Sunday, January 25, 2009

Death by Weasel


Saturday was CRG-Con Gameday at the Marion Library. It was the first one we've thrown since the flood and we had a pretty good turnout for such a long break. Games played yesterday included For Sale, Incan Gold, Shadows Over Camelot, Yetisburg, Galaxy Trucker and Ticket to Ride.

One thing I had wanted to do this time around was run an rpg event, which I hadn't done for awhile. Of course, I was a week late for TARGA's (the Traditional Adventure Roleplaying Game Association) game week, in which gamers around the world were called to run old school rpgs in order to spread the word of old school roleplaying goodness. So, I decided to run Swords & Wizardry and run the group through Judges Guild's Tegel Manor (which was inspired by this post about it on Grognardia!)

Luckily, not only did I get a good group to play with, that group included Victor Raymond, one of the key shakers and movers behind TARGA. He was gracious enough not only come all the way from Ames to play, but also to bring a pile of old school games for players to thumb through, as well as several copies of Matt Finch's Quick Primer for Old School Gaming, which is a must read for anyone interesting in this style of play.

Tegel Manor turned out to be a lot of fun for all. There were ghosts, paintings that plagued players with itchy feet, mysterious women composed of mold spores and attempts to construct an arrow out of forks. I was impressed that the players who hadn't played this style of game before really got into the spirit of things and made great decisions and had great ideas as well!

The group had decided to investigate one of the great towers of the manor as their goal, and explored the manor in a systematic method in order to get there. Once there, they met their fates. In the Trophy Room in the Brother's Tower, the Elf was immediately swallowed by a giant toad, the Cleric was quickly decapitated by a giant beaver's great incisors and one of the brave Fighting Men was cracked open like a clam by a giant otter. The only ones to escape the manor were the other Fighting Man (who tumbled down the tower steps crying "Monkeys! Monkeys!) and the Wizard, who had patiently waited to see how the more martial types did before coming into the Trophy Room and thus survived. They escaped with their skins and a small modicum of treasures.

The day ended out well with Victor visiting with me a bit here at Casa del Zieser; gabbing about gaming and keeping the chihuahuas entertained. (Victor, you definitely have a new friend in Lily!)

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