General Update

So, I had my first real session in my homebrew setting. Despite some scheduling hiccups and irl player issues (nothing serious), the game when beautifully. There were no problems getting people to engage with the game and everyone seemed to be having fun. Even the people who were new didn't have much trouble getting into it.

I'd like to think that this is due to my own prowess as a DM, but I know better than that and am pretty sure that it was due to my players being very forgiving about anything that may have confused them. I have one player who is a semi-experienced in D&D and she did admirably allowing the others to experience the story and puzzle elements. She is a very action oriented player and loves combat, so it was a bit of a slog for her. I promised that next session will be less puzzle heavy and more action heavy.

Speaking of player agency, our newest players seemed to have the most fun playing their characters. Our wizard, a shifty human turned housecat named Sprinkles, and our paladin, a drunk human named Cathandris, seemed to understand pretty intuitively how to "yes and" a scene. I'm really proud of how well they took to it.

In other news, I need dental work. Lots and lots of dental work. Like, possibly up to $8000 worth. Turns out that growing up poor and not having even half-decent dental insurance until a few years ago means my teeth have been super neglected. Luckily the teeth that are basically unsalvageable are my wisdom teeth, surprising no one. I only even considered going to the dentist because my lower back-left wisdom tooth just had a chunk crumble off while I was eating. It was a strange sensation to say the least. In an interesting turn of events, it didn't hurt. Not because it was a small chunk, but because it is a dead tooth. It's not actively infected, but at some point it was, the infection killed the tooth before it spread very far, and my body managed to keep it contained.

When I went in to get it checked out they basically hit me with the mechanic upsell. My teeth are covered in cavities, I need my wisdom teeth (all four) removed, and if I want to keep my teeth I need to brush daily and get aligners. Luckily for me, I have trip to Cambodia lined up in a few months. I'm thinking of trying to coordinate with my fiancée to get me an appointment with a good dentist in Phnom Penh so I can get my upper wisdom teeth removed. If all goes well this year and I eventually move out to Cambodia, I will get my aligners/braces there and potentially save a ton of money. Apparently dental work is a fraction of what it costs in the US, so that's a relief.

I think the biggest downside is that I still need to get at least the broken tooth removed here in the US. It's a pretty serious break and the potential for it to crack right down the middle and cause some bigger issues is very apparent. That will not be a cheap procedure. I got referred to a specialist, and I know for a fact that they will be more expensive. I want to see if my dentist can do it instead of the specialist, but that is a question for my next appointment. I'm getting my cavities filled and hopefully I can ask some more questions then.

Other than that, life is going as smoothly is it can for me. Work and school are as bumpy as they have ever been, and I don't foresee that changing any time soon.

As always I've been Shift_, and this is me signing off.