Sad to Say, Your Adventures Have Ended Here

My primary gaming computer suffered an unexpected melt-down last week. While I scavenge parts to replace it, I must turn back to the consoles. However, I also have my bi-weekly Dungeons and Dragons game to look forward to.

Yesterday was the first time that an entire party has died at my table. Some GMs would consider this a badge of honor, but for me, since I try to balance encounters fairly, I am not entirely happy with it. The problem was that this particular encounter was simply part of the world, and was set up for the players to encounter much later. They also were down a player, and it might have made the situation a little more tenable had he been around. This combination of problems meant they just weren't fully prepared to handle the situation they had gotten in to.

Fourth Edition is a little odd in this respect: it's fairly hard for one player to die, but once one does, others die in rapid succession and this can often cause a full wipe. That means it's also more difficult for things like resurrections to happen, especially in the heroic tier. I've heard a lot of stories about party wipes in 4th Ed, but less stories about just one dramatic death.

Here is the true story of yesterday's party wipe. I will leave this as a memento, a funny story, and as a word of caution.

Origins 2012

I'm going to Origins, as I do most years! Event signup finally occurred today.

This will be my last big gaming event for the year, though, as I focus on development and other stuff.

Going to mix it up this year and try some games I have never played before, as I often do. But we have a good full Cthluhu table or two.

On Magic Cake

I've been interested in the intersection of food and games for a long time. Because of this, I raptly follow the recipes posted on Gourmet Gaming and I've tried cooking a few myself. When I got the chance from Ctrl+Alt+Defeat to write a regular column, he suggested it be about the relationship between games and... something else. I volunteered to write about food.

I'll never be a regular games/food blogger, because my schedule is too varied; fitting in a new recipe every week would be tough for me and my focus. But the idea of eating my way through a game is so appealing to me that I couldn't resist...

My article in Ctrl+Alt+Defeat is about Earthbound, and I actually concocted several recipes to match. If you haven't read the article, read that first!  I spent a couple weeks eating, and taking a few pictures of, the Earthboundiest foods I could find. This, for example, is my all-Earthbound-inspired lunch. Peanut Cheese Bar recipe courtesy Snack or Die. Gourmet Gaming also has a version, with chocolate, but I used these in the photographs.

Another resort delicacy is the Magic Cake, a special cake with powers that can transport you to another place. Only one cook in Summers can make the Magic Cake, and recreating it precisely would be a bit of a challenge. I have no idea what one puts in a cake to give it psychic enhancement powers, but, aside from that, official sources are fairly confusing on what goes in to a Magic Cake. The Earthbound Players Guide mentions that the cake is chocolate. But the accompanying picture that, should illustrate the cake in theory, looks more like a cheesecake with raspberry sauce.

Here, I split the difference, creating a raspberry-filled cake with a white-chocolate flavor. The white cake batter allowed for the addition of a little “magic” in the form of multi-color sprinkles.

Magic Cake

2 ¼ cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup milk

4 egg whites

½ cup butter

8 oz white chocolate chips

Colored sprinkles (optional)

Fillings and frosting:

¾ cup raspberry preserves (seedless)

Fresh raspberries, colored sprinkles

White or cream cheese frosting

1.       Use 2 8-inch cake pans. Spread the insides with shortening, and lightly flour. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Put dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, salt – in a large bowl.

3.       Add almond extract, shortening, and milk, and mix.

4.       Melt the chocolate chips with the butter in the microwave, and stir together. (8oz is somewhat less than a full bag. You can reserve the rest for decorations or another recipe).

5.       Add chocolate mixture to the cake batter. Using a stand or hand-mixer, beat on medium until the batter is homogenous.

6.       Add egg whites slowly, beating on low speed.

7.       If desired, add colored sprinkles at this part of the process and stir in, to add some magic to the cake!

8.       Pour cake batter in to prepared pans. Bake for 25-28 minutes.

9.       Remove cake, and allow to cool before decorating.

To decorate the cake, put a layer of raspberry jam between the two cake layers, and stack. Spread with white or cream cheese frosting: mine was store-bought this time, but a basic home-made cream cheese buttercream would go well here (Just butter, powdered sugar, and cream cheese softened and mixed together until they are the proper consistency).  Decorate with reserved chocolate chips, fresh berries, and/or sprinkles.

If you have a major sweet tooth, serve with some Gelato De Resort.

Thanks for reading and another big thanks to Gourmet Gaming and other food bloggers everywhere.