Ignored Dragons
Nov. 25th, 2007 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orikesI'd actually intended to write this update last weekend, but I got lazy. Then I'd intended to do it sometime this long weekend. BUt I got lazy. See a theme with me?
Either way, let me say that AngCon 3 was a success despite a bumpy beginning. When I started planning the day, I was afraid there was going to be too many people. My original tally had the number of folks there being around 15, which was more than I would have been able to run in a single game for the finale event. Slowly, the numbers started dwindling though. One guy broke up with his boyfriend, so the boyfriend wouldn't be coming. Another "suddenly" discovered his brother was flying into town that weekend. A couple of other peripheral invitees weren't going to make it. So this left the numbers down to 10 or 11 people. Still a little more than I'm comfortable running, so one friend and I worked out a D&D adventure where we'd each run half the group and then come together at the end for a big finale fight.
Then the day arrived. One person said she might not be coming. Another called to say he was sick. A third just didn't show up. A couple others said they wouldn't get there until late. Another hadn't committed to being there, and I wasn't sure he was going to show. I was feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing, thinking it was going to be a disaster. It was frustrating to have people say they'd be there then not show up, but it was also a logistical problem with the final game. If we had six players and two GMs, that would mean two or more NPC'd characters on each team. We could have combined everyone into one group, but that would have killed the dynamic on how the game was set up.
In the end, it all worked out. The person who said she might not come decided she liked us better than her other gaming group. The folks who were running late all showed up on time. The guy who hadn't committed actually came AND he brought his wife who I was hoping would come, but I wasn't counting on it. In the end, we had 4 players for each team and only one character had to be NPC'd. While the earlier 'events' didn't really happen as expected, we still got in a few fun games of Fluxx and a new dice game by Wizards. We had good food, we had tons of cool swag that folks donated to give away (including some really nice items like the white dragon that came with a Dritz and Wulfgar figure).
The end game had two groups sent after the same item by rival princes. They each had their own branch of a dungeon to explore and make their way through, until eventually they came to a large central chamber full of treasure. Timing worked out great and they both made it to the central chamber at pretty much the exact same moment. They entered at opposite sides and saw each other. Ignoring the fact that there was a sandy floor covered in treasure, they started racing against each other to try and find the item. Then the dragon appeared.
And was ignored.
Seriously.. they ignored the HONKIN BIG ANGRY LIGHTNING SPEWING BLUE DRAGON!!!!! Instead they lobbed fireballs at one another. For a while the other GM and I were sure it was going to be a total TPK as they sniped at one another while the dragon leisurely picked them off. Even when a few of them started fighting the dragon, there were still others more concerned with what the other group was doing. A lucky couple of rolls (yay fireballs, yay sneak attack) brought the dragon down to 20 hit points, so he chose the better part of valor and fled. With the fight over, the two groups actually talked and came to an agreement - one would get the item the other would get as much treasure as they could carry out. It was still a bit tense, but both sides felt they made out fairly well.
The other GM and I had a lot of fun with it, and we're thinking of fine tuning the adventure and characters just a little and maybe running it at one of the local cons coming up. It should be fun.
In another little bit of news, I got to see Beowulf on Wednesday. I saw it at the IMAX with the wonky 3-D glasses they hand out. All I have to say is that if you get a chance to go see it in 3-D, do it. It was pretty amazing. I can't speak too much to the authenticity of the story in relation to the original, but I've heard some folks say it's closer than they expected it to be. If you've got kids, it's rated PG13, but I probably would have given it an R rating. I think Grendel would give adults nightmares, let alone little kids.
Later folks.
Either way, let me say that AngCon 3 was a success despite a bumpy beginning. When I started planning the day, I was afraid there was going to be too many people. My original tally had the number of folks there being around 15, which was more than I would have been able to run in a single game for the finale event. Slowly, the numbers started dwindling though. One guy broke up with his boyfriend, so the boyfriend wouldn't be coming. Another "suddenly" discovered his brother was flying into town that weekend. A couple of other peripheral invitees weren't going to make it. So this left the numbers down to 10 or 11 people. Still a little more than I'm comfortable running, so one friend and I worked out a D&D adventure where we'd each run half the group and then come together at the end for a big finale fight.
Then the day arrived. One person said she might not be coming. Another called to say he was sick. A third just didn't show up. A couple others said they wouldn't get there until late. Another hadn't committed to being there, and I wasn't sure he was going to show. I was feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing, thinking it was going to be a disaster. It was frustrating to have people say they'd be there then not show up, but it was also a logistical problem with the final game. If we had six players and two GMs, that would mean two or more NPC'd characters on each team. We could have combined everyone into one group, but that would have killed the dynamic on how the game was set up.
In the end, it all worked out. The person who said she might not come decided she liked us better than her other gaming group. The folks who were running late all showed up on time. The guy who hadn't committed actually came AND he brought his wife who I was hoping would come, but I wasn't counting on it. In the end, we had 4 players for each team and only one character had to be NPC'd. While the earlier 'events' didn't really happen as expected, we still got in a few fun games of Fluxx and a new dice game by Wizards. We had good food, we had tons of cool swag that folks donated to give away (including some really nice items like the white dragon that came with a Dritz and Wulfgar figure).
The end game had two groups sent after the same item by rival princes. They each had their own branch of a dungeon to explore and make their way through, until eventually they came to a large central chamber full of treasure. Timing worked out great and they both made it to the central chamber at pretty much the exact same moment. They entered at opposite sides and saw each other. Ignoring the fact that there was a sandy floor covered in treasure, they started racing against each other to try and find the item. Then the dragon appeared.
And was ignored.
Seriously.. they ignored the HONKIN BIG ANGRY LIGHTNING SPEWING BLUE DRAGON!!!!! Instead they lobbed fireballs at one another. For a while the other GM and I were sure it was going to be a total TPK as they sniped at one another while the dragon leisurely picked them off. Even when a few of them started fighting the dragon, there were still others more concerned with what the other group was doing. A lucky couple of rolls (yay fireballs, yay sneak attack) brought the dragon down to 20 hit points, so he chose the better part of valor and fled. With the fight over, the two groups actually talked and came to an agreement - one would get the item the other would get as much treasure as they could carry out. It was still a bit tense, but both sides felt they made out fairly well.
The other GM and I had a lot of fun with it, and we're thinking of fine tuning the adventure and characters just a little and maybe running it at one of the local cons coming up. It should be fun.
In another little bit of news, I got to see Beowulf on Wednesday. I saw it at the IMAX with the wonky 3-D glasses they hand out. All I have to say is that if you get a chance to go see it in 3-D, do it. It was pretty amazing. I can't speak too much to the authenticity of the story in relation to the original, but I've heard some folks say it's closer than they expected it to be. If you've got kids, it's rated PG13, but I probably would have given it an R rating. I think Grendel would give adults nightmares, let alone little kids.
Later folks.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-26 02:28 am (UTC)Likewise don't ignore lava elementals, for you BBQ nicely to a well-done hunk of char. I've been in a group entirely wiped out by a couple of these rising out of the bubbling lake below our precarious bridge of stone.... Oops! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-26 04:08 pm (UTC)Y'know, that sounds like something my gaming group would do. Seriously. We're a big enough group we could be split into two and run through two areas simultaneously, and one of our party members (who is an extremely charismatic person - the RPer, not the character) is the sort who likes to break campaigns by PKing.
It sounds like your gaming marathon was a success, though. Y'know, I'd love to play a game run by you (or have Chris run a game for both of us!). One of these years Chris and I will get to a con you're going to and we'll have to hook up for gaming purposes :)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-12 02:02 pm (UTC)As a side note, yay roleplay! It's been far too long since I've gamed...