The Best of Intentions

Gosh, it's been a while, hasn't it?

People keep asking me for my blog details, at which point I have to look embarrassed and make noises about not updating it regularly (and I think we can safely say that over two years since the last post definitely counts as "not regularly").

Now, I don't normally do New Year's resolutions, but I'm going to try and update the blog once a month this year so when people ask for my blog details, there's actually something there for them to read. Hopefully.

So, let's get this thing on the road again, eh? It's been a busy month so far. Once again, I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest to OrcaCon, the inclusive games convention that has taken place in the general vicinity of Seattle for the last three years. This year, due to venue issues at the previous location in Everett, the convention moved to the Hilton at Bellevue, which turned out to be a really good choice. No matter where you went in the hotel, there were happy people playing games, and such a wonderful atmosphere.

Now the interesting thing is, I can't honestly remember how I met Donna Prior, the brains behind OrcaCon. She's always been a strong supporter of Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks, so I'm assuming we bumped into each other on one of the games forums when I was first putting the premise together. We first met face to face at Gen Con, I think in 2013, and the rest is history.

Donna's aim with OrcaCon, which first ran in 2015, was to create a safe, welcoming games convention for people of all ages, genders, and orientations. It's one of my favourite conventions, partly because of the small size (now up to 1200 in its third year), but also because it is full of smashing, enthusiastic people who love their games and want to share that love with others.

This was my third year as a guest, so I was on panel duty as well as running a couple of games. My first panel as moderator was about GMing, and attempting to help people who were thinking about making that first step actually take the plunge. Apparently, this was quite topical, as January is New Game Master Month (although I wasn't aware of this until after the panel!). My second panel was about just what we freelancers get up to during the day, as well as discussing whether No Pants Wednesday is actually a thing. I was supported on both panels by a wonderful array of industry professionals, including Joseph Carriker, Crystal Frasier, Kate Baker, Ari Marmell, Liz Courts, Jenn Sandercock and Erin M. Evans.

As for games, this year I only ran two: Cogs, Cakes & Cthulhu (a Mythos-inspired take on you know what) and Untold: Adventures Await, by the wonderful people at the Creativity Hub. Both sessions were great fun, as always. Apparently, there was quite a queue for the Cogs game, with all sorts of shenanigans threatened by those on the waiting list in their attempts to get into the game! (It's always lovely to be wanted!)

Another reason OrcaCon is a fun one for me is that I actually get to play games. First up was Blue Rose, run by the lovely Joseph Carriker for a group of players that have a Blue Rose game every year at the convention. I was there to help make up the numbers, and it was amusing to play in a scenario I actually edited! I was very good, though, and only reacted to information I was given in character. I had a lovely evening inhabiting the world of Aldis again. I was also lucky enough to play in Steve Kenson's Icons introductory game, where Shadow Dancer and her associates found themselves fighting strange creatures in an intergalactic arena, and stuff my face with Jenn Sandercock's edible games, eventually becoming a member of the Order of the Oven Mitt for my labours!

And I got to have another lovely chat with the gents from the Geeks of Cascadia podcast - at least once Hobbs remembered to plug the microphone in! It's always a pleasure to spend time with Paul, Hobbs, and Co.

But now, sadly, the convention is over and I'm back home again. What's left of this month involves getting the next installment of Children of Fear, my whopping great Chaosium Call of Cthulhu campaign, into shape and submitted, as well as the next assignment in my role as Assistant Editor on Call of Cthulhu. Hopefully more on that next month!

The Best Four Days in Sleep Deprivation

Or: In Which We Nearly Made It All The Way Through A Trip To Gen Con Without Losing Our Luggage.

Gen Con has finished for another year and I realise that the last time I updated this blog was two years ago (shocking behaviour - I do apologise). So, without further ado, I shall present this year's Gen Con report minus pictures as, once again, I took my camera and utterly failed to used it...

My first Gen Con was in 1994 when it was still in Milwaukee. That was an exciting and odd experience and for years I wanted to get back and bring my husband, Richard, along with me. We finally managed that in 2013 and have been back every year since, with each year being its own peculiar (and exhausting) beast.

This year, I was lucky enough to have been selected as an Industry Insider Guest of Honour and I got to be on three very enjoyable panels. The first was Women in Gaming, which I will admit I was mildly dreading as part of me wondered if we still needed such a panel in this day and age. But, sadly, after the events of the last eighteen months or so, it appears that yes, we most definitely do.

Thanks to the lovely Rachel Ventura of Legendary Games, we'd decided to focus on the positive aspects of being a woman in games, something that was very much appreciated by our audience. Having been to the ConTessa opening ceremony the day before, I'd been reminded of how women have been in gaming from the very beginning and how important their contribution to the worlds we all know and love have been. Sadly, in some quarters, that seems to have been all but forgotten.

It was fascinating to share experiences with Elisa Teague (author of Girls on Games), Nicole Lindroos (Green Ronin), Rachel, and Shoshana Kessock (Phoenix Outlaw Productions) and we really could have done with another hour (at least!) to do the topic justice. Still, there's always next year...

My final two panels weren't until Sunday. The first, hosted by the ever-so-organised Keith Baker, was about designing worlds. We were joined by Elsa S. Henry (Blind Mouse Games), Brannon Boren, and the redoubtable Ken Hite. Although slightly intimidated at first by the illustrious company in which I found myself, this was an excellent panel all round (particularly the startling revelation that, as far as we can tell, Elsa is actually Daredevil, though you didn't hear that from me).

It's always interesting to see how other people approach world building and to discuss how important tone and the type of stories you want to tell are to giving your world its unique feel, and I hope we gave the audience some useful tips and ideas to go away and play with.

My last panel was an absolute hoot. Of all the panelists, Bryan Steele (Ursa's Den) was the only one I didn't know (but, as it turns out, he's thoroughly lovely - hardly a surprise, really, as most people in the gaming industry are). Along with Andy Peregrine, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, and Bill Bodden, we had a highly entertaining chat about the dos and don'ts of becoming a freelancer. As Andy said at the time, let's hope we haven't done too good a job, or we've just put ourselves out of work!

In between panels I got to meet up with old friends, some for the first time in the flesh (including the wonderful John Kahane). I also got to make new friends, indulged in sushi therapy with Monica Valentinelli (man, the sea puff specialty roll at Mikado is amazing, and I speak as a sushi virgin), and had some incredibly instructive business meetings, some of which I hope to be able to talk about in the near future.

I also worked the Modiphius booth on Saturday, shilling my wares (Achtung! Cthulhu and Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks) under the watchful eye of booth manager and long time proofreader and friend, T.R. Knight. It's always lovely to interact with our customers and to hear how they're playing and, more importantly, enjoying our games. I even got a little sketch of Cutey (our nickname for the squid symbol you'll find throughout the A!C books) by John Kovalic although, in my usual oblivious state, I had no idea it was him until after he'd gone and I'd checked the business card she was drawn on! (Unless, of course, someone else has taken to drawing cartoons on the back of Mr. Kovalic's business cards...)

And, of course, there was the ENnie Awards Ceremony. Having nearly missed the first hour because I was convinced it started at 9pm not 8, I was, thankfully, in place to see Achtung! Cthulhu: Terrors of the Secret War win silver for Best Cover. Ian Schofield did a lovely job on that one for us and I was so pleased to see his work recognised by both the judges and the voters.

By far the biggest surprise of the night, though, was Terrors walking away with the silver for Best Monster/Adversary. I honestly thought they'd put up the wrong screen to start with, especially considering the other amazing and beautiful books in that category. But no, it really was us and I was thrilled to bits for Josh O'Connor, Jesse Hawkins, Reuben Saunders, Dave Blewer, Dim Martin, Ian Schofield, Michal Cross and Chris Birch (oh yes, and me, of course, as chief cook and bottlewasher on the book) that people liked what we'd done. The choice we'd made to go cinematic was risky, but the nomination and the medal (one of which is hanging over my computer as I type) show that it was the right decision.

I love Gen Con and it's wonderful to have seen it grow and evolve over the last twenty-one years. This has to have been my favourite one so far and, fingers crossed, we'll get to do it all again next year!

Transatlantic Tea Party

We're back from Indianaoplis now (mostly awake, but not entirely), and I'm pleased to report that we had a fabulous time. Not only did the game sell well, but we also met some fantastic people.

I got to run an impromptu demo for two very lovely non-gamer steampunk ladies, who were so taken with it that they bought the game! As Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks was partly written with these kind of ladies in mind, I was absolutely thrilled to bits.

I also got to discuss the potential for Space Mounties with two smashing Canadians, chat to the fantastic Liz Spain (whose Incredible Expeditions is currently on Kickstarter - please do go and take a peek!), and finally got to meet one of our first and most enthusiastic supporters, the wonderful Donna Prior.

Not only that, but we set ourselves a little cosplaying goal over the course of the convention. As the tagline for the game is "Tea! Cake!! Adventure!!!", we decided that we'd have to find ourselves two very special cosplayers...

Tea! Cake!! Adventure Time!!! With Jake the Dog...

And Finn the Human!

Yes, we know it's daft, but we're very proud of ourselves, and both lads were quite happy to indulge our silliness.

Indianapolis Ahoy!

(Photo courtesy of Shadow Caver, www.city-data.com)

It's time for the tea and cake to make it's way Stateside for the next week, as Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks makes its debut at Gen Con, one of the biggest gaming coventions in the world.

We're very excited, as it's nearly two decades since I was last there with Nightfall Games and Wizards of the Coast. It may have moved cities, but I expect it to be just as hectic and entertaining as ever it was!

And don;t tell anyone, but there are rumours that the infamous tea-pot fez will also be making an appearance...

Sky High!

Never ones to rest on our laurels, we are very pleased to announce that the first supplement for Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks is available from RPGNow.

Atlantis: City in the Clouds takes you to that marvellous miracle of the steam age, Her Majesty's Flying Steam City Atlantis. Hovering far above the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantis is the pride of the British Empire, ranked alongside India as one of Her Majesty's greatest treasures. Home to myriad businesses and personalities, Atlantis (better known as "The Cog" to its inhabitants), is the perfect place to explore new horizons and seek high* adventure.

The sourcebook contains:

• Insight into the history and construction of Brunel and Stephenson’s engineering marvel, HMFSC Atlantis
• Details on the layout of the city and its environs, including notable businesses and personalities
• A full-length adventure of sky-high intrigue set aboard The Cog
• Six pregenerated characters ready for you to pick up and play
• Even more Attributes to help build your own adventurers in the Empire of Steam
• Thrilling steampunk art by Kit Cox

So grab your Earl Grey - it's time for High Tea!*

 

*And when we sasy "high", we really mean it!

A Spot of Tiffin

Tomorrow should be a very interesting day for Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks, as we're off to Hartlepool's Historic Quay for Tiffin on the Trinc!

Picture courtesy of IAIN, the International Association of Institutes of Navigation.

HMS Trincomalee is a beautiful old girl, with quite the history. A Leda-class frigate, she was actually obsolete by the time they'd finished building her, leading to her spending most of her life either mothballed or acting as a training ship. She is now the oldest British warship still afloat, thanks to her unusual teak construction (most warships of the time were made of oak).

Lovingly restored over the last twenty years or so by a charitable trust, you can imagine how excited we are to be running taster demo games on board this gorgeous ship, surrounded by fellow steampunks and probably quite a few bemused members of the public!

The historic quay opens at 10am, and Tiffin on the Trinc officially opens at midday, with legendary graphic novellist Bryan Talbot firing the noon-day gun. If you can make it along, we'd love to see you!

Time Flies...

It's been a busy old week here at the Cake Factory, with lots of social media promotion for the game, as well as the paper version making its debut on Modiphius Entertainment's stand at the UK Games Expo.

So far, there have been over a thousand downloads of our free preview version, and the full game was at No.6 in the download charts (I would make a Prisoner-themed joke, but it wouldn't quite work seeing as only the first full chapter of the game is free), and is currently sitting at No.33 in RPGNow's Top 100 games. Not bad after only a week, eh?

And last night, way after this humble author's usual bedtime, I was chatting to Dan and friends at the Harboiled GMshoe's Office about the game and its influences, the Victorian space race, dinosaurs as player characters, how to handle supernatural elements and whether or not you could play at superheroes with the system. Dan is a very gracious host, and asked some very challenging questions which I hope my sleep-addled brain managed to answer fully and coherently!