Kapcon 2014 - Part 1

So what better way to re-start some (semi) regular blogging than to put down some thoughts about this year's Kapcon. Kapcon is Wellington's premier role-playing convention and features two days of table-top roleplaying, LARPing, board-games and more than runs over Wellington Anniversary weekend.

I should come right out and say at the start that my enthusiasm leading into this year's Kapcon was pretty low.  I don't really know why, especially after missing Kapcon 2013 for family reasons, but to be honest I gave some hard thought to passing on the whole thing.

However I had promised Dale I would help with EPOCH duties, and I knew I wold enjoy myself once I was there, so I signed up and offered to run EPOCH, specifically my scenario 'Home Front' in a couple of sessions.

However I am glad I did go because I had a really fun time.  The con ran very smoothly and it was nice to see a bunch of people and play in (and run) some interesting games.  While perhaps it did not hit the highs of previous years, I really think this has more to do with me than anything else.

Below is a quick round-by-round overview of my first day at Kapcon:

Round One: Sleep In!

I offered to run an EPOCH session in the late night Saturday slot (round four), so decided to take the first session off in order to have a sleep in and a late start.  This turned out to be a good idea as I was still pretty wiped by the end of the day.  After a hearty breakfast and a coffee in the city,  I headed along after lunch to join in on the gaming in round two.

Round Two: Black Stars Rise (Game of Demand) 

I opted for Games on Demand (GOD) in Round Two because I knew there would be some interesting games on offer.  If I'm honest, I was a little surprised by the lack of offering of more recent releases in the scheduled sessions, so I was hoping GOD could provide the opportunity some of those game which I had been reading about.

I shouldn't have worried as there were plenty of interesting games put out on offer by a bunch of talented GMs.  Out of the six or seven games offered, there was nothing there I wasn't interested in playing (with the possible exception of Monsterhearts). 

In the end, I opted for Black Stars Rise, offered by Mike Sands, which I had been keen to play for a while.  Black Stars Rise takes the Apocalypse World approach to player oriented narrative and combines it was the tropes and themes of modern conspiracy horror (imagine the X-Files without Mulder and Scully coming to save the day).  I had the read the rules, but like most RPGs, needed to see it played to really 'get it'.

Steve ran a great game about a hidden evil in modern, small town America.  I played Pastor Steve, the tattooed, ex-junkie pastor of a inner city evangelical church, who, with his friends (a well-meaning GP, a selfish anthropology professor and a bookish librarian), had to deal with the growing threat of a great evil located in their apartment building. 

Pastor Steve?

I think my favourite moments in the game were those with the GP, who had gone pretty crazy and kept trying to set fire to the apartment building, where I was attempting to keep both him and myself stable, while trying to ignore that sinister banging from above us.

The game was great fun and, although the rules need a little more cooking, I look forward to the next release.  

Round Three: Goddess of the Dark Tower (Tenera Bansho Zero)

A Japanese role-playing game based on a Kabuki play that features a demon haunted castle you say?  Sign me up!

Goddess of the Dark Tower was one of my GM picks and, as Luke Walker had kindly expressed interest in running a Tenera Bansho Zero scenario for Fright Night this year, I was curious to see how it would play out.

Turns out it was very good.  Although I was initially thrown-by the detailed looking character sheets and supporting material, I needn't have worried as the game was far more narrative and dramatic that they suggested. 

The game had an interesting dynamic with the relationship between two characters (Fraser doing his finest to play a creepy flesh eating, demon Japanese princess and Nick playing a noble and upright samurai lord) providing the central dramatic tension of the story.  I don't think this detracted from the other characters (including my ex-ninja warrior monk in search of redemption), but  was cleverly designed that the story was bound to produce a conflict and resolution by the end of the time available.

Overall it was a very satisfying experience and I can certainly see why it was heavily oversubscribed.  I look forward to talking to Luke further about Fright Night.

Round Four: Home Front (EPOCH)

This was my first round running a game and although I had five players signed-up, only four showed.  This had me a little concerned, as I find EPOCH really hums with five or six players. 

However my four players more than made up for the missing one as they got right into the EPOCH experience (despite none having played it before) created brave members of the Blakely Home Guard.  

EPOCH put quite a lot on first time players due to it's innovative resolution mechanic and voting system, with one player genuinely asking whether it was a role-playing game or a card game before we started.  However they all picked it up very quickly and things were well underway by the second tension phase.

All the characters did a great job of capturing the essence of the scenario, and I regret not keeping the run sheet so I could remember all their names.  There were a number of great scenes in this game, with only one one brave Home Guard member (young Bertie Coventry) surviving the epic final scenes of the game, though I am pleased to say Paddington the Welsh corgi also made it through in one piece.

As always with EPOCH, I found it a struggle to keep within the three hour limit due to the great character interactions, however we handily finished just slightly after the scheduled time and I was able to head home with my head full of thoughts for day two of Kapcon.