In Which The Warlock Decides to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle...

You’d normally figure that, with the holidays coming up and New Years’ on the horizon, I wouldn’t be focused on the upcoming convention season. That, my lovelies, would be folly. Rather, the pseudo-downtime’s been nice to start planning out some of those scenarios to be prepped and ready for WittCon, FOPCon, Origins and all the others.


One thing I have noticed, though, is a tendency that runs amongst the great gaming groups throughout the area—the idea of the “multi-purpose” group.

Check out ABGames' "Blobcast"!

Let me give an example. Every year since its release, Amorphous Blob Games has been running Dark Heresy at Origins. In those games, a set group of PCs is put to the test year-after-year. The PCs are, needless to say, fairly unique—one need only look at the further adventures of Bazziti Comcast, pyromaniacal Imperial Psyker, to see that!—but they’re repeat offenders. Usual suspects, if you will. While the circumstances around them might change with the given scenario, the characters are the same.

Writing scenarios with this in mind has several benefits. As a GM, it certainly reduces the amount of prep-work necessary for any given scenario. Rather than creating new characters for each module, you can simply use the same ones in multiple ways. Having put together six Deadlands characters by hand last night, I can tell you, it makes a big difference. Having done the same thing for Heroes Unlimited last year took me no less than three days of work! Being able to avoid that amount of prep is a massive benefit!

But, beyond the simple prep-work, it also allows the GM to gain a better handle on each character’s abilities, tendencies, and gear. There’s a bit of a learning curve with any character—PC or NPC—that both player and GM need to overcome to play a character ‘effectively’ from both the mechanical and roleplaying standpoint. When the GM is able to eliminate his section of the learning curve, it frees them up to be able to help the players with mechanical questions and table-related issues.

Bazzati's bestest friend!

So, what’s key in all this? First off, the characters must be interesting. If the characters are without some degree of uniqueness, the GM will become bored with them, and they’ll be just as unappealing to the players. Again, AB Games has always had a stranglehold on this quality, with such luminaries as Rubella, the love-stricken tiefling paladin, and the aforementioned Bazzati and his mechanical owl familiar.

Similarly, these characters must each have a unique niche.  Each character should have their own unique abilities, which echo their unique personality.  Bazzati was so unique as a character, because his mechanical abilities--his utter mastery of fire-based powers--reflected his own chaotic stance on life, and his tenuous (at best!) grip on sanity.  Rubella's power choices reflect her nature as a 'nuturing protector', particularly one set for motherhood with a certain noble in the party.  Nearly all of the AB Games characters work this way in some sense, which is a masterful stroke in providing hooks for one-time players on the convention circuit.

So, what do I have in store?  Well, I'm glad you asked (hypothetically speaking)...remember those Deadlands characters I mentioned earlier?  Well, I've finally decided on a full party of members.  Enjoy this brief preview of what's in store!

• Nigel Worthington-Smythe--an India-born British big-game hunter, Nigel's spent his life with a high-calibre rifle in his hands, searching out the most elusive and dangerous prey.  He's taken down elephants near the Bay of Bengali, lions in the Serengetti, and wild boar in the Rhine forests.  However, with tales of Mojave rattlers and California Maze Dragons lurking out in "the Colonies," Nigel packed up his belongings and made for the Weird West!
• Ricky "One Armed Bandit" Parker--A former riverboat gambler, Ricky Parker made one bet too many with a black-hearted desperado aboard a steamboat on the mighty Mississippi.  One thing led to another and Ricky took a slug in his left arm.  The sawbones had to amputate, but that only made Ricky's drive to be the best grow.  Since then, he's learned a few new tricks...
• Benjamin Three-Bass--A Union-educated scion of the Lakota tribes, Benjamin served for a time as an ambassador and delegate before the Dakotas became their own nation.  However, with war on the horizon, Benjamin has left his tribe, seeking to bring peace--one way or another--to the West, atoning for his failures in the Dakota territories.
• Shawna McClintock--If you can ride it, rope it, or drive it, Shawna's already done it.  And damned if she can't do it better and faster than you.  Shawna would still be racing across the Weird West, delivering for the Pony Express, if not for the Texas Rangers that have been pursuing her ever since she made that one delivery...
• Melissa "Miss Meliss" Garrett--It ain't easy being a "soiled dove" out on the plains.  Melissa could sure tell you that.  But, if nothing else, it gives you a chance to get real close to a mark...close enough to relieve him of that fancy gold pocketwatch, pocket a letter from someone 'connected', or even slide a switchblade between some ribs.  Miss Meliss has done it all, and damned if she's not going to be a survivor.




Morgan Arringon looks over his schematics...


• Prof. Morgan Arrington--A Massachusetts-educated professor of...well, some science, Morgan's got a bit of an obsession with ghost rock.  Ever since he built that "mist projector", he just hasn't been the same.  If he can't build it, Morgan can definitely fix it, and has a knack for tools.  Just don't get the idea that his ideas aren't really his...Morgan's just a touch possessive of his work!

So, which would it be, fellow gamers?  Intregued by any of these?  Any that strike your fancy?

The Warlock's Origins 2010 "Live" Blog--Thursday!

Note: While this entry is going up today, it was written just following the day listed. Stay tuned throughout the week for my day-by-day coverage of Origins 2010!

I must say, I’m glad that today was a little slower than yesterday, or else I’d definitely be wiped for this weekend. Luckily for yours truly, fellow gamers, your friendly neighborhood Warlock took a slightly easier schedule for today, which let me relax a little and enjoy the actual convention itself.

The Enigmatic Mr. Ebbs and I started off the day on the right side of the bed, heading off to hunt down some heretics in Rescue of a Lifetime, Part I. There was a short moment of drama as EEE’s badge went missing, but the GAMA staff was quick to give him an assist, getting him a replacement. Lucky for him, he had his tickets still, which served as proof that he had paid for his badge in the first place.
If it’s one great thing that I can depend on, it’s the quality and the hilarity coming from Amorphous Blob Games. GM Rich—who had GMed our previous forays into the Calixis Sector—took us through another hearty adventures, with my Arbitrator Moric drinking everything in sight and EEE’s psychotic Psyker Bazziti laying down flame in the name of the Emperor.

EEE actually ended up being honored with the MVP of the session, gaining a set of custom dice, with yours truly picking up the Origins swag. You see, all of the Origins events this year—in honor of the 35th anniversary of Origins—have full prize support. Later in the day, I swung by the RPG Headquarters and was allowed to roll for my prize: a set of GameScience precision dice. Not bad at all!

As I mentioned in my previous schedule, I dropped my previously-scheduled Giant Settlers of Catan game in favor of some extra time in the dealer hall. This was a pretty prudent decision on my part, as I had quite a bit of shopping to do. After picking up the necessary minis for tomorrow’s Sibilant Whispers RPGA game and a set of minis for Karl’s D&D game, I swung by the WEGS booth to hang with their crew for a tick. Naturally, I also made some time to check out the other vendors, talk to the Con on the Cob people about possibly doing some demos for them, and hit the Steve Jackson Games booth to pick up Delta Green: Eyes Only as well as to raid their 3 for $10 table. Naturally, though, I’ll cover all of the swag in my post-Origins report!

After picking up the PlatinumChick and finding our way for a quick dinner at Buca di Beppo, we headed out for our evening games. On the plus side, EEE, L-Train, and Karl all sold out of their games! On the downside, though, I was left with a mere one player: the old school WEGSHog Minnesota Steve, with whom I chatted for a while, before he joined Karl’s game. While I was left out in the cold, it was exciting to see the rest of the WittCrew fill the seats so early in the con. I snapped some pictures before heading up with the PlatinumChick for a relaxing evening of reading and movies.

With a full slate on deck tomorrow—Cosmic Encounters in the morning, Sibilant Whispers in the afternoon, and another venture into Survival of the Fittest tomorrow, I’m sure to be picking up the pace tomorrow. As always, I’ll keep you posted on the geeky goings-on!

In Which The Warlock Assesses His Schedule...

With Origins less than a week away, it's now that happy time to show off what I'll be doing during the week!

Last year's Origins, while a ton of fun, had a massive flaw for me. With few exceptions, I ended up playing mainly D&D, WEGS, and Call of Cthulhu. While I love all three--collectively, they make up my three favorite game systems--there is, as they say, "too much of a good thing". I actually ended up envying the PlatinumChick's schedule, which broke up her favorites with other cool games, like a Watchmen-based "Mutants and Masterminds" game.

This time around, though, I vowed to change it up a little! On the whole, I tried to limit myself to one board game and one rpg per day, in addition to the games that I'll be running myself. So, without further adieu....let's take a look!

Wednesday, June 23

The Stars are Right--#4984--9:00am-11:00am
I figured that if I'm going to start Origins right, it's got to be with some tentacled-goodness! Plus, TSaR is an Origins-award nominated game, from the eponymous Steve Jackson Games. I was really pleased with Cthulhu Dice (and have similar hopes for Zombie Dice), so this one should be a winner.

Matter of Time--#6794--1:00pm-5:00pm
The first convention game that I ever played in was a Stargate d20 game, at our first Origins. That game was utterly miserable. However, I have high hopes for this one. Will (the ManMan!) spent quite a bit of time converting SG-1 over to the Savage Worlds system, and it looks like he wasn't the only one with that idea. This one definitely has me excited.

Survival of the Fittest--#7085--7:00pm-11:00pm
An old favorite from WittCon VI, I'm excited to be running this one. Plus, even more exciting, it's sold out!

Thursday, June 24

Rescue of a Lifetime--#6895--9:00am-1:00am
As if I'm not going to get enough heretic-smashing fun, I joined a Dark Heresy game joined by the good folks at Amorphous Blob Games. This one's unique, though: you see, it's a two-table affair! This one should be interesting, no doubt.

Giant Settlers of Catan--#3977--2:00pm-4:00pm
Don't get your panties in a twist, fellow gamers. I'm not actually going to play this one. I joined this as I had thought that our WittKids would be joining it en masse, but such wasn't the case. Besides, I have some shopping to do in the Dealer Hall during this time!

WEGS Plume Mountain--#7197--7:00pm-11:00pm
After throwing down this module at both FOPCon and AnCon, it's ready for its Origins debut! Hopefully my dice will cooperate this time, Ctenmiir will stay out of the mud pit, and BiBBle won't go down like a punk! I still have slots for this one--come on out and Spante up!

Friday, June 25

Cosmic Encounters--#3523--10:00am-12:00 noon
I honestly have little to no information on this one. I know it's a board game, I know it's relatively new(-ish), and that it's based on an older board game which has since been revamped. Aside from that, I have no foreknowledge whatsoever. Surprise!

Sibilant Whispers--#6469--1:00pm-5:00pm
I've already noted my excitement for this 4e scenario in my last entry. Our dwarven clan is almost ready, complete with Hamish (my avenging paladin!), a mighty Invoker, the PlatinumChick's war-skald (a Bard, wielding a two-handed hammer!), and Karl's star-pact Warlock. Very exciting indeed!

Survival of the Fittest--#7084--7:00pm-11:00pm
See above, only this one still has slots! Come purge the unclean with us!

Saturday, June 26

The Clue of Cthulhu--#7111--9:00am-1:00pm
Earlier, I mentioned the difficulty of the PlatinumChick and I actually gaming together. Well, we decided to end that right quick. This game--run by our good friends at Rogue Cthulhu--will be our first one together!

I AM William Wallace--#6803--2:00pm-6:00pm
I know very little about the Might, Magic, and Lore system, but I couldn't pass up a chance to "kill the English" here. Bonus points, if I can get a hold of the actual Hamish, Wallace's hairy friend from the movie (and many of my D&D characters' namesake!).

WEGS Plume Mountain--#7196--7:00pm-11:00pm
See above, and Spante up some more! Slots still remain for this one, too!

Sunday, June 27

Attack of the Mutant--#4924--10:00am-12:00 noon
We decided to end out this year's Origins on a laid-back note, with a little bit of board-gaming. This one, a riff on the old '50s monster movies, should be a lot of fun...

Red Dragon Inn (Play with a Creator!)--#4571--1:00-3:00pm
Okay, so I had an ulterior motive on this one. I'd heard good things out of Slugfest Games' brainchild, so I've been wanting to give this a roll for a while, but being able to play with a creator is a unique experience. Plus, if this helps get me an in for "Dungeon Slam!"...all the better!


Well, cats and kittens, that's it! Come on out and see us in Columbus, starting next week!

Origins 2009 Live Blog!--Wednesday and Thursday

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!)

Origins Blog 2008! Entry One

ALERT! Blog entries this week were written one week prior, on Wednesday, June 25

After a long and chaotic Tuesday, we arrived at Origins around 6:30. Lionel, Ebbs, and the gang had already signed into the rooms and had gotten registered, so the PlatinumChick and I were running behind, picking up our badges that evening and all but collapsing on Ebbs and Co.’s floor.


The Entry to Origins at the Greater Columbus Convention Center


The Wednesday Registration Line--Glad that we avoided this!

Wednesday, though, has had me up early—my first game of the con: none other than 4e D&D, in a revamped run-through of “Keep on the Borderlands”, courtesy of Amorphous Blob games. Having not had a chance to play 4e yet (or, for that matter, play with the AB group!), this was quite the opportunity.


"Keep on the Borderlands" with DM Andy

And, speaking of, it very nearly became something quite memorable. As we were sitting down, reading through our pre-gens, who showed up but Mike Mearls—senior brand manager for 4e! Because of the game, I didn’t get a chance to speak with him (nuts!), but the people who were there on generics really got a treat—noting the lack of DMs, and the number of wanting players, Mr. Mearls sat down and started rolling up an adventure for them! Man alive! Nothing like getting kicked out of a game, only to pick up another one with the creator of the bloody game!

I was honestly really impressed with that. As not only a busy lead designer and an Origins Guest of Honor, Mearls was probably busy beyond belief, but the fact that he’d set aside some time for people he’d never met, who weren’t even registered for a game in the first place really speaks to his character. Kudos to him.


"More bandits, eh?


"Attack!"

As for 4e? The system sparkles. I ended up playing a female tiefling warlord—Rubella—who was nothing short of a combination of Miss Piggy and Red Sonja. Because of this, I ended up spending most of the session hitting on the poor fellow playing the hunky half-elf cleric! Luckily he (and the rest of the group, as well!) were good-humored sports, and the role-playing was taken with the humor with which it was intended. Anyone who says you can’t role-play in 4e is sadly mistaken—it’s all in how you use the system.


Rubella's ready for action!"

Speaking of, the fun just kept rolling. Every round, I felt like I could do something where I could contribute—whether it was just providing an ‘Inspiring Word’ to heal a comrade (or myself, after nearly being taken down by a kobold!) or moving comrades around the battlefield with Wolf Pack Tactics. The system transition, which was something I had worried about, was all but nil; the powers were easy to pick up and just as easy to use.


The party skirmishes with some kobolds..."


"Are we really sure about this?"

Surprisingly enough, I was shocked to see that Amorphous Blob had their own prize table, much like Rogue Cthulhu last year…and even more so, when my fellow gamers nominated me to pick something out. I came away from my first game at Origins 2008 with a free copy of Mutants and Masterminds 2e, free of charge! Not a bad deal!

I left AB Games just in time to catch up with the rest of the Witt-Weggers en route to their Call of Cthulhu game, and left them to catch some lunch, luckily with Scott from Wright State’s Adventurer’s Guild. Scott and I chewed the fat about his own D&D PvP event here at Origins, then parted ways as he headed off for registration.

After a filling dinner with the Witt-Weggers at BD’s Mongolian BBQ, we were lucky enough to run into El Willy and his crew, just about to head to dinner. That saved us a call, as we were able to set up our plans to test Dungeon Slam! later tonight, after El Willy’s game!

Well, with that, I have to get prepped for some Dark Heresy, and then get primed to lay the smackdown on the WegsHogz in DS. There’s more to come, cats and kittens! Stay tuned!