[Gencon AAR] Part 5

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7

Olympia Outcomes

Heart of Decisions by Bill-C
- The Heart of the Colossus was shattered by the heroes, preventing the Titans from recovering it.
- No doppelgangers were located.
- Paranoia ruled the day!

What the Titans Leave Behind By JP Chapleau (with Brandon-A)
- Mytenian forces made a deal with Bazros
- The mirror was brought back to Queen Kreomene
- Nerissa's correspondence with Kymaros and Pelagene were read and uncovered.
- No one dared to read the rune on the floor
- Timon was not roused

To Find and Enchantress by JP Chapleau
- No one went after the war chest, so it is still in possession of the Titanic forces
- Nerissa was captured
- War golems damaged the city before they got depowered. They are now frozen in the city
- Some war machines were damaged
- Heroes chose Ares' solution to deal with the Titans: have his dogs Deimos and Phobos devour parts of the Titans every morning to keep them from rising again
- Both Zeus and Hera made a surprise visit to Mytenia, rewarding those who praised them!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7

[Gencon AAR] Part 4

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7

Akhamet Outcomes

The Mirror of Bast by Brandon-A and JP Chapleau
- Grom was brought back safely
- The mirror is now in the possession of Meketra at the temple of Bast
- The Queen-of-Cats is still at large

Sifting the Sands of Obscurity by Matt-A
- Adjet was not resurrected
- The Shroud was returned to its hiding place

River Run by JP Chapleau
- The Portal Sigil was depowered
- The lock doors were not repaired, leading to damage
- The Portal Sigil was depowered
- Neferhana was killed by the emerging nightcrawler

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7

[Gencon AAR] Part 3

Part 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Saturday

Just like that, we were already passed the halfway point.

I had a slot to run, but did not have players. So I got a "free" slot.

The day went fine. A lot of repeat customers from previous years, but also from within the con. A testament to the great work my GMs did. I got to be entertained this year again by listening to them wield they craft. I am always fascinated by how each GM has a different touch, a different flavor, which DOES change and alter with the table. I know many of you love to listen to the great podcasts, but I still maintain that the best work is done by normal people, doing their best and crafting stories with their players.

If you haven't, thank you GM(s) today.

Thank you, Randy! (who tolerates my antics in his Vampire: Dark Ages chronicle)

The evening was, to me, The Big One, the second Ozaka special, called The Battle of Shiro Azaki. With this one, I was planning to shake the status quo in Ozaka. Advance the plot and allow me to tell different stories that would really separate it form the situation in Olympia.

Sunday

Sunday... Always sad to see it come. It's always a strange day... Who will show up? This year, I kept the Akhamet Special River Run, the special I had to re-write from scratch after I wrote myself in a corner. The resulting adventure was much stronger, though my main fear was that it was overly ambitious with two distinct parts. Each could've been its own adventure. One with the Sobekites raising hell. And then the source of the problem, as Saggakara plots to destroy Ophara. Limited slots.

Despite everyone being really tired, there was a strong energy in the room.

In the end, we made several new converts to FOE games.

We did a quick pit stop to the dealer hall and it was time to drive back to Tennessee.

I don't remember much after that... Once home, I slept for... about 20 of the next hours. Took me three tries to get through WWE Smackdown.

Part 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

[Gencon AAR] Part 2

Part 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Thursday

I was excited to get there and start the show. Several new GMs would run for FOE this year, and I was curious to hear them run, and see their style, and where/how I could best use them in the future. Since they all came recommended by trusted people... Trusting Brandon had yielded good results so far, so I pushed my luck.

The games went off without a hitch, we adapted a few things and all was well in the world.

The evening had the first special set in Ozaka. A mix of social and politics called Friends we make had a number of unique elements I was trying:
- the GMs (including myself) had some mini-larp elements to pass rumors/ stories
- the adventure ended with each tables choosing which side of the coming battle they would pick: the Kobochi, or Sazame.

I think it went well enough and the players left in good spirits.

One day in the bag.

Friday

Friday, I had to run my first table since 2022 or 2023... I was pretty excited and I had practiced the voice of my main NPC until my wife told me to stop doing it. (I didn't, I just did it when she wasn't around.) I had a lot of fun running the game and seeing the choices and decisions weigh on the players. Especially when the Epilogue was read...

The afternoon was pretty light on ticket sales, but the tables that played had a great time.

The evening had the one Olympia special this year, To Find an Enchantress where the PCs had to deal with the rather troublesome enchantress who came up with a pretty good plan to confound the heroes.

I had a great time watching their faces, especially Rees' table that somehow pulled themselves from the brink using a bane spell. The Ancient War Golem had most of the table unconscious at one point! Bravo.

Bravo.

Now I have a story. The kind of things that can only happen at Gencon. During the event, I went to GM HQ (for some reason) and as I returned, just outside our room, a couple cosplaying as Zeus and Hera were eating. I approached them, asking for a picture. As we briefly talked, I told them that we were running a game in there dealing with the Greek gods. I asked them if they would like to appear in the game as their alter egos. They were both as excited as I was. We plotted a little surprise for the players (and GMs).

I introduced them briefly, they entered the room. The first table to praise/call their name immediately were fully healed. It was great to see the GMs going "WTF?"

Since they had to attend some other event, they left quickly. Another Gencon gem!

Part 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

[Gencon AAR] Part 1

Part 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Before Gencon

Another Year's Gen Con has come and gone and with it a lot of challenges and fun times so let's start gencon started in September of 2025 when I started putting on my cork board all the adventures that I wanted to run I first put the settings I put two adventures per setting on the board and then try to break it down into different styles of adventures.

Different styles so I wanted some exploration based I wanted some investigation adventures I wanted a dungeoncrawl I wanted some site-based to explore the setting. Some point crawls where the PCs went from one situation to another give you some choices along the way. As a software man, make this into a finite-state machine

I reached out to the GM crew about writing adventures for Gencon, and now-veteran writers Bill (Olympia), Brandon (Akhamet and Olympia)Chris (Ozaka), and Rebecca (Tarsyn) stepped up. Newcomer Matt-A stepped up for an Akhamet adventure. Every year, I plan to have all the "regular" adventures I am writing done by Memorial Day Weekend (last weekend of May), and the Specials done by the weekend after the 4th of July. This gives the GMs time to review, comment, and address any weird issues.

Jumping forward to Memorial Day, I got all the regular adventures done. Rebecca could not attend and continue her series of adventures. So I made the decision to have "only" a single Tarsyn adventure. I took one adventure from Brandon, since I had a great idea for it. His idea may get developed next year. I still had some work to do (formatting and cleaning) on others. All good news.

During June, I worked on the four specials I had to complete, getting the last one exactly at my limit. This included completely redoing my idea for the Sunday special for Akhamet.

So... Rebecca could not make it, so I had to remove her adventure from the program and expand my own Tarsyn adventure to every day slot. The GMs who were to be my roomies had some issues and could not make it. I was able to get JJ, to cover one extra slot and I took the other two. No last minute surprises, so I was happy.

Without a roommate, I took a chance and posted to a few local groups that I was looking for a roommate. And well... I was able to meet someone new: Charles! He got a good deal and agreed to come. It would be interesting, as my same-old stories would find a new pair of ears!

Miniatures

Most of the miniatures I painted and prepared for the convention.

Wednesday

Wednesday came... I had packed everything into the Elantra and waited for Charles. I didn't wait long and off we were. For the first time, I took the 109 to completely avoid Nashville and we made good time. A quick pit stop for gas and that would cover us for the whole weekend AND the return trip. I love my Elantra (Auntie is her name) as she is good on mileage and gets me where I need to go.

We went to the ICCC where I got in an hour-long line for GM badges. Meanwhile Charles got his tickets quicker than I, contrary to everything I normally knew.

We went to the room. I really love the JW. It is comfortable (not freezing, not to warm), and all the rooms have a fridge.

Continuing the tradition, we went to the Denny's where I ate a Grand Slam... At the hotel, I crashed out and snored off the meal. Funny as I asked for a roommate who didn't snore too badly... Funny indeed.

Part 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

[Kinda Book Report] The Crimson Legion by Troy Denning

Continuing with the audiobooks, I listened to the second book of the Prism Pentad from Dark Sun. From my recollections, these first two were the best of the series before things went crazy, leading to the destruction of the world by book five.

Here the city of Tyr is assailed by the Lion of Urik, Hamanu (one of my favorite Sorcerer-Kings). The story has a lot of twists for something that start off in a mundane way: War between the two city-states.

Again, the character work really shines here, with Rikus certain of himself, Tithian being and delightful jerk, Neeva stuck between the two, and Caelum the dwarf. Though Neeva should've gotten more spotlight, I think.

I think this book is the closest to what I think a Dark Sun campaign should be: you won't get a full happy end. Especially not if you tackle the Sorcerer-Kings directly. However, you CAN manage to outsmart them or get what you want in spite of them. The villains are intelligent and realistic as all levels: they try to twist the situation to their own benefit. Whether they are from Tyr or Urik... I do also like that Rikus has to lead an army made of people of various alignments, goals, and abilities. The templars, the gladiators, the slaves, and the half-giants. And even what the enemy sends after them.

My only issue has to do with the format of the audiobooks. In a physical book, I can re-read a paragraph or sentence, but for and audiobook, that's more problematic.

Rating? 4/5. Listening to this book, sparked a lot of ideas for campaigns and one-shots.

I'm debating listening to book 3...

[Kinda Book Report] The Verdant Passage by Troy Denning

As an audiobook, I are re-listening to the first 2 novels of the Dark Sun series. I read them when the setting came out and have good memories of them. At book 3, the craziness begins and my interest dropped.

The main characters and their dynamics: the rivalries between Agis and Rikus, and Neeva and Sadira. the friendship of Titian and Agis. The abusive relation of Titian with Kalak. They really added to the world building.

I must say that I enjoyed it more than I remembered. Kalak, the templars, the undead heads, and Titian, all the villains acted competently.

The murder of Kalak felt like a major accomplishment. The entire group had to act together to defeat him. Really shook the world of Athas to the core, and created a lot of potential for adventure.

It also brings back memories of play Freedom and somehow surviving the "Archery Range for Missile Dodging"...

Regarding the novel, I will settle on a 4/5.

[Kinda Book Report] Homeland by RA Salvatore

Way back when, I bought and read the whole RA Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy: the tale that gave us Drizzt's origin and youth. I remembered that of the three, only the first one was good. The other two felt like a lot of filler and that the story dragged.

In an online auction, I won all three. So I decided to re-read Homeland again. To see how it measured to my adult eye.

In short... It did. Though the world of the drow presented, still "doesn't make much sense," which was my thought in those day. The wolrd of the drow is entertaining, but doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Just as their order.

That being said, I found myself enjoying the story much more than I remembered. Drizzt is much of a Mary Sue, however. The rest of the crew around him felt more interesting. His father, Zak. And his full sister Vierna were more interesting with potential for stories of their own. Particularly Vierna... The thought of a Priestess of Lolth with shreds of a conscience... Interesting...

Instead we follow the emo angsty Gary-Lou...

As a rating, I'll settle on a 3/5. It's a fine story and quite interesting.

[Kinda Book Review] X-Factor Essential Vol 3

It should be no surprise by now that I hold a special place in my heart for the xmen and the originals... After reading the first two volumes of the X-Factor, I could not wait to get the third volume. Now go through the Inferno from their perspective. Inferno hit well enough.

The issue came with the follow-up. Now with a big cast of characters that all just... hang around. The story meanders as beast turns beastial, Archangel deals with his new persona, and Scott and Jean continue their romance. That was... fine.

However, where it falls apart is the next "mega-series", the Judgment Wars... pfff... Move to another planet, deal with some mutant world gone wild... I guess my biggest gripe is that it went on for 6 issues when it could have been resolved in 3. There was no build up as X-Factor just... Got taken to this rando-location. The number of throwaway characters is staggering and frankly... I didn't really care for most of them. Too long is my biggest criticism of it.

Also, when compared to the Lee/Kirby style (see this post), where the pencilling tells most of the story by itself. Here, the storytelling of Louise Simonson felt exposition-heavy, especially during the Judgment Wars. There was just too much worldbuilding to do for the action to make sense.

As for a rating? I'll settle with a 2.5 which must round out to 3... It was "fine" but not great.

[Kinda Book Report] Fantastic Four Vol 3

The Fantastic Four have always been a mystery to me as to why they always had some of the cooler adventures when their powers were so... Basic..

This volume of their early adventures all done by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby really created and expanded the Marvel universe. Here, we discover Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom with the power of the Surfer... the  Negative Zone with Blastaar. And finally Johnny gets a serious girlfriend, the Inhuman Crystal.

I had a blast reading this volume. Lee is in full form and Kirby just rocks... the stories move quickly and aren't bogged down by too much dialog and exposition (wait for review of xfactor 3).

While not the biggest fan of the FF, this was a delight to read. Exciting and fast paced. Just what I like in my comic.

So... I think this earns a 3.5 out of five. Rounded up to 4.

[Kinda Book Report] Callirhoe

For Christmas, I received this ancient classic work of fiction. Two novels - as we would say today - in one book. This review will cover both since they are similar in theme and structure. And events...

Callirhoe is the tale of a beautiful girl who meets a beautiful boy. They fall in love. Get married. Then jealous eole make him jealous. He kicks her in the chest and she is knocked out for so long that they build her a tomb and have a funeral. Then she wakes u...

Yeah.

irates take her away. And then, she meets other men who fall in love with her in a series of ever unbelievable events. Even the king of ersia falls for her.&nbs;

Finally... they reunite and all is well.

This story is... not great overall. However, what ket me interested was the mode of storytelling. It is clear the writer told the story and wrote it down. As he soke. So we have a lot of side stories and "while that was going on..."

The other tale, An Ehesian Story, is retty much the same. The style of this second one is more direct with less embellishments.&nbs;

To me, the value of these stories lay not in the quality of their rose, but in exosing HOW the ancient Greeks relayed these stories. The action is constant and the characters have whirlwind travels through the Greek World. It is sometimes unbelievable but it's a work of fiction... better be entertained than bored.

So. What do I score this? It's a difficult one. The tales themselves are the equivalent of any modern soa oera. Of which I am not a huge fan of. And I don't think these will ever become bestsellers. Today.

However that I am able to read the words of a fellow man from over two millenia ago, and find the stories are still relevant today: boy and girl in love, have adventures. That tells me that the stories hold truths deeer and eternal.&nbs;

I will rate this a 2/5 for the casual reader, but a 3/5 for those with interest in ancient Greek literature.&nbs;

s: I could not sto giggling when I called her Cally-hoe... I'm still giggling right now. I am so easily entertained...

[Kinda Book Report] Jeanne La Male Reine Vol 2

Continuing the story of Jeanne. Following the death of Philippe The Fair, Jeanne now goes from being a relunctant manipulator to a full-on schemer. She does horrible things to work to get the throne.

I mean... horrible...

Now several points presented here are conjectures and accusations that were leveled against her. Still, they are presented here in the most natural of ways. Namely the fate of Charles IV's son (the only legitimate grandson of Philippe Le Bel).

This book also presents the situation of the Salic Law, wherein the French Crown may only be passed through the male line, skipping females. With several strong cadet branches of the royal family, many of whom had decent claims to the throne - Valois, Artois, Bourgogne. The situation is primed for conflict.

In the 1314-25 period, Philippe had 3 sons, who would each succeed to him on the throne, none of them having a legitimate son to succeed him. They died in strange circumstances - leading to a famous French series of books "Les Rois Maudits" by Maurice Druon (The Cursed Kings).

That period would see the end of the Capetian Dynasty (which ruled for ~340 years) and see the rise of the Valois Dynasty (which would rule for another ~270). Even though the Comte de Valois was Philippe Le Bel's brother, this was a massive shift in the power dynamics of the kingdom.

Orchestrated by... Yup. Jeanne.

Wherein tome 1, she may come across as someone forced by circumstances, this is not longer the case. We find a woman in full control of herself, who makes all the men around her dance to her tune.

I really like France Richemond's treatment of history (which brought me to this series). Making this tale interesting and exciting. Jeanne is a plotter, but so are the many great matrons of the era, and they play for and against each other with a finesse that is delightful.

For those who thought women were useless dainty little flowers... They can be... Jeanne.

The Art and the storytelling... 5/5!

[Kinda Book Report] Jeanne La Male Reine Vol 1

Jeanne La Male Reine translate to Evil Queen Joan

The English-speaking world knows about the War of the Roses. A similar dynastic drama happened in France 150 years before, when King Philippe IV Le Bel (the Fair), a harsh man by all accounts ruled. The House of Valois had ruled for ~340 years at that point. The King had 3 sons, and a daughter (who would be Queen of England), his rule and continuation assured.

Played against the events that led to the Avignon Papacy, the arrest and trials of the Knights Templar, the imprisonment of the Princesses (where Philippe's daughters-in-law were accused of adultery, all three of them!), and the death of the king and rise of his son Louis X le Hutin (the Quarrelsome).

Our story focused on Jeanne who is born with a foot defect that leaves her lame her whole life. Intelligent and charming, her family has a hard time finding her a husband because of her condition.

Then one day, she meets Philippe de Valois, Philippe Le Bel's nephew (by his brother).

Our story has her make a pact with the devil's envoy to marry Philippe de Valois. And the two have a very loving relationship - something most other noblewomen admit jealousy towards her as they love. Jeanne embraces her role as an agent of the devil.

We close the story on Jeanne admitting to her husband that she wants to be Queen. He doesn't refuse, saying that "We are happier and freer as we are now..."

If I have one criticism of this story is that it sometimes go by REALLY quickly with major elements advancing time really quickly. But the art and the story is quite interesting and draws you in.

This is a clear 4.5/5, but due to math, I have to round up to 5/5.

[Kinda Book Report] Marvel Spider-Woman Essential Vol 1

I got the book at a sizeable discount about a character I knew only through her appearance in Freedom Force in the 80s. Turns out it wasn't even the same Spider-Woman! Oh well...

This is a strange book with a character that doesn't seem to know what she's about.

The first five-ish issues deal with her being a former Hydra agent, a girl injected with spider DNA and evolved. She deals with things, but isn't the one doing most of the work.

Then she gets involved with several magic stories - Morded (no R), Morgana le Fey, and a Merlin-like figure, while she has no magic abilities herself. We follow up with a "slice of life" story, until she becomes a bounty hunter, chasing random criminals. Each time, the cast around her changes completely.

Unlike Ms Marvel who had a life, a love life, and villains. Spider-Woman has none of these. Her life changes completely every 5-ish issues. The major villains - the Brothers Grim - are dealt with and done once revealed.

This is a character in search of a reason to exist. Were it not for the competent art, this would be a pile of hot garbage.

I will settle on 2/5 mostly because the art is nice. And Spider-Woman is a hottie...

More MidSouthCon Pics

Just a quick post, I found these two pics from Midsouthcon... In Media Res!

Action pics!