“Their chief is Crom. He dwells on a great mountain. What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man’s soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?”
Queen of the Black Coast by Robert E. Howard
- Advance the game calendar and summarize events
- Open Tracker and audio enhancements
- Make sure everyone is well-fed and has a beverage
- Give the invocation
- Review what has happened before and distribute XP from previous session
- Explain new and missing player characters
- Begin play by asking what characters do next
- Conclude play with intentions for next session
- Write a session log
- Adjudicate intersession moves by players
Invocation I
Tonight we play the game. We will focus. We will know our characters. We will decide without delay. We will communicate clearly. We will accept rulings. We will entertain in-game. When we forget, in the name of Gygax and Arneson, may we be reminded, rarely ignored and never expelled.
Invocation II
Hokus pokus, all will focus. The game begins within this locus.
Let be no outside insult heard. Amuse us with your avatar’s word.
Without delay we make our call, clearly stated to one and all.
“Know yourself” is our creed. “Accept your fate,” fail or succeed.
Remind us once. Remind us twice. Ignore us should that not suffice.
Those not true will not be held. By sworn oath shall they be expelled.
Now we begin the one, true game. We call on spirits name by name.
We call on Gygax! We call on Arneson! We head for dungeons to slay their dragons!
Huzzah!