(Gamma World) Not a Test #114 - Return to Riverbend, Mandolin Wind

It's been a month since the De Facto Explorers left Riverbend on a mission for the Restorationists.  They have travelled into the alleged Glow Lands to discover a parts of an Ancients' power-cell facility deep in the zone.  They search was cut short by some giant explosion and paranoia among the Hoppers allies.  They were able to discover actual treasure and have returned to the shore of the Big River to be ferried back to Riverbend.

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

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.

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 over10' 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 gave birth to a pile of baby worms. 

Luna of the Restorationists:  Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who was part of the group who had discovered the artifacts across the River that led to the mission.  An attaché, an intern, another set of snooping eyes against the Explorer's methods, ready to report back to the Restorationists. 

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

The final morning of the journey back was a difficult go.  The cart they had brought with them was a hassle to port through the woods from the river.  A fully laden cart with gold, gems, and a feeble Luna made everyone grumpy.  

No one in the group was a teamster or heavy laborer, so tempers flared, and discussions that had been concluded resurfaced, like whether Luna was worthy of a share of the treasure.  

Pete: Why does she deserve anything? She did nothing out there and has been dead weight for the past week?   She better not be taking any of my snuff as she's lounging in the back of the cart...

Sonny:  Pete, no one wants your snuff.  Hell, you shouldn't want your snuff.  

Lathar:  Seriously, give her a fair share, I'll give her a big smooch and that should earn us good standing when she goes back to the Restorationists... 

Sonny finally teleported across the river and fetched Clover Haycock.  

It took Clover two trips to bring everything back.   Sonny gave him two of the diamonds as payment (Clover: I would have done it for free!  Lathar got my sister out of my house.).  They split up the loot, giving Luna her equal share and she departed. 

Pete wandered to his tree house by the river.  No traps had been set off.  He washed off, grabbed his mandolin and wandered back into town, finding the rest of the group in Ye New Leaping Happy Eagle. 

Squiggles ventured there with Lathar and Sonny, to find his daughter, Sophie the Keg.  She climbed up to a stool to reach the bar. 

Sophie: Manchi!!!! You've returned!

Squiggles: Pour me a pint and tell me the news, my favorite offspring!

Sophie, ever the wise bar manager, still charge the Explorers, even her father, for drinks. 

Of all the rumors and news in town, his daughter was still perseverating on a Radish Toss tournament they hosted that went sideways.  

Sophie the Keg: Remember Tumble Jacques? He was in the finals.  His final radish flew across towards the board, only to vanish in thin air.  People went crazy  We were forced to call the tournament.  We even called Justinian from the Restorationists to investigate to figure it out, and he had no clue.   I guess it's an okay thing.  We didn't give out the trophy, so we can use it next time. 

"Tumble" Jacques - Rogue, Scholar, Radish Toss Cheat? 

Some crackpot fella named Zohan showed up, saying the vanishing radish was an omen of agricultural doom.  We haven't really messed with him yet, but he has pulled some of the villagers to an enclave outside of town.

Apparently there is some toll on the road to Fair-Town?  Some folks came up from Fair-Town for the tournament and they were accosted by invisible people called the Sky Lords? 

Pete: I told you we should have killed them, or at least beat them cut and take a cut of their operations...

Pete had broken off from the group, to find the other musicians and set up a jam session, with the rest of the Explorers departing, he was the only one who heard the hills away from the riverside lit up blue again in the distant hills along the horizon.  

Sonny had barely made it back to Farmer Yulius' place, and was pondering just purchasing his barn, since he no longer fit in the shack he and Squiggles had previously live in.  A courier for the Restorationists arrived, requesting his presence at Ascension Hall. 

He was led to the large room in the back of hall.  Justinian was already sitting there...

Sonny, what the hell???

Sonny crouched down in the room, as he was taller than the ceiling.  He began giving the leader of the Restorationists a full briefing, edited for deniability, all the while knowing Luna had already give him her version of the events.

Sonny mentioned the troglodytes, gun turrets, monsters, a tube-based horror.. that he admitted creating, He admitted the site was a facility for power cells, with heavy glow spots and a hallway of death.  He mentioned the hoppers and seemed perplexed as to the source of the mysterious explosion that forced them to leave.  

Justinian bought some of it... rolled his eyes at other time.  As a sunflower perplexed by human social cues, Sonny simply continued giving his report.  Justinian did admit he was intrigued by a power cell facility not dedicated solely to weapon power cells. 

In fairness, it had been quite awhile since Sonny and Justinian had caught up to their projects.  Sonny finally admitted  to the Toard Jakey facility far from the village "The Pool House".  Justinian somehow did not request any more information about that than Sonny had provided.  Sonny did promise to return tomorrow with a piece of the crystal sample they found at the epi-center of the explosion.   Justinian still offered tinkering space for the sunflower's projects. 

Lathar finally arrived at his childhood home, currently home to himself, his mother, and his pregnant bride Thunnelda.  Chambray the peacock waddled out to great his master.  

Thunnelda, another month pregnant was far more excited to see her beloved than disturbed that he abandoned her for an entire month, right after the wedding. The only thing that irked her.  He had taken the very ornate hinge "their very furry friend Pete"  had given them as a wedding gift... and Lathar had to admit he destroyed it to save the group.  

Lathar pulled out one of the clear gems to Thunnelda.  

Thunnelda: "Wow, that looks a lot like the one Clover brought over to show me, very nice."

Lathar: "We can always bedazzle a hinge with these.... " 

Thunnelda had avoided the Radish Toss Tournament and admitted to seeing the blue lights in the distant horizon, away from the river. 

After he settled in, Lathar's mother pulled him aside. 

"A raccoon showed up.  He was riding a giant goose.  He demanded three hard-boiled eggs for himself and a bath for his goose before he would delivered this letter.  

Lathar stepped outside onto the porch, alone, and read the letter.... 

Lathar

If this reaches you, then the winds of fortune favor us still. I set out years ago, following the whispers of a machine buried beneath the glowing plains, one said to heal both flesh and spirit. The Wildlands held me longer than I wished—storms, beasts, and the shattering of roads.

I have not perished. I endure. Know that I sought no abandonment. Every fire I kindled, I thought of you. Every night I kept your name upon my lips.

If word can travel to Riverbend, then so too may I, in time. Trust the Restorationists with caution, my son. Their faith is a chain as much as a torch. Seek the valley where the black reeds hum—there, perhaps, we shall find one another.

Your Father,

Harkonn of the Old Marks

Lathar stares off into the future, and that future is uncertain... 

The session ends with Lathar stares off into an uncertain future, with the strains of Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind" playing until the fade to black....

GM Notes:  

*This was the first time we actually needed dimensions of the Big River.   Pete had wanted to try to use his telepathy to reach out to Clover, and upon my refence, I realized he was like 100 yards short. Thankfully, it was still within the range of the sunflower's teleport, and he easily made his roll. 

The Big River is at its maximum up to 300 meters across.  Most of the river was nine foot deep, a few areas, like the one a few miles north, are fordable, while other spots are  more than 20 foot deep. a

*Quote of the Night:  Mike (Pete): Your daughter's charging us for drinks, after we set her up in this bar?  

Steve (Squiggles): I'm not raising worms, I'm raising Ferengi. 

*Jim (Lathar) requested Mandolin Wind playing at the end of the episode....

Next: #115 - The Letter Makes Its Rounds

Mepacon 51 - What to Run?

The proverbial ink isn't even dry from Mepacon 50 last weekend, but it is a good time to think about events for Mepacon 51, taking place November 13-15, 2026, just outside of Allentown, PA at the Delta Hotels Allentown Lehigh Valley at 7736 Adrienne Dr., Breinigsville, PA 18031

For this last con, I asked the question "What to run?" to the gaming community at large, and its no surprise that the most successful events were the winners from the survey.  a

With the theme of 51 turning to "Aliens" I have set up a poll to take everyone's input.  You should be able to vote for multiple options.  Thanks everyone for your help! 

1 - Death Planet Iota (Fistful of Lead - Galactic Heroes):  Death Planet Iota is my take on the wormhole/ "junk planet" where you can take figures from all sorts of games and plop space marines with Star Wars or Star Trek.  Obviously, only the strong survive, but within the confines of the City of Carf, the intergalactic refugees huddle together to last just a bit longer.  My daughter, Maja, and I ran our oversized but simple board at Historicon for over 50 players (over 100 when we add in the gnomes and the joust at that spot for the weekend).  

I have conversion notes for most intellectual properties, so I might allow you to bring a smattering Fallout figures to fight Orks or Jawas or Mouslings.  

2 - Burning Plastic - Green Army Guys who are secretly robots fighting a distant galactic war for their mysterious galactic overlo.... who am I kidding, people just like to make scout floaters careen into their own troops and self destruct robots against enemy tanks... and chuck dice at the table.  

3 - Legions of Steel - Most of the classic 90s miniatures game involves the valiant troopers of the United Nations of Earth (UNE) fighting the invading hordes of alien robots known as "The Machines" (or Legions of Steel), but running four or six player games could finally justify me painting up the other alien races from the game.

4- TWERPS Science Fiction Theatre - TWERPS is the "The Worlds Easiest Role-Playing System" and I have a track record from early Mepacons (and the Bogglecon/Lehicon lineage) of taking classic Sci-Fi RPG material and boiling it down to it's base components.   Quick two hour sessions, heck players could jump in and out... all in the name of having fun. 

5 - TOON - "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos" - I still have people who couldn't jump into my classic "Cthulhu Comes to Springfield" game, so perhaps a game based in the future of the classic Treehouse of Horror episode might appease the masses... and the theme? 

6 - Star Wars d6 - I know a handful of folks I would prefer to PLAY in the their Star Wars game, but if needed, I have no issue running a few sessions.

7 - GURPS: Humanx -I'm stretching here, but GURPS, plus the long out of print sourcebook of Alan Dean Foster's novels, plus the con theme, brings back high school nostalgia.

8 - Classic Traveller - Yes, there's some aliens in Traveller, but in a bit of nostalgia, I remember playing in a "Intro to Mega-Traveller" game run by Ray George at Lehicon IV, and I do believe we still killed off one of the players' characters during character creation.

9 - Other - Surprise me...  The Mepacon crowd always does.

Mepacon 50 Review

Let's be honest, Historicon is the pinnacle of conventions for me.  

But by golly, a well-run Mepacon is a close second. 

Even mid-afternoon on a Friday, the place is jumping!

As faithful readers of the blog have seen repeatedly, this past weekend for Mepacon (Originally the Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Convention).  This year the convention remains outside of Allentown, PA off the PA Route 100 exit, a fine facility that can barely hold the majesty of the local convention.  

In addition to the four different events I was running, I had the pleasure of bringing my daughter, Maja, with me.  She drives now, so she drove down from Albany after work, with a surprise guest: her younger sister, Millie.  Millie games as well, but her plan was to spend a weekend of AAU basketball as a  spectator, watching her best friend play two levels up at 17U during a college coaches showcase.  

Friday

I took all of Friday off, and it was a good idea, as I was still formatting and printing off handouts for my games up until noon.   We finally ventured down the PA Turnpike, with no issues and arrived at the The Delta by Marriott Hotel with plenty of time to unload my stuff, let Maja figure out the compact arrangement of the convention, and for me to set up my afternoon Burning Plastic game. 

Burning Plastic, a game where green army guys represent robots on a futuristic landscape where 100% casualty rates aren't just acceptable... they're expected.  We started playing this at cons in the mid-90's, sold a few books along the way, and for the 50th (and nostalgia-fueled) Mepacon, it was a no brainer.  

I was placed within the "hallway" area, mixed within the solid Battletech contingent, although my request for a square/rectangular table was seized by the B'Tech boys for a layout that I never saw an actual game at.

Note to self: Specifically request Table #52 for Mepacon 51... all slots.

The infamous table 52....

I had the best of both world in my first game.  Two brand new players who slowly learned the twisted insanity of Burning Plastic... and two old buddies, Cyrus and George, who played the game back in the 90s.  

I have finally joined the internet trend of taking a picture with my players, post-game (and post-clean up!)

No matter your experience, when robots start self-destructing, and air strikes (chucked dice) make the men line up like it's a penalty kick, you can throw that right out the window.  

Friday night was supposed to be my Talislanta "The Crystle Dungeon" game.  This was my first ever convention game I GM'ed back at Lehicon IV in March of 1991.    The plot was the same, with lots of wiggle room, the characters still pulled off of the 1988 2nd edition rules (the classic heavily tattooed Thrall on the cover).   I was prepped for a classic, successful convention game, updated to more modern accoutrements and set-up. 

Despite the "Looking for Players" placard, I had none, and after 45 minutes or so, I packed that up and wandered the con.  

The silver lining?  The entire game is finally in a file folder, and two separate files digitally.  

Maja participated in an Improv seminar and played in a playtest promo of a fun game called Community Cats, which, when it becomes available, will end up at her house, to be gleefully played by her sister and mother. 

The one thing that always impresses me about the Mepacon is its history giving burgeoning game designers and companies a platform to show off their games, and playtest their new ideas.  There was quite literally a corner of the main ballroom labelled "Break My Game" were designers gleefully recruited players of all sorts to try out their concepts, some with simple mock-ups, others with more elaborate set-ups and specific artwork.  It's always full of players, but always looking for more.

I spent a good portion of the night waiting for Maja to finish the nightly LARP.  I can probably blame Carcosa Creations with Maja quitting basketball and focusing on drama and music more.  It's not a complete coincidence that the timelines converged after her first LARP experience at an earlier Mepacon back at the Bar with No Name at the (former) Holiday Inn off PA 512 in Bethlehem.  The only thing she asked about going to Mepacon was if there was a LARP.  She was in her glory when she found out there was one each night!

After midnight, we got in the car and drove over to my Mom's in Easton to crash for a few hours.

Saturday

Pure nostalgia for me, as we left my Mom's early and drove 2 1/2 blocks to the Palmer Diner for breakfast.  It's always been a little hole in the wall diner, with fond memories of the 80's, my sub-zero weekend deliveries of the newspapers, always had my Dad sitting in the truck, keeping the cab toasty, just in case I need a moment or two to get warm, then, as I finished the last paper on the top of Greenwood Ave and John St, we'd turn around and grab breakfast at the diner.  There's nothing particularly special about those memories, or perhaps that's what makes them special.

After a solid breakfast, we made record time back to Fogelsville and I set-up for round two of Burning Plastic.  This time I was away from the Battletech crew, and sort of shoved in  corner.  But if the corner invovles the "cupcake ladies" aka Quigley's Cakes.  There have been professional geek-themed cupcakes at Mepacon for the better part of ten years, maybe more, and even if money is tight that weekend, there's a two cupcake minimum.  

At better yet, for my own health's sake, no random Burning Plastic airstrikes made their way over to take out the cupcake displays.

A low-key casual ViscountEric, sporting a Next Gen jersey.

The game was another rousing success, with my players pushing the limits of the ruleset (adding buildings to the table brings up new questions that a traditional empty expanse of microchip and hydraulic fluid death do not.  

Saturday afternoon was thwarted by the most adorable six-year old girl.  

Going for nostalgia, I went with running the older River Horse Press version of the My Little Pony RPG.  I ran plenty of two-hour sessions of it back in the day, and I thought I had the perfect set-up.  

A mom, a dad, and their simple brilliant and delightful six-year girl... and my 17 years old Maja, feeling nostalgic for the game.  We had made Ponies, we were two seconds from rolling some Rory's Story Cubes to set up the plot for the adventure, and the youngest lady had a "Code Brown (Upper)" that made quite a mess.  

Obviously, the game was scrapped, the parents could attend to her.  The con staff (as always) was super responsive and within twenty minutes the hotel staff had the area cleaned, sanitized, and a new tablecloth on the table.  

No pictures of the catastrophe, but here's an explosion on a SILENT DEATH (!) table.

6pm-8pm Auction Time:  For the times before Mepacon there has always been a two hour mandatory break, with no games.  Some grab food, some take a nap, but most show up in the ballroom for the raffle, the winners of the dice guess, and the costume and coloring contests, and the auction.  

I've ranted about the auction in my Mepacon 49 review.  It's a different time, a different economy, and with that, there was a lot of mid-range stuff that simply did not garner bids because the opening bids were too high.  Not the fault of the auction rules, just a newer group of folks trying to use the auction to make money.  

The most heartfelt part of the two hours and Katie Brad, the convention director, holding back just the right amount of tears to thank everyone who had helped the con achieve it's success over the last twenty-five years.  The same extended group of friends volunteer and operate the con in some capacity since 2001.  In fact, when Katie did ask for a number of showing of hands for the classic "Raise your hand if it's your first Mepacon... Raise your hand if you've only been at Mepacon at the Delta... or if you were at White Haven... Scranton, Clarks, Summit.. or even the lone con in Jersey."

When she got to Mepacon 1, she brought those folks up... Of that small contingent of less than a dozen, only my friend Scott and I were not wearing current con staff (Ed Leheman, who retired from con, is con director emeritus by default).

And then I remember I was auction director for that first con.. so Scott was just a normal paying attendee...

The back of this year's con t-shirt.  It's been a most unusual ride....

And since we're old enough to remember "the good old days," we realized afterwards that for genealogical sake, there are only a half-dozen of us who can trace our con lineage to Lehicon 2 or 3 in the early 90s.  

God I'm old. 

I ended Saturday night with another much-demanded event: TOON - Cthulhu Comes to Springfield. What was once multiple one-hour "episodes" has been shrunk down to a two-hour "very special episode" of "Krusty the Kultist."

The first hour, the Springfield kids worked hard to make their secret prize to Krusty's sleep-away camp a nuisance for the adults to find them.  In the end it was the heroic group of Marge Simpson, Grandpa Simpson, Principal Skinner, Groundskeeper Willie, and Duff-Man who may have saved most of the wee children.  There were heroic but gruesome deaths for Grandpa and Nelson... but the most sanity shredding was the complete murder of Maggie. 

I'm proud to say that there were a circle of at least four more old players of the scenario, playing at the adjacent tables. 

Maja's day was lounging about in the morning, hanging out between the Burning Plastic and the cupcake ladies, played a game of Rock-n-Roll Brouhaha, took a nap in the car before dinner with me, snagged a game of Penny Black from the board game library, and made me stay till midnight with the LARP.  After a Wawa stop, we were home by 1am.

Nothing like waiting for the LARP wrap-up (This was Friday).

SUNDAY

Unlike Mepacon 49, I did not go Sunday, preferring to clean out the car, and coordinate the return of the youngest child, Millie, from her friend's basketball tournament in Lancaster.  As it was my birthday, we had some ice cream cake, the girls got me some extremely practical minis from the local game store, and I got to hang out with them before they headed back to upstate New York.

SWAG:  I honestly tried to peruse the multiple vendors, but, in the end, I grabbed some Car Wars stuff from the Auction buyout.   

Maja, I realized, is the bloody demographic they're looking for with the vendors I would call "peripheral"  She bought crafts and book pouches, and even some stuff for her sister, coming back to dear old dad to fill up her coffers again. 

Let's not take my downplaying of the vendors fool you, there were some heavy hitters showing up for a 500 person con. 

Mepacon 51 will be back at the Delta, November 13-15, 2026 | Lehigh Valley, PA.  The theme will be sci-fi, so I'm thinking about claiming Table 52 early and running on-going Fistful of Lead, although I still have a contingent that wants to me to run more and more Burning Plastic.   I guess it will be time to set up another poll!

(Gamma World) Not a Test #113 - The Villages of the Glow

The De Facto Explorers have just completed an exploration of a power-cell facility deep in the Glow Zone, cut short by some giant explosion and paranoia among the Hoppers allies.  They have discovered actual treasure, but not technology.  

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

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 Thunnelda Haycock.

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: a nearly 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 gave birth to a pile of baby worms. 

Luna of the Restorationists:  Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who had uncovered artifacts across the River.  An attaché, an intern, another set of snooping eyes against the Explorer's methods. 

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

From the Journal of Sonny Helianthus 

After obtaining the human treasure, and with the Hopper sudden and irrational displeasure of large explosions going off above their warren, we've loaded up and departed "HopperWarren" to return home to Riverbend.  

When we travelled through the alleged "Glow Zone" we were surprised to see small farming communities.  Most of the land was rolling hills that grew enough food to keep people alive. The land is somewhat dry, and not the most nutritious for me when I plant myself, so I can calculate the issues the humans and animals are having.   

We barely stopped long enough to rest on the outskirts on the way out.  With the others' rations long gone, replaced with Hopper satchels of carrots, they insisted on more interactions, to trade for anything but root vegetables. 

One last note before I make notes on the village:  These villages are horribly backwards , relying on primitive farming methods, and even stopping talking to us mid-conversation when we pulled out even lesser treasures of the Ancients.  Not all the humans we met like this, but enough that trying to make them a distant part of Riverbend, like Pete suggested is completely irrational and impractical.

River Flat: The village closest to HopperWarren was not a pleasant stop on the way out, and it did not change returning home.  Exhorbitant prices for water (although Lathar sprang for No-Name).    These folks are farming rugged terrain with surprising success.   Squiggles and I came to the same conclusion from differing perspectives: The ground itself is heaving from below, and Pete's tracking confirmed the appearance of very large mole tracks.  

Random:  We did manage to get water here, free as it were, but we also got a lot of questions about the "mushroom cloud" from a few days back.  Denying it made them agitated, and confirming it with my theme of plausible deniability, and a layer of fear seemed to calm them.  They're not a smart group, but it sounds like a few of them want to travel out to see if they could find the source of the explosion.  Hopefully the Hoppers would eat them.  

One thing Lathar noted:  a number of the farmers visiting town were wearing wigs.... cut human hair woven to resemble... human hair?  I had not a care for this human vanity I could not differentiate from the normal humans... save a few older ones that had no hair on their heads at all. 

Jungs:  To the south of the village are rows of crabapple trees, which the villages harvest for wood and the fruit which they make into tiny pies called "tarts."  The others called the miniature baked goods sour, but fine change from carrots.    The farmers had also hired a group of sentient Rogs (GM: Pig-Men with Anteater faces) to tend to the orchards.   Pete's telepathy picked up undercurrents of some sort of pestilence affecting the trees after the most recent harvest.  

Fokashia:  This, the closest village to Riverbend, might be the most prepared.  Pete and Lathar were somewhat impressed that they have a well-run militia, and that most folks in town were trained not only to use the bow at an early age, but most could build a the weapon and arrows.  The friendliest of the villages as well, they did shut up quickly as we inquired further about news of mutant bears visiting the elders.  The Zoopremacists from Parr absorbing the Hisser kingdoms of H'uush made sense.  A village of mostly humans and altered humans with low-level farming?   It doesn't make sense. 

Our haul and a less than optimal Luna has added significant weight to the cart.  While No-Name did not complain pulling it, once we left the Glow Lands for the rocky forests nearing the Big River, it was a great hassle getting the cart through the footpaths back to the river has added an extra day to our journey.  We'll probably spend the morning getting to cart to the rivers edge, and I should be able to teleport across and fetch Clover Haycock to ferry us back. 

GM Notes:  Fun fact, Sonny (or Sonny's player) did not write any of the journal.  With half the players missing, and assuming we were going to handwave/travel by map the journey back to Riverbend, I worked with Lathar and Squiggle's players to play a variant of Four Kingdoms to flesh out the villages.  There are underlying currents of politics, grief, and stress that the casual travelers simply don't pick up on, or casually choose to ignore.  

GM Note #2:  Last XP distribution after this session  (9/15/2025)

Next: 114 - Return to Riverbend, Mandolin Wind

RIP Lou Zocchi

In the midst of Mepacon was the sad announcement of the passing of "Colonel" Lou Zocchi, the legend within dice, wargmaing, and everything else he touched, whether it succeeded or not.  

He was a wargamer, an author, a designer, a publisher, and a distributor of gaming  him primarily as the "Father of the 100-sided die (The Zocchihedron)", his "razor-edged" polyhedrals that rolled more accurately, and a host of funky dice well before some of the current dice manufacturers were even board but I orginally remember the name for the ads his company, Gamescience put in issues of Dragon Magazine. 

Be it the Star Fleet Battle Manual, a Spitfire game, or a listing for TWERPS, I know our college  group bought most of his advertised catalog.  Some of it was dated, some of it was dated in a good way.

I never had the opportunity to meet the man, much less his spiel on dice which online videos shows is a mixture of the aimed charisma of a snake oil salesman, coupled with true zealotry for the product he was selling.  

Mepacon 50 This Weekend

 If everything goes according to plan, I'll be on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with my daughter, Maja, on our way to Mepacon 50, all weekend, at the Delta Hotels Allentown Lehigh Valley at 7736 Adrienne Dr., Breinigsville, PA 18031

Let me tell you, it has NOT been easy getting the finishing touches on my events.  Granted, they're all events I've run at conventions before, to fit the "Golden Jubilee" Theme.

Here's my events for the weekend again. 

Friday 4:00pm - Burning Plastic:  The game of green army men posing as easily exploding robots!

Friday 7:30-8:30 -  Drink with the Viscount at the hotel bar.

Friday 9:00pm -  Talislanta "The Crystle Dungeon"  - The first game I ever GM'ed (March 1991, Lehicon IV). It's been difficult to NOT upgrade it, but I'll let it run it's course.

Saturday 10am - Burning Plastic

Saturday 2pm  - My Little Pony - Tails of Equestria RPG

Saturday 4pm  - My Little Pony - Tails of Equestria RPG

Saturday 6pm - The Raffle, The Auction... or I might just pass out in the car.

Saturday 8pm - TOON - Cthulhu Comes to Springfield... Krusty the Kultist. 

(Georic Gazetteer) The City-State of Anon-Maxis

 

The City-State of Anon-Maxis

Pantheon:  Keltic with Senzar influences

Ruler:  Her Serene Majesty, The Red Mage, Dahut Morgana XIX

Government: Lordship

Capital: Anon-Maxis

Other Cities:  None

Language: Keltic, Trade Prythax,  High Elven

Flag/Emblem:  A golden maul standing in "T" form, on a field of six horizontal bars of green and blue.

Coinage:  None, usually whatever Alois honors.

Important Personas:  Various heads of guilds and institutions 

Alliances: Alois, Crosedes,

Hostilities: Lygresse

Open Warfare/Skirmishing: None

Intrigues: Plot to set Dahut Morgana on the throne of Alois, fully allied with Crosedes. Negotiations with Pohojola on unknown matters

Demi-Humans:   Sahuagin 20%, Elves 5%

Magickal Devices: The city as accumulated an impressive collection of artifacts and devices over the millennia.  Notable confirmed items over the last century include The Moon Pearl, The Flux Lever, and the First, Third, and Sixth Wheels of Entropy, 

Thumbnail Sketch:  While assumed to be part of the Six Kingdoms, the city-state is a unique entity that shares a geographic location with the others.  The city is mentioned in the earliest records of both the Khemmet and Senzar Empires.  Those original dispatches detail a city with black and weathered buildings, even older buildings in ruins, and savages running through the streets.  

The city, of course, has been rebuilt, multiple time in multiple styles.   The split of land it sits upon juts into the Starfall Channel, protected by a 100 foot cyclopean wall.  A considerable amount of trade stops in Anon-Maxis from all directions, which makes sense, as there is only one passable road, the Halfling Road, coming from Alois, through the rugged terrain from the southeast.

Still, there is more than the Antediluvian city.  The over 200 square miles the city-state controls is full of grazing lands, some farming, as well as mines for lead, silver, and one that production is a mystery.   

Anon-Maxis is a city for, and of, magic practitioners.  It's unsure how one is recruited or accepted into the Anon-Maxis Academie Sorcerie D'Ys, but they do produce an inordinate number of Battle Mages.  

Because the ruler is an arcana practitioner, and with the aid of the Anon-Maxis Academie Sorcerie D'Ys, it's no surprise that much of the city proper is protected by Iron Guardmen, 100 sentient golems with full law-enforcement powers.  

Visitors should note the peculiarity of the citizenry. While most visitors simply account for Keltic, Fereasean, and Senzar stock intermixing over the centuries... or longer. One can not ignore the large Sahuagin population in the city. A few bulbous eyes that aren't quite centered show a mixing of the communities that some nations don't even ponder. 

Geography & Major Cities

Cairn-Tor: The largest of the villages outside the city, this  fortified hill settlement in the southeast, near the Alois border serves as the first line of defense and a trading post. The town has a thriving market and one of the few inns.

Notable Locations & Attractions

The Spire of the Abyss: The ruling seat of Anon-Maxis was once regaled as an impossible structure of coral stone, living glass, and tide-forged black metal. It is still there but the prehistoric structure has been built over in numerous styles over the years, hiding its mysteries.  It rises above the city at the sea wall’s edge, acting as palace, temple, and lighthouse all in one.

The Deep Market: Beneath the central plaza lies an inverted bazaar, accessible through spiral tunnels and shimmering tide-doors. Exotic goods from below the sea, distant isles, and otherworldly realms are sold here, though not all with coin.

The Drowned Crown of Orvael:   Along the eastern shore of Anon-Maxis, where the grazing lands fall sharply into rocky cliffs and tide-slick coves, lies this ancient ring of menhirs and megalithic structures. They have been worn down and claimed by the sea—though only partially.   The remains of the massive stones leave the weathered tops visible above the surf like broken teeth in a foaming maw.

Mar Gwelwyn: A sprawling freshwater marsh near the western border. Much of it is impassable except by flatboat. Local guides whisper of drowned spirits and submerged paths that shift with the stars.

Sitooterie Park: A perfectly lovely park within an inhospitable looking city, the park is rumored to be the dumping ground for random mage's creations, and the mistakes with the magic school.  Beware the gazebos!   

Mentions of Anon-Maxis in the Blog:

Ballad of the Pigeon God #71 - Reference that a Cabal of Mages from Anon-Maxis bringing another 100 Iron Guardmen to the Battle of Apotheosis on the (losing) side of evil.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #75 -  The failures of the Cabal of Mages results in the death of the Red Mage, and the ascension of Kannex into the role, post-1073

Journey of Mutumbo #1 - Mutumbo begins his quest to return his artifact to the Red Mage of Anon-Maxis.

Journey of Mutumbo #4 - The artifact returned, the group encounters strange things in Sitooterie Park.  The town Lansluck mentioned is, in fact, Cairn-Tor.

Burning Trogs Rule #5 - Notes regarding a hidden summer estate of the Red Mage, somewhere within Crosedes.
Burning Trogs Rule #33 - Reference to a former Red Mage, Kannex, serving as Riknl of Senzar.