Favorite Thanksgiving gaming moment

[Pielorinho]

Every year for Thanksgiving, I go to a massive (30+ people) dinner at my aunt's house in Charlotte. And every year after dinner, I run a D&D game for my cousins--this year, a 17-year-old and triple 13-year-olds, plus any other kids who are around and willing.

This year, though, the 17-year-old was too cool for school (well, and he had a girlfriend to hang out with; I can't really blame him) and ducked out of the game. I went downstairs to see if I could round up anyone else, and I asked a teenage girl who I was almost sure would say "no," as well as a 20-something woman who'd shown up for the first time this year. To my surprise and delight, although neither of them had ever played an RPG before, they both agreed to play.

And it was a blast. The scenario, Snakes on a Zeppelin, is a Spycrafty game set in the 1930s, starring the cast of the eponymous B movie who are returning from a successful shoot. The players were highly creative, quick-thinking, and enthusiastic, and we got some fantastic cinematic moments out of the whole thing. (My favorite was probably when the stuntman ran out onto the wing of their plane, waited until their plane got close to the plane that was shooting at them, and lassoed the pilot out of the open cockpit).

Near the end of the game, though, I heard a comment that just warmed my heart. The teenage girl turned to the 20-something woman and said, "This is awesome! I gotta get me some more nerd friends!"

Daniel

 

[greywulf]

Fantastic! It's great to hear role-playing-makes-good stories, thanks for sharing. I love the bit about lassooing the pilot

I've been waiting for people to post up turkey themed critters, and surprisingly no one has yet. Dire Turkey, anyone?

 

[Allandaros]

I ran a Serenity game the day after Thanksgiving (Vietnam-themed, during the Unification War, with the players as Alliance spec-ops). Highlights of the game include:
-While dodging enemy antiaircraft fire, the pilot brings the PCs' dropship down to ground level and essentially fries a Browncoat artillery crew with the exhaust.
-The commando-type leader tries to sneak around inside an Alliance base to try and find the McGuffin colonel. He manages to sneak through the alarmed emergency exit right away.
-The grim second-in-command runs to the sound of gunshots to see the political officer and the McGuffin colonel fighting (while in the McGuffin colonel's camp). Her response is to take out a combat shotgun and shoot at the colonel. She managed to kill both of them with a single shot...and then the colonel's troops arrived.

 

[Cedric]

We were playing Spacemaster ... many years ago on either Thanksgiving or the Friday after Thanksgiving. Our group was a paramilitary group off doing covert operations type stuff. We had a dropship pilot (being played by Kerry) whose job it was to fly us around here and there.

Well, this is one of the first sessions we've played and our pilot, new to Spacemaster, is finding out just how much fun Chartmaster, I mean Spacemaster, can be.

She decides to fire the missiles on the Dropship at something...so Phil asks her to make her skill roll for a Missile Attack.

What? Umm...I didn't buy that skill, didn't know it was a skill.

That's ok Phil says, he walks her through moving some skill points around so she can fire the missiles and we're back at work.

Shortly thereafter, she wants to use the communications system on the Dropship to tap into local comm channel and monitor their security band. So, Phil asks her to make her Radio Communications skill roll.

What? Umm...I didn't buy that skill, didn't know it was a skill.

That's ok Phil says, he walks her through rearranging her skill points again so she can take some Radio Comm skills.

And we're back playing...

We finally get to our objective and we circle it briefly to get the lay of the land, the Kerry says, Ok, I bring her in for a landing in that clearing over there.

Without missing a beat Phil says, ok, make your Pilot Landing Roll.

WHAT?!?! A PILOT LANDING ROLL? SCREW THIS GAME, WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP...*stomps off*

Of course, she stops when she hears Phil laughing...and he explains that he was just pulling her leg, there is no Pilot Landing Roll.

Ahh...good times. Man did she freak out.