Tag: Renton

  • Gift guide for nerds like me

    Gift guide for nerds like me

    Maybe you know some people like me — nerds, happily embracing their hobbies that were once considered abnormal but are now mainstream enough they sell out arenas.

    Most who read this blog are here for the dungeons and the dragons. Communal storytelling with dice and friends is what unites us. You probably already have the core elements of the games you love, but your family still wants to get you things over the holidays that stretch from late November to early January. Pass them this guide.

    • Almost all links are direct to the supplier or to Bookshop.org. When you can, shop locally and/or directly.

    Our hobbies and communities grow with support.

    For the experienced roleplaying game fanatic

    First off, expand their Appendix N. The Tolkien-esque stories that founded fantasy RPGs are well known. There’s so much more available now.

    The Hunger and The Dusk volumes 1 and 2 (Bookshop links) tell tales of romance between orcs and humans fighting aliens in a world that’s dying. G Willow Wilson wrote other stories as well, many which fit a fantasy motif, but none apply directly to D&D like The Hunger and The Dusk.

    Lev Grossman’s works like The Magicians and Bright Sword take familiar tales (Narnia & King Arthur) and twist them up. Also on my TBR pile are Children of Blood & Bone, The Fifth Season and Brigands & Breadknives.

    Expand their 5e games outside of Wizards of the Coast. Your RPG nerd friends already buy themselves the official D&D products they want. But you can help them incorporate wider tales.

    Try other games! Talk to your friend and see what they already have or where their interests lie. There are a lot of other popular RPGs out right now. While Daggerheart and Draw Steel are supported by some of my mutuals on Mastodon. The one that intrigues me the most is the forthcoming Plotweaver system. It is the engine behind the Cosmere RPG and supports political stories beyond what D&D does.

    Twilight:2000‘s update is a fun read of the classic post-nuclear exchange apocalypse game that helped me consider the Army. Song of the River Prince is a more cozy fantasy. With light mechanics and tales quite different from the high fantasy of D&D.

    You can always get your geek new dice (Artisan Dice are my dream) or support a mapmaker (Deven Rue or Dyson Logos are two I enjoy) in their name. Or order a custom map. Someday the World of the Everflow, Telse and The Ferments will get custom maps. My favorite dice box maker is Elderwood Academy. A gift card to Hero Forge works too.

    There are other options, but those are some of my favorites.

    For the newbie

    While the Tales of the Valiant Starter Set is below $15, get it. Or, stick to the WotC products because your nibblings or friends’ kids don’t want the off brand stuff. I grew up with the Odyssey video game system and Gobots. I get it — sometimes finances mean support how you can.

    But when the price isn’t significantly different get;

    • Stranger Things: Welcome to the Hellfire Club if they are into Stranger things.
    • Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set for those that aren’t. Both of those are designed to welcome new people to D&D.

    The battle boards from Beedle & Grim’s look great for a not-quite newbie or someone who consistently plays the same class. I’m currently running an Artificer, and Rogues are my second most played class.

    And for those who want to be a newbie DM, Return to the Lazy Dungeon Master is the best collection of simple advice to focus on the players, their characters and empowering their story options.

    Those shopping in the Renton area should support Shane’s Cards & Games, Wizard Keep Games and Mox Boarding House.

    For flavor dorks

    My preferred geeky coffee is Found Familiar. My current favorite is Fae Magic. My preferred geeky tea is Friday Afternoon Tea. It helps that they’re local-ish too. A friend recently tried Many Worlds Tavern. I’m looking forward to a flavor report.

    For coffees in the South Sound area, I recommend Campfire, Bluebeard, and Boon Boona. I swing by Macadons and Common Ground for sweets.

    Beer people should head to The Brewmaster’s Taproom. My go to wine shop is All Things Wine and when in Walla Walla I support Tempus (we’re in the club), Sleight of Hand (also in SoDo), Balboa and Echolands. If you ever tour the dub-dub send me a message. It’s a fun town for those that love flavor experiences.

    For finer liquors I enjoyed a taste of The Dalmore recently and would love more. It was a rare scotch that my non-peaty-preferring wife would enjoy with its softer, luxurious mouth feel.

    Straightaway cocktails are the best packaged cocktails for people who want smaller servings on hand.

    For soccer fans in the Puget Sound

    If your soccer friend doesn’t read Sounder at Heart they must. It’s another place I write. There’s a special on annual support right now at 20% off.

    Reign tickets are cheaper than Sounders tickets and you’ll be supporting the best women in the world. For the Sounders fans that don’t have tickets get the two-pack. Avoid getting Men’s World Cup tickets at the current pricing unless your budget is quite a bit bigger than mine.

    Not from the local area? 1996 Designs makes excellent large brick people of your favorite American soccer teams.

    For being prepared without being a Prepper

    Working around emergency and crisis managers is reminding me of a few ways to be prepared.

    Have a plan when the emergency happens. Know your neighbors and the organizations that will help when disasters happen, because they will happen. A communications system that involves receiving alerts from multiple sources is vital — that should include a radio, as well as your local alerts system and free services on social media. Have backup power, even light solar for portable devices is helpful. You need at least three days of food and water, but if your budget of money and space allows a week or two that’s better.

    SHARE AND HELP OTHERS as part of your plan.

    I also keep an Amazon list for my family that lives well away. People can also decide to support the website.

    None of the above products or services pay me except Sounder at Heart, the website I founded and ran from 2008 to 2019 and rejoined in 2022, Factal (and those linked resources are free to the general public) and the two supplements mentioned in line paid me a one-time commission.

    Fediverse Reactions
  • The City of Dragons is on the come up

    The City of Dragons is on the come up

    For a couple generations Renton was Boeing mechanics and engineers, and the people who supported them. Somehow despite these strong union jobs the reputation of Renton was negative. The rest of the 425 felt like Renton wasn’t worthy of the area code.

    Down here on the southern tip of Lake Washington there’s a little boom.

    Over the past 15 years, Renton has been doing things a bit different. The economy has shifted, the dining improved, and the reputation is tired. The City of Dragons is also the City of Seahawks and the City of Sounders.

    The Seattle Sounders are building their training center on the old Longacres property. Additionally the property will also have over 500,000 square feet of office space, around 3,000 units of housing, and some light retail space right at a transit hub.

    That’s not the only modern tech hub. Directly on the water is Southport, which combines great office space and a high-end hotel with views of both Bellevue and Seattle. There are also restaurants directly on the lake, something rare in the other ‘burbs surrounding it. Maybe someday there will be a water taxi connecting Southport to UW and South Lake Union (and maybe later up along the eastside).

    The Dragon Erasmus looks out over Renton

    The City of Dragons is also host to the billion-dollar division of Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast. For this, and other reasons, Renton has a statue of a dragon downtown, little dragons to indicate parking lots in the core of the city, dragon art on retail spaces awaiting tenants, and my heart.

    Tucked in Renton is a top ten steakhouse in the state, a home converted to wine library and eatery, at least four waterfront restaurants, great sushi, a Korean-burger fusion place, and is the originator of what has become the Puget Sound family-style Mexican experience.

    Located in the mountainous region of southeast Jalisco, Cuautla is a small community of about 3,000 people. Fundamental to the special connection between Renton and Cuautla, are Cuautla’s “Absent Sons,” of which many live in or near Renton. The “Absent Sons,” as they are referred to in Cuautla, are a band of greater Puget Sound Region restauranteurs who left Cuautla when they were young men, came to the United States, and opened the majority of the Mexican restaurants we patronize today: Azteca, La Fuente, La Hacienda, Las Margaritas, Mayas, Mazatlan, Tapatios, Taqueria Guaymas, and Torero’s to name just a few.

    City of Renton

    Also, in this 8th largest city in Washington are;

    • Three Breweries (Bickersons, Dub Town, Four Generals)
    • Two Gaming Stores (Wizard Keep Games, Shane’s Cards and Games)
    • A library built over the river
    • A taproom and a wine bar
    • Half of the Cedar River Trail stretching from Lake Washington to Lake Wilderness
    • A museum that tells the stories of Renton and South King County
    • Two theaters, for plays, not movies
    • Renton Memorial Stadium, that once hosted the Sounders in USL play
    • River Days

    Once upon a time I moved away from Renton, thinking I’d never come back. I saw the world. Now, I own a home here and have realized that my city continues to grow into a place where I want to be — diverse, welcoming, friendly, with walkable distinct neighborhoods.

    And dragons.

  • The Best Stories I Wrote in 2020

    The Best Stories I Wrote in 2020

    A review of my writing portfolio of 2020 demonstrates just how the covid-19 pandemic impacted the styles and techniques I used in marketing, a re-emergence of gaming writing, and a consistent undercurrent of story-themes throughout the diverse subjects covered. Listicles, metaphor, match recaps, rules, reviews, and so many other techniques burst from my creative mind into pixel and print in 2020.

    Now a free agent, searching for work, the following examples can be backed with practical measurements to show their ability to increase the attention and sales of product if you are interested in adding my skill set to your portfolio. Or you can just click and read awesome stuff about D&D, Tacoma, Renton, Defiance, Sounders and more.

    Here are my 20 favorite items from 2020.

    Dungeons & Dragons

    First and foremost Full Moon Storytelling was a way for me to share thoughts about how and why I play D&D. From its founding through early 2020 the most common writing were session notes so that the rest of my group would have a place where they could review what happened between our time together. Needing a place to write, anything, Full Moon Storytelling became a place to share my story-first concepts, refine ideas for the World of the Everflow, and put out rough drafts of what may eventually be products on DMsGuild.

    My review of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything burst into a small moment of virality in a private Facebook group. People embraced that while it was a mechanical expansion, Tasha’s was more an expansion of story opportunities than anything else.

    Your mundane life can and should populate your D&D games. As a former professional coffee roaster/taster and beer sales person flavor is a core element of how I tell stories. It should also be an element of the stories you tell within Dungeons & Dragons. Flavor can also be mechanical. Tasha’s adds the Chef Feat (reflavor that for brewers, tea blenders, vintners, etc), but you can also add mechanics like Coffee Gear, an artisans tool that is appropriate for most campaigns.

    Not all legends are about success. Not all stories end in greatness. None include only victories. Embrace the struggles and failures, because those define your character as much as race/class/background.

    Every story – no matter the medium – can inspire a new character. When watching Jingle Jangle and Christmas Chronicle 2 the Artificer class opened up to me in ways that go beyond Eberron. Your next D&D character is a Rock Gnome Artificer-Toy Maker.

    Tacoma Defiance and Other Soccer

    2020 started with me employed by Tacoma Defiance and Tacoma Rainiers as a content writer, marketer, and broadcaster. It ends with me freelancing about soccer again, something I started in 2008 and that continues to this day.

    My return to Sounder at Heart was to write about the most powerful personality in Tacoma Defiance history – Jesse Daley. The Aussie transferred back to Brisbane Roar, his youth club. His former captain, his best friend, and his coaches all spoke lovingly about what The Defiant brought to Defiance.

    Without Daley who would step forward to become the soul of the team? It was a complicated answer. Alec Diaz was the goal scorer. Sam Rogers, when playing, was a stalwart. It was Ray Serrano who embraced the challenges of pandemic play to become more than he ever was before – The Defiant of 2020.

    Some players transcend their play on the field. They embrace sports as a communications device for social justice, for equality, and for filling the gaps that society creates. Cheney Stadium’s first soccer captain retired after the 2020 season. This is the story of David Estrada.

    https://www.tacdefiance.com/taylor-mueller-qa/
    Player profiles should be about more than just the skills they bring to the team. They are also snapshots into who the person is. Meet Taylor Mueller, Captain Tacoma Defiance, and Puget Sound native – go Dawgs.
    Mapping Defiance: Tacoma’s 2020 Campaign
    Writing in metaphor for thousands of words can be a challenge. Coming up with 34 unique ways to talk about Tacoma Defiance’s intended 2020 journey was a challenge. This story and entire marketing concept eventually combined the written word, illustration, design, and video. It was a full force project.
    https://www.tacdefiance.com/tacoma-defiance-versus-reno-1868-fc-match-preview/
    The journey and return home metaphor was to extend throughout the season, that meant blowing out a couple lines from the season long story into a full independent manifestation for every match.
    https://www.tacdefiance.com/fast-defiance-facts-from-sounders-preseason/
    There are times when a readership or fanbase don’t need all the details. This quick list of performances let the readers know Tacoma’s influence on the team that would eventually go on to compete in its 4th MLS Cup.

    Tacoma and Renton Culture

    One of the things working with Tacoma Defiance, Tacoma Rainiers, and Reign FC/OL Reign taught me was writing about culture – the people and things that people love about a place. There were interviews with civil rights leaders, appearances at day camps, beer tastings, and an overall embrace that the people of a place are an important of sports. That continued in 2020, even during the pandemic. These are my six favorite stories of 2020.

    The Renton History Museum launched an exhibit on sports in the small city during the pandemic. The tour inspired me, a Renton native, to learn more about Henry Moses and the dominance of Renton’s women’s basketball program in the 1920s.

    Defiantly Tacoma’s Guide to Supporting Tacoma Businesses
    When the first shutdown happened small businesses suffered. People didn’t know what was open and search engines were often out-of-date, this shopping guide was updated daily from mid-March until late-May. It drove 1000s of people to businesses around the South Sound.
    Big Little Connections
    Early during the covid-19 pandemic people struggled to find ways to connect, particularly those that connected via sports when there were no sports. We found ways to bond and socialize, even if just through signs in windows.
    What We’re Cooking
    Even non-cooks started cooking during the pandemic. In order to capture that I interviewed staff at Rainiers/Defiance about their discoveries. Working with Erin, our graphic designer, we crafted recipe cards.
    Tacoma’s Tug Life
    Captain Katrina Anderson is the only woman piloting a tug in Puget Sound. This story was supposed to have a short video accompanying it, but the pandemic ruined that plan.
    Tacoma’s Biggest Nerd Is, Fittingly, a Pro Wrestler
    Ethan HD is unapologetically a Black nerd. The Tacoma-born geek bought a comic book shop in late 2019, but he defies the stereotypes – he’s also a pro wrestler who will stomp you.

    Fiction

    By creanita design und ausführung by nina saner (CC BY-SA 2.0)

    During the pandemic my efforts towards fiction continue to increase. Several of my older stories here on Full Moon Storytelling have been updated, with my favorite being Queen and Konstruct – a goblin’s lyfe. This tale helps set the scene as to what the goblinoids of my world are and how smog-punk is different from Eberron’s magipunk and the various versions of steampunk that exist.

    Hire Dave Clark

    You can hire me to help tell your stories that help market product, to channel a unique voice about your team, or to fill your needs in fiction or poetry. Submission will include towards SEO, SEM, social media, and newsletter advice.

    Email david.josef.clark@gmail.com for rates.

  • Support Local Game Stores

    Support Local Game Stores

    During the pandemic many people are turning to role-playing games. D&D is regularly appearing in the 100 Best Sellers on Amazon. With their deep discounts versus physical locations that makes sense. The same holds true for digital outlets like DnDBeyond, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds.

    Dungeons & Dragons is simultaneously about the game with its stories of heroism in a world of magic and it is about community the group of players who gather regularly to tell those stories together.

    Community is hard to come by during the pandemic. Most who read this blog are people who are distancing. Which has slowed the spread of the disease, but it also harms our local small businesses. Things are pretty dire for the friendly local gaming stores out there.

    They couldn’t compete on price with online shops prior to the pandemic. Now, they no longer have the ability to safely host events on premise that gave them a unique life and place in our cities.

    Here’s my favorites FLGS in Renton, Tacoma, Bellevue, and a few others as well.

    Wizard’s Keep Games

    I discovered The Keep back when I was selling beer. The old owner and I would talk Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, craft beer, and Tacoma every other week or so.

    Wizard’s Keep Games hosted several of my D&D campaign sessions back in the Before Times when there wasn’t a global pandemic. They have a large selection of used D&D books if you’re looking for older materials.

    Shane’s Cards

    Down near the Uwajimaya, Shane’s leans heavy into collectible card games. They have a few more minis and dice than the Keep, but their RPG corner is a bit cramped.

    Their frequent buyer program is helpful if you buy D&D and other stuff, but the pace of releases make it unlikely you’ll hit the significant discounts on D&D alone. Shane’s is a Renton classic.

    Tacoma Games

    Open and spacious the 6th Ave shop has a ton of miniatures and a wide selection of board games. They were doing curbside pickup during the height of the lockdown. Hit up Tacoma Games.

    Terra Crux

    Downtown Tacoma’s Terra Crux has a huge selection that reminds me of the days of old going to Book World in Kent. Great spot for paints and minis.

    Mox Boarding House – Bellevue

    While it isn’t in my dual homes of Renton-Tacoma, I would be failing if I left off the only other physical store I’ve purchased from. Mox Boarding House – Bellevue hosted some of my D&D campaigns, is where I met the Beedle & Grimm’s team, had many a beer in the restaurant, and while I was selling them kegs I would always take a long look at D&D products. They’re big enough you can find third-party books there too.

    Others

    In Walla Walla I’ve shopped at Books & Games as well as Western Paladin Games.
    Friends swear by Meeples and Zulu and TeKu and Arcane Comics in the Greater Seattle area.

    Support them now, so that when we roll dice together we have a place to gather.

  • Renton’s Sporting Triumphs: From Moses to Title IX

    Renton’s Sporting Triumphs: From Moses to Title IX

    As is appropriate for so much of Renton’s history, the exhibit starts with a Moses. Henry Moses, of the dxʷdəwʔabš/Duwamish, often referred to as chief, is the entry point for Renton History Museum’s journey through sports history.

    Originally scheduled to launch in spring, the museum and exhibit adapted to a the COVID-19 pandemic. Mask usage is required, the staff takes your info for possible contact tracing, there is a path to guide you through the main exhibits, and with the spacious main hall you feel comfortable even when others enter.

    The exhibit itself shifted as gaining access to artifacts was complicated due to the pandemic. The delay the launch means that it is up at the same time as What Difference Do Renton Women Make?

    Being up at the same time as an exhibit focused on women makes sense for the dive into Renton’s sporting history. After Moses, the display shifts to two girls who helped Renton High School dominate the King County high school basketball scene in the 20s. And then girls’ sports disappeared from schools.

    While Renton produced an Olympic quality women’s track star during the stretch between the Great Depression and Title IX, it was more by accident than any plan. After 37 years with a smattering of sports, the US legal ruling brought about a surge in opportunity for female athletes.

    The best museum exhibits do not explain everything. Instead they open up stories that inspire you to learn more. Renton History Museum will help do that for the visitor. Even those steeped in the tales of the South King County city will learn that Mark Prothero was more than a lawyer that defended the Green River Killer, but one of Washington’s best swimmers ever.

    Before Zach LaVine was winning dunk contests Renton High won titles in both football and basketball, with seven players that featured on both squads. There are other pros that called Renton home, not just a birthplace.

    The triumph in the exhibit is the way that it teases you to learn more – to understand and connect with Renton via sports. That there is a throughline to the other feature exhibit as well as two of the three static subjects for the museum is a great bonus.

    Further Reading

    Dave Clark is a Renton-Kent resident for the majority of his life. Clark was previously a participant in Hero’s Feast: Finding Community through Dungeons & Dragons. His past writings have featured at WeRTacoma.com, SounderAtHeart.com and numerous other outlets.