My Official Free RPG Day 2014 Report

Steve Chenault a.k.a. The Troll Lord behind the screen and in action!

 

How was MY Free RPG Day 2014?

 

Awesome.

 

Why? Because this wasn't your average day of just picking up free stuff and playing in a couple one-shot games.

 

THE Troll Lord of Troll Lord Games was in the house at All Things Fun in West Berlin, New Jersey this weekend! Steve Chenault ran a session of the company's flagship game Castles & Crusades on Saturday night!

 

I'm considering Saturday night a convention, folks, and I don't care what you think! The last time I had the great pleasure of gaming with the Troll Lord was back in March 2011, for the TrollCon East event. Any time I'm gaming with the Trolls, it's a convention!

 

At the table Saturday was a collection of the ATF regulars (some who I've gamed with for a long time on Wednesday nights) and some folks who were new to C&C (and who, I think, aren't regular roleplayers at the store). There were about a dozen players in all.

 

 

Steve let me use my half-elf paladin Drance, and I found myself a part of a fairly well-rounded party that consisted of a druid, an elven ranger, a halfling rogue, a dwarven cleric, a gnome illusionist (I'll give that one a pass, but *blech*), and another paladin besides myself, just to name a few of the participants.

 

Steve was in his usual gregarious form. He's always entertaining and challenging, and his love for the art and hobby of roleplaying is palpable. You can always tell that he loves the game and is having as much fun as his players.

 

Note the requisite stash of Dr. Pepper on the table! A Troll RPG staple!

The session culminated in the party facing a strange dragon-type creature that could turn you to stone with its breath weapon, and could spread its wings to reveal a scintillating pattern of light. If you looked at the light, you were immediately caught in a charm that made you feel all warm and fuzzy about the dragon!

We fought valiantly against the beast, and several of us were devoured by the thing, and Steve described their demise with his usual flair for description and gory details! Drance the half-elf paladin fought well that night, especially when the helmeted head of one of his fallen comrades was momentarily stuck in the throat of the dragon-thing!

However, ultimately, we were getting our butts handed to us, and we decided to flee. The dragon-thing managed to escape, but we dealt it a blow it would never forget!
 

As for the swag, what free stuff did I grab? The DCC RPG/Xcrawl offering, and Mr. Raggi's The Doom Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children (which is apparently a big "eff you" to people who protested his Free RPG Day 2013 offering, Better Than Any Man). I was surprised I was able to get my hands on anything, as I didn't make it to the store until about 7:30 PM. Those two were the last two freebies sitting on the table, so I snatched them up.

 

I'm a bit bummed that I couldn't get ahold of a copy of The Godsfall quick start rules, though I figured that would be hard to get since there was only one copy per box given to retailers. I'm really intrigued about the Godsfall RPG, and can't wait for a better look at the system and the world. 

 

But, all that aside, it was a great time! Thanks to Steve and fellow Troll Tim Burns for coming out to the East Coast once again, and bringing along some good gaming memories!

 

DexCon 16, Anyone???

Any gamers out there going to DexCon? I know that Joe Bloch of Greyhawk Grognard fame and fellow New Jersey-based gamer will be there, but is there anyone else in the area that's going?

I got my copy of Gygax Magazine #1 yesterday, and I saw the ad for GaryCon and felt a yearning to go...but alas, that will probably not come to pass! So I figured I'd look for something a bit more local.

I'm thinking that I want to go to DexCon, and break my convention cherry! I went to the small but awesome TrollCon East in 2011, but I've never been to a big con. I would love to see what one of these events is all about, and I definitely would like the chance to meet some fellow bloggers if you're headed there. It would also be cool to meet some other local gamers.

So, chime in, folks, and let me know if you're gonna go!

Fantasy Authors Play 1E at ConFusion

I hope everyone reading this - including those outside the US - has a great Thanksgiving weekend! You don't have to be a US citizen to give thanks, right? Anyway, I stumbled upon the video above, so I decided to share. You'll see authors like Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss, and others playing 1st Edition D&D! It's edited down to a half-hour video (apparently they played for about three hours or so) but it's pretty entertaining. Below is another video of the authors talking about RPGs. Enjoy.

Thinking about Gen Con 2012 and D&D

I'm reading on several other blogs about Gen Con, and I wonder if I should make more of an effort to get there someday. Perhaps next year. This is a tough time of year for me, with both of my kid's birthday's falling around mid-August. But perhaps next year I can get to Gen Con...I just need to remember to work for that opportunity. Plan in advance, which is something I fail to do more often than not.

At any rate, as I dream about what it must be like, I notice that the keynote presentation tonight (8/16/12) concerns (*fanfare* da da da daaaaa!) The Future of Dungeons & Dragons! Apparently you can go here tonight at 7 PM EDT to access live streaming of the presentation. I think I'm going to "tune in."

I've downloaded both playtest packets but have only skimmed them, and certainly have not run any games using the playtest rules, due to lack of time to do that and run my regular campaigns. But I am still hopeful for good things for the future of the game and the brand name.

Fingers crossed.

TrollCon East in Words and Pictures!

So, I'm taking a break from my job hunting (doing pretty well so far...got my updated resume together and I'm putting my networking skills into overdrive!), and I've downloaded some photos from my cellphone that I took at TrollCon East the other night.

Here's a shot of the mountain of C&C stuff the Trolls brought with them (every time I see this one I imagine a choir of angels singing):


Yes, that is indeed a fat stack of Castle Keeper Guides at the top of that pyramid of awesomeness!

The next pic is a shot of the Troll Lord himself, Steve Chenault, serving as Castle Keeper at the head of the table! You can see he improvised a CK screen! I feel like in this shot Steve's saying "I'm coming for you next!" to a hapless player!

Actually, that can't be farther from the truth! Steve ran a great game on Saturday night (the night I attended the Con), and he was the epitome of the cool gamemaster! It really was a great experience to meet him and his fellow Troll, Tim Burns. Steve was outgoing and hilarious, and he never tired of talking to all of us about C&C as well as other stuff, such as how much he loves the Dogfights show on the History Channel, and how Arkansas and New Jersey share a connection because both states are the targets of a lot of jokes!

All in all, Steve and Tim were so down to earth. I could really tell they were so passionate about their game system, and roleplaying in general. The fact that they came all the way out to New Jersey for this relatively small Con is a testament to their dedication and appreciation of the people who love their system. I have to say, they've won me over! I was dabbling in the system before, but now I'm officially a C&C convert!

You can read the Troll's blog post here for a wrap up of the Con, as well as some some images. I'm in this particular photo (I'm all the way to the left of the shot, the guy with the dark hair in the green sweatshirt).

Anyway, once I get back on my feet with a new job, I'll definitely be converting my current campaign to C&C!

Status Update-Outta Work & TrollConEast!

Hi all, just wanted to check in again, to write a brief post about where I am with regard to gaming at the moment.

As you probably read in my last post, I was downsized from my job of nearly six years on 2/25/11. Therefore, I guess it's no surprise that, for the next few weeks at least, my gaming activities will be mostly put on hold. Especially where it involves me as gamemaster. I need to spend the time applying for jobs, exploiting my network of contacts, getting unemployment and other government assistance going (uh, yes, I AM taking advantage of that, since I've been working consistently for years and paying into it dearly every paycheck. I think it's okay if I take a turn now), and other such activities.

I refuse to let this knock me out of my personal gaming renaissance, however! I shall return! Rage against the dying of the light, and all that...

If anyone out there in the Pennsylvania/NJ/Delaware area knows of anyone who needs a wordsmith (specifically a proposal and marketing writer), please leave a comment. My last six years of work was in the architecture/landscape architecture/Urban Design and Planning industry, but I'm not necessarily limited to that industry. I appreciate any leads you can provide!

With regard to gaming, I did attend TrollCon East at All Things Fun in Berlin, NJ as planned. I really needed the emotional boost! It was a blast, I had a great time. Met some new gamers, and Steve Chenault and Tim Burns from Troll Lord Games. It was really cool to have some one-on-one face time with some of the key guys behind Castles & Crusades. Steve in particular was gregarious, hilarious, down-to-earth, and an all-around fun time! Needless to say, I am now firmly in the C&C camp, and there's no longer a question as to what game system I will be using for my gaming for the foreseeable future!

When I have a chance, I will do a post specifically about my experiences at TrollCon East, and will include some pictures that I took. In the meantime, anyone interested can go here on the All Things Fun site to see a video of the part of Saturday night's gaming in which I was involved. I wasn't directly on camera for most of the time. I'm the guy in the lower right side of the screen with the short dark hair (no hat), goatee, glasses, and dark green sweater. Occasionally I pop onto the screen when I have to look closely at the minis we were using. Most of the time you can just see my hands, wedding ring on left hand and fiddling with dice and pens, and sometimes my arms...no big loss for you guys! ;-)

That's all for now, folks. I hope to check back in soon. Now, off to work on that resume...

TotW Session 5 and Other Updates

Well, we had our fifth session of my Tales of the Wanderers campaign last Thursday (I think I stated that in a recent post already, but, there you are!). The guys couldn't make it over last night, so next session is set for next Thursday, gods willing! You know how the permutations of adulthood can stalk and kill free time. In the meantime, I need to find the time to do an adventure log for the last session, add in NPCs, etc. Then prepare for the next session. Sheesh.

Things are going well, the guys and I seem to be shaking off the rust and are having a great time. I still sometimes wish we had at least one other player (and in particular a certain old friend who used to be one of our core players growing up), but for now things are going very well.

Anyone who's been reading my blog (thank you, the few of you who do so!) may have detected a recent bit of flip flopping, however. First, there was this last post on how I am now determined to switch the campaign from S&W/Flame Princess to Castles & Crusades. In a few other posts (here and here) you can see my turmoil between settling on S&W/Flame Princess or C&C. I almost feel like I want to change my stance on whether or not an ever-growing number of clones is a good thing (I currently think that more is merrier...but that might change). There has been recent debate again on the blogosphere regarding the matter of retroclone proliferation...no doubt you've seen it.

On the other hand, I can't fault the plethora of clones for being the source of my Gamer ADD. I have always been this way, getting distracted by a new campaign setting or game system that rears its head. This has been true for my entire gaming career, long before the current retroclone explosion.

But I think that my roots in 1E AD&D are finally coming out. So, even though it can be argued that C&C adds in a dash of 3.5 Edition, etc, it's got that 1E feel, with the added benefit of being more organized and less dense than the original AD&D books...and easier to get ahold of for the most part (CKG being the long-time exception, of course).

I'm not saying that I won't someday revisit the OD&D clones of my choice (S&W/Flame Princess) but they were inspired by a version of D&D that I didn't really experience in my formative years. Nostalgia trumps all, I guess, in this case.

Then there was my recent encounter with Barbarians of Lemuria, which indeed drove me into ADD overdrive! And also, always lurking in the back of my mind, is the vow I made to myself to finally run a Dragonlance campaign. I read the Dragonlance novel Stormblade 20 years ago, and it was the real spark that turned me on to D&D. I plan to read it again soon, and I am also planning on that campaign before my next birthday. How I will make it happen is still beyond me, but dammit, I am DETERMINED!

All of this inner turmoil has not caused a collapse in the campaign I am running...so far. And I want to keep it that way. So far, the guys seem to be having fun, so things are well. But the worst thing I could do right now is keep switching things around on them. They seem fine with a move to C&C, but I don't think they would appreciate being teleported to a new campaign world again or yet another game system. And I am also not sure they would want to be in two simultaneous campaigns. So I need to hold steady with the TotW campaign for a while, and be patient. Argh!

Anyway, another reason for my attention being drawn again to C&C is TrollCon East! Finally, a Con in my part of NJ! Can't wait to meet those guys!

That's all for now. As you can see, there's a lot going on. But you know, in the end, I'm loving it all!

I guess it's better to have too much going on...

...rather than nothing at all! Well, we had a great session fifth session of my Tales of the Wanderers campaign last Thursday night. The players are really getting the hang of things, especially our resident newb. The game is picking up some good steam, and it was (IMHO) our best session yet! I just haven't found the time to do the adventure log entry for the session, nor to add the new NPCs, locations, etcetera to the wiki.

I have to say, though, that the yen to move the game from S&W/LotFP to Castles & Crusades has returned. Yes, the best laid plans of orcs and men, as they say. But the more time passes, the more I feel like we need the flexibility of C&C (mainly with regard to the SIEGE Engine attribute check system). I'm also starting to really miss the separate races and classes from my good old AD&D. Yes, I really think my roots are coming out, as I've stated before in this blog that I never really played OD&D back in my early days. I was AD&D right out of the gate.

Granted, the SIEGE Engine is grounded in d20/D&D 3.5, but it's workable. But I'm still a big believer in player skill versus character skill. I hope to have a hybrid of the two in the game.
Players should rely mainly on their own wits, with the rolls as a supplement to that...and not the other way around.

I just hope the players don't protest the switch! Although, I don't see it as a major learning curve. But they may see it differently. At the very least, they'll have to get used to a whole new character sheet, with a bit more going on.

The shift to C&C will also get me closer to something I swore I would do: finally run a campaign in the Dragonlance world. As I stated in the first part of my testimonial, a Dragonlance novel really got me into fantasy fiction in a major way as a kid. It's been a couple decades now since that formative moment, and I've vowed to finally make my own adventures on Krynn in homage. I'm not sure when this campaign will finally start (sometime this year, I think), but I want to make it my best ever. So I need to plan...

And Barbarians of Lemuria is still lurking in the darkness at the back of my brain, crouched, ready, waiting to pounce again on my frontal lobes and cause my RPG ADD to flare up once more!

Oh, and one other thing is on my gaming plate this week: TrollCon East is coming to my beloved South Jersey! Finally, a Con that isn't a half-continent away from me! The store at which it's taking place, All Things Fun, is one of a handful of gaming stores in my area. And it is hands down the best of the lot.

Ah, my life has gone from a gaming famine to a feast, indeed!

On Being a Con "Virgin"

I've never been to a gaming convention. Ever.

I've definitely never been to the fabled Gen Con, which is once again coming up.

In flipping through my old Dragon Magazines recently, I see all the old ads and lists of Cons. There just never seemed to be any good Cons near me in either New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Delaware. Or maybe I wasn't looking in the right places. Who knows?

I was always ambivalent about Cons as well, so maybe I just didn't put enough effort into trying to find them and attend. Maybe I was just too introverted back in the day.

Does this reduce my gaming "cred"? Am I really missing out on something good?

Question: What do you think of Cons? Are they something that every gamer should try to attend at some point? Does it depend on the Con?