VENGER CON Aftermath [convention report, part 2]

 

Ok, before jumping into my own sessions, I want to acknowledge the official VENGER CON mascot... Zeema'ar the game-thirsty demon.  He was crouching in the main convention room, casting his infernal gaze upon proceedings, watching over us, and protecting the structural integrity of whatever dark reality we were attempting to convey.

One of the ways I was able to talk myself into purchasing something as extravagant and ultra-utilitarian as a 22" inch gong is that I kept telling myself how awesome it would be to bang the gong at VENGER CON.  And bang the gong I did, every morning.  And the reverberations were also heard a few more times throughout the convention by eager GMs who needed a little extra ancient Tibetan gravitas during their game.

After the first hour of meet and greet, there was only myself and six players, perfect for a rip roaring session of Cha'alt.  We retired to my private room and started with character creation.  Using Crimson Dragon Slayer D20, it only took about 10 minutes to manifest an entire 3rd level party of adventurers...

The droid-thief STK1, human warrior Vaca'al-Mar, human priest Ether, human warrior Zippy G, crystalline sorcerer Lowbar, and demon cleric Narva'al.

Like when Luke Skywalker decided to put his targeting computer away, trust the force, and "we'll do it live!", I decided to run this session like one of my 90-minute, Roll20 one-shots.  I started with a basic premise, the PCs wandering the desert, and winged-it as they discovered a cave entrance that soon led to numerous encounters with strange humanoids and creatures.  Of course, I had all my Cha'alt books and plenty of ideas, but the structure was loose and free-flowing.

We broke for lunch after a couple hours, I ordered pizza and mountain dew for everybody (from Pappa Johns about a 5 or 6 minute drive from the hotel), and we continued on for a total of nearly six hours. I'll bullet-point the highlights of that session (events and quotable lines) since there's so much gaming content to get through...

But first, I got to test out the moon dice mechanic.  It worked pretty much how I wanted, though most players were hesitant to use it, given that the bonus was relatively small (potentially) with a 1 in 6 chance of a demon moon-god claiming a shard of one's soul.  

After three playtests, I have a better idea of how I want to implement the moon dice and showcase a memorable epic and mighty deed - will be updating Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 next week to reflect the change.

• The PCs interrupted an infernal ritual to summon a god-like demon worm.  They killed several demons, stopping the ceremony, and looted their supplies.
• They realized there were factions they could exploit, and exploit them they did... the wa'agasi and yuza'ak, specifically.  
• A powerful artifact was at the center of the humanoids' conflict.  The PCs eventually acquired a super-magical glaive (like in the movie Krull) that went to the demon cleric, as he was the only one brave and foolish enough to dive into a pool of zoth, become mutated, insane, and corrupted to wield A'azkulek!
• A trio of demons were guarding a cave of memory crystals, and the PCs were able to see a bit of Cha'alt's history just by touching them.  Unexpectedly, the crystalline sorcerer decided to absorb one of the crystals - I allowed him to gain and extra (and permanent) point of HP.  A gold-skinned demon wielded a magical two-handed sword, that went to Zippy G after he'd been dispatched. 
• That sword was later used to slice into reality itself, creating an In the Mouth of Madness "flappy hole" leading into the unquiet void of unutterable blackness.  The PCs peered in and saw a tentacled monstrosity that beckoned.  Narva'al made some kind of connection with it and later tried to free that Lovecraftian godling.
• Then, the party freed a beautiful woman sleeping within a glass sarcophagus.  Specifically, Zippy G smashed the glass, freeing Destiny and was rewarded by the tasting of her nubile flesh... "Get out the zoth-based lube."
• Demons wielding scimitars, a weapon that STK1 or "The Saint" despised became a running joke throughout the convention (the droid thief, played by Judd, appeared prominently in both of my Cha'alt scenarios).  We discovered that brunch is the scimitar of meals, making willing participants not worth the air they breathed.  
• ""She has an only-Cha'alt account."
• "You can take a bird out of the saw clan..."
• "Venger, you need to come up with a circle of protection from 'stupid gonzo'... just for RPG Pundit's sake."
• While Narva'al was playing mid-wife with the tentacled entity from beyond, the others were busy investigating a golden pylon in a nearby cave.  With no way in, their investigation stopped short.  However, the cave next door contained an orgy of humanoids using a pyramidal "pylon key" as a sexual aid.  Lowbar noticed a massive purple crystal sitting upon a pillow of the same hue in the orgy cave.  He immediately tried to absorb it into himself.  While he gained one or more extra HP, the crystalline sorcerer also suddenly disappeared, finding himself wandering the purple maze... as sorcerers occasionally do in my Cha'alt games.
• The remaining PCs went into the pylon as STK1 began touching crystals on the central matrix table.  They took a little trip just outside The Black Pyramid of Cha'alt.  Meanwhile, Narva'al had released the Lovecraftian godling who was busy melting reality and acquiring worshipers.  Lowbar came upon something in the purple maze and decided to cast wish in order to bring himself back to the real world of Cha'alt, I allowed him to choose between two universes - one containing the demon priest's new god who was devouring reality itself, and the other was a similar timeline but without that tear in the fabric of time and space.  He chose the latter.
• Seemed like a suitable place to end the nearly six-hour session, so I did.  

By then, another half-dozen attendees showed up and other games were run.  I know that throughout the convention (other than the games I played in) there was a Lamentations of the Flame Princess session, a Dungeon Crawl Classics session, Conan, and ShadowDark.

I wanted to hang-out, schmooze, and drink with my fellow gamers each night, but I'm old and each day I was pretty wore out, leaving by 11:00pm to go home and sleep.  At least I felt refreshed each morning when I arrived at 9am to open the gates (literally and figuratively) to get things going.

This session report is already pretty long, so I'll try to get part 3 up tomorrow.  Aside from Pappa John's, I (and many other attendees) ate at the nearby Popeye's chicken and biscuit fast-food establishment, Red Lobster, and had a rather mediocre sub from Potbelly's.  I wanted to each at Chili's, as well, but didn't want to take the extra time and risk being late for Griff's Tonnisborg game on the day when it would have been possible.

Two of the three Cha'alt zines were freely available for folks who snapped up the complimentary copies... The Skeevatier and Zoth-Laced Worm Trails.  Grab them because both have awesome Cha'altian goodness (and a little something contributed by yours truly)!

The third and final Cha'alt zine will soon be ready for prime-time...

Yes, there will be a 3rd VENGER CON next July, but I want to get something in writing from the hotel before providing an exact date.

Ok, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback between now and part 3 (most likely tomorrow), let me know below, hoss!

VS

p.s. Here is part one of my convention report.  BTW, I'm still locked into Twitter appeal Hell for giving good advice to climate activists who think it's a good idea to protest in the middle of the road.  Please, continue to nag anyone behind the scenes over at Twitter to finalize my appeal favorably so I can get back to promoting shit, trolling idiots, and letting people know what movies I'm watching at night.  Thanks!

VENGER CON Aftermath [convention report, part 1]

 

We fucking made it, hoss!

Leading up to VENGER CON II: Electric Boogaloo, I was worried about this, wondering about that, hoping certain things would happen, fearing others wouldn't, and generally feeling anxious about how it would all go.

All things considered, the convention went extremely well.  I lucked-out.  Just under attendance numbers of last year (25 versus about 22), but it happened, fun was had, and new gaming plateaus were reached!

Let's dive in!  Before I forget, video one, video two, and video three.

Of the two major complains heard (yeah, let's get the bad stuff out of the way first), the first was no name tags.  Yeah, I dropped the ball on that.  Next year for sure!  Second, was the free flowing, chaotic structure where various games were penciled in, but nothing was set down in pen, let alone stone.

Obviously, that's going to annoy or disturb some people.  Normal conventions have specific, set times for definite things, and we (the folks attending) move around and make decisions based on information provided.  For good or ill, VENGER CON seems to reflect my own spontaneous, seat of the pants, stream of consciousness vibe - which means we show up, talk to people, get a sense of what's going on and where people are at, and then make decisions based on the available data, circumstances, our own inclinations, etc.

As the convention grows, it might have to outgrow that mindset.  It works for me, but I'm definitely in the minority, and a larger con would only increase that chaos exponentially.  

If I had to choose one personal failing during the convention it was not using the magenta light that I specifically brought for my Cha'alt session that took place in Cremza'amirikza'am.  I have other, smaller regrets, too, like adding way too many NPCs that wanted to meet or get their boss/supplier in a single visit to the cantina.  But overall, I'm happy with my games and GMing.

Alright, now let's get to the good stuff - the games!

I played in 3 games.  I'll talk about those right away.  The first was my buddy Colin's Cha'alt adventure where he mixed the Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 system with Into the Odd.  As a proponent of the OSR, one of the things I love about it is ease of use.  We all know the basics of how traditional RPGs go.  You roll to hit, you roll damage, each PC does something and is individually autonomous.  Trying alternative systems that switch-up the fundamentals is jarring and there's always a learning curve.  Sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze, sometimes it ain't.

This was the same Cha'alt adventure Colin playtested for the Crystals of Chaos campaign group a couple months ago, albeit slightly updated.  My main focus both in the original playtest and my second go-around was the same - enjoy the world, see what it feels like to be in that place, adventuring, roleplay my character alongside the other PCs and NPCs I meet along the way, help build the environment around me, engage the process with passion and creativity.

The adventure itself was good (I have notes, but this is not the time and place), and we all had fun.  Colin was probably the most tired and out of it that I've ever seen, but even with all that going on, he did a great job GMing it.  And I didn't know this until after he (and others) helped me pack up the convention stuff, but that was his first ever convention game GMing.  Poppin' that cherry like VENGER CON do!

So, that was Friday.  Saturday morning, I played in a dark ages Call of Cthulhu session ran by another dude named Colin (but completely different person).  We were Vikings investigating strange goings-on in Greenland.  It was good, and due to my recent update [video here] on what's next for Venger Satanis and Kort'thalis Publishing, it was much needed.  

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Call of Cthulhu was probably my favorite RPG, just as H.P. Lovecraft is my favorite writer.  His Cthulhu Mythos (along with the help of his friends) has influenced the vast majority of my creative work.

That, too, was a good scenario.  One of the reasons why I choose to GM over playing is that I like things done my way - that, and I love the extra challenge, the greater obligation and responsibility that comes with GMing.  The scenario we played reminded me of several CoC adventures that I've both ran and played.  There are certain things I enjoy and other things that go against my stylistic grain.  

For that alone, I'm grateful for the experience and looking forward to getting in there and trying to make something (I'd probably start with a short scenario) that fits my particular vision.  It could be awesome or crash and burn... that not knowing is another reason why I do what I do.

The third session was really special because Griff Morgan, the guest of honor for this year's VENGER CON, ran The Lost Dungeons of Tonnisborg.  Super old-school vibe (in fact, we played OD&D), as if we had traveled back in time to game with Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.  We drew our own map based on the DM's description, fought in marching order (but without miniatures), did d6 damage no matter the class or weapon, wandered upon a room full of giant snakes that was way beyond our level and nearly killed the party, feeling around the walls for secret passages, etc.  

There was about 9 players and Griff lent his veteran chops to the proceedings, taking us back to something that might have inspired The Temple of Elemental Evil.  Very much, from an objective standpoint, the opposite of how many of us (especially including myself) game today.  So, it was another lesson, a history lesson this time, of how far and wide this hobby is.  

The artform or vocation, if you prefer, is so massive that saying you enjoy roleplaying games is like saying you enjoy art or science.  It's fine for a casual comment directed towards the uninitiated, but that statement alone tells you virtually nothing about the kinds of games and style, approach, and aesthetic of those games.  My personal preference for sandbox, fiction-first, rules-light, theater-of-the-mind, rule of cool, roleplay heavy gaming is night and day to so many other ways of doing RPGs.  I don't know, it's fascinating to me.

The fourth and final session I played was run by Judd.  Judd and I talk on social media frequently (MeWe, YouTube, etc.).  He's backed a number of my Kickstarters.  And he's played in a couple of my Roll20 Cha'alt one-shots.  He's also one Hell of a live player.  I enjoyed his witty banter and characterizations online, but in-person I was even more impressed.  I got a lot of time to observe Judd's play because he attended all three of my sessions - Cha'alt, Cha'alt, and Alpha Blue.  Super nice guy, too.

So, what did he run?  Wretched New Flesh!  It's a cross between Naked Lunch, Videodrome, Dreamscape, and some kind of FBI/CIA procedural taking place in a cyberpunk city owned by Cobra-La.  Yeah, it was fucking weird.  While I felt out of my element (I'd totally watch that movie, but it's a genre of gaming that I have precious few experiences with), it was enjoyable to see how it all worked.  The cast of characters and detective work and logistics and agency politics and bio-mechanical gear... it was all so much.  

I really liked my character, but admittedly I didn't do too much - which is kind of what I wanted - because I'm giving one Hell of a performance each time I'm GMing and wanted everyone else to have their moment to shine.  So, I felt a bit overwhelmed in a good way.  Very cool system and world by The Red Room.  If you like Over The Edge type stuff, I highly recommend Wretched New Flesh - and that cover art by Jae Tanaka can't be beat!

Alright, that's enough for now.  Not sure when part 2 will get blogged... hopefully tomorrow!

Yeah, great time - can't wait to tell you about the games I ran.  Thanks for reading, and feel free to ask questions, hoss.

VS

p.s. Yeah, Cha'alt hardcovers still for sale - get 'em here! 

p.p.s. Apparently, this is somewhere on reddit and might be the most downvoted comment on there (and may be eligible for a prize of some sort)...

"Venger Satanis is a game designing genius on par with (if not exceeding) Gary Gygax." ~ Matthew Urquhart