Another Month of Meeples (October 2026)

ViscountEric's Want List
Steve Jackson Games
TOON 2nd Edition SC ................................... $34.95

ViscountEric's Money-Is-No-Object Want List
Free League Publishing
Alien RPG - Colonial Marines Operations Manual .... $44.99
I don't see a true need to buy or play Alien, but this just sounds too cool not to buy, read, and use for all my other games.

Goodman Games
MCC: Archive of Adventure Vol 1 ....................... $59.99
MCC: Thick Judges Screen .............................. $19.99
Pinball Classics Boxed Set ............................ $69.99
This one is pretty keen. The take five iconic pinball games (Gorgar, Cosmic Gunfight, Embryon, Swords of Fury, and Centaur) and translate them in to DCC/MCC compatible adventures.

I'm not sure if I'm feeling guilty that my Gamma World campaign might be winding down, or if I'm looking for inspiration from other sources...

Osprey Publishing
Madagascar 1942 ........................ $25.00

25th Century Games
RA the Dice Game ....................... $29.99
Hits and Outs .......................... $20.00

Adam'sApple Games
The Jailbreak .......................... $20.00

Adams Media
Write A LitRPG ......................... $18.00

Aerobellum Games
Cat Nap Deluxe ......................... $39.99

Asmodee
The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict .......... $49.99

Atomic Mass Games
Marvel Crisis Protocol: Alliances - Night of the Goblin ... $99.99
Marvel Crisis Protocol: Onslaught .................. $49.99
Marvel Crisis Protocol: Members of the Brotherhood . $64.99
Star Wars Legion: B2 Super Rocket Battle Droids .... $57.99
Star Wars Legion: Infantry Support Platform ........ $52.99
Star Wars Legion: Leaders of the Separatist Alliance ... $62.99

Bicycle
Playing Cards: Fantasia ................. $13.99
Playing Cards: Penguin .................. $ 6.99

Bushiroad
Weiss Schwarz: Goddess of Victory Nikke Vol 2 Boosters

Catalyst Game Labs
Barkeep's Bones ......................... $49.99

Cephalofair Games
Gloomhaven: The RPG Core Book ........... $59.99
Gloomhaven: The RPG Deluxe Boxed Set ... $119.99
Gloomhaven: GM Screen ................... $24.99

Chaosium
CoC: Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game .... $135.00
Coc: HotOE Investigators Unveield Expansion .......... $ 35.00
Coc: HotOE New Monstrousities Expansion .............. $ 45.00
Coc: HotOE Consumed by the Void Campaign Expansion ... $ 60.00

Crowd Games
Kingsport Travel Guide .................. $25.00

Cubicle 7 Entertainment
5e: Victoriana Corebook ............... $59.99
5e: Victoriana Dreadful Inquiries ..... $44.99
5e: Victoriana Menagerie .............. $49.99

Evil Genius Games
Everyday Heroes: Adv - Last Night at the Asylum ... $19.99

Free League Publishing
Alien RPG - Colonial Marines Operations Manual .... $44.99
Alien RPG - Building Better Worlds ................ $44.99
Alien RPG - Dice Tray ............................. $19.99
Alien RPG - Cinematic Adventure- Chariot of Angels ......... $39.99
Alien RPG - Cinematic Adventure- Operation Leading Edge .... $39.99
Alien RPG - Miniatures Set: Operation Leading Edge ......... $59.99

Goodman Games
5e: Old School Adventures #1: Ruins of the Twilight Marches ... $59.99
DCC: #113 - Temple of the Blind Sultan ................ $11.99
DCC: Dying Earth #11 - Arch-Daihaks of Dying Earth .... $24.99
MCC: Archive of Adventure Vol 1 ....................... $59.99
MCC: Thick Judges Screen .............................. $19.99
MCC: #16 - The Book of Monstrous Mutants .............. $10.99
Pinball Classics Boxed Set ............................ $69.99
This one is pretty keen. The take five iconic pinball games (Gorgar, Cosmic Gunfight, Embryon, Swords of Fury, and Centaur) and translate them in to DCC/MCC compatible adventures.

Fifth Edition Fantasy #35: The Frozen Lair ofthe White Wyvern .... $10.99
Fifth Edition Fantasy #36: Revenge of the Rat King ................ $10.99
The Flumph's Catalogue of Magical Curiosities ......... $49.99
How to Write Even Better Adventures Refresh ........... $39.99
Monster Alphabet Oversized Edition .................... $49.99
XCrawl Classics: #7 - Save XCrawl ..................... $11.99
XCrawl Insider #3 ..................................... $10.99

Magpie Games
Pasion de las Pasiones: Tormentas Del Corazon (SC) .... $29.99

Mantic Entertainment
HALO: Campaign Evolved ...................... $59.00

Marvel
Marvel Multiverse RPG: Godzilla Sourcebook .. $14.99

Mighty Boards
For the Gods! ............................... $55.00
Yotei ....................................... $25.00

Modiphius Entertainment
XCOM: The Miniatures Game Rulebook .......... $47.00

Osprey Publishing
Madagascar 1942 ............................. $25.00
Okinawa 1945 (2) ............................ $25.00
Royal Marine Commandos 1991-2025 ............ $21.00
M3 Light Medium Tanks vs Panzer IV ............ $23.00
Tanks of the Gilbert Islands 1943 .................... $20.00
US Navy Pacific Fleet 1941-42 ....................... $23.00
FlakPanzer ....................................................... $50.00
Hero City: Leningrad 1943-45 ........................ $22.00
Jagdverband 44 ................................................ $35.00
Russian and Soviet Tanks 1915-1945 .............. $40.00
Pillars of Gromlak ........................................... $25.00
Stargrave Acceptable Losses ........................... $30.00
Trench Raiders ................................................ $25.00

Paizo
Pathfinder: Flip-Mat Crossroads Cavern ...... $19.99
Pathfinder: Impossible Magic ................ $29.99
Pathfinder: Feybound ........................ $64.99
Pathfinder: Lost Omens - Cheliax Poster Map . $29.99
Pathfinder: Vaultimes Adventure Path ........ $79.99
Pathfinder: Novel - Abomination Vaults ...... $29.99
Starfinder: Critical Fumble Deck ............ $14.99
Starfinder: Flip-Mat - Player Starship ...... $19.99

Penguin Random House
D&D: Gantlgrym Novel ........................ $19.00
D&D: Neverwinter Novel ...................... $19.00
D&D: Charon's Claw .......................... $19.00
D&D: Last Threshold ......................... $19.00
Flipping the Bird ........................... $19.95

Queen Games
Alhambra: Card Game ......................... $19.99

R Talsorian Games
Cyberpunk: Red: Night City 2045 ............. $60.00

Ravensburger North America
Disney Lorcana: Beast Gift Box
Disney Lorcana:Set 14 - Hyperia City Boosters
Disney Lorcana:Set 14 - Hyperia City Illumineer's Trove Pack
Disney Lorcana:Set 14 - Hyperia City Play Mat Snowboarding Stitch
Disney Lorcana:Lorebook - Quest of Wonders

Renegade Game Studios
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Core Book .............................. $65.00
Dunegon Crawler Carl RPG: Starter Set ............................... $55.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: GM Screen ............................. $25.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Dice Sets ............................... $25.00 each
Dungeon Crawler Carl Unstoppable ..................................... $60.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl Unstoppable Iron Triangle .............. $25.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl Unstoppable Crawler Chaos ........... $25.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Miniatures 1: Royal Court ..... $65.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Miniatures 2: Enemies & Allies $65.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Miniatures 3: Mobs of Mordecai. $65.00
Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG: Samantha Oversized d20 ............ $54.99
Dungeon Crawler Carl Loot Box Display (20)

Steve Jackson Games
TOON 2nd Edition SC ................................... $34.95
TOON 2nd Edition HC ................................... $59.95

Troll Lord Games
Worlds of Gary Gygax Vol 8 - Gary Gygax's Pantheons ........................................... $29.99
Worlds of Gary Gygax Vol 9 - Gary Gygax's Essential Places .. ............................... $29.99
Worlds of Gary Gygax Vol 10 - Gary Gygax's Weyland Smith Giant Fun Catalog .... $29.99

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 involves 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!

My Events for Mepacon 50! April 17-19, 2026 - Outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Alright, party people, the events are getting posted fast and furious for Mepacon 50,  this April 17-19, 2026, at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Allentown Lehigh Valley. 

Since I was part of Mepacon 1 and 2, and a whole lot more as it bounced around mid-east and northeast Pennsylvania, I decided to do some of my "best of" convention games from Mepacon (and the decade of con games I ran prior to Mepacon's founding, the Antideluvian era of gaming that filled up Legions Halls, full of dollar auctions, TORG, impromptu swords fights, and a host of other things I'm not quite sure if the statute of limitations has run out. 

I had set up a survey way back in November, and did get a few responses.  So without further ado, here are my submitted events:  (Edit: 2/23/2026 - My events are officially up on TabletopEvents after some minor corrections and some incredible logistical work by the convention staff.) 

Friday

4pm - Burning Plastic "Polymers in Flames"  8+ players      4 hrs   (Event #202 - Hallway 52)

Burning Plastic is the miniature game using green plastic army guys for mayhem and carnage.  Tanks! Explosions! Air Strikes!   Lots of d6's to chuck, rulers to measure, and no worry about chipping the GM's paint job!  Children under 12 welcome with a playing adult (Don't worry parents, the kids will help you with the math...)

9pm - Talislanta 2nd Edition   "The Crystle Dungeon"  6 players    3hrs    (#212 - Table 32)

The classic Fantasy RPG known for it's ads in Dragon Magazine "No Elves..."    Most of the Gnome-Kin Kingdom of Durne is underground, so why is your party investigating an above-ground outpost that hasn't responded in weeks... and what happened to the first two scouting parties they sent to check it out?  (Originally run March 1991 at Lehicon IV). 

Saturday

10am - Burning Plastic "Polymers in Flames"  8+ players      4 hrs.    (#203 - Hallway 57)

Burning Plastic is the miniature game using green plastic army guys for mayhem and carnage.  Tanks! Explosions! Air Strikes!   Lots of d6's to chuck, rulers to measure, and no worry about chipping the GM's paint job!  Children under 12 welcome with a playing adult (Don't worry parents, the kids will help you with the math...)

Okay, no beer at the table at the con, but it is a "beer and pretzels" game...

2pm - My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria  "Tokens of Friendship"   5 players 2hrs.    (#203  Table 23)

My Little Pony - Tails of Equestria (RiverHorse Press) is a role-playing game that's  as magical as the power of friendship! Each session you can create your very own pony and share adventures with your friends in Ponyville, Canterlot, and beyond! Or bring back your pony from a previous session (or previous Mepacon) to play some more! Parents welcome to help their child or play alongside them.

4pm - My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria  "Tokens of Friendship"   5 players 2hrs      (#207 - Table 23)

My Little Pony - Tails of Equestria (RiverHorse Press) is a role-playing game that's  as magical as the power of friendship! Each session you can create your very own pony and share adventures with your friends in Ponyville, Canterlot, and beyond! Or bring back your pony from a previous session (or previous Mepacon) to play some more! Parents welcome to help their child or play alongside them.

8pm - Toon - "Krusty the Kultist"  8 players  2 hrs.       (#218  - Table 33)

Cthulhu comes to Springfield!   Classic Simpsons characters with a healthy mix of Lovecraft  Something's amiss!  Krusty is giving away trips to kids? That's Unpossible!  Will the parents catch on and save the wee children, or will the kids have to do it themselves?

Nothing crazy, nothing wild... simply four of my most memorable games I've run in 35+ years of GM con games. 

Toon 2nd Edition - Now on Backerkit!

 Buy Hades some rock salt. Check the skies for porcine aviators. Anything is possible after Steve Jackson Games has finally announced Toon 2nd Edition, currently crowdfunding now on Backerkit! 

Why a 2nd Edition?  First off, physical copies have been out of print for DECADES, so long that even I broke down and bought a PDF copy recently (The was surely a sign of the apocalypse, or all I needed to do years ago to get this moving.... hmmm.)

Seriously a new in-print version is great, streamlined character creation and rules that are so easy you can let your six-year old play without coddling or hand waving, because action and fun trump Ocean's Eleven plotting any day... and even if things go south, you don't die, you "Fall Down" and can show up in the next scene.  

(Toon) Thomas Pickle #CharacterCreationChallenge

Day 18 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge and I'm pulling AI art off of the net and have forced myself for the best purchase in awhile, Toon by Steve Jackson Games. 

Name: Thomas Pickle

Species:  Pickle

Natural Enemies: Delicatessens 

Beliefs and Goals:  "Everyone's Kosher with pickles"   "Everyone should return to the fridge."

Hit Points: 7

Plot Points: 0

Possessions: None

Muscle:  4

Break Down Door -  4

Climb                     - 4

Fight                       - 6 

Pick Up Heavy Thing - 4

Throw                     -4 

Zip:    3

Dodge                    6

Drive Vehicle        4

Fire Gun                3

Jump                      6

Ride                       3

Run                        6 

Swim                      5

Smarts    4

Hide/Spot Hidden         5

Identify Dangerous Thing     3

Read                           4 

Resist Fast-Talk          5

See/Hear/Smell           4

Set/Disarm Trap          4

Track/Cover Tracks     4

Chutzpah!  5

Fast-Talk                       8

Pass/Detect Shoddy Goods   7

Sleight of Hand           7 

Sneak                           7

Schtick:

Incredible Luck  (3 points)

(Toon) Gouda King Fromage #CharacterCreationChallenge

 Again, you go down the rabbit hole which is AI, and you're forced to stat out the oddest pictures in the #CharacteerCreationChallenge

Gouda King Fromage, the well-aged ruler of the Fridge.  

Name:  Gouda King Fromage

Species:  Big Cheese

Natural Enemies: The Lack-Toes Intolerant

Beliefs and Goals:  "The Fridge Should Be a Perfect Land"  "Kosher is an Abomination, Let the Meats and Cheese themselves choose who they wish to be paired with. 

Hit Points: 9

Plot Points: 0

Possessions: Royal Scepter, Royal Crown, Cloak, a ball of rubber bands, Cheese slicer

Muscle:  5

Break Down Door -   5

Climb                     -  5

Fight                       -  7

Pick Up Heavy Thing - 5

Throw                    - 5

Zip:  6

Dodge                 -  7

Drive Vehicle     -   6

Fire Gun             -  6

Jump                  -  8

Ride                    - 9

Run                     - 6

Swim                  - 7

Smarts  6

Hide/Spot Hiden                 -7

Identify Dangerous Thing  - 9

Read                                   - 8

Resist Fast-Talk                 - 8

See/Hear/Smell                 - 6

Set/Disarm Trap                - 7

Track/Cover Tracks          - 7

Chutzpah!   4

Fast-Talk                           -6

Pass/Detect Shoddy Goods  - 5

Sleight of Hand                -4

Sneak                                -4

Schtick:

Incredible Strength (5)

Coat of Arms (4)

#RPGaDay2023 - Day 27 - Game I'd Like a New Edition Of

 Day 27 of #RPGaDay2023!  

For each day I'll be answering the question provided, and for fun, review how I answered a similar question during #RPGaDay a decade ago.  Scout's Honor, I have not peeked at the older answer.

Day 27's prompt is "Game I'd Like a New Edition Of..." 

There really is only one thing the desperately needs a new edition/reprint is Toon! 

The classic cartoon RPG does have a pdf copy in Warehouse 23, but that tangible copy is a must have for these games, even if we're only using a handful of pages at a time.  

Whether it was some classic Looney Tunes/Tom & Jerry-esque fun, a one-shot Christmas game involving Hannukah Harry, or the ultimate "Cthulhu Comes of Springfield."    "Springfield" was a series of hour-long vignettes to fill up a four-hour convention slot.  With names like "Homer the Ghoul," "Mister Smooth," and "Krusty the Kultist," it's been bringing joy for over 25 years, and it's long due for an overhaul and another batch of convention session.

It doesn't need a full re-write like a new edition would demand, again, I just want the tangible printed matter in my hands. 

Ten Years Ago Today:  Absolutely no deviation, Toon was the my demand back then. 

#RPGaDay2020: Day 27 - Garnering Favour in a Post-COVID World

Day 27 of #RPGaDay2020 is upon us, and again, we have a very non-American prompt, "Favour."

I'll skip the easy, "Favorite RPG" questions and move to something far more positive.

"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face gaming?"

Here in the States, we're close to dealing with COVID-19 for a whopping six months.   It's not good, but at some point, we'll be back to some semblance of what normal used to be.  So the question is, with six months (PLUS+!) of no face-to-face gaming, what do I want to make my triumphant return behind the physical screen?

It's an odd-angled shelfie!

#7 - Hackmaster - A complete pie-in-the-sky idea, continuing the dream of reuniting the old gang back together.  #RPGaDay always stokes that flame every year.

#6 - Talislanta - The new Savage Lands edition will fit a very Robert E Howard-esque play style.

#5 - 5e Saltmarsh - My online Star Wars d6 has players hours upon hours away, so face-to-face is out of the question.  However, some of the more local players wouldn't mind a return D&D, and Saltmarsh can be plugged right back into my homebrewed campaign world.

#4 - 5e for Beginners - Before this crazy, mixed-up COVID world, another department manager at work was talking about his kids getting interested in D&D.  I don't know if the quarantine killed that motivation, but setting up something simple with a new bunch of players some appealing.

#3 - BECMI Gulluvia - My Star Wars game might not transition back into face-to-face well, but the story of some goofy adventurers in the Barony of Gulluvia is simple enough.  Best yet, the Theatre-of-the-Mind method will work best using "Basic" D&D.

#2 - Call of Cthulhu - Sleepless City - Returning to New York City for some (technically) one-shots is a great start, one we can possibly use to expand into the old campaign, even if we don't revisit old, beloved survivors, I mean, characters.

#1 Call of Cthulhu - Invictus - I have enough material to run a few games, but the Roman theme will keep the players off their usual path.

And for a bonus question to answer:
"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face convention gaming? "

I'll stick with what gets me players:  Kid's games of My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria, and perhaps the Toon game: Cthulhu Comes to Springfield.

What to Run at Mepacon Spring 2020?

Alright, it's official, my Birthday Extravaganza will be at Mepacon, April 24-26, 2020 at the Mountain Laurel Resort in White Haven, Pennsylvania.

So, the next question I have to figure out is, "What do I want to run/play over the weekend?"

The Mepacon website hasn't even been changed from last weekend's Middle-Earth theme, but theme for Spring 2020 is "Anime and Animation."  The theme isn't a hard, fast rule, but I like to consider them while I ponder my games.

*Theme* Cthulhu Comes to Springfield - The legendary Simpsons Toon game hasn't changed much since the mid-90's, but it's due to be pulled out of the archives.

*Theme* My Little Pony - Seriously, the MLP games I've run before at the con have been short, fun, and well-attended with a mix of players.  Of course, this will be the first con that my daughter Maja is not getting in for free, so I might see if she wants to take over the Pony reins.

*Theme* Octonauts - I got no takers on my version of the Disney Jr show during Mepacon's Aquatic theme.

Car Wars - a - Palooza -   The original birthday concept was a hotel conference room with friends, food, and heavy duty flaming oil jets with the Steve Jackson.  With the Steve Jackson Pocket Box Kickstarter getting fulfilled, I could come in ready to bear...

From wargamedork.blogspot.com

The Battle of Yellowstone - At Mepacon Fall, I spoke about my Gnome Wars game for the Battle of Yellowstone, documenting the US Cavalry's occupation of the National Park during the 19th Century.   It's a high concept game for a convention like Mepacon, that doesn't have a strong wargaming streak, but it might work.  I'm also planning on running this at Cold Wars for the Wargames in Education block, so it should be easy to pack up and transport.

Hackmaster 4th Edition - The Burning Trogs Redux -  With the right attendees to the soiree, I'd love an unofficial evening of crunchy, exploding dice with my favorite Trogs.

Diplomacy - Another unscheduled event, but a potentially horrible idea of running Diplomacy for a select group, preferably in the hotel bar.

Risus (anything) - Risus isn't my go-to convention game, but I'd certainly dig some sort of fun, with the right set-up.  If I have to run it, it might be a great bookend opposite a two-hour My Little Pony game.

Samurai Swords -  Okay, my college roommate Steve would have to bring his copy to run, but my lone game of Samurai Swords is one the fondest (and scariest) moments in the college basement. #AngryHoyce

Maybe some old-school Axis and Allies with 3rd party expansions???

Contemptible Little Armies - Second Samoan Civil War -  It's my birthday, I love skirmishes in the Second Samoan Civil War, I'll run a game if I want to, dagnabbit!

I was running con games for a decade before this picture at Mepacon I, circa 2000.

Anything nostalgic.... We focused on D&D, Battletech, and my Samoa game for the last gala.  More Battletech?  Legions of Steel?  Battlelords of the 23rd Century? A Wrestlerama tournament?  BURNING PLASTIC????

It's maddening!

Events for Mepacon Fall 2016!

Although they haven't appeared on Warhorn yet, my events for Mepacon Fall 2016 have been submitted.


Friday 8pm - 12am
Toon - "Cthulhu Comes to Springfield 2"
Everyone's favorite minions of the Cthulhu Mythos descend upon the Simpsons in 3 or 4 unrelated "episodes."  To celebrate the post-apocalyptic theme of the convention, this session is the world premiere of "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos"


Saturday 10am-12pm
Savage Worlds (for Kids) - Mousling Fantasy Adventures, Part I
The royal court is all aflutter: Duels, intrigue, dance-offs, and the arrival of a princess from a neighboring kingdom.  But is she looking for a prince to marry or a party to adventure with?  Kids Game.  Adults  welcome with accompanying child.



Saturday 4pm-6pm
Savage Worlds (for Kids) - Mousling Fantasy Adventures, Part II
As is custom, the visiting princess must be escorted back to her kingdom's border.  However, there are a few people the don't want that to happen.   Kids Game.  Adult welcome with accompanying child.


Sunday 9am-1pm
Toon - "Cthulhu Comes to Springfield 2"
Everyone's favorite minions of the Cthulhu Mythos descend upon the Simpsons in 3 or 4 unrelated "episodes."

#RPGaDay2016 Day #10: Largest In-Game Surprise

We're just about a third of the way done with this year's RPGaDay, and we hit the second tough question, "The largest in-game surprise you have experienced?"

I had misread the question to include "system" numerous times, and was quite confused why the question essentially duplicates a topic that comes up later this month.    After looking for some clarification over at www.brigadecon.org, I discovered my delusion and the my answer is quite simple:

The reason why our Cthulhu Comes to Springfield TOON game needed an age-limit. 

Twenty-one years ago, I became friends with the man known as "Dr Bob" in my current Call of Cthulhu Campaign.  Back then he was just a graduate student of history, but we were deep within the same gamer social circles and hit it off.

I'm not sure of the circumstances anymore, but somehow I became his #2 on his latest project:  using Toon to run Lovecraftian horror in the world of The Simpsons.  With some artistic direction from our friend Phil, Cthulhu Comes to Springfield was created to be run at our local convention in Easton (Lehicon 5?)

The concept was brilliant:  We would run four one-hour "episodes" each time slot.  Each episode was self-contained and we would allow enough time for quick breaks in between episdoes. We've lost all our original notes but the two time-slots went something like this:

Session 1: A full table, plus one.
S1 E1:  "Homer the Ghoul" The title is a misnomer as his transformation was more akin to a shoggoth... a donut loving shoggoth.
S1 E2:  "Grandpa's Curse"   The family discovers that Grandpa Abe's profile looks a lot like a Deep One. 
S1 E3:  "Mister Smooth"  A strange man arrives in town and seduces all the womenfolk to a secret ritual in the woods.   The orgy of limbs and cartoon negligees was kept to a questionable PG-13, but more people were shocked that the men of Springfield drank the fluid from Homer's brain pan with straws... Homer was still alive and didn't notice a thing.
S1 E4: We discovered that sometimes three episodes is all you need.  Episodes were self-propelled by the players and were running about an hour fifteen.

Session Two:  A full table, plus two, but this time we have kids under twelve.  No worries, we thought, we just won't go into full descriptions and keep it at mid-90's Treehouse of Terror horror/humor.
S2 E1   A repeat of "Homer the Ghoul."  Everyone loved Flanders getting tortured, run over, and resurrected.
S2 E2   "Krutsty the Kultist"  All the kids win a trip to Krusty's new amusement park, on an active volcano in the South Pacific.  Once the parents release something's afoot they assemble a rescue party .  A few descents into madness and some off-screen cannibalism ensue.
S2 E3  "R'lyeh Goes Nuclear" *short version* The Springfield children find out Mr. Burns and Smithers are going to raise Cthulhu from the cooling towers. With mostly insane children in his tenactles, Cthulhu is pacified by... you guessed it, Maggie's pacifier.

That last episode sounds like a hoot, but somewhere in the non-Euclidean geometry of the power plant and the actual summoning of Cthulhu, things went DARK. And the adults weren't the culprits.  The further the kids went down the rabbit hole, the fouler their actions went.   They went from using the dark arts, to murder, to ritual sacrifice of Ralph, to sabotaging one of the only escape routes.  At the time, Bob and I just hand-waved most of the acts and quickly progressed to the next character's action somewhere else. 

But after Maggie stopped the onslaught of Cthulhu, we still had a few things to wrap up.  Groundskeeper Willie had used every special ability to save the wee children (and the rest of humanity), but in the end, he too lost his mind and scrambled off gibbering into the woods.

The correct quote has been banished from my mind, but one of the kids, playing Martin, turned the co-GMs and essentially said, "I follow Groundskeeper Willie into the woods.  I wanna do things to him like he did to me in the Janitor's closet."

We shut the game down immediately.

For either table (with kids or without), the adults were quite content to play with what was given, try to find the boundaries of decency, but only quickly alluded to some dark ennui on reality before reeling it back in... (Oooooh....Donuts.... *nom nom nom*)

The kids had no such tether, and despite our best job to corral them, everyone else was having such a good time that we let it slide.

I'm certain we pushed the envelope of good taste (or any taste) that day, but to have a ten or eleven year old boy utter those words, when we stayed away from those topics the entire con made us realize that the event could never have children again.  We immediately established a 16+ age limit, and in recent years I've moved it up to 18+.  An all-adult TOON game of slapstick horror is a beauty when it operates correctly.  I've also retired the last scenario and replaced it with one involving no kids, a far more despicable Mister Burns, and an awesome appearance by Duffman!

The Next Game: A Poll

Come Hell or high water, we're finishing Masks of Nylarathotep this summer.  While it hasn't overwhelmed the group, it is the elephant in the room anytime we talk about playing something else. While I'm so used to running games any option to get together would be great.

Hackmaster - The Burning Trogs Redux:  In a perfect world, this is the optimal choice for the next campaign.  The original Burning Trogs, twelve years later, seeking revenge on the slavers that captured some of their members.  After a few easy sessions to get back into Hackmaster's crunchiness and then things would escalate quickly.

Omni Fantasy:  Although Hackmaster is preferred, we are only going to getting together ten times a year, max.   I remember the follow-up Hackmaster campaign, circa 2006-7, and the lack on weekly continuity made the system lose some of its luster.  Omni is the same system used by Talislanta and Atlantis: Second Age.  Still d20 driven, looser spell system, and a skill system which benefits the game and is simple.   We would not be using the Burning Trogs campaign world with this.

Call of Cthulhu:  Seriously, the current campaign is nearly a decade in the making, real-time, and five years in-campaign.  Regardless of how Masks ends, running one-shots, mini-campaigns, or continuing with original story continues to generate interest, the system (6th) is simple enough. I do have a player or two that certainly need a pallette cleansing before diving back into BRP.

Spirit of '77:  I'll need to do some "research"  but an on-going 70's cop game, with a smattering of the other genres could suit the group, and help explain why some characters are missing for some "episodes."

Savage Rifts:  C'mon, this is the only RPG that I've had excitement about, well, since Spirit of '77, and before that it's been a looooong wait.  I have the PDF of the player's guide and after perusing one of my auction finds, I have a storyline that covers all the tropes I love about Rifts with a slightly different perspective.  

Toon:  Cthulhu Comes to Springfield -The Next Deep Space Nine Voyager Generation:  Bob brought up running the classic episodes, plus work on more new ones.

Gnome Wars - Tanga:  Bob did mention wargaming, and we still have the second half of this campaign to run, the Germans with the slightest of advantages.

Burning Plastic Playtesting:  With two games under my belt using the sci-fi rules in a more straight setting, I might as well spread some love to the others in the group.

Star Frontiers:  You read that right, freaking Star Frontiers.  It's in my file cabinet in my office and the Volturnus storyline begs to be played.

RPGaDay #27 Game You'd Like to see an Improved Version of

In this new-fangled world were pdfs can be posted online almost automatically, and people have enough disposable income to buy an rpg line just to reprint it, there aren't many games I'd like to see a new or improved version of a game. 

But there's one glaring omission:

Toon

An RPG dedicated to the classic Saturday morning cartoons, just with the serial numbers filed off.  Zany hijinx? Gratuitous (but not permanent) violence?  Anvils falling from the sky?  All are covered. 

The material is universal enough, and the system elegant enough to accomodate non-gamers and even kids in a purely fun setting.  There may be dark moments in a game, but the session should be as light-hearted as possible.

We've used Toon for "straight" cartoon games, holiday games more akin to Rankin-Bass specials than direct-to-DVD fare, and, of course, we've been quite successful with our "Cthulhu Comes to Springfield"  game. 

I don't know why Steve Jackson Games stopped printing it, especially with multiple supplements out for it.  Here's hoping in the age of OGRE and Car Wars making a comeback, some of the products relegated to the fourth tier see the light of day again as well.

2013 Gaming Year in Review

Saturday was a good day.  The obligatory trip down to the Bloomsburg Fair for fried food on a stick and structurally questionable carnival rides for  the kids.  I even got some laundry done for this upcoming hell week at work so I'll be able to rush in for work early AND wear matching socks!

This week also ended my "gaming season."  As I've mentioned before, I don't remember the thinking behind it, but I track my games on a Oct-Sep basis.
  

Here goes my recollections...

The Blog

Despite the last month becoming a disaster to blog, I kept up the same hectic pace as the last year. Here's the big posts of the year, by views:

1. Cold Wars 2013 --Friday
2. 500th Post!
3. Battle at the Farm
4. Attack of the 50-Foot Princess!
5. RIP: Nick Yutko
6. Pop's Culture Shoppe, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
7. (TIARA) Belle's Birthday Brawl
8. (Twelve Days) #10 Zombie Cakes for Fun and Profit
9. (Twelve Days) #4 Comics and Comments
10. Mepacon, I will be in you soon!

Lots of kind comments, a few spam from Samoan hotels, and fewer gnomes hit the posts, but the biggest addition I've done is adding reviews, primarily stores, from my own utopian, yet utilitarian retail beliefs.  The lessons I've learned working in stores during the Great Magic Glut  of the 90's still rings true today.  It saddens me to find stores still cling to the "owners, partners, & buddies" model that never attempts to expand from a shrinking base.  My first game store review for Pop's Culture Shoppe in Wellsboro is still the standard by which other stores are measured, and all found lacking.  I hope to do a follow up in mid-October when the Missus and I go up there for an anniversary day trip. 

RIP Nick Yutko - the biggest news of the past twelve months was the sudden passing of Dreamscape Comics owner Nick Yutko.  I've managed to go down to the store a few times since, most notably to pick up a copy of ASL for Hoyce's bachelor party, but I haven't gotten updates on the stores closing in months and real life overrides any attempts to relive my awesome past of ringing up sales for comic book geeks.

Podcasts:  I finally started entering the 21st century by following some podcasts, most notably Cthulhu on Parade and The Miskatonic University Podcast.  Lovecraftian gaming and its distinct lack of heavy rules and cumbersome charts makes it easier to enjoy a general discussion, rather than a war gaming or D&D site.

Games
Gnome Wars:  Not as prevalent as last year, but the misplacement of all of my Swiss units has dampened spirits to play.    Cold Wars was still a hoot, the 2nd Annual Gnome Mega-Game was a success, and I earned the nickname "Crazylegs" Jacobson, vanquisher of Canadians, from the Gnome Joust.

Call of Cthulhu -  The year 1924 took longer in real time than game time, but we have gotten past that and two sessions in since a telegram from our good friend Jackson Elias sent them down a treacherous path.  I'm pleased, even with my recent bloodlust in the past five months (five deaths and some significant best downs of investigators.

Formula De - After years of wanting to, I got to learn Formula De at Mepacon and played some more at Hoyce's bachelor party.  Good stuff

Risus - A change in the annual Labor Day picnic reduced our guests, thus, for the first time since 2007, no Risus IOU game was run. I may attempt something at SATLOF.

TIARA - My toddler minis/rpg game had some good sessions with the girls, especially with some new eBay villains, but real life has caught up with me, right when it's perfect for my two year old, Millie. 

Trench Wars - got to play this at Cold Wars and its great for large Western Front games. I'll probably stick with CLA for my games, thanks.

Conventions:  I only got out to two local Mepacons and Cold Wars last year.  Funds and time did not work out for anything else.  I did have a great overfilled Toon game at the last Mepacon, expanding on the "Cthulhu Comes to Springfield" game. 

More Mike Lung Goodness from Historicon

Purchases:  My purchases this year were all over the place. eBay has been a blessing and a bane.  I picked up a pile of random minis cheap.  I have a few Warhammer goblin units to use as primitive Martians, some misc sci-fi stuff. a UNE fast attack vehichle, and an excellent start to my Samoa game.

Best Game: 
Attack of the 50-foot Princess - Kids' toys, my green army guys, and an 18-inch Snow White rampaging through a town?  I should probably tweak that into a con game.

Best RPG Purchase:
Masks of  Nylarahotep Companion

My eBay RPG stuff has been pretty lame, so I'll nominate this 600 page gorilla that's just a free preview pdf! As if Masks isn't big enough, this tries to flesh out everything.  I have used a few items, such as weather conditions and their good friend's library, but this far it's still a lot of fluff. 

Best Miniatures:
My Samoans.  I love the Pulp Figures sculpts. I need more, but the figures are rather clean and sturdy.

Best Misc Purchase:
The ATKM 54mm Barn I snagged at Cold Wars is one of two painting projects I finished this year (the other was some 25mm palm trees.). It also displayed prominently in two games I posted.