Ambercon 2009 report/quotes
100_1851.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.OK, so this is kind of late - really late. In my defense, I thought I'd posted this back in May, but when I went looking for it, I couldn't find it. So either I forgot to post this, or I did and it got deleted somehow. If you've seen this before, my apologies. If not, consider this a whetting of the appetite for Ambercon 2010.
I'll start with my usual list of Con reports by others (feel free to let me know if I've missed any).
Curgoth: Ambercon update
Arref: ...and now, the traditional Ambercon summary of games
Bastard: News from the Bastardland Tribune
harleqwn: Notes from Ambercon 2009
Scary White Girl: And the recap begins... (friendslocked)
Jeremy Zimmerman: Ambercon 09 Recap
100_1610.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Ambercon 2009 Report
Wednesday
The Con started with the now-traditional pre-Con events. Wednesday night was the potluck, hosted by jvankirk and aular. I showed up around 9pm, apparently just missing a bunch of folks, but there were still plenty of people to hang out with, and lots of good food to eat. All told, I saw simonepdx, mr_nice_gaius, tlatoani, shekkara, lintra, Jeff, cochese, scarywhitegirl, nakedvillainy, nuadha_prime, alegriayamor and carpe_noir.
100_1617.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Thursday
Thursday began with the second traditional event, lunch at Zingerman's, home of many large, tasty and expensive sandwiches. simonepdx, mr_nice_gaius, shekkara, carpe_noir, cochese, scarywhitegirl, nakedvillainy, jvankirk and aular from the potluck were there, along with drusni, John and IP, colomon and Henry, Tim and Trish, and rowenmansard. This year, we had the upstairs room all to ourselves, in part because the weather was so nice that most people were sitting outside. I hung out for at least two hours, and there were still some people there when I left to pack for the Con.
100_1845.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.I began the Con with arrefmak's "Agents of the Argent Rose" series in slot 1, this year titled "City of the Dead." Argent Rose takes place in Corwin's Paris circa 1923, in the universe created by his Pattern. Most of the characters are Corwin's grandchildren or great-grandchildren, although there are a few whose connections are unknown (I think Matt's character descended from Corwin's wife, Lorelei, somehow). My character is Melisande, artist daughter of Dion, who is Corwin's oldest son with Lorelei. Melisande had a rough time in this game - she was attacked by Kali, she had her hand bitten off, and then she was dropped from quite a significant height into the Seine. It was a very bad day. On the plus side, one of Kali's brothers healed her hand, so at least Melisande can still draw. Once again, curgoth had a cool costume for the game.
Cast of Characters
curgoth - Lucien Charbonneau, part-Fae son of ?
brannanjp - William, son of Dion, artist (pen and ink)
Anne Devlin - Chloe, daughter of Dion, explosives expert
a2macgeek - Melisande, daughter of Dion, artist (watercolors/prismacolors)
egwenna - Vivienne Day, American actress
lintra - Simone DeBeauvior, daughter of Dion, writer
100_1846.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Quotes
"How fares the city after its recent despair?" -- Lucien's father to Lucien
"You mean the despair that happened when (Lucien) set half the city on fire?" -- a2macgeek
"That would be it, yes." -- GM
"(Corwin) has a mission that's secret and he wants someone to watch his back." -- GM
"Certainly, just let me finish commissioning this opera." -- William
"This is what I get for talking to family." -- Lucien
"This is why I try to avoid doing that whenever possible." -- Melisande
"I have an eyebrow conversation with William." -- Lucien to GM
"I finish putting (Chloe's) legs in the picnic basket." -- William to GM
*laughter*
"Well, you know what, we didn't bring along a bucket for body parts." -- William
"(Corwin's) got points in groping." -- lintra to the group
"So you're arrested." -- GM
"If I'm lucky, maybe I can be deported." -- Vivienne
"Do you want me to pull you through to the Zoo, so you can tell the others?" -- William
"Are you crazy?" -- Melisande, who currently looks like a drowned rat after falling in the Seine
"You asked a man with a concussion for advice." -- William
"No, I asked you who could fight, not for advice!" -- Simone
100_1854.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Friday
Friday morning began with the hotel's tasty free breakfast (made-to-order omelets FTW!), followed by colomon's slot 2 "The Bold and Undaunted: A Dashing Blades Adventure" game. I play Jeckie, a young, gung-ho Blade with an unfortunate weakness - she can't swim. Our mission this time was to infiltrate a Shadow where the monarchy had been overthrown, and rescue Amber's ambassador and his wife. Given that our group consisted of only five Blades and a servant, lesser beings might have despaired at our chances. But five Blades was more than enough for the task. Not only did we rescue the ambassador and his wife, but we managed to rescue the deposed Queen as well.
Cast of Characters
aislinggheal - Raewyn, naive 19-year-old Blade
Anne Devlin - Lark du Seabright of Dun Mórdha, Blade
a2macgeek - Jeckie of Anglesey, 18-year-old Blade
Bill Gulstad - Edward, faithful servant
kit_kindred - Hotspur, Blade
shekkara - Kate, Blade
100_1852.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Quotes
"I'd like to see the world. You clearly are of the world, so...." -- Raewyn explaining why she admires Kate
"I'm always looking for the next ex-Mrs. Hotspur." -- Hotspur to the group
"(Hotspur) was pardoned for heroics...no wait, I believe that was knighted." -- kit_kindred to the group
"What do we have to trade? We have a servant!" -- Hotspur
"Yes! No!" -- Edward the servant
"Do we know any of the pirates on the ship?" -- Kate
"I've never met a pirate who hasn't died." -- Jeckie
"If we get most of them out, does that count?" -- Raewyn
"There's only two of them." -- Jeckie
"I meant most parts of them." -- Raewyn
"We were expecting way more guards than we were expecting." -- Jeckie to GM
"You find the mob is a little bit awkward to steer." -- GM to Hotspur
100_1883.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Slot 3 was my first non-serial or ongoing game, "The Replacements" by nuadha_prime and cochese. The premise of this game was that we were all playing third-string heroes, ALA Mystery Men or The Tick, who were trying out for The League of Heroic People. I had a little trouble coming up with a character but eventually settled on Produce Princess, who temporarily gained different abilities when she ate fruits and vegetables (like enhanced strength from spinach, enhanced eyesight from carrots, etc.). Unfortunately, my lack of sleep and post-lunch loginess proved to be a deadly combination, and about halfway through the game I nodded off for a bit. I really need to try and get more sleep prior to the Con next year (of course, I say that every year). I still had a great time watching the two GMs play the various NPCs, especially Last Laugh (their Joker knock-off).
Cast of Characters
Paul Deckert - Gelatine
Anne Devlin - Spark Plug
a2macgeek - Princess Produce
David McCreless - The Minuteman
scarywhitegirl - The Diva
Quotes
"Even if we're not hungry we're looking for you, because there's always room for Jello." -- Minuteman to Gelatine
"You were supposed to beat up the League. The League of Society People." -- Last Laugh
"No, the League of Society People goes to parties." -- Diva
"If you experience super-powers lasting more than four hours, please consult a physician." -- Minuteman to the group
100_1865.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Slot 4 was kit_kindred's ongoing "Ill Met in Amber" game. I play Madeline Dumas, wine merchant by day, member of Amber's Secret Service by night, during the reign of King Eric. This was a year of significant personal events for Madeline - she was forced end the life of her identical twin sister, who had become corrupted by dark Chaos forces once again, and her long-presumed dead cousin Reggie Bayle turned out to be among the living after all. However, her wedding has yet to take place. Maybe next year. :)
Cast of Characters
brannanjp - Lord Doctor Fionntán Sabatini of the Royal College of Heraldry
Keith Cripe - Hawk, Captain of the City Guard
a2macgeek - Madeline Dumas, wine merchant, agent of Amber's Secret Service
colomon - Sean O'Donovan, Commodore in the Royal Navy
Bill Gulstad - Ambrose del Mar, Admiral High Mage of the Southern Fleet
Michael Kucharski - Nicholas van Alikki, farm boy a la D'Artagnan, professional duelist
egwenna - Evelyn Blanchard Devereux
lintra - Juliana Pinegar, Duchess of Carlisle
Scott Whitney - Maximillian Feldane, seventh son of a seventh son
cochese -- Sir Reginald "Reggie" Bayle
100_1868.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Quotes
"I have points in this stuff." -- Juliana to GM
"In underwear?" -- a2macgeek and cochese
"Remember, I run a smuggling business on the side. It's not so much a business as smuggling for me." -- Sean to Juliana
"You fell off of a mountain." -- Juliana
"Well, yes, but it wasn't permanent." -- Reggie
"I'm not sure that anyone who goes by the name 'The Dark Lady' will be convivial to visitors." -- Reggie to the group
"I find the idea of there being a social situation in the middle of the demon-blighted wood pretty Unicorn-damned unlikely." -- Reggie to Max
100_1870.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group."Nothing says love like helping you kill your sister." -- GM to Madeline
"I'm not actually weak, I'm just really bad at warfare." -- Juliana to the group
"If there's one thing Reggie knows, it's wardrobe." -- cochese to the group
"What happened? Kindred melted all the PCs." -- Scott Whitney to the group
"Mom, Dad, I killed my twin sister, but it's OK, because she was evil." -- Madeline
"It's OK dear, I had to do the same to my sister when I was your age." -- Lorraine, Madeline's mother
Saturday
Slot 5 was my second ongoing kit_kindred game, "When the Queen Says, 'Go and Die,'...: The Queen's Gambit." I play Ariel/Marcel Delmar, one of several women disguised as men so they can be in the Musketeers. This game included Charles' heresy trial, several Musketeers getting trapped in Alexis' decoy decoy wine cellar, and, oh yes, the Queen getting kidnapped (and rescued, of course). Just another day with the Musketeers.
Cast of Characters
brannanjp - Alexis Vigaroux, Duke of Averoigne, Musketeer
kainesh23 - Olaf, rookie Musketeer, former Cardinal's Guard
aislinggheal - Sylvie/Sylvan, female Musketeer disguised (badly) as a man
Linda Duncan - Charles Detoit, female Musketeer disguised as a man, alleged heretic
a2macgeek - Marcel Delmar, female Musketeer disguised as a man
Ben Fogt - Frederick, wine merchant
Bill Gulstad - Lupin le Fou, Musketeer
Michael Kucharski - Leonardo de Como, Count of Pliniana, Italian foreign noble, rookie Musketeer
rgljr69 - Jean-Luc Evrard, rookie Musketeer
corwin77 - Will deSpy, Musketeer, former spy
Quotes
"It's always a good idea to have a defrocked priest speaking for you." -- brannanjp
"At a heresy trial?" -- a2macgeek
"These scars I have acquired were obtained in the service of a lady." -- Charles
"Yes, by breaking into her house." -- several players
"We'll have to have a lack of wits contest between Olaf and Lupin." -- ?
"That's called the game." -- rgljr69
"What do you call it when a cross-dressing Musketeer uncross-dresses when pretending to cross-dress?" -- a2macgeek
"Confusing." -- Ben Fogt
"I'm just glad that I'm mostly the man in this (marriage), so that means that (my wife) gets to do the baby thing...right?" -- Sylvie to the group
"Musketeers don't get maternity leave." -- kainesh23 to the group
"I swish! I can swish with the best of them!" -- Olaf
"No one swishes better than Sylvan." -- Marcel
"(Alexis) doesn't actually live in this house. This is a decoy house." -- Lupin to the group, after getting trapped in the decoy decoy wine cellar
"Do you have a wandering monster table for the wine cellar?" -- GM to Alexis
"Gentlemen...and Lupin." -- Will to Lupin and Olaf
"Sylvan has the best legs of all the Musketeers." -- rgljr69 to the group
"That's something that we never did in this game before." -- GM
"Take a bath?" -- Bill Gulstad
"When the Queen says, 'Go and Bathe.'" -- Linda Duncan
"Sourd took (Lupin and Olaf) to the 'best tailor in town.'" -- Will to Marcel, making air quotes
"Why do you keep doing that?" -- Olaf
"It's to add emphasis." -- Will
"You can't trust those foreigners." -- Olaf the Swede to the group
"We were on our way to look for the true culprits." -- Alexis
"I thought we were looking for the Queen?" -- Sylvan
"Those are the people who kidnapped the Queen." -- Alexis
"Yeah, we have to go through Spain to get to Poland. It will be fine." -- Charles to Lupin
"When I say storm, I mean sneak up and then burst in." -- Alexis to the group
"Why are you here?" -- Slyvan
"The Queen was kidnapped." -- The Man in Black
"By who?" -- Sylvan
"The kidnappers." -- The Man in Black
100_1885.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.For Slot 6 I played in "All Roads Begin in Chaos" by harleqwn (a new GM for me). This was a game where all the characters just gelled. It was amazing. We all got to pick our characters (after a bit of fun where we pretended we'd left Stormy with the choice of Llewella or Flora - he loves playing Fiona), and everyone was spot on. Really. Most fun I've had in an elders game in quite a while.
Cast of Characters
nuadha_prime - Bleys
a2macgeek - Llewella
Ian Goodwin - Benedict
Nathan Goodwin - Random
Bill Gulstad - Julian
Kat Lemmer - Flora
John Novak - Caine
Michael Oliver - Corwin
Scott Whitney - Fiona
100_1876.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Quotes
"I'm going to summon the one-armed freak." -- Random
"This is going to be the shortest reign ever." -- Benedict
"I'm not an alcoholic. I merely enjoy living in a liquid medium." -- Scott Whitney to the group, speaking for Llewella
"I did not intend to start out this game going to bat for Bleys." -- Caine to the group
"Fiona, you don't want to be shown up by me in the mystical arts." -- Flora
"Oh, believe me, I won't be." -- Fiona
"I can't believe I've got to rescue Bleys." -- Benedict
"From what?" -- Random
"Himself." -- everyone
100_1881.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group."I never was much of a church boy." -- Dworkin to Llewella
"Says the demi-urge." -- Scott Whitney
"And you don't often see mounted combat at a funeral parlor." -- ? to the group
"Seeing Julian and Caine taking a body apart is nothing new to me." -- Fiona to GM
"It's not a proper death unless I have all my loved ones around me." -- Bleys
"You're not dying." -- Llewella
"We're not your loved ones." -- Caine
"You realize that Fiona brings something to Amber that none of you do." -- GM
"Narcissism?" -- Caine
Sunday
My Slot 7 game was "Day of the Dead" by drusni, which was awesome. My only complaint is that we ran out of time, which was largely due to the fact that everyone got into their characters so well. We got to pick the characters knowing only their job description. Once we'd made our choices, we got to see their background and abilities. That's also when we got to name them. The character selection went pretty amicably, with no one disappointed with their final choice (at least they didn't seem to be).
Cast of Characters
Barbara Baj - Caprice, Castle Steward
simonepdx - Paolo Orlotts, owner of Bloody Bill's
John Czarnota - Normal, King's sorcerer
a2macgeek - Denara, Captain of the Palace Guard
Jeff Trumitch - Garth, Captain of the Amber Militia
jvankirk - Jonathan, Castle Librarian
Quotes
Several PCs are meeting at Bloody Bill's and discussing opposing something that Oberon is doing:
"We could meet for breakfast at the palace." -- Caprice
"Let's not meet at the palace." -- Normal
"Can we meet someplace else (besides my bar)?" -- Paolo
"(The wyvern) sniffs the food you threw, and decides it's not sufficient. It's coming towards you." -- GM to Garth
"It's a vegetarian wyvern, quick, throw it some fruit." --simonepdx
"It's a zombie wyvern, it wants brains." -- GM
"He is naked, in chains, and surrounded by a pentagram." -- GM
"Oh, this is bad." -- Garth
100_1889.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group.Last, but certainly not least, was "Dudesical: A Dude Where's My Jewel of Judgement? Musical" by corwin77 in slot 8. Yes, this really was a musical. It was...interesting. It broke the GM very early on in the game. I think doing the songs broke the rhythm of the game a bit, as we kept looking for good places to insert the songs we'd come up with, so we didn't reach quite the same level of zaniness as in the past. But it was still pretty crazy. I reprised the character of Random AKA Randy, everyone's favorite slacker and pot head, who sang "Here Comes the Pot" (based on "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles), "Dudes Just Want to Have Pot" (based on "Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper), "My Girlfriend's Back" (based on My Boyfriend's Back by Angels), and "All My Loving" (based on "All My Loving" by the Beatles).
Cast of Characters
curgoth - Brand, sulky goth kid who sits around smoking clove cigarettes and writing poems with the word "Abyss" in them
Benjamin Bernard - Deirdre AKA Dee, rebellious punk girl - her CD changer's full of singers that are mad at their dad
a2macgeek - Random AKA Randy, surfer dude, slacker and pot head
zdashamber - Gérard, AKA Gerry or G-Man, jock, musclehead, star offensive player for the Amberite Purple Unicorns
Quotes
"Mostly I stayed home and wrote poetry about the Abyss." -- Brand to the group, explaining what he did over the weekend
"No, we're like totally cool, Dude. Except for Brand." -- G-Man to teacher
100_1890.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group."G-Man is building a pot air balloon." -- zdashamber to the group
"So there's nothing horrible in shop class?" -- Brand to GM
"Just us." -- Randy
"I hit Brand on the back." -- G-Man
"Two hours later, you wake up." -- GM to Brand
"I think we should blame Corwin and light him on fire." -- Brand to G-Man
"Were you planning to kill Merlin or Martin?" -- GM
"I'll kill anyone whose name starts with M." -- Brand
"OK, Matt." -- GM
"Brand, you've been hit in the face with a balled cowboy hat, how do you react?" -- GM
"My eye!" -- Brand
"So, your teacher says you're schizophrenic." -- school nurse
"I'm perfectly normal...I'm going to stab everyone." -- Brand
100_1891.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group."I'm skipping my next class because I don't know what my next class is." -- Randy to GM
"Liz, can we borrow your iPod so we can sing creepy songs about bestiality?" -- GM
"It's not about bestiality." -- zdashamber
"It is when (Dworkin) sings it." -- GM
"I would love to see (a Martin vs. Brand) strength fight." -- GM to Brand
"Is there anything happening at lunch, besides music and dancing and bees?" -- GM to the group
"My ability to GM a "Dude" game has been hampered." -- GM to the group, after drinking a bit too much vodka
"Martin is like Brand if Brand were changed into an annoying chihuahua." -- Fiona to the group
"Naked Bleys shows up in the school infirmary with swollen genitals." -- GM to Brand
"This happens a lot." -- zdashamber
"If Brand put his mind in you...." -- G-Man
"Brand hasn't put anything into me. Ever." -- Fiona
"Wasn't your death trap some scotch tape and a Chinese throwing star?" -- GM to Brand
"Not the piercings, not the piercings!" -- Brand to G-Man
"Do I look sexy, Brand?" -- G-Man
100_1892.JPG in My Ambercon 2009 photoset.
Originally uploaded by A2 Mac Geek.
The Ambercon Flickr group."Nevermind, I don't want to get into the metaphysics of your creepy magic. Get on with the spellcasting and the uncomfortable silences." -- GM to Brand
"Gérard tries to make psychic contact with your nipples." -- GM to Dee
"Random's left with the three girls and Gérard's nuzzling your nipples." -- GM to Dee
"You have such lovely nickels. They shine like...shiny things." -- G-Man to Dee
"I think the main problem is that Gérard isn't specific enough (in his plans)." -- GM
"Dude, the main problem is that I'm an idiot and nobody stops me." -- G-Man
"That is one problem with a Private Investigator Bee. They can't speak." -- GM to G-Man
"I conjure something to pick up Martin with." -- Randy
"Pot holders." -- G-Man, punning horribly
"You should always do this during the end-game. 'I summon a bee to solve all our problems.'" -- GM to G-Man
"One of these days, the fryalator will be full of bees." -- GM to Brand
Some of the "Then I Got High" lyrics created during the game:
"I was going to beat up Brand, but then I got high."
"I flew in my pot air balloon, and then I got high."
"I was going to wear some pants, but then I got high."
"And I wasn't going to sing, but then I got high."
"I was going to win a Potscar, but I got high."
Songs suggested by the players for various characters:
Bleys - "I'm Too Sexy"
Brand - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
Caine - "House of the Rising Sun"
Fiona - "Goody Two Shoes"
Flora - "Venus"
Gérard - "In the Navy", "Then I Got High"
Julian - "Dude Looks Like a Lady", "Dancing Queen"
Random - "Then I Got High", "Love is a Battlefield", "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"