Fall In 2018: New Friends, Old Enemies

I made the pilgrimage to Lancaster, Pa. again last weekend to attended my second Fall In convention, and I had a good time catching up with recently made friends, playing cool games, and once again running my "Beyond the Black River" adaptation using the Sellswords & Spellslingers rules.

Unlike the mad dash to ready my Conan game in the run up to Historicon last summer, the pre-convention scramble this time revolved around getting two other projects into shape to properly promote at the con.

The first project involved pulling together the loose ends to finally launch my long-in-the-works miniatures company, Above the Fray Miniatures, and the Kickstarter for our first set of figures in what I've dubbed the "Icons of Pulp Fantasy" series.

I wrote about this in some detail recently [recap], for those who like "origin stories." The Kickstarter still has nine days left to go, but I'm excited to say that it fully funded in its first four hours. In fact, all six stretch goals have now been unlocked, so at $36 I feel confident saying that folks are getting exceptional value for their pledge (eight figures, three card decks, and a scenario booklet). I once again want to thank David Phipps, creator of Pulp Alley, and Andrea Sfiligoi, creator of Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes and Sellswords & Spellslingers, for creating custom profiles for each figure to make them immediately usable in those games. It has also been great to include my good pal Jared Smith in the project, who is writing a scenario for one stretch goal and impressively has just launched the first issue of Bayt al Azif, a new magazine devoted to Cthulhu mythos role playing. 

Issue No. 1 out now!

The second project also required a Herculean pre-con push: Getting enough pieces in place to announce the Second Saturday Scrum Club's own Scrum Con. We've been contemplating for a while now--basically since I went to the HAWKs' Barrage Con in January 2018--the idea of launching our own mini-convention (or "games day," or whatever the hell you want to call it). We needed to find a venue and nail down a date if order to promote it to Fall In's attendees, and neither of those things came together until literally the week of Fall In. I also knew we needed a website to point people to for future updates as we finalized things like the games schedule and how to register in advance. 

I encourage you to go to Scrum-Con.com to sign up for our email newsletter that we will use sparingly, mostly just to inform you when registration is open and the games schedule is posted.

Working on my guerrilla-style marketing for Fall In! 

Beyond the Black River...Again!

When I worked over the summer building everything I'd need to run my adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Conan yarn "Beyond the Black River," I expected it would be the game I would run at cons for the next year or so before switching to something new. One reason is that the rules I am using, Sellswords & Spellslingers, are quick to teach and designed for cooperative play. As a referee, my heavy lifting was all in the prep; during the game, I mostly just run the foes, make some judgment calls, and ensure the game runs smoothly.  And because the rules are intuitive and easily conveyed on a small reference sheet, I could instead concentrate on adding color and reinforcing thematic play at the table.

After playtesting and then running the game at Historicon last summer, I gave up on the idea that players could actually make it through both scenarios in the four-hour slot allotted a typical con game, so for Fall In we instead scheduled back-to-back games, with me running the first scenario (the raid on the Pictish village to rescue Conan's abducted comrades), and my pal and fellow Scrum Club compatriot Steve B. running the second scenario (in which Conan and company flee from a burning Ft. Tuscelan to warn the settlers of the impending Pictish raid).

Steve was an immensely enjoyable co-pilot, helping me keep the first game spinning along. When he took the helm for the second scenario, I think we were both pleasantly surprised to find that half the players from the first game stuck around for the second. They could have easily bailed. Before we were through, Steve and I had run about nine consecutive hours of gaming on Friday. Watching him game master the second game reminded me all over again why I recruited him for the Second Saturday Scrum Club: He's masterful at evoking setting and story during such games, and you can tell that almost every decision he makes is guided by whether the outcome will make things more fun for the players.

Below are a number of pictures from the games he and I ran.

In the first game, Steve (standing in the Conan t-shirt) helped keep the far end of the table running smoothly while I kept the story unfolding with the various card decks.

It was so enjoyable seeing this gent's daughter, appropriately named Athena, stay engaged for the entire game. I made everybody at the table agree that she would get to play the sole female character, Valeria. 

This is the first group to play this scenario who couldn't be bothered scaling the walls and trying to sneak into the village. Full frontal assault was their approach. Go big or go home, as they say!

One of Conan's men trying to make it off the board with a rescued prisoner...they ultimately made it, but it was a nail biter. 

The dreaded pile of severed heads from the original story made an appearance. To my chagrin, everybody who saw it made their saving throw. It's always more fun when a couple of guys flee into the jungle in momentary terror.

At this point only two Picts remained from what had been a large horde that Conan and Valeria worked over. A nearby ally had earlier thrown a flask of burning oil into the fray. Not to worry, though, as there were more Picts waiting in ambush next turn.

The players after the first game, all yelling "Crom!" as I snapped the shot.

Game two began 15 short minutes after the first one ended. Steve's turn to run the hordes of Picts and other jungle denizens.

I was curious if I looked as tired as I felt half way through Steve's game, so I took a selfie.

The stalwart crew at the end of game two. Keith (far right) was a veteran of both games, and as a fellow local to the D.C. metro area, we're destined for more good times around a game table. That's my favorite part of these conventions: connecting with other cool folks to game with between the cons.

The Enemy of My Enemy

I failed to sign up for any games before arriving at Fall In, so I was relieved to find that I could still get a ticket to David Wood's mass battle fantasy game. I'd played in a game Wood ran at Barrage last January using the rules Bear Yourselves Valiantly, and had a grand time (despite feeling slightly overwhelmed by learning new rules on the fly). The great thing about Dave, though, is that he does a good job at getting new players up to speed and also does a lot of patient hand holding as you march your troops into combat. He's also a member of the HAWKs, and I've learned to happily jump into any game organized by that illustrious group of wargamers.

Here's the description of Wood's game from the program:

The Enemy of My Enemy

4 hours, Players: Six, Period: Fantasy, Scale: 28mm, Rules: Bear Yourselves Valiantly

The Dwarven King realizes that even know his latest allies, which include Bugbears and Gnolls, are indeed enemies of his enemy, the Elves, they are also his enemy. But for some reason his regular allies, the humans and hobbits, are mad at him. So what choice did he have? Will these uneasy allies be able to defeat the Elven army, or will they suffer defeat? 

I was the only one at the table who had actually played these rules before (albeit only once), and so was foolishly deemed an "expert." While undeserving of such a title, I did pick up the rules faster this time than last. The object was to hold more of the towns scattered across the play area than your opponent by game's end.

I played two regiments of Elven cavalry, some with bows, and my teammates consisted of another fella and his girlfriend. Her background was in role playing, but she took to the miniatures battlefield with enthusiasm. Ultimately, the two sides fought to a draw holding three towns apiece.

David Wood giving us the preliminary rules rundown.

Marching my Elven cavalry forward.
(Photo courtesy Chris Palmer)

I appreciate how there is no reason to consult any charts or troop stat sheets in this game; everything is conveyed either via the custom dice or recorded right on the troops' bases.

An Ent marching on some Gnolls before they get to my Elven archers.

The Spider's Lair

Speaking of playing with the HAWKs, I always make it a point to stick around through Sunday morning at the HMGS conventions because one of the HAWKs usually holds exactly the type of game I enjoy most. This time was no exception, and I got to play in Eric Schlegel's fantasy free-for-all, which was spread across two separate massive play areas, one for the above ground battlefield and the other for the winding, spider-infested caves. In all, each of nine players got a party of four characters who started on the surface looking for treasure, fighting off random monsters, and searching for an entrances to the underground complex that promised vast riches. 

The game used the same Blood & Swash rules developed by HAWKs members Buck Surdu and Chris Palmer (the same used by Schlegel in his Historicon 2017 game [recap], and like before, Eric's brother Kurt jumped in to keep the game play flowing fluidly). Here's the game's description from the program:

The Spider's Lair

3 hours, Players: 10, Period: Fantasy, Scale: 25mm, Rules: Blood & Swash (Fantasy)

Rumors of great riches in the caverns beneath the Needreba Valley have attracted many adventurers to the area, but beware, another rumor says the treasure is guarded by a giant spider.

My party of adventurers.

This warrior was trying to sneak up on black-robed Wight in the temple ruins.

Kurt (sitting) and Eric (standing)

The game started above ground on this table, but as players began discovering entrances to the tunnels, the action moved to another table to explore the underground portion of the game.

Everybody set aside their personal ambitions to instead kill the giant spider, but once it was vanquished, everything immediately devolved into a cutthroat fracas. Overall, I did quite poorly, escaping with but one kill and a couple of spiders' eggs to sell on the black market, for a total of three victory points. The winner ended with 17 VPs!

Other Games 

I didn't get to play in any of the following games, but they caught my eye and looked fun.

This was one of the more beautiful setups I saw at the show. It was for a game of Blood and Plunder, and the terrain was constructed with furniture foam.

An elaborate zombie game drew a large crowd, and this GM looked like she was having fun.

Always curious about these Necromunda games, though the vibe of those playing it always feels a little intense for my style.

Another Necromunda game.

Watched this lady school these gents in a game of Saga on Friday night.

I'm always admiring of these giants setups. It's a lot of commitment to stage one of these. I'm going to get in on a game like this one day just to understand how it runs with such a massive play area.

For perspective, here's the same game from the far end of the table.

My pal Peter M. puts on a killer Mad Max: Fury Road game at these cons. Have yet to play it, but I'm hoping he keeps hauling it out so I can get in on a game.

These fellas were playing Gaslands in the hallway next to the Mad Max game. I've started to compile the stuff needed to try my hand at Gaslands, as is fellow Scrum Clubber John Sears, so I'm guessing we're destined to get a game in soon.

Feudal Japanese skirmish game of some sort. 

A cool mega-dungeon game by HAWK Chris Palmer. The exact same setup was used for two subsequent games that day, one set during WWII, and the final situated in the Doctor Who universe.

David "Zeb" Cook setting up a naval combat game on Sunday morning. Zeb will be the guest of honor at our upcoming Scrum Con. 

Zeb with fellow HAWK and veteran game designer Buck Surdu, who will also be setting up a game at Scrum Con in February.

Loot and Plunder

No big scores from the exhibitors hall or the flea market this time, but lots of little stuff that I was pleased to take home with me.

Mine for a dollar, including the deck!

I'm particularly excited about scoring this for a dollar (again, including decks) because I'm having four armies in 15mm painted as I post this and need some suitable mass battle rules to try out.

Saw these toxic pools on somebody else's blog recently and new I'd have to have them for one of my upcoming jungle pulp games.

This might be my favorite find of the weekend...Bob Olley sculpted Orcs from the 1980s for maybe one-third what they sold for originally. I have good luck finding cool vintage miniatures still in the blister packs at these conventions. 

More cheapies from the same flea market seller. 

Bumped into Battle Valor's Ed Spettigue at his booth in the exhibitor's hall, and he hand delivered the remaining couple of figures from my near 500-figure Kickstarter pledge. Time for me to get some mass battle games going!

A useful freebie in the Fall In bag received at registration: a pen/laser pointer combo. No more arguing about line of sight.

Sizable dinosaurs scored for $2 each for my upcoming Pulp Alley game.

One 28mm cathedral and a handful of 15mm scale buildings procured in the flea market as a lot at about a third of original retail.

Some metal chess pieces that I'll paint and weather to use as statuary in the medieval fantasy town I'm pulling together using 3D printed Printable Scenery files from their "Winterdale" collection.

Closing Thoughts and Parting Shots

The Lancaster Host Resort where this convention is held continues to be a mess from construction. It will be harder to find anybody happier than me when the convention's organizers finally abandon this dump next summer. I will likely miss the last con to be held here in March, and I won't be sorry not to spend another day there.

That unpleasantness aside, I had a perfectly lovely time running games, playing in other's, and making some new friends. I'm also glad to see that handing out all of those fliers for my "Icons of Pulp Fantasy" Kickstarter and our upcoming Scrum Con paid off with some pledges and sign ups to our mailing list. I was bummed that my Conan game overlapped with fellow Scrummer Walt O'Hara's Mad Maximillian 1934 game, preventing me from taking any pictures to share, but you can hop over to his blog to see his photos as well as read about his Fall In 2018 experience.

For me, Fall In 2018 was a tale of making new friends and finally bidding farewell to old enemies. Lancaster Host Resort, you will not be missed!

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