We had great fun during our Summer in Carcosa kickoff session.

We had great fun during our Summer in Carcosa kickoff session.

We had great fun during our Summer in Carcosa kickoff session. I’m running my table more or less extemporaneously, which is a big change from how I normally do it. I think it’s going well so far. Converting things from the Carcosa book to DW is pretty easy to do on-the-fly. I’ll still prep some overarching campaign threats (and grim portents), and maybe one or two set piece scenes, but other than that, I’m just referring to the Carcosa hex map as the characters wander about, looking for a way home. 

One last bit: I’m taking a lot of inspiration from Paul Czege’s The Clay that Woke when thinking about how to portray the people of this world. While Carcosa is definitely not the Dégringolade, there are undeniable similarities, such as the fact these tribes of people are more less isolated from the rest of the world, have strange beliefs, have forgotten about their past, and are surrounded by an environment that is strange, dangerous, and ever-encroaching. 

Thanks to Scott Owen  for running the other table, and to everyone else for coming out!

After what was a very palpable sense of anticipation just before launching, and racing to its goal pretty quickly,…

After what was a very palpable sense of anticipation just before launching, and racing to its goal pretty quickly,…

After what was a very palpable sense of anticipation just before launching, and racing to its goal pretty quickly, the Undying Kickstarter seems to have lost momentum. 

I’m not yet a backer, which is surprising since I get behind pretty much any promising indie RPG, especially if 1) my friends are excited about it and 2) RPG designers I admire recommend it. I think the hang-up I’m having is the level I want to back at is so expensive. I could easily back at the level where I get the PDF or the softcover, both of which are very reasonable in terms of the pledge level. But here’s the thing: if I’m going to settle for that, I can just buy it on DriveThru when it comes out. 

I do Kickstarter because I want the cool, exclusive thing. But in this case, the cool, exclusive thing (hardcover; blood tokens) is going to run me nearly $100 after shipping. 

Anyway, I’m keeping it starred, because the game does seem really damn cool. I may have a change of heart about it. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/892039034/undying/description

I’m incorporating some changes to Carcosa that make it possible to die during character creation.

I’m incorporating some changes to Carcosa that make it possible to die during character creation.

I’m incorporating some changes to Carcosa that make it possible to die during character creation. How fucking OSR is that?

Episode 21 of the podcast is up today!

Episode 21 of the podcast is up today!

Episode 21 of the podcast is up today! 

Our main topic is DW’s legendary (and controversial) 16 HP dragon. Other games we discuss include:

Lady Blackbird

Jared Sorensen’s Parseley

Monster of the Week

Grant Howitt’s Goblin Quest and Kobold Quest

Epidiah Ravachol’s Invisible Empire

Jungle Speed

Witness

The Quiet Year

The Whispering Road

As always, leave your feedback in the comments!

http://gauntletpodcast.libsyn.com

In a session filled with great moments, my favorite from last night’s Monster of the Week:

In a session filled with great moments, my favorite from last night’s Monster of the Week:

In a session filled with great moments, my favorite from last night’s Monster of the Week:

Kristen D’s character was a Wronged, and the focus of her ire was a gang of ex-military, biker werewolves. During her epilogue, she described trapping them in their bar, lighting it on fire, and then, as they burned to death, shooting her rifle in the air 21 times and saying “Thank you for your service.” 

Fucking classic. 

We’re a very public FtF gaming group, meaning anyone who finds us on Meetup can show up to an event (provided there…

We’re a very public FtF gaming group, meaning anyone who finds us on Meetup can show up to an event (provided there…

We’re a very public FtF gaming group, meaning anyone who finds us on Meetup can show up to an event (provided there is space) and we will welcome them to play. But we’re also a community, and part of participating in a community is eventually doing what it takes to fit in with that community. As you might imagine, not everyone who shows up manages to accomplish that, and it’s on me, as the community organizer, to eliminate those friction points. 


Most cases are very easy. The player who is disruptive at the table, or who creeps on women players, or who uses the captive audience of the game table to spout their foul ideology – I have no problem whatsoever kicking those people out. Then you have the cases that are a little less black & white; people who are fundamentally good, but who are just kind of inconsiderate – the  crafters, the people who RSVP but don’t show, the last-minute cancelers, the chronically late, etc.. I try to give those folks a little bit of space to adapt to our way of doing things, and only ask them not to return when their inconsiderate behavior starts to be an inconvenience. 

But what do you do about the person who willfully refuses to participate in the fullness of the community? The person who is plainly not interested in being anyone’s friend, and who would rate your game on Yelp if he could? The player who reminds you on a regular basis that they’d rather be playing Pathfinder, and that they are essentially slumming it with your group because they had nothing better to do that night? The player who doesn’t give a damn about your G+, your podcast, or anything else you do to enrich the overall experience of being a member of the community? And who, despite all of the above, still turns up on a weekly basis to game?

We have had several people like that, and I never really warm up to them. 

The Gauntlet had a weekend packed with gaming.

The Gauntlet had a weekend packed with gaming.

The Gauntlet had a weekend packed with gaming. On Friday, we played a number of games, including Goblin Quest, Love Letter, Witness, Jungle Speed, and Coup. On Saturday, we did an all-day capstone for my DW mega-dungeon, called Kazumandor’s Lair. On Sunday, we played the Miyazaki-inspired game, The Whispering Road. 

We’ll cover all this on Friday’s podcast, but for now, thanks to everyone who came out: Daniel Lewis Steve Mains Jeff Burke Ferrell Riley Russell Benner Jorge Salazar Marcus Centurian Kristen D Scott Owen Daniel Fowler and new guys David & Yuri.