ROAD-TRIP REPORT FROM GAMEMASTER '90
Well, as mentioned in last week's TML Digest, James Perkins (our beloved
TML moderator), Richard Johnson (our beloved PBEM GM) and I (nobody in
particular) spent a 3-day weekend in Boise, ID ("The Nightlife Mecca of
the Pacific Northwest" :-)) to attend the Gamemaster '90 gaming convention.
The Con was well-attended. There ~150 gamers (IMHO) engaged in all matter
of role- and war-gaming (more on this later). Needless to say, Joe D.
Fugate Sr. and Gary Thomas were the 2 star attractions for all the die-
hard Traveller players in attendance.
We left Portland early Friday morning and (after a monotonous drive across
eastern Oregon with nothing for entertainment but each other) we arrived
in front of Ron Abramson's house about 5:15 PM, mountain time. Ron had
graciously offered to let us stay with him for the weekend (Thanks again,
Ron!), which is a mistake I'm sure he won't make again. However, since
we told him we wouldn't arrive until 6 PM, and since the driveway was
empty when we arrived, we stood around in front of his house for 15 minutes
before he noticed us and came out to invite us in (you see, to Jame, Richard,
and myself, a garage that's actually clean enough to hold cars is a sure
sign of a sick mind!).
That evening we when downtown to help the con organizers fold still-wet
convention programs and then Ron took the three of us to our first big
thrill: we went over to Joe Fugate's house where we met Joe, his wife
(who's name I've forget, embarassingly enough), and Gary Thomas. We
spend probably two hours talking role-playing non-stop and just generally
"basking in the presence of greatness" (although Joe and Gary will be
the first to tell you that they HATE being celebrities).
The next morning, we were all up at five to meet the rest of the Con
organizers at a local pancake house at 6 AM. We arrived 15 minutes late,
only to discover that everybody had overlooked one critical factor: the
restaurant WASN'T OPEN at 6 AM!! Ron, James, Richard, and I eventually
settled for an Elmer's Pancake house, after about 20 minutes of futilely
searching the streets of Boise for signs of a familiar car.
we arrived at the Boise State University Memorial Union (the location of
the Con) about 7:45 AM and at 8 AM the festivities started. There were
games of BattleTech, CarWars, Champions, World Conquest, Buck Rogers,
Sky Galleons of Mars, Battle for Moscow, Marvel Superheroes, and on,
and on. The two big ongoing games during the day were multi-session,
multiple elimination games of AD&D ("It's alive - Kill it!") and a GURPS
Sci-Fi adaption of the movie "Total Recall" (which was excellently crafted
and GM'ed by Ron Abramson) The big finish was a session of the MegaTaveller
adventure "The Flaming Eye" at two tables, referee'ed by Gary and Joe.
(This was actually additional playtesting for the adventure module, which
should come out late next year, so Richard, James, and I feel especially
privileged to have been included.) One of the wonderful features of most
of the game sessions was that you needed no prior experience in the game
to play.
Prompted by that fact, the three of us immediately plopped down to play
"BattleTech" (Jame and I had never played it, and Richard had only played
once, a long time ago). After a frustrating 2 1/2 hours battling crummy
dice-rolls, two teen-age "munchkins", and a squad CO with a distinct lack
of tactical ability, we were finally forced (due to session time limitations)
to abort our mission. (Richard and I were privately wishing that Peter
Berghold, Rob Dean, and a few of the other TML'ers with military experience
had been there so we could have REALLY kicked some 30-meter, cybernetic ass!)
The high point of the game was the end, when the GM awarded James the first-
place trophy for "Best Player" (a decision that Richard and I both agree was
the only correct one to make. I'll leave the gory details of that particular
battle to James. C'mon James, don't be modest!!)
In the next session, James and I proceeded on to the first round of the
GURPS "Total Recall" game. Richard attended a "How to Get Published"
talk by Gary Thomas, and then proceeded to take command of a "Heart of
Oak" game (naval battles with square-riggers). In the GURPS game, James
ran a sexy, young (female) rock star (and outstandingly, too) while I ran
a MAJOR NETWORK REPORTER (my karma, I guess :-)). These characters were
pre-generated for the game, but that didn't lessen the enjoyment at all.
After 2 full, gruelling sessions (with a quick dash out to a MacDonalds,
in between) we got stomped by the bad guys. Our only con- solation was
that the other table (did I mention there were two tables running this
adventure?) didn't get much further. The real shock at the end was when
I got handed the 1st place award for Best role-playing! You had to have
been there to see the field of talent we were up against. I have NEVER
been in the company of that many outstanding RPG'ers at once in my life.
The 8 PM (and final) session rolled around, and we settled into the
ultimate reason for our road-trip in the first place, the chance to
play MegaTraveller with two of the guys responsible for making it what
it is today. James played with a group at Gary's table, while Richard
and I (along with 3 other really good players) sat at Joe's table.
Both MT tables were deliberately moved as far away as possible from
the "Clay-o-Rama" table, since we couldn't hear ourselves think (let
alone, talk) anywhere near them. Our (economic) mission for that
evening was to rescue a scientist, and her proto-type invention, from
deep inside Vilani space. Our table didn't get nearly as far along
as Gary's table, but the role-playing and characterizations were
unbelievable!! Joe is the kind of GM that you hope you get in role-
playing heaven when you die.11 PM arrived much too soon (sigh).
After the Con ended, we joined Gary, Joe, and the rest of the Con
organizers for a TGIO (Thank God It's Over!) get-together at Denny's,
which went on until 2 AM. As tired as we were, all the gaming just
didn't seem to last long enough.
Well, in a nutshell, we had a ball!! We're definitely going back again
next year. ...And I'm sure that James and Richard will have plenty more
to tell about the parts that I've left out.
Later,
"Laura, take a spray-hypo full of sterile water up to the bridge
and tell the Captain it's time for his next shot."
- Tori Chimal, engineer for "The Last Gasp",
a type-A2 free trader.
Mark F. Cook
USMail: User Interface Technical Support
Hewlett-Packard - Interface Technology Operation
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