When: Feb. 16, 2019
Where: Davis Hall in College Park, Maryland
Register Here!
I like bringing people together. So, I guess it was only a matter of time before I decided I needed to persuade my game group, the Second Saturday Scrum Club, that we should organize our own gaming convention.I'm a bit taken aback that, after months of planning, the first-ever Scrum Con is now just three weeks in the offing!
To give credit where due, I landed on the idea last January after attending Barrage, a small convention organized by the HAWKs (Harford Area Weekly Kriegspielers). I'd gotten to know a few of its members in 2017, when I played in some of their games at the much larger Historicon and Fall In conventions, and appreciated their congenial gaming style and hospitality toward a wargaming neophyte like myself.
At the very next Scrum Club gathering I tossed the idea out there to the gang, and because nobody shot it down, it slowly started to take root in my mind as something we might be able to pull off.
The biggest challenge was finding a suitable space that we could afford to rent; the cost of renting event space in the Washington, DC metro area is prohibitive. I knew, though, that I wanted to hold the event close to downtown to have a good chance of drawing attendees from Virginia, DC, and Maryland; finding a location that was somewhat metro accessible was important to me, too.
I did lots of research on rental spaces, called a couple dozen, and visited a handful of them. Most were either too large, too small, or too expensive for our fledgling little con. On the recommendation of friend Debbie Lee, we got turned on to Davis Hall in College Park, which at least for now checks all of our boxes (including ample parking and free tables/chairs for the games).
We set modest ambitions for ourselves, deciding to run eight games in a morning session and another eight games in the afternoon. This allowed us to run several of the games ourselves (which we enjoy doing) as well as handpick some of our favorite convention GMs to run some of their great games at Scrum Con. Curated for quality is the operative idea for our slate of games.
And that means setting the tone from the start with a special guest: David "Zeb" Cook.
I met Mr. Cook through the HAWKs, and admired the cool games he ran at the other area conventions I had attended. But I was an admirer much earlier than that. In fact, his name was the byline on many of my earliest Dungeons & Dragons rule books and modules. The name "Zeb" was a fixture in the firmament of my imagination starting in about 1980 and through my entire adolescence. It was a great day when he agreed to run a game at our little con, and even greater still when he asked if we'd like him to run Return to the Isle of Dread, an unpublished sequel to the classic module I'd been carting around with me for close to 40 years now. My only regret is that I won't actually get to play in it...but some of you will, and orchestrating that opportunity makes me very happy, indeed!
Because the Second Saturday Scrum Club's members have a pretty equal background and interest in miniatures gaming and role playing games, we decided our convention would be, well, unconventional and split the games lineup straight down the middle with an equal offering of both. My sincere hope is that we get some cross-pollination going, with attendees signing up for an RPG in one session and a miniatures wargame in the other. We'll see how that goes, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We all like both types of gaming, and we're hoping there are enough others out there who do, too.
Another highlight of Scrum Con are the games being run by the game designers themselves.
First is HAWKs member and prolific game designer Buck Surdu, who is GMing the session "Commandos at Dawn" using his most recently written rules, Combat Patrol: WWII. I've learned a lot about game design just reading through some of Buck's innovative rule sets, and I recently played an in-development fantasy version of Combat Patrol that was loads of fun.
Another designer, Joey McGuire, will be running the session "Quantum Cola Blues," using his recent This Is Not a Test game rules. After seeing some of the beautiful post-apocalyptic boards Joey and his team have brought to the HMGS conventions, he was near the top of the list of GMs I wanted to be part of Scrum Con.
In fact, our whole crew of game masters is an impressive bunch, veterans of GMing at cons and creating memorable gaming experiences for years, and we couldn't pull this off without their generosity and talent. For that, the Scrum Club and I are immensely grateful. Here is a listing of their games; you can click on the links to read descriptions and even sign up to play in them!
SCHEDULED GAMES (with links)
GM: Eric Schlegel
Rules: Blood & Swash
(Fantasy) / Miniatures
Groups of adventurers have
entered the Enchanted Valley in search of fame and fortune, but what will they
find? Orcs? Fairies? Giants? Hidden treasure? Or Death?
GM: David
"Zeb" Cook
Rules: Basic/Expert D&D / RPG
It’s been over 30 years since you last
saw the shores of that dangerous island where you first made a reputation as an
explorer and adventurer of note. Days ago a note arrived imploring you to
return, painting a picture of tragedy and peril. You would have ignored it but
for the sender’s name—Rory Barbarossa. So now you’ve come out of retirement for
one last adventure—and a return to the Isle of Dread.
GM: Zach Howard
Rules: Dungeons
& Dragons (Original) / RPG
Meet at the Green Dragon Inn and
return to the dungeon under the ruined tower of the doomed wizard Zenopus to
search for his legendary talking mask, 40 years after adventurers first braved
the passages. Play as Boinger, Zereth, Murray, or other characters from J. Eric
Holmes' stories. This adventure from the Zenopus Archives celebrates the 40th
anniversary of the Holmes Basic D&D set.
GM: Joey
McGuire
Rules: This Is Not a Test / Miniatures
A long dormant robot bottling factory has suddenly
come to life again. What caused this to
occur is secondary to local factions getting their hands on the special product
produced there, the rare and very valuable Quantum Cola. The call has gone out for brave groups to
enter the factory and secure what bottles they can. If you're brave, crazy, or both, and
foolhardy enough to fight a legion of homicidal robots for fame and fortune,
then sign up right away.
GM: Buck
Surdu and Greg Priebe of the HAWKs
Rules: Combat Patrol: WWII™ / Miniatures
Commandos attack to gather information and destroy an
important Nazi radar installation.
German guards and reaction forces must stop them. We will feature the under-development
commando supplement to the published Combat Patrol rules. The streamlined and intuitive nature of the
rules enables players to fight the game, not the rules.
The Gleam in the King's Eye
GM: Elizabeth Ferrara
GM: Elizabeth Ferrara
Rules: D&D (5th ed.) / RPG
Lord Marlin Whitesparrow wishes to become king. But the Crown of the First Lord, the symbol of kingship that once belonged to his family has long been missing. Recent excavations beneath Whitesparrow Keep have uncovered an entrance to the forgotten family catacombs. Might the lost crown be buried within? Seeking 3rd-level adventurers to help the young lord recover his birthright! (Pre-gens available or bring your own.)
GM: Walt
O'Hara of the Second Saturday Scrum Club
Rules: Mad Maximillian
1934 / Miniatures
A decidedly not-turbo-charged game of car combat set
after the apocalypse..no, not that one, the other one set back after World
War One. Remember that? Gamers run races with up-armored motorcycles,
buggies, jalopies, and junkers equipped with the finest early 1930s technology!
Ford Model Ts, Hispano-Souzas, Fiats, and Packards take to the field firing
cutting edge Lewis and Maxim guns. Feel
the thunder!
GM: Jared
Smith of the Second Saturday Scrum Club
Rules: Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) / RPG
Bill Wessler is the biggest bully in high school. Heck, he
is probably the biggest bully in the small rural town you live in. You've all
had run-ins with Bill and his two sidekicks. Just this week, Bill dared anyone
brave enough to spend the entire night in the old Denford school on the edge of
town. Can you stay or will you be called chicken?
GM: Keith Sloan
Rules: AD&D 1st Edition / RPG
Once these coasts were ruled by the dread Sea
Lords, evil men little better than pirate-kings. Long destroyed by the new
kingdoms, one of their ancient underground strongholds has been rediscovered,
and a brave band of adventurers is set to seek their fortunes therein. This is a simple dungeon crawl, plundering
expedition! Pre-generated characters
provided.
GM: Neil
Carmichael of the Army of Central Maryland Wargaming
Rules: When
Technology Meets Tradition / Miniatures
German gun batteries are causing
havoc on French troops and supplies moving north to the village of Rossignol.
The French 2nd Battalion orders two companies forward to locate, destroy, or
capture the German guns. German troops to the West are moving to cut off French
reinforcements and the road leading East into the village.
GM: Steve
Braun of the Second Saturday Scrum Club
Rules: Home brew / Miniatures
Command
a flyer or a frigate as your crew searches for rhadum somewhere near the
Brakett Sea. You won’t be alone and the locals may not take kindly to your
efforts, so pack accordingly. May I suggest a cutlass and a rhadum
pistol?
GM: Rich
McKee of the Second Saturday Scrum Club
Rules: Basic Dungeons & Dragons (Moldvay) / RPG
This is an expedition to Michael Curtis's
mega-dungeon, Stonehell. Will you delve into its depths
in search of fortune and glory? This is an old school dungeon crawl using the
classic Moldvay rule set. Sign up if you like exploring, mapping, problem
solving, and dying in the dark under ridiculous circumstances.
GM: Scott
McKinley
Rules: Savage Worlds / RPG
Captain’s Log, USS Kellion, Stardate
22508: Long-range sensors have detected a vessel orbiting Aegis VII, an
abandoned Federation mining colony. It is unclear if it is an Earth ship, but
erratic power signatures indicate it may be in distress or a derelict. Admiral
Altman at Starfleet Command denied my request for more information about the
system, saying the data was classified. Highly unusual. The admiral didn’t go
so far as to order me not to approach, but he was clearly agitated. I’ve laid
in a course to investigate. Play characters from each of the classic Starfleet
divisions in this Star Trek/Dead Space mashup adventure. Do you believe in the
no-win scenario? How about the no-win scenario with zombies?
GM: Kelly
Armstrong
Rules: Blood Eagle / Miniatures
Vikings
are raiding a small monastery as the locals rally to resist.
Rules: Luke
Stacks
Rules: Dungeons and Dragons (adapted for
5E) / RPG
Up on a mountain sits a house by a
cemetery, haunted by the memories of atrocities past. Although the cult on the
mountain is long gone, the music of weirdling death still carries on the wind.
But rumors of abandoned treasure and magic always bring those wishing to
recover it. And the greedy and the foolish will march bravely up the mountain
for gold and glory. Who will survive, and what will be left of their souls?
Third-level characters will be provided, or bring your own!
GM: Ed
Watts
Rules: Gunfighter’s
Ball / Miniatures
Another quiet day dawns in
Peckinpah County's town of Bitter Creek. Unfortunately, it never seems to stay
quiet...noisy cows arriving, express wagons rumbling toward the bank, noisy
cowboys and ne'er-do-wells drinking far too early and making foolish life decisions. What's a lawman to
do?
Join the Second Saturday Scrum Club for a day of laid back gaming.
Try an RPG like Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, or Pathfinder or grab some tiny metal men for miniatures gaming mayhem.
- Two gaming sessions (10:00-2:00 and 3:30-7:30). Stick with either RPGs or wargames for both sessions, or mix it up with one of each.
- Meet and play with special guest David "Zeb" Cook (writer of the D&D Expert Set and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition)
- Enjoy a selection of complimentary continental breakfast favorites or lunchtime fare for a modest fee.
- Bring your gaming items ready to be re-homed for our flea market table.
All of this for just $8 a ticket!
- Add a Gamers Lunch (two hot dogs, chips, drink and cookie) for just $4 more!
- Feelin' like a V.I.P.? Get the Gamer's Lunch PLUS a ScrumCon convention tee and admission for $32! By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings!
Space is limited, purchase a badge now and sign up for your morning and afternoon games.
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And on a (near) final note, what's a con without some swag you can take home to remember the experience by? That's why we've made and are selling t-shirts!
Hope to see some of you folks at our first little convention. Space is limited, and tickets are selling (surprisingly) quite fast!
Wish us luck!
And please share this post with your game-playing friends!
And last but the exact opposite of least, I want to publicly thank my comrades in arms, the members of the Second Saturday Scrum Club, who have been toiling away at this endeavor for months now: John Sears, Jared Smith, Francesco Nesci, Walt O'Hara, Steve Braun, Rich McKee, and Zach Howard (as well as our latest addition, Josh O'Connor). You guys make gamin' fun!
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POST SCRIPT
We're so sorry if you're just now finding out about Scrum Con 2019! We opened registration on Dec. 16, and we are now at capacity for attendees. That's great news because it tells us there is a real appetite for this kind of convention in the Washington, DC area! If you want to make sure you get an early heads up about the date for the next Scrum Con and the opening of registration, we highly encourage you to sign up to our mailing list below! Thanks so much for your interest and support!
Email notification sign-up here!
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