Re: Countdown to Origins 2017
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:08 am
So, my annual Good/Bad/Both post (now that I've had a little time to recover).
Good
Registration - This was, bar none, the best year for getting badges/event tickets. Did have a little snafu when it came to Ken's events but fortunately I got it solved in maybe 10 minutes. Big plus for being able to get other folks' badges this year!
You All - Every year I make it to Origins it feels more like a family reunion (complete with that cousin who gets crazier each year ). It does make me miss you all more when I'm not there though. And, to be real honest, Roger and Connie's idea of having a second get-together half way is starting to sound not all that crazy...
The Weather - Sunny all the way out and not even a hint of tornadoes during the con. Sure it was hot but we all expect that, and frankly, it's not like we have to go outside all that much anyway. (though I did get in one hell of a storm on the way back, the kind that makes you slow down to 35 because you can't see the road. And even that was good for keeping me wide awake).
The Drive - would have been real quiet if Black Jack Justice hadn't kept me company. 48 episodes to get there and back and it's rekindled my love of the show. Been listening to it on the various drives I've had to make since getting back.
And of course, Running HoA - I may not say it often enough, but I do love running this campaign. I love seeing the looks on players' faces when the other shoe drops, or when they realize what the horrible pun was that I based some adventure on, or even just when they make a clever remark or deduction that puts them back on track. I also love hearing feedback from players who've just run an adventure with Dave, Ken, Sam, Alexandra, Laura, or (now) Stephen, where they breathlessly tell me all about their heroic daring-do. And yes, I even love hearing about characters and seeing the looks on player's faces as they tell me about their backgrounds or where they see the characters going over the course of the campaign. And I ESPECIALLY love to see the looks on my fellow GMs faces when they obviously had a good time running (so yes Dave that means when you say you won Origins, I won too)
Bad
Played Game - Ok honestly, less BAD and more DISAPPOINTING. Happened to get into a game of Kuro (like I did last year, same folks too), and was really looking forward to it (after all I had a great time last year). BUT it was virtually the exact same game. Oh I don't mean I'd accidentally replayed last years. No it was a different adventure but the format was identical, summoned to a temple (really THE temple since it was the same place we'd gone before) told there was some missing person and to go find them, find monster, defeat it, voila. I was hoping for, well, I'm not really sure. Maybe some variety. It seems to me like the GM is just flipping through the book and picking a random monster for us to fight then building some story behind it.
Sleep - I was especially bad this year about getting enough sleep. That combined with my body's decision to wake up every single day at 6am meant that I very nearly nodded off a couple of times in game. That's not ok. I really need to get more sleep.
Tarot Deck - We have an honest-to-goodness Fate Witch player now (well she's actually the second but our first hasn't been back in a good 3-4 years). And somewhere in that time, I seem to have misplaced my Tarot Deck. So I was unable to show her the cards when she looked at folks' arcana.
Both
Game Attendance - Mixed bag, I think our numbers were down, and I worry (as I often do) about future events. BUT then I started thinking about how much fun I was having. And it turns out I really like having smaller tables. 5-6 people rather than the usual 8-9 makes for a heck of a lot better time, for all!
Origins Numbers - They reported over 17k in unique attendance this year. Didn't seem like they had lots more people, but apparently so. I'm glad they're going strong as I was worried about the future of the con a couple of years ago. BUT now that they've got it together I worry what larger numbers might mean for the con (having seen what a yearly increase in attendance has done to GenCon)
Highlights
Something new for this year, I thought I'd mention some of the things that'll stick with me over the course of the year.
1) Team Heretic drag-racing through the clues in Ep 14 because they've already got a handle on what's going on.
2) Katie's admirable defense of her fellows, even in the face of having to fight one of her comrades
3) The look on Deb's face when she first met her intended (and the laughter that accompanied my pouring water into my snapple bottle).
4) Hearing all about our new folks and what fun Dave had running for them.
5) Our late (VERY LATE) night talks about, well, whatever.
6) Running Ep 1 again after a very long hiatus.
7) Watching our youngest player (who plays an actual child in-game) take on the shadow beast single-handedly (just for future reference, a fate-witch does not need to see you to follow your strands, and that's just as good a reference for aiming).
Good
Registration - This was, bar none, the best year for getting badges/event tickets. Did have a little snafu when it came to Ken's events but fortunately I got it solved in maybe 10 minutes. Big plus for being able to get other folks' badges this year!
You All - Every year I make it to Origins it feels more like a family reunion (complete with that cousin who gets crazier each year ). It does make me miss you all more when I'm not there though. And, to be real honest, Roger and Connie's idea of having a second get-together half way is starting to sound not all that crazy...
The Weather - Sunny all the way out and not even a hint of tornadoes during the con. Sure it was hot but we all expect that, and frankly, it's not like we have to go outside all that much anyway. (though I did get in one hell of a storm on the way back, the kind that makes you slow down to 35 because you can't see the road. And even that was good for keeping me wide awake).
The Drive - would have been real quiet if Black Jack Justice hadn't kept me company. 48 episodes to get there and back and it's rekindled my love of the show. Been listening to it on the various drives I've had to make since getting back.
And of course, Running HoA - I may not say it often enough, but I do love running this campaign. I love seeing the looks on players' faces when the other shoe drops, or when they realize what the horrible pun was that I based some adventure on, or even just when they make a clever remark or deduction that puts them back on track. I also love hearing feedback from players who've just run an adventure with Dave, Ken, Sam, Alexandra, Laura, or (now) Stephen, where they breathlessly tell me all about their heroic daring-do. And yes, I even love hearing about characters and seeing the looks on player's faces as they tell me about their backgrounds or where they see the characters going over the course of the campaign. And I ESPECIALLY love to see the looks on my fellow GMs faces when they obviously had a good time running (so yes Dave that means when you say you won Origins, I won too)
Bad
Played Game - Ok honestly, less BAD and more DISAPPOINTING. Happened to get into a game of Kuro (like I did last year, same folks too), and was really looking forward to it (after all I had a great time last year). BUT it was virtually the exact same game. Oh I don't mean I'd accidentally replayed last years. No it was a different adventure but the format was identical, summoned to a temple (really THE temple since it was the same place we'd gone before) told there was some missing person and to go find them, find monster, defeat it, voila. I was hoping for, well, I'm not really sure. Maybe some variety. It seems to me like the GM is just flipping through the book and picking a random monster for us to fight then building some story behind it.
Sleep - I was especially bad this year about getting enough sleep. That combined with my body's decision to wake up every single day at 6am meant that I very nearly nodded off a couple of times in game. That's not ok. I really need to get more sleep.
Tarot Deck - We have an honest-to-goodness Fate Witch player now (well she's actually the second but our first hasn't been back in a good 3-4 years). And somewhere in that time, I seem to have misplaced my Tarot Deck. So I was unable to show her the cards when she looked at folks' arcana.
Both
Game Attendance - Mixed bag, I think our numbers were down, and I worry (as I often do) about future events. BUT then I started thinking about how much fun I was having. And it turns out I really like having smaller tables. 5-6 people rather than the usual 8-9 makes for a heck of a lot better time, for all!
Origins Numbers - They reported over 17k in unique attendance this year. Didn't seem like they had lots more people, but apparently so. I'm glad they're going strong as I was worried about the future of the con a couple of years ago. BUT now that they've got it together I worry what larger numbers might mean for the con (having seen what a yearly increase in attendance has done to GenCon)
Highlights
Something new for this year, I thought I'd mention some of the things that'll stick with me over the course of the year.
1) Team Heretic drag-racing through the clues in Ep 14 because they've already got a handle on what's going on.
2) Katie's admirable defense of her fellows, even in the face of having to fight one of her comrades
3) The look on Deb's face when she first met her intended (and the laughter that accompanied my pouring water into my snapple bottle).
4) Hearing all about our new folks and what fun Dave had running for them.
5) Our late (VERY LATE) night talks about, well, whatever.
6) Running Ep 1 again after a very long hiatus.
7) Watching our youngest player (who plays an actual child in-game) take on the shadow beast single-handedly (just for future reference, a fate-witch does not need to see you to follow your strands, and that's just as good a reference for aiming).