October '22
Central Coast Game Community
Announcements
I’m changing the format of the newsletter from weekly to monthly.
Also, I have a sample of the Homebrew project I have been working on, fixing the Spelljammer rules that WotC somehow botched this summer, and you’re all welcome at a sneak peek here: Spelljammer Homebrew: A Comprehensive & Dynamic Replacement for D&D Fifth Edition's Spelljamming Rules.
The rules are meant to replace the official rules completely, and should fit the rest of Fifth Edition nicely since most of them are copy & pasted from the Ships & Sailing UA from a few years ago, with a few additions from Descent Into Avernus, and only a touch created from myself; I just packaged them up nicely and made them work with each other.
Rumors From The Barkeep
Leisure Time Games!
I am very happy to announce that there is officially an ongoing campaign at Leisure Time Games in the Santa Maria Town Center Mall. The group meets from 10am to 2pm on Tuesdays and is being DMed by yours truly. We are running through Waterdeep: Dragon Heist with a group of four: Cyric Reprobate, a human paladin acolyte, Hobard, a halfling druid who prefers to be in beast form, Jekora a tiefling sorcerer, and last but not least, Cornelius Riverwood, a nobleman bard trained in theater. This group has room for 1, maybe 2 more players, and is open to the public.
Saturday Evening Campaign!
Two campaigns you say? Yes, we just had our session zero for a bi-monthly campaign set in Realmspace, and is a spelljammer campaign! It is however a private campaign and is currently full, nine players counting the DM. I’m really stoked to have 2 campaigns seeded from the discord community however, meaning a total of 13 different individuals have been able to find an in-person gaming group from within the community, and I am hoping that soon I’ll have lost track of this statistic.
Even More D&D on the Central Coast
Since I have started organizing Central Coast D&D into a gaming community I have become aware of 2 more discord based gaming communities on the central coast, both of them based out of San Luis Obispo it seems.
The first is PolyCon - Tabletop Gaming Community, a community heavily populated by Cal Poly students and Alumni, but also other members of the SLO community. The community is large, and though I don’t have any gaming experience with them, it seems that they meet exclusively in the BRAE building on the Cal Poly campus, or online, though they play a large assortment of games, and not just TTRPGs either it appears. Their server is open to the public, and an invite can be found here.
The second is Central Coast Tabletop Gaming, a smaller community also based in San Luis Obispo; they are currently solely an online gaming community, but that may change soon as their players get more comfortable with in-person gaming post-pandemic. Their server is not open to the public, however if you would like to get connected with them you can message me, and I can put you in touch with one of their administrators.
D&D At School
Lakeview Junior High School is still running their D&D program. Junior DMs are holding 30 minute mini-sessions, basically playing out 1 encounter at a time through a one-shot sized plot (one of the junior-DMs plays in my monthly game at the AMC).
Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center
Most of you already know, but there is a monthly game going on for teens (I believe 7th - 12th grade). Their next game is on October 22nd, from 1pm to 5pm. Please contact AMCYC staff to sign up & enroll your kiddos.
Bulletin Board
Help Wanted
I am always on the lookout for members who are actively engaged, approachable, and have a pleasant disposition to encourage them to accept the role of moderator on the discord server. The only expectations I have of moderators is that they generally will be a positive influence on the community, and if ever the time of need arrives that said moderator should enact their powers to keep the server drama-free, that they have the trust of the community.
Likewise, I am looking for individuals that may have experience organizing communities like ours, or event planning, I have neither. Every step I take is a first, and I am desperate for assistance, even if it’s just feedback on what isn’t working so far. I would like to organize an event, I don’t think it will be a gaming event because I can see that getting too complicated too fast, but a meet and greet at least; and, I am very intimidated by this if I am being honest. If anyone wants to lend a hand or form a committee around this please contact me. (I am hoping to organize an event around the release of next Spring’s D&D movie release as well, and hoping to have experience organizing an event by the time that comes around).
Member Highlights
Interview with a Bensprout
A new member of the community, just recently moved all the way from Virginia to Santa Maria and is looking for a gaming group. I asked him if he’d like to do an interview for the newsletter, in hopes that it might help him find a gaming group.
Chay - “Firstly, welcome to the Central Coast! And, welcome to our D&D community. I am sure you are still getting settle into your new living situation, but have you looked for a gaming group yet?”
Bensprout#7407 - “Thank you - I’m excited to be starting the next chapter of my life! I started to put my feelers out for a new game by joining the Central Coast DnD Discord Server. The server is quite new, but have already put together two games, so I’m sure I’ll find one that works for me pretty soon!”
Chay - “What sorts of games are you interested in playing if given the opportunity?
Bensprout#7407 - “As far as TTRPGs go, I don't have a ton of experience with different systems. I've played D&D, Call of Cthulu, and a few standalone games such as Alice is Missing, and Kids on Bikes. I'm most familiar with D&D, but would be interested in anything. I just like to play games!”
Chay - “Are you aware that there are other gaming groups like ours north and south along the central coast as well (from Ventura to San Luis Obispo)?”
Bensprout#7407 - “I am not aware of any other groups, good to know!”
Chay - “If readers were interested in starting a group, which days of the week and times would work best for you? And would you like them to contact you?”
Bensprout#7407 - “I work in Theatre, so my schedule isn't always consistent/predictable. When I'm not actively working the run of a show or in Tech, I'm free after 5pm Monday-Friday, and all day Sat/Sun. Once Tech/Shows begin, I'll likely be available Monday or Tuesday, and before I'm called for the performance. Feel free to contact me if you have something in the works I could potentially be a part of!”
Chay - “I have a lot of hobbies that are gaming adjacent, I like to paint miniatures, I like to read fantasy novels, and I enjoy crafting terrain for tabletop gaming. What sorts of nerd do you get up to?”
Bensprout#7407 - “I love playing games of all kinds--- I'm a big board game fan, I play some video games, I also play a bit of MTG. I watch fantasy and enjoy fantasy/sci fi shows and movies too!”
Chay - “There is a MTG night in the mall every Tuesday after 5pm BTW.”
Bensprout#7407 - “Sweet! I saw that there were events at Leisure Games, I’ll probably stop by!”
Chay - “Also, is there anything else that you'd like to include about yourself?”
Bensprout#7407 - “I literally just drove across the country from VA without knowing anybody here, so I'd love to meet some new people! I work as a Theatrical Sound Designer/Engineer. I'm currently playing in an online campaign as Yortle, a 6th Level Tortle Circle of Spores Druid. I'd love to add an in-person game to my schedule and roll some dice in the same room as everyone!”
Bensprout and I spoke for a little while after the interview, he has a pretty positive attitude and was pleasant to speak with, and shared that he was “excited to explore the area”. I sometimes forget how big of a deal the PCPA is, to pull someone all the way from Virginia, with no other connections in the area besides the opportunity to work in theater. I wish Bensprout good luck in his career, and I hope he can find a lively gaming community while he’s here! If anyone would like to connect with him and set up a game you can find him on the Central Coast DnD Discord server.
Efforts & Progress
Efforts
Not a lot of efforts were made to expand the community for the last few weeks.
I have agreed to DM two campaigns so far, and I have been putting together a bi-monthly homebrew spelljammer campaign, as well as setting up for a weekly campaign through a module. I am hoping that the campaign at Leisure Time Games is going to generate word of mouth in the larger disconnected D&D community, and I am happy to be running Spelljammers for the first time.
Progress
There are flyers at Leisure Time Games as well as On The Play Gaming, our Reddit posts continue to be successful converters as well as the website.
We now, at the time of writing this, have 38 members (not counting the bots). We have generated 2 gaming groups, and speaking for myself, have made some new friends.
Housekeeping
New Hires
We have a new server moderator u:Bee#8213, she has been very engaged on the server, seems approachable, and always has a positive comment. I am glad to have one more moderator if ever one is needed. Bee can exercise a number of server functions if anyone is ever in need.
Pruning
I removed most of the unused socials-links from the #socials in the discord, as well as from the website. I am no longer going to be updating the unused networks, and will be focusing solely on the Discord, Website, and Newsletter, as well as updating flyers on Reddit and Craigslist every 2-3 months.
Thank You
Thank you all for joining me this month. I am very excited to play D&D with you all, and hopefully I get the chance to play with you all.
Inspiration for everyone!
Your local DM, Chay Comas