This past Saturday, I went up to Louisville KY for a one-day event held by Rich and Chris of Armchair Adventurers. The location was a store I did not know called Card-N-All (nice play on words to the Louisville Cardinals, the local university's sport teams).
After work on Friday, I got in the card and drove north, along I-65. Stopping for gas and coffee, I arrived at the store around 6:30 local time. I wanted to (1) see where it was and (2) I was to meet with Rich for dinner.
The store is nice and HUUUUUGE. I mean gigantic. After a short walk, we went to a local Italian restaurant. It was good stuff, then we returned to Card-N-All where I helped him a little with some administrative stuff.
Then I left and checked in to my hotel. My original plan was to have ActionMan come with me, but he got in trouble for doing something stupid at school, so this would be a solo day! Excellent I could watch Ridiculousness for hours on my own.
Saturday morning, I showed up 30 minutes early to get ready for the game. People were filtering in.
I had planned to run Akhamet for the first two slots, having both Gencon adventures, the newly released The Tomb of Prince Tsubeteb and Desert Pearls. Letting the table decide what they wanted to play, they chose the Tomb. It was a fun game, filled with the typical twists and turns, only enhanced by the craziness of the players.
I had planned to run the other adventure for the second slot, but I did not have enough players for a table. We re-shuffled and I sat to play at Aileen's Call of Cthulhu game.
Let me go on an aparte. I was excited for this adventure because the game used the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu. 7e is the first edition that massively departs from previous editions of play. I had never played 7e before and wanted to play before investing time into it. Well, after playing it, it is like a riding a bicycle or meeting with the old gang to play another game of a twenty-year old campaign...
The adventure was interesting as each of us was a group of ladies from a club of good women in the 1920s. The characters were interesting and had simple enough background to make each of them have an interesting personality. I played Delilah Scott, whose husband Brother-Reverrend Samson Scott of London, was part of a very exclusive Gentlemen's Club. The others were similarly intriguing: Charlie the huntress, Nell the bookworm, Flo the old cougar, and Lana the Russian ballerina (there is someone I forget). Fun times. Fun times. I spent four hours with a bad Georgian accent. I managed to escape this, but I can imagine Delilah in a straight jacket rocking back and forth, saying "Jeezus" every few seconds.
For the last slot, my original plan was to play something. I had originally plan on playing Matt-M's Cthulhu adventure. However, Matt was taken to the hospital in the days before and could not attend. So I offered to Rich and Chris that I could run an old Cthulhu adventure I wrote years before. So I ran "In Darkness, I wait", which is set in World War II. After less than an hour of play, the party trimmed itself down to half.
The two new players who fled when the shooting started hid for a while and returned to explore some more and discover what was going wrong.
The day was done and I spend time talking with JD out in the parking lot. I headed to the hotel, made a pit stop at Waffle House, then sleep.
The Good
- Rich and Chris are super dynamic, friendly, and responsive. I really hope this event will grow and happen more often; I heard talks of twice a year. Well guys, you have a volunteer down here in Tennessee.
- The venue is great. Close to food in a strip mall. The team was super welcoming and friendly. I mean, a story that sells RPGs, miniatures, gundam minis, and video games? And fill with people on a Saturday? This is a place I would want to be. A lot. Often. Alas, I am no longer in Louisville (Chad will comment about this)
- The attendees wanted to play and try out new things. This is something I am always very excited to see. People played one game then another.
The Improvable
- The typical Attendance as there could've been more people. A few tables did not go off, but everyone got to play something they seemed to have enjoyed. Was the attendance lower because of the long weekend? I don't know.
- Matt-M's Health should improve. I will keep him in my prayers.
For the next time
- Bring ActionMan with me so he could be exposed to more games and gaming styles.
So by now, you should no longer ask yourself "Will you be back, JP?" Yes. Yes, I plan to be back next time.
Excellent review!��
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