This was the eighth year of this Bay Area gaming convention, organized by Sean Nittner. I had missed a year, and had limited notes on this year's games - but still had a lot of fun.
Date/Time:
Format: LARP
GM: Rebeka Trubowitch
System: Custom
Players: 5
Game Length: ? hours
Characters: Pregenerated
Description:
In an abandoned warehouse, five individuals awake to chaos. “Who am I?” Who are you?” So many questions, but one thing is clear; something bad has happened. And judging by the state of disrepair the place and its inhabitants are in, you’ll have to figure out what it was and who to trust, fast. But who can you trust when you can’t even trust yourself? ~~~~~~ Players will begin with no knowledge of anything (including themselves) and have to work together to figure out what happened and how to survive this. But there are enemies, past scores to settle, and memories can be fickle things. How much would you trust another stranger? Will it be too much or too little to ensure your safety?
Date/Time:
Format: LARP
GM: John Kim and Milo Kim
System: Custom
Players: 5
Game Length: ? hours
Characters: Pregenerated
Description:
Set in 2049, two generations from Harry Potter’s day, this is a time of hope and a time of turmoil at Hogwarts. The wizarding world has been shaken up, and the new Hogwarts students are stranger than ever — mixing not just muggle-borns and purebloods, but also half-giants, goblins, and even house elves.
This is a character-based larp about difficult adjustments, with various Harry Potter references and a dollop of magic.
Date/Time:
Format: RPG
GM: Alex Roberts, Karen Twelves, Steve Segedy, and James D'Amato
Description:
Space Station Fobolex is an interstellar waypoint, a crossroads of weird aliens with even weirder cultures. Aboard Space Station Fobolex, a dedicated crew works hard to keep the lights on and the inevitable conflicts to a minimum. As a major trade hub, the station sees its share of shady figures, from corporate raiders to dubious freighter captains to actual space pirates. And as a place that’s as far from home as you can get, no matter where you call home, it is a haven for iconoclasts, rebels, and the heartbroken.
But into this maelstrom,a new force will arise – a force perhaps unfamiliar to the hardscrabble crew and visitors to Space Station Fobolex.
A force called … love.
Come play Star Crossed in the most spectacular conglomeration of awkward, beautiful, tragic romances ever seen in this sector! Ten couples who really should know better will try to thread the needle between their heart’s desire and disaster. Each will get a public epilogue that will shape the destiny of Space Station Fobolex forever!
This was a group of two-player games in the same room. I played with Roman, with him as the Leader / Intimate Janitor, and myself as the Follower / Scientist.
Date/Time:
Format: RPG
GM: John Kim
Description:
For ages, the Temple of the Elements has been in near ruins, with the few poor souls trying to keep alive this once-great spiritual center. But now the temple is threatened by the gathering forces of evil lurking in nearby camps and strongholds. As adventurous new visitors to the temple, you are recruited to push back the encroaching evil.
This is a classic D&D game of sorts using 5th edition, but playing so-called monsters defending their underground homes and places of worship.
Date/Time:
Format: RPG
GM: Aser Tolentino
Description:
Just before sharing proof of alien life with the world, a team of astronomers goes silent, and Delta Green must scramble agents to find out what’s happened at their mountaintop observatory.
A modern day Delta Green scenario, dealing with contact at a remote observatory. The PCs were a mix of different new-ish Delta Green agents with different backgrounds, where the players gave them names and a few details.
I played a member of the Oregon Air National Guard that was the only survivor of a mid-air plane collision, who walked away with no injuries -- with motivations "Fitness, Flying, Getting PhD". My background added some color to the experience, but it didn't factor into the scenario.
We were inserted by the observatory main building, and had to deal with zombie-like creatures spawned from the scientists who had been there. We found a bunch of changes including something growing over the main power lines. This was followed by a harrowing drive up the mountain to the telescope itself -- attacked by flying creatures -- and a fight within the telescope building. In short, it was a fun violent romp as one expects of Call of Cthulhu.