What I Did for My First Ambercon...
Mar. 31st, 2003 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quasigeostrophyI approached this con with a bit of trepidation. I hadn't ever played ADRPG before, and I hadn't played any RPG in probably 16 years. I am quite glad that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
semperfiona introduced me to this game, especially via this particular con. Some aspects of the gaming were familiar, and I realized how much I missed and enjoyed some of those. Others were new and better than the RPGs I'd played before (AD&D and Traveller, both quite dice-based).
I drove up from Indy Thursday morning. Left at 4:30am in order to pick upsemperfiona at the Detroit airport. About 15 miles north of Ft. Wayne, I was nailed by state policeman doing 79.5 in a 65mph zone. End of the month. Bright yellow Baja. Dawn. No radar detector. :-P I hoped it wasn't an omen for the trip (it wasn't). Picked up Fi, and we tried to get into the hotel early. No dice. Killed time at Big Boy with some good strawberry pie, had lunch, tried to get into our room again. Nope. Went to the nearby theatre and saw The Hours. It was a terrific movie. I loved the nonlinear storytelling style, the links between the three threads in the different eras, and it was definitely worthy of several awards.
Slot 1: The Devil You Know
I was somewhat relaxed for this first game, sincesemperfiona was in it, and even ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
quinnclub, whom I'd at least met on LJ recently. Simone was gong to co-run Bed of Roses, Nest of Thorns, a sort of "War of the Roses" scenario, but her co-GM couldn't be present. For this, we each had to pick a character from history or fiction who was outstanding in zir field, that we knew well. The lineup consisted of Cyrano de Bergerac, the poet Arthur Rimbauld, Isis, Gandhi, Leonardo da Vinci, Jackie Chan, John Crichton from Farscape (DJ), James T. Kirk from the TV series era (Fi), and The Fifth Doctor from Doctor Who (me). We were all sucked into some Shadow together, perceived as threats. Turns out we each had various superhuman abilities similar to some traits of the Amberites. The Doctor could walk in Shadow, sense differences between Shadows, sense manipulation of Shadow. His powers are akin to Basic Pattern and Sorcery, and his Psyche was equivalent to Fiona's.
Slot 2: Fortune Favors the Bold
For my second game, I was quite nervous - walking in knowing no one. I felt comfortable and relaxed almost immediately. Sol ran a very enjoyable "plotless" game. I was Roylan, a young (early 20s) sorcerer with little ambition. I hooked up with a swordsman son of Bleys, a whoop-ass daughter of Bleys, a son of Gerard, Shira (daughter of ??), and two sons of Caine (Oliver and Geoffrey). Oliver had his nearly-indestructible dirigible, and we cooked up a plan to air drop into Kashfa and assassinate Luke/Rinaldo, who had killed Caine). It ended in a spectacular destruction of the Keep of the Four Worlds.
Slot 3: Nine Princes in Juniper
I was Aber, the youngest of Dworkin's known children in the era before Amber (from the apocryphal prequel novel). Trump artist, high psyche. The other characters were from among my other siblings. Family members are disappearing or being found murdered, and we have to figure out why, who is responsible, and who the traitor among the siblings is. I'd never been in a game before where so many notes were passed between players and the GM in order to keep communication secret. The endgame was a bit of a surprise, and quite amusing.
Slot 4: On Her Majesty's Secret Service 4: The Man with the Golden Sword
I played Alan Maris, an agent of RI6, the Rebman Secret Service. Other PCs were also agents. It started out with us being assigned to deliver a prisoner. An ambush ensues, and all hell breaks loose in typical James Bond style. We ended up thwarting an assassination attempt in a church during a wedding. A poisonous gas was released from the flowers, so we blew the roof of the church to ventilate it quickly.
Slot 5: Who Art Thou?
Each character wakes up with no memories of identity, similar to how Corwin opens the first book. I ended up being Julian, due to my being a natural at riding, particularly the flying motorcycle, and to my constant cordiality. I had thought I was Random for most of the game. This was a lot of fun, especially trying to figure out how to open the door to get out of the first room at the beginning of the game.
Slot 6: Last Call
Dworkin "retires" and erases the Primal Pattern, telling us we need to create a new one (within 24 hours - the void would destroy Amber in that time). Brand (in fishnets and a leather corset, acting strangely like Tim Curry), comes out of the abyss, steals the Jewel of Judgement, and makes our life hell for a while. We fed him some Pattern fish after he swallowed the Jewel. He threw it up, and one of the other characters attuned himself to it and drew a new Primal Pattern. Oddly enough, the only Pattern he had walked previously was in Rebma, so immediately Amber began to flood. To distract Brand when we got the Jewel, one of the PCs helps him redecorate the castle.
Slot 7: Casting Call
Stephen Spielberg is directing and producing a big-budget film of "Nine Princes in Amber" and I played Jack Nicholson, cast to play Dworkin in the movie. We also had Jonathan Frakes as Eric, Kenneth Brannagh as Bleys, Sissy Spacek as Fiona, and Pierce Brosnan as Corwin for the PCs. Naturally, on the way to our location shoot in Scotland, somehow we are shifted through Shadow to Amber. The castle is deserted. Portraits of all the PC characters look like the actors. Sissy/Fiona brews a concoction to allow us to be possessed by our role (the "real" Dworkin enters Jack's head), and tells us that she's learned that we and all the other Elders are being held somewhere. She managed to get out into Sissy Spacek's body and do the same for us into our actors to enlist our help. We discover the Elders are being held in the Trump dimension by Jasra, and she's sent Dalt to lead an army against Amber. We defeat Dalt, Trump to the Keep, defeat Jasra, and release everyone.
Slot 8: Playing Favourites
Let me just say this, wrapping up my first con:quinnclub can certainly facilitate a silly game, entertaining enough to be the highlight of the con for me. semperfiona was in this one with me as well. Each PC was a favorite character from another game earlier in the con. I decided after the afternoon game to bring Jack Nicholson/Dworkin. There was no plot at the beginning, but the story involved snow in Amber (unheard of), werewolves assigned as the palace guard, an eight-year-old stealing the Jewel of Judgement, a page getting irritated by Royals overworking him, and Jack/Dworkin working with Galadriel (Fi), a sort of "literature cop" from outside the story, who shows up to try to fix the changes in the book (it shouldn't be snowing, most of the characters shouldn't be there). I (Dworkin) thought that if I could get a typewriter (an idea which actually came to me when I saw the snow falling and thought of Jack Nicholson in The Shining) and attune it to the Jewel, Galadriel could retype the story and change reality back to what she and I felt was supposed to be. We were too slow in getting the Jewel, though, and Kieran (the overworked page, played by eternaleponine) made friends with it, walked the Pattern, and became king. And that was the new reality. We knew no differently. I haven't laughed so hard in a loooong time. DJ did have a list of certain items and events he ensured appeared in the game. I don't know if I should reveal the source for that here... ;-)
I don't know that I was wonderful at portraying my characters, especially the known ones, but I had a lot of fun, and that's what matters. I'll get back into practice, and this was definitely a great way to get started again. Due to some sleep-deprivation and rough note-taking, this post and my previous quotes posts may not be completely correct, and I'll welcome any corrections in comments. :-)
Some of the Best Bits:
What a terrific four days!! And I got home in time to go to lunch today withcomputerchix!
This is a record. I've never made more than five posts in a day before, and this makes six for me today. :-)
semperfiona introduced me to this game, especially via this particular con. Some aspects of the gaming were familiar, and I realized how much I missed and enjoyed some of those. Others were new and better than the RPGs I'd played before (AD&D and Traveller, both quite dice-based).I drove up from Indy Thursday morning. Left at 4:30am in order to pick up
semperfiona at the Detroit airport. About 15 miles north of Ft. Wayne, I was nailed by state policeman doing 79.5 in a 65mph zone. End of the month. Bright yellow Baja. Dawn. No radar detector. :-P I hoped it wasn't an omen for the trip (it wasn't). Picked up Fi, and we tried to get into the hotel early. No dice. Killed time at Big Boy with some good strawberry pie, had lunch, tried to get into our room again. Nope. Went to the nearby theatre and saw The Hours. It was a terrific movie. I loved the nonlinear storytelling style, the links between the three threads in the different eras, and it was definitely worthy of several awards.Slot 1: The Devil You Know
I was somewhat relaxed for this first game, since
semperfiona was in it, and even quinnclub, whom I'd at least met on LJ recently. Simone was gong to co-run Bed of Roses, Nest of Thorns, a sort of "War of the Roses" scenario, but her co-GM couldn't be present. For this, we each had to pick a character from history or fiction who was outstanding in zir field, that we knew well. The lineup consisted of Cyrano de Bergerac, the poet Arthur Rimbauld, Isis, Gandhi, Leonardo da Vinci, Jackie Chan, John Crichton from Farscape (DJ), James T. Kirk from the TV series era (Fi), and The Fifth Doctor from Doctor Who (me). We were all sucked into some Shadow together, perceived as threats. Turns out we each had various superhuman abilities similar to some traits of the Amberites. The Doctor could walk in Shadow, sense differences between Shadows, sense manipulation of Shadow. His powers are akin to Basic Pattern and Sorcery, and his Psyche was equivalent to Fiona's.Slot 2: Fortune Favors the Bold
For my second game, I was quite nervous - walking in knowing no one. I felt comfortable and relaxed almost immediately. Sol ran a very enjoyable "plotless" game. I was Roylan, a young (early 20s) sorcerer with little ambition. I hooked up with a swordsman son of Bleys, a whoop-ass daughter of Bleys, a son of Gerard, Shira (daughter of ??), and two sons of Caine (Oliver and Geoffrey). Oliver had his nearly-indestructible dirigible, and we cooked up a plan to air drop into Kashfa and assassinate Luke/Rinaldo, who had killed Caine). It ended in a spectacular destruction of the Keep of the Four Worlds.
Slot 3: Nine Princes in Juniper
I was Aber, the youngest of Dworkin's known children in the era before Amber (from the apocryphal prequel novel). Trump artist, high psyche. The other characters were from among my other siblings. Family members are disappearing or being found murdered, and we have to figure out why, who is responsible, and who the traitor among the siblings is. I'd never been in a game before where so many notes were passed between players and the GM in order to keep communication secret. The endgame was a bit of a surprise, and quite amusing.
Slot 4: On Her Majesty's Secret Service 4: The Man with the Golden Sword
I played Alan Maris, an agent of RI6, the Rebman Secret Service. Other PCs were also agents. It started out with us being assigned to deliver a prisoner. An ambush ensues, and all hell breaks loose in typical James Bond style. We ended up thwarting an assassination attempt in a church during a wedding. A poisonous gas was released from the flowers, so we blew the roof of the church to ventilate it quickly.
Slot 5: Who Art Thou?
Each character wakes up with no memories of identity, similar to how Corwin opens the first book. I ended up being Julian, due to my being a natural at riding, particularly the flying motorcycle, and to my constant cordiality. I had thought I was Random for most of the game. This was a lot of fun, especially trying to figure out how to open the door to get out of the first room at the beginning of the game.
Slot 6: Last Call
Dworkin "retires" and erases the Primal Pattern, telling us we need to create a new one (within 24 hours - the void would destroy Amber in that time). Brand (in fishnets and a leather corset, acting strangely like Tim Curry), comes out of the abyss, steals the Jewel of Judgement, and makes our life hell for a while. We fed him some Pattern fish after he swallowed the Jewel. He threw it up, and one of the other characters attuned himself to it and drew a new Primal Pattern. Oddly enough, the only Pattern he had walked previously was in Rebma, so immediately Amber began to flood. To distract Brand when we got the Jewel, one of the PCs helps him redecorate the castle.
Slot 7: Casting Call
Stephen Spielberg is directing and producing a big-budget film of "Nine Princes in Amber" and I played Jack Nicholson, cast to play Dworkin in the movie. We also had Jonathan Frakes as Eric, Kenneth Brannagh as Bleys, Sissy Spacek as Fiona, and Pierce Brosnan as Corwin for the PCs. Naturally, on the way to our location shoot in Scotland, somehow we are shifted through Shadow to Amber. The castle is deserted. Portraits of all the PC characters look like the actors. Sissy/Fiona brews a concoction to allow us to be possessed by our role (the "real" Dworkin enters Jack's head), and tells us that she's learned that we and all the other Elders are being held somewhere. She managed to get out into Sissy Spacek's body and do the same for us into our actors to enlist our help. We discover the Elders are being held in the Trump dimension by Jasra, and she's sent Dalt to lead an army against Amber. We defeat Dalt, Trump to the Keep, defeat Jasra, and release everyone.
Slot 8: Playing Favourites
Let me just say this, wrapping up my first con:
quinnclub can certainly facilitate a silly game, entertaining enough to be the highlight of the con for me. semperfiona was in this one with me as well. Each PC was a favorite character from another game earlier in the con. I decided after the afternoon game to bring Jack Nicholson/Dworkin. There was no plot at the beginning, but the story involved snow in Amber (unheard of), werewolves assigned as the palace guard, an eight-year-old stealing the Jewel of Judgement, a page getting irritated by Royals overworking him, and Jack/Dworkin working with Galadriel (Fi), a sort of "literature cop" from outside the story, who shows up to try to fix the changes in the book (it shouldn't be snowing, most of the characters shouldn't be there). I (Dworkin) thought that if I could get a typewriter (an idea which actually came to me when I saw the snow falling and thought of Jack Nicholson in The Shining) and attune it to the Jewel, Galadriel could retype the story and change reality back to what she and I felt was supposed to be. We were too slow in getting the Jewel, though, and Kieran (the overworked page, played by eternaleponine) made friends with it, walked the Pattern, and became king. And that was the new reality. We knew no differently. I haven't laughed so hard in a loooong time. DJ did have a list of certain items and events he ensured appeared in the game. I don't know if I should reveal the source for that here... ;-)I don't know that I was wonderful at portraying my characters, especially the known ones, but I had a lot of fun, and that's what matters. I'll get back into practice, and this was definitely a great way to get started again. Due to some sleep-deprivation and rough note-taking, this post and my previous quotes posts may not be completely correct, and I'll welcome any corrections in comments. :-)
Some of the Best Bits:
- Dusting off the RPG part of my brain.
- Meeting some terrific folks, including quinnclub, eternaleponine, niemandofchaos, and others whom I don't know whether or not are on LJ.
- Snuggles with semperfiona.
- Having one of my characters lead an aerial assault by hang-glider off Tir, through Shadow, to Jasra.
- Having another of my characters take a flying motorcycle and drop it in the drink.
- Blowing a church roof to save Royals at a wedding from poison gas.
- Jack Nicholson as Dworkin. 'nuff said.
- Werewolves as the castle guard.
- Brand in fishnets and a leather corset, redecorating Castle Amber.
- Dragon claws.
What a terrific four days!! And I got home in time to go to lunch today with
computerchix!This is a record. I've never made more than five posts in a day before, and this makes six for me today. :-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-03-31 05:07 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-03-31 05:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-03-31 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-01 06:30 am (UTC)In Playing Favs I was the one that built a giant snow sculpture of the serpent on the ramparts of Castle Amber (in the days Pre-patternfall when the 'story' was set)... although Jack-Dworkin never came out of the castle to see it... that might have been amusing!
Jenn
no subject
Date: 2003-04-01 06:38 am (UTC)Jack-Dworkin never came out of the castle to see it
Jack was too busy trying to get into Galadriel's pants, so he was letting Dworkin's side of him impress her with an attempt at cooking up an actual plot. ;-)
no subject
Literally of figuratively???
no subject
Date: 2003-04-01 09:15 am (UTC)And for the record, Jack was absolutely shot down.
Heh.
But then, so was Trailer Trash Caine - and he was *so* choice... *giggle*
That was such an absurd game. Enjoyed it immensely.