Blog

With a lot going on Dave and I had another week off from the live chat. I was returning from the convention Ice and Dice. It was a convention in Cincinnati OH. I was there as a guest to run some games and I had a great time. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a great small convention. Do not get me wrong, cons like GenCon and Pax Unplugged are great with so many people and so much going on, but the small cons can be magical with the hotel and convention being one and the same.

I ran two games while at the convention. I continue to run Zoo Mafia to get feedback on the game we are developing. Go to zoomafiarpg.com to learn more and get access to the free quickstart rules. As with everyone I have run it for, the players had a great time, and one player, as soon as the game was over, said “I need this game in my life!” I was very happy to hear that. I also ran another iteration of my Haunted House one-shot game. It was a great game with a mix of people that played 5e D&D before and players who had not played in a very long time. The one guy had not played D&D since 2e. The house appeared outside of town and people investigated and then disappeared. The house was haunted by a ghost who suffered a great loss while he was alive. The players were able to find clues and loot, from the owner of the house including a chalice and journal that detailed his life with his true love. But, as sometimes happens, something befell the couple and it drove him mad. The players confronted the ghost and we narrated a challenge of how to set the spirit to rest. When it was over the player who was returning to the game was so impressed with the story he asked, “Did you write that?” He was clearly impressed.

While I did not get to play any tabletop games, I was drafted into a Vampire Larp. I had larped before, but that usually involves costumes and the woods, not a singular room at a hotel. I had not read any vampire books in probably 15 or more years and knew nothing of the rules for the larp, but they needed another player and therefore I was down. Once the story got rolling it was full of intrigue back and forth discussion and you guessed it, betrayal. One player in our fleeing out of the citadel gained control of a golem and set it upon some of us. Thankfully my character was strong enough to body-check the golem and let the next person in line deal with it. We then encountered a Roman General who was born in the year 360 much older than the rest of us and he claimed that we should either join and serve him or become his food. I was not into that idea. As one player decided to join him, the head of the house we were visiting decided to try and Mass Dominate everyone to try and fight this soldier. Sadly for him, all of us were successful in resisting his mental intrusion. One player decides he does not want to die so he starts to join, this infuriates our host. The player who set the golem on some of us decides to summon a fire elemental. In the confusion of the elemental being summoned, the player kneeling before the general, I run for it and flee the passages under Venice. I get clipped on my way through but not enough to slow me. I made it out alive. I can’t guarantee the others would. After the others made it through or didn’t we did a wrap-up and talked about the adventure. It was so much fun. I hope to do it again, but another story of course.

I was part of a couple of panels, talking about being a D&D youtuber, podcaster, or twitch streamer. And I helped run a panel on running a successful Kickstarter campaign or crowdfunding campaign. I attended one of the writers of Lost Lorn with the lead writer of Vampire the Masquerade. I took part in the free Paint and Take. The table was open all weekend and had some cool minis provided by Games Workshop.  All in All, I had a great time and I hope that I get to go back next year as I met and talked to a large number of great people. If you have a local convention you attend and want Nerdarchy there please reach out to the convention’s planners and request us to attend.