Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsRe: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsTime for some MegaParanoia.
The years i was just a player: Damn, those were good times. That first yearwas a pretty odd event. 100+ players and just Roger handling it all. I pulled some small stunts that didn't seem to pan out until the game's end and then went spectacularly. My friend Marty fast talked his way out of an execution with a 12 minute filibuster. And the original core players bonded. Me, Marty, McJohn Josh (maybe the best player ever) Steve and Scott two brothers always up for shenanigans John their friend who is the sneakiest man to play Matt (the only player to make all of them) DB a kilt wearing lunatic (who does not care their is a queen on the throne) And the Captain. Never got his real name but he ended up a Trekkie secret society every year he played. Year one we got kazoos to play ad they marched us out of the room and all around the convention center. We also had a team sent into thw Vampire larp to find "LOT" Sector, disrupting their gloomy game as they were in the habit ofndoing to others back then. Year two started the clone marching song and more mayhem. 2000 was THE year. Roger hit his stride. The themes really took center stage starting here. Wrestlemania was the theme and the core team physically beat the crap out of each other. We all got hurt to some degree. But it was fun. This is also the year some new guy spent the whole night standing back to back with Roger unless he ran off to fetch him a glass of water. He served Roger at least 16 glasses in 4 hours. A new guy won best player for using his machine empathy to inform the computer our building was scheduled for demolition 20 minutes ago. We had all died midgame in an unexplained random building collapse...he was the reason. The next year was a Jerry Springer episode about reprogrammed bots. It was Josh's last session with us. There was summer camp and a side scroller video game format. And then i got drafted to help GM. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsCollaborative years.
The first year i helped out, we decided to do a scavenger hunt. It was simple stuff. Certain color flyers, straws, stuff just laying around the con nobody would miss like magic foil wrappers. While we were prepping there was a huge pile of empty cardboard boxes from the shipment of long distributed onsite books. Staff said we could send people to grab some as part of it. As we started the game, two things changed we were unaware of... 1- the convention hall put out 35 cardboard garbage cans 2- event staff shift change happened and nobody told the new guys what we were doing. Something in our control...we put Thwak in charge of the Armed forces faction. He went full army Ranger and was barking orders. It was amazing and scary all at once. The group went out and took everything. If we asked for one, they brought us all of them. Every flyer, every card wrapper and all those garbage cans. Staff showed up and lit into Roger in front of everybody. They were not civil or polite about it. There was a lot of onesided shouting. Roger took it out and down the hall and left me incharge of 115 lunatics...trial by fire. The next year, there were no rooms open for us at midnight and we had to skip a year. The year after, all the regulars showed and they brought even more friends. Then the Origins volunteers started attending. Vane, Maya, Justine, Jim and the rest have made my solo tenure so awesome but they flourished early. One year, we wrote the adventure saturday morning on a dry erase board in the hotel room. One year we did a time travel loop where the players were investigating their own murders and they were the killers. One year they were the storm troopers looking for the droids on tatooine (not that we told them that) We did a newlywed game one year to get thwm to rat out their teammates. Steph, on her own decided to only speak spanish that year and everyone was suspicious. We did a survey that year to set them up. They answered seemingly safe questions and then got lined up based on their answers A-D. Then we read the question out loud...a different, treasonous question. The look of how screwed am i on their faces was priceless. We had them all messed up that year because the computer and high programmers were colorblind for the session. One year, we were in the same room as the Awards, folliwing it. They were to wrap at 11 and we start at midnight. It was the year Lou Zocchi entered the hall of fame. They tried to play him off twice, he kept talking, they tried to interrupt, he kept talking, i suspect the physically carried him off mic in hand. We got the room at 12:30. We had a participant during those years with a lack of awareness for her clothing's positioning. At least twice a session i would turn around and she would be turned this way or that with her skirtfailing to cover her underwear (which, unlike BD, she was at least wearing) The worst moment was a time when Roger froze action to resolve something and there she is in the middle of the room with one leg kicked up over her head. I quietly walked over and repositioned her to an appropriate stance. She finally got the hint and started wearing pants. I am so glad i never had to do that for BD. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsAnd then Roger stopped being at Origins. I was on my own and again, terrified of messing up.
Shouldn't have been. Those games have gone well. The players took my plot of filming a reality show about troubleshooters and turned it into The Bachelorette. They took the zombie adventure and did the Thriller dance. The Clue game was hands down the most fun i ever watched. Because you don't run this game, you just referee the explosions. (Plus this was the musical chairs session) The game of thrones saw the throne destroyed and Mike Sonby ordered to serve as the replacement. Steven Black ended up sitting on his lap. And nothing in those games mean nearly as much as the debriefings. Sitting around, exhausted, reading off all the missions and plans and watching the players realize who they should have helped and how bad they got played. And anybody who is still sitting there at 3 or 4 in the morning is paying me the highest complement and thank you i will ever get. And even that is not the best thing to happen inthe 24 years of MegaParanoia. A couple years ago we had a brand new player with generic tickets...perfect team leader material and he stuck the whole night, went through debriefing and everything. It turns out this is his first Origins. But there are details... It is his first Origins. It is his first day and he didn't arrive until after work at 8 pm. It is his first game because he couldn't find an event that woukd let him in on generics except us. He has literally paid 35 bucks just to play that game he knew nothing about. And as we part company, he says, "and it was totally worth it." And that complement will sit in my head forever. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsSome stuff i didn't post beause i got busy goibg on about other years.
It is 2000, the year we are all crammed in 3 hotel rooms. Bill has fallen off that window sill twice...gotta solve that... the bed is big, my girlfriend is really short and takes up little space. I nudge her towards the edge of the bed. "Bill, come over here and sleep on this side of the bed before you kill yourself." Bill is around 15 at the time. (Next year he will room with other people and spend the year stealing their booze) Turns out, he is not a sound sleeper. He tosses and turns like a fish on land. Flop, flop, flop. At some point in the night, i wake up to find Bill turned 45 degrees in the bed, sleeping with his head on my stomach. I lay there and contemplate if i should just gently move him back over, shove him back over, or shout at him and wake everybody. Before i can decide, he reaches up and fluffs my belly like a pillow. I go with option 3. Different year, different girlfriend. Rooming with Bill's future wife and her boyfriend at the time. The couple next door is enjoying a very loud and personal Origins game for two at 8 am. I step out in the lobby and find the couple has sent their children out in the hall unattended to play. The oldest might be 5. I pound on the door as i pass. Megaparanoia...same year as Freiburg larp. Floyd Jeremy and Big Jim complete the mission in two hours after Roger made a big deal about the mission never being completed. That same year, on a whim, I shave off my beard and moustache between the last table game and MegaParanoia. I go down to the room alone. I sit on the side with the other players. Jeremy sits next to me and doesn't recognize me. My girlfriend walks apst me and asks several people if they have seen me. (That was a good signal where things were headed) Jenny Latham who has known me all of 2 days, stops in her tracks, jaw drops and she scolds me because I "look wrong and need to put it back". People i had known for years overlooked me but the new friends caught right on. May need to do that again. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsIt is Sunday morning 2020. I am home, went to bed at a reasonable time and still woke up feeling like I ran paranoia... i am tired, foggy, and my head hurts. Are you all sure we didn't have a game last night? I really need a waffle.
Flashback to 2000 (the most important Origins year for so many stories). Today is my 30th birthday. Last night, during "wrestlemania" MegaParanoia, I got thrown through some chairs we were using to denote "the ring". Something twinged a bit in my back but i kept going. This morning, i am feeling it. I went to bed a strong, fit 29 year old. I woke up 30 and i actually cannot put my own socks on. I always thought milestone birthdays were just a mental hang up...but it turns out 30 makes you walk like an old man. Finally dressed, Big Jim is down from room 3 to tell me there will be a long distance call on the bill (this was before cell phones) it seems McKenna has seen need to call his girlfriend in Chicago and spend 40 minutes explaining why he is staying in Ohio to play the Vampire larp instead of seeing her as planned. Jim's telling of the tale and his running sidebar tally of gifts McKenna will be needing to buy to make up for his boorish conversation make me decide to just pay for the call, it was entertainment money well spent. It is the year Mike Sonby played a chair in MegaParanoia. We are in the hotel room and Mike starts explaining to Katie...well let me use his words... "Something happened last night, and I am not proud of it. I certainly didn't plan for it to happen, I regret it and I swear it will never happen again but you need to hear it from me." At this point, Katie is actually starting to stare daggers. "Floki sat on my lap last night." Katie jumps up and points at the bathroom. "You go get in the shower NOW!" Jeremy and I laughed and laughed and laughed. The best part of Origins may be waking up with time left in the con. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to Originsit is Today. I wake up at just before 9am, and I am sad.
Its any of the other sundays. I wake up and am scampering to pack all my stuff so i can vacate the hotel room, and make it to run domingo in less then an hour, and Maybe grab some food. I look forward to the megaparanoia story of the night. Im not looking forward to 230 in the afternoon. I sigh.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsIt is 9:30, Mark may have finished the last of the PAs...maybe.
I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to Origins2020...for the last two days, sone guy has been flying over the course in a beautiful replica sopwith. Evey pass, you hear the rumbling engine and glides over slowly because none of those planes were very fast and i miss my annual aerodrome session a little more.
A toast to all 3 generations of Lloyds, Poacher, the Colonel, Roger, the Texans, Joe P., and the new kid i shot down 3 times last year. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsRemember the story I told on Thursday about the boy with the ice cold cokes who sat at the table with us? Well, it turns out, he and his dad played in a Battlestar Galactica game on Saturday afternoon. The dad, who if I remember correctly, works for the DoD and isn't home much, had a conversation with Floyd post-BSG. The family had really been looking forward to attending Origins as their vacation, but the pre-teen daughter is a huge Firefly fan, and was very bummed that the Serenity tickets sold out so quickly. Floyd, being Floyd, tells the guy not to worry.
They show up early for my Sunday morning Serenity session. Now, it should be noted that we did not run these sessions by the "Dave Rule of Attendees". ![]() The way that the adventure was written, Kaylee was intended to be a NPC. That being said, through the course of conversation with the girl, it became clear that Kaylee was her favorite character on the show. Given that it was the last day of her first ever con, she played Kaylee. The session went well, and much laughter was had by all. The girl (and her dad) thanked us profusely at the end of the session. And that, in a nutshell, is a big part of why I love going to conventions.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsNote on Deb's story. She and Floyd were discussing which character to add and Floyd was very against the idea. Deb stomps her feet and points a finger, "No, it HAS to be Kaylee!"
I was running a Supernatural event next to that table. It was the right choice. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to Origins
Nope. At this point, we are finishing my PA from the prior gencon, and im still owed one.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsIs it time for Domingo Gigante already?
First off, I would like to personally apologize to everybody who has played a Domingo session with me in charge. I am always exhausted by now and you are not getting my top performance which you all deserve. I know you have fun, I have fun too but i am a step slower on Sunday. But Domingo stories... I should be free this year but it is the year of Ken's car. So i am running episode 7, my most hated of adventures. Charlie is sitting in and playing my character because I ran extra tables instead of playing. They have a good but hard time and the rest of the players strap the "device" on my 10 year old character ad turn him loose to kill monsters. No fault to Charlie who played him to a T. No fault to the players, he was more useful that way. But at the end of the session, knowing what i knew about upcoming plot twists, my happy go lucky plucky sidekick who was on the edge of some very bad stuff was irrevocably on his way to being a bigger villain than anything Mark has put in the campaign. I was either going to soon be killing player characters or worse. There was bits strewn through all the sessions that lead to it and i didn't want to do that. If i had ever gotten around to episode 9, he would have to die there because plan B would wreck other player's games. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to Origins*suppressed memory resurfaces*
I was wrong earlier. episode 9 wasnt my first adventure at origins. ep 7 was. I went back and checked. So, its 830. Ive gotten all my stuff out of my Motel room, down in german villiage and into my car. I pull out of the parking lot of the motel, and hit a pot hole.. and my car Dies. I have Just enough momentum to swing back to the sidewalk and not be in the middle of the road, and come to a hard stop at the curb. First rule of tech support. Turn it off, wait ten seconds, turn it back on. No luck. Pull out my phone. With my Grandfathered from cingular from when they were bought by AT&T eleven years prior. I have $1 a month road service.. good for three 3 mile tows a year, 1 lock out, and 1 gallon of gas delivered. I dial it up. Dispatch says an hour. I call mark. tell him whats going on. I get a text from dave that says "I hear you are having a GREEEAAAT day the the C hall bathroom. I sit on my car, i have cokes, i have a monster, I have a box of donuts. A couple of guys come walking down the street. Not to sterotype, but they looked like people i didnt want to see coming down the street, and they want to come talk to me. Im polite, i tell them im waiting on a tow, they ask if i have anythign to eat... Im like.. Sure, You can have the rest of these donuts. Crisis averted, they leave. My phone rings. The dispatched tow truck has broken down. it will now be 90 minutes. Call dave, ask him to run my game. Tow truck arrives as those three guys wander back. Still eating donuts. they wave as i am sitting in the tow truck. Get towed to the firestone.. which is closed on sundays. Go to tip the driver.. and realize that all my stuff is in my locked car... and i just dropped my key in the overnight box. I cross my fingers and pray that this is one of the times that my car being a pile of junk will work in my favor.. and lift the trunk. it opens. the latch doesnt always catch. I grab a bag of clothes, wallet and such, and tip the man who waited so patiently, and head off for the con.. getting there at 1130. I had Snapped a battery cable. It took them 7 hours from when they diagnoses it to get a replacement. The replacement was delivered from the parts store 5 blocks from my house.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsIt is the year of Don Gallo (Don Gallo!)
John misheard the Domingo time and wanders in real late. Both tables erupt into cheers of Don Gallo! (I think a few players at other tables may have also joined in at this point. Those guys must have hated us by then) John is beat, exhausted. You can see it in his posture. He half heartedly raises a hand and mumbles , "don gallo" with a sigh. The poor guy is just whipped. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsMost years, I have checked out of my hotel by this point, and made my way over to where Domingo is being run. I say "hi" and sit and visit for a while, then begin my last serious visit to the dealer hall. If Dave is not running anything, he may tag along. He also will do his best to be a bad influence on me (such as last year, when I finally caved and bought the Wonder Woman purse I had been dreaming about since I first saw it the year before).
I will have already bought my obligatory set of dice (the last couple of years, I've succumbed to the lure of the semi-precious dice sets, and spent far too much money on them), some jewelry, and gifts for Floyd (which generally also include dice sets that he really doesn't need - what can I say, I'm not just an addict, but also an enabler). Shopping mostly finished, I wander back to the Domingo games, where I hang out until Mark is finished. Some goodbyes are said, then it's time for a final walk through the dealer hall with Mark. I'm pretty much done with my shopping by this point, and the walk through is really about spending time with friends who I seldom get to see (though at least I have GenCon to look forward to, so it won't be a full year till I get to see Mark again). We finish our lap around the dealer hall far too soon, and it's time to say our goodbyes. The five days seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye, but there are new memories to cherish, which will hopefully sustain me till I can come back again the following year. This year, the memories seem especially poignant, since a whole other year will pass before I get to see my friends again. Thanks, Dave, for starting this thread. While it's not the same as seeing everyone in person, being able to reminisce and share stories helps dull the ache.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsAs an added bonus, you can print a few cards with the web address for this thread, and when someone wants to reminisce and you arent in the mood, you can just hand them a card.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsAnd with that, Ken has the newest card for the campaign.
One more Domingo story. Year 3 maybe... I am really, really beat. MegaParanoia went long and it was a crazy year anyhow. I have no business behind a screen. But we have 6 new players who want Episode 1. And then Laura decides she want to play too...for at least the 23rd time. She has sat in on episode 1 already this weekend and the group is not short bodies. Mark tells her no and points out that by now she should be able to run it from memory. "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!", I bellow and throw the adventure to the floor, behind Mark. (My copy, not the team use copy) I shall run it from memory in my sleep is what i should have said. One of the other vets was in the room, probably Jeremy, i was asleep so i don't remember. But it was witnessed that i ran the whole thing from memory, all the potential filler bits we list in case we are ahead of pace, and i got the TNs right. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsDeb and I should not be allowed in the dealer room together. It is not good for either of us. But it is fun.
The dealer room is a good place on Sunday. One year i ended up sitting at a table in there with Grandpa Lloyd from the Aerodrome group. We had one of the greatest duels in Origins history that year. The two of us making identical secret moves for 5 or 6 turns of play before his allies surrounded me and ended it. I am lamenting my lack of progress and he is encouraging. He starts sharing tactics. Each idea gets preceded by, "I shouldn't be telling you this..." and then i get another strategy tip. We talked for about an hour. Neither of us knew at the time that he would be too busy caring for his wife to get back to Origins. I have heard he is still doing well but i miss him. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsWe are a wrap...almost. Mark is still working on xp.
It is about time for Ken and Charlie to get going. I hate this hour. Usually it is hugs goodbye in the County hallway. This time, it is the year i walk Charlie down to the door for his taxi. We part ways and i am glad he is facing away because i am fighting tears. I fight tears over all of you...even Kenny. We say it every year...5 days is too short. I get to delay seeing Mark out because we have a dealer room wander to get to yet. But, at some point we have to hug and say goodbye too. I would have no problem leaving right now, the rest of you are gone...this is when Jeremy decides HE needs to hit the hall again. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsBy now, I am home, hoping my cats have been fed enough while we were gone. I immediately top off the kibble and water dishes. While they decide whether or not to forgive us for the time being, I am already updating Annie's thread while it's still fresh in my thoughts before passing out for a much needed nap in my own bed.
An hour later, Dashie is bonking me with his head and purring like a fiend. Mystery, meanwhile, is being her usual aloof loaf self, but deigns to let me pet her. "You're still mad at me about that whole 'gun-pointing' thing, aren't you?" -- Fortunato Valeri
And here's where I try to be a writer...
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsThwak and I are sitting in the convention hall, it has been a good week. We have been awesome, our games rocked and we are sharing that brotherhood moment before a year of only sending emails and board messages.
A woman i know from home wanders up. She is dating a guy i know and also dont care for. (That is my polite way of saying, she annoys me) I need to set the image... I would deacribe her as a beach ball. She is short, round and you wish whoever brought her left her at home. And your first instinct is to slap her away from you. She wanders up, interrupts and says, "You know Dave, I know at home I am not the tallest, the prettiest or the most popular. But down here, I am damn hot." She turns away grinning and wobbles away. Thwak is sitting there, jaw hanging. He has lost the ability to speak. He looks at me waiting for me to explain the sarcasm he missed, dumbfounded. "She actually believes it.", I respond. He shakes his head, "F***in' Ohioans." I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsWe are close to leaving and it is the year i brought Paul and Rachel as a wedding gift. We took their car, a used cop car. There is a problem travelling in a "bluesmobile"...cars see you in the mirro and slow down.
But i am extra sleep deprived because i have a driver this year. They are sitting on the floor outside the dealer room. Rachel looks up and says, "Dave could you drive home? We are both really tired and don't think it would be safe." Seriously? You skipped MegaParanoia last night and went to sleep at 11 and YOU are tired? I have had 3 hours sleep... Well, if i am to die in a car wreck, best to do it asleep behind the wheel like my Great-great Grandma did. (Actually she pulled over before succumbing to the heart attack but you get the point of the joke) Sure... and I drive home yet again, just like the year 28 friends refused to steer when i hurt my back. Different year, maybe '97. We have a community college photography student along. We get a cool group photo of the gang in black and white. Still have that. The others try to make it a tradition but it gets too much to expect everyone to be still there at 3:30 on sunday. I am glad, i hate pictures. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsAbout now, Ray walks up to me looking for a different Rachel. This one is the teenage girl that used to tag along with us. She is a near adult and has opted to travel to and from Origins with Ray and his brother. She has missed the meet to go time and Ray has deemed he will abandon a 17 year old girl in Columbus.
Have i mentioned that i hate Ray. I don't like gaming with him, i don't like talking to him. I don't like looking at him. One year, he and his brother took the bus to Origins on tuesday night and stayed all weekend without a change of clothes or a room. Because that was money they could spend on magic cards. Ray leaves. Rachel shows up 10 minutes later and now has no ride. We pile her in the car to figure out who will drop her at home after dinner at Cracker Barrel. Ray has bragged up ditching her every time i have seen him since then. It could be a gap of two weeks and i hear it again. Ray keeps forgetting i had to go out of my way to fix that. I really hate Ray. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsIt's that year i mentioned on wednesday when i was super broke. The girlfriend has not helped matters by demanding purchase of some expensive stuff she did not have enough with her to buy. I have enough to pay the parking fee and gas to get home. We won't be stopping for dinner.
I pull up to the parking gate and who is working? Matt who has never missed a MegaParanoia. He tosses my parking ticket back in the window, opens the gate and says, "last night was the best one, ever. See you next year." Dinner is back on because Origins has the best people ever. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
Re: Dr. Manhatten goes to OriginsMcJohn started the Cracker Barrel tradition. He noticed one about an hour north of columbus and suggested we stop and eat some "actual food" after a weekend of nothing but Hyatt food court.
We kept stopping, every year. Invites stand for anybody from the home area. A few years in, we realized the sleepy drivers getting a food stop an hour into the drive solved the driving issues. Recently, more of our crew has been heading home earlier and skip the meal. But even if it is just Jeremy and me, we will stop. Usually there are 4-6. Lines are longer on father's day but we are cool with that. After dinner, on the drive home, Jeremy is going to soon fall asleep, so much for keeping me awake. But that is ok, if he is asleep, we can skip Grandpa's Cheesebarn another year. I don't mind growing old... but I hate growing up.
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