Tag: Jason Cordova

Here is a link to Session 1 of our new series of Monster of the Week. It is the first session in a two-part mystery called Huge Problems in Little Shanghai, my “barely bothered to file off the serial numbers” version of Big Trouble in Little China (which can be found in Codex – Ectoplasm, btw). I have actually run this mystery about a dozen times before, but it’s always interesting to see how a new group tackles it.

This was a fun session. Like a lot of first sessions, we were kind of easing into these characters, seeing how they interacted with each other, and sharpening up their personalities. By the end, I think we were hitting a good stride.

Big thanks to the players: Chris Wiegand Christo Meid Stephen Humphreys and Michael G. Barford

Also, to see more AP from Gauntlet Hangouts, be sure to check out our YT playlists!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9QoUve1LQHu_feDx0snd4w/playlists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnfyhAznzsc

Thoughts on DexCon 2017

DexCon was lovely this year. Even though the indie game schedule was more limited than the ones at Dreamation and Metatopia, I think the quality of the play I experienced was significantly higher. Here are some thoughts on Dex Con 2017…

David LaFreniere flew in from Lubbock for the con and it was awesome to get to spend some time with him. We played in a bunch of games together and had lots of good conversations about both the Gauntlet and the hobby in general.

I also got to spend a fair amount of time with Shane Liebling, which was great. If you ever get a chance to hang out with Shane at a con, I highly recommend it. The conversation is always brisk and enjoyable.

The first game I played was a pick-up session of The Insider, a hidden role card game. I got to play with Shane, David, River Williamson, and Seraphina Ferraro. Lots of laughs, lots of fun.

The second game I played was Dungeon Crawl Classics. It was ok. There wasn’t much r-o-l-e roleplaying in it, so by the time I got to my next game, I was practically salivating to do up a really memorable character.

And did I ever in Black Sunday: 1935! That one is a LARP about a group of circus folk stuck in a basement with some religious townies during a bad storm. The character I played was Adrian, aka Kar-Suet the Serpent King, the star of the traveling show. Kar-Suet was easily one of my favorite characters I have ever played. I basically portrayed him as a Norma Desmond-type; overwrought, flamboyant, dramatic. It was great fun. Also: that game is damn good. I am more convinced of LARPs than ever. I must play more LARPs.

The next game I played was Seco Creek Vigilance Committee. It’s a game by Keith Stetson that is hitting Kickstarter soon. It’s a sort of Western noir, wherein the players must help decide the fate of three outlaws they have just rounded-up: do we put them on the train to Bright City, where they will likely beat the charges, or do we administer “Western justice?” You use a fun poker chip system to manage your character’s relationship with the various factions in Seco Creek, and the characters have Lady Blackbird-style Keys that inform how you play them. I really enjoyed it and will have my eye on the KS when it launches.

On Saturday morning I played Witch: the Road to Lindisfarne with Seraphina, David, and a couple of folks whose names escape me. This was probably my favorite session of the whole con. It was INTENSE roleplaying. In the whole four hour block, we only cracked a single joke. Everyone was laser-focused on playing their character to the max and maintaining the dark, serious mood. I loved it. David’s Witch was deliciously creepy; it was a film-worthy performance. Hats off to Seraphina for facilitating a really brilliant session. And yes: we burned the witch.

Keeping with the theme of burning people, the last game I played was a Saturday evening session of Montsegur 1244. I have owned that game for a long time but never had a chance to play it before. I’m glad I did! What I found utterly fascinating about the game is how different it must play out depending on which characters are chosen as the leads. You have a group of twelve characters, but only a handful of them are the focus. Three of our six focus characters were a pair of small children and their caretaker, so our story was naturally kind of small in scale. It was almost a family drama, and I liked it a lot. My own character was very grounded in (and defined by) her femininity and that was really enjoyable to play. I was particularly happy with the intense, emotional scenes between my character and those portrayed by Catherine Ramen, who also facilitated the session.

Dex Con 2017 was terrific! I got to meet and hang out with a bunch of fabulous people and play a bunch of great games. I hope to do it again next year!