It's all about the GAME, man!
Jan. 29th, 2007 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluegargantuaHi,
So this weekend was the Fetish Fair Fleamarket, the biggest BDSM-event of the winter here in New England (possibly even the year considering it's bigger than the one in the summer).
So, of course, I went to a gaming convention in New Jersey.
First off, you know how Connecticut has like 5-6 of the Top 10 Places I'd Drop a Rock on From Oribt? Yeah, Jersey is claiming those slots with a vengeance. East Brunswick makes Boston streets look like a model of urban development.
The convention itself (Dreamation) was a middling-sized affair. Probably between 500 - 1000 people (definitely trending to the low end). The focus is largely on board games. The board gaming area was huge and constantly humming with people. They had a pretty serious set of computer and video game tournaments going on and a solid LARP contingent that seemed mostly to happen in another wing of the hotel. The role-playing portion of the convention had a section of RPGA-style games on another floor and the section devoted to open-table RPG gaming was pretty much owned by the indie gaming crowd.
The dealer's hall was really lackluster and the wargaming section was pretty much Battletech and Warzone. The guy in charge of the wargaming section was pleading with me to come down and run some Charlie Company...and to also bring down people to *play* Charlie Company. Pretty disappointing. The other major downers were that I pre-registered for some games but, despite the confirmation email, I wasn't actually registered for any games. There was also no reasonably-priced place to eat, which meant a trip into the Escher-esque hell that is downtown East Brunswick.
Did I have a good time? Yeah, I did. Mostly because I ran into a bunch of people I normally see at GenCon and so we all sat around and talked shop and had fun. I also played in some fun games.
1.) Primitive -- We were all cavemen. We couldn't talk "in-character" just grunting and gesticulating. You only have two stats: Civility and Savagery. When you try and do something, you pit one against the other, the highest rolling side wins. The character creation also includes a communal die pool. You can spend dice out of the pool for group traits, or selfishly take dice to give yourself traits, higher stats, etc. Leftover dice can be used to help you out in a jam.
We played a tribe of people living by the ocean. I made a guy who was all Savagery and had the skills to back it up. At least one other guy went that route. Most other people had a pretty even balance except for Dro who went for all Civility and had the "I'm leader of this tribe" trait.
In the game, we were finishing up a hunt by the shore when we spotted people swimming towards the beach on a log. One of the players had a raft and they went out to bring them in. There were three outsiders all pale and sickly looking. They brought back one of the poor wretches. Me and the other Savagery king promptly killed the outsider to the annoyance of Dro and the others. But the other two guys made a safe landing and were helped by another tribesman. When they were discovered, we were all set to kill them to, but in the end, we only killed the totally weak guy and enslaved the not-quite-as-weak weak guy.
Then a couple of people snuck off to ride the raft out to the island. Things seem to be ok, but they have to spend the night there. In the middle of the night, there's this deafeningly loud, unearthly noise coming from the island. Those of us on shore wake up to find our slave has disappeared. One guy chases after him and discovers he's become a terrible monster. After inventing "I told you so!", me and the savage guy just hammer on it until it dies. We all regroup and decide to move far down along the shore.
It was a fun game. Lots of grunting and hooting and hollering. I hope we didn't disturb other people too much.
2.) Oh my God! There's an axe in my head! -- This is a boardgame by the creators of Continuum the RPG. Actually, we were playing on one of the prototypes. They've been shopping this game around and I hope they find a manufacturer because the game is a heck of a lot of fun. Here's the set-up:
---
GENEVA, 1920.
The League of Nations convenes for the first time. Proud to be the host for this august world body, Switzerland invites their champion axe-juggling troupe, Les Bella Lieben Jolie De Von Giorno, to entertain the assembled delegates.
Unfortunately, halfway through the demonstration, the Troupe goes insane, and begins hurling axes into the audience, splitting head after head. The Secretary General calls for calm, but before he can order a recess, his cranium is split as well.
The remaining Great Powers use the confusion to pass the gavel between themselves, conduct international business amidst the chaos,
and generally try to shift the balance of world power while escaping a bunch of armed psychopaths.
---
It's every bit as much fun as it sounds. On the board itself, you move a bunch of blank pawns (the minor powers) trying to get them out of the room. Then you move your team (an Ambassador, a Translator, and a Bodyguard) and try to get them out the door before they get axed. You can also claim territories and make treaties with other countries, both of which are worth victory points -- if one of your guys gets out. The treaties connect Major Powers a bit like dominoes or groups in Illuminati which makes for some interesting alliance situations. Your bodyguard can pick up axes and hack around. It's a lot of fun.
I came in third and didn't do very well, but I was the only person to get his Ambassador out the door, so I consider it a minor win for me. A good time.
3.) Hero's Banner -- This is an RPG about how being a hero comes with a lot of sacrifice. You basically pick 3 major goals for your character. Each turn the GM threatens one of those goals. You roll to see if you defend it. If you do, yay, if not, you can invoke Passion and get a re-roll. But as your passion goes up, you become more proficient at achieving one goal and less proficient at achieving another. Since you can freely swap skill levels between the three goals, you aren't automatically committed, but it just means that the GM can pick on something else for awhile.
I may have ruined another game for Ben Lehman though...
I was a foppish noble who a.) wanted to free a gryphon from the family zoo, b.) take over a rival family's criminal organization and c.) become the most legendary lover in history. I was a horrible person.
I went to see one of my lovers (a high-ranking lady in the rival family I was supposed to be taking down) and she mentioned how her daughter was about to be married off to the brother of another PC. I think, "oh hey, I haven't bedded the daughter", so I take off and go woo her. Of course, another PC (played by Jeff) shows up and we have a short, sharp talk in front of the daughter who's completely smitten by me and doesn't want to be married off. The PCs step outside "to settle this matter" and I quickly haul my ass out of the fire, both by reassuring Jeff's PC that I haven't yet done anything to the girl, promising to get her off to her arranged marriage and giving him a chance at regaining his ancestral homelands. See, I was scheduled to be married off to this other bumpkin from some remote province which just happened to be the ancestral homeland's of Jeff's guy. I figured that if we swapped places, he'd get married off to her and he'd have his lands back. After all, in our city, it's bad luck to remove a groom's veil until after the ceremony.
So I go back into the room with the daughter, play up our whole "Romeo and Juliet" angle (she's part of the rival family, remember) and promise her that if she goes along with Jeff, I've got a band of men waiting in the woods to rescue her. I quickly got her packed off and then promptly forgot about her. Jeff, meanwhile, coerced her into poisoning his brother, but she botched the job and poisoned herself instead.
I will be the first to admit that pretty much every female NPC got shafted, but I will also say that the game pretty much involves shafting a good chunk of the people who are close to you and our various romantic/sexual goals and the accelerated pace of the game may have aggravated that.
In the end, I chose a spectacular death and freed the gryphon rather than get married off to the bumpkin.
This game plays a lot better when you pick three very distinct and different goals and then act as though each goal is the most important thing in the world to your character and that no setbacks will ever be accepted. The game was the most fun when I stopped worrying about how high the passion was building up, but just jumped in and went for broke every time no matter what was at stake.
Beyond the games there were lots of hallway conversations and discussions and just fun hanging out time. It was a really good time, but I do wish that indie gaming was more centered in cons closer to home. Ah well.
later
Tom
So this weekend was the Fetish Fair Fleamarket, the biggest BDSM-event of the winter here in New England (possibly even the year considering it's bigger than the one in the summer).
So, of course, I went to a gaming convention in New Jersey.
First off, you know how Connecticut has like 5-6 of the Top 10 Places I'd Drop a Rock on From Oribt? Yeah, Jersey is claiming those slots with a vengeance. East Brunswick makes Boston streets look like a model of urban development.
The convention itself (Dreamation) was a middling-sized affair. Probably between 500 - 1000 people (definitely trending to the low end). The focus is largely on board games. The board gaming area was huge and constantly humming with people. They had a pretty serious set of computer and video game tournaments going on and a solid LARP contingent that seemed mostly to happen in another wing of the hotel. The role-playing portion of the convention had a section of RPGA-style games on another floor and the section devoted to open-table RPG gaming was pretty much owned by the indie gaming crowd.
The dealer's hall was really lackluster and the wargaming section was pretty much Battletech and Warzone. The guy in charge of the wargaming section was pleading with me to come down and run some Charlie Company...and to also bring down people to *play* Charlie Company. Pretty disappointing. The other major downers were that I pre-registered for some games but, despite the confirmation email, I wasn't actually registered for any games. There was also no reasonably-priced place to eat, which meant a trip into the Escher-esque hell that is downtown East Brunswick.
Did I have a good time? Yeah, I did. Mostly because I ran into a bunch of people I normally see at GenCon and so we all sat around and talked shop and had fun. I also played in some fun games.
1.) Primitive -- We were all cavemen. We couldn't talk "in-character" just grunting and gesticulating. You only have two stats: Civility and Savagery. When you try and do something, you pit one against the other, the highest rolling side wins. The character creation also includes a communal die pool. You can spend dice out of the pool for group traits, or selfishly take dice to give yourself traits, higher stats, etc. Leftover dice can be used to help you out in a jam.
We played a tribe of people living by the ocean. I made a guy who was all Savagery and had the skills to back it up. At least one other guy went that route. Most other people had a pretty even balance except for Dro who went for all Civility and had the "I'm leader of this tribe" trait.
In the game, we were finishing up a hunt by the shore when we spotted people swimming towards the beach on a log. One of the players had a raft and they went out to bring them in. There were three outsiders all pale and sickly looking. They brought back one of the poor wretches. Me and the other Savagery king promptly killed the outsider to the annoyance of Dro and the others. But the other two guys made a safe landing and were helped by another tribesman. When they were discovered, we were all set to kill them to, but in the end, we only killed the totally weak guy and enslaved the not-quite-as-weak weak guy.
Then a couple of people snuck off to ride the raft out to the island. Things seem to be ok, but they have to spend the night there. In the middle of the night, there's this deafeningly loud, unearthly noise coming from the island. Those of us on shore wake up to find our slave has disappeared. One guy chases after him and discovers he's become a terrible monster. After inventing "I told you so!", me and the savage guy just hammer on it until it dies. We all regroup and decide to move far down along the shore.
It was a fun game. Lots of grunting and hooting and hollering. I hope we didn't disturb other people too much.
2.) Oh my God! There's an axe in my head! -- This is a boardgame by the creators of Continuum the RPG. Actually, we were playing on one of the prototypes. They've been shopping this game around and I hope they find a manufacturer because the game is a heck of a lot of fun. Here's the set-up:
---
GENEVA, 1920.
The League of Nations convenes for the first time. Proud to be the host for this august world body, Switzerland invites their champion axe-juggling troupe, Les Bella Lieben Jolie De Von Giorno, to entertain the assembled delegates.
Unfortunately, halfway through the demonstration, the Troupe goes insane, and begins hurling axes into the audience, splitting head after head. The Secretary General calls for calm, but before he can order a recess, his cranium is split as well.
The remaining Great Powers use the confusion to pass the gavel between themselves, conduct international business amidst the chaos,
and generally try to shift the balance of world power while escaping a bunch of armed psychopaths.
---
It's every bit as much fun as it sounds. On the board itself, you move a bunch of blank pawns (the minor powers) trying to get them out of the room. Then you move your team (an Ambassador, a Translator, and a Bodyguard) and try to get them out the door before they get axed. You can also claim territories and make treaties with other countries, both of which are worth victory points -- if one of your guys gets out. The treaties connect Major Powers a bit like dominoes or groups in Illuminati which makes for some interesting alliance situations. Your bodyguard can pick up axes and hack around. It's a lot of fun.
I came in third and didn't do very well, but I was the only person to get his Ambassador out the door, so I consider it a minor win for me. A good time.
3.) Hero's Banner -- This is an RPG about how being a hero comes with a lot of sacrifice. You basically pick 3 major goals for your character. Each turn the GM threatens one of those goals. You roll to see if you defend it. If you do, yay, if not, you can invoke Passion and get a re-roll. But as your passion goes up, you become more proficient at achieving one goal and less proficient at achieving another. Since you can freely swap skill levels between the three goals, you aren't automatically committed, but it just means that the GM can pick on something else for awhile.
I may have ruined another game for Ben Lehman though...
I was a foppish noble who a.) wanted to free a gryphon from the family zoo, b.) take over a rival family's criminal organization and c.) become the most legendary lover in history. I was a horrible person.
I went to see one of my lovers (a high-ranking lady in the rival family I was supposed to be taking down) and she mentioned how her daughter was about to be married off to the brother of another PC. I think, "oh hey, I haven't bedded the daughter", so I take off and go woo her. Of course, another PC (played by Jeff) shows up and we have a short, sharp talk in front of the daughter who's completely smitten by me and doesn't want to be married off. The PCs step outside "to settle this matter" and I quickly haul my ass out of the fire, both by reassuring Jeff's PC that I haven't yet done anything to the girl, promising to get her off to her arranged marriage and giving him a chance at regaining his ancestral homelands. See, I was scheduled to be married off to this other bumpkin from some remote province which just happened to be the ancestral homeland's of Jeff's guy. I figured that if we swapped places, he'd get married off to her and he'd have his lands back. After all, in our city, it's bad luck to remove a groom's veil until after the ceremony.
So I go back into the room with the daughter, play up our whole "Romeo and Juliet" angle (she's part of the rival family, remember) and promise her that if she goes along with Jeff, I've got a band of men waiting in the woods to rescue her. I quickly got her packed off and then promptly forgot about her. Jeff, meanwhile, coerced her into poisoning his brother, but she botched the job and poisoned herself instead.
I will be the first to admit that pretty much every female NPC got shafted, but I will also say that the game pretty much involves shafting a good chunk of the people who are close to you and our various romantic/sexual goals and the accelerated pace of the game may have aggravated that.
In the end, I chose a spectacular death and freed the gryphon rather than get married off to the bumpkin.
This game plays a lot better when you pick three very distinct and different goals and then act as though each goal is the most important thing in the world to your character and that no setbacks will ever be accepted. The game was the most fun when I stopped worrying about how high the passion was building up, but just jumped in and went for broke every time no matter what was at stake.
Beyond the games there were lots of hallway conversations and discussions and just fun hanging out time. It was a really good time, but I do wish that indie gaming was more centered in cons closer to home. Ah well.
later
Tom
