www.gamingtavern.eu

[Indy Pete]

Hiya

I've posted an AP about the Mouse Guard game over on UK Role Players. (With apologies for cross-posting.)

Thanks for the game guys, I was also a bit saddened to have such a short session. I'll pay attention to how long the slots are next time: I thought they were all 4 hours long when I originally submitted my games. Doh!

Cheers
Pete

[Tim Gray]

[dr_mitch]

The CyberSkull is mine! Or maybe Marjory's.
_________________
Paul Mitchener

Maths Sensei

Author: Blood of the Gods (Wild Talents in Ancient Greece), Drowned Lands (in Adventures in Wordplay), Dragon City (in the OpenQuester).

[malcojones]

I arrived on Friday night after Baron Munchausen had begun and ate and chatted and helped Graham and Tim explain what Furnace was all about to the curious lady from the Job Centre. I stayed at the hotel and found it very comfortable.

Saturday slot 1: Late for sign-up but find space in Darran Sims Heroquest scenario, Street Urchins of Pavis. Knowing nothing of Glorantha or Heroquest I was relying on Darran, by reputation, to pull me through. The other players were very helpful too. It was intriguing and icky (though there were probably a lot of resonances I couldn’t catch) and we successfully completed the scenario (I think). Heroquest was simple, very playable and fluid. Enjoyed it.

Saturday slot 2: I ran Trail Of the Hound, Classic CoC, and was very pleased with how it turned out. Casting siblings as siblings and a scientist as a scientist helped. The investigation was very thorough and the problem faced was understood but, before the big bad arrived, a suddenly direct approach caused things to fall apart. The room that Andrew mentioned is straight out of the mind of H.P. Lovecraft and it took a heavy toll. After that, fleeing the country was the only option, that second German edition of The Necronomicon being possessed by the worst kind of bibliophile. Thanks to all the players for throwing themselves into it. Thanks to Matt and Andrew for the favourable comments. Glad you enjoyed it.

Saturday slot 3: Evil Gaz’s King Zombie in Pendragon. I’ve owned and soloed this system but wanted to see how it played before inflicting it on my group as I found it plays a bit like tennis in that upsets are pretty rare. In Gaz’s apocalyptic scenario it wasn’t really the zombies that made the threat but the inter party bickering and rivalry and the moral quandaries of having to take responsibility for the helpless peasants. I’m still not quite sure how some of us managed to defeat a wyrm, but Matt’s pragmatic, worldly Knight came good in his human showdown and my laid-back Knight came out a purse of gold to the good and well-feasted. I think I understand a bit better why Pendragon has the reputation of being a great campaign game now.

Sunday slot 4: Elaine’s Monsters scenario. As in slot 3, I let others take the lead, though I tried to pick up the pieces at the end. I found the game fun. Though I was having trouble figuring out the system at first Elaine was very patient with us kids and we were ready for the final battle. I have to say that my fellow players all seemed to find their inner children a lot easier to tap into than mine, and Robin’s Creeping Jesus was something of a worry! Monsters makes for a great con game.

Sunday slot 5: So glad I stayed for this. It was Dom Mooney’s Runepunk Savage Worlds scenario. By default I ended up the lead investigator and we investigated, dammit, ducking combat until it was un-necessary as we investigated a thoroughly detailed sandbox setting. Irked by the profligacy of my cohorts, my character was getting more and more apparently cocaine-fuelled (though it was probably the coffee in me) as we pursued our goal. It was great to see and hear Tom and Dom in action, and this was a great way to show that Savage Worlds can do more than combat-oriented scenarios. I had a great time and hope everyone else did too.

No complaints except that Saturday evening meals don’t really come fast enough when you want to get to game sign up (use your pre-booking to avoid disappointment).
It was frustrating to queue for food on Sunday lunchtime and not get it, but enough did eventually arrive. The Garrison just seems to cater that period like quiz night snacks (i.e. grazing while drinking) rather than the buffet we seem to anticipate.

Not sure about the scrums at sign up: I mostly gave them a miss and took what was left available. That worked out great.

I loved the raffle (not least because I got Baron Munchausen).

Overall: I ran one less game than last year and was therefore able to play more. A real joy. Thanks to all the organisers and everyone I played alongside. I recommend this con and must make sure I don’t hang about on booking next year.

Best, (alias) malcojones

[Neil Gow]

I'm going to try to be a little more objective with my feedback rather than the gushing over the awesome games I had that I am prone to. Before I start, needless to say I had a fantastic (if draining) time and it was brilliant (well, except for a four hour period on Saturday night that my brain refuses to accept happened....)

1. The Mess
This was my #1 problem this year - it was ridiculous and worse than I can remember it. Just piles of crap left all over the place. Whether its the placement of a strategic few bins and/or some signs that remind people not to just eat-and-dump, it would make running things in the Upper Jailhouse that much easier and more pleasant.

Signage
Lots of new people this year (due to reputation, no doubt, and the creation of the forum on UKRPG too) who didn't know their way around ... and plenty of veterans who are getting on and don't have the mental capacity that they used to have. Getting from the Sign-Up to the Armoury is akin to a quick WOW Instance on occassion, so some way of showing it to newbies would be good.

Sign-Up
I say this every year but there HAS to be a better way of doing this! I don't buy into this idea that sign-up/muster has to be this 'traditional' forumla of cattle-market and rugby scrum. Its not a friendly method, it does nothing to help people who aren't up for, or able to, participate in that level of activity and it truncates an already miniscule 'tween game period. Which leads me nicely too...

Slot Times and Food
Nothing that can be done here really, but maybe the expectations of the hotel could be shaken up. They should know damned well that between 5.30 and 6.30 on Furnace Saturday, their kitchen is going to be under siege. I had to wait nearly 45 minutes for a microwaved piece of chicken, bun and chips (mmm...microwaved bread..chewy) and then wolf it down at the table in front of my players. No-one wants to watch me eat at such close quarters!

Lack of Social Time
And this is my #2 problem with Furnace. There is simply no time to socialise with people because the schedule is so packed. By the time you have finished your game, took a breath, grabbed some food and drink and sorted yourself out, its sign-up again. Its relentless (which is part of the charm for the con) but it does leave you with a sense of 'Oh fuckety, I appear to have managed to not speak to X, Y and Z *again* this year!' when you leave.

So thats my feedback on points that could be improved. On the positive side, I thought there was a nice spread of games this year (props to Elaine for taking on Mission Impossible) and the addition of the third trader was excellent (especially as he helped me out of a playing card related hole!). The raffle was a lovely idea and as always the Collective did good trade and I'll thank the Committee on behalf of them for the table and the trade table and our series of slots again this year.

Cheers
Neil
_________________
Take the King's Shilling - Duty & Honour available now!

[ElaineM]

[Guvnor]

[First Age]

[Tim Gray]

[dr_mitch]

[voidstate]

Just to provide a counterpoint to various other people's criticisms...

Personally I quite like the sign-up scrum. But maybe that's just because I have pointy elbows. Sure you don't always get the game you want but it gets everyone in a room together and focused on a new game about to be started, and it's good for terminally indecisive people like me who have no idea what they want to play until 5 minutes beforehand.

I also liked the raffle. Even though I didn't win, it was fun to take part in (despite rather worryingly already having most of the books on the table).

Chips and sarnies were good, too. With the raffle between "sittings", I don't think it was that much of a pain having to wait for the second round.

Have to agree that the hotel kitchens seemed to be shuffling tickets as they got taken in, though. Made waiting for food a rather anxious affair.

As for longer gaps between games, I would be perfectly happier for them to be a little shorter and to have a longer morning slot. If they were 45 minutes, you could make the morning games three and a half hours instead.

Overall I had a great time. No duff games at all, with most exceeding my expectations. Got a few laughs from my terrible pirate NPCs on Sunday morning which was nice. Wasn't sure everyone would find dinosaur poo, midgets and pirates with two eyepatches as funny as me.

Will definitely come again next year!

[JamieAngus]

[Guvnor]

[Jane]

[Andrew Whiteoak]

I like the sign up scrum too, it seems like the fairest way to do it. At other cons in the states there have been pre sign ups where people then didn't show. At least this way those who sign up are right there.

Perhaps Elaine could just blow a horn next time to signify she has finished with the particular board and has placed herself at a safe distance from it, and have no one sign or go within 10cm with a pencil, until the horn is blown...

Yeah I like the raffle too, it was fun even if i didn't win and made a point of displaying things that I then desired and would seek to purchase myself since I didn't win them. So it's a good sales tactic too.

erm... OK maybe it wasn't much trouble to wait 'between sittings' if people had a first round but many of us didn't get a first round of chips... but then again if more prizes replace the chips we'd all just be waiting in the bar for our food (which takes forever) and miss the raffle...

If there were shorter gaps between games we'd never have time to wait for the bar staff to serve us our food, that's the only trouble.

Jamie and I are definitly planning to come back next year.

AND Jamie has already found a gaming group that meets in the University she works in (She found this SINCE returning from the con.) She's been a very successful convert for a first timer!

Andrew.