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

Whew.  Just phew.  It's only Thursday--the first "real" day of Origins--and I'm already bushed. 

I didn't get much sleep last night, waking up due to a pop-up thunderstorm at 5:30 am, so I've been running on caffeine and pure adrenaline since then.  But, that won't stop me from posting for you, oh faithful readers, before I go crash.

After putting together my last few bits and bobs for today's game, Karl and I snagged some breakfast before finding even more of our errant WittKrew:  BoardGameKaren (and her boyfriend, Jocelyn), and the Inevitable BLoff.  Between the PlatinumChick, ChaoticKarl and I, we managed to get them situated before departing for our first games.  For me, that was "Steampunk Beatdown" from the North Coast Gamers.  And beatdown it truly was.

L-Train and EEE have had some experience with the North Coast Gamers, who specialize in homebrewed minis games.  In "Steampunk Beatdown", the players were cast as a team of tinker and assistant, scavenging parts from the various locales in a Victorian villa, then create automata and weaponry to blow the ever-loving-hell out of the competition.

At least, that was the idea.  Rather, I got my tin-plated keister handed to me from the get-go, as my assistant was wiped from the board by the third turn.  Further, my scavenging rolls were all but non-existent, often only pulling 1 or 2 parts from a location, while others picked up 7 to 9.  By the end game, I managed to muster my tools and put together some armor and weaponry...just in time to get smashed by another player.  Wow.  Heinous. 

The game itself was a lot of fun, and the enthusiasm of the GM really shone through, but this game was an exercise in frustration for me for one reason:  simple player courtesy.  The player to my left got up from the game for an extended period of time on no less than 6 separate occasions, bringing the game to an absolute halt.  In addition, he spent significant amounts of time on the phone, talking loudly, which made it difficult for anyone to hear the GM in the busy Minis Hall.  I suppose you can't ever get away from "that guy", who always manages to make their prescence known at an open gaming area, but still...some simple common courtesy would have made the game much more quality.

After a lunch at North Market--mmmm, pastrami!--I scurried over just in time to make it to a session of "Deadlands Reloaded: Clint's Rock", run by Pinnacle's own Chaos Steve.  A fun little intro scenario, the game was a pleasant diversion from "Steampunk Beatdown" in the fact that my dice were actually hot for once!  My "New Scientist" managed to flamethrower some mutant bears to the tune of 26 damage and 6 wounds!  Yowch! 

The afternoon also made itself busy for me as I scampered about the Dealer Hall--not to go shopping, mind you:  that comes on Friday, once I get paid!  But, rather, to take care of some correspondence I've been needing to finalize. 

One of the things I've kept somewhat quiet about is the efforts I've been putting forwards towards a gamer family, who are currently missing this year's Origins Game Fair due to some pretty intense health issues:  the eldest son requires a bone marrow transplant, and the donor is his younger brother.  The family had to cancel their badges and games, in order for the surgery to take place.  My heart immediately went out to them, and I knew I had to do something.  As such, I've spent much of my off-time this summer, organizing donations and the like from my various contacts in the gaming community.  While it's been rewarding and very positive so far from all involved--the outpouring of support for the Hutchinson family from Cubicle 7 alone was huge!--it's been a lot of work!

But, after contacting everyone I've been trying to track down, I still managed to have time to drool over the Deadlands: 1880 Smith and Robard's Catalog and a few other books, and make it to a brief seminar on game design.  While the seminar was entertaining, it wasn't particularly enlightening--the one hosted by Atlas Games a few years back was much more specific and focused.

After our annual trip to the Japanese Steak House of Columbus, I wasn't actually expecting to run game.  While I was schedule for my first session of ICONS:  "The Near Orbit Mass-Driver Blues", I had previously seen not a single soul sign up for my Thursday session!  Lo, and behold, three people signed up--including Mike, the organizer of DenCon, who recognized my name--and a fourth joined on generics. 

I've got to say:  switching this game to ICONS from Heroes Unlimited was a massive success.  The flexibility of ICONS and the sheer speed of the game allows for some great role-play opportunity, as well as fantastic avenues of creativity.  The power stunts alone at the table were spectacular!  Nano-bot dissassembler arrows, an EMP field surrounding a spaceship, Voodoo curses...fantastic stuff!

But, after nearly a full 24 hour day, I'm wiped!  ChaoticKarl and I have to be up early for our 8am RPGA game, and I'll be running games for 8 hours afterwards!  Yoi and double yoi! 

No pics tonight for you guys--I only snapped about 10-12 all day--but I'll have the full album for Thursday and Friday up tomorrow.  Till then, fellow gamers!

In Which The Warlock Posts on Three Cons...

As the weather heats up, so does the convention season.  And, lo and behold, it's finally broken 70 degrees out here in Flatland, which means that dice-slinging is on the horizon.

Alas, poor Den Con...I'll make it next year...

After a quality start to the con-season at WittCon, I was excited to have Den Con 2011 on the horizon.  The WittGuild's been trying to build relationships with area universities and gaming organizations, and Denison's group has been really busy, building a game library and gamer culture in Granville.  With them so close to Columbus (and The Big O), it's good to have some friends and neighbors up yonder...

...that is, it would be.  Unfortunately for me, the PlatinumChick came down with a nasty stomach virus Friday night, after my Laundry one-shot at Witt.  At 2 am, she was begging me to stay home with her, and I gave in.

I immediately felt horrible about it--not about the fact that my wife needed me; I have no regrets in that regard--but rather in a realization.  I've been running convention one-shots of various games (primarily WEGS) for almost 8 years now.  This was the first time, in all those years, that I've had to cancel.

I e-mailed Mr. Mike, the head of Den Con 2011, immediately, but still haven't heard back.  I'm hoping they're willing to have me back next year.  The WEGS train has to roll on!  Granville needs to hear the Cold Roll Gospel sooner than later!

Dayton's own Comic Book Extravaganza

But, with that cancellation, the PlatinumChick and I were able to sleep in and, on Sunday, meet L-Train, EEE, and NuJosh for a trip to Dayton's Gem City ComicCon, held at Wright State University.  I don't typically get to do much trolling for floppies at Champion City ComicCon, as I'm usually helping to run the game room, so it was nice to be able to peruse the vendors from all over the Miami Valley and beyond. 

I have come to a conclusion, though, regarding comics vs. gaming conventions, stemming back to our trip to C2E2 last year.  Overall, I tend to be much less a fan of comics conventions, simply because there's less to do.

At a typical gaming convention, I can always find something that piques my interest.  I might spend some time trolling around the dealer hall, then drift over to a Paint-and-Take event, then play a one shot or borrow something from the board-game library to play.  If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll go to a panel, or visit some of the small-press places, to find out what's on the docket for the coming release schedule.  Sometimes, I'll even try to do a little schmoozing with some of the muckitty-mucks at various gaming companies, trying to get my name out there.  Fundamentally, there's a variety of events, so that if I get bored at one, I can move on to something different with little difficulty.

At the comics conventions I've been at, the inverse is true.  While there might be some panels or artist/writer booths that I'd visit, the prime attraction is only the dealer hall.  And, truth be told, there just isn't enough variety in what they're selling to really appeal.  When you've trolled through case after case of Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperbacks, all priced relatively closely, things tend to get a little repetitive.  There just isn't enough variety in stock or items to keep my attention.


Dealer hall from GenCon Indy 2010


But you might say, "What about the gaming dealer hall?  Isn't it all the same stuff there?"  Well, yes and no.  While there are some similar games that get sold everywhere--d20 supplements, current edition D&D items--most of the vendors are more specialized.  Either they'll sell for a specific company--the SJGames booth comes immediately to mind--or they'll focus on a specific aspect of gaming.  There are booths specifically that sell minis, booths that sell dice or battlemats, booths that sell chits and other knick-knacks that are gaming-related.  There's enough variety that one can avoid just seeing the same items in box after box, on shelf after shelf.

What shocked me most at Gem City, though, was not something I found in the longboxes.  Rather, it was something from their program that blew me away:  Glory Con.  Yes, Wright State's apparently back, having a gaming convention once more. 

The last time we went to Glory Con, it was something of a disappointment.  While the creators had ample room and a quality vendor, in Bell Book and Comic, there was no real schedule, and EEE's and my classic WEGS module, "Return to Castle VonYumenstein, Part VI:  The Revengening! (a Prequel)" was one of the few actual games being run.  I'm hoping to see some more information on Glory Con in the near future.  I would have provided a link, like the conventions above, but there's no website or Facebook page to be found...

Time shall tell, I suppose.  Besides, what else am I going to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon, than chuck some dice?!