Adventuring at Cons – Coblin Style!

By Andrew Burkett



Well, another Con on the Cob has come and gone, and Andy Hopp and his staff have exceeded my expectations yet again.  This was my fifth time attending this “off the cob” art, sci-fi, and gaming convention, but my first time as a member of the press.  As usual, both the staff of Con on the Cob and the staff of MSTB Gaming (they handled registration and event ticketing) were welcoming and helpful throughout my experience this past weekend. 

 

Andy Hopp

My Thursday began by helping Michael Mirth, president of Spellbinders, set up his booth.  Seeing I have never been on the vendor side of a convention before, this gave me a new view of a con.  The staff in charge of the exhibitor hall was very accommodating of Mirth’s every need.  I was very pleased in the layout, flow and variety of the hall, both as a vendor and a shopper. There were plenty of game, clothing, jewelry, and other geeksential vendors to choose from.

 

After Spellbinders was done using me as a pack mule, I started to wander through the artist hall.  Both well and lesser known artists were displaying their pieces under the direction of Heather Krieter.  Heather is a very well known fantasy artist in her own right (Legend ofthe Five Rings CCG, My Little Demon) and does a wonderful job overseeing the art fair.  I thoroughly enjoyed bidding on some of the fantastic pieces of art.  Then I spent some time meeting the other artists who spent the weekend talking to fans and signing autographs.  Famous artists like: Tony Steele, Ed Beard Jr., and Aaron Acevedo not only spent hours in their booths, but also could be found playing games and attending parties with their fans.

Gut Bustin' Games' Redneck Life

Of course, there was tons of gaming throughout the entire weekend.  There was Savage Worlds role playing with Sean Patrick Fannon.  Silvervine RPG was out in full force with John Arcadian, Ed Yarraus, Alec Stringer, and Ryan Rawlings. Gut Bustin’ Games was also there in their Full redneck-trailer park glory.  I was able to get a game of Sutakku, by Smirk and Dagger Games as well as play testing Karesansui, by John Hazen along with my menagerie of prototypes. 

 

The Truely Talented Destini Beard

The truly unique thing about Con on the Cob is the vast variety of events.  There is literally something for everyone.  Music was preformed nightly ranging from the comedic to the enchanted.  I personally was enthralled with the amazing vocals of Destini Beard.  Contests of all sorts were being held at the show's main stage.  Favorites of mine included Quick Draw, a 3 minute sketch of the audience’s choosing, and Iron Artist, famous artist and a secret ingredient. 



Cheese Fountain by Gut Bustn' Games

To top off each night are some crazy parties.  Thursday night brought me to the artist’s Drink-n-Draw. This was the featured artist time to see how well they could apply their trade while inebriated.  Friday night I wandered into the AnCon Ale House, a beer soaked, gaming soirée hosted by the fine people at AnCon; Another Game Convention.  Then Saturday the cocktails flowed at the Savage Saturday Night Bar and Grill, hosted by Sean Patrick Fannon, and the Barfleet party (think if Star Trek was filmed at a bar.)  Saturday also brought me to the NEO Witches Ball, another great event full of belly dancers, psychic readers, drum circles, magic and so much more.

My Chevy S-10

To wrap things up, Con on the Cob is an awe inspiring event well worth the price of admission.  If I had one complaint, it would be that they have outgrown their venue.  The Clarion Inn Hudson is a nice place to have a convention, but when Con on the Cob is tipping the scales at over 700 people, it might be time to venture out to bigger and better venues.  Needless to stay, whether they stay put, or find a larger convention hall, I will definitely be attending all of Andy’s future Cons.  I might even throw a few people in the bed of my 1999 Chevy S-10 and drag them along too! 

 

 This Convention Receives Andrew Burkett’s Seal of Approval.

Adventuring at Cons

By Andrew Burkett

As most of you know, I have recently been appointed as NorthCoast Gamer’s Social Media Manager.  In reviewing the social media outlets that NCG have been using, I came a crossed a rarely used Blogspot account.  To remedy the lack of use, I decided to start my first blog.  With a trip to Gamerati Jamestown looming, I figured reviewing game cons would make a good subject for said blog.

I set off Saturday morning, a couple of weeks ago, East through the Ohio country side.  It is a great time of year for a drive.  Thanks to some detailed directions via Facebook posts and a few well place signs, I arrived at the well hidden Jamestown Fireman’s Banquet Hall with no issues.  The Firemen’s hall was a great venue for a small game day.  They welcomed us gamers with tasty, yet very in expensive food and opened their doors to their otherwise private tavern.

I checked in at registration and was greeted by PeteFigtree, the show’s host and organizer.  He personally walked me through registration and handed me a heaping pile of swag.  He also answered some of my questions about Gamerati and its first year in Jamestown, Pa.  There were about 50 people in attendance and a slew of different games in 3 blocks of 4 hours each.  Of course there was plenty of open gaming, play testing and demos though out the entire day. 

I surveyed the room and saw many familiar faces.  Andy Hopp, of Con on the Cob and Mutha OithCreations and Heather Hopp of Surreal Siren, had a both set up in the back.  John Hazen, of Undercity Games, was in the midst of a game of Risk 2 with his wife.  Frank Belter and Dan Britt, of MSTB Gaming and AnCon, were conversing over lunch.  Dan Cetorelli, of GaspCon, Tracy Barnett, of Sand and Steam Productions, and Paul Stefko, of Nothing VenturedGames were waiting anxiously for the comedic rap stylings of 2D6.  And at final glance I saw Tom Flanaigan, of Knights of the Night actual play podcast, and Brie Sheldon, of Gaming as Women in some heated roleplaying.

I found my way to the table provided to me and joined the other Game Master setting up their favorite games.  I had my screw you neighbor game, aptly named Screwed; the winner of AnCon 2012 Iron Geek, John Hazen and Tim Jesurun’s Karesansui; and my latest and greatest prototype, ThermoNuclear War on today’s  agenda.  For such a small con, it wasn’t hard to find players.  Pete guided a few people my way himself.

After much gaming, it was time to see who won the slew of games generously donated to the raffle.  Coincidentally, my team won the “Best Poker Hand” event which netted me a copy of Eaten by Zombies.  Fortunately for the other attendees, the prize table was so deep, almost everyone walked away with a prize.

My 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis

At the end of the day, I felt that Pete Figtree and his team of volunteers reached their goal to bring gamers together and promote regional geekery very well.  I will defiantly be attending next year’s game day and bring as many people that I can squeeze into my 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis.

 

 

This Game Convention Receives Andrew Burkett’s Seal of Approval.

Convention Survey Results

Each year our organization does a survey of its members and a comparative survey of other attendees of conventions.  We usually publish these as separate blog posts, but we decided this year to publish the results on the Social Interactions website (the nonprofit organization that sponsors the North Coast Gamers program) and then we can add the links on the blog as needed.  Happy to have any responses from folks!

Convention Survey


Those of you who followed our posts in previous years will notice that we asked the same questions but instead of posting them in a somewhat whimsical way as we had traditionally done, we thought posting the formal result and our summaries would allow you to take whatever whimsical path you wish to take in the comments!


The purpose of the survey is to understand the opinions of the attendees of local and regional conventions that provide a means for people to interact on an interpersonal level rather than virtually through social media or other online activities. Conventions offer a different paradigm for social interaction in the way that smaller, more local events cannot accomplish. On a much larger scale, conventions offer the opportunity for individuals to interact with people they are not familiar with, and voluntarily interacting socially with other individuals, drawn together by common likes. The success of such conventions is seen as very important activities that continue to draw individuals together and forge new friendships. The survey provides feedback to the organizers of such conventions with the hope that they can take advantage of the opinions of the attendees so that future events are even more successful.  The survey results are shared with teh event organizers but it should be noted that the survey is done completely independent from the convention organization itself.  Social Interactions does not take any form of payment for the work that has been put into the survey itself.  All comments are appreciated.


Origins 2012 Survey:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/100147878/Origins-2012-Attendee-Survey

Reality Makes all the Difference in your Worlds

 All gamers like to suspend reality to some extent while playing games.  This suspension of   disbelief brings the entertainment value to the players.  That's why we say 'do you want to PLAY a game?'  It's a type of play to be sure, but you don't need me to tell you that.  However, as we get older, we need to move away from the complete suspension of belief for our entertainment.  Wile E Coyote is still funny for many of us, but reality (typically gravity in his case) kicks in at just the right time.  Like any good movie, you can't completely suspend reality otherwise it becomes a bit absurd and boring.  This applies to any entertainment, especially games.

Back when I was a kid...I couldn't have been more than 10 years old... I remember playing a board game with some friends.  I don't recall the name of the game, but I do know they were teaching me the rules as we went on.  I became so frustrated with the game that I never played again because the devices in the game had nothing to do with the game itself.  The devices I speak of were:  elbows on the table caused you to be penalized, rolling dice with your left hand rather than your right caused you to be penalized, scooting your chair during the game caused you to lose your turn.  There was literally a booklet of ridiculous and unrelated rules that frustrate me to this day.  (Yes, I am still receiving therapy from that game).  The reason I bring this up (besides being therapeutic) is that games need to be tie relevant things together in order for it to make enough sense to be fun while keeping the entertainment value going.  Said another way, don't have irrelevant things impact the playing of the game.  It becomes 'noise', and noise is often annoying.

If noise is annoying, then what is music?  Ahhhh...now we are getting to the heart of it!  Making music is choreographed noise.  I mean really, who enjoys the sound of symbols all by themselves?  But, bring them into a larger orchestra, and they sound great if played at the right times.  The same is true with orchestrating reality and the suspension of reality in a game.  The cartoonist can suspend gravity for a certain amount of time, but if it was suspended all of the time, then Wile E Coyote would never make his perfect dirt plumes when hit hits the canyon floor.  A good game...any type of game...has a balance of reality and suspension of reality.

Let me give you what I think is a good example..in fact, now that I'm thinking of it, I might apply it to a future game!  (I call dibs!!).   Imagine a miniature or RPG scenario where a group of terrorists sneak into another country, set up their secret base, secretly detonate a nuclear bomb and design chemical weapons, in order to end the world to set up their own on their own rules.  OK, it's a little far fetched, I know.  Some people might play a scenario or two but they really need to put the reality check far back in their brain.  However, let's bring some reality to it and it would not only allow that reality check to come a bit more forward.  Let's place a real name to this terrorist group and call them the hmmm...how about the "Aum Shinrikyo"?  Let's timebox this for reality sake into a period we've all lived.  Let's say the mid-1990's or even today.  OK...next, let's pick a location.  Certainly can't be any place well populated or so extreme...having it as a moon base would be suspending reality too far.  How about the unpopulated areas of Australia...the deep outback.  Put a specific name to the place...something Australian sounding like "Banjawarn Station" in the Great Victoria Desert.  There.   Now you've just given enough reality to add spice to the scenario(s).   What would make it really, REALLY interesting?  Well, basing it on true events would certainly make it fun, but we'd need to change this story line a bit....or would we?  What if the players were given newspaper articles or a story synopsis of real, true to life, events and they then had to disengage reality only for their role on the event.  Would knowing that the above events really happened make the scenario more fun and interesting?  I can say first hand that it makes all the difference in the world.  Do some research on the Aum Shinrikyo...you wil quickly remember who they are.  You will also find some incredibly interesting, and little known facts about this Japanese terrorist group activities such as them having a 1/2 million acres of property in the Great Victoria Desert of Australia, them mining their own uranium, their partnership with former Soviet scientists, their detonation of the worlds first privately developed atomic bomb, and so much more.  Reality is the spice of life, and reality makes all the difference in your gaming worlds as well.

Modern news is one thing, but the applicability of this approach to gaming really adds credibility and more entertainment value to the games themselves.  Sure it takes a little more research for the game designer, but you will have a better end-result.  Good luck and I'd love to hear more about how you've used reality in your games and the responses of the players to it.  


-Maze

Three Cigars that Changed the World

I love historical games.  There is something about imagining to put on a king's crown, general's feathery hat, a commander's cluster, or a sergeant's tin pot.  That 'something' is to see if you can have a different outcome than what really happened.  A different decision of troop placement, an additional disruption of supply lines of the enemy, or a feint attack could have turned the tide of not just a battle, but a war, and quite possibly the world itself.  The Weather Channel has had some really interesting episodes on how weather could have changed the world...D-Day is a perfect example, but there are hundreds more.  It's amazing how many trivial things can change the outcome of the world.  McClellan's receiving of the enemy's Special Order 191 that was found at Antietam Creek in 1862 wrapped around 3 cigars altered the battle and possibly the war itself.  World War III was possibly avoided when the fuel gauge of Soviet jets mistakenly showed low fuel causing them to turn back when they were on an attack run on US planes.  Even Napoleon's hemorrhoids possibly changed the world when he couldn't mount his horse to survey the battlefield of Waterloo.  It's pretty amazing how things could have turned out.  So, pull up a chair, keep your cigars in your breast pocket, double check your fuel, and bring along some Preparation H, and see if you could have made the world different if you were in command!

-Maze

An Unique Challenge: A realistic Dungeon Crawl.

Bill Perman
(also posted in North Coast Gamers.)

We've all been there a hundred times. An elaborite maze, with dozens of traps ranging from pits to magical fireballs. Secret passages, random teleportations, and a host of creatures that seem to live there, yet never wander their home. They seem content to just live in a room till a random party opens the door.

This beg's the question; who builds such elaborate dungeons to the point where it seems almost impracticle that anyone could make use of it. Who sets and resets all those traps? How do the Orcs eat? Where is the bathrooms?


 Spring this on your players. A realistic Dungeon. Here's how you prep it.

1. Backstory: "Legend tells of a (insert quest item of moderate to high temptation) That lies at the center of a Labyrinth. None who have entered have ever come out alive. They say a great (add a single encounter creature, yet keep it vague) lives there guarding the (quest item).

2. Warning: Upon entering the labyrinth for the first time, there needs to be a warning, perhaps etched in stone above the entrance. "Be warned, once you enter, you cannot leave until you reach the center of the maze/labyrinth/dungeon, etc."

3. Inventory; Once the party enters, the entrance seals behind them. It becomes indistinquishable from any other hallway/dead end. In the center, they can trigger a magic stone or simple lever to re-open it. At this moment, call for a comprehensive list of EVERTHING the party is carrying with them. Pay careful attention to food/water supplies. If they don't mention it, they don't have it, and here in lies the danger. Also, how many torches do they carry? How long do they burn for?

4. Encounters: Not a damn thing. No orcs, beholders, trolls, zombies or lizard people. No pit traps,magic missles, fireballs, poison darts or collapsing ceilings. Nothing, save the single encounter monster near the center of the labyrinth.

5. Setting; It's dark, very dark. Even with torches, one can barely see no more than 20 feet ahead. a dense layer of fog covers the ground up to the knees.

I guarantee you this will be the most dangerous maze they've encountered. Why? because of realism. First, you might get that player who wants you to draw the map out as they go along. Don't. Just descibe the scene, and any forks or intersections they come across.

Another player may take the inititive to map it out. He'll pull out a sheet of graph paper and insist his character will map it out. If a player does this, refer to the inventory sheet. Are they carrying parchement and writing tools? If not, too bad. Yet, a player may still insist it's part of his "rogues kit" or something. Fine. Ask him how he intends to map it out. Perhaps a tried and true method. He walks the length of a cooridor, walking heel to toe to measure it out, then returns to his parchment to draw it out. That's fine, as it will only serve to slow the party down.

Realistically, it still isn't that easy. When he draws it out, have him make skill checks against an undisclosed DC#. if he fails, he fails. Tell him the cooridor is 6 squares long when it's only 5, or something. Eventually, his map will start leading to dead ends and not make any sense.

How's the food and water holding up? What? They forgot to pack rations? Perhaps CON checks are needed and penalties applied as malnutrition and dehydration sets in.

What about sleep? Perhaps, as a means to set a mood, occasionally the great beast's cries can be heard echoing off of the walls. Even those on watch will wake the others for fear it may be close. Again more penalties and CON checks as fear, paranoia, restlessness and fatigue set in.

I think you see where I'm going with this. The real challenge is the maze itself. Why treat dungeons as cash cows of XP and magic items, when the real challenge lies in just surviving the encounter? I'tll be a long time before they willingly trapes off into another crawl without proper planning and supplies.

NEXT: A Realistic Dragon Encounter

Games Workshop moves up a level

Games Workshop has been a mainstay of my personal gaming.  I've been a huge fan going all the way back to 1977 with the first publication of White Dwarf.   Many thousands of dollars later (I'm afraid to check how much I really spent on their products over the decades, continue to have a love/hate relationship as so many gamers have with GW:  price increases, new versions of the game, the fluctuation of new products, etc.  I'm sure there is more.   I have a business background, and expected the worse when GW went public in 1994.  Typically, when companies go public, their products lose a bit of the 'personal flavor' they once had in exchange for meeting the needs of its shareholders who are interested more in the short-term gains.

It would be interesting to see the demographics of the players since the 1980s compared to today's players.  I can surmise, from my personal experiences of managing game shops and the players in the area that the players have shifted in their interests, age, and income.


I saw a number of posts on this on various groups and thought I would post this on our blog.   The following article was published on January 5th and thought I would lend some commentary to it.   I'd love to hear other thoughts from other folks.

Games Workshop moves up a levelBy John Harrington
Thu 05 Jan 2012
[Games Workshop moves up a level] LONDON
(SHARECAST) - Fantasy and science fiction tabletop war gaming firm Games
Workshop saw growth in sales, profit and return on capital from its core
business in the first half of its financial year.

The Warhammer 40k miniatures gaming firm saw revenue rise to £62.7m
in the six months to November 27th, 2011, from £60m at the interim
stage the year before, although the sales total was boosted by £0.7m
of gains from favourable exchange rate movements.

Profit before tax surged to £9.1m from £6.8m the year before,
while earnings per share climbed to 22.1p from 15.6p.

This is a heck of a profit for a game company, particularly in an industry that has a direct correlation on the health of the economy.  Gaming itself typically increases when the economy drops, however new sales of games typically decreases (just as other hobby purchases).  This is similar to more people wtching TV rather than going out to dinner, but fewer people typically buy new TVs to do so.  With the collapse of the Euro and the poor health of the US Economy, one would think that the exchange rates would also have an even heavier weight against the British company.  It will be interesting to see how this would play out if the economies were healthy.

The company has only recently resumed dividend payments, but has done so
with a vengeance; the interim dividend of 29p is not fully covered by
earnings per share, but with net funds of £15.9m, up from £11.5m a
year earlier, the company feels able to return cash to shareholders.
Unfortunately, this is the crux of it.  Although dividends are increasing, so are the price points for their products.  A recent purchase of a pricey Dread Fleet of $115 is a large pill to swallow.  The other thing I find interesting is the increase in Warhammer 40K figures.  Certainly there have been new releases, but 40K has not been a big seller for us.  In fact, checking with GMT, their 40K sales were down significantly for the past 2 years.  It might be just a US slump in the intrest of 40K.

The UK, North America, Asia, Emerging Markets and Capital Cities plus
its two specialist businesses, Forge World and Black Library, all
delivered constant currency sales growth. Continental Europe was down
slightly in constant currency with strong performances from Italy and
the Netherlands unable to offset declines elsewhere.

Increase sales in Italy does not surprise me.  Italy has been slow on the up-take of GW products and over the past couple of years Italy has had some really significant increase in the number of game clubs and conventions.  On the downside, Italy's economy is about as good as Greece's economy and dare I say a similar attitude on entitlements from the government.

Gross margin was maintained despite increased costs. Other than the rise
in raw materials, however, the management sounded sanguine about the
impact of the "real world" on the fantasy milieu in which the group
operates.

Bla bla bla....  this is corporate-speak. 

"As a niche business, we, in general terms, neither benefit nor suffer
from macro economic factors as our current results show. The Hobby is
healthy and the challenge is to stay focused on what needs to be done to
service it efficiently and cost effectively," the company statement
said.

Well, it seems healthier than I thought it would be.  I just don't get it myself.  Let's just hope that GW doesn't experience a 'Jordache moment'...those of you from the 80's know what I'm talking about!  Go look in the discount stores and see if you can still find any Jordache jeans.

Shares in Games Workshop shot up 40p to 490p following the release of
the results.
http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=17507700&p\
rint=1
As of this post, Games Workshop stock is up over 5% since yesterday's article selling at 515.00 GBp. 




What are your thoughts?




-Maze

THE GREAT DEBATE: Party Engineering.
What is party engineering? That's when the players sit around and "fill in the gaps" so the adventuring party will be well balanced. You know - a little stealth, a little healing, a little magic/tech, a little brawn.

When a group uses this technique you end up with a well-balanced party that's able to tackle any challenge thrown at them. If you let everyone c...hoose their own class independently you may end up two people from the same class. Unless it's possible for you to distinguish your character with game mechanics within the class, one party member will ultimately eclipse the other party member. "We've got to make a lore roll? I have the highest lore so I'll roll it!"

The down side to party engineering, however, is that the party becomes predictable. Experienced gamers know their roles well. The cleric is the walking band-aid while the fighter is the meat shield. The wizard lobs magic missile and then detects magic after the fight. Why not spice things up a bit by having an intentional hole or two? It takes a creative party to overcome the lack of a rogue or a cleric. It also lends the DM an excellent opportunity to introduce NPC characters that adventure with the party. No magic user? Hire one!

Another downside to party engineering is that somebody inevitably gets stuck with a role that they don't want. If you're launching a long-term campaign, nobody wants to be stuck as the healing potion with legs for twenty levels. Inevitably, there's a rush to declare what class you're going to be leaving the last person with whatever nobody else wants.

So ultimately, in this debate, I fall on the side of individual expression. So what if you end up with a party of all magic users? What a unique challenge! How can you make YOUR magic user unique even though you're in the same class and race as the rest of the party? That's a challenge an old-school gamer should relish.

Where do you fall? Do you prefer a well balanced party from the get-go? Or do you prefer a more realistic, but unbalanced party that will have greater strengths, but greater weaknesses.

  Bill Perman

Hi Everyone!

We wanted to thank all of the members of the North Coast Gamers who came out to the Holiday Game Bash! It was good to see everyone again to such a friendly event.  I also wanted to thank the members of other groups that came out, particularly the gang from NOWS who hosted some great games.  

We also wanted to extend special thanks to Alex Ford, Lisa Ford, Dan Radakovich, Ken Podolski, Becky Roberts, Lydia Roberts, Kaylee Mazur, Sean McClain, and Emanuel Felouzis who helped out a huge amount with the scheduling, setting up, check-ins, raffles, and/or tearing down of the event.  I’d also like to thank all the GMs that prescheduled their events before the deadline.  We had some great games going on all day!

The gaming at the Holiday Game Bash this year was great!!  This year, the adding of the second floor rooms made a huge difference!  We had nearly 50 more people attend than last year, but the added space made it feel very comfortable.  For those of you who never made it upstairs, we had 6 additional rooms, 3 dedicated to miniatures and 3 dedicated to RPGs.  Additionally, the Artemis Bridge Simulation Event had its own dedicated room and was a huge success.  People loved the experience.  I thought I would attach their site for the people that asked where to get the game:  http://artemis.eochu.com/   There were many, many more games played this year from classic board games to new strategy and Euro games.  I saw several brand new games being played that are not yet published yet!  More announcements on the brand new games when they are officially released!

We kicked off the day with the annual Board of Directors meeting.  We had a good turnout for that, but we would have loved to see more folks.  The PDF of the Annual Board Report is LOCATED HERE.  There is a great amount of information about the Sponsoring Organization and very interesting statistics for the North Coast Gamers.  There are announcements for new leadership, so don't forget to take a look!

We had a couple of great fundraisers that included the Fight Cancer Benefit for Chris Ziga.  We rose over $750 at the Bash along with over $500 at the Roleplayathon!  Huge thanks for all those that donated games, bought tickets, and donated cash for Chris in his fight against cancer.   Everyone said it was great to see Chris in 'gaming spirits' ;-)

The Holiday Game Bash was successful from a financial standpoint as well!  After renting the hall, purchasing the games for the prize giveaways, etc., the organization cleared nearly $600!  (More details are included in the Annual Board Report)

As I mentioned, we had a great fund raiser for Chris Ziga.  Two tables of games were donated by members to help raise the money and STEPHANIE BAKER walked away with over $1,000 in games that covered 2 full tables!!!  Congratulations to Stephanie!  

It has been a great year once again and we’ve had a lot of fun!  We are looking for your active involvement in all of the activities in 2012.  We are still in need of event organizers across North Coast Gamers, Writer’s Bloc, and the Natural Adventures programs.  We also need help with newsletters writers, research writers, blog writers, etc. too!  If you’d like to volunteer in any way, let us know!

Take care and the best Holiday Wishes to you and your family!

Origins 2011 Recap

Overall:

I always look forward to Origins and end up prepping months ahead of time.  The North Coast Gamers had over 100 hours of events and 5 GMs in the Miniatures room 2 GMs in the Board Game room and 2 GMs in the RPG area.  As usual, everyone had a great time.  The volunteers of both the staff and other GMs were great and it is fun to see the same people from across the country year after year.  Although we don't have a formal get together, we are able to get into a game together, shake hands and otherwise ask how things are going with each other.  There is certainly a camaraderie that is built over the years and friendships across the tables are common.

Attendance:

I admit that this year seemed lighter than previous years on Wednesday and Thursday, but by Thursday evening the place was hopping!  You can feel a vibe in the air that reflected the building excitement of the attendees as the vendors were setting up their booths behind closed doors and the tables in the miniatures hall started to come to life as with landscapes and cityscapes that promised great fun.  Board Gamers carried stacks of their favorite games heading towards the tabletop areas.  Everyone had a smile on their face.  On Friday, the con was in full swing with crowds of people filling the halls.  Both Friday and Saturday seemed to have more people than in prior years.  I noticed many more children and women in the crowd this year which reflected the success of the efforts of making this a family-focused event.  I saw many new and many old (but still friendly) faces carrying GM badges this year and that reflects a level of experience of GMs and their dedication to the hobby and this convention.  Why not 5 starts out of 5 you ask?  Well, to begin with, I would have loved to see more people on the earlier days.  Additionally, there was still plenty of room on all the days for more players!  So, the attendance was ranked just a smidgen lower because we always like to see new people coming and there is still plenty of room for that.

Gaming Diversity:

I’ve been to many conventions and have to say that Origins has been consistent on offering the most gaming diversity.  There were nearly 4,500 events over the few days with top-notch GMs.  I spent most of my time in the Miniature Hall, primarily because I was constantly running events, but I did manage to make it to the other halls and RPG areas.  I was able to get in on some great games.  I’m not a role-player, but clearly the folks were having an awesome time.  The schedule really accommodated everyone’s calendar since there were so many events; it was easy to find an fun game to play.  The board game area had everything… and I mean everything!  They had family games, euro games, war games, old games and games not even released yet.  In the miniatures hall, I noticed an increased number of ‘home brew’ games (the North Coast Gamers ran several of these).  Beyond that, the miniatures hall had everything from historical, fantasy, kid-centric, you name it.  By far, this was the best year I’ve seen for the miniature’s hall.  The Steampunk theme was well carried into this hall with many steampunk games.  I know the Steampunk Beatdown game that the NCG ran was sold out time and time again.  I did notice that there was less interest in some of the ‘branded’ miniature games.  Warhammer Fantasy had a lighter presence than normal even though there were a couple of tourney’s for it and 40K.  I didn’t see any Lord of the Rings being played which usually has a large following, but I simply may have missed it.  The Star Wars game was back and it was a big hit as usual.  Many more historicals than usual and there were several American Civil War games and Flames of War games with fantastic scenery and looked great.  Many sci-fi games filled the hall and there were some 1950’s classics as well as some alternative WWII as well as many of the widely played games of Battletech, Mechwarrior,Star Fleet Battles, etc.  Zombies abounded and I would be wrong to overlook the Smurf Wars game which was one of the favorites.  The RPGs were in a much more comfortable area than in previous years and there seemed to be a huge variety of games being played.  My hope is that someone who is into the roleplaying really provides some solid feedback on their experience.

Vendors

The vendor room was bigger this year with many more booths than normal.  The eating area was removed at the rear of the hall allowing for more vendors.   Therewere many major manufacturers there this year and also there were some solid, smaller shops as well.  A good number of clothiers to fit with the Victorian theme were present with some awesome steampunk designs.  My favorite was a booth that sold boxes of old vacuum tubes and gears from clocks.  It was capitalism at its best.  I rated this section a 4 out of 5 because I had hope to see a broader variety of independent games that struck my fancy.  There certainly were other independent game manufacturers there, but nothing that fit my personal flavor.  There were a couple of games and a steampunk decoration that I picked up so I contributed to their success.

Venue: 

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is a perfect place for a convention.  Plenty of hotel space on site or within a short drive, tons of restaurants, both formal and informal.  Great entertainment at night…not that anyone left the convention at night because of the great games  mind you.  I have no negatives to say about the venue.  In the past, there were problems with waiting for the elevators at the Hyatt, but I experienced only 1 time that I was getting a little perturbed at how long it took.  Otherwise, it was a great hotel to stay in.

A couple of suggestions for next year:

1. Have large signs in the halls (like a parking lot) to help people find where the tables are...Section A, Section B, etc.
2. The volunteers were great, but there was confusion when we and our players asked how many seats were available and were told that an event was sold out when in fact there were plenty of seats open.  I learned after the second day that it was better to look up our events online.
3. We need to do something about the costs for the food court.  $3.00 for a cup of coffee is pretty tough on me, considering I drink 3-4 cups a day!  Maybe I just need to bring my thermos or cut down...that would take care of it ;-)
4. Information seemed to be shared very late this year for the GMs.  A couple of weeks earlier would have made all the difference in the world.
5. I'm always an advocate of clubs supporting the events at any con and we do our best to provide that support. It was appreciated that we were allowed to have a club table by our games, but it would be nice to have people have club tables near registration to encourage people to join local clubs.
6. Many have voiced this already, but I too am fearful of the date move for next year.  I understand the reasons given for the change, but I think it will hurt attendance.  Although we will certainly attend next year, it will be tough arriving before Friday evening because school is still in session.  It isn’t that I’m a teacher anymore, but it does impact the schedule with school events and extra-curricular activities that the kids need to be shuttled to. 

 -Maze

To Mini or Not to Mini with a Roleplaying Game

Many roleplaying games involve some degree of conflict which is resolved with lots of dice, multiple passes, earnest discussions with the Director aka the Dungeon Master, and comparing results to charts and character sheets. Some systems try to have a simple resolution which involves potentially a rock-paper-scissors chance task and a simple mental box where both opponents cannot run away (similar to Magic cards or related card games) to highly involved multiple chart reviewing and tape measures being extended.

 

Why use miniatures (minis) and a map with a printed grid versus using your imagination to set the battlefield? The answer is ultimately a style question and an audit system. Do you want to have an highly descriptive combat description with a quick resolution, then you want to avoid minis. Do you want to maintain a mystery and not give away the strengths and weakness of the opponent, then minis are not the answer.

 

Do you want to know where everyone is on the field and no magically teleporting players who happen to magically be where all the action is even though they have a movement rate that couldn't do it? Do you get tired of characters always shooting around the corner and hitting someone a mile away behind a large building? Do you have over 6 people involved in combat and you can't keep track? You are then a mini person.

 

How to do minis cheap? Poker chips, dry markers, and a wipeable plastic sheet. Let the players buy their perfect mini, its not your problem. Besides, it lets them be creative and paint themselves silly. If you have an artistic streak, then go forward paint those 100 goblins individually. Remember goblins are sentient beings so they all need to be painted uniquely.

 

Argument enders: mini tape measures. I use tape measures for LOS (Line-of-Sight) disputes and measuring distances so the power-gamers fireballs are fireballs not nuclear weapons.

 

Swag out.

Of Novels and Game Settings

This past week, the North Coast Gamers submitted a poll on our Facebook Page asking people: "What fantasy/Sci-Fi/Other novel(s) influenced you in the creation of your most exciting RPG campaign settings?"  As of the writing of this blog post, over 500 people have responded and 100 novels have been submitted.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the responses since so many gamers are avid readers.  After another poll, the average number of books our members read every year is at least one every month!  That's absolutely fantastic!  The imagination raging through the veins of our members creates awesome game worlds, deep political intrigue, and all around fun and action within their gaming to keep the party excited and lively, returning week after week for more.

Our parent organization, Social Interactions, Inc, has started a division called 'Writer's Bloc' and I thought I would share a bit about it here.  The Writer's Bloc program provides activities and events for individuals ages 10 and older to improve their social interactions and provide additional opportunities for inclusion through the improvement of their writing and collaborating skills.  The premise is fairly simple... People submit a single chapter of a book and the next person builds upon it with their storyline.  It is a collaborative effort, so people will not be killing of the other author's main characters without talking through and getting agreement on it. Social Interactions has piloted this in area schools and libraries and it is building momentum.  If interested in the program and contributing or just getting involved, let us know!

-Maze

Roleplaying Source Books and Game Mastering: Inspiration

For the typical GM in D&D, Shadowrun, White Wolf games (Changeling, Vampire, and etc.), and etc. are always looking for a good plot that needs to be believable, develops the characters, challenges the characters, and drags them deeper into the storyline or campaign. Each system uses it own words for plot development, challenges, and etc. so I am going to try to use every day terms to discuss them. I refer you to your various gaming guides for your specific terminology. 

Ultimately, you are trying to run a play in which the characters write their own script. You create the world and challenges for them to interact with during the play. Typically your players are the protagonists regardless of their actual moral outlook or actions. As the GM or the Director, you need to make sure they bear the consequences and the world responses to their input. 

Many of the starting books come with everything you need to run many plays or "adventures" but eventually the players read the books from page 1 to page n or they can run a search utility on the reader to find the topic or concept being explored in the game. As a GM, this is a disaster because you need to challenge them and make them think. Its fun to sweat it out. 

How do you keep ahead with a limited amount of time? You buy source books. Source books have new plots, new places to play, new villains, and heros. For the measly low cost of <$50, you get a pregenerated bag of new plots and challenges. My time is valuable and sometimes I don't enjoy fully fleshing out an entire alternate universe. There are people out there working for very small commissions working full-time plus to save us slags days and days of work generating this stuff. If you got the cash or gold pieces, throw them down and save yourself some time. 

My questions to the group:

1. What is your favorite source books? Please full cite your source so people can run out and buy it.  
2. What source book would you like to be created? 
3. Are there cute gamer chicks with red hair and freckles who are free and over 18? 

Sincerely,

Swag

Flash Mob for Gamers

"Flash Mobs" are typically initiated on the internet and have been a phenomenon of the 21st century mobile media and dance culture. Organizers set up a website, e-mail list, or Twitter account that will provide the information to all interested parties who want to participate.  The notice includes the date, time, and the place to meet.  At the scheduled time, the attendees spontaneously kick into gear and dance a large routine.  Although this craze has been typically related to dancing, this craze easily applies to other interests, including gaming.

Last night was intended to be a quiet 'stay-at-home-and veg' night.  As I prepped the 'man cave' for the evening, I first decided to straighten up some of my books I had left out on the bar.  Putting the books away on the bookshelf, I had to move pull a couple of items off one shelf and move it to another.  At that time, I stumbled across a misplaced rule book for the old SF3D wargame.  Before I knew it, I had the game on the bar and reviewing some long-forgotten rules.  I struggled with a particular rule and posted a question on an old SF3D forum that I had presumed was not being followed by anyone.  To my surprise, I received a response within five minutes and a second response a couple of minutes later.  After thirty minutes, I had 7 responses and learned that two of the responders were both less than an hour drive.  It was a game in the making and I quickly deposed the idea of a quiet night wtching TV. 

The power of Twitter!  I tweeted about the luck and quickly received 4 tweets back from followers asking if we wanted company.  Tweets went out from there and in little more than two hours, I had 23 people at my house!  The impromptu event resulted in several six packs, snacks, and Joe even brought a hundred wings that quickly disappeared.  The games included a couple of rounds of SF3D and Faseri, Warhammer Fantasy, Hordes and Monsterpocalypse.  Board Games included Merchants and Marauders, Twighlight Imperium, Settlers of Catan (3d version), Ingenious, and Mansions of Madness!  It was an incredible, impromptu event.

 We've used Twitter to post some updates on our gaming activities for about a year and although we haven't been using it much, that will certainly be changing!  Setting up a following is a tough thing to do, but certainly, the more that words spread on the fun, the more people will be interested in joining in on these impromptu (and not-so impromptu) events.

We'd love to have you following us on Twitter and we certainly will reciprocate the follow.   Looking forward to havng more of these events in more public venues going forward.  Also, we'd love to have you as a member of North Coast Gamers.  Membership is Free and we encourage you and your family to join! As always, we are always interested in your feedback

-Maze

The Art of Gaming

I’m not sure what grew first, my interest in miniature gaming or my interest in the miniatures themselves as pieces of true art.  Many people will walk by them in the stores or may see them on my table and think of them as ‘toys’, but one needs to take a deeper look at the artistry behind the piece itself to get a full appreciation for this hobby.

Back in the early 1980’s I had an interest in sculpting.  The medium varied between plaster, wood, clay, and metal but none of my pieces became famous enough to keep myself on an artistic career.  I’m thinking that the names of my pieces: ‘The Black Bubble Family’, ‘Tooth Decay’, and the ‘The Abbot’ didn’t help either.  At the same time, I was just starting to get into gaming, and since I had many of the sharp and pointy tools needed, I tried my hand at things of a much smaller scale to make pieces for our RPG sessions.  I recall sculpting a couple of dragons and some nasty dungeon dwellers, but just could not capture the skills needed to make ‘standard scale’ miniatures… Heritage Miniatures and Ral Partha was the primary miniature companies of the day and ranged between 20mm-25mm in size.  There is certainly a deeper skill to making things in miniature, something I've never been able to master...or even become a fair apprentice. 

Some of the masters that I’ve become fans of Tom Meier, Michael and Alan Perry, and a few others.  I am a fan of certain types of miniatures, so, like any art work, you have have a feel for it or not.  There are just certain sculptors that just don't catch my eye while others will jump all over them.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is always true.  However, to me, it goes beyond just the beauty and into the intricacy, realism, positioning and imagination.  I've always liked Tom Meier’s works and have followed him from Heritage to Ral Partha to Thunderbolt Mountain Miniatures.  Certain pieces still hold a special interest for me, and as I cruise across Ebay, I tend to try to snag some of them from time to time.  My opinion is that Tom captures what I like best.  His historical pieces are simply striking and it is fun to watch his works in progress.

In the early 1990’s I had the opportunity to meet Alan and Michael Perry and I feel quite lucky that I was able to have a long talk with Michael about sculpting.  Some of the things he talked about stuck with me when looking at figures from an artistic standpoint.  Proportionality is an important aspect as well as the technical nature of the figure itself.  By that, I mean, how difficult was the item to cast without losing the detail necessary.  Other things like realism of the figure are important…even in regards to fantasy, which might seem a contradiction.  Movement of both body and nature should be reflected in any piece of art, including sculpting.  Mike and Alan combine brilliant imagination with these facets of artistry to come out with the essence of fantasy that seem to materialize from their imagination. 

Over the years, I keep an eye out on the artwork of the miniatures more than anything else.  I must say that there clearly are fluctuations in the marketplace even within the same company.  Sculptors come and go, finances change within the company, and cost cutting exercises change the casting material.  All of these things impact the artistry of the gaming table.  I find myself drawn towards some of the earlier works of the 1980’s and early 1990’s, but on occasion I still find some great pieces of art that I decide to put on the gaming table or in a little box in my desk drawer.  Certain companies still hold my attention (and my extra coins) because they tend to look for certain skills in their sculptors.   Pay attention to the sculptors moreso than the companies, because it is their art and not the label of who they work for that should matter.

Directly related to gaming, I enjoy playing all kinds of miniature games, but find that I have most fun playing against opponents who take pride in their pieces.  Painting is all well and good, but to me, that is simply the icing on the cake.  About a decade ago, I used to field my armies completely unpainted but lightly stained to make the details of the sculpting 'pop'.  Mounted on oak and cherry bases, these unpainted miniatures seem to get as much respect as a prize-winning paint job.  I have to say that it is very unlikely that they would have received much attention if they were not of one of a master sculptor.  In competition, there seems to be a difference among players who view their gaming pieces as pieces of art vs those who don’t give it much thought and who would be just as happy to play with monopoly building pieces if they could get away with it.  If there is a high quality collection (regardless of paint job), keep your guard!  It seems that those who hold their miniatures important are likely to make sure they aren't embarrsed on the table!

I’d be interested in what others think on the topic.  Please post your comments or thoughts on your favorite pieces.

-Maze