This past Memorial Day weekend, ActionMan and I went to Lebanon, TN to participate in ICCC. A con that specialize in all things collectible: Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, etc. I am the worse collector of all for a number of reasons: don't have the patience or the interest to put into something like that. Oh and especially not the money. The last one especially.
No one I know was going but I was pretty excited to participate in another event in Middle Tennessee, one that is not far from here. I would get to play during the day and sleep in my own bed. So much win!
As this was not a gaming-focused con, I must admit, I had no expectation. Even going so far as to joke on the GM-chat that we would be running tables of GMs. The only way to know was to attend and see.
Friday
Since ActionMan only had to pick up his report card to pick up in the morning, he and I headed to the con a little early to get situated and set up. Good thing we did as we parked about as far as we could from our final destination and had to have everything searched by security then walk a long while to reach the Table top RPG room. It wasn't that far but when dragging books and gaming material, it weighed. But once we got there, we set up quickly and things were pretty good.
Then we waited for people to come in as we talked with people, meeting the other GMs and Dave the organizer.
I got to run a table of Ghosts of Kurogawa that evening, the introduction adventure that will appear in the Ozaka campaign setting. Since the con closed at 5pm, we had but one slot before we made our way back, stopping at our local Thai restaurant before heading home for the evening (where I worked on my Gencon adventures).
Saturday
After a pit stop at the nearby McDonalds (I love egg McMuffins and McD's coffee), we returned to the con site, parked close to the game room, got set up again and waited for players
I had three players, including Jeff "Duck" Leason (more on him later). I was rather nervous, running a game with a celebrite, but once I started and got the jitters off, we all had a great time. I hoped he was interested in FOE's 5e content. I consider myself an old-school guy who plays new-school rules, so something of a mix of the two.
Since no one showed for the next slot, I asked ActionMan if he wanted to try Trevor's Drakkenheim game, which he joined and had a great time. He said it got hairy and difficult but he had a blast of it. I really like it when he gets to play with different GMs, in other settings, so he can appreciate the craft of GMing.
Later I joined Duck's 1e game. I don't think I played that since... 1998 (that would've been at the Université de Sherbrooke). That would be TWENTY FIVE YEARS! Twenty five years!Really? Man that does not make me feel any younger! I had a great time at the game with Jaredd (another GM). The rules are not as organized as I like as they feel a little TOO freeform but yet directed, 1e is NOT my game of choice but Duck is a great GM and just I appreciated the nonetheless and craziness of the situation. I enjoyed the game without worrying about the rules too much. Take that, rules lawyer JP!
During that time, ActionMan volunteered to GM the late slot, but no one showed up. So he drifted around and played in the Sabbacc game, where I could see he had a good time.
Another day in the book, we came back home for the evening.
Sunday
Sunday, we only planned on playing one game: Jaredd's GI Joe. game. After playing with and talking to him, I really wanted to try it. See how the game played.
Wacky. The adventure was nothing but a non-stop string of campy Saturday morning cartoon action. Because, you know, you carry a .50 caliber when hanging out in the hangar. Of course. ActionMan played Spirit (and his eagle Freedom), Dave played Shipwreck, and I played Scarlet. We fought the dreadnoks as they tried to steal a hi-tech car. But we protected it.
YO JOE!
This game is much better than I expected it and the core book seems pretty complete, with many of the antagonists from Cobra. I am half tempted to see if I can pick it up at Gencon (and get it signed).
After that, we went through the sales section together where I kept pointing him "I had that" or "that was my brother's" to many Star Wars or GIJoe toys. He did not seem to care much. Our peregrination over, we headed back home and rested to get ready for our extended Monday game. The con was over for us.
Finally
Attendance to play games was hit or miss throughout the con. Maybe running different game? I will have to consider what I want to run. Definitely having terrain helped draw the eye and stoppersby.
- One great surprise was the presence of Jeff "Duck" Leason, who wrote the "Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan", one of the adventures that made me think of merging history and D&D. Throughout the weekend, he and I talked about gaming, writing, and adventures. He was super-kind and told stories of the early days of TSR/ D&D/ Gary Gygax. How Gary Gygax wanted certain rules to be versus how they were implemented. How he got to edit the first edition of the DMG. The kind of tales that today are passed down through the grapevine or twisted third- or fourth-hand recountings. I was really excited to hear these many stories. If I ever get to Lake Geneva, I will HAVE to stop by the Museum... As if I wasn't going to, but now ActionMan and I have an added reason!
- ActionMan and I had a great time. Both running (for me) and playing (for both). I already let it be known that I am willing to return to run games again next year.
- Much to my surprise, the Star Wars game that was offered did not go off. I expected it to be filled all the time but I did not see any game happen. Still I appreciate that there were many different games.
From a FOE aspect:
- This convention cemented that the iconic characters are pretty solid. I may change the race of the wujen to something that is not human, to make him more exciting but the character works we
- Also, the intro adventure does get people excited for the coming of Ozaka. I can't wait to put the final notes in that book.
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