One on one Mommy time (Mar 2/09)

Yes, finally a March post under March. One day I'll spend time trying to figure out how to have the posts I actually wrote last month (but not posted in blogger) have a February tag or something. But that would take time away from the mommy-ing and housework and playing WAR. Now onto our actual post...

Since Little One was at a playdate after school, I thought it would be a real treat for Big One to have one on one Warhammer time with Mommy. Usually it's Daddy they get to play with, so this was a real change, and she eagerly bought into the whole thing and finished up her homework in no time flat! (Note to self: Gotta remember that for future homework arguments.) We got set up -- her upstairs and me downstairs, got the headphone communication lines open, and logged in to make new characters. (Again! I know!)

Hers was a Knight -- she really likes how Liena looks and wanted to try one out for herself. I made a Warrior Priest, just cause I was curious. I have never been able to heal anyone other than myself, and only that sporadically, in any game we've ever played. In fact this is the first game I've actually made a melee character, let alone tank, in, though my ranger in EQ2 did have positional melee stuff. Though I usually kept her at the maximum distance for that. But I digress -- I seem to do that a lot.

Soooo, a new Knight (Hollyfire) and WP (Hollyhammer) appear in Grimmenhagen. We make short work of the first couple of quests since both of us know where to go and what to do. We're doing fine and communicating well, so I press the "Queue for Scenarios button" and cue us for Nordenwatch. Not without some trepidation mind you. Both girls have a tendency to cry if their character dies, or at the very least, get upset. And Big One is not the best of losers. So I tried to give it a positive spin, as I explained what would happen.

I told her that there was a little game inside of the game, kind of like capture the flag (which she's played at Brownies) and that we work as a team with other players against another team of other players to do that. I explained that you die often, but there are no penalties, and you just get right up and go back to where the team needs you. I also explained that we need to wait for enough people before the game would start. She took it all in and waited patiently (for her that means only asking every 2 minutes or so when it's going to start) for the scenario to pop. And it did, in less than 5 minutes (I love our new server! Yay Vortex!).

So in we go. During the countdown I explained what her job would be, and wondered what my job would be -- cause I'm not, I stress NOT the healer type, though I'm hoping that the whole melee damage makes heal-mana thing will work out for me. As the countdown progresses I explain that Daddy and I usually head straight for the Fortress while others capture the Lighthouse. Off we went, arriving just as the red team's frontrunners came into view. We both flail about madly, die quickly and run back to help out the rest of our team that's finally arrived there. We manage somehow to beat them back and take the flag. We die some more, fight some more, succeed a little, lose a little. The battle is pretty even. She reports her status, goes where I tell her we're needed. All in all a pretty good first try. I'm so proud of my geeky girl!

Then she wants to do it again! "I love this, mommy!", she laughs into her microphone upstairs. So I queue us again. We do it again, a little better this time, with a few fewer deaths. And one more time, which is all we had time for before Daddy and Little One arrived back home. Just before we logged off she said "When can we do this again? I love this game!"

Anytime you want, baby. Just let me switch my character though. I can NOT heal, and I doubt I'll ever be able to. Maybe I'll roll my SW again. Maybe you can roll a SM?