Nostalgia

All of this talk of gaming and LARPs and role-playing reminded me that my first RPG experience was actually when I was pretty young. My older brother and his friend used to play red box D&D when they were in high school. I was actually in elementary school, and since my brother got stuck watching me a lot, I was around when they played. At one point in time they made me a character and every once in a while I got to role some dice. I had no idea what was going on in general; it was just fun to get to be a part of it. Apparently, I got a lucky die role that significantly advanced my character and that was the end of my game playing.

However, they decided instead to make up a little interactive scenario for me. Looking back I realize it was my first LARP. I was a little squire who was learning to sword-fight (I was given rules/commandments by the master) and then sent off into the woods to go on quests or return things to the dungeon. After my first one, they gave me a little red squire's tunic and I was so proud. I dashed about in my costume following clues. I remember one time I had solved everything and reached the location but couldn't find the dagger. It was above my head, and I just couldn't think to look for it. They had taken a wedge of old wood and spray-painted it copper and made a hilt out of duct tape. I loved those games when I was a kid and they are some of my fondest memories.

Years later I was going through my closet and I found my little squire's tunic. My mom told me the real reason they made it for me was because they couldn't see me in the woods and the bright red fabric made it easier for them to track my movements.

GenCon Wrap Up

Things got a little hectic at GenCon so the rest of my posts will have to be summarized in one. When last I left off, I was getting ready for my evening LARP on Thursday night. This one was based on the Spycraft RPG from Crafty Games and took place on a research facility in Antarctica. I walked into the room and was only the second female in the room so I was a little concerned that maybe I missed some directions. It worked okay though. I ended up playing a doctor sent by the Agency to assess the research being done at the facility. I was able to accomplish my main objective. The latter part moved a little slowly after that but I think that was more because not all of the GMs they were expecting showed. The story was interesting though.

On Friday, my LARPs didn't start until the afternoon so I spent the morning just relaxing. I went for a swim and took care of some things online and reviewed my character data for my first LARP that afternoon. This one was set in Paris in a vaguely Victorian+fantasy setting. I played a sorceress with a scientific bent who was invited to an evening party because her recent work had put her in the press a lot. This suited her interests because it meant having the opportunity to network with new potential clients. I ended up accomplishing my task but there were all sorts of subplots I completely missed out on.

Afterwards, I had a quick dinner and met my husband for dessert at Circle City Bar and Grille in the Marriott Hotel. They really make an effort to accommodate the geek clientele that descends upon the city with special menus and decorations. And the food is pretty good too. I only had dessert but I almost never order dessert in restaurants because the quality is only fair to middling most of the time. This was amazing however. It was a "butter cake" which had a flavor and texture somewhere between a sugar cookie and a pound cake with ice cream and some sort of creamy egg custard poured over it. So rich and so sinful and so good.

That evening I played in a Castle Falkenstein game based on the Courting Murder scenarios. This game focused more on figuring out the various plots and subplots and attempting to manipulate the situation to work out in one's characters favor. I failed miserably at this one. I enjoyed it, but I think this type of game may not be the best fit for me. At least without some sort of puzzle or task to throw in. It is interesting how one's alliances change when they find out you might be useful in a pinch. It was also a little weird because I had found I was willing to start being more brave and come out of my comfort zone a bit in the LARPs I had participated in until this one. It may have been that I actually new some of the other players which threw off my game a little bit. I am not sure. Interesting dynamics and I learned some things.

Saturday morning was the LARP I attempted to costume for. I borrowed a skirt and blouse from a friend (along with an unbelievably fabulous hat) and I made a vest to go with it so that I could be vaguely suitable for a steampunk LARP. This LARP was billed as being more "immersible" and I thought my modern dress would stand out more in this scenario.

When I started signing up for events after GenCon registration, I wasn't really sure where to begin. I don't know that much about LARPing or where I fit in the genre. Also, from some pre-Con advice I received, GenCon LARPs can be so widely variable from one group to the next so you can't always imagine just what exactly to expect. I ended up choosing this LARP for a very silly reason...the group hosting it dubbed themselves "The League of Unspeakable Adventure" and I thought that if the name was any indication they must be be fun. And they were. The set was indescribably cool...in fact I forgot a couple of times that walls weren't walls and almost knocked them over. The GMs were great. It took me a while to warm up into my character (which was really more me then the group I believe) but once I came up with an idea and went to the GMs for help, they were totally game. They went out of their way to help me with my idea and help make things work. And I don't think it was just me. I talked to some other people who played other LARPs they ran that weekend and even though the experiences were vastly different in terms of the way the story evolved they too sounded like the GMs really did their best to make the game fun and successful. They work with the Rise of Aester world. If this group comes back next year I will absolutely sign up for whatever they run. I need to start working on my steampunk costuming

After that, I changed and headed over to the exhibit hall to do my crawl through the vendors. There is a ton of stuff to see and hear. I heard the TARDIS music and was immediately drawn to it. It was interesting to see all the demos and games taking place. Gaming really exists on a multitude of levels and it is going in so many exciting new directions. I drooled over the model building stuff. I really loved dioramas as a kid. In fact in school whenever a diorama project came up, I was there. I built some really fun stuff in our basement when I was a kid. Nothing brilliant mind you but I really loved it. I think I would get into model building as an adult except it is really expensive and there isn't a good place for it. It was fun to stare at the displays though and imagine. I watched some board games. It is interesting that the games I thought I would love were not quite what I expected, and the games that seemed less then stellar grabbed my attention in the end. I really liked Fortune and Glory from Flying Frog Games. I also picked up a copy of the game Impossible Machine. It is a simple mechanic but I like the concept. And, Brothers Knudson are good at including visual aids in their game instructions.

Some of the artists I saw that I liked (including Echo of course):
Jared Blando - I really liked his cartography work.
Doug Kovacs - he had some really interesting Green Man based art work
Fallenlights - she had some really lovely pieces and I think some of my friends have some of her work because I have seen them before. I actually bought a little pin from her booth
John Stanko - I thought his work really had a life and vitality of his own. I was really moved by the emotions he was able to capture on the subjects faces.

I met up with my husband after my crawl and we went out for dinner at a sushi restaurant and then I headed off to play True Dungeon. This game was a last minute addition to my schedule. I enjoyed the experience immensely but I was also frustrated by this game. Knowing what to expect though I fully plan to play again in the future. The interactive puzzles were fun even with some set backs. The dragon ultimately ate my face.



This doesn't even cover all the other intangible GenCon impressions. Some of the costumes were so amazing. And, I really liked the feeling that people seemed like they were free to be themselves. I don't think I have ever been somewhere that people could just explore their weird geekiness in a non-judgemental way.

I definitely had a great time and I am already thinking about all the things I want to do next year.

Gen Con Day 1

I have arrived in Indianapolis for my first Gen Con. My husband has been going for many years and this was my first opportunity to get to go with him. Given my recent obsessions with LARPs, I think I was a little more ready to take the big leap.

The drive down was nice and productive; I got some knitting done. We arrived last night and went out to dinner at Buca di Beppo which was really good if a little overwhelming. It is family style Italian and there is an unbelievable quantity of food. I really enjoyed their garlic mashed potatoes and while everything was very tasty I think I enjoyed the red wine sangria the most...or at least that was the thing I was craving the most. By the time we were done with dinner it was too late to stop in and get my swag bag and the pool had closed do I just took a shower and went to bed.

Saturday morning, I played the ever popular "stand in line for an hour and a half" game. I think it was the most well-attended event of the Con if perhaps not the most loved. I did a quick browse through the exhibit hall and spotted a few things I liked and a few demos I want to try later on (I didn't have enough time today; There was a lot I missed but I get overstimulated pretty easy). I got to meet Echo and I did buy a few of her prints. Her work is so amazing. I was really shy though and a total fangirl but she was gracious. (It looks like she updated her website and I just realized that some of my favorite pieces of visual advertising have also been her pieces. Not surprised at all).



LARPs generally take place in Union Station which is such a gorgeous space to play in.

I participated in my first LARP this morning. It was loosely based upon the Girl Genius comic. I played a spark/heir. It was enjoyable in that they made some really interesting puzzles to play with. It was a little hectic for me so I am not sure if I was very much fun to play with. I had a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, so I didn't succeed on some of my goals. All the puzzles were so distracting, and I wanted to fix them all. At one point we couldn't find the pieces to fix a puzzle so we started improvising and at one point there were 5 characters holding times onto the grid to complete the circuit. It was appropriate if you know anything about Sparks from the comic and the GM considered giving us the win except that it would have really rearranged the storyline. While looking for clues, I also overturned a chair and found a "You are a winner" sticker on the bottom. Sadly it was only a coincidence.



It finished earlier then expected so I had time to go for a swim and take a shower. I am going to wrap a few things online and then go grab some dinner. I rushed through my lunch because of timing constraints and I would like to take a more leisurely time of it with dinner. Then it is on to the next LARP of the evening.