Three cons in four weeks (two in the last two), and I’m exhausted.

Last week, I attended PAX East along with the Indie Press Revolution booth. I hadn’t expected to go – but a myriad of factors conspired to get me there. I had such a great time! I ran demos both Saturday and Sunday – two sessions of the Dresden Files RPG, using the free adventure “Neutral Grounds Casefile,” one of Hyperreality, and one of Fiasco. I talked a little bit about this in Episode 25, but I wanted to expound a little bit more on my experiences here.

Finally being involved in a Dresden Files game, I got to see the up-close implementation of the FATE system from the GM side, and this is especially true when teaching the system. Aspects are kept straightforward – one High Concept, and one Trouble. Further aspects are handled on a scene or setting basis. This keeps the GMs notes on how to get the characters into trouble nice and streamlined. Magic still feels a little complicated, but not inordinately so, and they separate the mechanics from the special effects which handily makes the rules very portable from character to character. This is something that HERO system also does; it’s a trait I’ve become very fond of.

Fiasco continues to amaze me with the flexibility and dynamic stories that it engenders. Teaching the game (and it occurs to me that teaching games is a good topic for an entire episode), is an interesting prospect, because the game has a much different goal for characters and while I think anyone can manage the imagination and role-play required, it has to be taught effectively to run properly. The difference between the first game of Fiasco that I facilitated and the second was night and day. Once I understood the flow of the game better and which rules to teach at different points of the game, as well as the goals of those rules, the game became much better because I was able to give the players a lot more understanding of the game and its goals.

On to Fear the Con, St. Louis, MO.

This con continues to be one of my favorites. The forum community is extremely tightly knit, and the people continuously step-up their games and contribution to make this con great. I ran four games out of six available slots, which I had a great time doing, but doing it immediately following PAX was a bit of a mistake. I’m wrecked both from the sheer amount of talking, but also being on for that much time. I love doing this, but boy does it take a lot of energy.

I got to try Gamma World for the first time, where I played a sentient apple tree who I named Malice Domestica x Newton (plant biologists will recognize the pun on the scientific name for apples). I really enjoyed the wackiness of the game, but less the tactical aspects of the 4E system. I’d play it again in an instant, but it’s not my ideal match.

After that I ran the first of two slots of the HERO system “Princess Party” game I wrote specifically as an in-joke for last years FtC goers. The context is that the hall hosted a disney themed birthday party, and there was a lovely window poster of Cinderella announcing the Princess Party – and of course we decided that should be next year’s theme. And so. The game went really well, explored the dysfunctionality of Ariel / Eric’s relationship, and we all had a great time.

And then there was the Time Cube game. This game was run by an AI trained on the time cube website, and interpreted by the GM. Weird freaking game, and an interesting resolution system that Bob called “d-skittle.” I think that this game may end up being repurposed into a Fiasco play set.

Saturday, I started with my Cowboys and Luchadores game, “High Moon.” Great fun! We used the Token Effort system. I love this system especially when players create their characters at the table, because it stimulates player buy-in and also lets them guide the story in significant ways. The only thing I find lacking is the occasional grit of a slightly more capable tactical system. Combat is generally very cinematic and heavily relies on players to come up with actions and consequences which can be a bit daunting at times.

For the second slot, I ran the princess party game again. This one ended up very different, but very enjoyable all the same. This group of princesses were far less dysfunctional and far more dainty – playing up the chi-chi aspects of their characters far more than the prior group. Still, a very good time!

Finally, the Hyperreality game. Where the ScareBoat games took on the feel of modern reality TV settings, both of the Hyperreality games have been off-the-wall insane. Setting the stage for an R or MA rated game and explicitly telling the players to be over the top has worked out well so far. The main stumbling point I’ve experienced is that the quantity and style of player narrative is tough to communicate and teach effectively. What this means to me as a designer is that my rules aren’t quite defined enough to inform players how to play the game. I also got to try out the themes that I had integrated into Last Chance, USA that really helped players flesh out their characters for a more complete experience. I’m thrilled that the game is still improving and triggering new ideas for fleshing it out to be more and more complete. Don’t forget, you can still download the original ashcan edition if you’re interested in checking it out.

Finally, a quick thanks to Dan, Chad, Wayne, Chris, Pat, and John at Fear the Boot. Your commitment to the community that has grown up around your show is inspiring, and it is a constant wellspring of support to its members projects.

Show Notes – 3/15/2011

Back on the road – Newark Delaware, Newport Rhode Island, Boston Massachusetts, and St. Louis Missouri

- Blog posted about Dreamation…writing more?
- Appearance on Jenn’s Dreamation Interviews
- Last chance for Feed the Birds prototypes
- Hyperreality is out!

PAX East
- Ran lots of the Dresden Files RPG, Hyperreality, and Fiasco (Dragon Slayers playset)
- Working on a new game called “Where my clothes!”
- Played “Fifth World,” by Jason Godesky
- Boy do I need to run Apocalypse World

- Fear the Con (IV) next weekend!
- Information available at http://www.feartheboot.com and http://www.fearthecon.com
- Time Cube

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Show Notes – 11/20/2010

Business
- Breaking up the Daniel Solis Episodes
- Leave me a message! 646-8200- DFL
- Appearance on the Jennisodes, Ep. 12
- New segment for Warpig Radio, coming soon!

Games
- Different games for different coasts, the prevalence of Pathfinder and FATE games.
- Game Chef and Apocalypse World

Travel
- Las Vegas, NV – NeonCon
- Boston, MA – Hanging out with Steve from Postcards from the Dungeon
- State College, PA – Work + Comic Swap visit
- Ellicott City, MD – Judge’s Bench

Creativity
- Prioritizing your own needs

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