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.  

(Gamma World) Not a Test #112 - How Squiggles Got His Bongo

The De Facto Explorers have discovered a facility that used to manufactured energy cells in the Glow Zone wilderness across the Big River.  A large explosion just above the warrens of their Hoppers allies, have made the Explorers persona non grata, and they plan one quick foray to retrieve the alleged treasure before departing from home. 

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

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. 

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

The biggest question for the group, with their last few hours of Hopper hospitality.  They quickly answered their biggest question:  They were going to venture back into the mines to try to unearth the alleged treasure buried there by the corrupt facility administrator from days gone by.    

They decided to position No-Name, the cart, and the recovering Luna outside by the large double doors.   Pete would try to keep in contact telepathically. 

Sonny ventured off the alleged blast site and hacked off a piece of the bulbous glassy material that remained at ground zero that, he "had nothing to do whatsoever."

The rest of the group met by the heavy door in the Hopper warren that connected to the underground mines to be escorted in again, and have the Hoppers permanently lock it behind them.  They needed to wait a while for Squiggles.  The furry worm had not only developed the least ill-will out of the group from the Hoppers, but he was considered a true member of the Thumper Rex drum circle and gifted his bongo.   After some emotional goodbyes, the mutant worm did need to run the musical instrument out the doors and with Lunda on the cart.  

Once they were together again, they ventured through the steel door, which the Hoppers promptly closed behind them. 

The Hoppers, finally happy to see the De Facto Explorers go...

The finished rooms within the mine appeared the same as when they had last ventured, over two week earlier.  The older deceased bodies were still there, the doors all chains from this side, still keeping the Troglodytes .  

Squiggles led the way, using his night vision goggles, as well as the sketches they found to keep them from the Troglodytes way,  He did venture down a side tunnel, only to be met by a pile of five dead mutant badgers and familiar murmurings further down into the dark.  The badgers had been killed by weapons, but also partially eaten by something.  Squiggles returned to the group.

"We aren't going that way AT ALL."

Lathar quickly assembled a noisy trap at that intersection and the continued on.  The minimal old tracks in the tunnel disappeared entirely and they soon found themselves face-to-face with a huge blast door, faded red in color, with an access panel to the left. 

The same green key card that worked upstairs opened the blast doors, and a tile floor and another set of blast doors a short distance further... and another access panel. 

Lathar actually brought out the ornate hinge Pete gave him as a wedding gift, and wedged it into the open door. 

Sonny moved in, swiping the access panel, as the second doors begin opening, the first first doors quickly closed behind him, crushing the decorative hinge like it was nothing. 

Pete panicked when he couldn't reach Sonny telepathically.   The rest scrambled through their collections of keycards for that second car they had found.  

Sonny scanned the finished and damp room.  There were remains of a number of carboard boxes and paperwork ruined by moisture into a mushy pile.    A number of the boxes associated with terminals are shoved into one corner.  There is a collapsed metal shelf, with a number of machine parts lying on the ground.  

What attracted Sonny the most were simply massive power cells, nearly four feet long, pile against the wall.  All are quite old, but some showed more signs of wear and tear than other. 

In another corner, was a metal tube with a screw on cap.  It was unmarked and extremely heavy.  He unscrewed the top and pulled out a number of large documents.  It was maps of the facility as well as other lines running everywhere.  

Over in the corner, there was a pool of water...  within it were two metal containers.   Sonny broke out his glow badge to check the power cells and water ... and it turned black in his frond.  

Sonny turned his head, the inside blast door near him closed. He assumed the outside door had been open by the others.

"Lathar, the Glow is heavy in here.  You might not want to come in!" 

With that warning, Lathar ran upstairs, busted open the double doors where No-Name stood, and grabbed his rad suit from the cart

Lathar opened the inner doors and got an update from Sonny... By then everyone wasn't feeling so hot.  

Pete banged on the door with no response, "We need to get out of here!"

Instead, Sonny instructed the protected Lathar to pull the boxes out of the water.  He complied, both boxes extremely heavy.  One steel box held a number of candy-bar sized gold bars, while a similar box held unpolished, mostly clear gemstones.   Sonny had lead tube of blueprints, miscellaneous parts in his fronds.  The larger power cells were heavy, and some looked new while others were definitely used.  While tempting, the gold and uncut gems were more useful at this time. 

There was some chaos trying to get everything out of the room.   But once the outer doors were passed them, Sonny realized everyone was feeling ill, probably from the Glow.  The hurried carried their loot upstairs and loaded them onto the cart.   They embarked on a journey home with alacrity. 

GM Notes: Lathar keeping a rad suit from a previous adventure was the only reason he survived.  

There was lingering radiation almost the moment they exited the finished part of the mining complex.  I rolled poorly for the weaker checks, so it was a bit surprising when random damage started occurring. 

The facility is part of Batteries Low, Getting Dark by Thom Wilson.   I enjoyed the adventure, and it appears they will be returning to further research the facility, searching two more levels, working with the giant (aka atomic) power cells.   And let's not forget the unknown location of the Troglodyte leader, transformed 

In regards to the blueprints to the facility:  Hoyce:  The badgers were Bothans.  We appreciate their sacrifice.

Definitely not the artwork to match the description.  

 

Next; #113 - The Villages of the Glow

(Review) Flights 2 Game Store and Hobbies - Albany (Colonie) , New York

My last stop on a whirlwind trip of game store through most of the Albany area was the oddly named Flights 2 Games Store and Hobbies, and it might be the one I spent the most time in searching around.  

Greeting:  This one is a bit of a journey... starting with a sign of the door.  

The first thing I stepped into was a combination lounge, gaming area, and remote control hobby area.  Messy?  Yes.  Disorganized?  A little. What I've come to expect at any place that sells RC products?  Absolutely.

 I wandered through to an open doorway that led into a little slice of heaven.   Shelves, racks, cases, filled with product that I don't normally see in stores anymore, much of it because the new product was heavily intermixed with stuff from the the last 35 years. D&D 5e down the row from a healthy selection of WotC's Chainmail launch from the early 2000s. Back issues of Scrye, new Magic sets, and ACTUAL POWER NINE CARDS in the display case.  Color me intrigued.

And yes... even though there were other customers the staff was talking to, I was sufficiently acknowledged.

Cleanliness:  Unfiltered stream of consciousness here.  I'm not sure whether the store continually finds bargains in older product to line the shelves, or they've had such an inventory over the years that they've just realized what they had and priced the items accordingly to the modern market.  It's got that slightly cluttered used book store vibe, mixed with a fully functioning CCG shop.

CCGs:  Magic and Riftbound were on the events calendar, but this is the first place in long time that had any variety in more vintage (pre-2000) Magic.  Betas, Power Nines, a few random packs, with a burned Juzum Djinn as a conversation piece. 

And while shelves of binders only indicate that a store has invested in binders... and nine-pocket pages, it's a decent indication of accessible (versus the 2-4 weeks I've experienced at other places for commons.

Board Games:  It's not massive, but there are enough card and board games (and a few vintage ones) to whet most people's appetites.

RPGs:  I was initially a bit depressed to see just D&D and D&D-adjacent titles, but digging deeper into the store, I found the paperback books...

Opposite a decent mix of older and newer gaming.  It was my last stop on my game-store expedition, and I had a three-plus hour drive home, so I didn't go down on my knees to peruse everything... but I probably should have. 

Miniatures:  Beyond the odd amount of Chainmail (priced for collectors, not for clearance... it is 25 years old or so...)  they do stock a good amount of the D&D Wizkids figures, and I did spy some Battletech books... and classic blisters on a spinner rack.  

Other:  The back room with the RPGs and paperbacks, and some vintage stuff hanging on the wall.  I will need to go back and peruse some more.  

Amenities/Events:  The open gaming space sees a pretty active Magic scene, one night for Riftbound, and a healthy dose 

I had a good conversation with the manager, and I realized after the fact, the owner.  They seemed to hit some of the demographics that I rarely see in stores.  In my research, I've discovered they might rub folks the wrong way.  In the grand scheme of things, if I were to rate the complaints on a scale of 1-10 (10 being most heinous), everything is around a 2 or 3, which I heard about every game stores, including the newer, more modern ones. 

That all being said, I did enjoy my visit to Flights 2, do not remember buying anything, but am willing to give them a four-out-of-five-gnomes rating.

Flights certainly doesn't have the "Warhammer Mom" aesthetic, but I'll probably visit this one before the other stores in Albany with the potential of items that hit my demographic... then a quick drive over to Zombie Planet.

The best part about my visit to Albany is that there is a wealth of good game stores in the area, especially for one with over 900,000 people in the region.  Good thing I'll be coming up repeatedly for awhile. 

And, not to bury the biggest question our dear readers still have.  Yes, there is a real cat, and his name is Bob.

Bob

Flights 2 Games and Hobbies is located at 381 Sand Creek Rd, Albany, NY 12205, across the street from Colonie Hight School.