Trying to Figure Out the Fall Con Scene

 I’ve had the fortunate situation of traveling up upstate New York to watch Maya play volleyball the past two weekends.  With the move up there, a new travel team, and the very backwards set up for varsity sports at the new high school, it's  been a bit more trying than it should.

I’ve been paying more attention in recent months, not to the player interaction, but how a coach actually "coaches'.   In my conversations with Maja, I've realized that there are honestly few true coaches been any level of sports that can instruct to a full roster, strategize with the flow of the game, and just general personnel management.  With some Shake Shack between us, and with no disrespect to the wonderful adults who have stood in that role over the years for both my daughters, but we really only came to a consensus of two coaches in the dozen years of sports,  that have really been excellent coaches, in all segments.

And as a further downer for the weekend, Shake Shake is nothing more than overpriced vintage Wendy's with pretentious Frosties.    

I do have to laugh, our time was probably better spend attending CouncilCon 26 in Schenectady, even if she had to leave halfway through the day to go to work… If I didn’t have to take the journey to go visit my mother and take care of yardwork and fixing a few more things, I may have even stayed for Sunday

Despite being the emotional athletic support systems both weekends, I have gotten a few other things done.

I finished a revisit to Flights 2 and downgraded the their review.  It's only a half-gnome deduction, but  the folksy and cluttered appeal began to wear thin as I double checked a few things.  

I've also been able to visit not one, not two, but THREE different game stores, with pending reviews coming up.  

Most importantly,  was able to enjoy the extra time with my daughter, trying to plan a game-filled November we normally have in Pennsylvania.

First off, FALL-IN 2026, November 6-8, 2026 at the Wyndham in Lancaster will NOT have a formal HMGS NEXT GEN presence.  I'm half tempted just to sign up for the day or the weekend, maybe volunteer to judge events for a slot, although between my  conversations with Maja and a my long drive down the Thruway on Sunday, I think I have an event to run a) that's fun  b) simple to assemble and c) still Gnome themed.  It might require a few trips to the dollar store, Michael's and definitely the evil Hobby Lobby.    With this, I might just be willing to run the joust.  

Mepacon 51 -  Is the following weekend , November 13-15, in Allentown Pennsylvania. 

For Mepacon 50, I had run an assortment of “best of “games. I’ve done over the last 35 years of convention.  

For Mepacon 51, I was strongly pondering a Fistful of Lead sci-fi game to cover the alien theme and I was actually being pressured to run a sequel to the “Cthulhu Comes to Springfield" games, most notably, an alien themed vignettes under "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos!" 

I don't think I'm willing to do the 12 hours of gaming anymore to get the free badge.  Hell, I’m not sure I might even go anymore.

Couple that was some pretty big news for the Gamma World campaign happening this Monday night, as well as the normal October-to-September year end reviews I do  and we’re sort of had a crossroads of what I really want to do, And what’s really important?

Perhaps it's the request from Maja to bring "The Boyfriend",  Drew, to SATLOF (Saturday After Thanksgiving Left Over Feast) my college roommate, Steve (and Angi) still host.  Considering Steve was one of the "trusted uncles" Maja begged opinions of the young man, this should be a smooth transition.

(Painting) Underground Burrowing Monster

I may have created a new personal gripe about 3-D printing.  I have no idea where I bought this piece while at Historicon:

I don't think it's Trainwreck 3D, but with the random purchases I grabbed and put into a bag, I can't be sure if this was one of their figures that isn't on the website, or is it somebody else's.

As to be expected, we have a new threat on Death Planet Iota.  A Murder Wurm?  A baby Krayt Dragon?  A burrowing suit of organic power armor? We'll need a scenario to try it out!  

Next:  So now that I finally got one thing off the painting bench, what's on the agenda?   An absolute mess that needs a weekend without anything else to do to clean up.  The Hawaiian Gnomes will get an accessory upgrade, there's the regular assortment of miscellaneous things, and I do have to prep this year's Christmas project that I've acquired (Mwhahaha)...

Project 350:  After all the chaos of #RPGaDay, I resume my quest to reduce my draft and scheduled blog posts with an unfortunate uptick.  I'm currently at 470 total posts behind the scenes (310 drafts / 160 scheduled), up considerably from  460 (297 drafts/163 scheduled)  way back on July 3rd.  

The scheduled number really can never drop below 100, as that's all the various holiday filler posts I've set up... for nearly the next 20 years!   And while there are a handful of cool scenarios I've seen on other blogs that I'd like to recreate, the uptick in drafts is early prep work/placeholders for my next RPG community event, the #CharacterCreationChallenge. in January.

Fall Gnome Homes at Dollar Tree

 This might be the best time of year at your local Dollar Tree:  leftover Summer product, Halloween, Fall, and even the first waves of Christmas.  

FYI:  There are a few additional Fall options for the gnome homes, including a few gnome blisters that are wildly out of scale. 

While my Christmas swag is immediately going into my "Christmas Vllage" box, as-is, I will admit it's been a long time since I immediately primed up something when I got home. 

A rough hint for the dollar store hobbyists?  It's Summer-party related.

(Gamma World) Not a Test #128 - Time Constraint

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, have decided to embark on an epic quest to reach Lathar's long-lost father, Harkonn.  After side-quests, distractions, and backtracking, the group has made it past Fair-Town and KIA Academy, and they continue to explore some sort of abandoned facility along the Big River.

==============================================================

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does.   Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust.  Recently married to the now-pregnant Thunnelda Haycock.   He had recently received a letter from his long-lost father, and has convinced the others to accompany him to the Wildlands.

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.   Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"

Sonny Helianthus: an over 10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with four arms, and trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades.   Sonny may have recently detonated an atomic device in the petrified woods... although no one else knows. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places,  and finding it often.   He  has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.  Recently attacked and kidnapped then left for dead by an unknown group, looking for revenge.  Also pregnant for the third time, and due to deliver badly out of season

Poppy and Speedy: Two of Squiggles' offspring from his first... litter(?) They're now teenagers in worm years, old enough to grab diminutive muskets and help their Manchi and his friends on this epic quest. 

===============================================================

With the young worms, Poppy and Speedy, guarding the back gate, the rest of the Explorers continued their exploration of the abandoned compound... still in the domed marked "MRF" on the outside.

They stared at the display in the shiny metal cabinet again.  Shelves of small jars, with labels full of patterns and strange symbols.  

Searches revealed only one important thing in the dome.  A one foot by two foot black box on the side of the cabinet was revealed to Sonny from above to be a clipboard, double hold punched printed paper held together by two large rings run through the board... scraps of paper suggested many other sheets of paper had been in their 

Page 1: 

Designation: CB-RV-17 / PROXIMITY SITE - SAMPLING COMPOUND

Security Level: BLACK-IRON (downgraded post-withdrawal)

“Research objectives compromised. Containment no longer assured. Recommend immediate transition to denial posture.”

Page 2:  

Filed by: Lt. R. Kess (Acting Containment Officer)

Key Points:

• One freezer unit (BIO-VAULT C) registers internal pressure drop

• Alarm did not trigger automatically

• Manual inspection notes:

  • Frost pattern inconsistent with door opening

  • Interior surfaces show micro-fracturing, like stress from inside

Addendum (handwritten):

“Sample was not taken.... Sample escaped....  That should not be possible."

Page 3:  

Source: Arc-Tech Sensor Mast 
Correlation: 99.2% match with historical events

Notable Annotation (red ink):

“This is NOT a natural surge.
Something anchored it.”

Page 4:  

Encrypted Burst Transmission
Origin: Coalition Command, River Theater
Priority: ABSOLUTE

“Cease all research activity immediately.
Initiate DENIAL PROTOCOLS.
No recovery attempts.
No pursuit.
Base is to be considered compromised beyond reclamation.”

Follow-up (Timestamped 2 minutes later):

“If personnel resist evacuation, leave them.”

Page 5: 

• ✅Scuttle arc-tech equipment

• ❌Bio-Vaults Failed

• ✅Burn all anomaly logs

• ✅Troops successfully withdrawn 

• ✅Hunter packs accounted for and reassigned. 

“Time constraint.”

Concerned by the strange data, the group reassigned the young worms to different positions and continued searching the other domes.  

Most of the domes showed signs of barracks: cots, footlockers, some emptied, tables that once displayed something.

Lathar pried open on of the plas-tech footlocker with his sword.  black uniforms, combat boots, toiletries, and a disturbing picture of a man, his partner (?), and two small children.  The children's face had been physically worn out/erased... 

The cloth journal was expected of some soldier in charge.  It was mostly the standard fare: missing his family, worried about his men, but the last page seemed scribbled....

"The Doctor mentioned magic!!!! What fucking bullshit is that?" 

Pete acquired a map!   It was mostly a sketched map of the Big River below KIA. The actual river itself was well detailed, showing rapids, islands, and low points.  What was worrisome were the repeated words along both side of the river.

"Do Not Camp"

Working through the next dome, there was a series of destroying pieces of tech, shredded papers, that Pete confused as comfortable bedding, and one lone terminal with a single blinking message: 

SOURCE UNDEFINED

Sonny played with the terminal with no success.  So did Lathar.  Pete simply pulled the plug on the device, plugged it back in, and a simple blinking horizontal line appeared in the upper left hand corner of the screen.  

Sonny:  "I'll work on this later, if we have time."

In the final dome were more cots and empty footlockers.  Two cryptic message were carved into the surface of the latrine: 

"The River Listens"

"Don't Dream Here"

The explorers pondered how far these humans had travelled... and more so whether it was safer to spend the night there, under heavy guard than risk it outside the walls.  

They didn't rely on the resting Sonny the Sunflower as a guard, setting up a rotation.

The rest, including No-Name resided in the dome with the terminal, Sonny's new obsession.  He worked through half the night, until becoming more and more aggravated, stomping out to see Squiggles and relieving him early to collect himself in the autumn night. 

Sonny stepped up on the concrete block wall, towering over the metal fencing, as he stared across the river.  It was still quiet.  No insects.  No birds.  No animals.  Just the sound of the Big River, gurgling, swirling, and rolling.... upriver.

"Upriver???"

Alarmed, Sonny ventured back towards the dome, only to be met by Squiggles and his children staggering out.  

"Sonny, something's weird...  The kids..."

"Did they eat the rations?"

"No, no... cause I feel like it too... No-Name seems startled inside."

"Uncle Sonny.... my segments hurt!"

Inside the dome, Lathar tried to calm No-Name.   He was preoccupied by trying to remember the dream he had just awoken from.  It felt so right... but it didn't feel good. 

The group came back into dome.  Pete suggested that the pack up and leave quickly, finally emerging from dome and witnessing what was coming.   

The night sky was illuminated away from the river.... a large, blue, glowing aura stretching across the horizon on the left appeared to be working towards them at a rapid pace.....

The group fled the dome... running out the back of the compound.  No-Name acted particularly belligerent to its kind master Lathar, the barbarian pulling him by the reins like it was some obstinate camel.  

And the blue aura, know crackling with similar energy, kept coming.....

Next: #129 - The Third Reflection of the Ninth Crossing

Burning Plastic AAR - Thanks to Cyrus Duane

Last Mepacon, I had the pleasure of running two games of Burning Plastic, the sci-fi miniatures rules I helped create (and mostly promote) more than 30 years ago. Some of my returning players from the 90's attended and some may have gotten reference sheets and some of the few remaining copies. 

I did get linked by friend and TTRPG author  Cyrus Duane  as he ran a game for his son.

This looks exactly like I envisioned "Your First Burning Plastic Game" to be.  I'm probably wrong, but it looks like one of those container playsets they sell nowadays, with plenty of terrain to play with!

In the end, the only criticism was the power versus point cost of the tank.  I only counter that a tank in such a sparse game is madness, and.... Self-Destruction rules.

I may have found an artist for Burning Plastic 2.0

Their second post involve3d dinosaurs!!!  

I'll be honest, I may have snorted when I read that the T-Rex had a 1" range.   Well done! 

(Review) Cloud City Games - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

After an early weekend of yardwork at my mother's I went home the very, very long way.  

I had already been to Cloud City Games' locations in Stroudsburg, Easton, and the flagship store in Allentown, but they had opened up a new location in the gaming Mecca of Kutztown, Pennsylvania.  

Kutztown is it's own little geographical whole, but it's also a college town, home of Kutztown University.  

It's a smart idea, until the history of failed stores in the area, some by experienced folks with deep pockets, were part of the lore.

Worst case, I needed to make an appearance before they joined the shuttered predecessors.

I'm happy to report that we will not need an obituary.  

The good news is that it's in a decent looking strip mall, about a mile from campus. 

And I expected the sign up, and was not disappointed.

It's a smaller footprint than the other sites, but it's still quite vast. 

CCGS:  The reason for all those tables.  A good supply of Magic/Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh! singles.  Lots of packs, although somebody was unhappy they didn't have the particular boosters for one set, didn't have two full boxes to sell, and he didn't get some additional discount.   I don't miss entitled customers, although I have my hands full with entitled business owners at work.  

RPG:  A great selection of 5e, and Pathfinder but the heart of  Cloud City's role-playing section, to me, are the multitudes of Indy and zine-based games.  Pretty solid selection compared to the other stores.  

Minis:  GW racks, GW paints, and a large selection of the D&D mins/Wizkids licensed stuff.  A full rack of Monument Hobbies paints, with some GW scattered, needing a restock.

Events: A D&D night, a night of Monster of the Week (Both for high school kids!) , Magic Commander, Gundam, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!   That's a healthy Summer schedule. 

Staff:  I was acknowledged, they handled paying customers, and were working out the details for a project on Sunday.  

Comics:  The new releases and back issues were certainly there, but the bookcase after bookcase of graphic novels dominated that view when you first walk in. 

Other stuff:  The video game selection seemed bigger than the other sites, which tracks for a college town (The Stroudsburg location is NOT a healthy walk away, that's why the normal shops in the Poconos were a 20 minute walk max from the college campus.)

I'll be honest, it's a Cloud City location, albeit everything feels scaled down to 85% (except the graphic novels) . 

And for a brand new location in a college town, on Summer break, that's probably perfect.

I give Cloud City - Kutztown  three and half gnomes out of five.  

It does what it needs to, and with Cloud City in the Palmer Mall less than four minutes away from my mother's, I may swing by Kutztown only if I'm in the neighborhood.  

Cloud City Games, Comics, and Toys is located at 45 Constitution Blvd #2 in Kutztown.

Favorite Movie of Each Year in the 80's

I saw this repeatedly online figured I’d take a crack at it.  I actually grabbed some traction on social media, so I'm posting it here.  

Pretty controversial, but I think it explains so so much about my GMing Style

Favorite Movie of Each Year in the 80s, aka we had HBO in the house:  

1980 - Airplane! 

1981 - Cannonball Run

1982 - Beastmaster

1983 - Krull

1984 - The Natural 

1985 -  Better Off Dead

1986 - Ferris Buellers Day Off

1987 - The Secret of My Success 

1988 - Scrooged

1989 - Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure