Argent Silvermage
First Post
Piratecat said:This is great! I want more.
Shock! The thieving Feline of the seas not asking Please?
I'm shocked.
Shorecon 2003 ENWorld Con Report (w/Pics and Badges)
- Thread starter WizarDru
- Start date
Shock! The thieving Feline of the seas not asking Please?
I'm shocked.
Michael Tree
First Post
More??? MORE?!?!?!?! Never before has a cat asked for more!!Piratecat said:This is great! I want more.
(goes off singing a Piratecat adaptation of the song from Oliver, complete with the Agentful Dodger)
Argent Silvermage
First Post
You sir are silly. Correct but still silly.Michael Tree said:
*Starts the harmony for above song*
Sam
First Post
WizarDru said:Yeah, but you got Certs, right? I'm assuming that the prizes were only for registered events as part of Shorecon. Did I mention I still have my certs from two years ago. I have a potion of Bull's Strength.
Nah, Living Greyhawk at least doesn't do "Certs" anymore. Now they've got Adventure Records. Anyway, not quite as cool as certs, as they're basically your record of playing the mod (hence the name). Living Dragonstar, Living Arcanis, and Legend of the Shining Jewel (Living Procampur) use certs still, though I don't play those (though I do judge for Living Dragonstar).
Still, it's odd. I mean, what's the difference between playing an RPGA event and a non-RPGA table?
Michael Tree
First Post
I have my moments.Argent said:
I think it was writing the Lord of the Rings kender spiel in the other Shorecon thread that did me in, this time.
Last edited:
WizarDru
Adventurer
Mark said:Sweet Baby Hey-Zeus, Double-Dru! You give GREAT Con Post-Mortem!
Thank you, Sirrah.
And now we return you to our final installment of Shorecon coverage, I think.
I accidentally deleted my first iteration of this narrative, so bear with me as I recreate it. Hoohah.
After my victory at Dwarven Dig! and a quick reconnoiter of the different game rooms, I retired back to the hotel room for a little power nap. Unfortunately, this worked out more to me lying on the bed, reading Midnight, but at least I got a little rest.
A quick aside: According to Rob Placer, the hotel had 150 rooms: 120 of those were dedicated to the 'con. The hotel was FULL, exceeding the con and hotel's expectations. The only other thing happening in the hotel that weekend was a small family reunion.While I wasted my time in the hotel room, Scorch and Valanthe hunted the floors, and located Sam and April in the board game room. Valanthe contacted me by cell phone, and I scooted downstairs to meet them. But not directly, as it happened, because I was drawn to the con suite like the moth is to the flame. Not for the snacks, though. Someone had hooked up a PS/2 to the humongous projection video system, and turned the audio WAYYYY up, while playing Soul Calibur 2. After I shook off it's siren song, I made my way to the board gaming room to meet Sam and April. By this time, Argent had arrived, and as a group we headed out to the RPG room.
Valanthe distributed ENWorld badges, while I fretted over not having created more signs to point folks to the gathering (as Scorch and Val had suggested earlier). The problem was that I had expected (nay counted on) there being an announcement board that I consider a staple of most cons. This is usually just a corkboard to post party announcements, gatherings, pick-up games and the like. I was somewhat suprised at the lack of same, in all rooms. As such, I'm hoping no one missed us...but since we'd laid out the time in the thread here, I figured anyone who didn't catch us in the RPG room would find us at the pub, where they would expect us to be. I hoped. Luckily, I was right.
We waited for fifteen minutes in the RPG room for any folks to show, before we went on to the pub. In this time, three separate folks came up, to see if we were a game they were looking for. The best one:
"ENworld.....? What's that? Is this the Call of Cthulu game?" You have no idea how much willpower it took to not use that as a straight-line for a joke. As it was, with Argent present, we could have run one.
But now it was time for:The Gathering
We secured space in the not-too-crowded Elephant & Castle. The E&C is a chain, but the only two in the area was here at the hotel and another in center city. They focus on pub food with a hint of Indian. That last part might explain their penchant to overspice the food, as April and I both lamented.
So who was there? Well, you've seen Scorch, Valanthe and myself, above. In addition to us, there was Sam and April:
The source of all things evil, or at least Kender, was also present. We call him Argent to his face, but I think he suspect us. In this picture, we boggle him with newfound technology...not hard to do, given that he wasn't even sure what state we were in.
There can be only one. Michael Tree, that is! Michael caught up with us in the pub, prior to the beer, but in plenty of time to meet face to face with people to discuss....an online forum.
Scorch and Argent contemplate the Shapechange spell under 3.5. Notice the abusive smiles. Scorch missed schooling me at pool mere moments later by a hair....but miss he did. BWA-HA-HA!!!
Portrait of the DM as a not-so-young man.
Good food and good talk was enjoyed, and then we broke for a little while, to reconvene at the Open game room. The Living Force LARP was in full...umm, force, by this point, as was the Weird Al Sing-a-long night. I was glad that Weird Al was getting mad propz...but wished I had chosen a different room for the game, as it was LOUD. Oh, and they had the speakers for the Weird Al music turned up, too.
Here was where my lack of preparation wasted us some time, unfortunately, as I hadn't gotten all of my pre-made PC sheets completed in time for the game, meaning I had several that required leveling, and some that needed transposing to paper (since I hadn't had a chance to print them out, yet). Everybody was a really good sport about it, and we then burst into an adventure I'd written for the 'con called "Brother against Brother", when went very well, I thought. My only regret was that I didn't start earlier, so that Sam, April and Argent would have had more time to play before making their 8 PM slots. It was in this time that I discovered that Living Force players are the loudest. gamers. EVAR.
(I'll give the details of the adventure below, for those who care to know.)
We played until about 10:30/11:00PM, then stopped by the RPG room to see how Argent was doing. He was finishing an overflow "Legacy of the Green Regent" module, wherein I began to mock him by asking if his 1st level wizard had cast his spell (singular), yet. We hung about for a few hours, and then trotted off to bed.
Sunday, of course, is wind-down day. We mostly scanned the dealer's room, and got Heroclix for the kids (Molly gets a Wonder Woman, huzzah!) Following that, we browse the different rooms. Valanthe was disappointed that we couldn't find the Frog Pond demo, but such is life. The con suite is a mere shadow of it's former self, an empty husk.
(Won't someone think of the Tootsie Rolls!?!) Still, plenty of games are still running, but our energy is low and the children are still an hour's drive away.We separate to walk about for a while, and pack the car, at one point. You may remember I said that James Ernst rocks? Well, as I quiety travel about the con, looking for everybody, I come up behind James as he's walking along. Not wanting to bother him, I ask him:
"Say James...can I get Diceland on the Cheapass website? The retailers never got a copy in at the dealer's room." I expect him to either confirm or deny, but instead he says:
"Yeah, but actually, how'd you like a copy? I have one that I constructed for the demos, and I don't feel like taking it back on the flight with me."
Sure, says I. When I mention I need to find Val, he offers to accompany me, and give us a personal demo of the game. His only request? That I go and purchase a copy from my local retailer. (And for the record, I have ordered and bought two copies of DiceLand, and recommend you do the same.)
DiceLand is one of those games that you instantly realize is unique and clever. You assemble paper dice that you then throw on the table, or rotate them one facing, or use their special powers. Imagine playing a space battle in this way. It's a pretty simple system, but with more strategy than you'd expect, and is designed to prevent silly abuses like tossing dice really hard, intentionally knocking dice off the table, and so forth. For example: the Terran Carrier has three sides that have the special power: Summon 3 fighters. When you use this power, you can bring in up to three fighter dice (if your army has them).
During our game, James got out an alien Dreadnought, and I kept chipping away at his power by hitting it with dice, trying to knock it to a weaker side/face, so that I could destroy it. I succeeded, but not until James had wiped the floor with me. It was a blast!
(side note here: The author wears his Strong Bad T-shirt here, which elicited a FHAHUWAGDS! from at least on con-goer...but not as suprising as Valanthe's Homestar Runner T-Shirt, which got a "HOMESTAR RUNNER! REPRESENTIN!" from one of the busboys at the pub.
).Argent showed up late, after having a terrible morning, but still hung out for a while before we left. A great con, in all, and as Scorch pointed out, if we left regretting that we hadn't done everything we wanted (as we did), then it was far better than leaving feeling that we hadn't done enough.
Smart guy, that Scorch.
Here's hoping that next year, we'll get to see more of you all there...and that the con will be on a better weekend. (Oh, and some folks will be at Winter Fantasy this year, too).
WizarDru
Adventurer
So, what did happen in WizarDru's D&D game?
Here's the summary:
The party consisted of a dragon-disciple/monk, bard, gnomish sorceror, fighter/cleric and rogue/sorceror. They traveled as bodyguards for a servant of the Keoish aristocracy, a tax collector by the name of Ewan.
The group was travelling to a small town name Trimdall, when something shot down out of the sky like a meteor. Only the dragon-monk made out that it was some sort of worked object surrounded by a halo of fire, like a comet. Moments after it struck, a wave of energy washed over them, like an explosion.
Just as suddenly, it was gone, but the spooked horses (and riding dog) burst forward in a panic. Thanks to some quick thinking, the animals were calmed, and no one was hurt, though some were tired out. Suddenly, the sound of rope snapping could be heard, and some screams. Rushing to the source, the party found a cleric and her acolyte clinging for their lives to a collapsed rope bridge. Using magic and ingenuity, the group rescued the priestess and her charge, and agreed to escort them to the village they were already bound for.
The town appeared safe enough, and the cleric offered the party the shelter of Rao. Ewan, member of perfumed foppery that he was, declined gracefully to head to the taverns.
It was around this time that I realized why Sam would stick up for Argent wanting to play a Kender (which he is never, ever, EVER allowed to do). Because Sam is an expert at playing Gnomish pranksters...and because Nargos, the sorceror, broke poor Ewan's brain by using prestidigitation to rewrite entries in his tax book. Several times. However, after meeting the obnoxious stable-hand and bee-keeper, the group made a straight line for the tavern...."The Limping Dandy". The party had to break for a couple of minutes to finish laughing over this (and particularly the sign, depicting the flower of perfumed foppery after...well, let's not go any further in that direction, shall we?)
Anyhow, just as the party nears the Inn, a man bursts out, screaming and clutching his face...or trying to, at any rate, as his body begins melting. He suddenly begins grown tentacles, new eyeballs on his stomach, teeth in his hand and collapses in a hideous spasm. Almost on top of him, several NPCs charge out, followed by a chaos beast! Battle ensues, as the heroes try to save the NPCs and slay the beast without themselve being transformed. They save most of the villagers, but the warrior of Heironeous puts some out of their misery. Investigation in the tavern reveals that the creature broke in and just started attacking. Some investigation reveals that it was the inn's pet dog, transformed into a terrifying monstrosity.
The town watch is sent for while some of the heroes help search the town against further threats. The bard and rogue make for the 'castle on the shelf' as it's called, noting the strange empty tower only a few hundred feet from the castle proper. Lord Overbrook is not in, the majordomo informs them, but dispatches his three men to the town below to be sure and help in town defense. Lord Overbrook, it appears, left the previous evening with a mysterious stranger, and the majordomo has no idea where he is...just that Lord Overbrook takes these occasional trips periodically, and no one knows where he goes. The majordomo asks for the PCs help, but their discretion, as well. Lord Overbrook is a good man, they're told, and whatever he's doing, he should not be scandalized.
There are two people who don't live in town proper...the Druid, Bulwark, and Old Tym, the hermit and trapper who lives off in the woods. The majordomo can't spare men to warn them, and asks if the party will help, which they do. Michael Tree's character would figure out the answer to Lord Overbrook's disappearance in short order, but whether that knowledge would reveal how good Lord Overbrook was remained to be seen.
(to be continued...gotta catch a train)
Here's the summary:
The party consisted of a dragon-disciple/monk, bard, gnomish sorceror, fighter/cleric and rogue/sorceror. They traveled as bodyguards for a servant of the Keoish aristocracy, a tax collector by the name of Ewan.
The group was travelling to a small town name Trimdall, when something shot down out of the sky like a meteor. Only the dragon-monk made out that it was some sort of worked object surrounded by a halo of fire, like a comet. Moments after it struck, a wave of energy washed over them, like an explosion.
Just as suddenly, it was gone, but the spooked horses (and riding dog) burst forward in a panic. Thanks to some quick thinking, the animals were calmed, and no one was hurt, though some were tired out. Suddenly, the sound of rope snapping could be heard, and some screams. Rushing to the source, the party found a cleric and her acolyte clinging for their lives to a collapsed rope bridge. Using magic and ingenuity, the group rescued the priestess and her charge, and agreed to escort them to the village they were already bound for.
The town appeared safe enough, and the cleric offered the party the shelter of Rao. Ewan, member of perfumed foppery that he was, declined gracefully to head to the taverns.
It was around this time that I realized why Sam would stick up for Argent wanting to play a Kender (which he is never, ever, EVER allowed to do). Because Sam is an expert at playing Gnomish pranksters...and because Nargos, the sorceror, broke poor Ewan's brain by using prestidigitation to rewrite entries in his tax book. Several times. However, after meeting the obnoxious stable-hand and bee-keeper, the group made a straight line for the tavern...."The Limping Dandy". The party had to break for a couple of minutes to finish laughing over this (and particularly the sign, depicting the flower of perfumed foppery after...well, let's not go any further in that direction, shall we?)
Anyhow, just as the party nears the Inn, a man bursts out, screaming and clutching his face...or trying to, at any rate, as his body begins melting. He suddenly begins grown tentacles, new eyeballs on his stomach, teeth in his hand and collapses in a hideous spasm. Almost on top of him, several NPCs charge out, followed by a chaos beast! Battle ensues, as the heroes try to save the NPCs and slay the beast without themselve being transformed. They save most of the villagers, but the warrior of Heironeous puts some out of their misery. Investigation in the tavern reveals that the creature broke in and just started attacking. Some investigation reveals that it was the inn's pet dog, transformed into a terrifying monstrosity.
The town watch is sent for while some of the heroes help search the town against further threats. The bard and rogue make for the 'castle on the shelf' as it's called, noting the strange empty tower only a few hundred feet from the castle proper. Lord Overbrook is not in, the majordomo informs them, but dispatches his three men to the town below to be sure and help in town defense. Lord Overbrook, it appears, left the previous evening with a mysterious stranger, and the majordomo has no idea where he is...just that Lord Overbrook takes these occasional trips periodically, and no one knows where he goes. The majordomo asks for the PCs help, but their discretion, as well. Lord Overbrook is a good man, they're told, and whatever he's doing, he should not be scandalized.
There are two people who don't live in town proper...the Druid, Bulwark, and Old Tym, the hermit and trapper who lives off in the woods. The majordomo can't spare men to warn them, and asks if the party will help, which they do. Michael Tree's character would figure out the answer to Lord Overbrook's disappearance in short order, but whether that knowledge would reveal how good Lord Overbrook was remained to be seen.
(to be continued...gotta catch a train)
Last edited:
Similar Threads
- Locked
