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::grumble grumble grumble:: It's way too early for morning.
Last night, I had my ass kicked in the ACG Open. It was differently formatted than the one I participated in at GenCon, but the results were worse for Team Painlord. Not because we sucked at the ACG play part of things, but that we were hammered on trivia.
I'll make this as non-spoilered as I can:
We had time to set up our decks.
We had locations to close and monsters to beat.
We had trivia to answer.
Dying is frowned upon (as players and characters).
We did great on the gameplay, lost terribly on the trivia. Wow. A shellshacking. And congrats to the other team of 4 who knew trivia and played well. I know that Cartmanbeck was on that team.
As a side note: Thanks to Jon Denning for jumping in to play with our team despite having only played the game once. He did a good job and was a good sport about it. +1
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That's what I miss most about not making it to PaizoCon this year. At GenCon and most local events I'm sooo busy I don't get to mingle as much as I'd like. PaizoCon feels a bit more laid back and there are more opportunities to just hang out and relax, meet n greet, and just talk all things gaming and beyond.
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"Are Pathfinders in space called 'Pathtronauts'?"
I didn't have an answer.
* * *
(Responsibly) Blowing off a morning session to go eat breakfast and relax.
My 8am slot is another run of the ACG Open session, but since I played it last night (and because I would totally rip through the trivia this time) I gave up my ticket to another so they could immediately regret not knowing all the trivia as well. (I'm nice like that).
And instead of going to play more ACG Mummy's Mask: a good first breakfast.
At breakfast with GM Verdigris and Gabrielle_H (author of Gears of Faith) and drinking coffee. I eat more bagels and drink coffee and life is good. And I re-discover the all-i-can-eat fresh blueberries/granola/yogurt thing.
* * *
Today I play more ACG, and have the ACG Kobolds special at 1pm. Then the preview Banquet.
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Venture-Captain, Minnesota
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Just met HMM at breakfast!
I just met Belabras!
Actually, this has been a crazy convention for meeting people. Everywhere I turn, there's someone cool that I know from the Paizo boards. Right now, I am watching Bret masterfully GM his PSA Advanced table. He has three of the most delightful young players ever, and they are very enthusiastically taking on goblin pirates.
Yarr.
Hmm
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Had a long, good chat with Kate B, who who I met last year. She was between runs of demoing the MumMask ACG. We chatted about all the fun things in life: community organizing, the ACG, her plans at GenCon, all the cool writing stuff she's doing, and how connected the PFS community can be.
Best hour of the con so far was that chat. And the MMask ACG is a good, fun play. Not just the demo, but the entire MMask box set is just fun and balanced. It seems to avoid the problems with WotR.
I also hang with Preston and Elizabeth C.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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From the HQ side of life...
Slot 3 is underway! We've got another full 40 tables of PFS, just like last night. Players are getting the hang of mustering, and our GMs are excited and (almost) on time.
HQ staff has passed the time by reporting (as of writing this) EVERY RPG SESSION SHEET that has been turned in. We've also made up the 1-2 repeatable GM packets for GenCon, broken down un-needed filing units, and gotten the muster tables for slot 4 ready.
Speaking of mustering! The new process for this year has been well received. For those not attending--instead of clogging the hallway and mustering through all the doors, we're having players form a single file line and then letting them into the main doors where they are then directed to the various muster boards. This keeps us from having a fire hazard and gives me a great chance to roleplaying being a flight attendant.
We've had various Paizo celebs rock by and socialize at the HQ table. The best story is of a young Pathfinder player, eager to meet his hero John Compton. He saw John from afar, and once he passed by came up and asked, "wait, was that John Compton?" Yup, we told him. "Huh, I thought he would have been taller."
Precious.
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Venture-Captain, Minnesota
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FRIDAY FLASHBACKS:
At way too early in the morning I had one of the best tables of players that any GM could want. My 'From the Tome of Righteous Repose' group kept me laughing all the way to Belkzen. When they finally met the dragon, Tineke charmed him with a picturebook that her Ganzi wrote and drew in which he was the starring character. We had a great time, and they gamely met all the challenges I threw at them.
I had a lovely conversation with Linda Zayas-Palmer and then finally got to meet Jesse Davis, the gentle-spoken VC of Online. One of the quirks of the online region is that you can work for months without having ever met them.
So when Jesse made a beeline for me, I wasn't sure who he was, because his badge had flipped over. I turned it over as he said my name, looked at it, and then went "Squee!" as I jumped up and down as I hugged him.
Amazingly, he didn't demote me or run away.
We had a great lunch on Friday (despite an annoying test of the fire alarm) and got caught up.
After that, I had a swim, a nap and then we met up with Ryan King (KingofAnything) and had dinner before going off to play Treacherous Waves. VL Sean Cunningham was an awesome GM, and he had a bit of an 'Odin' look to him as his hair kept covering his eyes.
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Just finished breakfast with Painlord and Gabrielle _H. Great breakfast, tremendous snark. We discuss many things; tweets, politics, embarrassing Crystal Frazier stories (our embarrassment, not hers. She's amazing). And coffee, so much coffee. It is necessary and appreciated.
Now Gabrielle and I are in the Writing for Usability seminar. Secret Super Heroes of Pathfinder; Christopher Carey, Judy Bauer, Lyz Liddell, and Joe Pacini, engage the audience with harrowing tales of battle against meandering rules explanations, serpentine titles, and elaborate font choices in their attempt to keep our games fun and accessible to experienced gamers and novices alike. They have colorful pens and they are not afraid to use them. I am awestruck and humbled by their service to both worlds.
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In between the above, and worthy of it's own post and then some, I met Motteditor, GM Extraordinaire. He is one of the reasons I tried my own hand at GMing Play by Posts. It is only for a moment, but I am thrilled to put a face to the name of someone I admire so much. I am hopeful that we will meet again before the end of the con.
Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane
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Well Day 2 of PaizoCon is well underway!! Morning slot was the ACG Open Qualifer #2 and wow there is a lot going on!! Had a bumpy start but the team did well!! They will find out if they made it into the final. Helped out a bit in the ACG area before grabbing a quick lunch and off to play with some Kobolds!!
So far so awesome on the Kobolds!! Table is featuring Pirate Rob and Painlord and ran by Tyler Beck. Let's see how it goes.
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After a much-needed nap, my evening game was Splinetered Worlds with Amanda Hamon Kunz as GM, and Benjamin B., Christen S., John S., Michael L., and James K. playing. Starfinder is awesome! I am really looking forward to the system!
I didn't enjoy it as much, to be honest. I think that's mostly 'cuz I somehow got the one non-iconic PC--and he ended up being the same class as yours. 2 "bards" in a party do not seem to work--especially when 1 of them as no knowledge skills or any way to provide help to the party.
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So much. Been running PFS in every slot and my voice is already suffering. HQ helps with lozenges. Met or re-met so many people. Finally connected xebeche with his real-life form and realize I've had him at my table every single PaizoCon I've ever attended. Ran into Painlord several times, although never at a table, since we favour two different sides of the OP coin. Wound up missing my seminars yesterday to catch some sleep, despite really wanting to see them. It's possible I may be older this year than I was at previous cons.
Banquet is tonight, so hopefully I will get enough voice rest before tomorrow's three games in a row.
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Venture-Captain, Netherlands
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Busy busy busy. GMd another wonderfull slot of house of harmonius wisdom. No one got set on fire. This time. But some exelent plans were hatched and executed.
I had to quickly scarf dowm my lunch as I had to be at my seminar of creating welcoming game spaces at 1. I felt very honered to have been asked to speak at this panel.
Judy and David were absolutenchamps an I hoped we have helped people out by answering their questions.
So having my first real free time of the whole con I bumped into Mark Seifter. Wonderfull yahoo. We talked blackmail material and how both our Jade Regent campaigns are going.
Now I am off. I have spotted her infernal majesty Thrune and I want to say 'hi'.
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Ah yeah...ACG Kobolds Special: Dragons of the Society: Sat 1pm to 6pm
So this is a lottery event, featuring the work of Tyler Beck (aka Cartmanbeck) and David Jacobson who used the custom card designer to design a kobold themed ACG adventure. Our group included:
Jim, a pilot from Seattle.
Becky, an artist from ND.
Pirate Rob, a pirate from the Bay Area.
Preston, a VC from Washington.
Painlord, a loon.
We have 5 themed kobolds: Skyrahk (themed cleric), Athrax (alchemist), Fazgyn (rogue), Engashez (bard), Varnogg the Majestic (sorc).
First scenario (out of 4): We have 7 locations and supposed to save some children. Our kobolds are confused about 'saving' vs. 'eating'.
First turn, Fazgyn ate a full 5 points of damage after snake eyed his combat check. Uh...but it gives us a chance to use the new trap mechanic (special to these kobolds and this run). I find it pretty neat from the start.
We actually use and enjoy the trap mechanic repeatedly.
And wow, a wild Selinker appeared. Mike Selinker, the ACG creator guy, came to visit. On a lark, we invite him to sit down...he agrees. And there you go, the ACG main guy is playing at our table. It's really cool because it gives Tyler a chance to share his home creation with the Man.
Second scenario, we failed to close all the locations, thus failing the mission. Our VC in the Pathfinder Society who ordered us kobolds to do things, really failed on this. Why would they expect a group of yahoo kobolds to do anything correctly? Also, one of the children who we were trying to save 'accidentally' didn't get saved...and was probably eaten. It is unclear. But probably eaten. But it's clear that the Pathfinder Society needs to be held accountable for this error...it's certainly not the fault of noble kobolds who risked their lives to save the ungrateful, stringy, and 'need-more-salt' children.
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Had time last night to regret not having prepped House of Harmonius Wisdom. I was a PFS floater GM last night, and there was a big stack of people who had tickets but no game, including at least two tables of House. One group got a tables somehow -- I don't know if they found a fill-in, or if the GM showed up but just hadn't checked in at HQ. There were still some left. Rather than run cold, I ran four folks-- a good, fun group-- through Ungrounded but Unbroken.
(Alas, realistically a floater GM can only have so many scenarios prepped. As it is, the number of maps and pawns I'm carrying is back-breaking....)
Played a two-hour game of "The Strange" this morning. That's a system I've been intrigued by for some time; bought the core book something like a year ago. Have not played it before. (Not enough time to play everything, not enough people around to play everything....)
Had enough time for lunch to not feel rushed.
This afternoon, I played in a Planescape game by Jessica of Redcap Miniatures (she does paper minis, if you like that sort of thing). She's an excellent GM. I was a Planescape fan back in the day, although I don't know that I ever actually played the setting under 2e. I ran a bunch of it using GURPS and Fudge, and have played some 3e with it. Now I've played it in Pathfinder as well.
Tonight I am not going to the banquet, as I don't have a ticket.... Gonna have a quiet dinner somewhere, kick back, maybe catch up a bit on all the network things I'm behind on, and go to bed (and hopefully sleep) at a reasonable time. I expect tomorrow to be nutty: GM in morning, another Planescape game in the afternoon, and then, nuttiest of all, the Special in the evening. I haven't heard word about how much before 7PM they want the GMs there, but I expect it to be at 6:00 or 6:30. At the moment, I don't have an actual plan for getting dinner tomorrow; I will improvise when the time comes.
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Venture-Captain, Minnesota
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Ooh.... Motteditor is here? Maybe I'll run into him! Her imperial majestrix, Abrogail Thrune, looks wonderful. Her all-Valeros table looks like they're having a lot of fun.
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I got a chance to pose with her Infernal Majestrix!
Evil has never looked so good!
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Rob Knopf -- Come find me! I am waiting in line for the banquet, all the while watching Cosmo gesticulate and make awesome sound effects and silly filks while GMing.
Hmm
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Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane
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An awesome afternoon!! The Kobold Card Game with Tyler Beck was amazing topped off by Mike Selinker joining us for part of our first scenario!! Our group managed to play 4 of the scenarios (although some not successfully). Now to wait for my family and the banquet.
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Yeah, the ACG Kobolds Special was pretty special. It was a good skinning of the ACG with fun characters with fun mechanics.
Some of you might hear rumors that some of the children that the group of adventurous and honorable kobolds failed to save. But that, that is fake news. So what if the kobolds might have failed two out of the four scenarios. So what if a few of the children ended up eaten by a flumph unsaved. What matters is that the kobolds tried.
And you might also hear rumors that my bad play lead directly to two of those four failures (and hence, less children saved), but that is completely false: I only *mostly* contributed to the blazing failure. So, it's probably not my fault at all.
Anyhoot, I had a good time. +1 Tyler and David. Good stuff.
* * *
The Banquet starts in a little over an hour. I go to hang in line for a bit, which is always fun. I like talking and speaking to other yahoos waiting to get in.
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OH! And. I still have yet to meet either Hmm or Belabras. I have to make sure I somehow do that before Paizocon ends. Especially considering the number of games I've played in with Belabras, it seems like I ought to meet him...!
I have been informed that you look somewhat like Paris Crenshaw. Whom I may or may not have then mistaken for you to my embarrassment. I'll keep an eye out for ya at the banquet.
Also, Legendary Games' Thanex Caper is a blast and y'all should check it out!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis
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I spent yesterday morning and this morning teaching some young people about Pathfinder. The lessons included teaching them about AC, feats, and how different characters have different things they are good at. It was a lot of fun.
I also taught them that at my table, the bosses have the best hats!
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Venture-Captain, Netherlands
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After my exelent talk with Mark Seifter I spend time paimting a mini. (Instead of catching up on some sleep.)
I lucked out and got the perfect one for my halfling skald.
After that I hung out for a bit with Remco troost. Absolutely an ace guy. Talked ratfolk. Showed him a ton of pictures of my pet rats. Ysoki are in great hands with him.
Now I am hanging in line for the banquet with Jessica of Redcap miniatures. Talking planescape. I am in her game tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
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In line at the banquet. It's a long line. But there is a bar at the end of it. And food. And sitting with Paizo staffers. Met Amber Scott today, who's been in about 50 Paizo books. Pirate Rob is in line behind me - I can't believe he doesn't have pirate connections to get closer to the front. I hope there is still good when I get to the front. I always look forward to the banquet, but I'm feeling a bit unsocial, and so might not make the most of it. But the secrets... the secrets will be worth it!
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Venture-Captain, Minnesota
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I am also in line at the banquet. Posted near the windows, I can see that this line snakes all the way around the hallway on the other side of the glass... and keeps going.
I've met a number of people while standing in line. Motteditor is here. The entire Play-by-Post comunity is materializing in the real world, and that's awesome. The atmosphere is bubbly, social and expectant. I am looking forward to hearing the announcements --- What secrets of the stars will be revealed? Will the Minnesota contingent become Tonya's designated drinkers? Will there be enough vegetarian items?
Looking forward to trivia and a festival of conviviality!
Hmm
