Continuum 2012

It's been several months since my last post here, and it will probably be at least as long, if not more, before I do so again. (Although, on the other hand, I've got to review the new Pavis book at some point, so who knows?) Anyway, having just returned from Continuum 2012, it's time to post a review of that. Or, if not so much of the con as an entity, of the games I played, and what I thought of them.

To briefly look at the con itself, not only was it enjoyable, but, from my perspective, everything went without a hitch. I have not one complaint about the con, or its organisation. (I know some people moaned about the food, but I had no problems with it... one doesn't expect top notch catering in a student hall, and it was perfectly adequate for my needs. I'm there to game, not eat). So full kudos to everyone for pulling it off. The only negative points you're going to see in this post concern my reactions to individual game systems, and the like.

So, slot by slot through the con, here we go:

Continuum 2010

I have just returned from the 2010 incarnation of Continuum, the biennial games convention. I have, of course, mentioned this before, and now its back again! I have to say that this seemed, even by the high standards of Continuum, and its predecessor, Convulsion, to be a particularly good event. So far as I could tell, everything was running smoothly, and there was certainly plenty to do throughout the whole weekend.

Of course, a lot of the time was, as always, spent socialising and drinking (so much so that the bar ran out of cider on Saturday evening - fortunately they obtained more for the next day). As always, the conversations were eclectic, and covered much more than just gaming - such as the precise distinction between Prussia and Brandenburg, the funereal habits of the middle-eastern Neolithic, and methods of promotion in the Royal Navy during the 18th century. Because such things are, of course, more important than anything involving, say, footballs.

But, of course, we're there mainly for the gaming. I managed to get into four games over the course of the weekend, which, with seminars in the mornings, out-of-tune singing on Saturday night, and me shouting at people on Sunday evening, made quite a full timetable. The first game was a Glorantha HeroQuest adventure (just published in Gloranthan Adventures), which resulted in much craziness, and dropping of roofs on top of undead sparrows.

On the Saturday, I played in a scenario for the hard SF game River of Heaven. If you've not heard of that before, it's probably because it hasn't yet been published - apparently it should be out by the end of the year. Hard SF doesn't seem to get much of a look-in when it comes to RPGs (although I'm sure one could argue about just how hard is 'hard'), but this setting did look quite interesting from the brief glimpse we got. The scenario itself, concerning a crisis on an STL interstellar cargo ship, was written and GMed by the game's designer, John Ossoway, and gave us plenty to do, without it being too difficult to follow the relevant details of the setting.

On Saturday evening, that was followed by a free-form set in Kingsport, Massachusetts. I was playing a thinly disguised Herbert West, amidst a steadily growing mountain of insanity, much of which revolved heavily around snakes. By the end of the scenario I was was turned into a brain-eating zombie, which seems appropriate enough, under the circumstances. In short, this was a very fun free-form, and one where I managed to keep constantly busy (I've been in some before where this wasn't the case), which I'd recommend if it's run again.

And then, on the Sunday, I played in a game based on the 1960s TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. I played Destiny Angel - I'm sure you can see the resemblance. The GM was obviously very well versed on the show - certainly far more than I was - and did a good job of working in its various conventions, as well as using a brilliant set of props. All in all, very well done, and a lot of effort looked to have gone into it.

In terms of my own publications, it looks as if much of volumes 1 and 3 of Lords of the West should be out in time for Dragonmeet, although no promises on that one. It's looking highly likely that these will, in fact, be published under a single cover, which will make quite a substantial book. There is no specific news on a release date for volume 2, as yet.

And, of course, the best news: there will be another Continuum in 2012. So that will definitely be something to look forward to!

Continuum Podcast

A podcast from Continuum is now available online here. I'm on for around five minutes out of 90, and there's probably not much new here, either. But the podcast is generally worth listening to, as an update of what the HeroQuest writers are up to as a group. Kudos to Darran Simms for producing this.

The Post-Continuum Post

Over the last three days I attended the glorious collection of gaming fun that was Continuum 2008. I didn't seem to have as much planned for this year as usual, but I still managed to enjoy myself, and get quite a few things done. And quite large quantities of cider[1] were consumed, including some Weston's Old Rosie, which was certainly a pleasant change from the usual draught stuff. Aside from Glorantha and related matters, topics ranged through Doctor Who, prog rock, some stuff about computers that I really didn't understand, and cricket. Some of which, at least, just goes to prove that we're thoroughly British! And even just socialising, there is definitely something to be said for a place where someone can not only use the word 'chalcolithic' in casual conversation, but where everybody present knows exactly what it means...

I spent much of the first 24 hours answering the question "when is Heroes of Malkion coming out?" which at least confirms that there is definitely interest in this! On the Saturday morning, I took part in a panel on the future of Glorantha, in which all the books currently planned for the setting were discussed. My own segment was relatively short, and added nothing that is new to readers of this blog, but you will be able to hear a recording of it all online soon, courtesy of Darran Simms. I'll post a more specific link once it's available.

The biggest announcement in that respect was the new magic system. For those of you who don't know, HeroQuest v2 (or whatever the final title will be) will be a generic rulebook, with only a few pages of Gloranthan material in the back. So, although there will be a brief summary of magic included in that, the full system will debut in Cults of Sartar. It's a simpler system than the old one, although largely compatible. Obviously, CoS will focus on theism (pfft! damn pagans!), as practised by the Heortlings. Which means that I don't know exactly how it will affect the wizardry that is the focus of my books. Because HoM, in particular, is already well past the 'final draft' stage, it will use the existing magic rules. I'm assured that this will not have any effect, and that the old and new versions are fully compatible, so far as the cult write-ups are concerned, although I have to confess to not being entirely sure how this is so.

It does, however, turn out that the maps and annotations for LotW3 that I've been working on for the last two months will have to be redone, possibly from scratch. Nuts.

Sunday morning, and I just managed to get to "Murder at the Greydog Inn" without falling asleep. A freeform at 9:30 in the morning? Hmm. I was playing a dodgy Sun Domer trying to smuggle drugs into the Lunar Empire. Unfortunately, my contact was rumbled early on by the Lunar officials, so, while I did try to warn him, we were under too much observation to get much done in that regard. Doubly unfortunately, he turned out to be the murderer, and gave me up to the Lunars after an Ernaldan (of all people) threatened to use a red-hot poker on him if he didn't. Which I guess would convince me, too.

Because the game wrapped at that point, I'm unclear whether I died in glorious battle against my cross-dressing commanding officer, or whether I got arrested and sentenced to one of those Retirement Towers that they have in Sun County. A word of advice to the organisers, though, if they're reading this: for at least half an hour out of the three hour game, non-clan members have nothing to do, except sit about in a corridor twiddling their thumbs while everyone else goes off to resolve the plot in a closed room. Although the rest of the game is great fun, you might want to fix that if you run it again.

Later on, I took part in a tabletop game run by Ian Cooper, although, sadly, exhaustion was catching up on me towards the end. We used the new system for resolving extended contests, which I'd previously tried out at Tentacles, and is, to my mind at least, a great improvement over that in earlier editions. Once again, I played a Healer, which meant a lot of use of the new "Assist" rules, especially since this game was fairly combat-heavy (or at least was before I became to exhausted to continue... I imagine that Ian had rather more planned).

And then, in the evening, came the Storytelling, which got a good audience, having been relatively sparse in recent years. I couldn't match Malk Williams' ballads for quality and sheer inherent coolness (what a pity that this wasn't recorded, like the seminars... although, as a non-expert, I'm unsure whether the sound quality of podcasting equipment would be sufficient to really bring the effect across or not). Anyway, I had the unenviable task of following Malk's first ballad, and performed my new Vadrus story. It needs a little more work, I think, but it went down well, and I'll post it to Mything Links when I have the time. Technology permitting, I may also figure out a way of recording it and posting the sound file, since, as with all Vadrus stories, it's far better to hear performed out loud than simply to read as a text file.

With a little time left over, I received a request to reprise "Enkoshons the Dragon", which I have performed at a number of cons over the years, ever since I first did so (to a shocked audience!) at Scotscon in 2003. Even those who had heard it before seemed to appreciate it, and I had some very positive comments from those who hadn't. The Storytelling concluded with a new (to me, anyway) Griselda story by Oliver Dickinson, who inspired so many of us to get involved in Glorantha in the first place.

Following that, and the obligatory Closing Ceremony, there was much more cider, plus an impromptu barbecue laid on by Charlie Krank. During that, I got into a conversation on my coming books with Michael Cule. He had a few valid concerns that, I fear, the books won't address, so I'll try and do so in coming blogs here. Even so, it was an interesting and worthwhile discussion. Or so it seemed at two in the morning, when you're full of cider and roast pork...

All in all, many kudos to the organisers, and I'll definitely be back in 2010, for what will be the 18th anniversary of the convention (counting Convulsion, but not the earlier event in Cambridge). If anyone is reading this who hasn't been, and who enjoys roleplaying, I'd recommend that you do the same.

[1] If you're American, and are thinking, "oh goody, Tibble's is a fine teetotal chap that only drinks cloudy apple juice," then... yes, of course I am. (Nods unconvincingly). :)