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!
Great recap, Mr. Platinum!
ReplyDeleteWish we had started Slam! earlier and the twister didn't screw us up!