When the Games' Not in Town

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Here's a question for you:

When you can't or aren't playing any D&D (for an extended time), what do you do to get your D&D "fix"?

I've been thinking about this recently since I had to put my own game on extended hold while I took care of some real life issues (and then a whole bunch of other things came up that look to delay things even further). In the last few weeks, I've been wishing to roll the dice for a bit but I didn't have the time or any game to run for my current group.

I guess it's not too surprising, but I've filling the itch with some video games. Right now I'm playing the D&D Tactics game for PSP. It was actually a gift for my last birthday (almost a year ago now), but I'm just getting around to seriously playing it... as serious as you can with the game; the interface is maddeningly frustrating and I would have given up earlier if I had a real game to run/play.

I've also been catching up on my reading--not fantasy novels, they never fill the same spot as a good game--but catching up on rule books I haven't read thoroughly, modules I'm thinking of running, etc. They at least let me imagine a game where I'm using this rule or running that encounter and allow me to decide how to customize something for my tastes.

Lastly, I find myself following the #dnd thread on Twitter and reading more of the game posts and looking at combat pictures, with their hand drawn encounter areas and minis spread out in mid action. It's not with a little longing that I wish I were at one or two of these tables.

Hopefully I'll be getting my game back up and running soon, and then I'll be the one posting pics for everyone else to read...

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