The Warlock's Origins 2011 Live Blog--Friday!

Okay, so remember how I mentioned being exhausted yesterday?  Yeah, after an 18+ hour day of hardcore gaming, I am wiped out!!!  But, it's all worth it when you're really enjoying what you do.  Today was one of those days.

ChaoticKarl and I started the day off at an RPGA game:  "Secrets and Shadows".  After last year's mess and massacre, I was truly skeptical about going through another game.  I even went so far as to make the PlatinumChick and the Enigmatic Mr. Ebbs serve as witnesses that, should this game not go well, I would forswear the RPGA for good.

Karl and our RPGA GM share a laugh...

But, you know what?  I really had a good time today.  The scenario structure was particularly well-designed, and had significant variants that depended on various ongoing campaign rewards.  Further, the GM was flexible and well-versed in keeping players interested.  The game ran spectacularly, with tons of opportunity to actually role-play and interact with both NPCs and the other party members.  Further, the other gamers at the table were both interesting and engaged with the plot.  Truly, this game reaffirmed my faith that the RPGA isn't a lost cause of gaming.  Just like anywhere else, sometimes you get poor games and poor scenarios, and other times  you get gold.  This time, we got some real gold.

Making their way through the Wasted West....

Afterwards, I had to rush to get prepped for my first of two games: another session of "Westward on the San Juan Express."  This time around, though, I got a unique opportunity--I got to throw down with some actual, honest-to-god Deadlands players!  All of the little homages that I put into the scenario--the little references and details--made for a spectacular game.  Honestly:  more gold.  The game ran spectacularly, with the players taking a totally different route through the game than I had expected, and poor Sam Clemens almost getting taken out by one of the NPCs!  Plus, my old buddy Nigel Worthington-Smythe's dirty secret came out...I won't spoil it here, but it's a doozy!

The whole gang, at Buca di Beppo!

Today was another big dinner for us, this time at Buca di Beppo.  While most of our meals are all individual, this one is all about the family-style dining.  With four massive entrees, and three appetizers, we ended up with even more than our 10-strong gamer flock could manage!  Not that that's a problem...the Drury has a mini-fridge, which means that our leftovers won't go to waste!  In amongst all of the chaos of tomorrow, I'll actually be able to grab some lunch!

Minnesota Steve moves into position!

We needed to rush just a touch, but we managed to make it just in time for our games at 7pm, and my Origins debut of "WEGS+Cthulhu = WEGSthulhu!"  And, really, this scenario really blew me away.  while WEGS is a little on the light side in the way of role playing, this game really managed to take the cake.  One of my 4 new WEGSHogz, working their way through Miskytoonic Academy with Minnesota-Steve (a veteran WEGSHog!), ended up negotiating with High Scholar Armitage, to try to get a better deal for her church!  Fantastic!  Unfortunately for that player, the final encounter ended in a massive tragedy as both she came out of Ethereality right in the middle of Randolph Carter, causing both of them to fuse together into a Sanity-warping beastie!  Cthulhu emerged, and the few cultist players pulled out a triumph--Ia! Ia!

Today's been a lot of win, but finally, I managed the biggest win:  El Willy and his crew, and our WittKids have been trying to manage to wrangle a time to raise a glass together at the Big Bar on 2, in the Hyatt.  We've only managed it once, in 4 prior years, and we'd been trying unsuccessfully since Wednesday.  Tonight, we finally managed it--hence the late hour of this post!  And, you know what?  Just being able to sit around with some good friends, particularly ones so distant for most of the year, makes it all worthwhile.

Tomorrow brings some more WEGSing for us, as I'm jumping in on Willy the 2's "Ultimate Dungeon Party" demo game, then back to the GM screen for me, with a session of ICONS and another "WEGSthulhu!"  It's going to be a blast, and I'll keep you updated on all the carnage as it goes down!

To take a look at my pics from both Thursday and Friday, take a look at the Facebook album!