Entries by tag: cons
Festival was awesome! I want to post about it now before I forget. i am quite embarrassed to realize that my intercon wrapup is still half written and never posted. :-(
I played 4 games, three as a PC, one as horde.
I had love plots of some kind in my 3 PC roles
I had "you both might like each other but don't know if the other one likes you and it's awkward/scary" love plots in 2 games
I had an actually functional marriage in one game! How novel!
In two games I was a relatively care-free fashion trendsetter with a love plot at a fancy party. This was pretty hilarious. I could kind of see the one character growing into the other if she was dropped in that setting and was a few years older. I've never played such similar characters in one weekend before!
Friday night was "The Prince Comes of Age". It was a game by... all first time GMs? Mostly first time GMs? One or the other. The lead GM was definitely a first timer. It was based on a session of his D&D game that he ran years ago, with the PCs appearing in game as an adventuring party. I signed up before I heard that, and I was a little worried that this would lead to those parts being "more real", but I went in with fairly high expectations. I had lots of fun! I was playing the publicist of the PCs/fashion trendsetter/reporter/designer/an awful lot of jobs, actually. I obsessed over all my costuming for festival, and got massive help from
ocelotspots and I think I came out looking okay, for "European-style high fantasy with wacky elements". (those are steampunk goggles on my head, btw):
There were too many pieces of paper, and I still have no idea how I was supposed to solve one of my plots, but I had great character interactions and a fun time. I had a simple yet lovely romance plot with a first time LARPer! ( image of me and my love plot contains slight spoiler, but is cuteCollapse )
Saturday morning was "Browncoats". Three players didn't show up, including one who was crucial to my plots and the game. That one was filled in by a GM, and the others were dropped. I think we suffered a lot for it. The GM playing the part was very flat, and didn't remember important things sometimes, and it was unsatisfying. I had a great time roleplaying withlightgamer and bleemoo , though. The game felt very small, and it made it hard to hide anything or do anything secretly. I was very aware that one of my friends was having a miserable time, which made it harder for me to have a good time, and the endgame was... unsatisfying. I think it may be a game that I will eventually mostly remember the pleasant parts of, but right now I am honestly not sure how I feel. My costume was less exciting, but I was super pleased to get a brown leather coat that mostly fit at Garment District for $20. Doubt I will ever use it again... Picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laura47/5612087458/
Saturday afternoon we went home and slept, and I am so glad we did. I really needed that. I mostly don't play morning games anymore, and having a half hour drive to and from game and games ending after midnight friday night and starting at 9 am saturday... makes me a sad panda. I slept maybe 2 hours, and then spent a long time costuming. I was really quite pleased with how I looked.
Saturday evening was, at long last, Better Off Dead: The Necropolis Senior Prom! I finally got to have the kind of experience in ahazliya and elenuial that everyone else seems to have. :-D It's days later, and I still wish I were in character, in that universe, I am tempted to write fanfic about the LARP (which would make me, like, the 4th person to do so) and it was awesome. Going in, I thought that my character was simple and not-angsty enough that I would probably have fun, but that it wouldn't be super engrossing, but somehow, it all just came together and was awesome. The trend seems to be to write several thousand words about the game, so I think I'll plan to do that. I was a "counter culture chick", feminist and marching to the beat of her own drummer and she *totally* didn't need a *date* to the stupid sexist prom, but of course it was more complicated than that. The main thing we got from the 80s movies we watched pre-game was that things were AWKWARD, and in this game I felt like I was hitting apotheosis of awkward. I had an awesome scene where someone was trying to make my character say something she was afraid to say, and I literally couldn't. THE AWKWARD TOTALLY TOOK OVER. It was amazing. Part of me wishes I had been more involved with certain other things in game, or that I'd had a character with more complicated angst, but then I realize that then I would have been *someone else* and not have been Hallie! (Not that I wouldn't totally play again and also be someone else, if I could, but I still got to be Hallie). Anyway this is not the long post, so here's a pic of me in costume:
I ducked out of wrapup early to go home and set up for the afterparty. I think it might actually keep me in character longer, to only know what my character actually knew at game end. Perhaps there is some wisdom togower 's methods. :-) When no one was at my house by 1:20, I figured the party was a bust, but then 30 people showed up, I think? Someone said 30, that number feels big, but I wasn't counting. It was late, it was lovely, we had people who had a full hour drive home who still came anyway, and that was awesome. I forgot to bring out all the non-soda drinks I'd bought that were in the fridge, and we never made nachos, but people got by anyway. I didn't get to sleep until the birds were chirping and the sun was up; I love my life!
Sunday was Muppet Purgatory, where I was horde. I played the first run, as Animal, back in the first run at Intercon H. It was fun but *exhausting*. Between me and a GM, 300 pictures got taken. I got 200 on facebook, and now the SD card isn't loading, which makes me saaaad. We'll see if they can be saved. Mostly I want the video thats on there.
Then there was Dead Dog, which was awkward because we didn't have a private room, but were split up and surrounded by normal people. I love my LARPers, and love acting silly and inappropriate with them, but I get so uncomfortable sometimes when surrounded by judging eyes. I bounced around and chatted and was exhausted and crashing but didn't want to leave cause I wanted to be with my LARPers forever. *sigh* I love my Intercon kids so very much right now, I went to a show with LARPers last night and had lunch with 9 of them today and I still missssss them.
So that was my Festival! I didn't run a single game! I literally don't remember when I last went to a LARP con and didn't run anything. I'm GMing or AGMing 4 games at Palindrome, though, which will push me back into "more games GMed than played this year".
I played 4 games, three as a PC, one as horde.
I had love plots of some kind in my 3 PC roles
I had "you both might like each other but don't know if the other one likes you and it's awkward/scary" love plots in 2 games
I had an actually functional marriage in one game! How novel!
In two games I was a relatively care-free fashion trendsetter with a love plot at a fancy party. This was pretty hilarious. I could kind of see the one character growing into the other if she was dropped in that setting and was a few years older. I've never played such similar characters in one weekend before!
Friday night was "The Prince Comes of Age". It was a game by... all first time GMs? Mostly first time GMs? One or the other. The lead GM was definitely a first timer. It was based on a session of his D&D game that he ran years ago, with the PCs appearing in game as an adventuring party. I signed up before I heard that, and I was a little worried that this would lead to those parts being "more real", but I went in with fairly high expectations. I had lots of fun! I was playing the publicist of the PCs/fashion trendsetter/reporter/designer/an awful lot of jobs, actually. I obsessed over all my costuming for festival, and got massive help from
ocelotspots and I think I came out looking okay, for "European-style high fantasy with wacky elements". (those are steampunk goggles on my head, btw):There were too many pieces of paper, and I still have no idea how I was supposed to solve one of my plots, but I had great character interactions and a fun time. I had a simple yet lovely romance plot with a first time LARPer! ( image of me and my love plot contains slight spoiler, but is cuteCollapse )
Saturday morning was "Browncoats". Three players didn't show up, including one who was crucial to my plots and the game. That one was filled in by a GM, and the others were dropped. I think we suffered a lot for it. The GM playing the part was very flat, and didn't remember important things sometimes, and it was unsatisfying. I had a great time roleplaying with
lightgamer and bleemoo , though. The game felt very small, and it made it hard to hide anything or do anything secretly. I was very aware that one of my friends was having a miserable time, which made it harder for me to have a good time, and the endgame was... unsatisfying. I think it may be a game that I will eventually mostly remember the pleasant parts of, but right now I am honestly not sure how I feel. My costume was less exciting, but I was super pleased to get a brown leather coat that mostly fit at Garment District for $20. Doubt I will ever use it again... Picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laura47/5612087458/Saturday afternoon we went home and slept, and I am so glad we did. I really needed that. I mostly don't play morning games anymore, and having a half hour drive to and from game and games ending after midnight friday night and starting at 9 am saturday... makes me a sad panda. I slept maybe 2 hours, and then spent a long time costuming. I was really quite pleased with how I looked.
Saturday evening was, at long last, Better Off Dead: The Necropolis Senior Prom! I finally got to have the kind of experience in a
hazliya and elenuial that everyone else seems to have. :-D It's days later, and I still wish I were in character, in that universe, I am tempted to write fanfic about the LARP (which would make me, like, the 4th person to do so) and it was awesome. Going in, I thought that my character was simple and not-angsty enough that I would probably have fun, but that it wouldn't be super engrossing, but somehow, it all just came together and was awesome. The trend seems to be to write several thousand words about the game, so I think I'll plan to do that. I was a "counter culture chick", feminist and marching to the beat of her own drummer and she *totally* didn't need a *date* to the stupid sexist prom, but of course it was more complicated than that. The main thing we got from the 80s movies we watched pre-game was that things were AWKWARD, and in this game I felt like I was hitting apotheosis of awkward. I had an awesome scene where someone was trying to make my character say something she was afraid to say, and I literally couldn't. THE AWKWARD TOTALLY TOOK OVER. It was amazing. Part of me wishes I had been more involved with certain other things in game, or that I'd had a character with more complicated angst, but then I realize that then I would have been *someone else* and not have been Hallie! (Not that I wouldn't totally play again and also be someone else, if I could, but I still got to be Hallie). Anyway this is not the long post, so here's a pic of me in costume:I ducked out of wrapup early to go home and set up for the afterparty. I think it might actually keep me in character longer, to only know what my character actually knew at game end. Perhaps there is some wisdom to
gower 's methods. :-) When no one was at my house by 1:20, I figured the party was a bust, but then 30 people showed up, I think? Someone said 30, that number feels big, but I wasn't counting. It was late, it was lovely, we had people who had a full hour drive home who still came anyway, and that was awesome. I forgot to bring out all the non-soda drinks I'd bought that were in the fridge, and we never made nachos, but people got by anyway. I didn't get to sleep until the birds were chirping and the sun was up; I love my life!Sunday was Muppet Purgatory, where I was horde. I played the first run, as Animal, back in the first run at Intercon H. It was fun but *exhausting*. Between me and a GM, 300 pictures got taken. I got 200 on facebook, and now the SD card isn't loading, which makes me saaaad. We'll see if they can be saved. Mostly I want the video thats on there.
Then there was Dead Dog, which was awkward because we didn't have a private room, but were split up and surrounded by normal people. I love my LARPers, and love acting silly and inappropriate with them, but I get so uncomfortable sometimes when surrounded by judging eyes. I bounced around and chatted and was exhausted and crashing but didn't want to leave cause I wanted to be with my LARPers forever. *sigh* I love my Intercon kids so very much right now, I went to a show with LARPers last night and had lunch with 9 of them today and I still missssss them.
So that was my Festival! I didn't run a single game! I literally don't remember when I last went to a LARP con and didn't run anything. I'm GMing or AGMing 4 games at Palindrome, though, which will push me back into "more games GMed than played this year".
Back home form my New Years Party. It was lovely. We had a strict headcount limit from Peter's parents, which meant I couldn't invite everyone I normally do, which was awkward, but it was still a lovely time. I am incredibly sore all over from stupidity. Oh well.
Time to look forward to the next year! I already have two major scheduling conflicts. The first is in April, Festival of the Larps versus
vidukon. Going to Vidukon was always a crazy hope, as it is in *Wales*, so I am just going to plan on Festival. The second is in September, with the return of Intercon Mid-Atlantic versus the second fall event of Legends, the campaign LARP I just joined. I'll have to wait a bit to decide on that one. It's possible I'll be fine with missing a single Legends event, when it's the second of three. We'll see.
So let's look at the festival schedule. Two slots I am torn between two games, and two slots I think I'll play whatocelotspots wants to play. I feel bad not running a game, but I don't think I should. I know how stressed I am going to be for Intercon, and having another game I'm scheduled to run a month later is going to make me more stressed. Also, I am only playing one game at Intercon, so I kind of want Festival to be my substitute for Intercon in terms of getting to play games. :-D
Friday Night: I think I'll play The Prince Comes of Age becauseocelotspots thinks it sounds delightful. I'll have to make sure A Crown of Hearts is going to rerun, because I really do want to play that. It's someewhat amusing to have a lighthearted fantasy party game versus a dark and disturbing fantasy party game.
Also in that slot is Timeslines, which I played so long ago and reccomend, and the Murder Mystery in a Box game, Staying Alive.
Saturday Morning: Will play Browncoats withocelotspots, who is a huge Firefly fan. This is set in the universe, but promises to have no actual references to the folks from the TV show, which I approve of. I have never seen a game done well that has the actual characters. If you have them and have any other characters also in the game, the balance is going to be very hard. Media tie in games are hard to do well. I'm not familiar with these GMs, hopefully they are good!
Also in that slot is the second run of The Stand, which I assume will run again. I want to give myself some more time before playing more nineteenth century LARPs, I think I will enjoy it more that way. Kidnapped! looks interesting and experimental, it's a game where all the characters have been kidnapped, and you write your own characters, and it's the first in a series.
Saturday Afternoon: Will play Stars Over Atlantis, which I am super psyched for. It's the bi=poly-kinky game about a SF reading at a kink club. It'll be the second run, which I actually often prefer, so the kinks (har har) can get worked out from the first run, if there are any. I revise endlessly, so I always assume everyone else does. :-) If I can't get in, I'll play Harmony Quest, which I really do want to play, but I also really want to play Stars Over Atlantis withocelotspots. natbudin thinks I will like HQ, so hopefully they will run it again.
Also in that slot: Concordance Station, a space politics game that isn't really my kind of game, but I wish it well. Epoch's Waning, Chapter 1: Ruins of Grandeur is one of the most awkward titles I have seen, but I might play it another time. It is also the first in a new series. Is that the new thing these days? It is not something I am used to.
Saturday Evening: Also has two games I really want to play. Resonance will almost certainly run again, whereas the GMs of Better off Dead are moving to Okinawa, so that decision is basically set.
Also in that slot: Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll, a murder mystery with an 80s rock theme, and Cold Flash, a Cold War politics game.
Sunday Afternoon: Hmm. Not really sure. Games don't actually start till 1 pm, so I probably don't actually need to punt games to sleep. I honestly have no idea what I'll do, and my brain is a bit fried reading all these LARPs.
Time to look forward to the next year! I already have two major scheduling conflicts. The first is in April, Festival of the Larps versus
vidukon. Going to Vidukon was always a crazy hope, as it is in *Wales*, so I am just going to plan on Festival. The second is in September, with the return of Intercon Mid-Atlantic versus the second fall event of Legends, the campaign LARP I just joined. I'll have to wait a bit to decide on that one. It's possible I'll be fine with missing a single Legends event, when it's the second of three. We'll see.So let's look at the festival schedule. Two slots I am torn between two games, and two slots I think I'll play what
ocelotspots wants to play. I feel bad not running a game, but I don't think I should. I know how stressed I am going to be for Intercon, and having another game I'm scheduled to run a month later is going to make me more stressed. Also, I am only playing one game at Intercon, so I kind of want Festival to be my substitute for Intercon in terms of getting to play games. :-DFriday Night: I think I'll play The Prince Comes of Age because
ocelotspots thinks it sounds delightful. I'll have to make sure A Crown of Hearts is going to rerun, because I really do want to play that. It's someewhat amusing to have a lighthearted fantasy party game versus a dark and disturbing fantasy party game. Also in that slot is Timeslines, which I played so long ago and reccomend, and the Murder Mystery in a Box game, Staying Alive.
Saturday Morning: Will play Browncoats with
ocelotspots, who is a huge Firefly fan. This is set in the universe, but promises to have no actual references to the folks from the TV show, which I approve of. I have never seen a game done well that has the actual characters. If you have them and have any other characters also in the game, the balance is going to be very hard. Media tie in games are hard to do well. I'm not familiar with these GMs, hopefully they are good! Also in that slot is the second run of The Stand, which I assume will run again. I want to give myself some more time before playing more nineteenth century LARPs, I think I will enjoy it more that way. Kidnapped! looks interesting and experimental, it's a game where all the characters have been kidnapped, and you write your own characters, and it's the first in a series.
Saturday Afternoon: Will play Stars Over Atlantis, which I am super psyched for. It's the bi=poly-kinky game about a SF reading at a kink club. It'll be the second run, which I actually often prefer, so the kinks (har har) can get worked out from the first run, if there are any. I revise endlessly, so I always assume everyone else does. :-) If I can't get in, I'll play Harmony Quest, which I really do want to play, but I also really want to play Stars Over Atlantis with
ocelotspots. natbudin thinks I will like HQ, so hopefully they will run it again.Also in that slot: Concordance Station, a space politics game that isn't really my kind of game, but I wish it well. Epoch's Waning, Chapter 1: Ruins of Grandeur is one of the most awkward titles I have seen, but I might play it another time. It is also the first in a new series. Is that the new thing these days? It is not something I am used to.
Saturday Evening: Also has two games I really want to play. Resonance will almost certainly run again, whereas the GMs of Better off Dead are moving to Okinawa, so that decision is basically set.
Also in that slot: Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll, a murder mystery with an 80s rock theme, and Cold Flash, a Cold War politics game.
Sunday Afternoon: Hmm. Not really sure. Games don't actually start till 1 pm, so I probably don't actually need to punt games to sleep. I honestly have no idea what I'll do, and my brain is a bit fried reading all these LARPs.
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