends to the dedicated hobbyist here that can and should terrify the casual player. In this space I thrive.

• The Roots Work: Let's face it, the presnet day RPG scene is a siege of Kickstarters, products, YouTube hot takes, views, and ploys for attention. The hobbyist is assailed with new things, bigger things, books for product's sake, endless enterprises and celebrity fish bowls of 'amazing' gameplay. None of this is the root of what this hobby can be. The root is dedicated, serious, exciting play. AMBER DIE does not wave its arms, or shill for views. It does not advertise or cry out. They just PLAY. The pedigree of their exploits speaks for itself, but as newcomer, THIS IS IT. This is what I came for, this is what I seek, this is the real root of it all. Frankly, videos take up more of our time, especially for avid creators, then focused table time with truly close friends. This is the root. Strive for this.

I could tell of the amazing black-curtained room, the endless props and minis, the art, the maps, the baloon effects and confetti explosions. I could go on and on about how fantastically Pathfinder and the Paizo team have preserved not only the brilliant machinery of "D&D 3.5" but also proven to be standard bearers of lore and tone. I could tell of huge screens for official art, an unbeatable soundtrack. I could tell you about my insane critical cast of Blistering Invective that utterly punked our final boss! This stuff is all great, and all found at AMBER DIE marathons, but it doesn't even need all that. It's so much more.

There's something here that, like in so many niche interests of today, is eclipsed by our noisy, anxiety-ridden society. There is something here that doesn't go back, but captures the beginnings. There's something here that is private, important, LIVED. Not cons, not Kickstarters, not Instagram posts, not celebrities, not financials, not scandals... friendship and love of the hobby as a thing to be done for its own sake. This is the fertile soil in which THE ORDER OF THE AMBER DIE has grown its crop.

Be this! Set aside all the shortcuts and the Zoom meetings. Set aside the chatter and the latest whatever. Set aside the easy path and assuming your local community, YOU, can't get to this immense, complex, hard-earned, roots-level hobby. Make time, spend time, hug your fellow players and mean every second of it, high five the crits and cry for the fallen.

I'm sure you'll hear more from me about all this, especially as I learn more and more from the ranks of THE AMBER DIE and their unique and untouchable approach. Until then, I hope this gives you a bit of what it has given me thus far.

For Clan Firecask.

-Renkh, 4th Level Bard