Yup! That might be the next con I attend, unless I decide to go back to Tacticon, or a bunch of us in Colorado decide to have some kind of mountain cabin con…
Haven’t thought about what I’ll run at Gamehole. Last year was an easy decision because Hobbs had been bugging me to run Into the Odd…
I wish I got into your Outcast Silver Raiders game but I already signed up for 10 candles. 10 candles was probably the highlight for me followed by the CoC games. I was in 3 of them. It’s good to see more indie games at the con. Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland could have been better but I can’t complain. At least somebody was willing to run it. I still want to run Liminal Horror. It was great catching up with you and Mirko. I really had a good time. Lots of good friends at this one.
Savage Battletech!? Tell me more! I think BT can be a great universe for a campaign. It's vast and there is a lot that can happen between the major events. You can even have big things happen on backwater worlds that won't mess up the IP timeline.
Curious how it played as I find that the miniatures game is a bit too slow for a role playing game campaign with out of mech action.
Might be easier to break down in person when we next see one another, but basically the PCs were part of a mercenary company (Red's Raiders) who took a contract to help one house defend a backwater planet from another. That the the opening scene, with the 'Battle' rules -- a huge, sweeping scene with our dropships arriving in the middle of a big battle that was already underway. We were reinforcing the local garrison and some other mercs who were not cutting the mustard.
We won that battle (the GM mentioned that several groups hadn't), then went to the bar for R&R. There we learned about the *real* mission Red had signed us up for -- helping a dude crack open an ancient vault filled with old tech. Cut then to desert ops with crazy storms and running afoul of the other mercs, also after the vault, then finding the vault and defeating its defenses (out of mechs, mostly), then a big battle at the end as the other house's elite troops paid us a visit. It was very fun, partly because the PCs had baked in connections on their sheets, and we (the players) -really- leaned into, and developed, those connection. One pilot had the hots for Red, one was trying to prove himself, one (me) was an old duelists who liked working alone, dispensing advice no one wanted, and counseling the kid on how to get in Red's pants. Much fun was had...
I should also note that said kid with the crush was played by Karl K, and that my advice on romancing the leader of the merc unit (also a PC) was absolutely terrible. 8]
Ah. I wish Genghis Con were in the summer and I'd tag along. And great write up! It got me jonesing for some table toppy goodness. Alas, not a lot going on near me. Not yet, anyway. And there's a smaller chance there are some local games in English...my language skills are definitely not up to trying it in Montenegrin. :(
You would have loved it, Trav. Especially the CoC game. Actually, all of the games.
We should definitely try and attend one together. It's one thing going to cons by yourself, but it's a -fantastic- time if you're going with friends, getting beers, eating dinner together, etc. A seriously good time.
They use the tabletop events site. It was really confusing the first time I did it. I’ll ping you when they release the schedule since I follow them on FB.
Great write-up! Having played in most of the same games that weekend (all except Call of Cthulhu, plus a couple you didn't play in), +1 to everything you said. Really solid con!
Honestly, I think Outcast Silver Raiders was the highlight for me. Great session, great players, great adventure, and a solid first taste of what O.S.R. is all about. I'll refrain from posting spoilers. But that one scene where I felled the big <redacted> in a single swing was awesome! And the one immediately after, where I almost got my face <redacted> - well, not so awesome for my character, but super fun. :)
Thanks for the kind words about my Outgunned game. I had fun running it, and look forward to experiencing the system as a campaign soon (session 0 tomorrow!).
As for the system criticisms: I don't disagree that some of the skill and attribute names could be crisper. It just doesn't bother me - either because, as you pointed out, it's the kind of game where it's totally fine for players to pick whatever combo they're good at, or maybe because English isn't my native language either (although I've now lived in the US longer than I lived in Germany before).
You're not the first person to call out that "Critical" as the default difficulty seems odd. That's fair - a different name might have avoided some confusion. I think of it as a "Solid" success, or a "Fairly Challenging" difficulty. I think "Critical" works ok when you apply a more literal interpretation of the word and don't view it through the D&D lens. It's a level of difficulty or success that matters, that risks a bad outcome or is of crucial importance. FWIW, I feel that the 2d20 system's use of the term isn't all that different. In 2d20, a "Critical" success isn't some wild success beyond expectations. Rather, it counts as 2 successes, similar to how a Critical Success in Outgunned counts as 3 Basic Successes. :shrug:
Thanks for the meaty note, Mirko, and I'm super-glad you liked the O.S.R. game. As I think you know, I was a little wary of running a robust chargen at the start, but it worked out well and we were not pressed for time. There were really some memorable moments in the game, and you were front and center for most of them. I still remember the look on your face as I described the bite, and everything that went with it. =]
On Outgunned / Adventures -- yeah. Very much looking forward to Session 0 tomorrow night as well, and you're right about the successes -- once you get used to them, no big deal at all. I think the attributes / stats and skills is a bigger tripwire, but maybe with a few reps that's just not the case...
Re: "The Thing on the Ice" Yeah, that does sound awesome. Did you read "The Terror" by Dan Simmons? If not, it's a fictionalized account of Franklin's expedition. I enjoyed it immensely. If you only saw the TV adaptation, do yourself a favor and read the book. Much better.
They’ll post whenever Gary Oliver gets around to it. He will announce it on discord or on the facebook group. It’s kind of weird but he’ll post all the games and give you 48hrs to look at them. Then he’ll open up half the seats as pre-sale tickets at $5 each. So if you really want to get into a particular game you can pay the $5. In April he’ll release the remaining seats a no charge.
The Con. Always filled with experiences. It's got me thinking about what to submit for GHC.
Yup! That might be the next con I attend, unless I decide to go back to Tacticon, or a bunch of us in Colorado decide to have some kind of mountain cabin con…
Haven’t thought about what I’ll run at Gamehole. Last year was an easy decision because Hobbs had been bugging me to run Into the Odd…
I wish I got into your Outcast Silver Raiders game but I already signed up for 10 candles. 10 candles was probably the highlight for me followed by the CoC games. I was in 3 of them. It’s good to see more indie games at the con. Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland could have been better but I can’t complain. At least somebody was willing to run it. I still want to run Liminal Horror. It was great catching up with you and Mirko. I really had a good time. Lots of good friends at this one.
Great to see you at the con, Dwayne! I'd love to hit North Texas, but man -- June is a ferociously busy month at work for me.
Hm. Just looked at it, and there are no games up yet. Do you know when they get posted?
Great read. I skipped the OSR section, in case of spoilers.
It's safe! Spoiler-free for those that might play at the table with me... like you! Tonight!
Savage Battletech!? Tell me more! I think BT can be a great universe for a campaign. It's vast and there is a lot that can happen between the major events. You can even have big things happen on backwater worlds that won't mess up the IP timeline.
Curious how it played as I find that the miniatures game is a bit too slow for a role playing game campaign with out of mech action.
Might be easier to break down in person when we next see one another, but basically the PCs were part of a mercenary company (Red's Raiders) who took a contract to help one house defend a backwater planet from another. That the the opening scene, with the 'Battle' rules -- a huge, sweeping scene with our dropships arriving in the middle of a big battle that was already underway. We were reinforcing the local garrison and some other mercs who were not cutting the mustard.
We won that battle (the GM mentioned that several groups hadn't), then went to the bar for R&R. There we learned about the *real* mission Red had signed us up for -- helping a dude crack open an ancient vault filled with old tech. Cut then to desert ops with crazy storms and running afoul of the other mercs, also after the vault, then finding the vault and defeating its defenses (out of mechs, mostly), then a big battle at the end as the other house's elite troops paid us a visit. It was very fun, partly because the PCs had baked in connections on their sheets, and we (the players) -really- leaned into, and developed, those connection. One pilot had the hots for Red, one was trying to prove himself, one (me) was an old duelists who liked working alone, dispensing advice no one wanted, and counseling the kid on how to get in Red's pants. Much fun was had...
I should also note that said kid with the crush was played by Karl K, and that my advice on romancing the leader of the merc unit (also a PC) was absolutely terrible. 8]
Ah. I wish Genghis Con were in the summer and I'd tag along. And great write up! It got me jonesing for some table toppy goodness. Alas, not a lot going on near me. Not yet, anyway. And there's a smaller chance there are some local games in English...my language skills are definitely not up to trying it in Montenegrin. :(
You would have loved it, Trav. Especially the CoC game. Actually, all of the games.
We should definitely try and attend one together. It's one thing going to cons by yourself, but it's a -fantastic- time if you're going with friends, getting beers, eating dinner together, etc. A seriously good time.
Are you back this summer?
They use the tabletop events site. It was really confusing the first time I did it. I’ll ping you when they release the schedule since I follow them on FB.
Cool. I can also dip into the Discord.
Great write-up! Having played in most of the same games that weekend (all except Call of Cthulhu, plus a couple you didn't play in), +1 to everything you said. Really solid con!
Honestly, I think Outcast Silver Raiders was the highlight for me. Great session, great players, great adventure, and a solid first taste of what O.S.R. is all about. I'll refrain from posting spoilers. But that one scene where I felled the big <redacted> in a single swing was awesome! And the one immediately after, where I almost got my face <redacted> - well, not so awesome for my character, but super fun. :)
Thanks for the kind words about my Outgunned game. I had fun running it, and look forward to experiencing the system as a campaign soon (session 0 tomorrow!).
As for the system criticisms: I don't disagree that some of the skill and attribute names could be crisper. It just doesn't bother me - either because, as you pointed out, it's the kind of game where it's totally fine for players to pick whatever combo they're good at, or maybe because English isn't my native language either (although I've now lived in the US longer than I lived in Germany before).
You're not the first person to call out that "Critical" as the default difficulty seems odd. That's fair - a different name might have avoided some confusion. I think of it as a "Solid" success, or a "Fairly Challenging" difficulty. I think "Critical" works ok when you apply a more literal interpretation of the word and don't view it through the D&D lens. It's a level of difficulty or success that matters, that risks a bad outcome or is of crucial importance. FWIW, I feel that the 2d20 system's use of the term isn't all that different. In 2d20, a "Critical" success isn't some wild success beyond expectations. Rather, it counts as 2 successes, similar to how a Critical Success in Outgunned counts as 3 Basic Successes. :shrug:
Thanks for the meaty note, Mirko, and I'm super-glad you liked the O.S.R. game. As I think you know, I was a little wary of running a robust chargen at the start, but it worked out well and we were not pressed for time. There were really some memorable moments in the game, and you were front and center for most of them. I still remember the look on your face as I described the bite, and everything that went with it. =]
On Outgunned / Adventures -- yeah. Very much looking forward to Session 0 tomorrow night as well, and you're right about the successes -- once you get used to them, no big deal at all. I think the attributes / stats and skills is a bigger tripwire, but maybe with a few reps that's just not the case...
I forgot: I have to admit I'm a little jealous of your upcoming O.S.R. campaign. :) I'm sure it'll be awesome!
If nothing else we’ll get to explore the rules around replacement PCs, heirs and such…
Re: "The Thing on the Ice" Yeah, that does sound awesome. Did you read "The Terror" by Dan Simmons? If not, it's a fictionalized account of Franklin's expedition. I enjoyed it immensely. If you only saw the TV adaptation, do yourself a favor and read the book. Much better.
I’ve always meant to read it — and I have indeed seen the series. Which I thought started *great*, then kind of got weaker as it went on…
Agreed.
They’ll post whenever Gary Oliver gets around to it. He will announce it on discord or on the facebook group. It’s kind of weird but he’ll post all the games and give you 48hrs to look at them. Then he’ll open up half the seats as pre-sale tickets at $5 each. So if you really want to get into a particular game you can pay the $5. In April he’ll release the remaining seats a no charge.
Ah. So their tabletop events site isn’t even used?