Well, another convention weekend has come and gone, leaving me exausted.  Thursday I joined the RPGA once I discovered that they no longer charge for membership.  Then I made Living Arcanis and Living Spycraft characters.  I never played them all weekend, but it's a huge step for me.  On Saturday I did purchase Shell Armour at the Living Arcanis Marketplace, so I should have a decent survival chance with the character whenever I get to play him. 

We played Shadowfist Thursday night and Sunday afternoon in addition to the random deck and three boosters tournament on Friday and the preconstructed deck tournament on Sunday. 

I played a demo-game of Munchin.  It was OK.  I certainly don't understand why everyone has been raving about it the past year or so.  It's OK, but certainly not rave-worthy.  Like all of the Steve Jackson Games products I've played I'd play it again (and again), but I'd never buy it to own.  It's good, but not great.  There are definately other games I'd play before it, but I'd also recommend that people at least try it once.  If any of that makes sense.

A rave-worthy game I did play was Star Wars:  Epic Duels.  I have never played another game or toy that was as fun in the Star Wars Universe.  If I had to choose one Star Wars activity to survive (besides watching the movies themselves) and lose the rest, I'd keep this game.  It is totally awesome.  Play is in teams of good versus evil, with each player playing a main character and either a sidekick or two lackeys.  Play is held in one of the combat locations from the various films, and the character also come from the various films.  While we were playing good versus evil, I'm sure you could pit Sith against each other or Jedi against each other with prior agreement of the players.  It was a fast game to learn, a fast game to play, yet loads of fun and filled with strategy.  I totally recommend it, if you can track it down.  According to all the dealers in the dealers' room at the con, its a mass market game which gets small shipments to small game stores and sells out quickly.

Hogwarts Live Action filled up the rest of my (game related) con experience.  More on that, behind the scenes convention stuff, mass, and my blog backlog later.  Good night. 

Well, while I'm still in shock and awe about what I learned on Friday night, it'll be years before I can tell anyone.  That's the blessing and the curse of advanced planning.

Tonight I tentatively agreed to a convention possition I've never held before.  I think I could do it if I can get the staff.  I really don't have to worry about it for several more years (more than even the above secret), so I'll leave off making my final decision until after CopperCon XXIII. 

Let's see, Monday, Tuesday, Wednedsay of this week I have been working on scheduling for CopperCon XXIII (all day Monday and after work these past two days) over at the Neal household.  Kitty's been tutoring on the ins and outs of it all.  There's a lot of automation already involved, but you need to know how to use it. 

Sunday our pastor said the mass, and he seemed more comfortable than I've seen him in the past at that mass.  He usually prefers the non-contemporary masses and comes off uncomfortable at our mass.  That's why we usually have Father Milt, with our associate pastor filling in on the weeks Father Milt can't make it.  His homily stressed the need for retreat.  He commented about how teens (which are required to go on retreat as part of the confirmation process) almost always tell him that the retreats they go on are one of the best things for their spirituality, yet the adult retreats are sparsely attended.  He has a point, and I hope it caused at least one change of heart.  Retreats are so totally necessary for one's faith.  They refresh and rejuvinate the soul.

Sunday was also the last Hogwarts Live Action meeting.  While the convention starts Thursday, Hogwarts Live Action begins Friday evening.  Wayne's working on last minute stuff even as we speak (but is at a point where one person working on it is best).  Tom and Lori have been too busy to learn how the spellcasting system works.  We'll see what that means when the game begins. 

Saturday I learned played Baron Lords of the Sierra Madres (or some such).  It was my first time playing, but they didn't let me read the rules first.  What a bad idea.  They kept telling me that they would mention rules as they came up.  I hate learning a game that way.  It wasn't until five hours later that they wanted to concede the game to Travis.  At that point I asked if that meant we were going to learn how one goes about winning the game.  I still don't know.  My grandmother used to do that, reveal rules as they suited her purpose and conceal rules as they suited her purpose.  That's how she makes sure she wins.  That really, really annoys me.  I don't think the Mikes and Trav had those intentions, but it was annoying all the same.  Oh well.  At least they promised that next time I could read the rules before playing.

Friday we played Jackson's game, but I haven't discussed the Friday before's session.  So I'll skip over that. 

Thursday we held another character generation session for the Monsters, Inc/Forgotten Realms mini-campaign I intend to run.  Then, with most characters finished, I had an introductory ten minutes or so where all the characters of the character tree were sworn into the Order of the Irregular Lance followed by a celebratory feast.  Thursday the 31st we'll run our first single-night adventure.  Then the rotation can finally switch over to Bill or Sam.  I guess they might play in Bill's Feng Shui one-shot tomorrow, so that would imply that it would be Sam's turn next.  We'll see.

Last Wednesday while I was riding home there was a beautiful red moon rising.  Then I got home and worked on CopperCon stuff. 

On Tuesday the 15, Wayne and I met at Eatza Pizza in the hopes that there would be a Hogwarts Live Action meeting, but no one else came.  You know, that's the most economical place at which I've ever ate. 

Monday the 14th there was an all day Hogwarts Live Action meeting.  Most of the work was done by Wayne and I, but Rachel did come over for about an hour to work on her stuff as Professor Trelawny.  Neither Lori nor Rusty came as originally planned.

Sunday the 13th I'm sure there was a Hogwarts Live Action meeting online, and mass said by Father Milt. 

Saturday the 12th Rusty ran Blue Planet at his place for Kitty, the Mikes, and I.  The small group managed to make the game run much more smoothly than it has been of late with all of the extra characters.  One of the little ones on the island was attacked by a lizard-like creature which paralyses its victims before eatting them.  Adam capped the critter in one shot, the rushed the little one and Neo to the medical facilities, and Slam brought back the carcass.  With the carcass, Neo was able to create an anti-venom, but unfortunately the girl had an allergic reaction first to the venom and then the anti-venom.  So it was freeze the kid's head until she could get adequate medical attention (and regrow the rest of her body which is lost in the preservation process) or take a fast jumpship to Kingston.  Adam being teh crack pilot that he was managed to get there in record time by borrowing a craft on the jump pad (thanks to beating the difficulty by eleven).  Once there, Neo went into the ER with the kid while we waited.  As you might have guessed, the other player characters weren't with us because speed was of the essence in saving the girl, and we couldn't wait for them to cross the island to join us.  That was good GMing on Rusty's part.  It's the most realistic explanation of missing PCs I've seen to date.

Eventually the pilot of the ship Adam borrowed and the mother of the child both came aboard the next ship coming this way.  She treated us to dinner in Kingston's poshest restaurant as her way of saying thanks, while she stayed at her daughter's bedside. 

Well, the restaurant was held up by terrorists while we were awaiting the dessert cart.  The Matre D' was shot in the back of the head, the lights went out, and the deputy sheriff was told not to do anything by the garcon who had been filling our water but who was now holding a gun to the deputy's head.  Luckily, Adam has nightvision and telescopic vision (to assist in his capacities as a pilot).  Unluckily, the guy with the gun to his friend's head must have had nightvision, too.  So we were rounded up, wanded for weapons, and sat down on the stage.  Then, the leader shown a flashlight in each person's face, picking out the famous and sending them down to the kitchen in pairs.  He almost recognised Adam (assumably from his minor league hydroshot days), but he assured the guy that he was mistaken.  Then, once the inspection was over and the lights back on, Adam and Neo concocted a plan via an infrared linkup of their body comps.  The terrorists had a working radio channel that they were communicating through with headsets, but all of our comp comps were being jammed.  We used our body comps and the podium equipment that we were leaning against to create a jam of their radio signal.  We then held off on our plan when Adam noticed they were placing plastic explosives and a radio timer on the opposite wall of the ocean dome.  We waited for the last terrorists to leave, set the jamming signal then, and sent people climbing up the shaft of the broken lift (because there was no fire escape!).  Slam started carving plastique away from the wall and the timer, hoping that what remained would not be enough to break the glass-like dome.  The deputy went down the kitchen lift and rescued the kitchen staff and real garcons from the walk-in freezer before fixing the main lift.  Once some of the patrons reached the surface, away from the jammer, they contacted the Geo authorities who came and took over the situation.  With the physical descriptions and radio frequencies we provided, they caught the villains and successful negotiated the safe release of all kidnappees and arrest of all kidnappers.  And thus the Blue Crescent Circle was foiled again.  After all, the whole purpose of gaining their famous kidnap victims was to negotiate the release of their founder, who was due to be sent to Earth for crimes against Poseidon in two days time. 

Friday the 11th was another of Jackson's D&D sessions, but I'll catch up on those later.  Thursday the 10th was a character generation night for my Monsters, Inc/Forgotten Realms mini-campaign.  Sunday the 6th was another HLA online meeting and mass said by Father Milt with an excellent homily. 

But it's late, so I'll update the rest later.  Wish us luck at Hexacon.  We could use it. 

Did I mention, Wow!

I'm a bit busy to do any recaps, but after tonight's meeting I just wanted to say, "Oh my goodness gracious!  Wow!  Just, wow!"

Of course, I can't tell anyone why yet.  But remember these words.  Someday, you'll all understand.  Just, WOW!!

I've been busy, busy, busy.  I don't know how much of my two weeks I'll have time to recap or will even remember, but I'll do my best. 

Monday the 30th saw the Hogwarts Live Action Team hold its first in-person meeting.  We got about as much accomplished as I expected, not as much as I'd have preferred, and nowhere close to completing the entire (unrealistic) agenda.  But at least we had a real life meeting.  I believe that we accomplish more that way than via IM Conferences. 

I don't really remember Tuesday and Wednesday.  It's interesting to note that life can happen yet leave no impression.  I'll just assume I was busy with convention related stuff after work. 

Thursday, Bill brought Aaron by after work and had me help them make characters for that Monsters, Incorporated based D&D mini-campaign that I had been talking about since April.  The gang wants me to run it during the rotation of one-shots.  It's rather one-shot centered anyway, so it should work out. 

Friday, the gang got together at noon for Jackson's D&D game and a holiday barbeque.  There were some delish fresh-grilled burgers, hotdogs, pork chops, and chicken breasts.  We took turns cooking the meat during our lunch and dinner breaks. 

So we heard from the wyvern rider that the White Death was hiding in the Well of Dragons, deep within the lair of the Dire Dragon.  But the Wyvern rider's master also warned us that Vergigorm (sp?), a large copper dragon, was doomed to be the next victim of the White Death in two hours time.  Luckily, a teleportation circle was prepared for us if we wished to prevent it.  So, everyone but Cyrus agreed.  He stormed out and complained that doing small goods was better than dying while attempting a great good.  I got the impression that Tom no longer wants to play.  Eventually, Squigbarm was able to talk him into keeping the makeshift family we have become together. 

So we went to the Western Heartlands and warned the dragon away from the caravan that the Cult of the Dragon was planning on sacrifing to him.  After all, it was only bait so that the White Death could take him as the third of three material components in the ritual for turning the White Death into a dracolich.  He appreciated the tip and led us to a fortress on the edge of the Battle of Bones, where we planned our next strategy.  The fortress was full of troops training to fight the undead.  After spending the night, we headed to the High Forest in order to warn the green dragon Chyloriforn (sp?) that she might be the White Death's next target.  The only problem?  We had assassinated her children a tenday or two before. 

Once we arrived in the High Forest we camped for the night.  After morning prayers, Squigbarm was returning from the nearby lake when Shadowstuff shouted (via Squig), don't let him kill us.  That's when everyone turned to look and saw seven shadowy Squigbarms walking back into camp.  I got to make a Will save (luckily rolling a twenty-seven), which I succeeded.  Apparently, Shadowstuff wanted to possess Squigbarm in order to insure his safety.  Enter cliffhanger. 

It's late, I'll update Saturday the 5th later.  Night!