This year for KublaCon, the games I played in and ran were:
It was the fourth year of doing the first-come, first-served signups. This year, they did release 25% of the game tickets only at the very start of the convention -- which in theory allowed people who walked in to still get to sign up for some games. My son took advantage of this. I still prefer a shuffler system, but this has some advantages.
KublaCon does seem to be booming in attendees, though, so maybe they want to prioritize pleasing GMs over attendees.
When and Where: Friday from noon to 6 pm in Room 2082
GM: Hanju Kim
Game System: Savage Worlds (SWADE)
Description: A hundred fifty years before Thorin met Bilbo, he was with his father Thrain in a desperate and deadly war with the orcs of the Misty Mountains. Thrain is on the verge of sacrificing his people for a pyrrhic victory. But what if there were a band who could push through the lines and pull Thrain back from his madness, ending the war? This is a break from Tolkien's history, a quest for peace that must push across war-torn lands and unknown dangers.
A group of ordinary dwarves - not soldiers but sisters, daughters, and other civilians - are on a quest of cinematic action and drama, rooted in Tolkien's stories, but telling a side he neglected. It uses Savage Worlds rules for the fast, furious, and epic story.
This was my third time running this scenario, a group of dwarven women trying to stop the devastating War of the Dwarves and Orcs by getting to the front lines and convincing the king in a last-ditch effort. In this case, I had a group of players who all knew each other (three who were family and two friends, I think). The players and their characters were:
The hilarious part of this was that Lillian was the only female player, but she picked the one character who was female but pretending to be a man. She spent the whole game talking in a mockingly deep voice and telling the other characters about her opinion as a man. Lucas and Mason were a little newer to some of the role-playing ideas, and they picked the two combat-heavy characters. Then Scott and Matt had a lot of fun playing the mother and daughter.
Here they got through Goblin-Town largely unscathed, and almost lost a precious object just outside. They tried hard to convince the king, but the rolls were not cooperative. They were then shocked by the twist of Jaeldr assassinating the Goblin King Azog, which just barely worked.
It ended with the scholar Debara leaving to go on the road, and find out what the object that she got really is.
GM: Chris Rutkowsky
Game System: Honor+Intrigue
Description: Spring 1666. Louis XIV is King of France, and you and your swashbuckling compatriots are enjoying a pleasant day at a country fair in the small village of Mornay du Pessac. But chaos breaks out when the town is attacked by bandits who kidnap several villagers. The Countess du Mornay implores you to rescue them, and bring them back safe. The GM will have characters for all players, but if you really would like to bring your own character for the Honor + Intrigue swashbuckling RPG, drop by our Discord server aheady of time and we'll see what we can do. https://discord.gg/6GVWjccsSD
This was a semi-historical swashbuckling adventure, with secret supernatural/horror elements that only came late in the plot. The premise was very simple - we were relatively unrelated swashbuckling types who were in town when a horde of bandits swept through and kidnapped many townsfolk - including the most beautiful woman in town, Clarice LeFleur.
The GM was the author of the system, Honor+Intrigue. There was an emphasis on the swashbuckling combat system, which has several maneuvers as well as alternatives to straight damage - like giving up limited "Advantage" to avoid a blow, as well as options like footwork and stunts. Unfortunately, the play aids and character sheets weren't good at outlining all the options, and even the GM (who was the game author) had to go page-flipping through the book a few times to find the right rule.
The adventures was in four stages - the initial fight (on a battle mat), a chase scene (on a sheet of range bands), a mass battle (narrative), and the final cave/dungeon crawl (on a battle mat). There was a theoretical option of cutting out the chase to approach it as a mystery, but our characters were not inclined to that.
So we battles bandits, then overwhelmed the bandit camp, then braved giant spiders and a cursed skeleton to rescue the beautiful NPC Clarice. The damsel-in-distress schtick was fully in force, and thankfully the player of the romantic character Sarah played it to the hilt and made it fun.
GM: Michael Cohn
Game System: Custom LARP available on itch.io
Description: The Stars Whisper is a short, character-based LARP where participants play the stars in a constellation. Looking out on the universe, you discuss topics like friendship, the value of stories, and what it means to exist. You have forever to seek the truth of these heady topics, and nothing will ever change... right?
The game is designed to be quiet, subtle, and meditative, and may involve themes of connection, joy, uncertainty, and death or loss. It will probably be the quietest part of your day at the con and will give you a chance to explore connections with others, savor your experiences, or just hang out and be a star for a couple of hours.
This was an intriguing experimental short larp where everyone played anthropomorphic stars, who were seated in a fixed constellation in a dark room. We couldn't move, but could only talk to adjacent stars in the constellation at a whisper. We were also each given flashlights by which we could signal. The characters weren't named, but only had a description of being a star, and a topic they were interested in along with questions. There was also a bottom section to the character sheet that was taped off.
Roughly from the head to the tail of our constellation, the players and their characters were as follows - with the the names being ones that we gave ourselves, rather than game-assigned names:
I was in the tail of the constellation, mostly interacting with "Sol" and "Free". The game was intriguing especially as compared to other larps. We couldn't move, and could only talk in low voices at a distance from our chairs. The game did eventually have changes, but they were small and sometimes more isolating.
Without further spoilers, I can wholeheartedly recommend this. It was a lot of talking, but also a chunk of time quietly contemplating what we had talked about and what happened.
When and Where: Saturday 7pm to 11pm, Poolside Pavilion
GMs: Todd Evans
Game System: Savage Worlds
Description: 1988. The crime rate in the US raises 400 percent. The once great amusement park, Disneyland, becomes the one maximum security prison for the entire country. A 100-foot containment "berm" has been built around the perimeter of the park. All streets and waterways around the park have been mined. The United States Police Force, like an army, is encamped around the "Happiest Place on Earth." There are no guards inside the prison, only the prisoners, and the "worlds" they have made. The rules are simple, once you go in, you don't come out. 1998. NOW. Air Force One has been hijacked and has crashed into one of the themed lands inside Disneyland. The president has been taken hostage by a group of inmates. In exchange for their freedom, a team of six notorious inmates are given 24 hours to rescue the President of the United States and Escape From Disneyland!
This was a Savage Worlds game that mashed up "Escape from New York" and Disneyland fandom. It was a game with incredible setup and accessories. The GM had made a poster-sized map of the fictional prison-park, plus a model train matching the Disneyland train running in a circle around it. The character sheets were all formatted as 1980s-esque criminal rap-sheets. The GM even gave out digital watches that were to be synchronized to the countdown.
The players and their characters were:
It was absolutely a fun concept and had some great highlights. However, it was marred by the feel of an amusement park ride. In retrospect, I think there was a fundamental clash between the two concepts. Disneyland is fun and you want to enjoy the different sights. Escape from New York is deadly and cynical and you want to complete the mission quickly or you die. Tension was built up by our characters having only four hours (timed by an out-of-game clock) to complete our mission or we died.
One aspect was conflict between characters. The PCs were all criminals with no previous relations, who were forced together on a deadly mission. One of the other players suggested that I was playing to win while others were playing their characters -- but I think that was wrong. My character was (quite reasonably) mission-focused because her life was on the line. Two other characters wanted to sing along with the Tiki Room, which might have been appropriately insane - but it was an in-character conflict.
There was also conflict over the GM's plot. Though there was at least one choice (going by train or by foot), this was very linear. We really had to go through the intended encounters for a given path. However, many encounters were clearly intended as distractions. Also, I was struck by a few GM questions which came across as condescending, like "Do you want to make a Notice roll?"
In one case, my character was urging the others to keep going rather than be distracted. I said that I was walking
When and Where: Sunday Noon to 6pm, Crowne Plaza Peninsula boardroom
GMs: David Coronado; Matt; Michelle McNeill (Theatre Arcanos)
Game System: Theatre Arcanos
Description: Port Royal, 1691 Ahoy! Raise the anchor and set the sails, we’re off in search of buried treasure! Five pirate captains are sailing for the Isla de Muerta to find their heart’s desire, and they’re each looking for a few more volunteers to fill out their crew. No experience necessary, room and board provided (funeral expenses as required), all survivors to receive a share of profits. Sign on for the voyage of your life, we sail with the evening tide!
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Black Flags is an original parlor LARP of player-powered piratical plot written by Theatre Arcanos, inspired by historical, literary, and cinematic pirate lore. As a result, the game may include violence, betrayal, buried treasure, true love, adventure, commentary on the evils of colonialism, magic, giant tentacles, and/or tacky plastic skulls. This game is limited to players 18 and over, due to violence, adult situations, and salty language.
This was an intensely prepared three-room larp for 20 players. The characters were grouped according to the five ships which had all anchored off the uninhabited "Isla de la Muerte". Each ship had its own distinct central plot, though there were elements that crossed the plots.
The game play was split into the three rooms: The Beach (which also had the game board with the island map and ships), The Jungle (where secrets could be buried), and The Heights (which had a volcano crater and caves). There were five chairs to represent the positions of the ships. These were all decorated including a lighted blue strip designating the line between ocean and land, plus there was a stocked (non-alcoholic) bar on the beach. And the GMs had props for most (though not all) players.
Given the supernatural elements, some roles had much more central parts than other. For example, one plot is being the lost princess of all merfolk, another plot is getting a bit more gold or getting together with their sweetheart.
When and Where: Sunday 7pm to 11pm, Poolside Pavilion
GM: Krestia
Game System: Old Gods of Appalachia (Cypher System)
Description: The people of White Hollow whisper of a white doe, a creature of impossible beauty and immense power. Some say she is a gift. Others, a curse. Beneath the red glow of the Blood Moon, dark forces gather, demanding her life. Will you offer her as tribute, consume her power, or fight for another path?
The Keystone Sacrifice is a tale of horror, choice, and consequence in the dark heart of Appalachia. The night is long, the hunt is on, and the price of failure is steep.
This adventure is part of Cypher Sunday, a collection of adventures built on Monte Cook Games' Cypher System.
This was my first time playing the Cypher system, though I had read a little about it previously. Three of the other players had played before, but none of us were familiar with the Old Gods of Appalachia setting. This was in a variant of the original setting, being in the 1950s as opposed to 1800s to 1920s of the podcast and book. There were exactly six characters:
The PCs were all good friends who knew each other, and already knew about supernatural secrets - so we were set up to jump into play quickly. This also fit well with the small-town atmosphere of everyone knowing everyone. We were set on the trail of a missing girl (Ruth's niece), and I did my part as tracker. I was asked to improvise an NPC hunter/trapper that I knew in the area, and I suggested a "Tombo" who had a cabin out here, and we promised give him information on our way back. Eventually finding the girl, we had to fight two monstrosities that were about to attack her and the white doe. After bringing her back, we consulted with different contacts - each PC had a half-dozen NPC contacts on their sheet. We then had to make our big decision, followed by the climactic ritual scene.
This all went quite smoothly. I often have misgivings about RPG systems based on spending points, because it removes tactical depth since with many rolls (especially informational ones), you have no idea what you are getting. The GM did a good job of giving guidance on these rolls and our spending.