CON REPORT: GameHoleCon 11 Day 1

   

I am going to try to make these updates shorter and punchier so I can actually summarize each day's blog. This is my first GameHoleCon since last year I sighed up but live event prevented attendance. 

Its a farsight bigger than ReaperCon that is for sure. And judging from the guest list, more packed with D&D notables like Zeb Cook, Mike Mearls, and Chris Perkins. I am really hoping to run into Steven Jackson to get my copy of OGRE signed and Jon Peterson to shake his hand for a great job on Playing at the World.

FIGHT IN THE SKIES

Speaking of the development of D&D, the first game I participated in was Fight in the Skies. This is a WWI flying aces game invented by Mike Carr. The game is notable not only because its the only game played at every GenCon, but also a game it introduced (1) leveling and (2), despite being a wargame, does encourage you to playing your pilot as a character less a chit.

The game is played using a handful of d6's and d% dice. You roll initiative, highest moves but can't shoot at any plane that's not moved, you have to control speed and altitude, manage the length of time you fire your guns (longer = more hits) against jamming, and there is a critical table to roll on when you get shot.

All made easier by a number-filled, but handy tracker sheet which helps follow your turn by turn. After playing a couple of rounds, you get the hang of it. And its 2d6 format really drove home for me the origin of a lot of Battletech mechanisms-- although Fight has less going on. And I'm also not sure Fight is not easier to learn than X-Wing which seems simpler.

My pilot was Nim Blackcloud, but later would earn the name "The Blackcat" because despite being damaged and smoking (see the picture), I was able to avoid 3 turns of hot pursue and engine criticals roll a "0 00" and "98" to avoid them and in one turn my opponent roll a "6" when they needed a 1-5 to hit it me.

Alas "The Blackcat" died hitting the silks when trying to escape the field.

"Conga Line of Death": An opening common
formation given how close we were

My wingman attempts to draw off enemy forces

Looks complicated, but just contains a lot of useful info
once you know where and how to look

NIGHTWICK ABBEY

I do like running games as cons because I believe it is what helps strengthen them and evangelize the hobby. And also like demonstrating (hopefully) the strength and free-form nature of old-school gaming. 

As such two froglings, Rrrogerr and Hilthorp, along with Pread the fighter (and pig Queen Mab), Brambella the dwarf, Quarl the magician, and Cedrick the gravedigger descended into Miranda Elkins' Nightwick Abbey. Similar to ReaperCon, the goal for the PCs to either find the missing Frogguts vicar OR collect 600sp to pay to the Bishop as, um, a sorta restitution for losing said vicar. 

A murder of rats

So how did they do?

• Pread found a secret door resulting in their first 100sp, but Hilthrop getting his eye plucked out by some of the strange vermin that inhabit the Abbey
• The bang of frogling gonnes attracted the attention of several monstrous people smelling of sweaty groin and rancid meat; the party adopted the stance of being tax-collectors-- it looked bad but Pread was able to get some nice Follow-through actions in downing two of the individuals and the magician took out the last one with a crossbow
• The party turned north and stumbled into a ritual of performed by deer-headed creatures around some golden antlers (!); the party was excited by this potential score

Oh deer...men

• A valent fight, with the party almost being flanked by deermen from the left, but once again the party's fighter was able to pull off some amazing hits felling deermen left and right
• Suffering heavy losses, the deermen's MU put down the the fighter, Pread with a magic missle however the party's magician Quarl used ventriloquism and his diabolic language to force another morale check (DM NOTE: Felt like this was a good, clever combo to warrant the check) to scare off the remaining deermen
• Picking golden antlers, silver candlesticks the party was about to make their exit and almost got everyone strangled by a procession of floating rictus undead with unnerving smiles--- but the just got away (save for poor Hilthrop) via the Death & Dismemberment Table (DM NOTE: Despite the name, those tables generally extend PC lives)
• We don't talk about the pig...eyes too human, lips too soft, legs to, to long, and fingers so many...
• SCORE: Silver Ending 1 Safe Vicar Ending 0 (I'd say that's a win for the Abbey)

The players were a great group and I was happy to see everyone interested in Nightwick Abbey and wanting to know where they could look more into it! The player of Cedrick the gravedigger was even already a Nightwick Patreon member, but had yet to play it- so happy to given them a good experience!