Rising Phoenix 2025

[Black Jack Rackham]

Just submitted events for Rising Phoenix, and remembered (unlike Origins) to post them both on the discord and here.

Our Schedule:

Friday, April 25th
1pm - RoC, Ep. 1 – Down on Your Luck
1pm - HoA, Flashback/Trial by Fire
7pm - RoC, Ep. 2 – A Day Ending in “i”
7pm - HoA, Flashback/Trial by Fire

Saturday, April 26th
8am - RoC, Ep. 1 – Down on Your Luck
8am - HoA, Flashback/Trial by Fire
1pm - RoC, Ep. 2 – A Day Ending in “i”
1pm - HoA, Flashback/Trial by Fire
7pm - HoA, Personal Agendas
7pm - HoA, Personal Agendas

Sunday, April 27th
10am - HoA, DOMINGO GIGANTE!
10am - HoA, DOMINGO GIGANTE!

[Watcher487]

hey Mark

Thier website says April 25th to 27th, 2025

[Black Jack Rackham]

Oop, Just forgot to change the dates from the previous year. Fixed it.

[Sister Sonya]

There's a chance I'll attend my first Rising Phoenix. Are the PAs in Castille or Avalon?

[Black Jack Rackham]

Castille this year (2025), Avalon next (2026)

[Black Jack Rackham]

Just got confirmation for all our events for Rising Phoenix!

[Black Jack Rackham]

Less than 48 hours until Rogues of Canguine begins!

[Black Jack Rackham]

So I have almost Almost recovered from Rising Phoenix and thought I should give you all the usual Good, Bad, and Some of Both, of the matter!

THE GOOD
Returning Players - This is really several things rolled into one. First off is our returning players' enthusiasm! Wow, you all had plans within plans and I can only hope the campaign lives up to all the cool stuff you've already come up with. Second, the compliments. Everyone was very happy with how episodes 1 and 2 went down, and it looks like we already have our "thing" (so as not to spoil it, HoA's thing was Jenario saying, "Sharp things in my soft bits..." And finally, I am always impressed with your welcomingness. Every time a newbie shows up, you always make room, get them started, reassure them they're going to have a blast, etc.
So to Bob (who finally made it back to us despite the new baby situation), Jan (who drove all the way up from NJ to be here and insisted it's time for him to jump in and start running adventures), John (who gave me THE nicest compliment I may have ever received), and Joel (who tolerated me picking on him) I collectively say, thank you! I was honored to have you at my table!

Newbies - Megan mentioned a couple of very enthusiastic folks who showed up at her Trial by Fire events and I had one who blew my mind. So to Joe who sat down at my table after not playing 7th Sea for over a decade and within about 30 seconds had come up with a full backstory about his Eisen Doctor who's experiences in the war led him to believe the solution to war was either to improve humans as a species or barring that building a better one from scratch. I salute you sir!

RP's attention to detail - One of my favorite things about Rising Phoenix is their homey atmosphere. They don't just rent out the space and let folks run games, no. They bring props which they set up all over the hotel, transforming the space into a cool gamers' den!

The Compliments (Boy oh boy the compliments!) - I made mention of John's compliment earlier, and I got one from Jan and several others who pointed out (after I mentioned worrying about whether the campaign would live up to their expectations) that GoSM is the gold standard by which all other living campaigns should be judged. John specifically pointed out that while he had played in several other living campaigns (and felt a sense of camaraderie with the other players) no place other than with GoSM did he feel like his character mattered to the plot. Like he was known at the table as more than just the person occupying the seat.

THE BAD
The Noise - I give props to Rising Phoenix on all their other stuff and I wish I could say I have no complaints about the convention itself, but the truth is, they're getting a bit too big for the venue as all of the meeting rooms are now filled almost to capacity. Our room alone had 15 tables and at times all were filled. There's just no way to hear/project over that level of noise, and it more than anything lead to my scratchy voice. RP is going to have to find some way (hopefully) to fix this.

THE SOME OF BOTH
My Booboo - no way to sugar coat this, I mis-gendered a person sitting at my table. Not on purpose and I immediately realized my mistake and apologized for it, but it still bugs me.

The Location - I like that RP is using a venue that's close enough to my house that I can drive over. But it's just far enough away that coming home to make dinner means I can't actually eat it before I have to leave to get back. I am thinking of making the kiddos make their own food from now on. Speaking of...

The Story - We were so busy I didn't have time to make a story for the kiddos this time around, that is until I came back on Sunday afternoon. I took just two pics (one of the stuffed animals leaving the house, the second of them exhaustedly returning) and said,
"Here's us about to leave to attend Rising Phoenix and Year 1 of Rogues of Canguine. Then some stuff happened, and here's us returning."
The kids were amused, but complained it was too short. I reminded them of last year's "The Story That Never Was Because You Forgot To Send Stuffed Animals With Me." story.

[spizio]

If HL is not the thing I fear disappoint may ensue.

Has Megan recovered yet from my breaking her?