Gaming Conventions

Going to a convention can be an interesting experience. Usually entertaining, but mostly interesting. Here are a collection of what happens when gamers deploy to conventions.

At Least They had Fun!

Submitted by Phillip Carter - Kubla Kahn '92

I was running a CoC event at one of the early Kubla Kahn gaming conventions in Salt Lake City. This was a stock adventure from the 3rd Edition rulebook, and I was running three neophytes to the game. During the adventure they had they had to track down a gang of mobsters on the run from the Law. The characters, one policeman, an FBI agent, and a reporter tracked down the gangster's hideout and found their horribly torn bodies trailing down into the sewers below the warehouse that was their hideout.

While traipsing through the sewers, the reporter disappeared (the player actually had to leave for reasons I don't remember) but the two law officers continued on. Eventually they found a wall composed of bodies and other debris. As they got closer to to investigate, the wall collapsed and a the creature responsible crashed through. They fired off several useless shots, then the G-Man was torn in half. The cop, failing his SAN check, collapsed in a gibbering mass of necrophobia as the monster rended him apart.

After the game was concluded (shortly thereafter), both players said that was the best time they ever had losing characters!

At the GameCamp

Submitted by "Dezro" Dave Smith - WotC GameCamp 98

Well, I was gaming at WotC AD&D GameCamp (go there next year), and I was in an ongoing campaign. We were getting information from a bard (Robin the Dissembler), and he was very much a loon. He put us on a "game show" of sorts, and this wasn't even the humor based campaign (which was only meant to be funny for the DMs)!

We were asked riddles, and we answered all but one incorrectly. One party member decided to challenge Robin with a riddle, but we had no ideas! I suggested a few, and so did others, and in the end somebody decided to ask him the "What's in my pocket?" thing. Oh dear...

Robin: "A ring?"
Xicar: "No"
Robin: "Your hand?"
Xicar: "Of course not."
Robin: "Nothing at all?"
Xicar: "No"
Robin: "Then what?" Xicar's player reaches into RL pocket and pulls out a nail-clipper
Xicar: "An, uh, fingernail scraper!"
Robin: "What's it for?"
Xicar: "Um... Cleaning your nails..."
Robin: "Well, I'll just have to get one then."

Well, this is just the more memorable scenes in the game. Many more were funnier, such as:

"I point my wand of death at Key, (another party member) and yell, 'Death! Death!!'"

DM: "Suddenly, Bahamut, the king of good dragons, comes out of the ground and you all gain hope..."
DM: "But then Tiamat disbelieves the illusion and you regain the feeling of doom."
DM: "A pixie-farie shoots an arrow and an elven mage casts a fireball at Tiamat, but they both miss since she is miles away.
Dezro (me, the elf) and Falco (the pixie) together: "Yeah, we suck."
There were forty of us against Tiamat, and we were on the prime material plane. No munchkins involved. The blue (lightning) head yelled, "PIKACHU!!!!!!!" We were all frightened and confused.

Chaos, Kenders, and did I meantion Chaos?

Submitted by Jim Vowles - GenCon 90's

It was sometime in the early 1990s, and it was my first (and at this point only) trip to that Mecca of gaming, GENCON. "Mr Steve" Miller and I were running a tournament featuring the characters our old gaming group had run for years, and everyone was loving it.

But finally, I got a little time to explore, and I wound up doing the unthinkable--playing in the live-action Dragonlance game being offered that year. I was playing a mage, and in the context of the game, I had only one really decent spell available. I meandered about, slowly accomplishing my goals, but in general just enjoying the goofy pleasure of it...

Suddenly, I realized that I had wandered into the most dangerous place of all...a group of 20 enthusiastically role-played Kender. Still worse, they were trying to hold an election, and they spotted me! Eager cries of "Hey, he's tall, elect him!" and "Oh, you weren't using this wand of missiles, were you?" abounded--and I realized I had only one way out.

I cast my big spell.

Chaos.

On a group of 20 kender.

Holding an election.

Thinking back, it could have been truly disastrous. I remember seeing all of their eyes widen, wondering what spell I'd cast at them. I saw the DM's eyes widen as he realized that I'd just cast chaos in the midst of perhaps the most chaotic situation to ever emerge in all of history. I pictured the DM/arbiter's mind churning with evil possibilities--I knew MINE would be!--but then he got that lovely, patented, chillingly EVIL DM grin. I dug around in my brain, trying to remember whether Krynn had any wild magic zones...

"Stay right here" he said, and gathered the kender up and made them roll their saves. They all blew it.

Now fairly seething with glee, the DM whispered to the kender players, who giggled a little. What on earth had I done?

Then, en masse, all the kender walked calmly over to me and apologized. All of my gear found its way back to wherever they'd found it. Then they quietly continued their gentlemanly discussion of political theory.

Me, I ran like hell.

Later, I asked the DM to explain his decision...

"I figure there's only so much the universe can take before the entire causal nexus is threatened. It's like a rubber band stretched too far...then SNAP!"

Failing their Pop Culture Check

Submitted by Michael S. Webster - U-Con 98

While going through the classic dungeon, "Palace of the Silver Princess", the party attacked and killed the white ape in the cellar. Then:

PC1: "I search the ape's nest. What do I find?"
PC2: "You find an Inflatable Fay Wray doll and a puncture repair kit"
PCs: (Along with some blank looks) "Who's Fay Wray?"
PC3: (10 minutes later, playing the smartass) "I still don't get it!"

"Now that I have your attention..."

Submitted by S A Rudy - Unknown

A few years ago, I was GMing at a convention in one of those gaming rooms where you have several tables in one room. You're generally okay, but sometimes you have to yell over the crowd and you occasionally wind up hearing your neighbor's adventure.

This time out, one of the PCs had sassed my plot villain and (a bit more loudly than I had intended) I boomed out, "Pitfil WORMS! You will kneel before me immediately or *DIE*!!". There was a moment of silence, and I realized that not only had I cowed my own players, but the players at the table next to us.

The GM at the next table calmly asked for fear checks from his PC's, then went on with his game.

It's the only time I've ever played a villain so scary that he intimidated the guys in the next universe over.

Thanks for Dinner

Submitted by Richard Kier - Unknown

This was at a convention in Salt Lake City, back almost a dozen years ago or more. The convention organizers were able to get a special guest, none other than Anne McCaffrey to come speak at the convention.

The idea was to have a banquet in her honor the night before she was to speak. Well, as it turned out, there was a small problem with the check that was written to cover the banquet. The hotel hosting the con wouldn't take a check. So, Ms. McCaffrey whipped out her Gold Card and paid for her own banquet. Well, that's the way I heard it.