Roach Play at GenCon Indy 2006

         I played in a game of The Shab-al-Hiri Roach as GenCon Indy 2006, at an event organized by Eric Provost. It was scheduled for Saturday at 9:00AM, and we had three players show up. This was my second game of SAHR, and for this I decided to deliberately play against type. So I made as my PC a sweet, innocent young professor. We each came up with our PCs fairly quickly without a lot of discussion -- I was last to finish mine. The full set were as follows:

• Tabitha Rockford Butterfield (played by John Kim)
  "A junior starry-eyed professor with dreams of inspiring her students, who believes in fairies and good magic."
  Assistant Professor of Poetry & Drama
  Enthusiasms: Gossip & Sociability
• Tobias Farthington (played by Eric Boyd)
  "A conniving junior professor of religion who cuts corners wherever possible to allow more time for extracurricular activities."
  Assistant Professor of Religion
  Enthusiasms: Debauchery & Deception
• Prof. Lafayette Horner (played by Eric Provost)
  "Recently promoted to full prof. Vicious and vibrant football player who likes to win at any cost.Rumored to have reached his new position through illicit means."
  Full Professor of Foreign & Ancient Languages
  Enthusiasms: Deception & Sports
• Chester Pemberton (played by Charles Perez)
  "A legacy of the founder, he is driven to live up to his ancestor's accomplishments -- or tear them down."
  Full Professor of Anthropology
  Enthusiasms: Debauchery & Status

         The sequence of scenes is outlined below, with the initiator of the scene marked in parentheses at the start of each. I didn't record the details of the conflict roll or the wagering of status, so that isn't noted down. Roughly, I racked up a lot of status early on -- 10 or so. I took the roach late in the first event. I then vomited the roach near the end of the third event. Eric Boyd, playing Farthington, also cleaned up in status -- but was left with the roach at the end. Eric Provost, playing Horner, was beaten down to nothing in status at some point and pretty much stayed there. I maintained my lead in points until the very end when Charles played a card to steal 2 Status from me, won in a conflict, and won the game.

I. Convocation

(Charles) Pemberton accuses Horner of sexual misconduct specifically homosexual affairs with Bantam and other football players
(Eric P.) With the new class marching in, Horner and the football team carry Pemberton's car into the cow field and fill it with manure.
(Eric B.) Farthington talks to Reverend Talley about Tabitha's drug use. She falls down in a fit during the ceremony, but then cries out Christian epithets and speaks in tongues.

II. Wine & Cheese Social

(Eric B.) Farthington attempts to enslave Horner to do his bidding by drugging his drink.
(Eric P.) Horner attempts to murder Bompus, but is interrupted by Tabitha who takes them both in arm
(John K.) Tabitha attempts to befriend Pemberton, bringing him a basket of fruit *

III. Pemberton Follies

(Eric P.) Horner forces Regina into an orgy with the football team
(Charles) Dean Wakefield-Nutter and Pemberton confront Horner over this, aided by Tabitha
(John K.) Tabitha sees the breakdown on stage and rushes outside to vomit the roach
(Eric B.) Farthington and the football team slip outside and savagely beat Tabitha

IV. Homecoming Football Game

(John K.) Tabitha is sick at home, disfigured from her beating - the Influenza card
(Eric P.) Horner tries to destroy Pemberton's works, but gets to his office to find nothing there
(Eric B.) Farthington breaks into Tabitha's house to bring her soup and treat her nicely
(Charles) Pemberton brings Tabitha drugs, but Farthington protects her, shooing him out

V. Senate Meeting

(John K.) Tabitha demands legal prosecutions of any crimes done by faculty, the motion carrying despite many protests *
(Eric P.) Horner shoots Stoudenmeyer as he vomits the Roach into his mouth, turning him into a zombie
(Eric B.) Farthington beats the Reverend into framing Pemberton for Tabitha's beating
(Charles) Pemberton tries to get the Reverend commited as insane

VI. Christmas Ball

(John K.) Tabitha rushes into the ball to hand out her new play which is obviously based on the real events of the past months
(Eric P.) Horner gets Tabitha arrested
(Charles) Pemberton tries to stop the play from being published, successfully
(Eric B.) Farthington drives Horner & the football team off the road to their deaths

Aftermath

(Eric P.) Horner dies in the crash but his body is thrown in the lake and never found
(John K.) Tabitha goes to prison for drug violations, but is released in two years and goes on to a successful career as a playwright, eventually dying of drug overdose
(Charles) Pemberton's success tastes like ashes in his mouth, and his lives decades of a grim, quiet life at the university
(Eric B.) [I missed this for some reason]

         This may be biased from my playing her, but the character of Tabitha made a noticeable difference from my first game of SAHR. Overall, we did not take the advice of stacking up bodies like cordwood -- I think mainly influenced by her character. There were some intriguing events which followed this. In the second event, Tabitha was in the Roach's power and I had designated Charles as the target and he designated me. However, my roach card command was "Befriend this person" and his roach card command was "Obey this person". So following the roach's orders we just sat down nicely together.

         The other standout event for me was when Tabitha, having been savagely beaten earlier, came to the Faculty Senate Meeting calling for the faculty to turn criminal misconduct over to the police for prosecution. I was opposed by all three other players, didn't have the roach, and by my own admission most of the faculty as well. However, I won that with a high roll of 5 versus 4 from everyone else.

         So overall the game was dominated by redemption and the bringing of law and order to the campus.