TLDR: Wierd, eclectic event on grass under a big top. Stunning cosplay. Lots of one hour RPG games - which suits me as a referee. Not recommended for dedicated RPG players.
I don't know what WynterCon IS!
Their own blurb describes it as:
"The South Coast's largest community, family friendly, multi-genre, fantasy, cosplay and Sci-Fi event, all held under an all weather big top."
I first went five years ago when it was fledgling SteamPunk convention as part of a hopeful group of RPG referees. We got very little trade, being hidden away at the back of a rather spawning city centre community venue. I didn't go back for the second year, only to find that they'd re-organised the RPG offerings and had been overwhelmed with demand.
So I've been back for the three most recent ones. And had a great time every time. After the third event it moved out of the town centre and up the road to a local park where the event now takes place under a massive candy striped big top.
What they've done is to offer short one hour demonstration type games on an on demand basis. And the local community seem to just lap it up.
The basics:
WynterCon is a 2 day convention in Eastbourne on the South Coast. It runs from 10-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. With its large range of eclectic offerings there's loads for people to see and do. Especially children for which there are several targeted craft activities and stalls.
So I guess it makes sense to have games which can fit into a relatively short day which you can do in between other events.
As with all 2 day events now, I arrange to travel down Saturday morning - even if it means getting up at stupid o'clock - stay one night in a cheap hotel or B&B, and travel back Sunday evening. This cuts costs significantly.
I tried using Facebook live to document my journey. This was seen by an old friend who contacted me en route and offered me a lift from the station to the event, saving sme a taxi fare. Excellent!
The "RPG zone" is right in front of the main entrance. Half a dozen tables offering 5th Ed D&D, One Dice (multiple genres), Mouse Guard, Pugmire, Star Wars and at least one other that I've missed. As well as my own "Choose Your Adventure" set-up which fits right in here. Because it's under a big top, you're playing on grass, which feels really odd. (There were Daleks in attendance but they were unusually placid.)
It isn't particularly warm - which is why all my photos show me in a thick wooly jumper rather than my usual waistcoat. It was also pouring down with rain and the big top isn't 100% watertight so you have to be careful where you position your table to avoid the occasional drip. It's a unique experience.
Saturday I ran four games:
- the Great Airship Robbery. (Steampunk) The party managed to save about one half of one airship.
- One of our dinosaurs is missing. (Steampunk). Some great ideas and puns which really fleshed out this scenario for future run outs. But I can't mention them without giving spoilers.
- Fireball XL5 - carnage, complete carnage. When Professor Matt Matic's EM pulse device took out the Fireball crew's jet bikes rather than the planetomic missile aimed at Earth, Venus was forced to sacrifice herself and Fireball to physically intercept it.
- One of our Clerics is missing - my intro Scenario from the upcoming Role Playing Relief book. Played using The Black Hack rather than my d6 Hack. You get a lot of returning players at WynterCon and this group had played my usual TBH intro scenario in 2017. The party were very successful but pushed things a bit too far and their fighter got turned into a pin cushion in a goblin ambush.
In between all of this I had my photo taken with numerous great Cos Players - the main one being a REALLY impressive Thanos.
After a slow start the RPG zone was really busy.
When the convention shut down at 5:00pm, rather than return to my B&B for the night, or take part in unstructured socialising, I visited the local games cafe - Mana Gaming - to try and drum up an evening game. However, due to the poor weather there were very few people there and I hadn't had a big enough run up to promote a game and drum up players myself. It was an excellent venue and I ate there rather than elsewhere in town. And they try to invite me into a board game and card game. Now that I've found the place and made contact, I will be back next year and I will find players for a game.
Sunday seemed to be even busier than Saturday. Despite being an hour shorter, I ran five and a quarter games (see below).
- The Evolution of Species (Steampunk meets Harry Potter). The RPG organiser brought two Potter Heads to me. Early teen girls in robes with wands. I adapted my standard steampunk game, setting it in a Steampunk technology University. Just as they were being squelched in the climax we grabbed a passing family to join in and play the cavalry coming over the hill.
- One of our Dinosaurs is missing (Steampunk) - my friend's family. Great fun but I felt the dice forced me to needlessly torment his daughter.
- Superheroes vs. Dinosaurs (Superheroes) - a family with two hyperactive young sons who sat down, started playing and told me - 5 minutes in - that they only had 15 mins due to an appointment at the Light Sabre training. I mean I'm good and I think I handled it very well, wrapping things up satisfactorily - but it felt wierd. I felt sorry for a lady who was also playing the game whose session I thought had been needlessly disrupted. So.......
- I ambushed two young teenage girls and inveigled them to the table to give the woman a full game. A totally female table (except for me) running a completely female party. We did my standard TBH intro. They pursued a fleeing goblin straight through the dungeon to the last room. But the scenario delivered as always.
- Then the two Potter fans returned with a friend for more "Steamwarts" fun. I swear I might actually publish this setting! A version of "One of our Dinosaurs is missing" where one of the characters imploded. My second all female party of the day.
- The day finished with a final run through of my standard TBH dungeon with one of the players telling me 30 mins in that they only had 10mins left.
I love WynterCon. It's weird and eclectic and the only convention where EVERYONE does what I usually do alone. And it had an audience that craves these short form games. So it's a good place for a refereeing addict to get a fix. If you're local and seeking a fun day out - especially for the kids - it's worth a visit. I wouldn't recommend it for dedicated RPG players.
Sunday, 23 September 2018
Saturday, 15 September 2018
Concrete cow 2018.2
TLDR: Concrete Cow RPG convention. Twice a year. Milton Keynes. Well organised. Great games. Essential. Should be part of everyone's convention calendar. Numbers seemed to be down which is a shame.
I've written about Concrete Cow more times than any other convention. It's held in a Community Hall, in Wolverton, a suburb just outside Milton Keynes, twice a year. The Hall is on a high street near the station next to a Supermarket, food outlets etc. It's a perfect location
I've done it so many times, it's now routine. Though you're not bound to it, you're asked to tell the organisers which games you want to offer in advance so they can list them on the website. Which I did.
Then I caught my usual train. As always, with no preplanning, bumped into Pookie my fellow Spaghetti ConJunction organiser. We chatted. The 90 minute journey from Birmingham was pleasant. We arrived in good time. £5 entry (profits to charity). If you're offering to run a game in the morning, you put down a sign up sheet you've made. There's a good template on the website (recommended but not required) and blank ones are available on the day to make a hand written sheet.
Normally there's time to nip next door to the supermarket to buy some supplies but I just spent my time chatting to old mates. This included James, the other SCJ Mavern, so we had a committee meeting. I was disappointed to see numbers seemed to be down on previous events. 40-50 people I'd guess. There were three traders.
Just before ten o'clock is signups. This is random via ticket. There is no prebooking. Nothing - the exact games offered, who plays in what - is decided until the day. It's the fairest system I know. But you do have to be prepared to take pot luck.
Games offered tend to be outside the mainstream - no 5th Ed, Pathfinder etc - but still accessible. Pulp Cthulhu for example. You're taking pot luck and there doesn't seem to be a pattern as to what runs and what doesn't. But there are more than enough games offered to cover the players there and all of them look to be at least good. At least a third are offered by what I'd rate as "top" Referees. So you'll definitely get into a game you'll enjoy and probably get into one game on the day which will be memorable.
The morning game is three and half hours. Against all logic and expectations, I got a full table of 6 players for my d6 based old school run out of the rules and scenario from the forthcoming "Role Playing Relief" book we're writing. (To sell in aid of Comic Relief. Copies coming soon.) The table spanned from an RPG newbie to some very crusty and experienced old hands. Yes, they decided to set the party up as a gang running a collection racket, who worshipped the Goddess "Moolah", but they were all determined to have fun. The rules were basically validated but I learnt a lot.
Lacking supplies I availed myself of the free tea and coffee in the kitchen during a comfort break.
There's an hour's break for lunch. I was going to the supermarket to buy a meal deal as usual but bumped into Steve who was going for chips and tagged along. He also showed me the plates and cutlery in the kitchen we're allowed to use. So lunch became a very pleasant experience. I'll do that again.
Afternoon sign ups go in reverse order to the morning. If you went last before, you're first now. It's very fair.
My "East End bank job goes sideways"using my own multi-genre rules - garnered three players. Enough. At least two of them were southern lads (Luton) with appropriate accents and all three brought the fun.
This was another new scenario for me. Though from one viewpoint it seems cheeky, I used the "players design the scenario" approach. Rather than prepare a detailed bank vault, for example, I asked the players to each give me two security features and I added two secret ones. They seemed fine to go with this approach and it went well.
As I'd half expected they sunk their teeth into the heist element and side-stepped the secret Cthulhu "bait and switch" bit. There was very little combat, most of it was resolved by intimidation and stunt driving. Turned out to be an enjoyable puzzle solving session with lots of great gags but very little jeopardy. I enjoyed it and they certainly seemed to. I'll run this one again.
There is a third game in the evening but experience has shown that staying for it isn't cost effective for many reasons. So I left just after the raffle (great prizes, good chance of winning, for charity, buying tickets very recommended). Pookie did as well. Pleasant joumey home.
As an RPG convention Concrete Cow is simply flawless. Understated excellence. Should be on everyone's essential annual calendar. TWICE! You'd need to have a good reason NOT to go in my opinion. For me it's up there with Expo and the best of the Garrison cons. Which makes the drop in numbers surprising and a bit upsetting. The next Concrete Cow is in March 2019. Let's all go and give the old girl some support, eh?
I've written about Concrete Cow more times than any other convention. It's held in a Community Hall, in Wolverton, a suburb just outside Milton Keynes, twice a year. The Hall is on a high street near the station next to a Supermarket, food outlets etc. It's a perfect location
I've done it so many times, it's now routine. Though you're not bound to it, you're asked to tell the organisers which games you want to offer in advance so they can list them on the website. Which I did.
Then I caught my usual train. As always, with no preplanning, bumped into Pookie my fellow Spaghetti ConJunction organiser. We chatted. The 90 minute journey from Birmingham was pleasant. We arrived in good time. £5 entry (profits to charity). If you're offering to run a game in the morning, you put down a sign up sheet you've made. There's a good template on the website (recommended but not required) and blank ones are available on the day to make a hand written sheet.
Normally there's time to nip next door to the supermarket to buy some supplies but I just spent my time chatting to old mates. This included James, the other SCJ Mavern, so we had a committee meeting. I was disappointed to see numbers seemed to be down on previous events. 40-50 people I'd guess. There were three traders.
Just before ten o'clock is signups. This is random via ticket. There is no prebooking. Nothing - the exact games offered, who plays in what - is decided until the day. It's the fairest system I know. But you do have to be prepared to take pot luck.
Games offered tend to be outside the mainstream - no 5th Ed, Pathfinder etc - but still accessible. Pulp Cthulhu for example. You're taking pot luck and there doesn't seem to be a pattern as to what runs and what doesn't. But there are more than enough games offered to cover the players there and all of them look to be at least good. At least a third are offered by what I'd rate as "top" Referees. So you'll definitely get into a game you'll enjoy and probably get into one game on the day which will be memorable.
The morning game is three and half hours. Against all logic and expectations, I got a full table of 6 players for my d6 based old school run out of the rules and scenario from the forthcoming "Role Playing Relief" book we're writing. (To sell in aid of Comic Relief. Copies coming soon.) The table spanned from an RPG newbie to some very crusty and experienced old hands. Yes, they decided to set the party up as a gang running a collection racket, who worshipped the Goddess "Moolah", but they were all determined to have fun. The rules were basically validated but I learnt a lot.
Lacking supplies I availed myself of the free tea and coffee in the kitchen during a comfort break.
There's an hour's break for lunch. I was going to the supermarket to buy a meal deal as usual but bumped into Steve who was going for chips and tagged along. He also showed me the plates and cutlery in the kitchen we're allowed to use. So lunch became a very pleasant experience. I'll do that again.
Afternoon sign ups go in reverse order to the morning. If you went last before, you're first now. It's very fair.
My "East End bank job goes sideways"using my own multi-genre rules - garnered three players. Enough. At least two of them were southern lads (Luton) with appropriate accents and all three brought the fun.
This was another new scenario for me. Though from one viewpoint it seems cheeky, I used the "players design the scenario" approach. Rather than prepare a detailed bank vault, for example, I asked the players to each give me two security features and I added two secret ones. They seemed fine to go with this approach and it went well.
As I'd half expected they sunk their teeth into the heist element and side-stepped the secret Cthulhu "bait and switch" bit. There was very little combat, most of it was resolved by intimidation and stunt driving. Turned out to be an enjoyable puzzle solving session with lots of great gags but very little jeopardy. I enjoyed it and they certainly seemed to. I'll run this one again.
There is a third game in the evening but experience has shown that staying for it isn't cost effective for many reasons. So I left just after the raffle (great prizes, good chance of winning, for charity, buying tickets very recommended). Pookie did as well. Pleasant joumey home.
As an RPG convention Concrete Cow is simply flawless. Understated excellence. Should be on everyone's essential annual calendar. TWICE! You'd need to have a good reason NOT to go in my opinion. For me it's up there with Expo and the best of the Garrison cons. Which makes the drop in numbers surprising and a bit upsetting. The next Concrete Cow is in March 2019. Let's all go and give the old girl some support, eh?
Sunday, 2 September 2018
Fantasticon 2018
TLDR: Fantasticon is a quirky science fiction convention. Along with seven of my usual one hour demonstrations I ran two "live roleplay" sessions on stage. Not one for dedicated TTRPG players but fun. THE GOLDEN GRAIL TAVERN craft bar is a real discovery.
Fantasticon is a Science Fiction convention organised by a book publishing company. I first went to it two years ago with my "Choose Your Adventure" set up. I was put in a side room then. Last year I went back and was given a table in a prominent position and got a lot more play. Both of these events were in Hull. I'm called "Mr RPG" on the website. It tickles my ego so I keep going back.
This year it was moved to a leisure centre in Cleethorpes for some reason. This is blooming miles from Birmingham where I live. However as always, I try to economise and arranged to travel up at stupid o'clock Saturday, stay at a cheap B&B overnight and travel back on Sunday.
The convention always has a series of events on stage. Apparently in my feedback from last year I'd suggested doing a live role play. I then promptly forgot about it. The organiser contacted me two weeks before the convention offering me a slot on stage. I accepted. This then became TWO, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
When I got off my train on Saturday morning, I was greeted by sunshine beaming down on Cleethorpes' wonderful sandy beach. It was picture postcard English seaside. It was glorious! I elected to walk up the promenade to the leisure centre. 20 minutes trailing a heavy bag but a lovely walk.
When I arrived I found that the games room was actually a squash court set off the side from the sports hall where much of the convention was taking place. No black soled shoes allowed. No food. No drink. Luckily my brown soled crocs were deemed acceptable.
Fantasticon is - and appears - incredibly ramshackle but packs in loads for people to do. Laser Tag. Nerf Wars. Escape Room. Retro Video games. Up to date video games. Dr Who actors. Daleks. Craft Ales. Traders. And loads of stuff I've probably missed.
The "games room" alone boasted my Choose Your Adventure setup, two tables of boards games, Magic, Zombiecide and two different "Elite" RPGs. (No-one's yet explained to me why there is Elite Encounters AND Elite Dangerous).
It was a bit off putting telling people to take their shoes off as they came in. But despite that the room was soon busy. At one point every table in the room was busy. I ran three games one after the other, mainly with new players though there were some with experience:
- Cthulhu Hack - TPK when they decided to try to take the thugs guarding the warehouse head-on.
- The Black Hack. A lovely Scottish family. Mum, dad, two daughters. "Please rescue our children" "Whut's innit fer us?" Stereotypes are sometimes true. They rescued the children but not until one of them had been half roasted.
- The Black Hack again. Started with one interested player and me shamelessly press ganging people from the hall. This time the children were successfully rescued.
Then was time for the Live Role Play. The events were behind schedule. So I sat and watched two fantasy authors being interviewed by a very refined lady who I think was a crime author. This was very nice but there were loads of other events going on around in the sports hall and I thought the acoustics didn't serve the panel well.
There were microphones on stage. I had a hand held radio mike. I'd been asked to run the game for three players. The characters had been preselected via internet vote. I had NO audiovisual backup. Critical Role this wasn't! There wasn't even a table on the stage. We sat an empty chair between each of those with the microphones and I put the laminated character sheets, pens and dice on those.
I'd prepared handouts for the audience with copies of the character sheets on and a grid in case anyone wanted to map the dungeon. Then we were off!
I gave out the handouts and we got three volunteers from the audience. A bloke and a teenage boy who'd wanted to try RPGs and a mum who had no idea about them. I'll admit I played it like an ham, striding up and down in front of the stage, speaking clearly and loudly into the mike. I had no problem with the acoustics! (The rest of the hall may have had the problem!)
The scenario was "The Delian Tomb" by Matt Colville run using The Black Hack rules. I've run this dozens of times and - as you'll see - had run it twice already that morning. So I knew it backwards. That, and the fact that players roll all the dice, meant it went incredibly well. Far better than I could have hoped. The characters, alas, took no damage at all. However, we had a stunning climax where the Bugbear tried to use one of the captive children as a human shield. When this failed he threw the boy at the fighter, intending to make a run for it. Rather than catch the child, the fighter (played by the mum) stepped aside and let him crash to the floor so she could stop the bugbear. Cue one broken neck and dead child.
We bashed through it all in 40-50 minutes. At the end I was buzzing. I got some great feedback, not least from the organiser who was incredibly ebullient, demanding more in all future conventions. The audiovisual guy was also incredibly complimentary and is keen to offer more AV support next year.
After the live roleplay, I was hit by an anticlimax. The games room was dead and I felt drained. So I did what I've never done before, I went to the craft ales bar.
They're called THE GOLDEN GRAIL TAVERN. Look them up on line. They are amazing. All off the craft ales come in bottles which are full pints. Uniformly £3.50 per pint. Ludicrously good value. As a lightweight lager drinker I chose a cider rather than an ale and my head was soon buzzing. It hit me like a rocket.
At this point the Scottish family came back looking for a Star Wars game. So I ran my total rip off of the first Star Wars. Mos Eisley. Cantina. Rebels smuggling out defecting Imperial scientist. Looked like we were going to have a TPK until an imperial walker pilot decided to defect. Great fun.
I had a second pint of Cider. I knew I was drunk. The daytime event wound down and the evening musical event started. The piratical comedy duo Jollyboat etc. Then one of the traders decided to cover the tab at the craft ale bar for the evening!
I'd swapping texts with my wife all day. Upon hearing about the open bar - and how I was already feeling - she told me to get out of there. So I made my excuses and walked out as a woman with an acoustic guitar and the voice of an angel was serenading a captive crowd. "Take a bottle with you" they said.
So there I was, 8 o'clock on a sunny evening strolling along the seaside swigging rocket fuel cider following my iPhone maps. Put in the wrong postcode. My phone died. Had to be escorted to my B&B by a lovely old lady on a mobility scooter.
Morning was a proper B&B home cooked full English breakfast. And I strolled up the promenade to the leisure centre again as the sun beamed down. Paradise!
We started off with my blatant Star Wars rip off again. Best moment the player playing the renegade taking out a thug in the cantina with a blaster shot, catching his falling drink as the shot ricocheted off the wall to take out a thug fighting another character. Great fun!
Then a dad turned up with a gaggle of five preteens - mostly his with some friends. So we had a six player TBH game. It turned out the father had played my usual scenario at Fantasticon in 2017 so I played a much abbreviated version of Dyson Logos' The Goblin Gully. The dad was really into it and I had to try and tone down him ordering the kids around and draw out their (usually better) ideas. Much much fun with smart goblins and a rope bridge. Cue one dead hobbit. (I let the boy play a captured goblin).
Then it was time for my second live roleplay. My own Steampunk rules - The Code of Steam and Steel. My own "The Evolution of Species" scenario I'd run dozens of times before - half a dozen at The Asylum Steampunk Convention the previous weekend. Again I had handouts with the three characters chosen by
Internet vote. The start was delayed again, not least by the audio-visual guy setting up a "Go Pro" to record it.
To be honest I found this session harder going. The fact that I have to roll dice in opposition to the players slowed things down. I also failed to draw in the players as much. A scenario which is fun around a table proved complex on stage. Then, I rolled high and they didn't. This meant that their characters had to use the cheating rules to win by devious and unheroic means. And I killed the dog. If I do it again, I'll probably use "one of our dinosaurs is missing" as the scenario. And get another volunteer to roll for the bad guys.
But I sought audience input - one of them introducing a gratuitous T-Rex. And the feedback I got at the end - some recorded - was universally good. I tried to get some feedback from the players but they'd already been collared by a YouTube channel. I await the link with interest. I think it's going to be more balanced than they would have given me.
After the wind down, (no cider this time but I bought a present from the Ale Bar for my wife) I got in one more game. This was a general SciFi game. I was going to run my usual rip-off of the Star Trek episode The Doomsday Machine but I think one of the players' dads had played it before and told him all about it. So I substituted a cut down version of my Fireball XL5 scenario. "You're the only ship in the quadrant. Delay the unbeatable alien invasion fleet until support arrives". My die rolling continued to be immense. But the players refused to give up. When a critical roll left them with a ruined hulk of a ship, they threw themselves across space to board and co-opt an alien battleship. Then then used this as a Trojan horse and go all Independence Day and introduce a virus into the alien fleet. Job done.
I just had time to be interviewed by the YouTube channel before starting my four hour journey home to Birmingham.
Seven Tabletop games. Two live roleplays. I'm waiting on two YouTube links and a video of one of the roleplays. I've got a handful of feedback videos to upload somewhere. I'd call the weekend a success. I've carved a slot for myself at this convention. Not sure I'd recommend it for general TTRPG players. But it's a great, friendly, inclusive and eclectic way to spend a weekend.
And the REAL discovery is THE GOLDEN GRAIL TAVERN. Every convention with a
Iicence should invite them along. Most won't though. Their drinks area cheaper and better than those sold in venue so they won't allow them in. Shame.
Fantasticon is a Science Fiction convention organised by a book publishing company. I first went to it two years ago with my "Choose Your Adventure" set up. I was put in a side room then. Last year I went back and was given a table in a prominent position and got a lot more play. Both of these events were in Hull. I'm called "Mr RPG" on the website. It tickles my ego so I keep going back.
This year it was moved to a leisure centre in Cleethorpes for some reason. This is blooming miles from Birmingham where I live. However as always, I try to economise and arranged to travel up at stupid o'clock Saturday, stay at a cheap B&B overnight and travel back on Sunday.
The convention always has a series of events on stage. Apparently in my feedback from last year I'd suggested doing a live role play. I then promptly forgot about it. The organiser contacted me two weeks before the convention offering me a slot on stage. I accepted. This then became TWO, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
When I got off my train on Saturday morning, I was greeted by sunshine beaming down on Cleethorpes' wonderful sandy beach. It was picture postcard English seaside. It was glorious! I elected to walk up the promenade to the leisure centre. 20 minutes trailing a heavy bag but a lovely walk.
When I arrived I found that the games room was actually a squash court set off the side from the sports hall where much of the convention was taking place. No black soled shoes allowed. No food. No drink. Luckily my brown soled crocs were deemed acceptable.
Fantasticon is - and appears - incredibly ramshackle but packs in loads for people to do. Laser Tag. Nerf Wars. Escape Room. Retro Video games. Up to date video games. Dr Who actors. Daleks. Craft Ales. Traders. And loads of stuff I've probably missed.
The "games room" alone boasted my Choose Your Adventure setup, two tables of boards games, Magic, Zombiecide and two different "Elite" RPGs. (No-one's yet explained to me why there is Elite Encounters AND Elite Dangerous).
It was a bit off putting telling people to take their shoes off as they came in. But despite that the room was soon busy. At one point every table in the room was busy. I ran three games one after the other, mainly with new players though there were some with experience:
- Cthulhu Hack - TPK when they decided to try to take the thugs guarding the warehouse head-on.
- The Black Hack. A lovely Scottish family. Mum, dad, two daughters. "Please rescue our children" "Whut's innit fer us?" Stereotypes are sometimes true. They rescued the children but not until one of them had been half roasted.
- The Black Hack again. Started with one interested player and me shamelessly press ganging people from the hall. This time the children were successfully rescued.
Then was time for the Live Role Play. The events were behind schedule. So I sat and watched two fantasy authors being interviewed by a very refined lady who I think was a crime author. This was very nice but there were loads of other events going on around in the sports hall and I thought the acoustics didn't serve the panel well.
There were microphones on stage. I had a hand held radio mike. I'd been asked to run the game for three players. The characters had been preselected via internet vote. I had NO audiovisual backup. Critical Role this wasn't! There wasn't even a table on the stage. We sat an empty chair between each of those with the microphones and I put the laminated character sheets, pens and dice on those.
I'd prepared handouts for the audience with copies of the character sheets on and a grid in case anyone wanted to map the dungeon. Then we were off!
I gave out the handouts and we got three volunteers from the audience. A bloke and a teenage boy who'd wanted to try RPGs and a mum who had no idea about them. I'll admit I played it like an ham, striding up and down in front of the stage, speaking clearly and loudly into the mike. I had no problem with the acoustics! (The rest of the hall may have had the problem!)
The scenario was "The Delian Tomb" by Matt Colville run using The Black Hack rules. I've run this dozens of times and - as you'll see - had run it twice already that morning. So I knew it backwards. That, and the fact that players roll all the dice, meant it went incredibly well. Far better than I could have hoped. The characters, alas, took no damage at all. However, we had a stunning climax where the Bugbear tried to use one of the captive children as a human shield. When this failed he threw the boy at the fighter, intending to make a run for it. Rather than catch the child, the fighter (played by the mum) stepped aside and let him crash to the floor so she could stop the bugbear. Cue one broken neck and dead child.
We bashed through it all in 40-50 minutes. At the end I was buzzing. I got some great feedback, not least from the organiser who was incredibly ebullient, demanding more in all future conventions. The audiovisual guy was also incredibly complimentary and is keen to offer more AV support next year.
After the live roleplay, I was hit by an anticlimax. The games room was dead and I felt drained. So I did what I've never done before, I went to the craft ales bar.
They're called THE GOLDEN GRAIL TAVERN. Look them up on line. They are amazing. All off the craft ales come in bottles which are full pints. Uniformly £3.50 per pint. Ludicrously good value. As a lightweight lager drinker I chose a cider rather than an ale and my head was soon buzzing. It hit me like a rocket.
At this point the Scottish family came back looking for a Star Wars game. So I ran my total rip off of the first Star Wars. Mos Eisley. Cantina. Rebels smuggling out defecting Imperial scientist. Looked like we were going to have a TPK until an imperial walker pilot decided to defect. Great fun.
I had a second pint of Cider. I knew I was drunk. The daytime event wound down and the evening musical event started. The piratical comedy duo Jollyboat etc. Then one of the traders decided to cover the tab at the craft ale bar for the evening!
I'd swapping texts with my wife all day. Upon hearing about the open bar - and how I was already feeling - she told me to get out of there. So I made my excuses and walked out as a woman with an acoustic guitar and the voice of an angel was serenading a captive crowd. "Take a bottle with you" they said.
So there I was, 8 o'clock on a sunny evening strolling along the seaside swigging rocket fuel cider following my iPhone maps. Put in the wrong postcode. My phone died. Had to be escorted to my B&B by a lovely old lady on a mobility scooter.
Morning was a proper B&B home cooked full English breakfast. And I strolled up the promenade to the leisure centre again as the sun beamed down. Paradise!
We started off with my blatant Star Wars rip off again. Best moment the player playing the renegade taking out a thug in the cantina with a blaster shot, catching his falling drink as the shot ricocheted off the wall to take out a thug fighting another character. Great fun!
Then a dad turned up with a gaggle of five preteens - mostly his with some friends. So we had a six player TBH game. It turned out the father had played my usual scenario at Fantasticon in 2017 so I played a much abbreviated version of Dyson Logos' The Goblin Gully. The dad was really into it and I had to try and tone down him ordering the kids around and draw out their (usually better) ideas. Much much fun with smart goblins and a rope bridge. Cue one dead hobbit. (I let the boy play a captured goblin).
Then it was time for my second live roleplay. My own Steampunk rules - The Code of Steam and Steel. My own "The Evolution of Species" scenario I'd run dozens of times before - half a dozen at The Asylum Steampunk Convention the previous weekend. Again I had handouts with the three characters chosen by
Internet vote. The start was delayed again, not least by the audio-visual guy setting up a "Go Pro" to record it.
To be honest I found this session harder going. The fact that I have to roll dice in opposition to the players slowed things down. I also failed to draw in the players as much. A scenario which is fun around a table proved complex on stage. Then, I rolled high and they didn't. This meant that their characters had to use the cheating rules to win by devious and unheroic means. And I killed the dog. If I do it again, I'll probably use "one of our dinosaurs is missing" as the scenario. And get another volunteer to roll for the bad guys.
But I sought audience input - one of them introducing a gratuitous T-Rex. And the feedback I got at the end - some recorded - was universally good. I tried to get some feedback from the players but they'd already been collared by a YouTube channel. I await the link with interest. I think it's going to be more balanced than they would have given me.
After the wind down, (no cider this time but I bought a present from the Ale Bar for my wife) I got in one more game. This was a general SciFi game. I was going to run my usual rip-off of the Star Trek episode The Doomsday Machine but I think one of the players' dads had played it before and told him all about it. So I substituted a cut down version of my Fireball XL5 scenario. "You're the only ship in the quadrant. Delay the unbeatable alien invasion fleet until support arrives". My die rolling continued to be immense. But the players refused to give up. When a critical roll left them with a ruined hulk of a ship, they threw themselves across space to board and co-opt an alien battleship. Then then used this as a Trojan horse and go all Independence Day and introduce a virus into the alien fleet. Job done.
I just had time to be interviewed by the YouTube channel before starting my four hour journey home to Birmingham.
Seven Tabletop games. Two live roleplays. I'm waiting on two YouTube links and a video of one of the roleplays. I've got a handful of feedback videos to upload somewhere. I'd call the weekend a success. I've carved a slot for myself at this convention. Not sure I'd recommend it for general TTRPG players. But it's a great, friendly, inclusive and eclectic way to spend a weekend.
And the REAL discovery is THE GOLDEN GRAIL TAVERN. Every convention with a
Iicence should invite them along. Most won't though. Their drinks area cheaper and better than those sold in venue so they won't allow them in. Shame.
Sunday, 26 August 2018
Asylum Steampunk Convention 25th/26th August 2018
TLDR: Steampunk convention. Ran games continuously for two days with the most AWESOME players you'll ever find. A real tonic!
Asylum - the biggest steampunk convention in the world. Four days over the bank holiday weekend in the historic city of Lincoln. I decided to give it a try with my "Choose Your Adventure" set-up. Unsure of how successful it'd be, I chose to go for two days (Saturday and Sunday) to dip my toe into the water and only pay for one nights accomodation. During Asylum accommodation is at a premium in Lincoln but I managed to bag a relatively cheap B&B.
The website promises oodles of events and, nearer the time, a packed programme spanning the entire city. The organisers were very accommodating and my two days of games were posted as events on the website. However, that was only from 10:00am to 5:00pm on each day. The room I was in closed for the night to allow - pretty stunning sounding - evening events to take place. None of these seemed appropriate to host a gaming table. The organisers suggested the Student Union as a suitable venue but this was not listed as an evening event on the web site. All other events were ticketed separately.
I did a load of plugging of my games on the convention's various Facebook pages and created a Facebook event for for evening game - which I decided to offer as a special one-off four hour game rather than the one hour demos I offer during the day.
So I got up stupid o'clock Saturday morning and arrived at the event about half an hour before it was due to start. I was personally welcomed by one of the main organisers and taken up the room. This was a large bright room in a University building. Around the outside were tables containing "The Great SteamPunk" exhibition of items people had built. The room was divided in half. One half was set up with rows of chairs for a variety of Steampunk related talks, the other had three large tables - one for my "Choose Your Adventure" display, one for me to play on and the third for general board games. There were volunteers designated to supervising the room.
10:00am came and there was the usual quiet start - or so I thought. Within half an hour I had a full table of people and we were off! Throughout the day I ran a total of 5 games. It was a good job I'd brought my own sandwiches for lunch because it seemed like I barely had a break.
The players were absolutely awesome. Steampunk aficionados just want to have fun. They also pride themselves on being splendid. I had combinations of people who'd played before, were interested who had never played, had played decades ago or who I just collared to sit down. Ages ranged from under ten to - I'd guess - people in their sixties. I managed to break through to some people who said "Oh, I couldn't play that, it's too hard" etc. But they were pretty much universally awesome.
The room was locked at 5:00pm so I popped over to the student union to check in. Only a couple of minutes walk. They hadn't heard of plans for me to run games in there that night but were very receptive. I had time to nip down to my accommodation to check in and get back in plenty of time. The student union had beer at student union prices and a pie and mash based menu. It was perfect!
I snaffled a table. Through a combination of advertising during the day and plugging the event on Facebook I got a table of five players. They voted to play "The Great Martian Tripod Race" and - again - we had a rollicking good time, lubricated by cheap beer.
Getting a taxi in Lincoln proved difficult, so I started walking to my B&B following my iPhone's instructions. However, I managed to snaffle a black cab half way back.
When I arrived on Sunday, the organiser told me I might have a slow start due to everyone being out watching the grand parade but he was wrong. Two guys arrived specifically wanting to try TTRPGs and, soon after they sat down, we began to get others and the table filled up. The day went by in the blur as people were stood around watching and then sat down to play as soon as a game finished. Every game I played was a Steampunk one and I was glad I'd taken the time to think up two new one hour adventures. As each group sat down I ran a different story to the one they'd been watching.
I took a lunch break and the last game finished at 4:30pm but, again, ran 5 games with eclectic combinations of universally awesome players. What was really nice was the way more experienced players supported those new to the games.
The Asylum was absolutely and totally a stunning success, for me. My Refereeing addiction was completely assuaged. I think I will seriously consider coming for all four days next year. I had people checking out my display and watching my games as I was running them. I think there's definitely the capacity for at least one more Referee with the volunteers in the room running an official booking system. There's the appetite for RPGs here.
But the best thing about the whole weekend was the people. The players were enthusiastic, engaged, imaginative, polite and just looking to have FUN!
Asylum - the biggest steampunk convention in the world. Four days over the bank holiday weekend in the historic city of Lincoln. I decided to give it a try with my "Choose Your Adventure" set-up. Unsure of how successful it'd be, I chose to go for two days (Saturday and Sunday) to dip my toe into the water and only pay for one nights accomodation. During Asylum accommodation is at a premium in Lincoln but I managed to bag a relatively cheap B&B.
The website promises oodles of events and, nearer the time, a packed programme spanning the entire city. The organisers were very accommodating and my two days of games were posted as events on the website. However, that was only from 10:00am to 5:00pm on each day. The room I was in closed for the night to allow - pretty stunning sounding - evening events to take place. None of these seemed appropriate to host a gaming table. The organisers suggested the Student Union as a suitable venue but this was not listed as an evening event on the web site. All other events were ticketed separately.
I did a load of plugging of my games on the convention's various Facebook pages and created a Facebook event for for evening game - which I decided to offer as a special one-off four hour game rather than the one hour demos I offer during the day.
So I got up stupid o'clock Saturday morning and arrived at the event about half an hour before it was due to start. I was personally welcomed by one of the main organisers and taken up the room. This was a large bright room in a University building. Around the outside were tables containing "The Great SteamPunk" exhibition of items people had built. The room was divided in half. One half was set up with rows of chairs for a variety of Steampunk related talks, the other had three large tables - one for my "Choose Your Adventure" display, one for me to play on and the third for general board games. There were volunteers designated to supervising the room.
10:00am came and there was the usual quiet start - or so I thought. Within half an hour I had a full table of people and we were off! Throughout the day I ran a total of 5 games. It was a good job I'd brought my own sandwiches for lunch because it seemed like I barely had a break.
The players were absolutely awesome. Steampunk aficionados just want to have fun. They also pride themselves on being splendid. I had combinations of people who'd played before, were interested who had never played, had played decades ago or who I just collared to sit down. Ages ranged from under ten to - I'd guess - people in their sixties. I managed to break through to some people who said "Oh, I couldn't play that, it's too hard" etc. But they were pretty much universally awesome.
The room was locked at 5:00pm so I popped over to the student union to check in. Only a couple of minutes walk. They hadn't heard of plans for me to run games in there that night but were very receptive. I had time to nip down to my accommodation to check in and get back in plenty of time. The student union had beer at student union prices and a pie and mash based menu. It was perfect!
I snaffled a table. Through a combination of advertising during the day and plugging the event on Facebook I got a table of five players. They voted to play "The Great Martian Tripod Race" and - again - we had a rollicking good time, lubricated by cheap beer.
Getting a taxi in Lincoln proved difficult, so I started walking to my B&B following my iPhone's instructions. However, I managed to snaffle a black cab half way back.
When I arrived on Sunday, the organiser told me I might have a slow start due to everyone being out watching the grand parade but he was wrong. Two guys arrived specifically wanting to try TTRPGs and, soon after they sat down, we began to get others and the table filled up. The day went by in the blur as people were stood around watching and then sat down to play as soon as a game finished. Every game I played was a Steampunk one and I was glad I'd taken the time to think up two new one hour adventures. As each group sat down I ran a different story to the one they'd been watching.
I took a lunch break and the last game finished at 4:30pm but, again, ran 5 games with eclectic combinations of universally awesome players. What was really nice was the way more experienced players supported those new to the games.
The Asylum was absolutely and totally a stunning success, for me. My Refereeing addiction was completely assuaged. I think I will seriously consider coming for all four days next year. I had people checking out my display and watching my games as I was running them. I think there's definitely the capacity for at least one more Referee with the volunteers in the room running an official booking system. There's the appetite for RPGs here.
But the best thing about the whole weekend was the people. The players were enthusiastic, engaged, imaginative, polite and just looking to have FUN!
Monday, 20 August 2018
Grand Tribunal 2018
TLDR: "Grand" Tribunal Ars Magica Convention is far from Grand. Tiny, friendly convention offering far more than just Ars Magica. In terms of actual RPG gaming offers individual players a lot of bang for their buck. A hidden gem.
Grand tribunal is the official convention of the Ars Magica TTRPG. It has been running for 12 years in Cheltenham Spa.
All of this belies a slightly different picture. As Ars Magica - a magnificent game based around a highly detailed magic system and a quirky, fascinating world that grows out of it - has drifted into a backwater of popularity with a few highly vociferous supporters, this is actually a very, very small convention - possibly the smallest I attend - in a Community centre. I mean really small, less than thirty people I'd guess, dropping to 17 at one point during the weekend.
But this brings benefits and opportunities. It is massively welcoming and friendly. It's very accessible. There's a significant Norwegian attendance. It's no longer devoted solely to Ars Magica. There is at least one incredibly creative AM game offered in each game slot for the die hards, but other game systems are now offered. And though there are few games offered in each slot - 3 or 4 - the player experience is exactly the same as any other convention. Full tables of friendly creative players and experienced referees.
The convention is organised via personal contact, a mailing group and a massively informative and easy to use wiki-based web-site. Tickets are inexpensive. Cheltenham Spa has good transport links. Accommodation, whilst not the cheapest, is easy to find with a range of options.
The convention starts with an organised social meet-up, meal and optional board games on Friday night. I opt to arrive Saturday morning so that I only have to pay a single night's accomodation. The venue is a 20 minute walk from the rail station. There's a massive Tesco near the venue. You're advised to bring a packed lunch. So I arrived early, dropped in to Tesco, bought some supplies and whiled away my time in Costs coffee doing my RPGaDAY on my phone.
The first and last time I'd visited Grand Tribunal was in 2016. In 2017 it conflicted with my wedding anniversary - one of the very few things which trump RPG conventions. In 2016, the convention started with a bonding exercise where attendees got in a circle and held hands etc. Whilst this had a quirky appeal, thank god it didn't happen this time around. The convention started, as it always does, with a LARP/FreeForm game.
This is mandatory. All attendees are encouraged to take part. No other games are
scheduled for this slot. Clearly many attendees look forward to this game and come fully attired (or appropriately otherwise in the case of the wode-painted Briton). It is well planned and organised with roles distributed well in advance. I was a Georgian leather worker so my usual convention outfit of waistcoat and flat cap functioned as my outfit.
The story was creative, massively historically well researched, and based around the 17th Century spa developments in Cheltenham and proposals to dig a canal through nearby hills. This apparently disturbed the giant White Wyrm sleeping there which caused a rift in time. Cue the appearance of various medieval knights and wizards.
I was a local leatherworker concerned about the effect of developments on local businesses. I took full part. I poisoned the spas with tanning chemicals. Got the local Priest on side by promising to produce wrote erotic leather undies (his idea not mine). Became the bodyguard of a knight. Took part in the angry mob sacking the mayors office. Tried to be invited into the past where my superior leatherworking skills would earn me a fortune. Was banned. (Apparently blowing up the Mayor's office gets you a reputation.) Tried to redeem myself by betraying my firebrand cohort and trapping him in a fire he was setting at the local race course, got trapped myself and burnt to death. All in two hours.
Whilst I see the appeal of FreeForms, they're not for me and I've finally realised why. In a TTRPG, every player sees the whole story. It's just like watching a film or reading a book. In a FreeForm you're following your own storyline whilst others pursue theirs. No one sees the whole picture. It's more like real life. I like to know what's happening.
After the FreeForm the conventions officially started with introductions and a few words from myself and the other "special guest" Scott Dorward. Then there was a short, half hour, break for lunch. That's why you were advised to bring a packed lunch. There's a kitchen in the community centre and the organisers provide tea, coffee, doughnuts etc. Over lunch you have the option to order Fish and Chips for tea. Recommended.
There are two three hour game slots in the afternoon. The first slot had four games with allocation via limited presigns and numbers written on lolly pop sticks.
I finally got to run my Fireball XL5 game - though most players had never seen the series. (Apparently Norway never even got Thunderbirds. Criminal!) I had 6 players, and so had to co-opt an additional character in with the five "canon" crew of the XL5. He turned out to be a secret Space Fleet auditor reporting on the crew's performance. (I just LOVE the way my systems interact with player creativity to create unexpected storylines.)
The game was a blast. Huge, alien robot fleet heading to Earth with XL5 the "only ship in the sector". Chasing space criminals across space city in search of the only known sample of the mineral the robots were vulnerable to. Designing mechanisms to enhance the effect of that limited supply over a large area. A desperate race across space to acquire more. Battles with and inside robot battleships. A final climatic battle where a battered XL5 is forced to flee leaving their comrades aboard the captured robot battleship to be blown out of space. And the entire XL space fleet rising majestically through the rings of Saturn just in time. The option to have the cavalry ride over the hill had always been in my games but this is first time it's actually been used. And so very well.
I then played and was lucky enough to get into Scott Dorward's pulp Cthulhu game. I've never played in one of Scott's games. TBH I think I'd feel discomforted playing in some. He was offering "Lamposts in Bloom" at this convention. I think that one might mess with my mind - or I might undermine it by not brining the right attitude.
But Pulp Cthulhu is how Games of Cthulhu always seem to go when I run them, so it seemed worth a punt. And it was. The scenario was a simple "typical" Cthulhu scenario - scientist demonstrating his new wierd science machine at a cocktail party. Then the blizzard hits, you're all trapped and the buzzing starts......
But Scott, of course, know his stuff. Well prepared, good pregenerated characters. Starts off playing with simple elements but slowly sucks you into darker avenues. The "his head explodes" moment even caught me by surprise.
The system is "Basic Roleplaying" percentage based but seems to have fixed many of that system's problems. Characters who are "good" at stuff have 70-80% chances and you have the ability to push your luck or retry rolls with consequences. Fast moving, challenging and satisfying. It's easy to forget that this is a master Referee and expect it to be the standard all other convention referees should be held to.
After the second game, there is an hour's break for tea. Chips have arrived. I had to leave to check into my B&B but one of the organisers kindly gave me a lift so this didn't take long or cost me a taxi fare.
During the tea break was the bloody raffle. As usual there were more prizes than attendees. Some of them "quirky". The White Wyrm puppet from the FreeForm for example. Lots of European chocolate. As usual no-one had prepared for this and though they were told to draw the next ticket before choosing their prize, they chose to spend ages perusing the table and often forgotting to draw the nest ticket. Those of you who know me can probably guess that I was heckling. I'm here to PLAY.
After tea I ran my Blakes Seven game. Again I had six players. Jenna, Gan, Tarrant, Cally, Avon and Villa. Throw in Orac and Zen and it was really Blakes Eight. In the second most gonzo twist of the weekend, one of the players introduced a storyline which meant Jenna was really secretly Blake in disguise.
Because we had six players all chewing the scenery - especially Cally's player revelling in the character and playing her really (really) effectively, - the simple "vs criminals" prologue - where the characters discover the actual plot - expanded significantly, and could almost have formed the basis of the whole session. But eventually I got the players to Mars. I had to drop lots of elements but, fortunately, this group had a direct approach and teleported straight into the Mars corporation headquarters. Throw in rolls where I was forced to keep introducing new plot elements to mess with them and they were virtually chased into the final location to avoid the missiles of the invading Federation fleet. With an appropriate combination of all of their abilities (including a "camera cuts away" scene involving corpses and Cally's TK abilities) they accessed the ancient alien installation. Cue Travis and Servellan appearing to reveal their evil plot and gloat appropriately. Of course the characters' only hope of escape rested on activating the ancient alien machine. Which turned out to be a planetary FTL system. Moving Mars. Space 1999 on steroids.
Basically, they traded in Liberator for a whole flipping planet.
Local taxis were all busy so I opted for the walk to my B&B. Trying to follow google Maps at night meant this took half an hour but I was in my room by midnight. It had been a great day.
Sunday was timetabled to start at 9:00am. In the daylight the walk up only took 20 minutes I so arrived early. Apparently EVERYONE else knew the early start was just a ploy to encourage people to arrive before 10:00am so I had some waiting to do.
When 17 people had trickled in, we started 3 games. One of these was my standard Code of Warriors and Wizardry adventure. After we started playing, more people began trickling in. This, of course, causes issues for the organisers but everyone is very co-operative. Whether the airy fairy lassez faire attitude of some attendees is result of the convention's coping mechanisms or not is a discussion for another time. However, we all coped. For me, I had six players but one had to leave early and just made a character to pass over to a late comer. Eventually I was asked if I could take a seventh player, which I did.
So we had an Orc noble with a magic halberd, a Human hunter (with a secret tail), Krunk (a Conan clone), a goblin burglar with magnetic powers, a fire wizard and small smelly Troll with power over the elements of the earth. They here joined, eventually, by s pregenerated burglar.
The first battle on the slavers' was crazy. I'll admit I virtually lost track of what was going on, what with most of the group being in the water at some point and swapping opponents all over the place. Both the rudder and anchor were broken.
To solve this, one player introduced the most gonzo plot element of the weekend. An old Pirate turned up, riding on sea turtle using his long white beard as reins. The hunter tried to lasoo his turtle so he holed their ship before having a change of heart. He guided their longboats to the nearest island.
During the Beach battle with the goblin "Coastal Clan" my die rolling meant, again, that I was forced to bring in more plot elements to challenge the players so the "forest clan" joined the battle followed, shortly, by a giant gobs sea serpent. Another battle where I virtually lost control of all the twists and turns.
Eventually, the characters were called to testify at a conclave of the Clans. Of course they tried to disrupt this with unwarranted violence, incensing the goblins and the island's volcano God. I was able to chase them to the scene of the scenario' climax.
Another short lunch break - bring a packed lunch.
In the afternoon I played in a Sci fi game. We were a salvage crew shot down on our way to assess a failed colony world. This used an adapted version of Basic Role Playing. Unlike Pulp Cthulhu the previous day, however, this had all the old failings of that system. If you were "good" at something, you only had 40% of succeeding at it. So most of your shots missed. And even when they did hit, the opponent had a chance to dodge. And there was no way to push things influence the result. This slowed the game down. Which was a shame because the referee, though young and inexperienced, was massively enthusiastic and had created a great world of ancient technology perceived as Magic.
The convention closes at 4:00pm. Most people chip in to help clear the hall. Any left is them invited out for more socialising and an Italian meal, but I opted to talk to the station.
Viewed from the outside, Ars Magica might not seem worth taking a punt on, being so small. But if you view it from the player perspective, it's just the same as any other convention. 5 games (plus a FreeForm) over two days, all games with full tables of enthusiastic players. The only drawback is the limited range of choices. If you're looking to play specific or popular systems, you won't find them here. If you just want to roleplay at a well organised and friendly convention where everybody knows your name, it really delivers. A bit of a hidden gem.
Grand tribunal is the official convention of the Ars Magica TTRPG. It has been running for 12 years in Cheltenham Spa.
All of this belies a slightly different picture. As Ars Magica - a magnificent game based around a highly detailed magic system and a quirky, fascinating world that grows out of it - has drifted into a backwater of popularity with a few highly vociferous supporters, this is actually a very, very small convention - possibly the smallest I attend - in a Community centre. I mean really small, less than thirty people I'd guess, dropping to 17 at one point during the weekend.
But this brings benefits and opportunities. It is massively welcoming and friendly. It's very accessible. There's a significant Norwegian attendance. It's no longer devoted solely to Ars Magica. There is at least one incredibly creative AM game offered in each game slot for the die hards, but other game systems are now offered. And though there are few games offered in each slot - 3 or 4 - the player experience is exactly the same as any other convention. Full tables of friendly creative players and experienced referees.
The convention is organised via personal contact, a mailing group and a massively informative and easy to use wiki-based web-site. Tickets are inexpensive. Cheltenham Spa has good transport links. Accommodation, whilst not the cheapest, is easy to find with a range of options.
The convention starts with an organised social meet-up, meal and optional board games on Friday night. I opt to arrive Saturday morning so that I only have to pay a single night's accomodation. The venue is a 20 minute walk from the rail station. There's a massive Tesco near the venue. You're advised to bring a packed lunch. So I arrived early, dropped in to Tesco, bought some supplies and whiled away my time in Costs coffee doing my RPGaDAY on my phone.
The first and last time I'd visited Grand Tribunal was in 2016. In 2017 it conflicted with my wedding anniversary - one of the very few things which trump RPG conventions. In 2016, the convention started with a bonding exercise where attendees got in a circle and held hands etc. Whilst this had a quirky appeal, thank god it didn't happen this time around. The convention started, as it always does, with a LARP/FreeForm game.
This is mandatory. All attendees are encouraged to take part. No other games are
scheduled for this slot. Clearly many attendees look forward to this game and come fully attired (or appropriately otherwise in the case of the wode-painted Briton). It is well planned and organised with roles distributed well in advance. I was a Georgian leather worker so my usual convention outfit of waistcoat and flat cap functioned as my outfit.
The story was creative, massively historically well researched, and based around the 17th Century spa developments in Cheltenham and proposals to dig a canal through nearby hills. This apparently disturbed the giant White Wyrm sleeping there which caused a rift in time. Cue the appearance of various medieval knights and wizards.
I was a local leatherworker concerned about the effect of developments on local businesses. I took full part. I poisoned the spas with tanning chemicals. Got the local Priest on side by promising to produce wrote erotic leather undies (his idea not mine). Became the bodyguard of a knight. Took part in the angry mob sacking the mayors office. Tried to be invited into the past where my superior leatherworking skills would earn me a fortune. Was banned. (Apparently blowing up the Mayor's office gets you a reputation.) Tried to redeem myself by betraying my firebrand cohort and trapping him in a fire he was setting at the local race course, got trapped myself and burnt to death. All in two hours.
Whilst I see the appeal of FreeForms, they're not for me and I've finally realised why. In a TTRPG, every player sees the whole story. It's just like watching a film or reading a book. In a FreeForm you're following your own storyline whilst others pursue theirs. No one sees the whole picture. It's more like real life. I like to know what's happening.
After the FreeForm the conventions officially started with introductions and a few words from myself and the other "special guest" Scott Dorward. Then there was a short, half hour, break for lunch. That's why you were advised to bring a packed lunch. There's a kitchen in the community centre and the organisers provide tea, coffee, doughnuts etc. Over lunch you have the option to order Fish and Chips for tea. Recommended.
There are two three hour game slots in the afternoon. The first slot had four games with allocation via limited presigns and numbers written on lolly pop sticks.
I finally got to run my Fireball XL5 game - though most players had never seen the series. (Apparently Norway never even got Thunderbirds. Criminal!) I had 6 players, and so had to co-opt an additional character in with the five "canon" crew of the XL5. He turned out to be a secret Space Fleet auditor reporting on the crew's performance. (I just LOVE the way my systems interact with player creativity to create unexpected storylines.)
The game was a blast. Huge, alien robot fleet heading to Earth with XL5 the "only ship in the sector". Chasing space criminals across space city in search of the only known sample of the mineral the robots were vulnerable to. Designing mechanisms to enhance the effect of that limited supply over a large area. A desperate race across space to acquire more. Battles with and inside robot battleships. A final climatic battle where a battered XL5 is forced to flee leaving their comrades aboard the captured robot battleship to be blown out of space. And the entire XL space fleet rising majestically through the rings of Saturn just in time. The option to have the cavalry ride over the hill had always been in my games but this is first time it's actually been used. And so very well.
I then played and was lucky enough to get into Scott Dorward's pulp Cthulhu game. I've never played in one of Scott's games. TBH I think I'd feel discomforted playing in some. He was offering "Lamposts in Bloom" at this convention. I think that one might mess with my mind - or I might undermine it by not brining the right attitude.
But Pulp Cthulhu is how Games of Cthulhu always seem to go when I run them, so it seemed worth a punt. And it was. The scenario was a simple "typical" Cthulhu scenario - scientist demonstrating his new wierd science machine at a cocktail party. Then the blizzard hits, you're all trapped and the buzzing starts......
But Scott, of course, know his stuff. Well prepared, good pregenerated characters. Starts off playing with simple elements but slowly sucks you into darker avenues. The "his head explodes" moment even caught me by surprise.
The system is "Basic Roleplaying" percentage based but seems to have fixed many of that system's problems. Characters who are "good" at stuff have 70-80% chances and you have the ability to push your luck or retry rolls with consequences. Fast moving, challenging and satisfying. It's easy to forget that this is a master Referee and expect it to be the standard all other convention referees should be held to.
After the second game, there is an hour's break for tea. Chips have arrived. I had to leave to check into my B&B but one of the organisers kindly gave me a lift so this didn't take long or cost me a taxi fare.
During the tea break was the bloody raffle. As usual there were more prizes than attendees. Some of them "quirky". The White Wyrm puppet from the FreeForm for example. Lots of European chocolate. As usual no-one had prepared for this and though they were told to draw the next ticket before choosing their prize, they chose to spend ages perusing the table and often forgotting to draw the nest ticket. Those of you who know me can probably guess that I was heckling. I'm here to PLAY.
After tea I ran my Blakes Seven game. Again I had six players. Jenna, Gan, Tarrant, Cally, Avon and Villa. Throw in Orac and Zen and it was really Blakes Eight. In the second most gonzo twist of the weekend, one of the players introduced a storyline which meant Jenna was really secretly Blake in disguise.
Because we had six players all chewing the scenery - especially Cally's player revelling in the character and playing her really (really) effectively, - the simple "vs criminals" prologue - where the characters discover the actual plot - expanded significantly, and could almost have formed the basis of the whole session. But eventually I got the players to Mars. I had to drop lots of elements but, fortunately, this group had a direct approach and teleported straight into the Mars corporation headquarters. Throw in rolls where I was forced to keep introducing new plot elements to mess with them and they were virtually chased into the final location to avoid the missiles of the invading Federation fleet. With an appropriate combination of all of their abilities (including a "camera cuts away" scene involving corpses and Cally's TK abilities) they accessed the ancient alien installation. Cue Travis and Servellan appearing to reveal their evil plot and gloat appropriately. Of course the characters' only hope of escape rested on activating the ancient alien machine. Which turned out to be a planetary FTL system. Moving Mars. Space 1999 on steroids.
Basically, they traded in Liberator for a whole flipping planet.
Local taxis were all busy so I opted for the walk to my B&B. Trying to follow google Maps at night meant this took half an hour but I was in my room by midnight. It had been a great day.
Sunday was timetabled to start at 9:00am. In the daylight the walk up only took 20 minutes I so arrived early. Apparently EVERYONE else knew the early start was just a ploy to encourage people to arrive before 10:00am so I had some waiting to do.
When 17 people had trickled in, we started 3 games. One of these was my standard Code of Warriors and Wizardry adventure. After we started playing, more people began trickling in. This, of course, causes issues for the organisers but everyone is very co-operative. Whether the airy fairy lassez faire attitude of some attendees is result of the convention's coping mechanisms or not is a discussion for another time. However, we all coped. For me, I had six players but one had to leave early and just made a character to pass over to a late comer. Eventually I was asked if I could take a seventh player, which I did.
So we had an Orc noble with a magic halberd, a Human hunter (with a secret tail), Krunk (a Conan clone), a goblin burglar with magnetic powers, a fire wizard and small smelly Troll with power over the elements of the earth. They here joined, eventually, by s pregenerated burglar.
The first battle on the slavers' was crazy. I'll admit I virtually lost track of what was going on, what with most of the group being in the water at some point and swapping opponents all over the place. Both the rudder and anchor were broken.
To solve this, one player introduced the most gonzo plot element of the weekend. An old Pirate turned up, riding on sea turtle using his long white beard as reins. The hunter tried to lasoo his turtle so he holed their ship before having a change of heart. He guided their longboats to the nearest island.
During the Beach battle with the goblin "Coastal Clan" my die rolling meant, again, that I was forced to bring in more plot elements to challenge the players so the "forest clan" joined the battle followed, shortly, by a giant gobs sea serpent. Another battle where I virtually lost control of all the twists and turns.
Eventually, the characters were called to testify at a conclave of the Clans. Of course they tried to disrupt this with unwarranted violence, incensing the goblins and the island's volcano God. I was able to chase them to the scene of the scenario' climax.
Another short lunch break - bring a packed lunch.
In the afternoon I played in a Sci fi game. We were a salvage crew shot down on our way to assess a failed colony world. This used an adapted version of Basic Role Playing. Unlike Pulp Cthulhu the previous day, however, this had all the old failings of that system. If you were "good" at something, you only had 40% of succeeding at it. So most of your shots missed. And even when they did hit, the opponent had a chance to dodge. And there was no way to push things influence the result. This slowed the game down. Which was a shame because the referee, though young and inexperienced, was massively enthusiastic and had created a great world of ancient technology perceived as Magic.
The convention closes at 4:00pm. Most people chip in to help clear the hall. Any left is them invited out for more socialising and an Italian meal, but I opted to talk to the station.
Viewed from the outside, Ars Magica might not seem worth taking a punt on, being so small. But if you view it from the player perspective, it's just the same as any other convention. 5 games (plus a FreeForm) over two days, all games with full tables of enthusiastic players. The only drawback is the limited range of choices. If you're looking to play specific or popular systems, you won't find them here. If you just want to roleplay at a well organised and friendly convention where everybody knows your name, it really delivers. A bit of a hidden gem.
Saturday, 28 July 2018
Convivial Steampunk convention July 2018
"Choose your Adventure" is back on the road!
I've never been to a Steampunk convention before. The July "Convivial" is one of a number of events of that name held around the country on different dates. This one was in New Malden in Greater London. It was held over two days, Saturday and Sunday. Looking at the cost of a hotel in the area, it seemed sensible for me to just dip my toe into the water and treat it as a day trip this first time. (Sorting the trains out took some finagling but I eventually managed to beat even the Split Ticketing websites on cost and flexibility.)
The convention seems to be knowing celebration of the great British Eccentric with events such as Teapot Racing, Tea Duelling, Worseminton etc.
So I got up stupid o'clock in the morning and travelled down to London. The route and connections are actually very straightforward once you've done the journey. The event is close to New Malden station and is based in a Church and a pub over the road (or vice versa).
I was based in the middle of the trading area in the main church hall, surrounded by a dozen or so stalls. Amongst the clothes and other Steampunk items, there was a table full of crystals and - next to each other - a stall selling knitwear octopi and a stand with half a dozen live snakes for people to hold. Eclectic.
The Church Hall was directly adjacent to the main body of the church where music acts were "setting up". The noise level gave me concerns that - once they started playing - I wouldn't be able to hear any players I might get. I suggested to the organiser that I move to the Foyer of the hall but he said I could over to other part of the event in the the pub if I wanted.
The Pub.
I moved right over!
The actual event was in the function room upstairs and seemed full so I set up on a table in the main part of the pub. Getting interest was intermittent but I did get to run three games:
Two parents and a son played through my standard "The Evolution of Species" introductory scenario. This was fun as always with the son's character whipping up an ambulatory flame thrower at the end which ended up killing as many hostages as bad guys.
This climax was watched by a couple of people who I corralled into an immediate game. As they'd seen the climax of my usual scenario, I brought out one of the two new ones I'd thought up for this convention. "One of our Dinosaurs is Missing". I thought: evil scientist, shrink ray, kidnapped Brontosaurus. No problem. I wasn't expecting the character's souped up automobile leading a Godzilla sized Brontosaur on a chase across the Home Counties before luring it into an unstable quarry via a "Thelma and Louise" style leap. One of the players bought the game and bought me a drink.
Then it was a long wait until, just before the end, I had a young couple play through "Evolution of Species" again. In a rare turn of events, they did as asked and took evidence to the Police instead of trying to sort matters out themselves. This gave them Police back-up and they resolved the final battle extremely well - capturing the bad guy and converting his Frankenstein-type creation to their side. They bought me a drink as well.
Because of my positioning, I didn't see much of the rest of the event - though there was some good mass ukulele playing in the beer garden. The costumes were great as you'd expect with a predominance of Pith helmets and Khaki due to the weather. Everyone was very friendly and though I only had three games I had a lot of interesting chats.
Was it worth it? The jury's out. Maybe thinking a bit more about the position of my table would help and if we can build up a repeated presence, people might start expecting it and looking for it. But it's competing in a convention jam-packed with myriad other events. There was a lot of waiting about but the three games I played were - as always - so much FUN that it just about made up for it. One to go to if it fits a gap in my diary, I think, but as a one day visit. Not worth paying for a hotel yet, for me.
I've never been to a Steampunk convention before. The July "Convivial" is one of a number of events of that name held around the country on different dates. This one was in New Malden in Greater London. It was held over two days, Saturday and Sunday. Looking at the cost of a hotel in the area, it seemed sensible for me to just dip my toe into the water and treat it as a day trip this first time. (Sorting the trains out took some finagling but I eventually managed to beat even the Split Ticketing websites on cost and flexibility.)
The convention seems to be knowing celebration of the great British Eccentric with events such as Teapot Racing, Tea Duelling, Worseminton etc.
So I got up stupid o'clock in the morning and travelled down to London. The route and connections are actually very straightforward once you've done the journey. The event is close to New Malden station and is based in a Church and a pub over the road (or vice versa).
I was based in the middle of the trading area in the main church hall, surrounded by a dozen or so stalls. Amongst the clothes and other Steampunk items, there was a table full of crystals and - next to each other - a stall selling knitwear octopi and a stand with half a dozen live snakes for people to hold. Eclectic.
The Church Hall was directly adjacent to the main body of the church where music acts were "setting up". The noise level gave me concerns that - once they started playing - I wouldn't be able to hear any players I might get. I suggested to the organiser that I move to the Foyer of the hall but he said I could over to other part of the event in the the pub if I wanted.
The Pub.
I moved right over!
The actual event was in the function room upstairs and seemed full so I set up on a table in the main part of the pub. Getting interest was intermittent but I did get to run three games:
Two parents and a son played through my standard "The Evolution of Species" introductory scenario. This was fun as always with the son's character whipping up an ambulatory flame thrower at the end which ended up killing as many hostages as bad guys.
This climax was watched by a couple of people who I corralled into an immediate game. As they'd seen the climax of my usual scenario, I brought out one of the two new ones I'd thought up for this convention. "One of our Dinosaurs is Missing". I thought: evil scientist, shrink ray, kidnapped Brontosaurus. No problem. I wasn't expecting the character's souped up automobile leading a Godzilla sized Brontosaur on a chase across the Home Counties before luring it into an unstable quarry via a "Thelma and Louise" style leap. One of the players bought the game and bought me a drink.
Then it was a long wait until, just before the end, I had a young couple play through "Evolution of Species" again. In a rare turn of events, they did as asked and took evidence to the Police instead of trying to sort matters out themselves. This gave them Police back-up and they resolved the final battle extremely well - capturing the bad guy and converting his Frankenstein-type creation to their side. They bought me a drink as well.
Because of my positioning, I didn't see much of the rest of the event - though there was some good mass ukulele playing in the beer garden. The costumes were great as you'd expect with a predominance of Pith helmets and Khaki due to the weather. Everyone was very friendly and though I only had three games I had a lot of interesting chats.
Was it worth it? The jury's out. Maybe thinking a bit more about the position of my table would help and if we can build up a repeated presence, people might start expecting it and looking for it. But it's competing in a convention jam-packed with myriad other events. There was a lot of waiting about but the three games I played were - as always - so much FUN that it just about made up for it. One to go to if it fits a gap in my diary, I think, but as a one day visit. Not worth paying for a hotel yet, for me.
Monday, 23 July 2018
Continuum 2018
TLDR: excellent long running, well organised, quirky (in a good way) residential convention. Superb organising committee, lovely, amiable fellow attendees. Only ran 3 out of 8 game sessions to small groups. My games don't match the demographic. But all three games were great. Played 4 in fun games. A win! Should be put on every year.
Continuum is a long running, well organised and successful residential convention in Leicester. It runs from Friday afternoon until Monday morning (Monday is checkout only). As well as TTRPGs it also offers "FreeForms" (sort of LARPS, I think) a small trade hall and a range of seminars. And drinking. It runs once every two years - in the years which are even numbered. It is based in student accommodation at Leicester university.
Because of its long history, the convention has a unique character and a number of traditions, both explicit and covert. It has a large number of Runequest/Gloranthan/Cthulhu games on offer. However, the choice is widening and becoming more eclectic. You still don't see much standard fare in the vein of D&D 5th etc. though.
Booking is done in advance via the website. You pay for the convention and accommodation up front. Spaces are limited - 160 - and it does sell out.
You can offer to run TTRPGs when you arrive at the event itself but the organisers prefer that you submit games in advance so they can promote them on the website, check they've got enough etc. In order to encourage this, you get a free advance sign up in a game you want to play for each game you submit. This is well managed by the convention TTRPG games Tsar, the excellent and personable Keary. There are 8 game slots - 2 on Friday and 3 each on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite the broadening tastes and offerings at Continuum, I'm aware that my games don't match the demographic and expect to struggle to get sign ups. If you're desperate to referee, offering a game set in Glorantha, or a Runequest variant or a Cthulhu game should garner interest, provided it's something new. (This crowd have played all the classic stuff.)
Shortly before the event I discovered that I wasn't at work Monday morning and so was able to change my booking from 2 nights (Friday/Saturday) to three. Basically I paid a £30 supplement to play one extra game.
I was still at work on the Friday. So I missed the first game slot and arrived well in time for the second session. I bought some supplies for my room from the Tesco express next to the station. There's an Asda 10-15 mins walk from the event but it's best to come supplied.
However, like an idiot I'd missed the instructions for the printing and bringing my own signup sheets. Though I'd submitted games for Friday Evening and Saturday morning, the sheets for those slots were already up when I arrived. There were no sign up sheets up for my games. I borrowed a pen and quickly wrote up a handwritten sheet for my Saturday morning game. But it looked rubbish next to some of the other sheets. And people had already signed for games in that slot so I didn't hold out much hope of getting players. A friend advised/forced me not to put up a last minute hand written sheet for my Friday game so I signed up for a game of Lady Blackbird.
I checked into my room and attended the opening ceremony. For tea I ate sandwiches etc I'd brought from Tesco. The accomodation is student rooms. They don't have TV sets and are basic. But they're clean with free wifi and there are shared kitchens. There are no pots and pans, crockery or cutlery but there is a Microwave. If Continuum were every year, I might have remembered this and bought some microwaveable meals from Tesco. I also dropped off some games in the Bring and Buy.
My evening game turned out to be a good choice. I've heard people raving about Lady Blackbird at convention after convention. I've downloaded it and tried to read it but have never understood it. It was expertly run by Rae - the Wyntercon games Tsar. There was a full table of excellent, fun, players. I played the Amazonian bodyguard. This version of the game tended towards the Steampunk but when one player forgot this and referred to security cameras - suddenly we had a demon-based security system. There were a couple of things that didn't suit my personal tastes. Some people had played the game before and were replaying it. Though it's supposed to be repayable and different every time, I don't think there's enough variation to enable this to happen successfully IMHO. I also found the mismatch between players with experience and those without a bit jarring. The second was the habit that some players (Lloyd, the excellent Expo Games on DemandTsar) seem to have developed of deliberately introducing complications into a game to make it more fun. I'm old school and think complications should come from poor choices, the dice or the Referee. Oh, and there was only one member of staff on the bar.
But these are minor moans. Fun players, excellent referee, good game. (I still think it deserves expansion and publishing in a more detailed, printed, commercial version). An excellent session and I now know that I could run this game if I was asked to by a convention Games Tsar.
The bar is stocked with some real ales especially for the convention, is open until 2am and full of gaming luminaries. So it's tempting to stay up but I chose to try to get to sleep before midnight.
Overnight I had a brainwave. I used my iPad to download my game descriptions from the convention website, and quickly produced some typed signup sheets with added convention logo and appropriate other images. I emailed these to the accommodation front desk and they printed them for me. Free. Wow! My concerns about not getting sign ups because of grotty handwritten sheets were allayed. My shower wasn't working but I got some great technical advice from the front desk ("give it some welly!") that did the job. Good work all round.
Breakfast is included and does the job but is basic.
My morning game didn't get any sign ups so I grabbed the last place in Phil Masters' steampunk GURPS game. Then something unfortunate happened. Just about every other player who'd signed up for the game crossed their name off at the last minute. I don't think it was seeing my name on the sheet! I think what had happened is that someone had stuck up another game they fancied and they all decamped en masse with minutes to go. Not very good manners if you ask me. We scraped together three players and Phil ran the game. Great setting, good GM, well prepared. As usual the GURPS character sheets were rammed with information which must have been a nightmare to produce but made playing the game easy. I played the Amazonian second in command (a trend?) Despite all of this, however, I think this has finally cemented my view that GURPS is not the game for me.
Phil, however, delivered a good game. Upon being given my character sheet my eyes fell upon the words "Bomb Gun". Of course I got to unleash this to destroy an airship in the game's climax - so I call that a win.
Lunch was more Tesco sandwiches (I'd stocked up).
For the afternoon I had three players sign up for my "Orville" rip off. Using my Manifold rules but that's irrelevant really. One of the players was Marcus Rowland. This was like a classic White Dwarf contributor meet up! This was fun as always. I just run a straight Star Trek scenario - blatantly ripping off two classic episodes - and watch the TTRPG players dismantle it.
We had the ship's Captain (a sentient cloud of Flies), a prototype Android weapons officer and Kevin - from Tech. support. They were initially extremely successful. They went in and out quick and completed the first mission perfectly, short cutting the scenario. Then things went belly up on the follow up mission. They lost the ship, 277 out of 300 crewmen and the prototype android. Technically they completed the mission but the inquiries will drag on for years....... Great fun with great players.
In the evening, I sampled the food from the on-site kitchen. The Continuum "main Hall" is basically the students' hall of residence cafeteria. The kitchen is set up to provide students with cheap meals. As such, in past conventions there have been some complaints about the quality of the food and some effort has been made upgrade it. Not that successfully I'm afraid. My (£6.95) meal was a limited portion of beef chilli on a plate full of rice, new potatoes and boiled broccoli. Not enough sauce/chilli to cover the otherwise dry ingredients. Warm, filling, not overly expensive. Some people got pizzas or went out for other meals. I don't blame them. There's a two hour gap between afternoon and evening games so there's load of time to do this.
For the evening game I had three players sign up. I ran Paul Baldowski's scenario from his award winning "Trail of the Wendigo" book, but using my Manifold rules rather than his Cthulhu Hack. When asked for a reason why their characters were driving In the Canadian wilds, the players decided that they were two Mounties bringing in a fugitive. A classic trope! It was made even more perfect by the meta overlap. The two Mounties were two guys who were friends and had come to the convention together. The female grifter was a charming young lady who'd been providing table after table with homemade cake through the day. They weren't exactly playing themselves but it was close.
Despite only having three players again, I loved this session. It is a slow build horror story with a really really sick theme. Because they were Mounties, rather than say a family group, this turned into more "The Wicker Man meets Assault on District 19" than "Hostel" with a brutal final scene which flirted with a TPK.
During the game Keary checked in with me. I love the way he goes around and checks in with and talks to every Referee. Every. Single. One. And because I'd run two games, he gave me drinks tokens for two free drinks. This convention pays you in beer. Unfortunately, the bar was starting to run out of some beers.
I went to bed before midnight again.
I got up and checked my signup sheet for the morning game. No players. I had breakfast - functional again - and went to my room to collect my gaming stuff expecting to come down and have to find a game to play in. In the short gap, I'd garnered three players!
This was a playtest of my d6 Hack rules being developed as part of Role Play Relief. I offered the players a choice between the old White Dwarf investigative scenario "Plague from the Past" and Dyson Logos' "Goblin Gully". It being early morning after the night before, they chose to twat goblins rather than use their brains.
The game went well, good classic low level D&D with no obvious difference through just using d6's. Lots of great tactical interplay between the goblins and the party. Many goblins slaughtered but the chief and a couple of other survivors escaped with their treasure
Amazingly I still had some food left from my shopping burst on Friday so lunch was more cold stuff from Tescos. (I could have kept it fresher in the fridge in the kitchen.)
In the afternoon I'd pre-booked into the latest instalment of Martin Pickett's "Victorian Colony of Mars" series. I first met Martin when he wrote and ran "The Great Martian Tripod Race" for my The Code of Steam and Steel game. He's now converted the scenarios set in that world to Manifold. This was the first time I've PLAYED my game. And Martin has adapted the rules for Steampunk as you would do to produce a sourcebook. Both of these things made this session special for me.
Martin had chosen to run the game in a seminar room in one of the houses up the road from the main convention hall. It's quiet and a good place to play but - for me - too far away from the hustle and bustle of the convention (and the bar). We also had players trying to deliberately introduce complications again (see above). And we DID resolve things through auditing the bad guys' accounts rather than high adventure.
But we went from "Carry On Airship Police" at the a start, to being a really effective team, efficiently stopping the wrong doing and individually rounding up two key figures from each faction almost automatically. And all the players were awesome - especially Simon Beaver*. As author of "Stiff Upper Lip" - a FATE game set in the era of British Adventuring (get it printed Simon!) - his immense historical knowledge leant massive verisimilitude to our Law Officer'd actions.
* there were at least THREE "Simon B's" at the convention!
I attended the closing ceremony. Apparently there's going to be a questionnaire coming out. I hope EVERYONE votes to make it an annual event.
For tea I ate the canteen food again. It's easy to get. This was basically a roast turkey dinner and was much more acceptable than the previous night's efforts.
By this time the convention was winding down and most people had gone. The bar was out of most draft beers so I was on cider but had two staff on - now it was quiet - rather than the single harassed guy when it was busy Friday night. Go figure.
My game - based on Fireball XL5 - garnered no players, again. I think I need to retire it, unplayed. It's just too niche. By this time there was one space left in one game - the Great Gloranthan Duck Race game. An RPG based on Wargames rules played on a kind of snakes and ladder board set on the Runequest world of Glorantha and played for laughs as various crews - mostly non human - vied to win a boat race by any means necessary , unnecessary and just downright funny. Not exactly in MY wheelhouse but a pleasant way to end the convention. There was a traditional end of convention sing song somewhere else but we were too busy playing to go.
Was it worth the extra £30 for that game? That's debatable. But it WAS worth it through making the Sunday much more relaxed. I could concentrate on enjoying the event, get a good nights sleep and pack at my leisure rather than worrying about checking out, carrying all my worldly goods around with me for the afternoon and rushing to catch the last train home, as I do at so many events. If you can stay until Monday I thoroughly recommend it
Continuum is a superior residential convention. It has no drawbacks and some truly excellent features. We don't have enough residential TTRPG conventions in this country. We NEED to have Continuum every year.
Continuum is a long running, well organised and successful residential convention in Leicester. It runs from Friday afternoon until Monday morning (Monday is checkout only). As well as TTRPGs it also offers "FreeForms" (sort of LARPS, I think) a small trade hall and a range of seminars. And drinking. It runs once every two years - in the years which are even numbered. It is based in student accommodation at Leicester university.
Because of its long history, the convention has a unique character and a number of traditions, both explicit and covert. It has a large number of Runequest/Gloranthan/Cthulhu games on offer. However, the choice is widening and becoming more eclectic. You still don't see much standard fare in the vein of D&D 5th etc. though.
Booking is done in advance via the website. You pay for the convention and accommodation up front. Spaces are limited - 160 - and it does sell out.
You can offer to run TTRPGs when you arrive at the event itself but the organisers prefer that you submit games in advance so they can promote them on the website, check they've got enough etc. In order to encourage this, you get a free advance sign up in a game you want to play for each game you submit. This is well managed by the convention TTRPG games Tsar, the excellent and personable Keary. There are 8 game slots - 2 on Friday and 3 each on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite the broadening tastes and offerings at Continuum, I'm aware that my games don't match the demographic and expect to struggle to get sign ups. If you're desperate to referee, offering a game set in Glorantha, or a Runequest variant or a Cthulhu game should garner interest, provided it's something new. (This crowd have played all the classic stuff.)
Shortly before the event I discovered that I wasn't at work Monday morning and so was able to change my booking from 2 nights (Friday/Saturday) to three. Basically I paid a £30 supplement to play one extra game.
I was still at work on the Friday. So I missed the first game slot and arrived well in time for the second session. I bought some supplies for my room from the Tesco express next to the station. There's an Asda 10-15 mins walk from the event but it's best to come supplied.
However, like an idiot I'd missed the instructions for the printing and bringing my own signup sheets. Though I'd submitted games for Friday Evening and Saturday morning, the sheets for those slots were already up when I arrived. There were no sign up sheets up for my games. I borrowed a pen and quickly wrote up a handwritten sheet for my Saturday morning game. But it looked rubbish next to some of the other sheets. And people had already signed for games in that slot so I didn't hold out much hope of getting players. A friend advised/forced me not to put up a last minute hand written sheet for my Friday game so I signed up for a game of Lady Blackbird.
I checked into my room and attended the opening ceremony. For tea I ate sandwiches etc I'd brought from Tesco. The accomodation is student rooms. They don't have TV sets and are basic. But they're clean with free wifi and there are shared kitchens. There are no pots and pans, crockery or cutlery but there is a Microwave. If Continuum were every year, I might have remembered this and bought some microwaveable meals from Tesco. I also dropped off some games in the Bring and Buy.
My evening game turned out to be a good choice. I've heard people raving about Lady Blackbird at convention after convention. I've downloaded it and tried to read it but have never understood it. It was expertly run by Rae - the Wyntercon games Tsar. There was a full table of excellent, fun, players. I played the Amazonian bodyguard. This version of the game tended towards the Steampunk but when one player forgot this and referred to security cameras - suddenly we had a demon-based security system. There were a couple of things that didn't suit my personal tastes. Some people had played the game before and were replaying it. Though it's supposed to be repayable and different every time, I don't think there's enough variation to enable this to happen successfully IMHO. I also found the mismatch between players with experience and those without a bit jarring. The second was the habit that some players (Lloyd, the excellent Expo Games on DemandTsar) seem to have developed of deliberately introducing complications into a game to make it more fun. I'm old school and think complications should come from poor choices, the dice or the Referee. Oh, and there was only one member of staff on the bar.
But these are minor moans. Fun players, excellent referee, good game. (I still think it deserves expansion and publishing in a more detailed, printed, commercial version). An excellent session and I now know that I could run this game if I was asked to by a convention Games Tsar.
The bar is stocked with some real ales especially for the convention, is open until 2am and full of gaming luminaries. So it's tempting to stay up but I chose to try to get to sleep before midnight.
Overnight I had a brainwave. I used my iPad to download my game descriptions from the convention website, and quickly produced some typed signup sheets with added convention logo and appropriate other images. I emailed these to the accommodation front desk and they printed them for me. Free. Wow! My concerns about not getting sign ups because of grotty handwritten sheets were allayed. My shower wasn't working but I got some great technical advice from the front desk ("give it some welly!") that did the job. Good work all round.
Breakfast is included and does the job but is basic.
My morning game didn't get any sign ups so I grabbed the last place in Phil Masters' steampunk GURPS game. Then something unfortunate happened. Just about every other player who'd signed up for the game crossed their name off at the last minute. I don't think it was seeing my name on the sheet! I think what had happened is that someone had stuck up another game they fancied and they all decamped en masse with minutes to go. Not very good manners if you ask me. We scraped together three players and Phil ran the game. Great setting, good GM, well prepared. As usual the GURPS character sheets were rammed with information which must have been a nightmare to produce but made playing the game easy. I played the Amazonian second in command (a trend?) Despite all of this, however, I think this has finally cemented my view that GURPS is not the game for me.
Phil, however, delivered a good game. Upon being given my character sheet my eyes fell upon the words "Bomb Gun". Of course I got to unleash this to destroy an airship in the game's climax - so I call that a win.
Lunch was more Tesco sandwiches (I'd stocked up).
For the afternoon I had three players sign up for my "Orville" rip off. Using my Manifold rules but that's irrelevant really. One of the players was Marcus Rowland. This was like a classic White Dwarf contributor meet up! This was fun as always. I just run a straight Star Trek scenario - blatantly ripping off two classic episodes - and watch the TTRPG players dismantle it.
We had the ship's Captain (a sentient cloud of Flies), a prototype Android weapons officer and Kevin - from Tech. support. They were initially extremely successful. They went in and out quick and completed the first mission perfectly, short cutting the scenario. Then things went belly up on the follow up mission. They lost the ship, 277 out of 300 crewmen and the prototype android. Technically they completed the mission but the inquiries will drag on for years....... Great fun with great players.
In the evening, I sampled the food from the on-site kitchen. The Continuum "main Hall" is basically the students' hall of residence cafeteria. The kitchen is set up to provide students with cheap meals. As such, in past conventions there have been some complaints about the quality of the food and some effort has been made upgrade it. Not that successfully I'm afraid. My (£6.95) meal was a limited portion of beef chilli on a plate full of rice, new potatoes and boiled broccoli. Not enough sauce/chilli to cover the otherwise dry ingredients. Warm, filling, not overly expensive. Some people got pizzas or went out for other meals. I don't blame them. There's a two hour gap between afternoon and evening games so there's load of time to do this.
For the evening game I had three players sign up. I ran Paul Baldowski's scenario from his award winning "Trail of the Wendigo" book, but using my Manifold rules rather than his Cthulhu Hack. When asked for a reason why their characters were driving In the Canadian wilds, the players decided that they were two Mounties bringing in a fugitive. A classic trope! It was made even more perfect by the meta overlap. The two Mounties were two guys who were friends and had come to the convention together. The female grifter was a charming young lady who'd been providing table after table with homemade cake through the day. They weren't exactly playing themselves but it was close.
Despite only having three players again, I loved this session. It is a slow build horror story with a really really sick theme. Because they were Mounties, rather than say a family group, this turned into more "The Wicker Man meets Assault on District 19" than "Hostel" with a brutal final scene which flirted with a TPK.
During the game Keary checked in with me. I love the way he goes around and checks in with and talks to every Referee. Every. Single. One. And because I'd run two games, he gave me drinks tokens for two free drinks. This convention pays you in beer. Unfortunately, the bar was starting to run out of some beers.
I went to bed before midnight again.
I got up and checked my signup sheet for the morning game. No players. I had breakfast - functional again - and went to my room to collect my gaming stuff expecting to come down and have to find a game to play in. In the short gap, I'd garnered three players!
This was a playtest of my d6 Hack rules being developed as part of Role Play Relief. I offered the players a choice between the old White Dwarf investigative scenario "Plague from the Past" and Dyson Logos' "Goblin Gully". It being early morning after the night before, they chose to twat goblins rather than use their brains.
The game went well, good classic low level D&D with no obvious difference through just using d6's. Lots of great tactical interplay between the goblins and the party. Many goblins slaughtered but the chief and a couple of other survivors escaped with their treasure
Amazingly I still had some food left from my shopping burst on Friday so lunch was more cold stuff from Tescos. (I could have kept it fresher in the fridge in the kitchen.)
In the afternoon I'd pre-booked into the latest instalment of Martin Pickett's "Victorian Colony of Mars" series. I first met Martin when he wrote and ran "The Great Martian Tripod Race" for my The Code of Steam and Steel game. He's now converted the scenarios set in that world to Manifold. This was the first time I've PLAYED my game. And Martin has adapted the rules for Steampunk as you would do to produce a sourcebook. Both of these things made this session special for me.
Martin had chosen to run the game in a seminar room in one of the houses up the road from the main convention hall. It's quiet and a good place to play but - for me - too far away from the hustle and bustle of the convention (and the bar). We also had players trying to deliberately introduce complications again (see above). And we DID resolve things through auditing the bad guys' accounts rather than high adventure.
But we went from "Carry On Airship Police" at the a start, to being a really effective team, efficiently stopping the wrong doing and individually rounding up two key figures from each faction almost automatically. And all the players were awesome - especially Simon Beaver*. As author of "Stiff Upper Lip" - a FATE game set in the era of British Adventuring (get it printed Simon!) - his immense historical knowledge leant massive verisimilitude to our Law Officer'd actions.
* there were at least THREE "Simon B's" at the convention!
I attended the closing ceremony. Apparently there's going to be a questionnaire coming out. I hope EVERYONE votes to make it an annual event.
For tea I ate the canteen food again. It's easy to get. This was basically a roast turkey dinner and was much more acceptable than the previous night's efforts.
By this time the convention was winding down and most people had gone. The bar was out of most draft beers so I was on cider but had two staff on - now it was quiet - rather than the single harassed guy when it was busy Friday night. Go figure.
My game - based on Fireball XL5 - garnered no players, again. I think I need to retire it, unplayed. It's just too niche. By this time there was one space left in one game - the Great Gloranthan Duck Race game. An RPG based on Wargames rules played on a kind of snakes and ladder board set on the Runequest world of Glorantha and played for laughs as various crews - mostly non human - vied to win a boat race by any means necessary , unnecessary and just downright funny. Not exactly in MY wheelhouse but a pleasant way to end the convention. There was a traditional end of convention sing song somewhere else but we were too busy playing to go.
Was it worth the extra £30 for that game? That's debatable. But it WAS worth it through making the Sunday much more relaxed. I could concentrate on enjoying the event, get a good nights sleep and pack at my leisure rather than worrying about checking out, carrying all my worldly goods around with me for the afternoon and rushing to catch the last train home, as I do at so many events. If you can stay until Monday I thoroughly recommend it
Continuum is a superior residential convention. It has no drawbacks and some truly excellent features. We don't have enough residential TTRPG conventions in this country. We NEED to have Continuum every year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)