The Big Birthday Haul of 2016 - Part One

My  birthday was this month!  For my birthday, I usually don't ask for much from my parents.  I normally don't ask for much, and what I do ask for is easier to find online; and they don't do much online shopping.  My mother-in-law had to teach my mom so she could get the my grooms attendants (and my wife's one male bridal attendant, I had a female groom attendant as well, for balance) their gifts.  So, because of that, I usually ask for Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift-cards.  I had $100.00 in Amazon cards, so I decided to have a big RPG blowout!  Multiple books were ordered, and today three came in at the same time.  Also, seeing how I am iced in on a mountain and unable to attend Parade of Spirits in Philadelphia, what better thing to do than do a birthday unboxing.

The two packages.  Address not shown for anti-stalker purposes

My first reaction is probably the same reaction that you have seeing that picture.  Two packages, two books.  My parents, whom I am staying with until the house I am renting is finished up, certainly thought so to.  I brought the books up to my old room and proceeded to open them.

The tiny image to the left, placed off center and ensmalled (opposite of embiggen) to hide my shame, was the shredding of the box that greeted me on this adventure.  Let me go on a tangent here, if I may.  I understand that packaging needs to be secure.  Selling stuff to make rent because of a shitty job in Florida has taught me everything I needed to know about packaging.  But then there comes certain glues that can glue two unstoppable forces together.  Forget about the "spear-shield" paradox, this glue can end that.  This box was indestructible!

Okay, that was hyperbole, I'll admit.  But that glue really did give me a hell of a fight for a minute there.

This picture, also pushed to the side (because of my shameful cell phone photography skills, I mean, what the hell), displayed my sudden realization that I got two books in one box.  No wonder it needed a Strength score higher than an 8 to open.  The book on top is Swashbuckling Adventures: Islands of Gold - The Midnight Archipelago.  It's interesting that I get the supplement book before the main one.  Anyway, I will post more about it when I get the main book.  My initial review?  I like it.  I am a fan of pirate related things, and this book is all pirate (and a bit of Doctor Moreau in my favorite adventure in the book).

The second book is Dragons of Eberron.  Okay, this I have a pdf of, but I am a bibliophile damn it!  This book I really do like.  It showcases Argonessen, one of the mysterious continents of the Eberron setting, as well as giving ways to effectively place dragons within other parts of Eberron as a whole.  Also, being a culture fan, having a detailed culture of the Seren and for dragons made it an awesome purchase!

Over all, my satisfaction with this first part was pretty high.  I have always bee interested in 7th Sea, but couldn't find anyone willing to play outside of d20 rules.  This makes it possible to play the setting, as well as be an intro to possibly expanding into the more setting-compatible rules.  Being an Eberron fanboy, to get new Eberron related books was a nice touch as well.

Now let's see what's in the second package... *rips a small part of the package, making it more difficult to open*

To be continued in Part 2!!!