Four days of gaming geekery in the chill north! This is my second year going to Gamehole Con and I gotta say, spending the whole weekend there is WAY better than just going for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. I got the chance to play a ton of games and meet a ton of friends both old and new. Here’s a taste of what I got up to!
Games
I’ve heard a few people say that it can be hard for game designers to find time to play games at a convention. That’s not my experience! I find the act of running and playing a bunch of games to be a great way to put my designs into practice, learn from the designs of other creators, and meet both new-to-me members of the hobby and other creators.
Blades in the Dark: I started Thursday off with a Blades in the Dark one shot. It’s my favorite system right now and I just love introducing it to a table full of great players. My Chicago friend Jon, my friend and podcasting co-host Eric, and online friends Jess and Jordan all sat down at the table for some criminal dealings in the night-black streets of Duskwall. In the course of 4 hours we made characters, picked out a pre-written score, and had a bunch of fun in and around Bellwether Crematorium. Our scoundrels rescued the ghost of a dead companion, usurped control of a “ghostenstein” generator device, and rigged an overpowered Spirit Decanter to release ghosts into the living world instead of drawing them in and trapping them. On the very last roll, our Lurk (Eric) got the only Trauma of the session to allow the rest of the crew to escape from the approaching Spirit Wardens. Alas, poor Bits, he’s forever haunted now!
The Summer Greening (available on DriveThruRPG): On Saturday night I got my first chance to run my hack of The Quiet Year outside of a playtest environment. Jordan and Jess joined me alongside fellow Chicagoan and new friend Logan. Plus, live-streaming luminaries Surena Marie and Carlos Crits joined us to chat while we set up the game! The game itself was exactly what I wanted: weird folklore, a community in peril, and plenty of Contempt tokens getting thrown around. I also knew I wasn’t going to buy much while I was at the con, so I made a Super Special Edition hand-drawn poster map for use in the game. I’m excited to get it framed now that it’s been all storified by us players.
Iron Edda Accelerated (coming soon after a successful Kickstarter): I didn’t get a table selfie for this one, but Eric Bontz (the infamous Weregator) ran a session of Tracy Barnett‘s Iron Edda Accelerated for me and four other lucky souls. We built the village of Jotunheim together and took part in a murder investigation and subsequent heated debate for the soul of our village. It was a real blast! I got to play a Runescribed, which was especially cool because I researched the Elder Futhark runes while developing my bindune tattoos. We played for about 4 hours and got a really good introduction to the game and its setting in that time. Tracy’s got such a great game on their hands!
Swords Without Master (is in Worlds Without Master, vol. 1, issue 3): Days later and I still can’t contain myself about this game. I’ve been a lifelong fan of sword and sorcery stories and I’ve been dying to give this game a try ever since I first learned of it years ago. Eric Farmer lead Jordan, Jess, and myself through a session and, well, I’m mad about it. The bar was set too high, ya see. I may never play a better session in my life! Solomon Cromwell, Small Molly, and Vig (Questlord of Valkor) faced off against skeletons, miasmic black mists, and the Lava-Demon of All Knowledge over an action-packed two hours. This game simply must be played to be believed.
Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf: I try to introduce new people to the hobby any time I get a chance, and this is one of my go-to intro systems. It’s lightweight, it references a silly bit of pop culture, and you can play a full game in under an hour. We had a blast surviving the mean streets of Chicago’s North Side on Halloween Night, and we even managed to kill Shia once and for all (spoiler: his weakness is getting stabbed in the dick). Most of the folks in the picture above are tagged in previous games (I was lucky to hang out with this group quite a bit) but good friend (and total goofball) Jeremy hasn’t been tagged yet. Anyway, this game is awesome, it’s free, and you can find a download over on Reddit if you’d like to give it a try yourself.
Call of Cthulhu: One unexpected perk of Gamehole Con was meeting Logan, a new friend and fellow Chicagoan. He offered to run a few of us through a Call of Cthulhu one shot playtest. It had been so long since I’d played this system! I forgot that the character sheet is daunting but the game itself is pretty smooth. We played circus performers investigating some mysterious (and maddening) events at our 1920s circus camp. The playtest was over almost before it began but it was a promising reintroduction to CoC, plus I got to meet the Chicago-area game designers behind a recently Kickstarted steampunk board game, Ironrise. They seem like great guys. Thanks for both intros, Logan!
Board and Card Games: Gamehole Con is far from just an RPG convention. They’re rental room has about 300 board and card games available for play (plus my hosts are big into board games) so I played a bunch of those too. From big games like My Little Scythe and Elder Sign to small games like Fortress and Fist Full of Penguins, I got introduced to a bunch of new stuff that I’ll have to pick up once I free up some space on my board game shelf.
Panels
I only attended a few panels during the con. There were several that looked interesting but I suppose nothing was as interesting to me as spending time with online friends while I had the chance. Anyway, the three panels I did attend were worth mentioning.
GM and Player Tips for Live Streaming: This panel was originally with Satine Phoenix and Ruty Rutenberg of Maze Arcana fame, but at the last minute they added some surprise guests: Tanya DePass of I Need Diverse Games and Surena and Carlos from Rivals of Waterdeep (FWIW, Tanya’s on Rivals too but I want to highlight her other work too). It was a good panel from people who know their stuff, and there was some bonus content about diversity and inclusion in gaming too. The one sour note for me was when someone asked the question “is the market too saturated?” Ruty and a couple others said no: people who want to work hard to succeed will do so, and more successful shows means more people who will be interested in watching. It rang a little hollow to me, given that it was essentially a bootstrappy American Dream vibe from a panel of people who were already successful. Of course it seems possible–even likely–if you’ve already done it!
Monte Cook Games Seminar: This might sound like heresy but this was my first exposure to Monte Cook Games and their products. I didn’t get insight into the Cypher System so much as I learned about MCG’s design philosophy and product line, both of which sound very cool. Monte and Shanna were warm, insightful, and provided plenty of time for questions from the audience. All in all an enjoyable experience!
Making Better RPG Characters: I didn’t expect to go to this Sunday morning panel but I’m really glad I did. The three panelists (none of whom I knew) had a wide-ranging talk about every step of the character creation process: initial brainstorming, filling out the sheet, and bringing it to life at the table. In each step, they talked about how to go a little deeper than usual when fleshing the character out. They also provided specific examples from their own games, and I was pleased to see their examples weren’t limited to D&D. They also cited Blades in the Dark, Burning Wheel, and several other games. I ended up taking some notes in this one, which is something I don’t usually do. Thanks to the panelists, whoever they are!
This last panel gave me an idea for a panel I think I’d like to put on at a future conventions. I’ve written before about simple steps for building character voices. It’s something I know pretty well through my theatre training, and something I’ve enjoyed doing pretty much since I started talking. I also know that character voices can be a nerve-wracking experience for a lot of people, both because it’s silly and because most folks don’t have a lot of practice with character voices. The panel I’m imagining would introduce people to the practice of “layering” a voice together, and would involve group participation: no one gets singled out, but instead everyone tries the techniques in unison. Does that pique anyone’s interest?
That’s All For Now
Ultimately I’m an introverted person, but I gotta say it was so much fun being able to shake the hands of so many people I’ve only ever interacted with online. Thanks to everyone who played in games, chatted with me, or just smiled in passing. You helped to make my weekend amazing!
One last thing: if you’d like to see more pictures from the weekend, you can check out the Moment I created for the con over on Twitter.
One thought on “Gamehole Con 2018 Report”
Glad you made it up and had a good experience.
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