Clay-O-Riffic

This image is brought to you by GuadaComaCon.  Because my brother sent it to me and it looks cool.  It's from the first Clay-O-Rama game we played at the mini-con last month, and I thought I would share it with you.

How I hurt my hand

I'd like to say I got a cut while fighting ninjas or something, but no--it was because I was careless with a sharp knife.  During GuadaComaCon, Kutalik's Special Lady Friend needed help cutting plastic ties off a new stroller, and she didn't want to handle the blade herself.  She asked if anyone had a knife, and I quickly borrowed my brother's multitool, which contains a wicked sharp cutting implement.

So I grasp the stroller in my left hand and use the blade to cut the plastic.  But like a dumbass, I held the stroller with my hand in the direction I was cutting.  Those plastic ties were thick, so I mustered my strength to force the edge of the knife through the strap.  Of course once the razor-sharp blade broke through the plastic, it continued on into my hand, about a half-inch deep.

It hurt like hell and started bleeding profusely.  Luckily, my brother's a registered nurse, so he was able to patch me up pretty good.  The cut still hasn't healed completely, but at least I didn't have to get stitches.  The injury did kind of put a damper on the rest of the day, though. 

I hesitated to tell my wife about my injury at first.  I don't know why; I guess I didn't want her to freak out or anything.  When I did tell her, she took it very calmly--and threatened me with bodily harm if I ever tried to hide another injury from her.  I'll be sure to let her know right away if I ever injure myself again.  In the meantime, I'm staying away from sharp objects.

Clay-O-Rama at the con

Like I said earlier, the Clay-O-Rama game was a great hit at GuadaComaCon.  We had five or six players in the game run by Jason Braun.

I was feeling lazy, so instead of sculpting legs on my creature, I just took the round shape of Pla-Doh out of the can and squeezed a couple of limbs.  That and some detailing of the eye/sensory organ and mouth, and I was good to go.

But without legs, I couldn't move that fast, and everyone else ended up in combat before I did.

The losers were mercilessly smooshed.

In the end, this lovely trophy that Jason sculpted went to Brad of the blog Skull Crushing for Great Justice.

They should have this event at every game convention

DBA and HotT at GuadaComaCon

GuadaComaCon had a lot more miniatures games this year, thanks in part to the Lone Star Historical Miniatures guys, who drove up from San Antonio with all their De Bellis Antiquas gear. 

They played several games using that set of historical rules throughout the day, including a Napoleonic DBA variant.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to play any Hordes of the Things matches against the SA contingent, but I did manage to get in a quick introductory game with Maj. Diz Aster (who recently started his own blog on the subject) to the HotT rules.

I loaned the Major my fire giants as I deployed my skeleton legion.  Unfortunately, we were playing on a smaller mat (2.5 feet square) intended for 15mm armies, not the 3x3 for 28mm forces.  This meant my opponent didn't have as much room to maneuver as he should have had, and so it wasn't really a good example of how the game plays out.

So it seems like all the miniatures games at the convention either DBx games or Two Hour Wargames events.  But don't worry, there were roleplaying games too.  More coming soon about all the other con events.

GuadaComaCon report

Why have I taken a week-and-a-half blog break, when everyone's waiting to hear about GuadaComaCon?  Well, a combination of post-convention crash, a self-inflicted injury, stress at work, and training for a marathon have all sapped at my mental energy, leaving me nothing left for blogging.

 

Still, some people might want to hear how the New Braunfels game convention went, so I'll share a little of it right now.  We had a pretty good turnout, nearly twice last year's attendance, and everyone found something to do.  One big hit was Clay-O-Rama, where you build a creature from Pla-Doh and fight everyone else's monster in a free-for-all.

The really fun part is what you get to do when you reduce another player's critter to zero hit points:

One attendee brought these shot glasses, created by his wife.  If you look carefully, you can see they have images of polyhedral dice etched into them:

I will post more pics and game reports later on, but I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here.  My thanks to all who attended the con, and we hope to make it bigger and better next year.  I'll leave you with this photo of my hand bandaged after my injury, and I'll share the story with you later.

How did y'all think the convention went?  Let me know in the comments.

Off to GuadaComaCon!

The game convention starts in a little bit, and I'm headed to the New Braunfels Convention Center.  I forgot to mention, there's parking in the back.  See you there!

Prepping for Star Navy at GuadaComaCon

The paint may still be damp, but I should have these asteroids ready to use tomorrow as part of the 5150: Star Navy scenario I'm running at GuadaComaCon.

 

See you on Saturday!

Who's coming to GuadaComaCon?

GuadaComaCon is this weekend here in New Braunfels!  This FREE game convention runs 10 a.m. till 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 18. 

Some of the people running games include some of your gaming professionals like Jeff Dee and Ed Teixeira; some South Texas bloggers like me, Chris from the Hill Cantons, and Brad from Skull Crushing for Great Justice; and professional artist Jason Braun. 

The mini-con will be at the New Braunfels Convention Center once more.  Here's the schedule of events.  We will also have T-shirts available, but the supply is limited, and several are already spoken for, so get 'em while you can.

So who's gonna be there on Saturday?  Do me a favor: If you're planning on attending, leave a comment so we can get an idea of how many people will be there.  See you this weekend!

GuadaComaCon game schedule

UPDATE (TUESDAY EVENING):  Due to requests from the various people running games, I've rearranged the schedule a little bit.

Here's the tentative gaming schedule for GuadaComaCon.  This mini-convention for South Texas will take place Saturday, August 18, at the New Braunfels Convention Center:

MORNING: 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

• Mines of Moria: fantasy miniatures scenario
• Clay-O-Rama: sculpt your own figure
• Paranoia: dystopian sci-fi roleplaying
• Open gaming

AFTERNOON: 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Cavemaster: prehistoric roleplaying game
• 5150: Star Army: sci-fi land combat
• By This Axe I Rule: fantasy miniatures
• Open gaming

EVENING: 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

• Bethorm: new Tekumel roleplaying game from Jeff Dee
• 5150: Star Navy: spaceship miniatures
• Open gaming

Don't forget, we will have a limited number of convention T-shirts for sale.  And remember, admission is FREE!  See you in New Braunfels.

Moria game at GuadaComaCon

Two Hour Wargames fan Richard and his son have offered to run a Mines of Moria scenario (from Lord of the Rings) using Two Hour Wargames rules at the upcoming GuadaComaCon.

The game will have room for up to five players.  Help the Fellowship make their way through the mines, past the watcher, goblins, a cave troll, and the Balrog.

The map is a nice 4 x 6 setup, scaled for 25mm miniatures.  Richard didn't specify which ruleset he's using, but I'm guessing it's either Warrior Heroes-Armies and Adventures or a modified version of Swordplay.  Either way, the rules will be easy to learn.

So come on out and check out the Moria setup.  It looks like a fun game.

GuadaComaCon T-shirts

We're thinking about getting some T-shirts printed for the convention.  They will be dark gray and feature the full-color logo (designed by Jason Braun) seen here.  The price will probably be around $17 for L or XL, slightly more for larger sizes.

The cost for these shirts might decrease if we place a large enough order, so who would be interested in buying a GuadaComaCon T-shirt?  You don't even have to attend to get one of these pieces of apparel--if you spring for the postage, we'll send you a shirt.

Who wants one?  Please let me know in the comments.

Reminder: GuadaComaCon is next month

Don't forget, GuadaComaCon (formerly the South Texas Mini-Con) will take place Saturday, August 18 in New Braunfels.  Some of the featured games include:

• 5150: Star Navy (sci-fi space combat minis) run by Your Humble Scribe
• By This Axe I Rule (homebrew fantasy minis) by ckutalik of the Hill Cantons
• Paranoia (humorous dystopian sci-fi role-playing) run by Brad Ncube of Skull Crushing for Great Justice
• Clay-O-Rama (what it sounds like) run by artist-in-residence Jason Braun
• 5150: Star Army (sci-fi ground combat minis) run by Ed the THW Guy
• and many more

We're expecting a carload of gamers from Austin to come join us, as well as some of the organizers from the North Texas RPG Con.  Anyone is welcome, and admission is free (but donations will be accepted).  I hope you can make it.

New name, same games: GuadaComaCon

South Texas Mini Con now has a new name.

One hex = 500 feet

Taking inspiration from the two rivers that converge in our host city of New Braunfels, the Guadalupe and the Comal, this year's game convention is now known as GuadaComaCon! (pronounced GWA da CO ma CON)

Muchas gracias to local artist Jason Braun for the logo.  We plan on getting t-shirts made in time for the convention; they'll have this emblem printed on them.  For those of you familiar with the town, the design shows the correct course of the rivers as they meander through New Braunfels.

It's still the same convention, hosted by the same people, with the same website.  But now it's a lot more fun to say: GuadaComaCon. 

See you at GuadaComaCon!

Cloud giant's castle

The clouds reflected the sunset this evening, painting the neighborhood in a golden light.  Seems like good real estate for a group of cloud giants.  Which brings up this question: Do you incorporate weather phenomena into your games--not just how rain might affect missile fire in combat, but things like thunderstorms, lightning, etc., or even just signs and portents like rainbows or halos around the moon or sun?

P.S. Don't forget, if you attend the South Texas Mini-Con, you have a chance to view great sunsets like this!  Mark your calendars for August 18.

South Texas Mini-Con has a website

That's right, the South Texas Mini-Con now has a website of its very own.  It's still pretty much a skeleton right now, but save it in your browser favorites, because soon there will be a list of games being run at the second annual convention--and a way to register for them.  Kudos to Brad the Skull Crusher for setting up this website.

This event will once again take place in New Braunfels, at the convention center, on Saturday, August 18 from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m.

The cost to attend is still free, but we will happily accept donations.  Or, check out this online auction fundraiser by NTRPGCon organizer badmike, proceeds will go toward the mini-con.

So what are the games, you ask?  ckutalik has a list of events in his latest mini-con update on his blog, including one old-school game designer and one new-school game designer.

I plan on being there, of course, to run at least one spaceship game.  Who else is going to make it to the South Texas Mini-Con?