I must apologize on the delay, but things have been so hectic out here in the Big O, I haven't had a chance to type up anything yet, aside from captions for my first set of pictures. To be honest, Origins is going by in a massive blur of dice, chaos, and loads of fun...but that won't stop me from covering the action!
With no offense meant, I'm going to leave Tuesday off. We ended up with something of a late start, and arrived just in time to...well, stand in line and wait patiently for our badges. Not a whole lot to do, but contain our nervous excitement and try to get some sleep for...
Wednesday
The majority of us started our Origins experience with something entirely new to us, the Origins Premiere Track. Basic premise is that you come in, a publisher arrives with some product in beta-testing, and you play through it. I can't say too much about what we actually played, aside from that it was by Bucephelus Games (those snarky buggers that keep Lionel entranced with "Oh My God, There's An Axe In My Head") and that it dealt with (of all things) the Bill of Rights. Tons of fun, even if we did break the game somewhat...
But with the Origins Premiere Track, came a visit from an old friend: Emily! We hadn't expected her to swing in, but it was great to throw down with her again, as well as reminisce about "old times".
From there, we slipped off for North Market--one of my favorite places for lunch. The sheer variety of great ethnic food is fantastic, and you know I'll never turn down a curry!
After a hearty lunch, our corps roamed around the still-being-set-up areas, eyeing up the visual feasts to be had. One thing that immediately caught our eye was a new addition--a VR BattleTech simulator. More on that, on Saturday, though!
If it's one thing I can say about Origins--we eat well! A North Market lunch was followed by a dinner at Columbus's famous Japanese Steak House. Reservations definitely pay off in this respect! I love teppanyaki style cooking, and the steak that I got was tender beyond belief. Will's whitefish filet, too, looked amazing. And that's to say nothing of the show!
After the dinner/show, we putzed around the miniatures room--eyeing up some of the set-ups that Will would be playing at for his Stargate SG-1 Miniatures battle game, before we all separated and I headed off for Dark Heresy: The Hunt for Heretics Continues.
Another great thing about Origins is the fact that you see the same people from year to year. And, lo and behold!, our GM and another player were ones that experienced Ebbs' psychic rampage last year. This year's scenario revolved around a shipment of "ale", which just so happened to contain a series of spores that prevented the dreaded Orks from spawning. Eldar were trying to get their mitts on it, and it was up to the Inquisitors' Acolytes to save the day. Wanting a change from the tech-priest I played last year, I took up the mantle of Flair--a heavy-bolter toting Guardsman.
I tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than rolling for Emperor's Fury on a head shot from a heavy-bolter. Eldar brains everywhere!
Thursday
Thursday had me up early to set off for my first D&D game of the con--A Dead Man's Party. Run by a tag-team duo of husband and wife, I was pleased to find out that this (as well as my Dark Heresy game) were being run by Amorphous Blob Games. ABGames are a really quality group of gamers, and I really can't recommend their games enough. That said, I guess I have an ulterior motive for saying so--at the end of each game, the players vote on the best role-play in the session and that person gets free swag. Lucky me, they rather liked Malic the half-elf's exploits (pants-theiving and all!), and I walked away with a copy of 3.5e's "Expedition to Undermountain".
Thursday also brought about our first session of the WEGS Power Play! As we settled around the table, talking trash with El Willy, his wife, and Wt2, the heat got cranked up past 11, as Wt2 tossed down a huge selection of massive baddies. Ebbs' poor sage, nearly doomed from the start, ran off the board in the third inning....only for him to bring in a ranger that flung death and pudding from the rafters! A great session, and we really got the word out for a good group of clustered observers.
Again, we eat well at Origins. After WEGS, we headed off for our reservation at Buca di Beppo's--a family-style Italian joint, where we manged on a filling lot of great, garlicky goodness.
We ended out the night splitting up once more, and I headed off to a game of two great flavors that tasted great together: another ABGames production--Stargate SG-1: White Plume Mountain.
Let me set the record straight. WPM is one of my favorite "old skool" D&D modules. It's such a wacky dungeon, and it has some of the most iconic magic weapons in the game hiding away in it. And Stargate? Don't get me started. One of my college catchphrases was an inside joke with another Gate-junkie that was simply, "So...Teal'c has hair."
This game was a blast, with really great, friendly gamers. We set out after the Wave halberd....with an SG-team that absolutely couln't swim! After Jack O'Neill nearly got crushed by a chuul, saved only by Sam Carter's grenade-throwing, we were about ready to pack it in. However, we held out, and took down "the beast in the boiling bubble" garnering the Wave for ourselves.
Man. That's a lot. I've got more to come today, as I'm about to set out to demo Chrononauts, then to head into Ravenloft for 8 hours. And that's to say nothing of tonight's WEGS Midnight Madness session. It's going to be a mad dash to the end, fellow gamers!
(Please note: Pictures are forthcoming!!! Please be patient, as I try to desperately catch up from behind!)
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