Post CONJuration 2016 Report

I wanted to wait a few weeks before I posted about my gaming group, The Crimson Blades at CONJuration 2016.

For those who do not know what that is, it is a Three Day Fantasy Convention here in Atlanta, GA. It is dedicated to fantasy literature and fantasy in general. There is a strong Harry Potter element to the convention but LotR, Narnia, Supernatural, and other fantasy is also present. This will have been our third year attending and out second year of being a panelist/game master at the Convention. My group ran an number of panels about fantasy rpgs.

I hosted three Classic D&D (BECMI version)  Sessions at the convention. I used a recurring theme for all three sessions, The Sea of Dread. I broke out all of the bells and whistles for the games. Printed pre-gens and bags of dice for players, miniatures, my library of dungeon and wilderness tiles.

The first session was a swashbuckling adventure involving pirate goblins, a vampire pirate captain and a hermit were-shark.

The second session was an tomb raider style romp through an ancient temple.

The third session was a dinosaur themed hunting trip where the party had to help a clueless noble bag a  T-Rex.

Every game I ran was at capacity. I had at least 10 players at every game with 13 being the most..I had to turn some people away I had some salty veterans and a lot of people who had never played before.

The overall response for all the participants was great and I had received a number of postive reviews during the Con and after the CON.

My group is planing on going back next year and putting on even more games.

5E D&D Trial Run with Thunder Rift

So my lil session running 5E D&D using the adventure Escape from Zanzer's Dungeon went OK.

They made it as far as the missile weapon room before we called it a night.

All of the players have asked if I would come back and run again.With one caveat, they all wanted to roll-up their own characters instead of using pre-gens.

..............

Now I have to come up with a new adventure and I am thinking of running B4 - The Lost City, a little pulp action I think they might like.

Coming Attractions

Over the last several months I have been playing in my wife's Werewolf the Apocalypse Campaign and in my long running AD&D 2E games. In the process I finished school and I am getting ready to take the DM's seat once more.

I actually got two different games coming.

My long awaited sequel to my B/X Campaign is coming, taking 50 years after the last events in the first campaign. Two of my players will be playing the grandchildren of the original party from the first campaign. The biggest change from the first campaign is that I am using the Adventurer Conquer King Rule System. It is a much better fit for the campaign since my world have a very late antiquity feel. I am hosting the campaign on the Obsidian Portal Website. Very Cool Website.


The other game is going to be a one-off. I was asked to DM for some friends who never played D&D before and wanting to learn how. The only catch is they want to learn to play D&D 5E, the edition I only just now getting my feet wet in.

I have been thinking about what I should run. Something from the 5E Starter Set? Keep on the Borderlands, some other module in the B series……..

I just happened to be over at a cool forum known as Piazza, dedicated the many realms that TSR and other companies produced during the halcyon days of TSR. There  I found a post about a guy was running D&D 5E using the Thunder Rift Setting. I just so happened to have a complete collection of Thunder Rift stuff in PDF and paper.

So I am seriously looking at running the escape from the dungeon of Zanzer Tem as my oneshot.

"I am not dead YET!!!!"

I am still alive and kicking, but real life has prevented me for doing anything on here in a while.

I am working on some games for a local convention, prepping to kick off my next D&D Campaign and discovering the joys of the Obsidian Portal which has sucked up a lot of my time.

https://stamuscontramalum1013ye.obsidianportal.com/

This site is awesome and I am using it for my next campaign.

Designing A Skyrim Style Campaign – Side Bar – Deities & Demons

Designing A Skyrim Style Campaign – Side Bar – Deities & Demons

One of the things I need to address is whether or not I want to import the Elder Scroll Deities into ACK. The Cosmology of Elder Scrolls actual has a number of similarities to the default setting for the ACK System, known as Auran. The problem with Skyrim is that the Eight Divines, the modern pantheon is actually a fusion of two different pantheons, the Aldmeri Pantheon and the Nordic Pantheon. To make it even more complex, the Nordic Pantheon evolved from an older Ancient Nordic Pantheon. Then there is the fact that my world is based on Anglo-Saxon / Anglo-Danish culture, which gods of these should I use? I am certain I want to keep it to just eight.

Elder Scrolls			Ancient Earth
Ancient Nordic	Nordic	Eight Divines	Anglo Saxon	Old German	Norse equivalent
Dragon (Alduin)	Shor	Akatosh	Wōden	Wodan/Wotan	Odin
Hawk (Kyne)	Tsun	Arkay	Thunor	Donar	Thórr
Fox (Shor)	Kyne	Dibella	Tíw	Zîu	Týr
Snake (Orkey)	Mara	Kyrnareth	Seaxnéat	Saxnôte	none
Whale (Stuhn)	Dibella	Shezaar	Géat	dfaasf	Gautr
Bear (Tsun)	Orkey	Mara	*Fríge	Freja	Frigg
Owl (Jhunal)	Herma-Mora	Morihaus	Éostre	*Ôstara	Possibly Idunn
Wolf (Mara)	Alduin	Reman	Ing	none	Yngvi-Freyr
Moth (Dibella)	Ysmir	Stendarr	Baldaeg	Baldere	Baldr
	Jhunal	Talos	Hama	Heime	Heimdallr
	Stuhn	Zenithar

I am certain I want to keep it to just eight but then I remembered that there are four other nations, each are going to have slightly different pantheons

Norðrodor, Gods and Goddess

The Pantheon of the Sælíðenda (Sea-Folke)

Name	Symbol	Sphere	Analogue
Wōden, the High Father	Raven	Sky, War, Death, Wisdom, Magic	Shor & Jhunal
Thunor, the Thunderer	Wolf	Storms, War	Tsun
Fríge the Fair	Hawk	Marriage, Motherhood, Hearth	Kyne & Mara
Frey the Defender	Bear	Defender, Prosperity	Ysmir
Njord the Wave Maker	Whale	Sea, Fishing, Water	None
Baldaeg the Bright	Owl	Sun, Radiance, Peace	None
Lothar the Trickster	Snake	Lies, Riddles, Tricks, Thieves	Orkey
Freya the Maiden	Moth	Beauty, Moon, Love	Dibella
Hel	Skull	Death, Cold, Darkness	Daedra

The Pantheon of the Trisagion (Dark Elves)

Name	Symbol	Sphere
Hyperion	Sun	Sun, Stars, Cosmos, Magic,
Ōkeanós	Kraken	Oceans, Rivers, Sea Monsters, Slavery, Dominance
Kratos	Dragon	Earth, Fire, Stone, War, Power
Pandeia	Moon	Moon, Children, Motherhood
Silvanus	Oak Tree	Forests, Woodland Creatures, Merriment
Harmonia	Swan	Peace, Wisdom, Knowledge (Outlawed Deity)
Orcus	Skull	Death, Darkness, Torture

The Pantheon of the Dwefar (Dwarves)

Name	Symbol	Sphere	Analogue
Kivenhakkaaja	Pick and Shovel	Cold, Dark, Stone, Gems, Mining	Kratos
Rautakauppias	Anvil and Hammer	Fire, Metalworking Forges	Kratos
Oluenpanija	Cask or Drinking Horn	Beer, Mead, Good Cheer	Silvanus
Lumiimpi	Snowflake	Beauty, Love, Snow, Ice	Pandeia
Sielun Syöjä	Goblet of Blood	Death, Terror, Rust	Orcus

The Pantheon of the Olfar (Orcs)

Name	Symbol	Sphere	Analogue
Anu the Sky Father	Eagle	Sky, Sun, Lordship	Hyperion
Enki the Maker	Waves	Rivers, Streams, Crafts	Ōkeanós
Enlil the Storm	Crossed Lightning Bolts	Wind Storms, Thunder Lighting	None
Ninhursag	Mountain	Mountains, Stone, Metal	Kratos
Tiamar	7 Headed Serpent	Death, Terror, Slaughter, Murder	Orcus

 

 I am getting to the point where I want to wrap up this little essay. It is becoming more and more work, for something I never intend on actually running as a campaign. If the inspiration hits, I may comeback and finish the write-up on Wulf Dunland, some sample settlements and few adventures.

I think in the end I feel that I have given the ACK Rules System world building rules a proper test run. It can be used to great effect to create real vibrant worlds. I recommend to anyone reading this to check out these rules. The Campaign rules can easily be used with any other RPG system as they are almost system agnostic. 

I hope if you have been read these posts, that it was helpful in someway to your ongoing gaming efforts. 

Have Fun!