Dramatis Personae

Players

Chum Budley as played by Michael

Talents

• Projectile Vomit
• Iron Liver
• Stabbing Survivor

Chunk Budley as played by Michael

Talents

• Crazy Face
• Scary Fast
• Even Chum makes sense to me

Mario as played by Steve

Talents

• Walk away from terrible crashes
• Don’t look dangerous
• Inexplicably doesn’t smell bad

Blowfish as played by Mark

Talents

• Um, I believe that’s mine
• Punk’s Junk, heavy metal rules
• The Pope is my godfather

Shackbuilder as played by Adam

Talents

• Shackbuilding
• Beard of frightening manliness
• Technobabble

NPCs as played by Laura

Billy Bob Jim Bob Joe Bob

• Construction Worker
• Meat 5
• Mind 1 (driven crazy so he hears voices)

Alice the Waitress

• Meat 6
• Mind 1 (driven to a crazy rampage as a serial killer)

Sarah (the gullible)

• Meat 6
• Mind 3
• Owner of a very cheap laptop.

White BMW Guy (Owns Pete’s Pet Store)

• Meat 2
• Mind 6
• Water Spritzer +2

Mongo Carver (the skater kid)

• Meat 6
• Mind 6
• Golden skateboard +4

Priscilla

• Meat 4
• Mind 3

Talents

• The Past is Golden
• If the shoe fits, wear it
• Elvis is my love

Game Recap

Turn 1: Since Mark had played before, we decided that he should take the first turn. Blowfish decided to go out scrounging for a weapon. Since the Pope was his Godfather he staked out the dumpster behind a local church. He was in luck since a short time later, a guy brought out a large wooden cross and threw it away. Blowfish swooped in and grabbed it and ended up with a +1 wooden cross.

Turn 2: Steve aka Mario wanted to do the classic dine and dash to get some food. He chose a Red Robin and since he smelled good and seemed non-threatening he managed to look like he belonged. The waitress then became his enemy as he left without paying and didn’t even leave a tip. I rolled up Alice the waitress with a meat of 6 and a mind of 2. People must dine and dash on her a lot.

Turn 3: Adam, whose character sheet I don’t have, was up on deck. He built a quick shack up on the street and put up a sign saying “Cheap Linux Installation.” His plan was to steal a foolish meathead’s laptop. He managed to find a rather stupid young lady named Sarah who gave him her laptop. He ran off to sell it, but unfortunately it was so cheap it was only worth one money. He promptly bought some blue crystals with it and increased his mind by one.

Turn 4: Last but not least it was Michael’s turn. He really got into character as Chum Budley. He decided to attack another scummer and take his money. He attacked the NPC known as shack builder. Apparently Chum had used the fellow’s services in the past and was a dis-satisfied customer. He managed to beat shack builder up, but only got one money from him. It was the final turn for the round and he was the only one with money.

Lights go Out Chum decided that he didn’t want to pay for the light and since no one else had any money, the lights went out. I rolled on the “lights out” table and came up with “Lost.” Since he was the one who could have paid, Chum wandered off in the dark and got lost in a deep cavern under Scum City. Despite the fact that he had brought it on himself, Blowfish and Shackbuilder II (what I will call Adam’s character) went looking for him. They managed to find him and he attacked Blowfish, laughing manically. Blowfish fended him off pretty easily, putting him into the gutter(his meant went down to zero). Shackbuilder took the opportunity of them fighting to try to run off and get them both lost, but I ruled that Blowfish could find his way out. He brought Chum with him to be the squire to his paladin.

Turn 5: Blowfish, carrying Chum along, went looking for a proper steed. The only place to find a proper steed was in a grocery store parking lot. He spotted a very fine looking grocery cart with food in it. Unfortunately it was being pushed by the rather buff Alice the waitress. Blowfish bravely confronted the guardian of the shopping cart, and because it amused me I allowed Chum to shout insults at her even though he was in the gutter and wasn’t supposed to be able to do anything. He rolled so good on his mind dice he drove Alice insane. I rolled on the insanity table and she went on a rampage. I decided she became a serial killer. She ran away leaving the +1 shopping cart to Blowfish and Chum. There were 5 pieces of food in the cart and Blowfish shared it among the scummers at the table. He fed Chum so that he could get out of the gutter.

Turn 6: Mario was envious of Blowfish’s grocery cart and he went looking for transportation of his own. He picked a young man on a skateboard as his target. Unfortunately for him the boy he picked was Mondo Carver, a smart buff young man with a +4 golden skateboard. Mario was no match for Mondo and the boy simply skated right over the scummer.

Turn 7: Shackbuilder wanted to find a weapon so he headed for a construction site. There he fought with Billy Bob and managed to cow the fellow into submission with his techno babble and manly beard. He used mind and drove the hapless Billy Bob insane then stole his +1 tool belt. Billy Bob now hears voices.

Turn 8: Since Chum had been in the gutter and got to act on Blowfish’s turn, there was no turn 8.

Lights Go Out Since nobody had any money except for Blowfish who had looted Chum while he was in the gutter they let the lights go out again. I rolled on the lights out chart and came up with Earthquake. Everyone had to roll their meat to keep from being swallowed up by the earth. The only one who failed was Chum. He fell down into the pit and was never heard from again.

Turn 9: While Michael was busy making a new character, the rest of the scummers went on with their pitiful lives. Blowfish went looking for a dominatrix to beat up. He managed to find one and took her +2 whip without much trouble.

Turn 10: Mario headed for a busy street and looked for the right car and driver. His plan was to jump out and surprise a driver so that the car would crash and he could loot it while the driver dealt with insurance. He chose a white BMW driven by BMW guy. Unfortunately for Mario, the driver was a bit too good and Mario ended up with nothing.

Turn 11: Shackbuilder decided he would build a memorial shack to give honor to the memory of Saint Chum Budley. They had started a religion based on not paying for the light with Chum as their Saint. I let him roll his mind and said that the audience of scummer would give him donations based on the quality of his shack building.

Turn 12: Chum’s twin brother, Chunk, came onto the scene during the shack construction. He was very touched at the fine shack that was thrown down into the abyss after his dead brother. Perhaps in honor of Chum, he went to beat up on another scummer and take their stuff. He chose a funny lady known as Priscilla. Despite her love for Elvis and brave fighting, Chunk managed to beat her up and take her money.

Lights go Out Once again they decided not to pay for the light. This time I chose their fate on the lights out table. We shuffled their character sheets and everyone got a different character to play. I’m not sure who ended up with who but I think it was Mark/shackbuilder, Steve/blowfish, Adam/Chunk, Michael/Mario.

At this point we were all really getting tired (It was two in the morning) and things become a little mixed up for me. So I think I will have to sum it up. Steve decided to leave and take a short nap before driving home.

Adam wanted to find an attack pig, so he went to a small pet store called Pete’s Pets. The owner turned out to be white BMW guy. He put up a strong fight with his water +1 water spritzer. The water sprizter kept getting a “6” on the die roll, so I upped it to a +2 water sprizter. Adam didn’t find an attack pig, but he did find a +4 parrot. The parrot added to mind instead of meat for most equipment.

Since he had a +4 parrot he made a bunch of blue crystals and gave them to Mark’s character, who used them to become a captain. The lights went out again and everyone was attacked by killer pigs from underground. All the scummers managed to kill and then eat their pigs, making them stronger.

They decided to go on a quest for Agartha, but in their confused minds Agartha was Hell. They head to defeat the devil to take over Agartha. The lights went out again and I threw all the characters up in the air and let people grab them. Michael ended up having both Chunk and Blowfish. Whoever was the Captain at this point led the way to Agartha, which turned out to be a basement with an elevator. A man in a white coat was met them when they got off the elevator and offered to take them to Agartha.

There was a sign on the door that said “Dr. Agartha.” The scummers pretended to go along with the man, but then in guise of asking for a bathroom took the opportunity to jump him. Despite his valiant efforts, the white coated devil was overpowered, leaving the scummers victorious. They killed and possibly ate him and spent the rest of their days at Bellevue Hospital, looked after by the psychiatrist, Dr. Gupta Agartha.

Wicked Dead Brewing Company’s role-playing game Cat: A Little Game About Little Heroes is great fun for pick-up games with players of all ages.

[For clarity's sake: this review is not about the completely different Cat RPG from FNH, published here and on Lulu.]

Style

John Wick’s Cat RPG, published in 2004, is a tiny little book that sells for $15, or $7 as PDF. The book numbers 44 pages, in 5.5 in. x 8.5 in. format (140 mm x 215 mm). The black-and-white two-column layout is simple but pleasant enough to the eye; all illustrations are from public domain art.

The text is organized in alternating sections of setting info in the form of first-person narration by the author’s cat, and rules material. The style is not bad; it could have used a bit of polishing but all in all an easy read.

Organization-wise, because the rules information is found throughout the text, a short page or half-page rules summary for the players would be very useful. The table of content is sufficient to find the necessary information; there is no index, but the game is short enough that it’s not difficult to find what you’re looking for.

A character sheet is provided at the end. It’s serviceable, though some fans have created alternate ones that are even more useful.

Substance

Cat RPG uses John Wick’s very simple Advantage system, relying on small pools of six-sided dice. Characters take only minutes to create; aside from a concept and names, cats have six traits:

• Claws for fighting and climbing
• Coat shows off a cat’s colours, protects him from claws and teeth and helps him persuade others.
• Face for perception, sensory center (eyes, nose, ears, tongue and whiskers).
• Fangs for fighting and carrying things around.
• Legs for jumping, balance and other quick movements.
• Tail for using Magic.

Traits are rated Best (5 dice), Strong (4 dice), or Good (3 dice). Damage may later bring those down to Hurt (2 dice) or Crippled (1 die). Each cat gets one Best trait, two Strong, and the rest at Good.

Other creatures may have different traits; for example, dogs have Nose (smelling) and Paws (digging); humans have Thumbs (picking things up, manipulation).

Cat characters also have 7 points of Reputation to distribute (e.g., Rat Catcher 2). They can spend them on up to five Reputations; ratings that can go up to 5. Finally, cats start with nine lives, of course.

When taking a challenge — runs a Risk — a cat’s player rolls a number of d6 equal to the appropriate trait. Appropriate reputations grant additional dice. And finally, any advantage that can be credibly narrated by the player will grant Advantage dice. For example:

A cat tries to hide from a dog. The player says, “I have three advantages. First, it’s dark, lending to my hiding skills. Second, it’s raining, which makes it hard for the dog to catch my scent. Finally, I’m up high, hiding on a dumpster. High above the dog’s head.”

The GM agrees and says, “Okay. You have three advantages. You can roll three additional dice to hide.”

Sometimes cats face an opponent that has different traits. If a cat has a Trait an enemy doesn’t have, there’s no competition; the cat wins any contest involving that Trait. Conversely, if an enemy has a Trait a cat doesn’t have, the cat loses the contest.

The book offers rules on contests and damage, using cat magic, and character advancement.

The background material woven through — this is not the kind of game that makes a sharp distinction between setting and system — revolves around the role of cats in protecting humans against supernatural threats, and particularly boggins which feed on people’s negative emotions. A few adventure seeds and the traits for a few enemies are provided.

Finally, the book contains useful game-mastering advice that is quite useful not only for this game but in a wider context. The emphasis is on dream adventures, since cats can wander freely in the Realm of Dreams. Another useful advice section discusses how a GM can overlay Cat on top of another role-playing game. The example offered is that of adding Jonesy the cat from Alien to a sci-fi horror story.

Actual Play

I have run this game several times at conventions; most recently, I ran it for the third year in a row at ConQuest NW.

The really quick character creation allowed me to do away with pre-generated characters, the approach I usually favour for time-constrained convention games. I found that people really love making their cat character and get attached to it. A majority of the players are people who played in a previous game, and saved their character sheet!

The simplicity of the game also lends itself well to the sketchy, modular preparation style I recommend for conventions. A page or two of outline and character thumbnails suffices to run most games. It doesn’t help to have too much material, since cats do what they will and do not willingly follow a railroad track!

On the down side, even though their are short the rules are not organized for very rapid reference; I’ve resolved that in the future I would have a rules cheat sheet on the back of each character sheet. Some rules need to be made explicit or tinkered with; for example, how do characters help one another? My answer is that they don’t — cats are solitary, self-centered creatures, after all.

In fact, many aspects of feline behaviour seem to be excellent matches for typical player behaviour is the combination of heroics for a cause with ruthless cruelty to one’s opponents. In every game, player character have heroically protected the innocent — and endlessly tormented even minor enemies. In one game, they took malicious pleasure in completely wrecking the inside of a convertible BMW, and in terrifying a dog. In our most recent game, in a scene taking place in the Goblin King’s castle in the Dreamlands, they amused themselves by throwing purple velociraptors down a set of Escheresque stairs and watching them bounce. Good times…

One thing I found missing in the rules is some incentive for characters to use their weaker traits. There is a strong incentive in the rules as written to always use your best trait for everything. It’s personal taste, but I like systems that offer incentives to use weaker stats and accept the occasional failure.

I have run this game for newcomers to role-playing and for young players. It’s very easy to grasp and people really get into the idea of playing feline. Incidentally, it’s quite easy to allow players to have dog characters instead, if the group is thus inclined.

In Short

Cat is a simple, streamlined game that makes for excellent impromptu, one-off, or episodic games. It’s an excellent choice for gaming with children or introducing your non-gamer friends to the hobby without scaring them off with mazes and monsters or hit location tables. It requires very little backstory and can be fitted in just about any setting to taste, from medieval fantasy to modern horror, etc. It could even be quite easily adapted to live-action gaming, at least system-wise.

It is not a good choice for people who prefer crunchy systems or don’t enjoy playing whimsical characters.

Links of interest:

• Anyone have CAT yet? thread on RPG.net
• [CAT] Any Actual Play? thread on RPG.net
• How is the Cat RPG? thread on RPG.net
• Cat RPG thread on RPG.net

Last weekend’s ConQuest NW was great fun, if exhausting.

On Friday I played in the Mouse Guard RPG, and in the Once Upon A Time non-collectible card game.  On Saturday I played in a role-playing game called Knights of the Road, Knights of the Rail, another RPG called In A Wicked Age, and a board game, Vanished Planet.  Mickey “Geek Girl” Schulz and I also sat down to record segments for a new podcast we are starting, called Geek Sisterhood.

On Sunday, I ran a game of Cat, a game which seems to attract uncanny interest in terms of attendance; most of the players had been in previous episodes of the game these last two years.

I also had a great time chatting with so many people I only get to play with at conventions.  All in all, an excellent convention, and perhaps my best experience at ConQuest NW to date.  Thank you very much to everybody who made it happen, from the organizers to our friends to the new people we met.

Friday 2 pm

Arkham Horror (Board Game)

Based on the popular works of HP Lovecraft. The year is 1938. The Old Ones seek to rise and crush the pitiful race of man. Their minions flock to their bidding and open the gates between their worlds and yours. You are one of handful of investigators who seek to stop them. Can you succeed or will your body and sanity be too little to withstand the soul shattering horrors pitted against you?

Saturday 2 pm

The Horror of Blackmore Manor (AD&D 3.5)

For all those players who miss a good fashioned adventure. Generations have passed since a terrible curse befell Blackmoor Manor. To this day fearful peasants tell of the horrors that stalk those dreaded halls. Many have sought to destroy the unhallowed evil that lies there and failed. Can you succeed where they failed? For 6 players of 9th level.

Sunday noon

The Treasure of the Ebon Star (Star Wars d6)

An adventure set in the classic Rebellion era of Episodes IV-V. An old friend goes missing. Legends of an ancient treasure. Imperial entanglements. Open war raging between the bounty hunters, pirates and crime lords of an entire sector. How does it all tie together- and why are they all after you?

Oly 6 players per game (8 if well behaved and team players, so sign up early!

]]> http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/14/games-for-nw-conquest/feed/ 0 joelstetson http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/14/games-i-am-running-at-conquest-nw/ http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/2009/01/14/games-i-am-running-at-conquest-nw/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:08:05 +0000 Edmund Metheny http://emeraldcitygamefest.org/?p=482 ]]> Here’s a list of the games I am running at this year’s Conquest NW.

Friday, 2:00 pm

A Mission to Barkstone

Mouse Guard

4.5 hrs, 3 players

Spring, 1153 In the wake of Midnight’s rebellion the town of Barkstone has been left short of supplies and has few militia left. Your patrol is being dispatched to help protect foraging parties being sent perilously close to the Darkheather in search of food.

Saturday, 9:00 am

Won’t You Spare me Over ’til Another Year?

Knights of the Road, Knights of the Rail,

4.5 hrs, 6 players

THE DATE: 1934

THE PLACE: Picayune, Mississippi

You and your bunkies were catting a freight when you got spied by the bulls and had to hit the grit or do a hitch. Now you’ve jungled up for the night and are gathered about your gunboat, downing the last of your mulligan stew, when unearthly singing calls to you across the cotton fields. Can you and your fellow ‘boes save an innocent woman and child when Old Man Death comes a’callin?

Saturday, 2:00 pm

To Ward Against the Darkness

Quaestors of the Middle Realm (set in Tekumel),

4.5 hrs, 6 players

For thousands of years the Sinking Land clan has lived in the great marshes of the Flats of Tsechélnu. Now trouble has come in the form of a courier dressed in the uniform of the Omnipotent Azure Legion, his body found in the marsh, bloated from exposure to the Food of the Ssú. A messenger has been dispatched to Penóm but it is a six-day round trip. Can you solve the mystery before an Imperial investigation brings trouble to your village?

Sunday, 9:00 am

Vanished Planet

2 hrs, 5 players

EARTH HAS VANISHED. A seething mass of darkness has appeared where earth once was, and is stretching its deadly tentacles towards the homeworlds. Now cryptic messages are being transmitted from vanished planet Earth. It s up to you to complete these goals, banish the creature, and restore Earth before your homeworld is destroyed! Vanished Planet is a cooperative game for 1-6 players who must work together to manage their resources and complete mission goals to win.

Here’s my shameless promotion: I’ll be in the LARP room promoting my game system, Mortalis LARP. Won’t be running anything, just promoting my system and helping 5th Wall Gaming out.

For those unfamiliar with the acronym, LARP means live-action role-playing.  Mortalis Games have both a Website and a LiveJournal community that will be of interest to LARPers.  Mortalis is a fantasy-themed game using a boffer-type system, meaning combat action are resolved through the use of padded weapons facsimiles.

LARPs at ConQuest NW are organized by the Portland-based LARP organization called 5th Wall Gaming, a bunch of great people who run extremely fun games.  And I do mean “Xtreme”… 

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

Here’s the description of the game from RPGNow.com:

Urchin
By Clint Krause
Based on the Independent Film by John Harlacher

Far below the streets of New York City, the outcast struggle for survival. This is Scum City. Nothing here is certain, but there are those who say that paradise is not far away. Will you be the one to lead us all to Agharta?

Welcome to Urchin, a role-playing game of survival against the odds, based on the independent film by director John Harlacher.

The game includes:
- Foreword by director John Harlacher.
- A unique, no-prep game system, designed to force players to be proactive.
- Secret paradise realms! Crime families! Neo-Nazi youth cults!
- Ideas, advice, and more!

Curious about the movie? Check out the official website at www.scum-city.com.

Finally here’s my report on the game we played at Dragonflight:

I played “Urchin” with Mark, Clint, a woman friend of Clint’s, and a guy who just came in and joined us when he heard what we were doing. Urchin is a system where you have two stats, mind and meat, and three talents, which can be anything you want. You roll two di six and keep the highest for your mind and meat pools.

Mark played Clutch McGurkin a fellow who had the following talents:

• I am not a bum.
• Wait, wait, I read this in a magazine.
• I think I’m related to this guy.

Clint played Spaceman. His talents were:

• I’m an alien.
• Your human laws don’t apply to me.
• I have a ray gun. (really a remote control)

Clint’s fried played a nameless woman who was obsessed with shoes. She later became known as Priscilla. Her talents were:

• The past is golden.
• If the shoe fits, wear it.
• I have a coupon for that.

The fellow who came to join us had the following talents.

• I’m Elvis.
• A tinfoil hat to keep out the mind control rays.
• I know Ka ra Te !

During his first scene Mark aka Clutch decided to go get the materials to make something. He managed to make it past the junkyard dog without too much trouble and got the parts he needed. He then proceeded to rot his mind in making a plus one Atl-Atl.

Priscilla then decided that she wanted to go to the local mall and visit a shoe store. She started sneaking around the store taking the shoes of people who were trying on new shoes. She managed to steal three singles before the clerk came over to confront her. Priscilla fled from the clerk after a short argument and then managed to get away pretty easily from the security guard known as Fat Frank Miller (yes, he hates it when kids make fun of his name.)

During his scene, Spaceman decided to do a little begging on the streets and managed to make a dollar by being very strange. It was a good thing that someone made a little money or they wouldn’t have been able to pay the light bill.

The next two scenes were Clutch doing a little begging and Priscilla doing some very profitable dumpster diving back at the mall.

It was during Spaceman’s scene that the guy who played Elvis showed up.Clutch suggested to Spaceman that they work together and go try to rob a convenience store. Spaceman said, “No, Spaceman thinks we should find one of those schoolgirls, you know those Catholic schoolgirls, and steal what’s in her lunchbox.” Clutch looked at him a little dubiously and then decided he was up for it, even though it seemed pretty perverted. When they got there, it turned out that the “schoolgirl” was really a hooker. As the gm, I added that “she” was a hooker dressed like a schoolgirl. I think it was the woman playing Priscilla who suggested that “she” was a transvestite. I agreed that the hooker was actually a large black man who went by “Jamaica Jane.”

Clutch and Spaceman tried to intimidate Jane into giving them what was in her “lunch box,” but she wasn’t going to be intimidated by two crazy men. After lots of rotting of people’s mind pools, they decided to move on to a meat contest. It was at this point that Elvis decided that Jane was actually his wife Priscilla and to fight on her side. Jane had a meat of 5 so was able to defend herself until Clutch and Spaceman beat her down enough that she decided to give them her last dollar.

Jane had thrown her shoes at the beginning of the fight, not wanting to fight in high heels. The other Priscilla tried to steal them, but Jane managed to hang on to them and flee the scene, raving about crazy people. Elvis decided to follow his love and convince her to give him some more money. He managed to drive her into madness. She ran away to become part of ScumCity, and also a cannibal.

When Elvis had finished his turn and not managed to find any more money from Jane, the shoe-obsessed Priscilla decided to scrounge in the mall dumpsters for food. She managed to find a half-eaten hotdog, some movie popcorn, and part of a doughnut. She ate the doughnut and offered the other two pieces of food for trade. Elvis took her up on it for the hot dot.

Finally it was Spaceman’s turn. In the mind part of the fight with Jane, he had gone all the way down to zero and gained the belief that he knew the way to Agartha. His goal was to get out of New York. He told the others that if they could make it to a cornfield where there were crop circles, they would be picked up by the spaceships and taken to Agartha, the Promised Land. He also declared that the nearest cornfields were in New Jersey. By sheer force of personality and the fact that everyone thought it sounded like fun, the group decided that they would all go to New Jersey via subway.

They attempted to sneak onto the subway. Both Elvis and Clutch made it past the transit cops without any trouble, but Spaceman and Priscilla were spotted.Elvis and Clutch went back to help them and after a fairly short fight, they defeated the transit cop. Elvis stole his badge and gun, Clutch stole his radio, and Priscilla stole one of his shoes. Then they ran to catch the train. I had Clutch roll to see if they were trying to catch the correct train, and it turned out they were going in the opposite direction. Instead of to New Jersey, the train was heading for Harlem.

Elvis soon cleared out the entire train, except for one NYU student, who stayed in his seat reading his text book and listening to his iPod, by waving his newly acquired gun and badge around and announcing that he was the “King at Arms.” Elvis headed for the front of the train and after discussing things with the driver, who told them it wasn’t safe to turn the train around, they headed north towards Connecticut.

It was Priscilla’s turn and she announced that it was three days later. The group had somehow made it to the Corn Palace in North Dakota. We decided that they probably had hopped trains and gathered a large group of hobos along the way, not to mention having kidnapped both the train driver and the NYU kid. They had to be wanted by the FBI.

We went on to Spaceman who decided that actually they were not in the Corn Palace at all, but were really in Bellevue being treated and medicated. Mark aka Clutch suggested that the name of the head psychiatrist was Sanjay Agartha. When scumers go to Agartha they are really getting the mental help they need. Everyone announced who they were originally. The best part was that Elvis was really Elvis. He had developed Turrets and had to leave the stage.

From now on, whenever I run Urchin, the true Agartha is going to be Sanjay Agartha.

From the Conquest NW website -

QUALIFYING FOR FREE ADMISSION TO THE CONVENTION:
(1) You must submit a game before December 15, 2008. No exceptions.
(2) It must be approved and published by Convention Staff.
(3) You need to run a minimum of twelve hours of game to earn a weekend pass. This may be in more than one game. (Additionally, If you can only come to the convention for one day and wish to earn your one day badge for Saturday or Sunday, then you only need volunteer for six hours.) Indy GT badges cannot be earned in this fashion.
(4) You must be capable of teaching the game to new players.
(5) You must be able to supply the basic materials (game, dice, photocopies, etc.) for your game.
(6) You must be at least 18 years of age.
(7) You must submit a valid, verifiable email address, and legal name to the convention. Photo ID is required to pickup your GM packet at the convention.

We are excited to once again be participating with one of the best conventions in the Pacific Northwest this year, and think that role-playing will be even better than it was last year. If you are not a role-player though, have no fear — Conquest NW will be hosting a large variety of games this year, including ConQuest Seattle Indy Grand Tournament, one of the premier Games Workshop events of the year!

ConQuest NW is just around the corner coming to the Doubletree Hotel at the Seattle Airport one month earlier! January 16-18, 2009. So don’t get caught unprepared — register today and save on your convention pass! If you register soon, you can take advantage of the reduced pre-registration price of $40 until December 31; or the Conquest NW 49 for $49 deal (weekend pass + shirt) while supplies last. Doesn’t a convention pass make a great Christmas present for your gamer friends?

Here is a whole lot more information about what to expect at ConQuest NW below the cut, direct from Avalon Game Conventions.

The cool things at ConQuest NW this year!

1. Never-Ending Flea Market — Come and bring your old, unwanted gaming stuff, and sell it to someone else at ConQuest! We are offering Flea Market spaces to attendees in two hour blocks to pick up some cash for those old games. This is also a great way for gaming clubs and organizations to raise money for their coffers. Complete details are on our website!
2. Free Prizes! — every scheduled game you play in at ConQuest earns you a chance (one ticket) to win a free prize! every scheduled game you GM at ConQuest earns you two chances (two tickets) to win a free prize! Tickets drawn every slot!
3. ConQuest NW Championship Plaques — For the first time ever, you can get a shiny wooden plaque for finishing first in a number of our tournaments!
4. Warhammer Indy Grand Tournaments — We are proud to be hosting the return of Grand Tournament play to the Seattle area. The last GTs were held in 2005, and beginning in 2009, we’ll be hosting these events every year! So, Grand Tournaments are here to stay! Tons and tons of prizes directly from Games Workshop, paint seminars and contests. Not to mention, the two-day Warhammer Indy GT and Warhammer 40,000 Indy GT.
5. Centralized Gaming Hall — All the gaming is in one huge giant hall! (We will use the airwalls to dampen the sound considerably.) Close by bathrooms, and just across the street are a Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Dennys, and another very affordable diner.
6. Free Airport Shuttle — The Doubletree offers free shuttle service to and from the airport. That’s right… free!
7. Seminars — Stay tuned, as we are preparing to announce later this weekend our seminar track for ConQuest NW. With the former executive director of GAMA as a guest, he has offered to hold seminars on convention planning and game design. You don’t want to miss these!
8. Mucho Monster Gaming — Want to spread out and play those games over the weekend. No problem…at our new digs, we have an amazing amount of space to host a bevy of Monster Games! Want to host a game for you and four of your buddies? We’ll reserve that table for you… all weekend long!
9. NW ASL Championships — For a fourth year, the Puget Sound Advanced Squad Leaders are holding their championships at ConQuest NW. Dozens of players will fight it out this year!
   And if we get 40 players at the tournament… we’ll pickup the two night hotel bill of the winner next year (room and tax only at the convention rate.)
10. Hotel Room Give-Away! — If we make our hotel committment, we will do a drawing of everyone who booked two nights at the hotel for the convention, and two lucky winners will have their two nights (room and tax at the convention rate only) paid for by us! Our hotel block is only 200 room nights for the weekend… so that’s a 1 in 50 chance of getting your rooms paid for.
11. 49 for 49 — We are offering a limited supply of tickets at $49 each which includes a ConQuest NW T-shirt, as well as a weekend convention pass. Regular value at the door is $70… you can save $11 off the prereg value of $60. This is limited to the first 49 folks who take advantage of the offer.
12. Electronic Game Alley — We are offering electronic gaming at ConQuest for the first time ever. So there.
13. Living Forgotten Realms — We are offering eight slots (plus midnight madness!) of RPGA campaign play using the new 4.0 rules set! This event is always well attended, and this year we are offering the special adventure SPEC1-1 Shades of the Zentarim from GenCon!
14. The Best Gaming in the NW — ConQuest has it all. Grand Tournaments. Flea Markets. Monsterpocalypse. Dungeons and Dragons. Advanced Squad Leader. Championship Plaques. Free Prizes. Special Deals. Flames of War National Qualifier. DBA Open. And so much more.

Remember… it’s sooner than you think!
January 16-18, 2009 — Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport
Pre Registration $40 ($50 at the door)
Hotel Convention Rate — $105 a night
ConQuest NW – The Best Gaming in the NW!