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My character sheets were equally hard to read. My writing is kind of big, so to put it in teeny tiny boxes…well, it gets hard to write it all. Like any gamer, I like accuracy and detail. And yet, my own handwriting was limiting me.

That’s when Wizards of the Coast released Character Builder. Here was a program that would help me build my character (thus being appropriately named) , and would do so in a fashion that would produce a neat, clean, detailed character sheets. Plus it had those attractive D&D 4th edition power cards as well. I was elated, and spent many an hour converting old characters to 4th edition or coming up with new character ideas.

Character Builder had become my salvation. It had become my jailor.

You see, I’m also part tinker gnome. Maybe it’s my Dragonlance roots talking, or maybe I’m like a lot of gamers out there. I like to build and craft within my game. We gamers are notorious world builders and amateur game designers. It gets in your blood. New races, new roles to play within the world, monsters, villains….it’s all wonderful stuff. And a lot of it needs stats to implement in-game. And like good little tinker gnomes, we love to craft those rules.

So it was that my frustrations with Character Builder began. You see, the miracle program had one big flaw. It wasn’t friendly towards house rules. You could put some in, but you were limited in other areas. And there was always an annoying little icon reminding me that my character wasn’t “legal” (whatever that means). What happens when I want to use house rules for a 4th edition conversion of some rule from a prior edition? What happens when I create something new I want to implement?

I found limits in other ways too. For example, I would have to wait a month between publication of a book and the time when it would be implemented on Character Builder. I found myself just waiting on baited breath for the release of the next update. A few months ago, such an occurrence was happening again. I had been waiting a year for the release of the 4th edition version of Dark Sun. I got the books, and knew it was just a matter of time before I could update my old Dark Sun characters in Character Builder.

That day didn’t come. The update didn’t come. WotC was pretty silent on the issue. Through a comedy of errors, Character Builder was delayed, and then those dates weren’t met. Wizards was not communicating with the public to keep people informed. We finally got half an update in October, but still no Dark Sun. Essentials was coming out too, and we wondered if that would be included.

And so I waited and waited, until finally, the new online Character Builder was released. I jumped into it, but with caution. As it turns out, caution was warranted. Character Builder was filled with errors and liked to crash. It was even worse about house rules as well. I play Dragonlance a lot, and yet I couldn’t even type the name of a Dragonlance deity into the appropriate box.

I had had enough. Something finally snapped within me. I had known for some time that this program was inhibiting me from a creative standpoint. I realized that it was holding me back, and was serving not so much as an aid, but as a crutch.

And it was my own fault. I had brought this on myself. I allowed a program to control my fun.

The Character Builder fiasco had a couple of good effects. First, it was a reminder of how we used to tackle character sheets – by hand. We didn’t worry about what some silly program told us was legal.

But wait, my handwriting is like bad Klingon. Was going back the way to go?

As it turns out, the gaming community is quite creative, and not just within the confines of the game. They have a knack for creating some of the best toys, such as form-fillable character sheets and power card generators. I’ve known about them, but have taken a closer look in light of the Character Builder fiasco. And you know, I’ve found some neat toys. I feel like I can tinker again.

The moral of this story? We all have our shackles. We all have those things that limit us as creative individuals. Maybe for you it’s the rules, to which you might feel beholden. For me, it was Character Builder. And while I think it can still be a useful tool, I no longer feel that it is necessary for me to play the game. Because it isn’t.

Try to recognize those shackles that hold you down. They can be hard to identify at times. Recognizing them is the hard part. Once you do, though, search for a way around them, and remember that there are always alternatives.

I mentioned in a previous post that I go on Gamer Adventures for the company of gamers as opposed to the actual games.  As such, I skip the Catan tournament, etc, but still participate in a lot of the social events like the cocktail party and recordings with other podcasters that happen to be around.  Unfortunately, I woke up late and was a bit confused about where everything was (both were 100% my own fault), so I missed all of that.  At least I still get to see everyone at dinner in a few minutes.

Also, I can’t exactly say the time was wasted.  I played Blackjack for a while and turned $60 into $300.  Karla’s very good about limiting what I spend and pocketing winnings as they come in, so I was cashed out before the casino could win anything back.  (Incidentally, I realize gambling is a contentious issue and a terrible addiction for many people.  I’m not encouraging any sort of behavior so much as honestly reciting the events of the trip.)

Looking back, the trip started off a bit cold and dreary, but it really picked up a couple of days in.  I had a blast, and I fully intend to sign up for future trips that Kim organizes.  I already have some people that are considering the cruise next year, and I hope they’ll come.  If you’re still on the fence, keep up with Kim’s site!  The trips available change every-so-often and I believe Don is helping her make a video to better capture the experience.

That leads right into a couple of random points I’d like to close this out on: some cruising tips for people that have never done it before.

First, the cruise staff does an excellent job of creating an environment in which you can have fun.  But they do not create fun as if it were some tangible force.  You need to either be a very self-motivated person — or travel with people that are — to get the most out of the trip.  Karla and I learned early on that cruising is a very social thing, so we always try to get at least one couple we know to go with us.

Second, the beginning and end of the trip are the worst parts.  Just before the cruise, you spend 48 hours feverishly packing, attending to household details, getting things wrapped up at work, and then going through the nightmare of airport and maritime security.  The end of the cruise is the exact same process in reverse: you feverishly repack, go through maritime and airport security, and arrive back home with a ton of dirty laundry and dozens (maybe hundreds) of unread emails and unanswered voice messages.  The trip is worth doing but prepare yourself mentally for the early and late chaos.

Finally, even if you never intend to cruise, you should catch some TV specials on how these floating monsters operate.  The ship we’re on right now is about 1,000 feet in length and would absolutely dwarf the Titanic.  There are around 2,500 passengers and another 1,000+ crew, and the feats of housing, feeding, and entertaining this many people are impressive to say the least.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Kim for taking the time to organize trips for our little subculture, and I’d also like to thank the gamers, islanders, and the ship’s staff for making it such a memorable experience.