Hydra Report: 2016
Friday evening: A night at the Golden Dragon Tavern
I'd received a jury summons for the week 2-weeks prior to Hydra. However, we were warned that cases could run for up to 2 weeks. Therefore, if I was extremely unlucky, I could end up late for the first round of Hydra. For this reason I volunteered to crew for Gold Dragon Tavern. Fortunately I didn't end up on a jury, so gaming was not interrupted. Instead I got to play a range of NPCs who showed up at the tavern with various schemes to provoke the PCs and/or relieve them of some of their surplus treasure.
Saturday morning: The Wasp's Nest
The Wasp's Nest is a 1940s murder mystery in the style of Broadchurch. I was playing a villager rather than a detective, so my game was focused more on my personal family drama (which is something I love) rather than solving the mystery. From my perspective the game pretty much nailed the mood it was going for, down to the players only speaking in hushed tones for the early part of the game.
Also, there were no actual wasps in the game, despite the camp being plagued with them this year.
Saturday afternoon: My Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine is highly spoilerable, so there's not much I can say other than I had a good time. And there was delicious cake too.
Saturday evening: Sanctuary
I had previously played the original run of this back at Kapcon 2008. However, quite a lot of changes had been made in the meantime (including reducing the cast by about 20). For the large part this was enjoyable, and I ended up with a fairly happy outcome (for however long that would last). However the fact that there were separate faction areas did mean that sometimes everyone would disappear from the main play area, and some of the major players never seemed to leave their area at all. There was also a character who really should have recognised me, but didn't have the appropriate information. This makes me wonder if there was a missing contingency envelope (and I hope it wasn't sitting unnoticed at the bottom of my character pack).
Sunday morning: Nightfloors
On Sunday morning I ran Nightfloors, a game inspired by the classic Delta Green scenario of the same name. I used Twine (a computer-based choose-your-own-adventure writer) to simulate the Nightfloors, and the players seemed to enjoy interacting with this. Over the course of the game I think the players managed to explore all the areas I'd written. I'll probably add a few more rooms before the next run. The balance will be having enough rooms to make the Nightfloors feel infinite, while still having a reasonable chance of the players finding the plot relevant things.
Sunday afternoon: The Burned-Over District
The Burned-OVer District explores the spiritualist movement in 1850s western New York State. Although the game had suffered a series of misfortunes (not quite getting the number of players originally intended, the writer getting sick during the writing process) and the players were suffering slightly from end-of-con-fatigue it all went well in the end. I was particularly impressed by the fact that the player of the journalist had actually written an article inspired by the events of the game. I also think that there would be plenty of room to expand this game to Chimera-size.
Numbers were down this year for Hydra, which affected the financials and meant that several games ended up being cancelled. However, the actual Con experience was great, there was a relaxed atmosphere, enough time and space for socialising and some great games. I hope that Hydra continues, as it is the only theatre-style LARP-con within driving distance*
*Technically one can drive to Hamilton or Auckland, but this is beyond our tolerance for sitting in a car.
I'd received a jury summons for the week 2-weeks prior to Hydra. However, we were warned that cases could run for up to 2 weeks. Therefore, if I was extremely unlucky, I could end up late for the first round of Hydra. For this reason I volunteered to crew for Gold Dragon Tavern. Fortunately I didn't end up on a jury, so gaming was not interrupted. Instead I got to play a range of NPCs who showed up at the tavern with various schemes to provoke the PCs and/or relieve them of some of their surplus treasure.
Saturday morning: The Wasp's Nest
The Wasp's Nest is a 1940s murder mystery in the style of Broadchurch. I was playing a villager rather than a detective, so my game was focused more on my personal family drama (which is something I love) rather than solving the mystery. From my perspective the game pretty much nailed the mood it was going for, down to the players only speaking in hushed tones for the early part of the game.
Also, there were no actual wasps in the game, despite the camp being plagued with them this year.
Saturday afternoon: My Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine is highly spoilerable, so there's not much I can say other than I had a good time. And there was delicious cake too.
Saturday evening: Sanctuary
I had previously played the original run of this back at Kapcon 2008. However, quite a lot of changes had been made in the meantime (including reducing the cast by about 20). For the large part this was enjoyable, and I ended up with a fairly happy outcome (for however long that would last). However the fact that there were separate faction areas did mean that sometimes everyone would disappear from the main play area, and some of the major players never seemed to leave their area at all. There was also a character who really should have recognised me, but didn't have the appropriate information. This makes me wonder if there was a missing contingency envelope (and I hope it wasn't sitting unnoticed at the bottom of my character pack).
Sunday morning: Nightfloors
On Sunday morning I ran Nightfloors, a game inspired by the classic Delta Green scenario of the same name. I used Twine (a computer-based choose-your-own-adventure writer) to simulate the Nightfloors, and the players seemed to enjoy interacting with this. Over the course of the game I think the players managed to explore all the areas I'd written. I'll probably add a few more rooms before the next run. The balance will be having enough rooms to make the Nightfloors feel infinite, while still having a reasonable chance of the players finding the plot relevant things.
Sunday afternoon: The Burned-Over District
The Burned-OVer District explores the spiritualist movement in 1850s western New York State. Although the game had suffered a series of misfortunes (not quite getting the number of players originally intended, the writer getting sick during the writing process) and the players were suffering slightly from end-of-con-fatigue it all went well in the end. I was particularly impressed by the fact that the player of the journalist had actually written an article inspired by the events of the game. I also think that there would be plenty of room to expand this game to Chimera-size.
Numbers were down this year for Hydra, which affected the financials and meant that several games ended up being cancelled. However, the actual Con experience was great, there was a relaxed atmosphere, enough time and space for socialising and some great games. I hope that Hydra continues, as it is the only theatre-style LARP-con within driving distance*
*Technically one can drive to Hamilton or Auckland, but this is beyond our tolerance for sitting in a car.