Gamers Codex – Page 7 – Seawolf's Den

RavenCon 2014 follow up

Posted on May 26, 2014March 3, 2025 by Ron McClung

I have received enough feedback from my RavenCon review that I felt that a follow up was needed. From this feedback, I think there are some beneficial lessons that can help with convention management, gaming coordinating, as well as one’s convention experience. Getting the full perspective of a con is not always easy. I sometimes find more insight after the con. Since RavenCon, I have spoken with a senior convention staff member as well as a game designer/publisher that attended. Their feedback to my first review is what lead me to this follow up. This is not intended to be a retraction or an “apology.” I stand by what I wrote in my initial review. I just truly feel that after the feedback I received that there is more of a tale to tell about RavenCon.

RavenCon 2014 – Virginia sci-fi and gaming

Posted on May 25, 2014March 3, 2025 by Ron McClung

The journey from my home near Charlotte, NC to Richmond, Va is not a short one but I have been wanting to check out a con for years called RavenCon. It is run by a good group of people, some of which I know from my days of running sci-fi cons. My kids like to dress up and play around with other kids that like sci-fi, so I like to go to these on occasion. I know going in that the gaming is not the focus at these cons, but I have at least a minimum expectation that there is some and it might be reasonably organized.

MACE West 2014 Report

Posted on April 27, 2014March 3, 2025 by Ron McClung

March 2014 meant not only that I turned 45, but also that MACE West moved to Asheville, NC, home of the Biltmore Estate! It was a new area for us and they seemed very welcoming to us on Facebook, but I wasn’t sure how accepting they would be about how we do things. We are a little more organized than what they may be used to, which I freely admit is sort of a double-edged sword. They could love the organization or they could think we are too “nazi” about the way we do things.

Achtung Cthulhu – Three Kings, a second look

Posted on April 21, 2014December 23, 2022 by Ron McClung

After reading through the Three Kings adventure the first and second time, I set out with a plan to try and run this single adventure as a convention game. It is funny how one can read through an adventure more than once and completely under estimate the potential. It really goes to show you that you don’t truly know an adventure until you run it. This is especially true in the case of the Three Kings adventure, as I found out.

The Rogue Mage RPG Player’s Handbook

Posted on April 2, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

The Rogue Mage RPG Player’s Handbook is a RPG core players handbook from MisFit Studios/Bella Rosa Books. Through the years of running sci-fi and gaming cons, I have had the pleasure to meet some very interesting and smart people. Christina Stiles and Faith Hunter were two of them. Faith Hunter is the author of the Rogue Mage series of novels, and Christina Stiles is a RPG industry extraordinaire. Together they developed this volume of work that is the RPG to the Rogue Mage universe.

Castellan

Posted on March 12, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

At Origins 2013, I saw a lot of demos of a game called Castellan being played and I really wanted to try it out. Try as I may, I could never find an open table with someone there to teach me. It looked like a very simple game, reminding me of that game you play with your kids in restaurants while waiting for your food, connecting the dots and making more squares than your opponent. I was very curious on how they made this into a board game.

Spartacus – The Serpents and The Wolf

Posted on March 2, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

One game that has really impacted me this year is Spartacus, A Game of Blood and Treachery. Not only am I a huge fan of the series but the game itself is great, whether you like the series or not. It is one of those games that has so many satisfying elements in it that I crave to play it every opportunity I get. However, one of the more disappointing aspects of the game was the player limit. I prefer games that allow for 5 or 6 players and the base game only allowed 4. Enter the Spartacus: The Serpents and The Wolf expansion. Not only does it allow for 5 or 6 players, it brings a lot more to the arena.

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game

Posted on February 24, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game is a new Miniature Game from Fantasy Flight Games. Star Wars: X-Wing Miniature Game is the first Star Wars game I have truly invested a lot of time and money in since I gave up on Star Wars so many years ago. However, this game is so complete, so easy to learn and so satisfying from a gamer-point of view, I would play it if it was Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, or any other property (although I keep telling people FFG should consider BSG for this too).

The Hub Federation

Posted on January 29, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

The Hub Federation is a new RPG Supplement from Gypsy Knights Games . The Hub Federation is the closest thing that the Clement Sector comes to a “federation” or “stellar nation.” It has limited authority and influence but has the potential (and probably desire) to grow. It is made up of six primary worlds, centered around the capital Hub. The other systems are Wilhelmveldt, Donar, Reuschle, Sigewife, and Wellington. This is the companion sourcebook to the Subsector Surcebook 3: Hub, also reviewed here.

Subsector Sourcebook 3 – Hub

Posted on January 28, 2014December 21, 2022 by Ron McClung

Subsector Sourcebook 3: Hub is a new RPG Supplement from Gypsy Knights Games. What I like about the Clement Sector a lot is the carried amount of independent worlds throughout it. However, I also like the possibility of an all-powerful authority somewhere. The Hub Subsector, the first sector to be populated by humans in Clements, presents an interesting dynamic between a burgeoning “federation” and several independent worlds.