I used to play Magic. Still have the cards, and even a few decks assembled… never much enjoyed playing competitively… I preferred decks with a theme. The last deck I used consisted of Millstones, Jester’s Caps, and Artifact ressurection cards… the idea was to zip through your opponent’s library in record time. Best card in the deck was Argivian Archaeologist from Antiquities. Great card.
That said, I only played in an Origins CCG tournament once to my recollection, and that was for Star Wars.
Typically, I’ll play all the RPGs I can stand at Origins … though I have played the occasional board game in the past. I usually look for funny events at Origins, or Superhero-themed events. (I get enough D&D at home.)
If you mean my outside-Origins gaming preferences… just about anything.
One of the very reasons I started this thread. I can’t guarantee I’ll have time to have a night out on the town or anything, but I certainly wouldn’t mind shaking hands with a few folks from the SDMB.
I’ll need to pick up some “Hello, my name is” labels and write ‘SDMB’ on them for decorating my backpack so I’ll be identifiable… Hmm.
Oh, yeah, am I going to be there. I’m planning buy a pack of tickets and spend all my time in the board gaming room and Looney Labs Big Experiment, with some time set aside specifically for wandering through the dealer’s room in a daze.
So many games . . . drool . . . and the all the pretty dice . . .
I really strongly dislike one-shots, so I never play RPGs at cons, and I’m not into CCGs. But I can spend four days straight playing board games, and never play the same game twice. Unless I really want to.
Oh yeah, the dealer room is the sweetest part. I also enjoy some of the complicated miniature set-ups in the war room.
Why the dislike of one-shots? Some of them can be quite fun… demos for new games, or nifty concepts that are hilarious for an adventure, but wouldn’t work as a longterm game… f’rinstance, I’ve signed up for a **Big Eyes, Small Mouth ** event based on the webcomic 8-Bit Theater.
I just have unusual tastes in roleplaying, I’m afraid.
I prefer diceless games, for example. I don’t mind playing a game with dice if
GM is willing to keep the dice rolling to a minimum, but it’s hard to tell the style of play from the short blurbs in the program book. There are some diceless games at Origins, though, and I was actually thinking of trying out Nobilis because I haven’t played it before. (I’m afraid that mentioning dicelss RPGs inevitably starts a flamewar, so if anyone feels they must inform me that a diceless RPG isn’t a gaaaaaame, please start another thread.)
My major problem in any kind of one-shot is that all I really care about while role-playing is crafting an interesting character, and it takes a lot time for me to do that. When starting a campaign, I need several sessions to really get a feel for my character. And I find it hard to switch between characters, so even when I play an old familiar character in a one-shot, I spend the first couple of hours making a lot of “mistakes” (in my mind) in characterization. I’m usually hitting my stride right about the end of the slot, and then it’s over.
I don’t usually care as much about accomplishing in-game goals as I do about playing the character well. I really hate doing things because it is obvious that this is what must be done to move the plot along, instead of doing what I think my character would do. But that’s a fairly necessary evil in the restricted format of a one-shot. It would be extremely rude of me to insist on being true to my character, and thereby de-railing the plot.
I’ve also been terribly spoiled by my truly excellent gaming group. I find it absolutely infuriating to be stuck in an game with another player who can’t play a character consistently, or insists on breaking tone or genre, or (most maddeningly) isn’t paying attention.
I have played in one-shots I’ve enjoyed, but the vast majority just left me feeling bored and grumpy because I have weird ideas about what makes role-playing fun. And people who prefer mainstream RPG fun don’t deserve to get stuck with Podkayne, the Snobby Characterization-Obssessed Sourpuss. So I just avoid one-shots.
Assuming I get there (another matter entirely), I’ll be running some 7th sea games and I think a session or two of ‘classic’ (non D20) deadlands, as well as attending / GMing the 7th Sea LARP (of which I am co-author).
They typically have an abundance at Origins… smaller conventions are more hit and miss. As for the prices compared to used book stores… it depends. I had a friend who bought a copy of each of 30+ TORG system books for a mere $70. Rarities… like the Deities and Demigods with the Cthulhu Mythos printed in it … will not be found at highly discounted sums. Then again, if you can find those books in a used bookstore near you, please send me the address.
I did luck out once at a going-out-of-business sale at such a bookstore… I didn’t expect to find any RPG stuff, but I got a copy of the original Eldritch Wizardry for $1.
Podkayne: you sound like my kind of gamer. You wouldn’t by chance live anywhere near St. Louis, would you? (Yeah, I know, I could check the profile…)
ArrMatey: do you play the original AEG 7th Sea, or the New & Improved D20 7th Sea? I’m personally partial to the original.
I think it would be kind of cool to have a Game Geek Origins Dopefest. Columbus, Ohio isn’t too far away from St. Louis, after all.
I had a great game group in Dallas before moving to St. Louis last year, and haven’t had much luck with getting a new group up here in Missouri; the one I stumbled into disintegrated over roll-play habits.
Hooray! I was just going to ask if anyone else around here was a big Looney Labs fan. I’m nowhere near the area, but someday I’d love to meet Andy and Kristin. Perhaps this deserves its own thread… In any case, http://www.wunderland.com/ and http://www.looneylabs.com would be the relevant websites if anyone’s interested.
I may be stepping into the wrong thread here, but do they do White Wolf? I love Werewolf. I even stepped up a and ran a few games.
And the players came back! :eek:
I also like AD&D, but only if I can be a kender or something equally annoying.
I miss gaming.
They, who? Origins? Oh, yes. Many White Wolf events. Lots of vampire… some Exalted, Hunter, Werewolf … don’t see Mage or Wraith at a quick glance in my Origins program book, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Can’t say I have… GenCon usually lines up with other obligations in my schedule, unfortunately. I plan to go sometime. The impression I’ve gotten from the folks who’ve been indicate that it’s like Origins, but moreso. More people, more games, and to boot, most game companies save their big earth-shattering new releases for GenCon.
I went to GenCon once, many many moons ago, and had a miserable time, mostly because the people we were going with told us, “Oh, don’t bother to pre-reg for games. There will be a ton of pick-up games.” And, uh, no, there weren’t. We played three role-playing games—and a lot of cribbage. Though, now that I think about it, that is where I learned how to play Mah Jongg (real Mah Jongg, not the solitaire game.) Anyway, my opinion of GenCon is biased and out-of-date, but the main difference I can see is that Origins (naturally) isn’t as T$R-dominated and has a much wider variety of events. Also, it has a huge room full of nothing board games. Did I mention the board games?
TJ, it’s always nice to meet another Looney cultist. I met Andrew briefly at a demo (Martian Chess, IIRC), and he’s quite an amazing strategist, as one might imagine.
Sorry, ExTank, my profile doesn’t say, but I’m afraid that I’m nowhere near St. Louis. If you are every looking for a player for a PBEM game, though, give me a holler!
So I just avoid one-shots.
