Non-Picspam Musings
Mar. 30th, 2009 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orikesNo picspam this week. Between my freetime being eaten up by SimCon and working on the update, I didn't get a chance to go into the game to do anything week.
SimCon was a blast. Apparently there attendance wasn't all that much more this year than last year, but there was a lot more going on and there seemed to be more energy to things. The new con staff succeeded in bringing in a bunch of out of town folks to play and run games, which really livened things up. The variety killed a couple of old standby games like the D&D Tournament (I've played it in the past, but only because there was nothing else to do), but I think things will balance out eventually.
Friday I met a couple of out of town friends at a restaurant before the con. We had a little bit of time to get caught up, and then made our way to the college campus to register and make our 7:30pm game. I had no fears of missing the game since one of my dinner companions was the guy running it. The game was a continuation of a semi-on going game with room to bring in new people. It's based on a version of the Marvel universe, so all the characters were kids either from the Xavier Institute or the Massachusetts Academy (home of the Hellions, Emma Frost's students). It was quite a bit of fun.
Saturday I made it back to the con by noon. I hopped into a Dark Refuge game. Dark Refuge is a home produced system that is a bit weird but quite fun with the right GM. The guy who wrote it came to SimCon and he's a hell of a GM. Unfortunately, he doesn't turn anyone away from the gaming table, so it usually ends up being quite a crowd and I'm not fond of all the people that show up to play. The scenario he set up was completely derailed by one of the other players, so several us spent most of our time apprehending and executing that player's character for being a traitor. The GM is a great guy and I really enjoy chatting with him, but I'm not sure I'll play the next time a con comes around that he's at.
After that, a crew of nine of us headed out to Dinosuar Barbecue. Mmm. Barbecue. We had a long wait, but the food and conversation were good. Mmm. Ribs. Cornbread.
Once dinner was done, it was back to the con for the 7:30pm game. This was again run by one of my friends that came into town. The game was advertised as a cross between the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Flies. He used the Modern d20 system, but that was really more a method to get the game across than anything integral to the game. The characters were all children between the ages of 12 and 14 being sent from England to Canada in 1940 on the ship SS City of Benares. If you know your WWII history, you might know where this scenario was heading.
It was a fantastically done scenario. We spent probably the first third of the session on the ship and dealing with it fleeing, being attacked, and sinking from Uboat fire. The characters all ended up in the same life raft, which eventually arrived at an island that shouldn't have been there. From there, they discovered goblins, dragons, and two warring Faerie Queens who wanted the children to decide the war for them. Each of the characters was set up with reasons why they might want to stay or they might want to get back. It was a fantastic game, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. In the end, the characters made the choice to help the side that would mean they had to return back to the real world, but would allow technology and science to continue. Choosing the other side would have allowed them to stay in the magical realm as children forever, but would have probably caused the real world to stagnate as well. For some of the characters, this was a difficult choice.
Finally, I went back on Sunday. There wasn't a game open to play, but there were enough of us looking for a game, that my friend ran a pick up game of the Marvel characters. This time the kids ended up in California hunting down a rogue mutant that was wreaking havoc on the Malibu beaches. Sand, sun, and big purple monsters! Once that was done, everyone went their separate ways to return home or, in my case, head in to work. I was exhausted by the time the night was over, but the weekend was worth it.
During this weekend, I also discovered the joy that are Starbucks flavored frapuccinos. I'm not sure if there was any coffee in these milkshake like thingies, but damn were they good. Very dangerous to have a Starbucks right there on campus.
I'm still hoping to get my update out by tomorrow, but no guarantees. Jamie distracted me with a documentary on the French Revolution. If I don't get it out tomorrow, you can blame it all on her. ;)
SimCon was a blast. Apparently there attendance wasn't all that much more this year than last year, but there was a lot more going on and there seemed to be more energy to things. The new con staff succeeded in bringing in a bunch of out of town folks to play and run games, which really livened things up. The variety killed a couple of old standby games like the D&D Tournament (I've played it in the past, but only because there was nothing else to do), but I think things will balance out eventually.
Friday I met a couple of out of town friends at a restaurant before the con. We had a little bit of time to get caught up, and then made our way to the college campus to register and make our 7:30pm game. I had no fears of missing the game since one of my dinner companions was the guy running it. The game was a continuation of a semi-on going game with room to bring in new people. It's based on a version of the Marvel universe, so all the characters were kids either from the Xavier Institute or the Massachusetts Academy (home of the Hellions, Emma Frost's students). It was quite a bit of fun.
Saturday I made it back to the con by noon. I hopped into a Dark Refuge game. Dark Refuge is a home produced system that is a bit weird but quite fun with the right GM. The guy who wrote it came to SimCon and he's a hell of a GM. Unfortunately, he doesn't turn anyone away from the gaming table, so it usually ends up being quite a crowd and I'm not fond of all the people that show up to play. The scenario he set up was completely derailed by one of the other players, so several us spent most of our time apprehending and executing that player's character for being a traitor. The GM is a great guy and I really enjoy chatting with him, but I'm not sure I'll play the next time a con comes around that he's at.
After that, a crew of nine of us headed out to Dinosuar Barbecue. Mmm. Barbecue. We had a long wait, but the food and conversation were good. Mmm. Ribs. Cornbread.
Once dinner was done, it was back to the con for the 7:30pm game. This was again run by one of my friends that came into town. The game was advertised as a cross between the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Flies. He used the Modern d20 system, but that was really more a method to get the game across than anything integral to the game. The characters were all children between the ages of 12 and 14 being sent from England to Canada in 1940 on the ship SS City of Benares. If you know your WWII history, you might know where this scenario was heading.
It was a fantastically done scenario. We spent probably the first third of the session on the ship and dealing with it fleeing, being attacked, and sinking from Uboat fire. The characters all ended up in the same life raft, which eventually arrived at an island that shouldn't have been there. From there, they discovered goblins, dragons, and two warring Faerie Queens who wanted the children to decide the war for them. Each of the characters was set up with reasons why they might want to stay or they might want to get back. It was a fantastic game, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. In the end, the characters made the choice to help the side that would mean they had to return back to the real world, but would allow technology and science to continue. Choosing the other side would have allowed them to stay in the magical realm as children forever, but would have probably caused the real world to stagnate as well. For some of the characters, this was a difficult choice.
Finally, I went back on Sunday. There wasn't a game open to play, but there were enough of us looking for a game, that my friend ran a pick up game of the Marvel characters. This time the kids ended up in California hunting down a rogue mutant that was wreaking havoc on the Malibu beaches. Sand, sun, and big purple monsters! Once that was done, everyone went their separate ways to return home or, in my case, head in to work. I was exhausted by the time the night was over, but the weekend was worth it.
During this weekend, I also discovered the joy that are Starbucks flavored frapuccinos. I'm not sure if there was any coffee in these milkshake like thingies, but damn were they good. Very dangerous to have a Starbucks right there on campus.
I'm still hoping to get my update out by tomorrow, but no guarantees. Jamie distracted me with a documentary on the French Revolution. If I don't get it out tomorrow, you can blame it all on her. ;)