The Warlock's Origins 2011 Live Blog--Tuesday and Wednesday!

Ahoy, gamers!  Now that the WittKids are set up in the Drury, we have free wifi.  That means that I can actually keep you posted on all the action, as it happens!



Hausfrau Ebbs and Herr Thunderforge!

Yesterday wasn't so much gaming, but lots of geekdom indeed, as we spent the day driving up and getting settled.  However, we did manage to make it to Schmidt's Sausage Haus in Columbus' German Village.  While the "Autobahn" sausage buffet was a little overpriced, the quality was spectacular.  Our group of 8 was utterly stuffed, by the time we left.  And the cream puffs?  Oh, my...the cream puffs...

After the binge of sausage, we made our way up High Street to the theater to take in a showing of Green Lantern.  That was, to put it mildly, a pretty big mistake.  I'll post a full review of the movie after Origins ends, but suffice to say that this was no Iron Man or The Dark Knight.  Rather, this was more on the level of Daredevil, Blade, or Ghost Rider.  Pretty sad, all told, considering the $200 million budget, most of which went towards numerous overdone CGI effects. 

So you say you want some Revolution?

Today, though, began Origins proper with a classic SJGames board game: Revolution, complete with the Palace expansion.  Neither the PlatinumChick or I had played this one before, but it was somewhat reminiscent of Kingsburg, with each player attempting to bid for influence among a series of advisors, in the hopes to gain the most influence in the town.  With a little bit of luck (and a pretty crafty bait-and-switch, if I may say so!), yours truly managed to pull out a victory, by taking over the Fortress and the Town Hall, for a whopping 95 victory points.  My reward?  A copy of Spooks, an SJGames card game.  Woot!

"Sim, Sim, Sala-Bim!"

After a leisurely lunch down at North Market, the PlatinumChick and I set out for our first actual RPG of the con:  "Jonny Quest and the Secrets of Hanebau".  While neither of us were familiar with the Ubiquity system, it was particularly easy to catch onto, and our GM made the game exciting and true to the cartoon.  Playing Dr. Benton Quest, I must say--I took entirely too much pleasure in working some "SCIENCE!" into the game.  In the end, we escaped from Antarctica with the intact corpse of an alien creature--proof that alien life exists in the universe! 

"...Hanebau" was run by the one of the guys from Matinee Adventures and, after a few games with them over the years, they're swiftly rising in my eyes, in terms of quality.  While it's hard to top the games that Amorphous Blob or Rogue Cthulhu put forward, these guys give them a run for their money!

Nigel, the Professor and Ricky discuss
their options in "Westward..."

After a quick dinner with the PlatinumChick and ChaoticKarl, we made our way off to our first Witt-run games of the convention:  sessions of "Westward...", "Orcs Gone Wild" and "Lawfully Blonde", in addition to our other offerings.  I had made some changes to "Westward..." particularly in the addition of a new player in the chaotic travels of the San Juan Express.  Unfortunately, my new minion didn't last too long, as Ricky "One Armed Bandit" Parker flung him from the speeding train as it made its way towards Dodge City!  Still, the scenario went particularly well, with most of the players really getting into the feel of the characters.  The fellow playing Nigel, especially, was hilarious.

We still have some refining to do, regarding our convention procedure.  Setting up our banner took far too long, and we didn't manage to get our feedback sheets to every game.  Also, our dice didn't arrive on time, which means that while we were able to give out our bookmarks and Bell, Book and Comic pens, our engraved dice are somewhere in limbo.  Even still, we're managing!  Things are going well, and the feedback we're getting is really positive!

While we had intended to go grab a drink with El Willy after the games ended, plans once more fell through.  I'm almost getting used to that one--we never manage to raise that glass! 

Never fear, though, cats and kittens!  There's more gaming to be had...and maybe, just maybe, yours truly will be able to relax with his WEGS-ing boss-man!  For more pics, check out the pics on my Facebook album!

Origins 2009 (Semi-)Live Blog--Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Wow. The remainder of our 2009 trip to the Big O went by in a whirl, and I'm only now starting to get caught up on all of my correspondence. But, that won't stop me from chronicling all the chaos for you, oh few-and-faithful readers!

Friday
After Thursday's late night, I managed to eke out at least a little sleep on Friday morning, before heading out for a demo session of Chrononauts, a game by Looney Labs. While I had seen Looney Labs (and their HUGE following) at Origins in previous years, I hadn't actually played any of their games. As such, Chrononauts was totally new to me.

I was fairly pleased. The game centered around a static, card-based timeline of historical events, which your time-keeper adjusts, screws-up, and repairs, based on the goals listed in his ID and his mission. Unfortunately, I was so engaged in the game, that I forgot to whip out my camera. No big loss, there, though...almost immediately after, I managed to meet up with Lionel and Ebbs (freshly back from playing a Ghostbusters minis game) and roam around the dealer room before...

Ravenloft. Man, oh, man--this one was a trip. Heading off into the lands of the mists with Karl and Will, we swiftly found out that our game was not, in fact, in the Madison room--rather, we were out in the lobby, on the big screens with the guys from d20Pro.

I had seen d20Pro's product last year at Origins--their dungeon utility software was a novelty, but I really didn't have much interest in it, as I have a gaming group able to play live. However, this was a rare opportunity to play in a setting I love, and I wasn't about to turn it down.

Nor was I disappointed. GM Dan, of the d20Pros, ran us through "The Ghosts of Mistmoor"--an old 2e Ravenloft adventure from Dragon magazine, which he had not only updated to 4e, but also adapted for use on the group's networking software. I took up the mantle of Amelia--a pistol-packing follower of the eponymous Rudolph Van Richten.

This game was intense. Between the natural horror of Ravenloft, and the inter-party conflict (ironically, over attacking/damaging party members), this game was well worth the 8 hour committment. Did I say 8 hour? I meant 10 and a half! After beginning just before 2, we ended at 12:15 on Saturday. After a climactic encounter with the ghosts of the Mistmoor family, and the treacherous Erebus, we triumphed over the curse of the mansion and headed out.

Unfortunately, though, due to a lack of players, we ended up having to cancel the Friday Midnight Madness WEGS session. Disappointing, entirely...I was ready for a new Nordling to take on the 99 Orks! No luck there, though, and we headed back to the Marriott for a few hours of sleep before the weekend started.

Saturday

Saturday made for a unique day as Jules finally got up the courage to cosplay at Origins for the first time, in her classic Black Canary outfit. Surprisingly, there were a lot more cosplayers this year in previous years--mainly as anime charaacters, superheroes and various ren-faire warriors. The costumes were really quite good, and incredibly varied--you'll be able to see some of the better ones in my upcoming photo gallery!

However, the gaming started, with Lionel, Jules, and myself heading to a game of Settlers of Catan, played on the giant Mayfair games board. I must say, I felt kind of bad for the poor guy who ended up with us three around the board. He probably didn't expect such a brutal game! Our first session ended with a triumph for yours truly, while our poor new companion got roaded into the center of the island. The second game was somewhat more fair, as he and I tied by the end of the game.

After a rousing game of getting wood for sheep, the three of us headed off to North Market for a fantastic meal. I know I've spoken highly of North Market before, but I wasn't in the mood for curry this time (gasp!). This time, I was after deli-style, and I wasn't disappointed. Barry's NY Deli, provided me with a fantastic pastrami on rye, with homemade mustard, and a bowl of fantastic motza ball soup. Couldn't beat it with a stick!

That led directly for us to hit the next WEGS Power Hour, where Willy the 2's infamous crystal-blue dice awaited. Surprisingly, we made it out alive, from this lethal demo, though my previous warrior--Ghormash the Goblin Warrior--was out of Phew points. His enchanted daggers wouldn't be much use to him, without the ability to take a single hit!

From our trip to WEGS, we skipped over to dinner at the Convention Center Food Court before trying out something new to Origins: the BattleTech mech-battles simulator. On Tuesday, we got a glimpse of the event-coordinators setting up, and knew we had to jump in on this. We set a reservation for 8 of us, ready to rumble on Saturday evening.

And the results? Well, unfortunately for yours truly, PwnedAndy's Uziel mech didn't fare so well, falling multiple times beneath the missiles of Lioner1 and others. Ebbs, however, took home the gold, pulling in 14 kills while only dying 5 times. Fantastic results for him!

That was something of the beginning of some more misfortune for me, as my D&D game following--The Dragon Helm of Hador--was cancelled 15 minutes before the event began. Grr, indeed. As such, I met up with Lionel and Ebbs again, and threw down some Chrononauts--Lionel ended up picking up the card decks--in their room, before heading off for...

Trailer Park Wars.. As a group, we were pretty familiar with Gut Bustin' Games' "Redneck Life", but this one was even better. Set to build up your own trailer park empire, you build up amenities in your own park, while inflicting horrible tenents and natural disasters on other players' parks. I think we actually astounded the GM with our viciousness, as we hit the end-game with fervor, keeping one after another from winning with horrible glee.

After a late, late dinner on Saturday, we headed back to the hotel where we awaited the last day of our Origins 2009 Adventure.

Sunday

Waking up a little later than hoped, we had to rush to get checked out, then to head off to our first game, an Intro to CthulhuTech. Unfortunately for us, this wasn't...well, a game. Rather, it was a paid-seminar on the intro to the game. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed--I had already bought a used copy of the game on a trip to Bookery and was wanting to know more about how to run encounters in the game, or to experience a play session. Not the case, so much.

However, our later game--CutThroat Caverns proved to put this one to rest. Another Smirk and Dagger game, our adventurers tried to one-up one another for kill after kill through tough monster encounters. After a bit of luck, and some good card-playing, my dwarf (Orn--with umlauts, even!) ended out on top.

After one more go-round in the dealer hall and our last Power Play session, it was time to head on home for another year.

Up next? Pictures from Friday through Sunday, and then my final Origins 2009 wrap-up. Stay tuned!

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 Four

Alert! Blog Entries this week were written one week prior, on Saturday, June 28!

Whew. Origins is winding down, and the Witt-Weggers’ trip out here is about to come to a close. We head out tomorrow morning, to head home and actually get some sleep for once!

After El Willy’s Midnight Madness game, I got only about 4 hours of sleep before waking up (an hour early! Gah!) for my two seminars of the convention. The first was more of an informative session, dealing specifically with the ins and outs of getting a game published with a small-press. Michelle Nephew was particularly informative, and the setting was really casual. I took something like 5 pages of notes, and am slowly realizing that my game needs a ton of revisions—time to get back after the playtesting!

The second seminar, on 4e with Mike Mearls, was really a pleasant indulgence. Mearls really is a receptive guy, who knows his audience in and out. He was eager to ask just about any question we put to him, which was nice, as I was really curious to see his input on the new cosmology. While I still miss my beloved Great Wheel, I can see why the design team went the way they did—the idea being that, if you’re going for a setting-less game, why include a specific setting to muck things up? Again, Mearls was really a stand-up guy, and I was lucky enough to get to thank him for the earlier (near?) encounter over with Amorphous Blob.


A very sleep deprived Andy, with Mike Mearls, creator of D&D 4th Edition

Meeting up with Lionel after the game (and a purchase of Hex Hex, from Smirk and Dagger), we swiftly tried to make it over to North Market to grab some lunch…only to be interrupted by Columbus’s Annual Pride Day Parade. Thwarted by fate, we settled for the overpriced convention center food and relaxed with Jules and Ebbs while playing the aforementioned Hex Hex.


The Columbus Pride Day Parade...keeping us from North Market!

We did manage some time at the dealer-room today, which was fantastic, as I was able to finalize my purchases. More on those in a later entry.

Dinner came swiftly, and along with it came Lionel’s parents and cousin, in from New Jersey. As such, we headed to Buca di Beppo, a homestyle Italian chain.

Let me tell you this. I don’t think the ball of pasta that was my Gnocci de Telefone will ever leave my stomach. The walk back was hard enough. Making it to our final game—“Fallen Angels” done in Dark Heresy—will be just as big a challenge.


Lionel and Ebbs around the table, in the GrimDark of the far future...

With that, I’m out! Our happy next entry will be from the wondrous comfort of our apartment, as I wrap-up my con coverage and this year’s purchases.

Origins 2008 Blog! Entry Two

Alert! Blog entries this week were written one week prior, on Thursday, June 26!

Last year, I promised myself that I wouldn’t wake up so damned early for games. That…well, doesn’t seem to be the problem. Last night was a long one, and after today’s sessions, I’m utterly bushed!


Burn the heathens! In the name of the Emperor!

Dark Heresy last night was an absolutely pleasant surprise. I had somewhat been expecting something of a heavily tactical, minis-driven firefight, but the investigation elements of DH really came to the fore. Playing a Tech-Priest for the first time, as well, proved to be interesting, particularly when I managed huge successes on Tech-Use when trying to open our “mysterious device” and access its contents.


The mysterious device...oooh!


The device finally opens!

The highlight of DH, though, was Ebbs’ transformation: using his Psyker’s “Firestorm” ability, he rolled heftily on the warp chart…and became a Daemonhost! The game ended with him annihilating most of the party in warp-flame, amidst much Chaos. Tons of fun, all around.


Guess who likes the warp effect chart!


Tech-Priest Celadon stays to the rear...

From the end of DH, Lionel and Ebbs retired, as Dan and Jules joined me in waiting for El Willy and his crew for some Dungeon Slam! Only problem was…we didn’t count on the tornado! Herded by security, we were herded into the lower levels of the convention center where we waited out the storm.


"Dungeon Slam!" at Origins 2008


Watching the chaos as the WegsHogz throw down...


Turning the tables on Jules and the WegsHogz

By the time El Willy and his crew wrapped up, it was nearly 2:00 am, so our session with the Mad Mage was an utterly short one. I do think, though, that a reprinting will soon be in order—my cards are getting pretty well marked up!


"So, let's add that Luck bonus in..."


The Mad Mage's tower is tiring at 3 am!

The morning today began with a quick breakfast with a compadre from Wright State’s Adventurers’ Guild and a trip off to play Hell Rails. Unfortunately, I was the only player! As such, the organizers sidled me into a game of Union Pacific—a rather bland, PvP railroading game. I ended up winning the game, but I felt like it had much less to do with strategy and much more to do with simple utter luck of the draw.

Immediately thereafter, I trucked on over to the Rogue Cthulhu room for Beyond the Sea, a 1960s investigation, where I played Police Detective Dom “The Bug” Coccinello, who was looking into some mysterious murders surrounding a new casino opening. I love the style of the Rogue Cthulhu games, and this was no exception.


The Rogue Cthulhu Banner


The Great Cthulhu rises from the RC room floor!

Our GM—an old vet, Jennifer—ran us through a fantastic story, which ended in full Cthulhian style…with my character insane, and his private eye counterpart both insane and dead (by my hand, no less!). Fantastic session, made only better by the familiar Rogue Cthulhu faces.


"How much Sanity am I losing?"


Smiles from the Rogue Cthulhu game--"Beyond the Sea"


"We're stranded, going crazy, and probably going to die...there's nothing like Call of Cthulhu!"

Dinner was rushed, though I can’t help but mention North Market. It’s so easy to get sick of the fast food in the Convention Center Food Court, and the freshness at the Market is such a wonderful difference. I was running pretty ragged by the end of CoC, so a quick curry was really refreshing for me, before heading back to Hommlet in 4e.


Dan, Rachel, and Emily in the dealer room


Andy and Dan, being fabulous


The crew at North Market--Dan, Emily, Maranda, Lionel, Ebbs, and Rachel

After my earlier difficulties with the RPGA, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Return to the Moathouse, since it was being coordinated by the same people. That said, my first impressions of the game soon dissipated as we delved into a new version of the Temple of Elemental Evil’s Moathouse. The throwback was really fantastic, and the guys around the table were much more sociable than the last RPGA group that I had run with at Origins. I did feel a tic out of touch—all but one of the other players was from the Arlington area, in Texas—the jokes were flying and good tactical suggestions were offered on all sides. I’m not sure if this will cause me to re-evaluate my feelings on the RPGA—there’s still way too much paperwork and bureaucracy—but it’s a start, at least.


Fireball!

That said, playing my Tiefling Wizard was an utter blast, and my earlier opinion on 4e stood up to a higher-level game. Flaming Sphere is sheer fun, rolling around a boulder of fire across the battlefield, running over enemies. Brilliance!

As for tonight, I’m ready for a long nap. I feel like I have a long day tomorrow, with two games of WEGS (including the Friday Midnight Special!) and another Rogue Cthulhu journey, but I’m not the only one. Within two hours, Dan, Maranda, Rachel, and Ebbs head off to Mutant Academy…from 2:00 am till 5:30! Oi! They’re troopers…I’ll be sleeping by then.


Lionel feverishly sorts his new cards

Till tomorrow, fellow gamers…stay tuned!