Day 4 of #GenConOnline, and wrap-up.
First session was “The Old Carker Estate” for Down Darker Trails, Call of Cthulhu’s yee-haw Western variant. A Leland Stanford-type hires the PCs to investigate why some out-of-town tenants aren’t paying their rent.
[1/10] #TTRPG
The scenario wasn’t anything too special, but *was* exactly the kind of thing Cult of Chaos should run as a taster for CoC: it’s a great 1870s-flavoured showcase scenario for vanilla 7e. If I have a quibble, though, it didn’t foreground DDT’s Western-trope mechanics, at least that I could see.
[2/10] #GenConOnline #TTRPG
The Keeper was quite good—my big takeaway, though, is how poor Microsoft Teams is as a play environment. (Granted, our Keeper had a licence through his work, but there are free alternatives that work better. For reference, I was using Teams’ web client.)
You can see your own camera thumbnail in the corner, but otherwise, there are only four participants visible on each screen: the last four whose microphones were active.
[3/10] #GenConOnline #TTRPG
You can scroll across a screen to see the others, but unless all the players are exceptionally engaged, they tend to remain hidden away from the GM’s view. Things like finicky pets/infants and traffic noise can keep an otherwise passive player up on the front screen. If you’ve ever wanted to see the face of player abandonment, it’s over on screen two. 😳
[4/10] #GenConOnline #TTRPG
It’s also exceptionally difficult to change screen names. You can specify a name during guest login, but once you’re in there, you can only change it by quitting and logging back in. Not ideal for #TTRPG.
My last game for #GenConOnline was “Cattle Raid” (RuneQuest). A couple of sakkars—sabretooth cats—have attacked the tribe’s sacred cattle. The tribe needs to sacrifice those cows for the gods’ favour in the coming year, so the sakkars need to be stopped.
[5/10]
The sacred herd gets the best pasture; to complicate things further, that pasture’s in contested lands that are subject to an ancient feud.
I liked how this scenario foregrounded the importance of cattle to Orlanthi culture and economy, and reinforced that violence isn’t the only—or often best—solution to problems. It was simple, but highlighted key differences between RQG and other #TTRPG.
[6/10] #GenConOnline
The GM, too, de-emphasised the mechanics, instead choosing to concentrate on play experience. And he took pains to reassure the players that they don’t need to dive headlong into Glorantha’s vast lore to enjoy the game: the world can slowly reveal itself to you.
This made it far more enjoyable than the previous day’s RQG game. Not that the former GM was bad per se, but his technique changed little from the 1980s, whereas the latter’s had developed with the times.
[7/10] #GenConOnline #TTRPG
This was my fourth #GenConOnline. Back in 2020, everyone was desperate to play, so games ran around the clock. These days, however, if you want anything close to a full Four Best Days in Gaming™️, you really do have to shift to EDT. It’s not so much a problem on the other side of the globe, but here in the Antipodes—14 hours ahead—it can be tricky.
[8/10] #TTRPG
I take pains to avoid D&D and Pathfinder, and it’s getting harder to fill my schedule with scenarios both for systems I’m interested in, and I’ve not yet played. As sponsored GM programmes increasingly pivot towards attracting first-time players, the supply of new scenarios dwindles.
Between submitting my initial wishlist and playing my selections, I think five or six events cancelled. IME, that’s a strikingly high failure rate. I’m unsure what to think of this.
[9/10] #GenConOnline #TTRPG
I worry that as the world rebounds from COVID, the culture of online #TTRPG cons will fade away. There are still some strong exceptions, but it does feel sometimes as if the walls are closing in.
For now, though, #GenConOnline is still a worthwhile endeavour. FWIW, I can still play for an entire weekend for less than GameHole Con’s entry fee, and I can sate my need to play very nearly until I drop.
[10/10]
Dave J
Andrew Pontious