Confusion 08
Yesterday was Confusion (Wellington's one day roleplaying con, read the tag) followed by adrexia's Burning Bedlam party. Wellington turned on a gorgeous morning, but the sky-taps came on in the early afternoon, threatening that evening's fiery activities.
I didn't realise it at the time, but I played every game with exiledinpn, so here's his report. My work here is done.
Session one: 3:16 Carnage Among the Stars.
This is pretty much a perfect execution of the space marine genre. Fat stacks of killing shit, unencumbered by superfluous rolls and with a dash of squad level roleplaying. exiledinpn and Mike S (the GM) lamented the "jokey" tone and "breakneck" pace respectively, but it played exactly as advertised (see the testimonials on the product page). After a few games of this, I might want a bit more depth of roleplaying, but it is a game about indiscriminate genocide...
If the IPR booth is stocking this at Gateway, it will be mine.
Session two: One Crowded Hour.
A scenario (hacked and run by exiledinpn) for Classic Traveller, which I'd never played before, in which the crew of a stricken space liner attempt to save the ship. I was initially a little worried that my character (an assistant engineer) was a bit thin, but after a slow start in terms of screen time and a much needed cup of coffee, the game reached an explosive, tragic and mostly satisfying conclusion.
Session three: Psi*Run, run by me.
You are psychic amnesiacs on the run from something. You regain consciousness at a crash site and attempt to regain your memories while you escape your pursuers.
This is a great game for bringing the creativity out of all the players at the table and this session did not disappoint. The five players jumped into the mystery with both feet to produce a much more investigative game than my previous experiences and provided a significant quantity of the clues through scene setting and the unprompted addition of extra details during play. Because the players ran with it so well, I pretty much let them have at it, with the result that I was perhaps too much of a spectator and didn't push play in the direction of the one quieter player. Something to watch for in future.
The biggest problem with this game is that it's an Ashcan; so it's not yet available for general sale and there's no dedicated website to which I can direct the always enthusiastic players.
Burning Bedlam
This was the best Wellington party I can recall attending. I think I have finally reached the critical mass of Wellington friends such that I can engage in my usual flighty party behaviour. The rain periodically dampened the fire activities, but the dampness of one end of each of our staves was a greater concern for me. I'm not good enough at throws to reliably catch a staff with only one end lit, but there is at least one particularly good photo which I hope to loot. Early in the evening I had said to adrexia that I hoped the party would be as good as the Friday of the 48, much of which I had missed due to early departure. It may not have been quite that good, but I certainly wasn't disappointed.
I didn't realise it at the time, but I played every game with exiledinpn, so here's his report. My work here is done.
Session one: 3:16 Carnage Among the Stars.
This is pretty much a perfect execution of the space marine genre. Fat stacks of killing shit, unencumbered by superfluous rolls and with a dash of squad level roleplaying. exiledinpn and Mike S (the GM) lamented the "jokey" tone and "breakneck" pace respectively, but it played exactly as advertised (see the testimonials on the product page). After a few games of this, I might want a bit more depth of roleplaying, but it is a game about indiscriminate genocide...
If the IPR booth is stocking this at Gateway, it will be mine.
Session two: One Crowded Hour.
A scenario (hacked and run by exiledinpn) for Classic Traveller, which I'd never played before, in which the crew of a stricken space liner attempt to save the ship. I was initially a little worried that my character (an assistant engineer) was a bit thin, but after a slow start in terms of screen time and a much needed cup of coffee, the game reached an explosive, tragic and mostly satisfying conclusion.
Session three: Psi*Run, run by me.
You are psychic amnesiacs on the run from something. You regain consciousness at a crash site and attempt to regain your memories while you escape your pursuers.
This is a great game for bringing the creativity out of all the players at the table and this session did not disappoint. The five players jumped into the mystery with both feet to produce a much more investigative game than my previous experiences and provided a significant quantity of the clues through scene setting and the unprompted addition of extra details during play. Because the players ran with it so well, I pretty much let them have at it, with the result that I was perhaps too much of a spectator and didn't push play in the direction of the one quieter player. Something to watch for in future.
The biggest problem with this game is that it's an Ashcan; so it's not yet available for general sale and there's no dedicated website to which I can direct the always enthusiastic players.
Burning Bedlam
This was the best Wellington party I can recall attending. I think I have finally reached the critical mass of Wellington friends such that I can engage in my usual flighty party behaviour. The rain periodically dampened the fire activities, but the dampness of one end of each of our staves was a greater concern for me. I'm not good enough at throws to reliably catch a staff with only one end lit, but there is at least one particularly good photo which I hope to loot. Early in the evening I had said to adrexia that I hoped the party would be as good as the Friday of the 48, much of which I had missed due to early departure. It may not have been quite that good, but I certainly wasn't disappointed.