Uh.. what did you just say? Yes you heard correctly, there are some magical things brewing around Crack Clan! We have officially started a Dungeons and Dragons group! Crack Clan is originally a first person shooter organization, so this is a very rare and extraordinary event happening within our ranks. We are also extremely fortunate to have our first campaign run by a very experienced Dungeon Master known by the alias drsouluno. Without any more delay please read on for our interview with the man that’s making all of this possible:

Smithy: Hello Doc, how about you introduce yourself to the readers.

Dr.Souluno: My name is Ahmed Mahmoud. I’m a first generation Egyptian American who lives in Jersey City, NJ. I’m 35, and have been gaming and DMing since I was 12. My earliest memory of DnD was one of my childhood friends bringing over a book of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. What do you mean it’s a game? That’s not a game, that’s a book!? After explaining that it was no different than our usual imaginative game play with toys, we were hooked. We interpreted the rules to the best of our abilities and played. We soon realized that we could be the heroes of our adventures and we could go anywhere, do anything. We played for a few years on and off, and then college happened, life happened. We grew apart and didn’t play for years. On one faithful Sunday night I received a call from my buddy Bob that he was running DnD again. I gave it a shot and once again I was hooked. But this time it was different, the world was darker, everything was more mature, and difficult. It seemed that DnD had matured with us! That was 14 years ago, and I haven’t stopped playing since. Some people had football, some had poker – we had DnD to bring us together. And now I bring the legacy to you.

Smithy: How would you describe Dungeons and Dragons to our readers who are unfamiliar with the game?

Dr.Souluno: DnD is about coming together with a group of friends and overcoming challenges and making decisions. Do I go through that door? Do I choose this path? It’s actually no different than a video game, but instead of counting on BioWare or EA to write and execute a great story; you’re counting on the books and friends. The DM or dungeon master runs the outcome, and that can change far more than any scripted video game. So it tends to be far more flexible. You can do anything, literally. DnD was invented in the 70′s by a man named Gary Gygax who imagined what it would be like to play a game as if you were the heroes in Lord of the Rings. In fact, much of the lore of DnD can be traced right back to Tolkien’s masterpiece. Any Role Playing Game you play today in video game form or otherwise is based on DnD. Are you getting experience? That came from DnD. Are you getting levels? Guess what? DnD Pokemon evolving?, using rules for Magic the gathering? DnD HP?, MP?, DnD Initially, Gary pulled no punches with his first editions introducing Christian demons and devils as creatures you could battle. That’s where the whole controversy of DnD being a devil’s game started. But it was a cult classic, not a cult. Gary toned down the game shortly after, making it more accessible and it grew a following. Today, there are all sorts of game systems using his template. Since it is essentially your friends that run it, you choose your level of difficulty, maturity, and fun. DnD is fully modular, and you can play anywhere!! Take that Xbox!
All Hail Gary Gygax! Seriously, not a cult.

Smithy: So what were your initial impressions upon learning about Crack Clan and the future newbie players you were going to be DMing for?

Dr.Souluno: Initially, I thought it would be difficult to satisfy the FPSer’s need for instant gratification when it comes to action and kills. I figured a faster paced game with a battlefield mentality may help to bridge the gap, but I discovered something very different. The group turned out to be out-going boisterous individuals with a flair for the dramatic. Not at all what I expected, but the ideal kind of group any DM would want. For that, I thank you for making this an interesting game on both sides of the table.

Smithy: What all is involved in being the Dungeon Master and what do you find to be the most challenging things to deal with?

Dr.Souluno: Being a DM first and foremost requires a logical imagination. One must be able to create a unique and creative gaming atmosphere while grounding it in logical real world physics and description. You can border absurd, but the minute you cross the line, your players will fail to suspend their disbelief and the world will come crashing down. Secondly, a DM must fully understand the environment in which he/she(usually he I think) is placing the players. This requires preparation and a thorough knowledge of how to interpret the rules fairly. That last bit can take years to truly master, if ever. The creation of places and people takes time, and determining how they interact with each other and the environment takes a discreet understanding of people and their motivations. Lastly, the DM must know how to adhere to changes that the players induce in their world. This frustrates many, many fledgling DMs. When a DM creates a vibrant world with his/her blood, sweat, and tears, they tend to protect it at all costs. So when the players trample all over the DM’s vision of what “should” have happened, the DM can just shut down at the table. For example, “I took 3 hours to create this amazing NPC(non-player character), and I know the group will love him. He will be the corner stone of magic in the city!” When the PCs(player characters) meet this wizard, they hate and kill him immediately. “You broke my game and missed the wonderful exposition that my NPC was going to share!” A bad DM would not be able to cope with the destruction of their world, and shut down or give up. “Screw you guys, I’m going home!” PCs are unpredictable, unruly, ruthless, and rude. A good DM, however, would see this as a challenge for the validity of the environment he/she created with improvisation and the ability to create logical and interesting outcomes. Sure you may have killed the wizard, but little does the group know that his apprentice son is seeking revenge for his father’s death. Cause and effect. When a group of players starts challenging the boundaries of the world, pushing back the frames and breaking the fourth wall, that’s when it really gets interesting!

Smithy: What do you love the most about Dungeons and Dragons?

Dr.Souluno: Dungeons and Dragons allows me to create or tell stories that can be played and appreciated by others. That is a wholly rewarding experience. When the players figure out a puzzle I worked hard to conceal, or follow the clues to discover a secret, it’s exhilarating for everyone involved. Especially if the players finds a unique way to solve it, above and beyond the initial intention. It’s a lot of fun to design a world that players can imagine and interact with through story telling. It calls back to some ancient time when ritual story telling was sacred. It touches a part of us long since forgotten in this modern age. But most of all, I love when players become emotionally invested into their characters and honestly praise a good session and my efforts. It can be very fulfilling and addictive.

Smithy: We have officially run four complete three hour sessions so far. During that time frame what has been your most unforgettable memory.

Dr.Souluno: There were actually several unforgettable moments. Deth’s character Esteban, for one, is an unforgettable moment! Smithy’s ridiculous accent and antics, Bravo! Pockets impersonating Deth, classic! And who will ever forget the Dog Puncher. That will be burned in my memory forever!

Smithy: How do you see Dungeons and Dragons fitting in to today’s ever-connected, social media, online gaming scene?

Dr.Souluno: Dungeons and Dragons is a more personal than online gaming. Having the versatility to do anything you can imagine is very empowering. Whenever someone role-plays a character, they are expanding the boundaries of their comfort zones and delving into new territory. DnD offers the player a chance to expand their horizons and step into the shoes of another person they create. This is much like an actor taking the stage, or a musician performing for an audience. With virtual table tops(like Maptool) and voice over IP, DnD has been propelled into the 21st century, making it a formidable match for online gaming and Facebook. DnD is a great venue to get together and play with some friends or even meet people with like interests. I personally like the challenge of taking the “nerd” out of role play. I have been to too many places where the average DnD players are sniffling, poorly groomed, and confused nerds. Their games are dry and boring, and their breaths stink! You don’t have to be a dork to love DnD! My circle of DnD buddies were anything but text book nerds. We had jocks, womanizers, geniuses and fashionistas. But it takes a good DM to draw the “non-fanboys” into the game, and a better one to show them how to run a good game. And of course a love for the game that allows you to break through the stereotypes and show people you “can” be cool and still play. I feel I have an obligation to show players the best role playing experience I can offer by creating a rich and interactive world. And hopefully, I pass down a trick or two that they can use in the game that they run. And maybe, just maybe, we improve the genre. That is how it can survive the ever-changing online fads and games of our time.

Smithy: Going forward what path do you see this fledgling adventure heading to?

Dr.Souluno: I’m really excited for the day the group comes into their own with the rules and their abilities. I want to see them doing the hero stuff. I want to see them taking every tactical advantage imaginable(you are FPSers after all), and using spells in ways they were never before used. I want to see them save the world and defeat the great evil (or good if they swing that way). Mostly, I want to see them having fun while they do it.

Smithy: Anything else you would like to add?

Dr.Souluno: Gamers can be passionate, intelligent individuals on and off the table.

These two gentlemen took advantage of their inactivity and, now rejuvenated, ready and willing they trucked the ‘TF2 rookies of Crack Clan’ on to the road ahead — and what a road: going through a practice season and focusing on chemistry, communications and overall team building had led to the formation of a strong squad that is now proving itself in cups (recently taking the win in Punkka’s Arena Cup)

With the joint insanity of Mik and Mothy and a culture that servers up a democratic division, we set out on the challenge of having the division acquire the stability of the organization and and now looking forward to a bright future!

Crack Clan Green is:

cc//Achy
cc//Freshmeatt
cc//Leftism
cc//Mik
cc//Mothman
cc//Nooby

Our TF2 EU main roster has finished ETF2L Season 10 in a fantastic 3rd place. The final leg of the journey to success was the result of incredibly close games where anyone could take pole positions! They went the whole season without taking a loss from a team but despite their gallant efforts one of their final matches resulted in their first loss. They still managed to get their hands on some prizes! A community wide poll invited over 800 members to vote Crack Clan as “Most Surprisingly Good Team of the Season!” With the season restarting this month, you can follow your heroes of TF2 as they play in Premier once again with a different face complimenting cc//HarryHook. We have now said goodbye to Estanis with high hopes that he will succeed as an officer of the force! In turn we now welcome the legendary Bash who has represented Team Germany at Nations Cups in the past. He is feared by opponents for his precise aim and unique movement so our team is happy to have him on our side. Welcome cc//Bash! Remember to follow our progress in the upcoming season as many of our matches are casted through VanillaTF2.org and VODs are available at YouTube!

Though we’re an MGO, the Battlefield franchise has always received extra attention from Crack Clan, it’s just that game that we’re always willing to take our time with and get right. Toward that goal our biggest news has been that our Battlefield 3 experience grows on both sides of the Atlantic, the major announcement being that we’ve launched a Nordic team under the management of cc//Krusken who adds “I hope we will continue to have a great time together. Let’s play hard and fun together!”

cc//BF3 Nordic are:

cc//Lusse, cc//Krusken, cc//Panzercat, cc//Swaffel, cc//Foss3n, cc//Forre, cc//ninjafiskJR, cc//Phrallan, cc//JagPangarHS, cc//Snejbelsax.

Additionally, Our BF3 EU team is currently exploring the different game modes available from 4v4 Squad Rush to 12v12 Conquest. With cc//Bradders and cc//Psunfragga at the reins of this campaign they are currently recruiting new players into the team in the hopes of solidifying a flexible roster that can play every game mode possible. You will see cc//Crystal and cc//Irish ranked well in the ESL 5v5 matchmaking system trying to improve their game.

Furthermore, on the North American front we’re opening up spots for pilots and ground pounders to compliment our existing rosters so get in touch — whatever skill you are, if you’re looking for teamwork, real tactics and people passionate for the game you will find a home with us in Crack Clan.

Last but not least we have news from the Red Orchestra 2 front, long-standing member cc//Hans had this to say: “cc//RO2 was ready, willing and able to compete as it had in RO Ostfront. However, the game was too buggy and not ready for competitive play. As a result we are standing down until it is fixed, if ever… We won our only ROLadder.net match and went deep into the Scorched Earth Tournament held by Forgotten Honor and supported by Tripwire. Our guys showed a lot of dedication and competitiveness during the tournament practicing and developing strats. We fought hard and it was very fun. ” Hats off to these gentlemen, we hope future patches and mods will see a return back to the WWII genre and until then we’re looking forward to spending some time together on the modern Battlefield.

Crack Clan vs Dignitas (cp_badlands) & Crack Clan vs Dignitas (cp_obscure)

Playing against Epsilon (who were called EU’s #1 team,) Crack Clan fought hard and lost on cp_granary with a close score 4-6. In cp_obscure they showed that they had done their homework and completely dominated Epsilon with perfect play, winning 3-0. This cemented the reputation that Crack Clan are a team that is not to be taken lightly!

Whilst ETF2L may be their main focus, Crack Clan TF2′s passion for e-sports can be seen where they participated in community cups such as Alberts Cup #6 and #7, coming 1st and 2nd respectively and earning themselves some games as prizes. Congratulations! Look out for them taking part in an upcoming ESH-Roccat cup with a prize pool of £500.

Our premiership squad are not the only Crack Clan squad who are lovers of TF2 – We recently had an internal 3v3 KOTH style tournament which saw all of our squads integrating for a fantastic night of play. Check back here for a dedicated article on this shortly, but to tease you lets just say the winners were not a “pure” TF2 team – shocking results!

In the future you may spot Crack Clans highlander team over the Winter season where they will be competing in division 3. We pride ourselves creating a friendly atmosphere where everyone can play so we appreciate your support in our 9 vs 9 endeavours!

Crack Clan Blue are still yet to play a large amount of their matches in division 3 of ETF2L after having some internet issues with cc//Bucket. Now it has been resolved, check them out in the near future with some action packed games as they are a team with an abundance of potential and charisma!

Keep up the fantastic work – Crack Clan fighting strong!

We’ve got everything from our grizzled veterans laying down cover fire through to some of the hottest players that are grabbing #1s on the leaderboards; all trading bullets and hanging out on our Mumble and eagerly putting in hours upon hours of play. It’s also an interesting time in that we’ve got just a few spots open and are actually entertaining the rare process of trialing open recruits for potential addition to what we anticipate will be some really exciting rosters – this is no hype, it’s what we’ve been genuinely cultivating for nearly a decade.

Admittedly it can get a little hectic with several dozen people plugging away and doing everything from executing team maneuvers to trying to unlock the next goodie or achieving/maintaining their top global status but it’s crystal clear to old and new alike that this is a pretty seriously awesome title and best experienced in a place like ours that’s carried the Battlefield torch for nine years. With round-the-clock gaming activity from Europe to North America we’d like to also take this opportunity to give a big old high5 to all our Battlefield friends and look forward to more maps, more scrimmages, more matches and more fun.

First up we’ve got the solidification of a finalized roster that most of you have already seen out there on the higher level of EU TF2. With the return of Retsh0ck back to Psunfraggas side in competitive TF2 this new team is a formation of the giants that won ESL finals just over a month ago. They have just won the Excello Pre Season Showdown Finals and now have a spot in the Invitational cup as well as having recently placed second in Albert’s Cup (VOD 1 & VOD 2). This team truly is multicultural with 3 Spaniards, 2 Israelis and 1 UK player and with awesome sites like VanillaTF2 covering the scene it’s more easy than ever to follow your favourite team:

• cc//Psunfragga!
• cc//Retsh0ck
• cc//EstaniS
• cc//HarryHook
• cc//matnuN
• cc//Pescanova

There’s more below about Crack Clan Blue TF2 and Mojo’s cc//community team, read on!

Crack Clan Blue finished last season on a high, winning all of their games bar a close game against 9men. They are placed in division 3 for this upcoming season in ETF2L. With a long summers break there have been some roster changes with the departure of Enef and Neocortex. We wish them well in their next endeavours. Despite this long break, cc//Blue have continued playing actively and already filled their roster spaces with new additions! We would like to congratulate cc//Hostile on moving up from cc//Green and into cc//Blue. He is joined by cc//Davesan on scout as his partner. On soldier we have cc//Eledorian joining us and cc//Leftism is playing medic part time with the rejuvenated team. Connection issues currently prevent Blue teams asset cc//Jylt from playing with them so they are currently on the lookout for a new soldier.

Their scrims during the summer show some positive potential for cc//Blue and the added fresh blood has kick started their passions for the game again. They are eagerly awaiting the next season to start and aim to be stronger than ever.

Crack Clan Green have unfortunately gone inactive after placing 4th in ETF2L’s division 5. The majority of the roster is remaining in Crack Clan; look out for them in WPTF2L where Crack Clan is participating with a community team that is the brainchild of cc//Mojo and cc//LeicesterIrish.

Congratulations on your wins cc//Blue and a welcome to Crack Clan for the new recruits.

Good luck, have fun to all our TF2 teams!

We returned from our Summer Gathering in the Smoky Mountains and it ended up being better than expected! We shifted ourselves around on planes, trains and automobiles and ended up at the top of the Smokies (quite literally) in an incredible four storey wooden palace which was officially named CCHQ for the duration of that long weekend. Our rosters kicked it in offline style with everything from relaxed porch banter through to hiking the highest point in Tennessee, eating huge roasts, shooting pool, enjoying a mountain view from the hot tub and strategic discussions about future Crack Clan campaigns.  We also unveiled our new T-shirt design to attending members (in the form of, yes, a T-shirt) which really crisped up our look and will surely begin to permeate throughout some of our branding material in the future!

Many many thanks to all that attended, helped and supported; it was definitely a highlight for all of us and will be repeated again in short order: when we’re not online or at LAN these events really inspire continued performance in all areas of clan life. It turns out to be needed respite given all that’s up ahead!

Read on for a photo, more about TF2, BF3, RO2 and some MOBA action!

We’re on the cusp of announcing our new rosters across several titles — the summer TF2 shakedown is going to result in some announcements in the coming weeks but it’s not at all limited to that game alone as some of us pounded away at the BF3 Alpha and are keeping their Battlefield skills hot while excitedly planning our BF3 campaign and welcoming the return of some of our core DC/BF2 members and supporters.

Furthermore, the anticipation for RO2 this summer was further heightened by participating in the (now open, on-going) RO2 Beta which has a lot of us putting time in to the release and some awesome infrastructural activity that has our North American roster looking like it might be a bit on the large side (we are however looking to build a European squad; contact us!).

Last but certainly not least we’ve all been looking at what’s been happening with LoL, HoN and Dota2 and are evaluating/planning our entry in the MOBA genre all of which is going to, combined, surely involve an awful lot of people, activity, work and play. It’s an exciting scene that offers a real platform upon which proper chemistry and teamwork is rewarded; an area where we feel we’ve got the formula to make the right things happen.

With those days getting shorter and a little chillier we’re well-poised to take full advantage of the coming months and totally pumped up for the future. High5s and the deepest thanks and admiration to all the busy hands and minds that contribute toward building our continued legacy, we’re really grateful for your efforts and excited about what comes next!

We’ve capped yet another two European Team Fortress 2 seasons with good reason to celebrate given their impressive 1st & 2nd place ESL group standings (as well as a 2nd place ETF2L division stance), positive chemistry built up and tangible progress toward what we hope will be solid post-summer campaigns that leverage these experiences. Congratulations to all players, it’s been an honour and a pleasure to follow you!

On the Starcraft II front we are excited to announce the implementation of a ‘reboot’ having carefully observed and measured previous results and plotted out a new course – we have released the majority of our roster and would like to wish them well in their future endeavours as we assemble a new campaign that should prove as interesting as it will be entertaining!

Last but certainly not least we’re going ahead with plans to embrace what will hopefully be two upcoming successful releases in the form of Battlefield 3 and Red Orchestra 2 in typical unorthodox fashion: we’re kicking things off with what will prove to be another historical Gathering, this time we’ve got almost twenty five members making their way from all around North American to meet up in a luxurious mountain-side mansion (complete with game rooms, jacuzzis and a proper theatre!) in order to combine R&R with team-building and commencing the plotting and planning to kick off what should be two new campaigns of epic proportions. These kinds of experiences are unparalleled, no LAN or VOIP meeting can come close – we’re all looking forward to it in July!

Stay tuned, there’ll be more to knock your socks off coming your way soon.