(no subject)
Another ACUS has come and gone. I'm sad to see it end and am already looking forward to the next Ambercon I can go to (hopefully ACNW if money cooperates). My review below the cut.
The Hotel- The hotel for the convention has gotten a lot better over the years. The customer service in the restaurant has improved greatly since I first started coming to the con.
Slot 1 - Enigma Society: Ante Up- My first game of the con was JS's Enigma Society series. As a series game that has been going on for a while, it was mostly returning players, with me as the only new character. I've noticed in my own long-running series that this can lead to some problems for new players in the game, as old players start treating the game a lot more like a campaign, wanting to catch-up with their characters rather than move in to newest story. The game had a little of that, but it had some good players, who made sure to pull my character, John "Doc" Holiday, in to even that part of the game....and pretty soon we were off to America...and adventure! I had a good time.
Slot 2 - Super-villain Brain Trust- The world would kneel before Zod! Comic Geekery was found in great quantities as I finally got to play with Schippers in a comic book game (and this was the first of two for the con). I was a bit tired due to lack of sleep, but I think I still did an adequate job of pompous megalomania. The game was a lot of fun.
"Squirrel! Whom do you text?" - General Zod to Mystique
Slot 3 - Savage Skies of Amber- This was my first attempt at running a Savage Worlds Amber conversion and it seemed to go very well. There were sword fights, gyrocopters, airships and daring-do! There was lots of Trump fun, and a very angry Brand getting the crap beat out of him by a single PC. (Brand was built to be a threat requiring at least 3 PCs to fight. One PC managed to beat him and a knock-out drag-out fight.)
Bridgette: "It's got reach and... What is that game? POLO!" (wielding a long axe from the back of a Pegasus)
After Fate (Bridgette) tells King Martin that she's used the Jewel: Lisa: "Do you need a queen?
Vanessa (king martin's sister, regarding the Jewel of Judgement): "What's it like?"
Fate (who has it tucked in her shirt): "Its a rock between my boobs!"
"Cuz you want Logrus tentacles poking around in your pocket..."
"And they're grrrrrrr-eat." Wade (david m.) on the tiger people (Savage Skies)
Dawn V.: "There are a lot of tentacles in the Savage Skies of Amber."
Me (imitating PCs): "I keep forgetting. 'Why walk? We have trumps!'"
Slot 4 - The Concerto of Crime - I was afraid this game was going to crash and burn. I only had three players. I was personally more tired than I have been in years....and was unable to make up any songs "on-the-spot" because my brain was fried. It didn't matter. The right players can carry a game a long with a barely functioning GM and to the players' credit, they really showed their stuff. There was quite a bit of funny.
Slot 5 - League of Quantum Gentlemen and the Terror of the Time Tunnel
I like long names. I can't help it. It gives it a very pulpy sound.
I think the game went fantastically well. Last years LoQG game floundered a little as I didn't go in with a very solid idea how the plot would progress. I just knew where it would begin and end. This year, planning was much better for my games and it paid off and a wonderful co-GM really sealed this game as a major improvement over the first adventure of the LoQG. There will certainly be more to come. Kudos to the group who managed to work both some good levity in to scenes and some good drama.
"I'm going to go around in circles, cuz I don't know how to get off." - Rocky (riding the Alien queen like a horse)
GM: "Where was Daniel [Jackson] during the Star Trek Experience?"
C.J. "Egypt. Watching his parents die."
Paul D. (dejected): "(Kirk's) gonna sleep with the (Alien) queen." (I now wonder if he was relieved to not see Kirk show up during the game...)
(after realizing that Khan probably has an Alien queen) Marty: "You must be kidding!"
Dalek Caan: "Yes. Ha ha ha. No."
Spock and Marty (in unison, to the Doctor): "Don't lose the TARDIS!"
Dalek Caan (upon finding out that the villain is Khan Noonian Singh): "Khaaaaaaaaaan!"
Jenny: "We could put one TARDIS in the other."
Everyone else: "NO!"
Predator: "It's the best in hunting gear my planet has to offer."
Rocky: "Three dots?"
Kismit (explaining to Predator why they can speak his language): "When you're with them you pick up the language. That's why we all sound British."
Robert: "Can we drop these guys in the Rift?"
GM: "We're not in Cardiff anymore."
Rocky: "but taking (the cylons) out on dates doesn't seem like a good plan."
Rocky: "It's like they were picking teams and I got picked last!"
Dalek Caan (after Jack is knocked unconscious): "accessing database on Jack Harkness. Hmmm, death may solve this." (pushes over a tree on jack's head)
Slot 6 - Where Angels Tread...- A good time was had. I knew I would despite my character misgivings. As I stated before, I went in with the mindset of Captain America as the superhero general....the guy who leads. I was afraid it would fall flat if no one listened or respected me, but planned to do my best to think like a leader (a role I usually avoid in roleplaying games). It worked and I can proudly say that it was my plan that saved the day.
"What of your love for Catwoman?" -- Metatron
"What happens is Vegas, stays in Vegas." -- Batman
"Bruce Banner needs to talk to Superman about managing his anger." -- Captain America to the group
"There is a color of Kryptonite that gives (Superman) amnesia." -- Joe S.
"Yeah, but he can't remember what it is." -- Matt A. (For the record, it is one of the possible effects of Red Kryptonite, which is unpredictable. -James the Super-geek)
"Whenever they do a new movie franchise, my life gets very weird." -- Superman to the group
"Are you holding the cross in one hand, and the Joker in the other?" -- GM Jesse
"Weirdest Hindu god ever." -- Superman
"Joker, you can stop crying, we're going to summon the Devil for you." -- Captain America
"As one of the most brilliant scientists in the room, I think we should summon the devil." -- Iron Man to the group
"Is your Joker drastically different from mine?" -- Superman
"That's not *my* Joker." -- Captain America
"It's the room for summoning Luthor...I mean Lucifer." -- Wonder Woman
"Who does he thinks he is, the GM?" -- ?
"He's the Joker, he probably does think he's the GM." -- Joe S
Slot 7 - Redcaps and Riots in the Dreaming City
The game went really well. There was the perfect blend of the returning characters moving their stories forward and the plot of this year's game moving forward. Between this game and the LoQG game, I got a good feel for the system I made. I tweaked it a little since last year, taking the feedback from the players last year in to account and I think the game is a lot, lot stronger now.
"Can't really take Diego off the reservation, cuz he was never really on it." - David V.
"Giving him a proper burial may not help him move on, but it'll at least get the body out of the street." - Tristan (Patrick F.)
"It's so much better kissing (an angel) in front of a fountain than effing a guy in a piss-stained mattress." - Gwen (Kat L.)
Slot 8 - Rebma Confidential- The Big Deep
Without a doubt, this was my favorite slot of an already fantastic con. While ever slot was great, I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in a game. Jeremy crafted a good mystery (and I may steal his mystery-crafting method in future Dreaming City games myself) and fills his worlds with great NPCs to interact with. Combine this with an absolutely amazing group and it was gaming perfection. My character is Dr. Bedlo, a back-alley Doc based off of Peter Lorre characters. He is a character that can easily be not-fun to play as he isn't brave or very effective at much outside of medicine. However, this is what makes him fun for me and with the right group to pay off of, he still gets dragged in to adventures. This group were just the kind of roleplayers you hope to have in every game, a group that obviously understood the group experience and played to it. Egwenna as Cali was the perfect partner-in-crime for Bedlo, a sorceress of the dark arts and peddler of potions, whom, like Bedlo, is a "pillar of the Undertow community." Jarrod V. played the classic seedy detective that every Noir story needs. He got himself in way over his head (as detectives of his sort are supposed to) and of course Cali and Eqwenna were quick to help him out....out of the goodness of their hearts of course. David V. and CJ, played the beat cops trying to peace together the mess left behind and were good sports to deal with the headaches that Cali and Bedlo gave them as they obfuscated the details of the case and hid the people they were looking for.
There are some games where players all stick together through the whole plot and some where the group splits up and some players barely interact with each other. This one of those ideal games where the players split up and reunited as their plots weaved in and out of each other's plots.
Fido is getting fat. I need to start feeding him a little less people.
The Hotel- The hotel for the convention has gotten a lot better over the years. The customer service in the restaurant has improved greatly since I first started coming to the con.
Slot 1 - Enigma Society: Ante Up- My first game of the con was JS's Enigma Society series. As a series game that has been going on for a while, it was mostly returning players, with me as the only new character. I've noticed in my own long-running series that this can lead to some problems for new players in the game, as old players start treating the game a lot more like a campaign, wanting to catch-up with their characters rather than move in to newest story. The game had a little of that, but it had some good players, who made sure to pull my character, John "Doc" Holiday, in to even that part of the game....and pretty soon we were off to America...and adventure! I had a good time.
Slot 2 - Super-villain Brain Trust- The world would kneel before Zod! Comic Geekery was found in great quantities as I finally got to play with Schippers in a comic book game (and this was the first of two for the con). I was a bit tired due to lack of sleep, but I think I still did an adequate job of pompous megalomania. The game was a lot of fun.
"Squirrel! Whom do you text?" - General Zod to Mystique
Slot 3 - Savage Skies of Amber- This was my first attempt at running a Savage Worlds Amber conversion and it seemed to go very well. There were sword fights, gyrocopters, airships and daring-do! There was lots of Trump fun, and a very angry Brand getting the crap beat out of him by a single PC. (Brand was built to be a threat requiring at least 3 PCs to fight. One PC managed to beat him and a knock-out drag-out fight.)
Bridgette: "It's got reach and... What is that game? POLO!" (wielding a long axe from the back of a Pegasus)
After Fate (Bridgette) tells King Martin that she's used the Jewel: Lisa: "Do you need a queen?
Vanessa (king martin's sister, regarding the Jewel of Judgement): "What's it like?"
Fate (who has it tucked in her shirt): "Its a rock between my boobs!"
"Cuz you want Logrus tentacles poking around in your pocket..."
"And they're grrrrrrr-eat." Wade (david m.) on the tiger people (Savage Skies)
Dawn V.: "There are a lot of tentacles in the Savage Skies of Amber."
Me (imitating PCs): "I keep forgetting. 'Why walk? We have trumps!'"
Slot 4 - The Concerto of Crime - I was afraid this game was going to crash and burn. I only had three players. I was personally more tired than I have been in years....and was unable to make up any songs "on-the-spot" because my brain was fried. It didn't matter. The right players can carry a game a long with a barely functioning GM and to the players' credit, they really showed their stuff. There was quite a bit of funny.
Slot 5 - League of Quantum Gentlemen and the Terror of the Time Tunnel
I like long names. I can't help it. It gives it a very pulpy sound.
I think the game went fantastically well. Last years LoQG game floundered a little as I didn't go in with a very solid idea how the plot would progress. I just knew where it would begin and end. This year, planning was much better for my games and it paid off and a wonderful co-GM really sealed this game as a major improvement over the first adventure of the LoQG. There will certainly be more to come. Kudos to the group who managed to work both some good levity in to scenes and some good drama.
"I'm going to go around in circles, cuz I don't know how to get off." - Rocky (riding the Alien queen like a horse)
GM: "Where was Daniel [Jackson] during the Star Trek Experience?"
C.J. "Egypt. Watching his parents die."
Paul D. (dejected): "(Kirk's) gonna sleep with the (Alien) queen." (I now wonder if he was relieved to not see Kirk show up during the game...)
(after realizing that Khan probably has an Alien queen) Marty: "You must be kidding!"
Dalek Caan: "Yes. Ha ha ha. No."
Spock and Marty (in unison, to the Doctor): "Don't lose the TARDIS!"
Dalek Caan (upon finding out that the villain is Khan Noonian Singh): "Khaaaaaaaaaan!"
Jenny: "We could put one TARDIS in the other."
Everyone else: "NO!"
Predator: "It's the best in hunting gear my planet has to offer."
Rocky: "Three dots?"
Kismit (explaining to Predator why they can speak his language): "When you're with them you pick up the language. That's why we all sound British."
Robert: "Can we drop these guys in the Rift?"
GM: "We're not in Cardiff anymore."
Rocky: "but taking (the cylons) out on dates doesn't seem like a good plan."
Rocky: "It's like they were picking teams and I got picked last!"
Dalek Caan (after Jack is knocked unconscious): "accessing database on Jack Harkness. Hmmm, death may solve this." (pushes over a tree on jack's head)
Slot 6 - Where Angels Tread...- A good time was had. I knew I would despite my character misgivings. As I stated before, I went in with the mindset of Captain America as the superhero general....the guy who leads. I was afraid it would fall flat if no one listened or respected me, but planned to do my best to think like a leader (a role I usually avoid in roleplaying games). It worked and I can proudly say that it was my plan that saved the day.
"What of your love for Catwoman?" -- Metatron
"What happens is Vegas, stays in Vegas." -- Batman
"Bruce Banner needs to talk to Superman about managing his anger." -- Captain America to the group
"There is a color of Kryptonite that gives (Superman) amnesia." -- Joe S.
"Yeah, but he can't remember what it is." -- Matt A. (For the record, it is one of the possible effects of Red Kryptonite, which is unpredictable. -James the Super-geek)
"Whenever they do a new movie franchise, my life gets very weird." -- Superman to the group
"Are you holding the cross in one hand, and the Joker in the other?" -- GM Jesse
"Weirdest Hindu god ever." -- Superman
"Joker, you can stop crying, we're going to summon the Devil for you." -- Captain America
"As one of the most brilliant scientists in the room, I think we should summon the devil." -- Iron Man to the group
"Is your Joker drastically different from mine?" -- Superman
"That's not *my* Joker." -- Captain America
"It's the room for summoning Luthor...I mean Lucifer." -- Wonder Woman
"Who does he thinks he is, the GM?" -- ?
"He's the Joker, he probably does think he's the GM." -- Joe S
Slot 7 - Redcaps and Riots in the Dreaming City
The game went really well. There was the perfect blend of the returning characters moving their stories forward and the plot of this year's game moving forward. Between this game and the LoQG game, I got a good feel for the system I made. I tweaked it a little since last year, taking the feedback from the players last year in to account and I think the game is a lot, lot stronger now.
"Can't really take Diego off the reservation, cuz he was never really on it." - David V.
"Giving him a proper burial may not help him move on, but it'll at least get the body out of the street." - Tristan (Patrick F.)
"It's so much better kissing (an angel) in front of a fountain than effing a guy in a piss-stained mattress." - Gwen (Kat L.)
Slot 8 - Rebma Confidential- The Big Deep
Without a doubt, this was my favorite slot of an already fantastic con. While ever slot was great, I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in a game. Jeremy crafted a good mystery (and I may steal his mystery-crafting method in future Dreaming City games myself) and fills his worlds with great NPCs to interact with. Combine this with an absolutely amazing group and it was gaming perfection. My character is Dr. Bedlo, a back-alley Doc based off of Peter Lorre characters. He is a character that can easily be not-fun to play as he isn't brave or very effective at much outside of medicine. However, this is what makes him fun for me and with the right group to pay off of, he still gets dragged in to adventures. This group were just the kind of roleplayers you hope to have in every game, a group that obviously understood the group experience and played to it. Egwenna as Cali was the perfect partner-in-crime for Bedlo, a sorceress of the dark arts and peddler of potions, whom, like Bedlo, is a "pillar of the Undertow community." Jarrod V. played the classic seedy detective that every Noir story needs. He got himself in way over his head (as detectives of his sort are supposed to) and of course Cali and Eqwenna were quick to help him out....out of the goodness of their hearts of course. David V. and CJ, played the beat cops trying to peace together the mess left behind and were good sports to deal with the headaches that Cali and Bedlo gave them as they obfuscated the details of the case and hid the people they were looking for.
There are some games where players all stick together through the whole plot and some where the group splits up and some players barely interact with each other. This one of those ideal games where the players split up and reunited as their plots weaved in and out of each other's plots.
Fido is getting fat. I need to start feeding him a little less people.