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Here's the short version of how it went. I'll be writing up the long version for Alarums and Excursions, but could probably post it or bits of it here if anyone else wants to know the gory details.
Wednesday, the 23rd -- get up way early, and fly out to Indy.
Check. A bit of a delay on the flight, and the tiny plane requiring gate checking, but not too bad. Took a bus to the hotel, or near enough.
Register with convention and hotel.
Check. Hotel not as far away as had feared.
Hook up with our roommate.
Check. He called my cell and told us that "Will Call" meant we could get our event tickets.
Try to hook up with fellow contributors to Alarums and Excursions around 6pm, which may be tricky, as we're all unsure of who's showing up, when, and where.
Actually, check, more or less. We had five for dinner, but said hi to one more, and hooked up briefly with Kat and Michael Miller, Kat's sister, Todd Furler, and various folks in that circle whose names I've spaced. Ate at Thai Gardens, where they'll spice the food as requested, but won't refund money if you then say it's too spicy.
Thursday -- If things like the auction and exhibit hall open at 10, go there and shop.
Check. Did the auction hall first, so missed the mad rush to the exhibit hall.
Network -- I'm a reviewer, plus![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mnemex and I want to set up an event for next year: Iron Ref, inspired by Columbia's GC, which ran two of these.
Sorta check. I didn't want to grab too much review stuff, given my backlog, and I didn't do too much Iron Ref networking. But I did some, and I said hi to lots of folks. And, um, I did break and ask for some review product, so I have to get cracking.
12:30: Kat Miller's Everway game, Infinity Powder
Check. Fun, nice system twists, and an odd minimum of combat for a supers game.
4:30: Probably more shopping. Dinner.
Check. Mall is good. Food court.
7:30: Michael Miller's Fulminata game, Weekend at Bernius'.
Big Check! Took prize for Best Roleplayer, a nifty trophy. Everyone was top notch, including myself, but I also happened to be cast in what proved the central role. Gotta get a copy of that scenario.
11:00pm: Game ends, and I either go to sleep or hang out for a while first.
Said hi tomnemex in the board game room, checked out the auction, escaping without extra product, headed back.
Friday -- I have the schedule from hell, or at least, heck.
10:00: Well, I could sleep later, but I may want to, y'know, shop. Network. Stuff.
Check. Well, a latish start, as Steak n Shake took forever to bring our food. (A bit overwhelemed?) Got a demo of Riddle of Steel.
12:30: Kat's other Everway game, Dark Thorny Gate.
Check. Another twist. Kat's been pushing the borders of the game.
4:30: I've got an hour to grab food. Oh, make that half an hour, at least, unless the game breaks early.
It did break early. I didn't do the mall, but had bread on me and probably bought a hotdog or something.
5:00: William Barton's So Ya Wanna Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star game, Cool Zulus by Gaslight. Sounds like Rock 'N' Roll meets Victorian Horror with maximal silliness. I gotta know. I've actually found this game quite useful for Cthulhupunk -- thanks to [userinfo] kent_allard_jr for loaning it to me -- and wouldn't mind buying my very own copy. I suspect Mr. Barton can help, being the author and all.
Got the game at a discount. As for playing, well, it went right up to 9, and still going, though in endgame, so I ducked out.
9:00: Got a half hour between games to dump stuff if my hotel's near enough, maybe change, then hurry to a larp.
Screw changing or dumping stuff. Hurrying to larp.
9:30: Greg Nagler's Banzai Institute larp. Loved the movie. Loved the book. Loved the fanzines I read. Stole 'em all for CthulhuPunk.
This was a blast. I wish he'd videotaped it.
Post game wrap: So, Mr. GM, who -did- write the note "There will be blood" that New Jersey spent so much game time fingerprinting everyone to figure out who wrote it?
GM: Um, well, it was left over from the earlier Buffy larp, but by the time someone asked us about it, too many people had seen it. So, we decided it was officially in game.
1:30 am: Game ends. If I'm smart, I go to sleep.
Not a chance. The postgame wrap up took a while, plus the GM was kind enough to give me a packet with the characters and the GM notes, and a bunch of advice on running larps.
Saturday
8:00 am: Matrix Game's Cthulhu High. I'm really curious about the system. But given the timing, I may wind up deciding I need the sleep more. If I know this in advance, I'll probably try to return the ticket so someone else can take the spot. But I'd like to know what the game is like. Sleep? Game?
Ducked out of this, returning ticket previous day. Caught a demo of the system in the exhibit hall. Real simple, and oddly, a blend of storytelling and wargaming.
12:00: Lunch and shopping -- presuming I didn't blow off the game, in which case, I'm likely in the middle of lunch, shopping, networking. Hm.
Did the shopping thing, grabbed more mall food. Do they have anything besides chicken? Hm, lines for one day passes are awfully long.
2:30: Jenn Goddi's 7th Sea game, Fall of Avalon. I want to see how the game runs when I'm not gming it. I suspect much better. And the plot sounds interesting.
Game cancelled on account of someone swiped the GM's notes. It wasn't quite the game I'd thought, it turns out, but probably would have been fun. Still, I got in more shopping and demos of My Life With Master (play the henchman of a mad scientist) and Universalis (more complicated than the Matrix system, vaguely like Once Upon a Time).
6:30: Dinner and pick up Nobilis game, sequel to the onemnemex ran last year.
Well... Kat, Michael, and Kacy couldn't make it. Lizard and his wife Beth dropped by to say hi, but had previous commitment. Beth was on crutches. Patrick, our roommate, needed a gaming fix quick, while we needed to eat. So, he got into a Tekumel demo while we wound up back at Thai Garden. This time: One medium dish, please.
Then, back to the convention center, where I caught the last couple of minutes of the Tekumel game, listened to a few of an Angel game (tv show Angel), and headed back to pack.mnemex came in a good deal later.
Sunday
10:00: Derek Guder's WitchCraft game, First One's Free. I may blow this one off if I'm sandblasted, but again, I'd like to make it. Heck, I didn't sign up for a game I didn't want to make. I've played with Derek once before and had fun being the cat.
I'd returned that ticket, as Kat planned to run an invite-only Everway game. Alas, that fell through. But we finished packing and did some shopping in the exhibit hall.
2:00: Last licks to the shopping.
Sort of. More like, 1:00, meet Lizard, Beth, and their friend Doug for more mall food -- not only is it all chicken, but it's all the same -kind- of chicken -- then, back to the exhibit hall. Turns out the long line on Sunday was due to computers going down. Oy.
5:00: Probably about when we head for the plane -- this allows a lot of extra time, but that's often a good thing.
Yep. Plane was a bit late. Then had mechanical problems, so we were put onto another plane, landing, um, an hour and a half later than planned. In the rain. Where we had to go out of the plane, get our soggy gate checked baggage, and go up a set of metal stairs into the tube leading inside. Okay, I accept that they can't remodel the airport on a whim, but they could have put a tarp or something over the luggage cart so it only got soaked on the run up the stairs.
Got in safely, though.
Wednesday, the 23rd -- get up way early, and fly out to Indy.
Check. A bit of a delay on the flight, and the tiny plane requiring gate checking, but not too bad. Took a bus to the hotel, or near enough.
Register with convention and hotel.
Check. Hotel not as far away as had feared.
Hook up with our roommate.
Check. He called my cell and told us that "Will Call" meant we could get our event tickets.
Try to hook up with fellow contributors to Alarums and Excursions around 6pm, which may be tricky, as we're all unsure of who's showing up, when, and where.
Actually, check, more or less. We had five for dinner, but said hi to one more, and hooked up briefly with Kat and Michael Miller, Kat's sister, Todd Furler, and various folks in that circle whose names I've spaced. Ate at Thai Gardens, where they'll spice the food as requested, but won't refund money if you then say it's too spicy.
Thursday -- If things like the auction and exhibit hall open at 10, go there and shop.
Check. Did the auction hall first, so missed the mad rush to the exhibit hall.
Network -- I'm a reviewer, plus
mnemex and I want to set up an event for next year: Iron Ref, inspired by Columbia's GC, which ran two of these.Sorta check. I didn't want to grab too much review stuff, given my backlog, and I didn't do too much Iron Ref networking. But I did some, and I said hi to lots of folks. And, um, I did break and ask for some review product, so I have to get cracking.
12:30: Kat Miller's Everway game, Infinity Powder
Check. Fun, nice system twists, and an odd minimum of combat for a supers game.
4:30: Probably more shopping. Dinner.
Check. Mall is good. Food court.
7:30: Michael Miller's Fulminata game, Weekend at Bernius'.
Big Check! Took prize for Best Roleplayer, a nifty trophy. Everyone was top notch, including myself, but I also happened to be cast in what proved the central role. Gotta get a copy of that scenario.
11:00pm: Game ends, and I either go to sleep or hang out for a while first.
Said hi to
mnemex in the board game room, checked out the auction, escaping without extra product, headed back.Friday -- I have the schedule from hell, or at least, heck.
10:00: Well, I could sleep later, but I may want to, y'know, shop. Network. Stuff.
Check. Well, a latish start, as Steak n Shake took forever to bring our food. (A bit overwhelemed?) Got a demo of Riddle of Steel.
12:30: Kat's other Everway game, Dark Thorny Gate.
Check. Another twist. Kat's been pushing the borders of the game.
4:30: I've got an hour to grab food. Oh, make that half an hour, at least, unless the game breaks early.
It did break early. I didn't do the mall, but had bread on me and probably bought a hotdog or something.
5:00: William Barton's So Ya Wanna Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star game, Cool Zulus by Gaslight. Sounds like Rock 'N' Roll meets Victorian Horror with maximal silliness. I gotta know. I've actually found this game quite useful for Cthulhupunk -- thanks to [userinfo] kent_allard_jr for loaning it to me -- and wouldn't mind buying my very own copy. I suspect Mr. Barton can help, being the author and all.
Got the game at a discount. As for playing, well, it went right up to 9, and still going, though in endgame, so I ducked out.
9:00: Got a half hour between games to dump stuff if my hotel's near enough, maybe change, then hurry to a larp.
Screw changing or dumping stuff. Hurrying to larp.
9:30: Greg Nagler's Banzai Institute larp. Loved the movie. Loved the book. Loved the fanzines I read. Stole 'em all for CthulhuPunk.
This was a blast. I wish he'd videotaped it.
Post game wrap: So, Mr. GM, who -did- write the note "There will be blood" that New Jersey spent so much game time fingerprinting everyone to figure out who wrote it?
GM: Um, well, it was left over from the earlier Buffy larp, but by the time someone asked us about it, too many people had seen it. So, we decided it was officially in game.
1:30 am: Game ends. If I'm smart, I go to sleep.
Not a chance. The postgame wrap up took a while, plus the GM was kind enough to give me a packet with the characters and the GM notes, and a bunch of advice on running larps.
Saturday
8:00 am: Matrix Game's Cthulhu High. I'm really curious about the system. But given the timing, I may wind up deciding I need the sleep more. If I know this in advance, I'll probably try to return the ticket so someone else can take the spot. But I'd like to know what the game is like. Sleep? Game?
Ducked out of this, returning ticket previous day. Caught a demo of the system in the exhibit hall. Real simple, and oddly, a blend of storytelling and wargaming.
12:00: Lunch and shopping -- presuming I didn't blow off the game, in which case, I'm likely in the middle of lunch, shopping, networking. Hm.
Did the shopping thing, grabbed more mall food. Do they have anything besides chicken? Hm, lines for one day passes are awfully long.
2:30: Jenn Goddi's 7th Sea game, Fall of Avalon. I want to see how the game runs when I'm not gming it. I suspect much better. And the plot sounds interesting.
Game cancelled on account of someone swiped the GM's notes. It wasn't quite the game I'd thought, it turns out, but probably would have been fun. Still, I got in more shopping and demos of My Life With Master (play the henchman of a mad scientist) and Universalis (more complicated than the Matrix system, vaguely like Once Upon a Time).
6:30: Dinner and pick up Nobilis game, sequel to the one
mnemex ran last year.Well... Kat, Michael, and Kacy couldn't make it. Lizard and his wife Beth dropped by to say hi, but had previous commitment. Beth was on crutches. Patrick, our roommate, needed a gaming fix quick, while we needed to eat. So, he got into a Tekumel demo while we wound up back at Thai Garden. This time: One medium dish, please.
Then, back to the convention center, where I caught the last couple of minutes of the Tekumel game, listened to a few of an Angel game (tv show Angel), and headed back to pack.
mnemex came in a good deal later.Sunday
10:00: Derek Guder's WitchCraft game, First One's Free. I may blow this one off if I'm sandblasted, but again, I'd like to make it. Heck, I didn't sign up for a game I didn't want to make. I've played with Derek once before and had fun being the cat.
I'd returned that ticket, as Kat planned to run an invite-only Everway game. Alas, that fell through. But we finished packing and did some shopping in the exhibit hall.
2:00: Last licks to the shopping.
Sort of. More like, 1:00, meet Lizard, Beth, and their friend Doug for more mall food -- not only is it all chicken, but it's all the same -kind- of chicken -- then, back to the exhibit hall. Turns out the long line on Sunday was due to computers going down. Oy.
5:00: Probably about when we head for the plane -- this allows a lot of extra time, but that's often a good thing.
Yep. Plane was a bit late. Then had mechanical problems, so we were put onto another plane, landing, um, an hour and a half later than planned. In the rain. Where we had to go out of the plane, get our soggy gate checked baggage, and go up a set of metal stairs into the tube leading inside. Okay, I accept that they can't remodel the airport on a whim, but they could have put a tarp or something over the luggage cart so it only got soaked on the run up the stairs.
Got in safely, though.
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From:
no subject
Hi! So, an Everway fan, and you played in Dark Thorny Gate? My husband also played in that game (and actually played in Derek's WitchCraft game on Sunday, which alas it appears you did not attend). He was the big guy with the long red hair who got the little trophy at the end. :) He loves that trophy.
I also came stopped by for a little bit to see how he was doing since my game was cancelled. So, we sort of met. :)
Mr. B (the name I choose to use for the husband around here) was also disappointed that Kat's invite-only Everway game was cancelled. If you speak to Kat and Michael (I've played in one of his Theatrix games before), tell them that there is definite interest for next year!
From:
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From:
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Well, we'll have to meet up next year or something. :)
From:
no subject
I'm writing up a GenCon recap in my LJ which will list all the games I played in. He played in a bunch of different games - Kat's game, WitchCraft, Marvel SAGA, Four Colors Al Fresco (Renaissance Supers), GURPS Victorian Supers, Jadeclaw (with me), and Bunnies and Burrows using FUDGE. He fled from the AEG demo of the d20 Warlord fantasy game, since it just seemed AWFUL in the first few minutes that he was in it.
The WitchCraft game was a decent amount of fun for me, moreso for him, I think. We had players totally self-centered (as they should have been based on the characters given out/explained by the GM), and they either left the group not helping, or were purposefully trying to kill the others in the group. Mr. B's version was less deadly and more cooperative, though in neither game could anyone get a shield spell off!
I'd definitely play under Derek again, if I saw him running something. You could tell he had a good feel for the game and the genre.
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