The following post is an announcement received from Jenni Merrifield at VCON in Vancouver, BC. The convention sounds like a lot of fun!

Hi!

My name is Jenni Merrifield and I have recently taken over the role of Games Coordinator for VCON 34. I am sending out this message to gamers and gaming groups primarily in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest as a call to action – by promoting the VCON games room and filling you in on some of the incentives available for gamers in general and anyone interested in hosting game events during the convention I hope to encourage you and all your friends to come out to our event!

Quick Summary for the “TLDR” crowd

• VCON is Western Canada’s longest running science fiction, fantasy and gaming fan convention, held in the Vancouver, BC, Canada metropolitan area every October. VCON 34 is Oct 2-4, 2009. Details at www.vcon.ca
• VCON 34’s games room is open 24 hours and has scheduled game events, drop in games, and free-play tables available.
• There is a reduced price pass for those who are primarily interested in gaming scene and do not intend to attend other scheduled programming.
• More hosts are needed to run scheduled game events during core programming hours – any host who commits to at least 4 hours of game events is eligible for a discounted membership rate.
• The VCON 34 Games Coordinator is looking to connect with individuals with almost any significant connection to the table top or video gaming industries who would be interested in attending the con as a programming guest and participating in game related programming.
  

About VCON

VCON is Western Canada’s longest running science fiction, fantasy and gaming fan convention and is held in the Vancouver, BC, Canada metropolitan area every October. VCON 34 is October 2-4, 2009 at the Downtown Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver.

Our Guests of Honour this year are:

• Tanya Huff (Author GoH)
• Miles Teves (Artist GoH)
• Christine Willes (Media GoH)
• plus Special Guests The “GeeksOn” Podcasters

Full convention details are available on our web site: www.vcon.ca.

The VCON Games Room

The VCON Games room is open 24 hours from shortly after the convention opens on Friday until close of con on Sunday. There will be several types of tables available:

Scheduled:
These are tables where pre-scheduled gaming events will be held during VCON’s core programming hours (Friday, 2pm to midnight; Saturday 10a to midnight; Sunday 10a to 4p). While the majority of the events will be scheduled game play these tables may also host game demos, focused round table discussions on gaming topics and other such events.

Tourney Registration:
There will be a registration table in place for any game tourneys to be held during the convention where members can register for the tourney and take care of anything else required by the tourney host.

Drop-In:
These tables are run by a game host over the whole weekend. Members can join in whatever games a host decides to run from the library of games they’ve brought with them.

Free-Play:
Bring in your own game supplies and start up a pick-up game of any kind at any time. Whether it’s a board game, a card game, a roleplaying game or something else, pick a table, find some other interested members and go to it!

We also offer the VCON Game Library to members during core programming hours. This is a collection of familiar classics and interesting newer games that the convention has been collecting over the past several years. These games may be borrowed from the library by any member and used on the Free-Play tables.

VCON Membership Rates

If you’re interested in more than just gaming, and purchase your membership before September 15, you can get an adult membership for just $45 CDN – a $15 savings over the $60 “at the door” price. There are also reduced rates for Students (with valid student card) and Children from 7 to 12 (Children under 7 can attend free).

We also offer a “Games and Exhibits Only” pass for $30 CDN. This restricted access pass allows entry to the exhibits (Dealers Room, Art Gallery, etc) and participation in the Games Room. It is designed for those who are primarily interested in these areas of the convention and do not intend to attend any standard programmed sessions.

See the registration page on our web site for complete details: www.vcon.ca/registration.htm.

If you live in the USA:

For those who live south of the 49th parallel, the early registration adult rate is approximately $41 USD versus the approximately $54 USD “at the door” rate. The “Games and Exhibits Only” pass is approximately $27 USD.

Also, new US border crossing regulations mean you will need a valid passport, a Nexus card or one of those “Enhanced Drivers Licenses” if you want the US border guards to let you re-enter your home country. In other words – if you don’t already have one of these forms of identity, get your game on and complete the necessary paperwork and legwork already! We want you to come up and visit us!

Incentives for Game Hosts

In order to make the VCON Games Room a success, we have a desperate need for game hosts – mainly those willing to run game events on the Scheduled tables although we’re also interested in anyone willing to bring along their own game library and host a Drop-In table.

Core programming hours are 2p to midnight Friday, 10a to midnight Saturday, and 10a to 4p Sunday. There will be at least two tables available for scheduled games at any one time – and possibly more if we get enough interested hosts.

The games room Schedule will be broken up into half-hour chunks, and each hosted game event will be given a minimum of one and a half hours duration but can have as many half-hour chunks as the host desires so long as the necessary space is available in the schedule. The first fifteen minutes to half an hour of each event is intended to be used to allow players and host to get organized and settled so the minimum expected duration of a game event is actually only an hour. Note that schedule time slots will be handed out on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure to register early if you want to assure you get your preferred time slot!

Hosts who commit to hosting a cumulative total of at least four hours over the weekend (e.g., three 1.5-hour sessions, two 2-hour sessions, one four hour session) are eligible for a Game Host rate – $30 CDN ($27 USD) for Adult or $20 CDN ($18 USD) for “Games and Exhibits Only.” Drop In table hosts are also eligible for these discounts.

Anyone interested in hosting a scheduled game event or who is interested in bringing along a library of games and manning a Drop In table can contact me directly by email at vcongames [at] gmail [dot] com.

In Search of Games Programming Guests

Our roster of games programming guests could also use some bolstering so I am looking to connect with any individual or company with almost any reasonable connection to the table-top and video game industries who would be interested in attending the con as a programming guest.

Programming guests are invited to the con and asked to participate in at least two or three game related programming sessions in return for fame, fortune and prestige (well, okay, not fame and fortune, but there’s certainly some prestige earned from other convention members!) and probably some other perks that I’m unable to disclose (but only because I don’t know what they are – you have to get invited by the Programming Coordinator to find out). So, whether you’re a game designer, game artist, game developer, game reviewer or whatever, I’d like to hear from you!

Any interested parties can also contact me directly by email at vcongames [at] gmail [dot] com.

Wrap Up

Well, that’s the spiel folks. I hope that each one of you will check out our web site (www.vcon.ca) and give some serious consideration to attending VCON 34 this year. Even more so if you’re interested in hosting games or participating in games programming!

October 2 is only a few weeks away, so don’t spend too much time thinking about it!

Good Gaming!

Jenni Merrifield
VCON 34 Games Coordinator
vcongames [at] gmail [dot] com

An interesting sort of project I have tried with other art forms is the collaboration, a work created by several individuals who all contribute to the completion of the project.  As gamers, we are all familiar with this sort of creative work in the form of campaigns that are created collaboratively, or via round-robin GMing.

I thought it might be interesting to tackle the design of a long-term campaign as a collaboration, but to do it in a slightly different light – as an art project, a n exercise in creativity, rather than as something that was being designed to throw in front of players at some point as “my new campaign!  Wanna play?  Pleeease?”

So I wrote up my ideas, made a few creative decisions, and set up a web page for it here on the ECG website.  As the project progresses (and I hope it will) I will be posting here with updates.

I would like to get as much input as possible on all steps of the process.  Mostly I am going to be setting up polls at important branching points for the project, but I would also welcome inputs in the form of comments, recommendations, suggestions, etc.

I have set up the webpage for the collaborative project here. Please check it out and follow the links to the first poll!

I look forward to seeing how this pans out!

- Edmund

At the last Gamefest planning meeting, we decided to go with “frugal monkey” as the theme for our November 2009 game day. We figured that in these crappy economic times, a free game day was pretty good!

I’ve been asked to draw our flying monkey mascot accordingly, and I just came up with a draft (with my apologies to Norman Rockwell.)

All comments, critiques, suggestions, etc. are welcomed!

Meetup Reminder

What
Gamers gathering

When
Saturday, July 18, 2009 12:00 PM

Where
Wizards Toy Box Game Club
16213 NE 18th St. Belleuve
Bellevue WA 98008
206.755.6356

For more information, to subscribe, or to RSVP, go to the East End RPG Meetup group website.

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This is a recap of our regular Thursday night game at the Wayward Cafe on Greenwood in Seattle. This game was another in our series of Mystery Men inspired D-list supers. Much fun was had by all! 

To reduce the confusion, the Anchorman character can control electrical devices and is, himself, a camera and he is capable of broadcasting his voice, hearing, and vision over the airwaves. This recap is done in the style of a TV interview.

Characters: The Golem. Several hundred years old, Terry the Golem has seen more history than anyone living, and several undead, but is a pacifist at heart. His personality changes as he tries out new ones every so often. Was granted his freedom when the kabbalist who created him put in a scroll with the Hebrew word for “Freedom”.

Sledgehammer. Given name, Sledge Hammer. 24 years old and the son of Aman Hammer, millionaire own of Hammer Motors. Sledge skinned the kevlar out of hundreds of used tires to build his suit of armor, with strategic metal plates making it bullet proof. His weapons of choice are commercially available sledge hammers, along with his pride and joy, Junior, a replica maul. He rides a Harley Davidson, which he named “The Hog of Justice”.

The Paper Boy. A living paper golem, created when Shinto magicians assisting a Ninja clan tried to duplicate the creation of a clay golem. thus Origami was born. He can fold himself into any shape, up to twice his size, and not very dense, or one quarter his size, and very dense. He attacks by making paper cuts.

[Opening titles: Special Report on the Attack of the Space Hamster!]

[Various cut scenes of shots taken by various news cameras, cell phones, and amateur videographers.]

[Establishing shot of the Harbor City Irregulars' HQ: The Citadel Of Justice. A dilapidated warehouse on the waterfront in the Velvet District.]

[Cut to the interior of the warehouse. The flying camera, controlled by Harvey Bryce, the Anchorman, does a flying pan shot, cutting to another camera under his control on a tripod.]

[Sitting on a couch are the two of the heroes that saved the city, Sledgehammer and The Paper Boy. Next to them in his specially reinforced chair, The Golem, who looks dashing in his smoking jacket and silk cravat.]

HB: “Welcome to this report on what happened last week here in Harbor City. As you all remember, a giant mechanical hamster attacked and damaged City Hall, only to be driven away by Sledgehammer,” [Camera fixes on his face as he mouths "Hi mom!"] “the Paper Boy,” [Camera fixes on the Origami man, who quickly folds his hands and spells out "だれでもこの辺に日本人を読むか"] “and the Golem.” [Terry smiles for the camera, letting a couple flames leak out the corner of his mouth.] “So gentlemen, Harbor City is in your debt once more. Especially to you Terry, this is what, the third or fourth time you’ve saved the city?”

The Golem: “Well, I think its the fourth time I saved this fabulous city! Though, I must say that it is getting soooo tedious! I mean, well, you’d think this city would save itself this time or that any of this city’s so called super heroes would do the job. I mean, look at what the Raven is wearing! Honey, is everything you own in black and leather?”

HB: [A little bit shocked, but he quickly recovers.] Yes, and… Sledgehammer, what alerted you to the fact that this town was in danger?

Sledgehammer: “Duh! When a giant mecha-space hamster attacks City Hall, that’s a big clue. He even called us out over the radio and TV. I mean you’d have to live in a cave and not know what’s going on.”

HB: “Yes, but you and your, uh, team were quick to respond.”

SH: “Of course! Terr… I mean the Golem works out of his detective agency right across the street, along with the Gator and the L.E.M.U.R. While I patrol the city at night on my Hog of Justice! [He turns to the camera] And Mister Mayor Pennywise! When will I get that parking permit? Five bucks a night to park in front of the Citadel Of Justice isn’t right! And when will we get that fridge you promised us? How do you expect us to keep our beer and pizzas cold?”

HB: “Right… Paper Boy, you’re the newest member of this team, how did you come to be here?”

Paper Boy: [Flutters his hands, making Japanese sounding sounds, then folds his hands, spelling out "私は言っていることを理解しない。"]

TG: “Well, he just mailed himself to me. From Japan no less. I was expecting some lacquered fans from Japan, and there he was, all folded up in an envelope. I thumb tacked him to the wall, but he then unfolded and ate a phonebook. See, you can see a page right there.”

SH: “He don’t speakee the Engrish. But I figured out a sign language to communicate with him.” [Sledgehammer makes various hand motions and gestures to Origami.]

PB: [Origami turns to the camera and folds the following message: "お願いします! 誰かは英語から日本語辞書を購入し、これらの馬鹿にこの本を与える!" There is a pleading look to the folds on his face.]

HB: [Camera focuses on him. He smiles weakly.] Here’s some footage that was caught on by a bystander of our heroes battling the giant mecha hamster…”

[A shaky camera image of the damaged City Hall. It focuses on the head of the mecha hamster, showing a paper airplane landing on the shoulder of the mecha, unfolding into a thin sheet and slipping into the mecha's body through a chink in it's armor. This is followed by the Golem leaping onto the shoulder of the mecha.]

[Cut to another camera that catches Sledgehammer boldly walking out in front of City Hall, carrying his primary weapon, Junior, a handmade maul weighing in at 20 pounds. He picks up a piece of concrete, tosses it in the air and uses his maul like a baseball bat, knocking the chunk of debris at the mecha hamster, dinging the paint. He then calls out when the mecha looks at him.]

SH: [barely audible] Hey Hamster, why don’t you fight me? Get out of that suit and let’s go at this, mano y space hamster!”

[The mecha replies by trying to smash Sledgehammer with its paw. He deftly deflects it with his maul. He then hauls off and hits the mecha's paw, only scratching the surface. Then for some reason, the mecha tries to chew Sledgehammer, who bravely blocks the gnashing teeth as big him. He then swings his maul, hitting it in its mouth, chipping a tooth.]

SH: “Is that all you got? Bring it on!”

[Cut to the shaky camera focused on the Golem, pounding away on the head of the mecha. Suddenly, the mecha stands up and then rockets fire from his feet and tail region, sending the mecha up into the air. As it flies, it seems to lose control and crashes into the harbor. Sledgehammer is seen shaking his fist at the fleeing mecha, then jumping on his bike, the Hog of Justice, and heads down to the waterfront at 120 mph.]

[Cut to a shot from the WHRC newscopter, hovering over the wreckage of the mecha. Terry is seen jumping from the Harbor Queen casino boat onto the alien spaceship. He goes right through the hull into the interior. Then the camera catches Sledgehammer in a rowboat with an electric 1.5 hp motor, slowly heading for the wrecked spaceship in the harbor. He's seen picking up a large white globe and hitting it like a baseball with a sledgehammer at another flying ball. The two balls connect and shatter, dropping the space hamster almost in the water. He was saved at the last minute by the Paper Boy, who folded himself into a soaring bird. Together they glided to the edge of the saucer, where they had another combat on it's surface. The fight ends when the hamster is beaten by a a thousand paper cuts. He flops onto the hole in the hull and then fell into the ship. Quickly followed by the Paper Boy. Meanwhile, the Sledgehammer docked the Dinghy of Retribution at the dock used by the US Government researchers for their boats. With his golf bag full of sledgehammers, he calmly walks into the ship.]

HB: “The question that all of Harbor City wants to know is what happened inside the ship?”

PB: [Desperately folds the message: "私は日本に戻りたい。ただし、これらの愚か者はメールのエンベロプを持っていない。私はあなたの頼む! 誰かはこれらの愚か者からの私をレスキューする!"]

TG: “Take it easy Paper Boy! We know that you fought the Space Hamster hand to, uh, hand. But we’re a team and all had a hand in bring this menace down.”

PB: [Folds: "運命は私を憎む!" A paper tear folds down his face.]

SH: “<Expletive Deleted>, after we contacted the Harbor City Super Swat Team, the Golem pushed the OnStar button. That brought the alien kid here to find his hamster, the Mayor negotiated a deal with the kid’s father not to slag the city, and they hauled away the ship and the mecha back to their world. What’s more to say… other than, MISTER MAYOR! Why don’t you return my phone calls! I push the button on the Red Phone and I can only get your answering service! We matter! We are important! We deserve better treatment! We save this city’s <Expletive Deleted> every day! You’d think you’d issue me that <Expletive Deleted> parking pass just to stop me calling you!”

HB: [Camera focuses on the Anchorman. In the background, we see the Golem trying to restrain Sledgehammer, helped by the L.E.M.U.R., while Origami tries to commit seppaku with a letter opener and is restrained by Gator, who is in her human form.] “Thanks to you, the Harbor City Irregulars, Harbor City can rest easy tonight. This Harvey Dent for the WHRC Harbor City News. Good night.” 

[The lights dim, as we see the Anchorman help wrestle the letter opener away from Origami, who then folds himself into a buddha. Sledgehammer is threatening the Golem with a roofing hammer, which Terry takes away from him easily.]

]]> http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/20/game-recap-mystery-men-the-return-of-the-space-hamster/feed/ 0 kedamono space-hamster terry sledgehammer Origami Dilapidated Warehouse http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/06/goodhobbits-a-freeport-adventure/ http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/06/goodhobbits-a-freeport-adventure/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:10:17 +0000 kedamono http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/?p=463 ]]> You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning…

It’s been five years since the Freeport Guard was divided between the Sea Lord Guards and the Watch. Between the trustworthy, loyal soldiers dedicated to keep the Sea Lord safe, and the corrupt, untrustworthy troops that are now charged with keeping the very laws they regularly break.

Well, did break. Sometimes break. You get the drift.

And you’re one of Commissioner Holliver’s special squad of investigative Watchmen. You solved that string of murders by that cultist, so the current problem besetting Freeport should be a breeze!

Bilbo Baggins, first Cappo for the Finger of Baggins

Yeah, right.

This morning, Her Sea Lordship, Marilise Maeorgan received a surprise this morning by the main gate of her palace. She received a severed ring finger in a pickle jar. Pickled no less. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, except that this looks like the calling card of a continental crime syndicate known as the Finger of Baggins.

To top it off, the Watch Captains for the Eastern District and Scuvytown both up and left their posts, departing for parts unknown a couple of days ago. This has caused a ruckus in the Watch, especially with the rumor that the Finger was in town.

On top of all that, the Halfling Benevolent Association has closed its doors and is turning away all callers. What bee is buzzing around in Mr. Finn’s bonnet? (Mr. Finn is the head of the HBA and reputedly the man behind the crime organization known as the Syndicate. Or so they say.)

Guess what? It’s your job to solve this one and find out what’s going on. Are these events related? Is the Finger in town? Why is Finn hiding? What the Hell is going on? And Holliver wants the report on his desk tomorrow!

Good luck, you’re going to need it.

Game Information

• System: Savage Worlds
• Setting: Freeport by Green Ronin
• Number of Players: 2-6
• Pregenerated Characters?: Yes
• When: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM

]]> http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/06/goodhobbits-a-freeport-adventure/feed/ 4 kedamono bilbo_l http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/24/merry-christmas/ http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/24/merry-christmas/#comments Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:36:39 +0000 kedamono http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/?p=393 ]]>  

From all of us at the Emerald City Gamefest to you our friends and fans, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, or just plain old Happy Holidays!

Here’s to getting what you want under the tree, the latest game or spiffy dice set. To being with friends and family, with those that you love.

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year to everyone!

From the Emerald City Gamefest!

]]> http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/24/merry-christmas/feed/ 1 kedamono Lots o dice http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/16/new-column-why-we-game-by-richard-tucholka/ http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/16/new-column-why-we-game-by-richard-tucholka/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:43:32 +0000 kedamono http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/?p=378 ]]> My good friend, Richard Tucholka, wrote a guest column about why people play RPGs and other games: Why We Game. I first met Richard Tucholka about 20 years ago at an Order of Liebowitz game night at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. There I really learned the craft of being a GM under his tutelage.

And there was being part of the crew of the ISCO Santa Barbara, exploring the different worlds of the Time Bagel, (Which later became the basis for Fringeworthy.) and being exposed to women gamers. At that time, at the Sunday night game at the Order of Liebowitz, the male to female ratio was about 3 males to 1 female, unheard of at that time (1977). 

So read his words of wisdom, and hopefully come away a little bit wiser.

]]> http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2008/12/16/new-column-why-we-game-by-richard-tucholka/feed/ 2 kedamono gamemaster3