Direbane is an abode to share artifacts, simulacra, histories, and other items of note related to ongoing years adventuring.
*** DROP BOX ISSUE *** APOLOGIES, LINKS ARE MISSING AND NEED TO BE ADDED!

Blipping Campaign

The Blipping Campaign was classic, home ruled, 1st Edition adventuring which ran from 1989 through to 2005 (Blipping game history here). Just about everyone when this campaign started was in their late 20s and had been playing D&D since the late 70s or early 80s. The campaign was setup to have rotating DMs. The blipping aspect was that if a PC missed a session their character merely "blipped" out, then "blipped" back when the player attended again. 

The campaign began in my 80s version of the Lands of Arduin, but very quickly became "unstuck" from any set location, or even time. We traveled to our Lankhmar, battled Bloodsucking Freaks in Cyberhell, fought Mothra and nano-tech, were targeted for assassination by Yakuza, and saved the Federation's USS Farragut from the "Planet Creature".

On 20th century Earth characters even peered in windows at our unsuspecting players. 

Our main resources became a permanent Tensor's Floating Disc, the super-magical throne on the disc, a special "Decanter Room" to heal up in, guns with exploding nitro-bullets, plus Klingon armor and universal translators.

Beginning in 1990 we took to videotaping many of our sessions which, considering that was a long ago era, I suppose lends some historical importance to exhibition of our gameplay. No skills, no difficulty checks. Our 1st edition game utilized descending AC, THACO, 6-sided initiative, liberal use of polymorphs, and lots of percentile rolls.

Old school RPG beginning more than 25 years ago! (First Game March 17, 1989)

The video from these now-historical (I suppose) sessions has been edited down to segments of roughly 5-minutes each. (Here is a link to the entire YouTube playlist.)

Characters include: Noysop (Halfling Fighter/Thief), Grady (Human Barbarian/Techno), Glipzig (Half-Elven Cleric/Mage), a Barbarian, a Wizard, Zy (Ranger/Cleric/Thief), Dodius (Mage/Fighter/Techno), a short Fighter, Mortu (Techno/Thief/Druid), Ranger Rick (Ranger/Cleric), Den (Cleric/Fighter), Shu-Wang (Samuri)... 

Games 1 - 11  1st game the player characters meet in Lands of Arduin, Pass through universes of 3 DMs: Matrox, Dr. John, J.A.S., and 1st co-DMs, Sick Rick & Dingul. 

 Game 12  March 1990. 1st video taped session. Sick Rick & Dingul co-DM at Spacin' Jason's love shack. I noticed that this session our DMs are using a 2nd ed. DM's screen.
2nd Ed. DM's Screen


 Games 13 - 18  DMs: Sick Rick & Dingul conclude their story, then Sumerled & Shade Structure take over, and finally Greg & Matrox.

Game 19  August 1991. 2nd video taped session and the first of our annual camping trips. Matrox and Greg are DMing on Mt. Diablo their last of 3 session which ends with a thud. I actually still have in my mind the Dwarven castle I was attempting to describe...
Mystery Overland Map
Blipping Episode 2.1 (Conclud.), "What Dwarves?"

Game 20  September 1991. 3rd video taped session. Postman Bob and J.A.S. are DMs, and use a PA system from time to time at Sick Rick's. J.A.S. prefers tournament-style scenarios where time is limited to look up rule details in books. This is the first of 3 DM sessions for their story. This is also, for non-gaming situations not included in these videos, one of the most insane games in our group's lore. Forever known as "The Mic and the Fight..."
Dog Mask
Blipping Episode 3.1, "Nycadaemons"


Games 21-27  DMs: Postman Bob & J.A.S. conlcude their story, next Sick Rick and Shade Structure ran a campaign that culminated in our first game at DunDraCon in San Ramon (Flower People), and then the first 2 sessions by Sumerled and Spacin' Jason which brought us into a 21st century, future-era campaign... 

Game 28  June 1992. 4th video taped session. Visiting Shade Structure's parental abode, Spacin' Jason and Sumerled are the co-DM's as the party in these DM's third and final act are drawn into mystery and subterfuge in a Cyberpunk 2020 setting involving Japan and Yakuza gangsters. I noticed Shade Structure's mage "Dragon Form" changing is now a recurring theme.
Cyberpunk 2020 Screen
Blipping Episode 4.1, "Dragons at the Hilton"  

Blipping Episode 4.2, "By the Balls"*

Blipping Episode 4.3 (Conclud.), "Deliver the Loc-Nar"

Blipping Episode 5.0, "Night at the Museum"
(We had time to kill in the AM, so prelude to next scenario co-DMed by Matrox and J.A.S.) 

       * Fuuuudge. Source video was corrupted, so I needed to re-compile the video
to to edit out the corrupted piece. Remainder lost some resolution.
 
Game 29  July 1992. 5th video taped session. Matrox and J.A.S. co-DM this adventure (location was Devil's Mount, but evicted to Postman Bob's apt.) now in the 20th century with a Cthulhu-like theme. This is the first of 2 for this scenario (abbreviated because wifey was expecting), and our 2nd camping trip. Alas, we were booted from the mountain for a rules violation before we began gaming and ended up at Postman Bob's apartment. By this time, Grady, our Techno-Barbarian from the future, has been played by 4 different folks. Endearing chap!
Grady's AD&D Character Sheet
Blipping Episode 5.1, "Panama Cruise"

Blipping Episode 5.2, "Tugboat from Beyond" 

Blipping Episode 5.3 (Conclud.), "To Antarctica"  

Game 30  August 1992. 6th video taped session, we are on a taping roll this year. Matrox and J.A.S. continue co-DMing at Matrox's garage which will conclude our Cthulhu-Antarctic adventure. This was because #happyabby was born 7 days after this D&D game. Also, Reverend Bill makes it 5 players who have run Grady (Chris, Spacin' Jason, Black Mike, The Von, and Rev'd. Bill). Also, first mentions of Throne on our Tensor's Floating Disc and the "Decanter Room" as well as "Hanger Heads"!
Game Map of Antarctica, from 1960 Reader's Digest Atlas







* Discovered the "Xenoborg" creatures the party fought desperately toward the end of this episode are from the 1987 game CYBORG COMMANDO.


Game 31  October 1992. 7th video taped session. Dingul and The Greg DMing, at J.A.S. home in Suisun City. Starting apparently in some town or city that could have been besieged by a Blue Dragon. Following some copper coin inside the dragon's lair to find ... a silver coin? Note that most (not all) of the distracted, bowed heads during this event are drawing on our game table (was a bare door on a couple of sawhorses). J.A.S. apparently still possesses this door in all its glory!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Coins_for_a_Kingdom
DM's are running "Five Coins for a Kingdom," a Mystara Module...
Also, these episodes are a cartoon - total fantasy that never happened...
(Pay no attention to that Chess Piece behind the curtain.)

Blipping Episode 7.1, "Blue Dragon, Failed Saves"

Blipping Episode 7.2, "Islands in the Sky"

 Blipping Episode 7.3, "The Wishing Well"

Blipping Episode 7.4, "Plush Carpet Sphinx"

Blipping Episode 7.5, "Art Door"

Blipping Episode 7.6 (Conclud.), "A Job for Sword-Slingers" 

Game 32  November 1992. 8th video taped session. Dingul and The Greg are continuing their adventure from "Five Coins for a Kingdom" module at Chippendale. The party encounters armies amassing to fight the baddies. Somewhere along the line our party's Barbarian picked up a vorpal sword. Nice. Also, beforehand the game, we have a Geo Pigs jam...
(PS By far, this is the longest game video. It appears the camera was deposited
on a tripod and forgotten for extended periods. Not a lot of motion here.)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5GcVsm-5VNU
Geo Pigs circa 1992

 Game 33  January 1993. 9th video taped session. Dingul and The Greg finish up their adventure from "Five Coins for a Kingdom" back at Matrox's garage. This session, beside numerous references to the tune, "Detachable Penis" by King Missile that our band was covering, is also where The Greg uttered a seminal question, "What is the All Mind?" We had no idea ………….
"Phoenix" by John and Laura Lakey, 1987
(Yup, leftover time again, prelude to next scenario co-DMed by Sick Rick and Sumerled.)

Game 34  February 1993. 10th video taped sessions and first tape at DunDraCon. The DunDraCon is #17, but our 2nd (since DunDraClone in 1981 anyway). Sumerled and Sick Rick are running an original scenario. Also miniatures are being used which hasn't been typical up until this game. Interesting, Sumerled's vinyl battlemat 1" squares are offset. A final note missing from the film, this was our "Jambi Con" where we encountered that famous genie from the Saturday morning children's show, "Pee Wee's Playhouse."
(P.S. Our co-DM Sick Rick was really sick this game with a horrible cold.)
Marriott Hotel's old Cig Machine…

 *** NOT SHOW IN FILM ***
Too much Ephedrine and his All Mind is Gone
He's Been Jumping on the Alter at the Jambi Con

 Game 35  March 1993. 11th video taped session and back at the Suisun City home of J.A.S. If J.A.S. and Sick Rick appear tired it is because they and I the night before went to a concert celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Guitar Player magazine. Gaming again on the art-door.
"Start Here..."


Game 36  April 1993. 12th video taped session at the Pleasanton home of Somerled the Barbarian. Somerled and Sick Rick are concluding their scenario that we left off at a big spinning ramp-platform thing like in the Taarna segment from the movie "Heavy Metal." 
(Lair of the Winged Thunder Dogs.)
Blipping Episode 12.1, "Squeeeeze!" 

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