Happy Holidays

The Ogres have been quiet lately (you can blame a b-horror film quality beast made from the ashes of the holiday season mixed with a change of chapter webmaster). We shall be returning shortly with more awe-inspiring award-winning entries* after the holidays are over. 2010 comes marching our way (well, actually it comes Januarying our way...) and we are preparing for aggresive expansion into new cities and increased networking with the other upstart chapters. So, expect great things (and if we fail blame it on the other guy. You know the one.).

Anyways, may your stockings be full of ThinkGeek items and your cups full of brew. Eat merrily, and remember....there may come a christmas when the stomachs of men fail...but this christmas is not that holiday.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

*=total lie

M-Force Cometh

Coming this Christmas:

Hi. I'm Michael McMillian with McMillian & Murphy Law Center, the "Personal Injury Law Firm."* You may know me from my Atlanta commercials. Anyways, I've recently returned from the M-Force Academy and, as you doubtlessly saw on the local news, have already taken down a couple no good monsters. Since I survived and because you know me, I've been tasked by my M-Force superiors with recruiting and coordinating our newest M-Force team. With monsters everywhere, we need the help. Think you're up for the job? Find out.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

*fictional character

Ogre Profiles: Lacey

Our Saturday profiles are back, and we decided to throw a curveball and spotlight someone other than the person we said we we're going to spotlight today. Take that precognition! Today, we highlight Ms. Lacey Wilson-Kubitschek. No, its just Wilson...for now. ;)
We could talk and talk, but since our new spiffier website is up, we can just take you over to our member's page where you can check out her profile all for yourself!
See, easy and simple!

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Tuesday Truths: Lifting the Geek Veil

What most think of when they hear Geek:

In previous editions of Tuesday Truths, we talked about serious problems affecting the gaming community. What we discuss today isn't a serious one, but one that sits in the backburner at all times - being misconstrued, misused, and shunned. That is, of course, the "geek factor" that comes with playing role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Laser Ponies. Today, we discuss the geek factor: the good, the bad, and the ugly about geekdom.

Before we can discuss it, we must understand what the general population believes about gamers. Firstly, they're all virgins, living in their mother's basement, who are overweight and highly socially akward. But little do most people know - we usually don't even have a basement!

Seriously though, this sad little misconception hurts us most in the avenue of gamer recruitment - especially among the younger school-aged crowd. Individuals who want to and believe they'd have a good time gaming are afraid to because they see the geek factor as too much for them to "risk" so they're not considered "uncool." A sad social situation, but one that does exist. As the modern age advances and society as a whole learns more about gaming, this slowly subsides. However, it is sadly wrong.

<-Our typical geeks.

Using just the example of our little chapter of O.G.R.E.s, we'd actually be hard-pressed to find a virgin. The couple of us who could be considered overweight are still in shape - one even being a black belt. None of us reside with parents (excluding of course our younger, school-aged gamers - which we hope they all are living with their parents [and following all their rules under their roof - You're welcome Mrs. Jackson]). Are we socially awkward? Probably. But have you ever listened to a jock try to hold a conversation at a poetry night? Exactly. We're all socially awkward outside of our demographically-similar network of friends typically. We've got a nearly equal number of female gamers as we do male gamers, including a former and occasional model and we've even counted a midwestern porn starlet as a member (don't ask - we won't tell). So we have our share of, as you young whippersnappers would say, the hotties.

Basically, you're both right and wrong about the geek factor.

You're right in thinking we're geeks. You're wrong in accepting misconceptions such as those above, because the geek community is so much larger than most realize. You're also wrong in believing that we care, or that being a geek is a bad thing. We accept our geekdom and are honored by it and what it truly means. We just wish that younger individuals who aren't as honored by their own stereotype stop scarring off the young geeks - because remember, most likely you'll have to work for them some day. Be nice now and you'll get to leave early on fridays!

Our Tuesday Truths will continue next week with................we'll tell you next week...........until then....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Meet the Board

In lieu of Jake's profile yesterday, we've decided to postpone his spotlight until next Saturday so we can devote more writing to all of the wonderful things that happened at yesterdays Incorporation Meeting/first ever Board of Directors meeting! The best way for us to do this, will be to just let you meet the board, so without further ado:

Chairman of the Board (Director of the Organization as a whole): Jake Kubitschek

Vice Chairman of the Board, Director of Communications, and the Chairman of the New Chapter Recruitment Committee: Hooper

Supreme Dungeon Master (Person individual Senior Dungeon Masters report to): Walter

Webmaster (Handles online image campaigning and site maintenance): Cain

Chairman of the Committee on Organization Promotion & Marketing: Gayle

Chairman of the Committee on Gaming Advocacy: Lacey

Other Members of the Board Include:

Charles Ringstaff of Derby City Ogres
Steve Johnson, adviser/industry representative
Nick Henley of Saluki City Ogres
Kelsey Phelps of Quilt City Ogres

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Exciting Day

Today is a wonderful and exciting day to be a member of our chapter of O.G.R.E.s. In a few short hours, members of our chapter and a few other nearby chapters will hold the very first meeting of the Board of Directors. We'll be officially submitted for incorporation Monday morning, and let us just say that some very exciting things are on the way for O.G.R.E.s all across the land.
We'll be back this evening with a slight update, as well as our Saturday Profile spotlight on member Jake! Until then....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

New Videos

Our original e-lair over on youtube has a whole mess of new videos meant to induce laughter or cries of "nerd" from the faithful. You'll note we did not post a Tuesday Truths yesterday, mostly because we posted about The Escapist's recent discovery on monday and we were gaming last night. Gaming always takes top billing, so we'll be back. In the meantime, enjoy some videos!

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Old Habits Die Hard

Over at TheEscapist.com - a wonderful Gaming Advocacy website, they've found out that a County Sheriff website has up in their online archive a bit of false and incorrectly stated comments about RPGs. As the wonderful Escapist put it, "the Thurston County Sheriff's Office website would like you to be aware of some possible warning signs that your child could be a victim of computer crime - or even worse, the culprit! Some of those signs include a sudden interest in hard rock music, satanic posters, words replacing "f" with "ph," files ending in GIF, JPG, and BMP, and "(a)n obsession with fantasy adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Trade Wars."

Thankfully, it seems that the link to the offending page on the Sheriff's website is no longer working. Additionally, searches of RPG, RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, and similar do not show any results. Is it just the site being crashed due to The Escapist popular link, or can the gaming community hope for a little common sense to defeat the moral panic? Let us hope it is the latter. Until next time....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Review: The Book of Dumb Tables

I had the luxury of getting a copy of Hex Games' "The Book of Dumb Tables" pdf over the weekend from their online store (yes we mention this semi-local small-press rpg publisher a lot, but we do not have shared interest. The ogres just enjoy Hex's games and local status). Anyways, how do we begin to describe this amazing book?

One Word: Phenomenal. Yes, LL Cool J once rapped about the word, and little did you know he was discussing this book. A quick look at the hilarious cover tells you right away that this book is going to be just as fun as other Hex material, and it is. If you don't play utilizing Hex's own QAGs system, don't fret - the tables are actually just basic information available for use with ANY setting. So take this on the road in your World of Darkness, Valgora, Faerun, or (heaven forbid...) new World of Darkness.
At a great price of $2.11 and instant download, you'll be able to have quick reference tables for things ranging from group origin concepts (my three random roles resulted in the PCs being cyborgs who work as reporters and are opposed by gorillas - yes please and a ticket to this movie), contemporary or time period names (Hazel and Phyllis typically don't hang out with Mohammeds), super hero names from bygone ages (my character Daphne moonlights as The Unfathomable Ice Ghost - artist rendition at left) and another role from the Really Lame Superpowers table gave her the awe-inspiring ability to control blankets! Some may argue the every-day useful ness of some of the latter, but the book continues on with random colors, animals, and then some more fun with B list actors and actresses (or arguably some from the C and D list). Follow that up with some random facts about your PC or actions he/she may perform, and you've got yourself a highly affordable fun pdf with both every-day useful material and fun stuff.
Not to leave the Game Master out, however, Hex includes a few tables oriented for use by the runner of your sessions. My personal favorite are the X and Y tables, with X being "It's like..." and Y being "meets...". Therefore, a good idea at random you could receive for a session plot is It's Like Aladdin meets Pulp Fiction!
So, in closing, head over to Hex Games and grab a copy of The Book of Dumb Tables. You'll be glad you did. Till next time....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Profiles: Gayle

We return with yet another Ogre Profile this Saturday just for your enjoyment. Continuing what started two weeks ago with Hooper's profile (also, that has been updated for better quality and the second page of his character sheet - check it out!) and last week with our "hey we slacked so here is us buying some time" profile, today we touch on chapter member Gayle Neal's character sheet.

(click any page to enlarge it)

Above we can see that, at least alledgedly, Gayle is a female human. Also, some chapter members are shouting bulls*** at that many ranks in Diplomacy.....;) Gayle has been an active member of our Paducah chapter since last year, though she was an associate member back in 05 and 06. Moving along....

Here we have a pretty informative character sheet page. The attentive feat may just be wishful thinking but the rest seems pretty legit. Finally....

Now we get to a really informative yet vague page. Just what dvd collection is she carrying, and does the Dazzle ability mean that she moonlights as the "hero" Dazzler? We may never know. But the blink deck is definitely a good call on her part.
Tune in next week when we profile Ogre member Cactus Jake the Snake of Kubitschekistan. Until then, however.....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Game Recruitment: Old World of Darkness

Ah, World of Darkness. The dual edge sword of game settings. If you think going from revised third edition to fourth in Dungeons & Dragons sucks, you should of been there when White Wolf told their players "We're ending the current setting." It was a sad day across the world [of darkness]. Many would have lit a candle in remembrance but then it would of been called the World of Low Light and that just wasn't acceptable. But fear no more, the chapter is preparing to bring back the glory days!

Thats right, David Waddell of the Soil Ogres will be the storyteller for an upcoming Multi-Domain Old World of Darkness game! A tabletop campaign where interested players can come to the table as a Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Wraith (speaking of Wraith, anyone else watch the Adrian Paul vehicle "Wraiths of Roanoke" aka "The Lost Colony"??? cgifailr), Changeling, Kindred, Hunter, Mummy, or even a demon. If you really want to get crazy you could come as a, wait for it, normal human. Mass insanity will surely follow such a bold move.

Anyways, bad puns and even worse jokes aside, who is interested? Check out the Old WoD board on our forums (remember - you have to register/log in to even see it! Easy and free!) and join in on the discussion. Once we figure out who all is interested, we'll get down to the when and where and plan to all meet up for a character creation party (bonfire and beer as well? You decide!).

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogres Wiki

We've got a great new project in the oven called the Ogres Wiki. It is a tool to learn about the O.G.R.E.s, locate a chapter near you and learn about that chapter, find out about RPGs in general, and similar. Anyways, it is still in it's early days and won't really be too effective until more of our recently started chapters get online, but we wanted to make you all aware of it. We're really proud of the Locate a Chapter feature which is highly interactive (its in beta, so note that only a few states are actually up and workings - i.e. Kentucky, Illinois, and Nevada).
Anyways, thats all for now folks. Hit up your library this saturday for national Gaming Day at your Library. Read about here at The Escapist gaming advocacy website blog!

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Tuesday Truths: Dual Roles

In last week's rendition of Tuesday Truths, we discussed the false accusations that role-playing games can lead to suicide or that they are a cult. If you didn't get a chance, and you have ever heard these rumors, please take a moment and read that post. Today, we tackle the often and incorrectly thrown accusation that role-playing gamers can not mentally separate their character from their real self, or the game world from the real world.

In order to fully discuss this issue, we must first come to understand the allegation itself. At it's most basic level, this statement is a simple allegation that an individual who plays a character in a role-playing game becomes so interconnected with that game and that character that he or she begins to "blur" the lines of reality mentally, resulting in the player acting as his or her character would in non-game scenarios. More brazen accusations that individuals make include alleging that this "blurring" of reality can lead to criminal acts and violence. Sadly, when making these claims against gamers, individuals actually have two cases they can call upon to support this invalid claim (more on that in a bit).

Usually the individual making this claim is very ill-informed about gaming, and it shows. No average individual is ever going to "blur" the lines of reality, as each gamer knows they're gaming. The types of individuals who are not capable of maintaining this mental barrier do exist, however. These individuals are unique and do not represent the gaming demographic as a whole in any way, and when discovered are (or should be) encouraged to seek help from the appropriate places.

As mentioned previously, two instances are often called upon to "prove" this allegation against gamers. The most recent occurred in December of 2005 in Ireland, when an armed robber held up a lingerie shop by knife point. During this robber's trial, he stated that he was only playing the role-playing game Shadowrun as his character the criminal elf "Buho." The robber personally stated during the trial that at the time of the crime he may have "blurred reality and fantasy." Thankfully, ten of the jurors saw it as an attempt at a lesser conviction, and ignored it. Sadly, the other instance is not nearly as trivial and much more close to home for the Quilt City Ogres, as it was carried out by residents of the nearby town of Murray.

In 1996, Roderick Justin "Rod" Ferrel was a student at nearby Murray State University, and an avid gamer in a Live-Action Roleplaying Game: Vampire: the Masquerade. Ferrel was a deeply troubled young adult, for a myriad of reasons (that would later be discussed in-depth by professional psychologists during his trial). Rod was one of the individuals mentioned above, who had the type of personality and mental issues that can lead to the "blurring" of reality and fiction. Due to this, Rod began to believe that he actually was his in-game character: a 500 year old vampire named Vesago. Additionally, Rod was charismatic enough to the other also-troubled youngsters who games with him, pulling them partially into his delusional world. Through a series of events, Rod began to have a long-distance relationship with a young girl in Florida. After many conversations, Rod and his "Vampire Clan," as the media would later call them, drove from Murray to the girl's hometown of Eustic, Florida, where Rod violently murdered her parents. We won't go into exact details here (but wikipedia will), but it was ghastly. They then left on a multiple day trip towards New Orleans, where they hoped to live at since it was the "Vampire Mecca" as seen in the [over-rated] novels of Anne Rice and others. Thankfully, they were captured, but the ensuing legal trial and media blitz called the role-playing game back into the spotlight in an attempt to place the blame on it's shoulders. Rod's actions where inexcusable, but they were his own. His mental troubles caused this event to take place, not the game.

In fact, gaming is not the only type of situations where "blurring" can occur. Many more instances do exist where a rare fan of a professional sports team begins to believe he is part of the "circle" of team members and workers, talking of them as if he is truly a part of the team. This can happen due to mental anguish built up over time of post-school sports decline and the individual's personal feelings of wishing for more. Much more common is the act of celebrity following, also known as celebrity watching or celebrity worship. Many fans of a celebrity or the celebrity lifestyle begin to mimic the actions and purchases and mannerisms of the celebrity's they read and watch, until they begin to think of themselves as part of the Hollywood entourage. Sadly, these much more common instances are not spread around as much as the gaming version (even though no gamer has ever attempted to kill a president to impress a character.....), for numerous reasons. We do not wish to "dodge the bullet" or "pass the blame" by any means. The truth is that in any demographic, it is unique in the individual when someone can not mentally seperate fact from fiction. It should never be held against the team or group as a whole when this happens, and help should be sought for the person afflicted.

So, in closure, if you truly believe a gamer is having trouble separating his character from himself, please try to get him assistance. However, never blame the game being played, as that just ignores the true problems that the individual is having and prevents him from getting the proper support, acknowledgment, and assistance he desperately needs. And never, ever, assume that someone need be a gamer to have this problem, as its actually very rare.

Tune in next week as we discuss the "Geek Factor" of tabletop roleplaying, and further destroy grammatically-correct blogging.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Profiles: The Chapter!

For some of you more attentive individuals, you may have realized that last saturday we promised you another Profile each and every Saturday. Well, unfortunately, the next couple of profiles are not quite yet ready, so today we stall for time while profiling our chapter itself!

Our chapter, the Quilt City Ogres, have quite a history of gaming in the region in the past few years.

The gaming group that would eventually become the quilt city ogres formed in 2006 in Paducah, Kentucky. The acronym Ogre began to be used by the players after coming across the moniker that was then being used by the Sin City Ogres (Sin City chapter logo seen at the right. Note the different colored d20. Being Kentucky boys, we opted to go with blue in our logo, because we can) via the internet. Players began recording their sessions and uploading them to video sharing website Youtube, and when creating this account adopted the name the "Quilt City Ogres" after first asking permission from the Vegas group of gamers. With permission granted and the logo provided, the gang began to use the term to identify themselves as their youtube videos began to spread throughout the regional gamers.

The later parts of 2007 would see the creation of a website and forums for the chapter, and by this point the term had become synomynous with the group. Some members moved off to college and nearby cities, forming the chapters that would become the Soil Ogres and the Derby City Ogres.

With the formation of nearby chapters becoming more prevalent over the course of the next two years, the Quilt City Ogres decided to spearhead the incorporation of the Ogres and began to formulate plans to do so.

After much preparation, the Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts, Incorporated, was formed in late 2009 within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With this happening, the Quilt City Ogres became the "mother chapter" of the organization as a whole. New chapters must contact this chapter in order to form, and for assistance with Ogre-related issues.

The Quilt City Ogres average 37 active members and 14 associate members . The current chapter coordinator is Hooper and the Senior Dungeon Master will be voted into office late this month. Hopefully by next saturday one of these active members won't be a slacker!! Til then...

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Regional Geekery: Save the Date

As we are want to do from time to time, we like to update individuals in the region about upcoming events that may interest them. If you're reading this (and I see our statistics, so I know you are actually not reading this) then you probably share a interest and may find any of the following events of interest (Remember: the OGREs will be present at these events):

Egypt Wars - April 9-11, 2010 - Carbondale, IL
Check it out at the e-home of Castle Perilous

OMGcon 5 - June 11-13, 2010 - Paducah, KY
Check it out online at OMGcon.com

OgreCon - December 18, 2010 - Paducah, KY
This event will be discussed in depth as the date gets closer right here on this blog!

More may come, but these are the Holy Trinity.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Tuesday Truths: Gaming Advocacy

One of the goals of the Ogres, like many other tabletop gamers, is to educate and inform the general non-rpg-playing public about the games and to dispel long held myths about tabletop gaming. Some of these most infamous myths include the following: Dungeons & Dragons is a cult that leads to suicide, gamers can not tell the difference between the game and the world, Vampire: The Masquerade leads to murder, and so forth. Additionally, non-gamers are quick to point to the geek status of the game as a bad thing. Today, we'd like to take a moment to dispel or discuss this first myth of D&D as a cult and having a link to suicide.

Dungeons & Dragons: Cult? Leads to Suicide?

The allegations that D&D is a cult come most infamously from a Jack Chick "Christian tract" that has been spread for years. Chick Tracts have long been widely criticized for their outright lies, inaccuracies, ignorance of the subject at hand, and hate mongering. Additionally, a paper written by a Chick confidant- William Schnoebelen, has also spent years in circulation and led to a follow up years later. This paper is a misinformed rant written in a way to put fear into individuals who know nothing about Dungeons & Dragons, instead of informing them correctly. Schnoebelen has been widely criticized for his false claims and extreme lies just to make himself seem more informed to the reader. These writings are made for a specific, easily manipulated and gullible crowd, and for years the gaming community has used facts and proof to denounce them.

(Part of the infamous and fictitious tract)

The really tragic rumor and myth that comes up when people talk about D&D is the allegation that it has and does lead to Suicide. Before we continue, we'll state this first: There has never been a link between Dungeons & Dragons, nor any tabletop roleplaying game, and suicide. This happened originally when a mother named Patricia Pulling blamed the game for the suicide of her son Irving. Mrs. Pulling formed the one-person organization “Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons,” known as BADD, after her son Irving committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest on June 9, 1982. Irving was an active D&D player, and she believed his suicide was directly related to the game. The grieving mother first filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her son's high school principal, Robert A. Bracey III, holding him as responsible for what she claimed was a Dungeons & Dragons curse placed upon her son shortly before his death. She also filed suit against TSR, Inc., D&D's publishers. She appeared on an episode of 60 Minutes which also featured Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and which aired in 1985.

When her lawsuits were dismissed, she founded BADD and began publishing information circulating her belief that D&D encouraged devil worship and suicide. BADD described D&D as "a fantasy role-playing game which uses demonology, witchcraft, voodoo, murder, rape, blasphemy, suicide, assassination, insanity, sex perversion, homosexuality, prostitution, satanic type rituals, gambling, barbarism, cannibalism, sadism, desecration, demon summoning, necromantics, divination and other teachings."

As the popularity of D&D and other role-playing games increased, Pulling's more extreme views and statements were increasingly called into question. For example, she once told a newspaper reporter that eight percent of the people living in Richmond, Virginia were Satanists. She had arrived at that figure, she explained, by estimating four percent of adults and four percent of teens to be involved with Satanism, and adding them together to get eight percent. When the reporter informed her that mathematically that was four percent, not eight percent, she claimed that it did not matter because even eight percent was a "conservative" figure.

The American Association of Suicidology, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and Health & Welfare (Canada) would all eventually conclude that there is no causal link between fantasy gaming and suicide. In 1990, the writer Michael Stackpole authored The Pulling Report, a review highly critical of BADD's methods of data collection, analysis and reporting. BADD effectively ceased to exist when Pulling died of cancer in 1997. By this time, BADD had been reduced to Pulling as its sole member.

In closing, it is easy to note that these allegations come from misinformed, gullible, zealous individuals - usually looking for something to blame as a scapegoat for much more serious issues. If you are a parent and worried about your child's involvement with tabletop gaming, why not sit down and play the game with them? We'd love to host the entire family at any Ogres session!

Tune in next Tuesday when we discuss the allegations that roleplaying games cause issues with players not being able to keep the game world separate from the real world. In the meantime, you can keep informed on many gaming advocacy news at the website The Escapist and by joining the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Game.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Playtesting Notes: Laser Ponies

The Ogres have recently been playtesting Hex Games recent release: Laser Ponies. Hex Games is a small semi-local company that has put out a great deal of fun pen and paper RPGs using their own system known as "QAGS" - The Quick Ass Game System.

Laser Ponies is an all-ages game that is just meant to be fun, family friendly, imaginative, and an all-around easy way to play a tabletop rpg with the kids. However, since the fathers in our Ogres group have kids either too young to play or the same age as most of the ogres and female and in college and way too cute to return our calls or drop that protection order.....well, we played it ourselves.
Anyways, the Ogres enjoy Laser Ponies as an "intermission game." What this means, is that while playing our game - say our Tuesday evening D20 Modern, we'll take a break halfway through and play a quick bit of Laser Ponies. The feel of the game and the breaking up of the two games really reminds one of old morning cartoons that would feature two different casts (read: SpaceGhost and Dino Boy or the Superman/Aquaman hour of adventure).
Really, sadly, it is hard to accurately put to notes that playtesting of Laser Ponies. In short, you'll just have to get a copy of the game for yourself, so that you can understand the fun and carefree feeling that game comes across with. The quick character creation can allow for a short excursion into LaserPonyLand for a good laugh and lots of fun.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Profiles: Hooper

As the new and significantly improved (read: not overfilled eye rape) website is being created, we're going to slowly start highlighting some of the new profiles that will mark the Member's gallery.
Each Ogre was given the task to create a character, utilizing whichever system they preferred. This character was to be 3rd level or equivalent in honor of the chapter's 3rd year of operation. The character created had to be a representation, or rpg self-image, of the member. Details from these character sheets can help you shed light on to the individual in question, from details as minor as chosen class/skills/feats/etc. to the very game system used, look closely.
Today, we study the profile of Ogre Hooper, as seen above and below (click to enlarge):

The more RPG minded individuals (who should be the only people reading this anyway...) may have received the following correct information from the above sheet: Hooper is a huge aquaman fan, his height, weight, and other physical descriptions are about right. Also, you may also have received the following false information: Hooper's name is not, in fact, "Jetsam II."
Stay tuned for next saturday's Ogre Profile! Till then....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Knowledge (local) Check

Well, the past week or so has been spent doing extreme research into appropriate laws and what not, and, well, the Ogres are on their way to being "official." Our chapter-based gaming advocacy and social club will be based in the state of Kentucky, but other than some small paperwork in each state we enter - nothing changes. This just gives us the ability to be on the "safe" side of the town guard as we aggressively expand the organization.

In light of that, we're working on a Ogres homepage (as well as making the Quilt City Ogres website not suck as bad). Now, enough with the official chatter, let us talk about gaming!

The Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 "rotating dm" game is still going on each sunday at 7. The past couple of months have seen a few delays with the shifting DM, schedules of players, and such - but it is getting back on track. The best news thus far is that we've finally managed to get off the Island of Hesjing and out of Talara.

A D20 Modern campaign is being played every other thursday at 5 and is set in a alternative future circa 2055 (actually, it is still part of the Valgora campaign setting - but we'll save that for another time). On the alternate thursdays, another 3.5 D&D game is running in the campaign world of local legend Graham Griffin.

In general local gaming news, we'd like to mention that the new store "Gamer's Paradise" is now open (and has been for a bit - but we blog so rarely) down on broadway. Area 51 and the new Gamer's Paradise are more geared towards video gamers than tabletop gamers, but many of our shared demographics play both. Also, out in Murray there is a new Camarilla group being started up, so go check them out at myspace.com/murraycamarilla.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ever Expanding

First, all apologies for your long wait for Ogre news. Secondly, let us pretend that we have enough people reading this who would be offended by such a long wait.
Now, onto the good stuff: The O.G.R.E.s are up to 10 chapters in six states! Our membership handbook has been brought up to date to assist in the founding of new chapters, and we're currently working on getting officially recognized by them government boys.
Following that great news, the Living Valgora Campaign Setting is being compiled for chapters to use and should be out in late December - just in time for the holidays!
Until next time....

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Kids & Crits

Hello Interents. We made the blog for you and sent it down thru a series of tubes so that you could view it. The Ogres have been out and about being, well, ogreish. The Valgorian Campaign is slowly marching towards a undead war that should be great. Ogre Charles (of Charles & Loretta, not of Charles the Chuckanator Chawles) has been so kind as to be the interim host while the new Ogre Lair gets refitted.
Ogre Hooper and Ogress Aimee have found out they will be having a little Ogre joining the gang in roughly 9 months, making Ogretyke Katherine an older sister! Wish them luck and congratulations the next time you see them out. Jake is preparing for his Ogre of a move in about 6 months into town.
In other news, new-first-time-father with that new baby smell Graham and his wife are preparing a friendly-to-a-family-schedule campaign. Obviously the Hoopers will be involved. If you are an Ogre follower or regional gamer who has a 9-5er and family to take care of, but still love to game, then this will be the campaign for you. Reasonable hours.
Anyways, until next time.........

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Sunday Session Cancellation!

Just a quick note to make sure everyone knows that this sunday's Valgora campaign session has been cancelled so that Ogres can spend time with family for Father's Day.
The game is expected to return next sunday at 5:00 PM!

Regional GEEKERY: Assistance Needed

For those of you keeping track, you may remember that members of the Ogres, the Paducah Imperials, and other local Star Trek fans are currently in the process of putting together a chapter here in town of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association.
You can help! For over a decade in the 80s and 90s, Paducah did have an active chapter. Known as the USS CONSTELLATION II NCC 1728, this chapter promoted the ideology of Starfleet (A better and brighter tomorrow) by helping out in the community and holding charity events. We want to hunt down old members.
Through much detective work we have already been led to a few former members, but any help would be appreciated. Don't just limit it to old members, make sure to spread the word to anyone you think may be interested. How can you tell? Well the guy wearing his vulcan ears is a dead giveaway, but be sure not to pass by that guy in line to see the new movie, or the woman asking about the new game, or the family purchasing the dvd at your local movie store.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

The Lair gets a new Ogre

We would like to congratulate Ogre Couple Graham and Kaiser Griffin on their newest addition, first born Eve Elise Griffin. They welcomed their first daughter last night at Western Baptist Hospital here in Paducah.
Along with Charles & Loretta, whose daughter is college-aged, and Hooper and Aimee (Katherine will be two next month), that makes three Ogre children out in the world today. We will do some research on Ogre Ecologies to know what Ogre kids are called. Cubs? Whatever we want I suppose.
On a similar note, Ogresociates should soon be receiving their invitations to Katherine Hooper's second birthday party in late July. Come out and hang out with the gamers in a non-gaming session.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Exodus

It is with many memories and much relief that the Quilt City O.G.R.E.s say goodbye and retire from the world of Azeroth, and as such, the soul-stealing game known as World of Warcraft. The Ogres have a long and esoteric history with the MMORPG, but have decided it is time to move onto new worlds.
The first Ogres to zone into the world were Charles "Chuck" Ringstaff and James "Wames" Wallace, who were shortly followed in by Evil Ryan Edwards and met for a brief period by Walter "Neodymium" H P-T. These players bounced between a few realms, predominately playing Horde side characters.
About one year into the game, Ogre Hooper joined up on Thunderlord with his character: Venwe, who would go on to become a Number 1 ranks World Champion in one of the areas of the game. Players Nick, Cain, Davo, Drew, and Jared would begin play at this time, mostly on the realm Spinebreaker where Hooper would soon move to as well.
After a year of playing together, the infamous WoW Lag began to hit players. With the recent departure of Drew and Jared, it marks the first time since Launch that not a single Ogre is active within the World of WarCraft.
However, we feel like we left a mark. With two top-ranked raiders, a history of guild formations, and one World Champion, the only thing left to say is Ogres Out.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

P.S.: You can look to find the Ogres spread out among the following MMORPGs now that they have retired from WoW: Walter is on/off playing Age of Conan, Hooper is awaiting the arrival of Star Trek Online, Nick is playing the free browser-based Pirates of the Carribean, and the rest seem to be eyeing Star Wars Old Republic.

Ogres Live

The barely-open Executive Inn and belittled-staff of the Convention Center were no match when ninjas, pokemon, swordsages, wizards, monks, stormtroopers, and Ogres descended upon it for the fourth OMGcon. The event, wrapping up today, has become a beloved staple of the anime community and is sure to be a long-running con.
The Ogres went in guns not-so-blazing (character creation for some people takes a LONG time) and played a bit. Led by Dungeon Master Davo, who took two seconds on his costume of a Vow of Poverty Monk, led a stout team consisting of Ogres Walter, Hooper, Jake, and Cain with guests from as near as Louisville and as far away as Louisiana.
Keep an eye out for the Ogres out and about near you, or simply request they come and play at YOUR event!

GULGAR
Ogres Out

OMGogres!?!

This weekend marks the fourth year of anime lovers, gamers, and other assorted people who came to look at cute girls in cosplay make their way to the Julian Carroll Convention Center and the OMGcon. Secluded away in downtown Paducah, the convention houses all types of things that would interest the anime enthusiast or console gamer.
However, what we're interested in is the RPG tables set up in the gaming room. Come out THIS WEEKEND and see live Ogre antics as the Quilt City Ogres come to the OMGcon to play part of their current ongoing Valgorian campaign.
Some of the Ogres will also be available for other one-session RPGs being ran by other convention goers. Play with the areas premier gaming team and have the time of your life (minus the hangover or pregnancy fears)!
If you're not interested in playing, you can listen in and view a bit of a session or take part in the numerous console games and tournaments that will be going on during the convention (and you can oogle at the cosplay girls. Well, some of them. Most will probably be anti-oogleness).

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Campaign Update: VALGORA

The Ogres met last night for their weekly sabbath day D&Ding. The current game is taking place within the world known as Valgora, a homebrew generic settings invented to allow players to mold their own world.
The game has been running for roughly 4 months and is testing a gaming theory. This campaign is employing the use of alternating Dungeon Masters. That is, the DM changes every four levels. It is a test to see how it works. So far we are on our second DM for levels 5-8 which is Jake (Hooper began the game).
Characters include Alcoa the Scarfless (Walter), Lord Donavon of the House of Singh (Cain), Sister Sarah of the Order of Vargach (Loretta), Jamril the Boastful Bard (Nick), Borollo & his faithful companion Cedric (Charles [Not Chuck Ringstaff]), and Boris Petrov, Son of Ivan, of the House of Olov (Hooper).
The party began its adventures in the cold northern wastes of Blüdfrost where they caught employment on a fishing vessel. A series of odd and cryptic events led them to a crash landing on the Island of Hesjing, home of the second-largest Valgorian metropolis: Talara.
It is here where our party currently resides, embroild in political turmoil, corrupt "noble" houses, royal tournaments, and mystery around every corner.
Last night saw witness to the daring escape from campus security by Borollo and Sister Sarah, perfectly ruined by the ever-truthful Scarfless Alcoa. The rage-prone Boris lost conciousness at the end of a giant's armreach and his whereabouts are currently unknown (even to himself, as he as yet to wake from his coma).
Our character's vigilance has alerted them to the looming threat of invasion and war coming just the next day. Will our heroes save the day? Will the leaders of this terrible cult come to light? Will mermaid man and barnacle boy remember their pills? Next time in Valgora.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Regional Geekery: STARFLEET

As Ogres, we are very familiar with the term "Geek" and its various other incarnations (i.e. Nerd, Loser, Virgin, etc.) However, unlike most, we gladly accept this affectionate title. We have began a massive undertaking of trying to network not only the regional gamers, but regional "Geeks" into groups where we like-minded individuals can all get to know each other.
As such, Ogres are becoming more and more affiliated with other classic geek genres. Some regional gamers are also members of the Paducah Imperials, Paducah's premier Star Wars Costuming club and Vader's Fist.
However, no such Star Trek equivalent exists. We are here to make that happen! Ogre Hooper is currently working on creating Paducah's "Ship" for commissioning into the fleet of STARFLEET International: The Star Trek Fanclub. The ship, which is currently under the title consideration of U.S.S. Gulgar, will include regional Star Trek fans.
Are you a Star Trek fan? Whether a classic die-hard "Trekkie" or "Trekker" or just a casual "yeah that's cool" fan, you can join! How do you? The first step would be to join the club itself, STARFLEET International, by clicking here.
Then, get in touch with Ogre Hooper and let him know that you would like to be a member of the U.S.S. Gulgar's maiden voyage crew! Make it so!

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Regional Gaming: SCRABBLE Night

We would just like to take a moment to inform you all that the McCracken County Library in Paducah has began hosting a SCRABBLE night the last Thursday of each month.

Interested in Scrabble? Take a moment and watch the informative and entertaining documentary about the lives of four Tournament Scrabble players: Word Wars. Word Wars: Tiles & Tribulations on the Scrabble Circuit follows the lives of former champion Joe Edley, eccentric "G.I." Joel, optimistic Matt Graham, and Marlon Hill, a pre-mecca Malcolm playing Scrabble.

You can also check out the book Word Freak (though, unfortunately, it does not look as if McLib has a copy available. Perhaps this will be remedied if the Scrabble Nights take off).

Once the rush of moving and new marriage wears off him, look forward to seeing Ogre Hooper, a card-carrying member of the National Scrabble Association and the North American Scrabble Players Association at the Library events.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Spotlight: Nick

OGRE SPOTLIGHT: NICK

Born: Nickolai Alexei Henley the 17th of Yorkshire
on the shore of Glen Finnan, colloquially known as Nick Henley.
Ogre Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade
Age: 20 Earth Years
Occupation: Cameraman for WPSD Local 6
Characters: Arthus Flintlock, Captain - Jamril the Bard, Douie Solitude, and Aiden.

Nick is currently playing the character of Jamril, a headstrong and self-confident musician out to have a little fun and make a lot of money in the Valgorian campaign setting, along side such characters as Alcoa the Scarfless (Walter), Lord Donavon of the House of Singh (Cain), Sister Sarah of the Order of Vargach (Ogresociate), Borollo & his faithful companion Cedric (Ogresociate), and Boris Petrov, Son of Ivan, of the House of Olov (Hooper).
Jamril's antics, and as such, Nick's antics, constantly keep the party roaring in laughter and scheming up the next way of escaping from the jail cell he has no-doubt landed them in.
Nickolai is a scorpio who enjoys long walks on the beach and subtle sittings along the shores of his ancestral home. To learn more or meet Nick, you can contact him online via the Ogres Forum.

GULGAR
Ogres Out

Ogre Origins

If you're currently viewing this page, then you most likely already know all there is to know about the lovable group of gamers known as the Quilt City Ogres. However, for that .000002 percent of people who actually happened upon the group, whether via local word of mouth, hilarious youtube shenanigans, or a series of tubes, we'd like to first introduce ourselves to you and explain who we are and where we come from.

WHAT WE ARE:

The Quilt City O.G.R.E.s are a gaming group from Paducah, KY. The name stems from two separate things. The first is the nickname of our hometown (due to it's humble hosting of the Quilt Museum and annual Quilt Festival - we know you're impressed). The second is an abbreviated term for the Organizations of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts. In english, that means a bunch of gaming geeks from a town in Western Kentucky who play all ranges of games, from the standard tabletop standards (i.e. scrabble, risk) to RPGs (i.e. Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars). We exist as a networking tool for regional gamers to find like-minded individuals to boost the joy of our hobby, as well as to slay the orcs.

WHO WE ARE:

Our "core" founding members include many local gamers. These include photographer Walter "Neodymium" Pfieffer-Thompson, promoter Hooper, hospitalist Jake "Caveman" Kubitchek, political science major Charles "Pizza Hands" Ringstaff, famed arithmatic James "Wames" Wallace, singer/songwriter David "Davo" Waddell, and way too many more to list. However, we welcome all regional gamers to accept the affectionate title of Ogres. Ogresociates include the wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, and mistresses of the Ogres.

Now that we've managed to fill you in just a bit about who we are, we welcome you to browse our website and get in touch with us if you wish to game alongside us. Convention and other Event coordinators may wish to have Ogres on Location at their event, and should also contact us.

Keep coming back to our blog here for updates on what is going on in the Quilt City and read first-hand accounts of gaming happenings and campaign progression. Until then,

GULGAR
Ogres Out