Not signed in (Sign In)

Vanilla 1.1.9 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome Guest!
Want to take part in these discussions? If you have an account, sign in now.
If you don't have an account, apply for one now.

Meetups and Conventions: Viking Con!

Bottom of Page

1 to 49 of 49

  1.  
  1.  # 1
    Hva så, y'all?

    I'm going to be at Viking Con in Copenhagen from 11-14 October (They wanted Matt Wilson but they got me instead!) Anybody around here going to Viking Con besides Peter and Olle? I have no idea what to expect, but I'll be running a ton of demos, a couple of game sessions, there's apparently a panel, and playing a lot of stuff (including some jeepform). I'm a little excited. It's a serious honor to be Matt's stand-in. Udmærket!
    •  
      CommentAuthorMatthijs
    • CommentTimeSep 21st 2007
     # 2
    I'd like to go. However, I think I'm in Kyrgyzstan then. (Seriously).
    • CommentAuthorEmily Care
    • CommentTimeSep 21st 2007
     # 3
    Congratulations, Jason! What's the panel on?
  4.  # 4
    I believe it is myself and Mikkel Bækgård discussing the differences between what they do and what we do, with some small press publishing thrown in. Beyond that I'm not sure. The organizers asked what games I'm prepared to demo and/or run, and I have not yet heard back on what the schedule will be.
  5.  # 5
    Posted By: Jason MorningstarThe organizers asked what games I'm prepared to demo and/or run

    So what are you offering to demo/run while you are there?
  6.  # 6
    Here's my list. It's not a popularity contest; it's stuff I've played recently and/or feel very confident showcasing. I said I was willing to demo any (or all!) of the following:

    The Shab-al-Hiri Roach, Grey Ranks, Prime Time Adventures, Dogs in the Vineyard, The Shadow of Yesterday, Dust Devils, Breaking the Ice/Shooting the Moon, Burning Wheel, Carry, Classroom Deathmatch, Cold City, Contenders, Hero's Banner, Primitive, Roanoke, Steal Away Jordan, The Mountain Witch, Psi Run

    I said I would enjoy running a full session of:

    The Shab-al-Hiri Roach, Grey Ranks, Prime Time Adventures, Dogs in the Vineyard, The Shadow of Yesterday, Dust Devils, Psi Run, mystery playtest game

    Probably others I am forgetting. Hopefully they'll tell me in advance.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMatthijs
    • CommentTimeSep 21st 2007
     # 7
    Posted By: Jason MorningstarI believe it is myself and Mikkel Bækgård discussing the differences between what they do and what we do, with some small press publishing thrown in.


    Mikkel Bækgaard? Shit, he wrote both "Kongemord" and "Guernica". Those are two insanely good scenarios. (Though Danish "scenarios" of this form are, actually, one-session games, complete with instructions/rules/callthemwhateveryouwant). Just a few days ago, I was trying to persuade the Danes to translate their scenarios. Two of the three examples I used were the two scenarios listed above.

    I would have loved to see that panel. Man.
    • CommentAuthorEmily Care
    • CommentTimeSep 21st 2007
     # 8
    You are a one man demo machine, Jason.

    For Jason or others, how much of the programming is in English?

    (I ask knowing full well that a d@mnable lot more than would be in Danish at any American con. I feel great humility in the face of European multilingualism.)
    •  
      CommentAuthorMatthijs
    • CommentTimeSep 23rd 2007
     # 9
    Posted By: MatthijsMikkel Bækgaard? Shit, he wrote both "Kongemord" and "Guernica".


    Ooops, no, apparently he wrote "Kongemord", but not "Guernica" - he just did the layout for that one.
  10.  # 10
    Hi. Looking forward to seeing you, Jason.

    I haven't tried any Indie-games yet, thought i own several :P. So I'm really psyched for Viking-con.
    • CommentAuthorFredzor
    • CommentTimeSep 25th 2007
     # 11
    Blah. I am going to be in Copenhagen for the last weekend of October. Can't you postpone it a week? ;P
    Btw, is this a big event?
  12.  # 12
    Around 900 attendees, apparently. Viking Con and Fastaval are the two big Danish conventions.
  13.  # 13
    Looking forward to hearing you talk Jason and also trying out Gray Ranks. Have a safe trip over here.
  14.  # 14
    Hi there,

    I'm the guilty culprit - I'm the one who invited Jason ;)

    Viking Con has a homepage in Danish: www.viking-con.dk. Last year we did a workshop on indie-games with about 20 participants and a few games of e.g. Roach, Dogs, My Life With Master. This year we are setting up indie games in greater numbers, and hope to attract more people to this kind of gaming. Viking Con is mainly a board game convention, but a few hundred people also go there to play roleplaying games, which is both traditional games like Call of Cthulhu, and Danish style games (one-session scenarios with rich pre-generated characters, plot web, and a dominant game master for story authority). Once in a while, a LARP game is set up as well.

    I'm arranging for Jason to play Mikkel Bækgårds scenario A Day in the Life (in Danish, in spite of the title, I'll translate selected parts to Jason so we can play in English). This is a Magnolia style story with 12 characters, played by 4 players. Saturday there will be a discussion, where Jason and Mikkel can throw in their views on what make roleplaying rock for them. Hopefully we can all end up being a bit more clever on what the different kinds of roleplaying styles can be used for. The rest of the weekend is for playing indie-games. I hope we collect a happy crowd and have a lot of fun :)

    Best regards
    Frederik J. Jensen
  15.  # 15
    - I didn't opt for Kongemord (Murder of a King), as even though it is a great scenario, it is also quite difficult to play in English for most Danes, as the tone very much comes from the Shakespearian style improvised monologues and dialogues.

    Mikkel has done quite a number of scenarios over the years, the complete list can be found here: http://alexandria.dk/data?person=50 (in Danish).
    • CommentAuthorpedyo
    • CommentTimeOct 2nd 2007
     # 16
    As you know, Jason, I'll also be attending - and I'd love me some Grey Ranks and TSOY-action :)
    Seriously, I'm looking forward to meeting you as well as experiencing how you yanks play the story games compared to us frosty vikings.
    Later!
    • CommentAuthorpedyo
    • CommentTimeOct 2nd 2007
     # 17
    Oh - I'll be setting up games of PTA and Dead of Night...
  18.  # 18
    Peter, I think I've been scheduled to run The Roach and Grey Ranks, but I'll bring along a TSOY one-shot just in case. Hopefully I'll be prepared to run about a dozen different games if the opportunity arises. I really want to sit down and play with you guys, too!
  19.  # 19
    Jason (& everyone else) have a great time @ Viking Con.
    let us know how everything went when its over.
  20.  # 20
    So far so awesome:

    http://www.rpgforum.dk/mod-perl/rpgforum.pl?cmd=showmessage&id=52341
  21.  # 21
    Some people were to play Doubt, there, too. How was it?
  22.  # 22
    I saw them prepping but didnøt hear how it went!
    • CommentAuthorpedyo
    • CommentTimeOct 14th 2007
     # 23
    I'm home after a great but hard weekend. I managed to play Dead of Night, Grey Ranks, TSOY (twice), The Roach (which crashed) and PSI-run. Grey Ranks and PSI-run were great, great sessions that I really enjoyed, and Jason - you were a champ, very patient and hard working. And a nice guy as well! Killer combo!
  24.  # 24
    Viking Con was great for me this year. I got to play some awesome games with awesome people.
    Jason, it was a real pleasure gaming with you. Grey Ranks was a hit for me, I can't wait to try a full game.
    I also got to try Universalis, Polaris, and PSI-Run though I think I was to tired to do Polaris justice.
    Thanks go out to all the people playing dirty hippie games at VC, it was fun.
  25.  # 25
    The Celebrity Deathmatch between Jason and Mikkel was a hit. The session was in English and was recorded. Find the discussion here:

    http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/projects/viking_con/

    The first part is about 45 min. In this part, I interview Jason and Mikkel. You can e.g. hear Jason's comments from playing Mikkels A Day in the Life.

    The second part is a 30 min. Q&A with questions from the audience, e.g. on replayability and three kinds of secrets.

    At a time, I wasn't sure that Jason would make it back alive, but I think he survived... :)

    http://brianrasmussen.dk/jason/images/_POR1401.jpg
  26.  # 26
    I'm back home and have a lot to say about my experiences. Hopefully some actual play reports and general enthusiasm will be forthcoming shortly. Viking Con was very rewarding for me and I hope I was a good guest.

    Huge thanks to all the friendly Danes (and the random Swede) I met and played with. Especially Frederik (fjj), who gave me a place to stay and always seemed to show up with a plate of food when I had no idea what was going on.
  27.  # 27
    Posted By: Jason Morningstarwho... always seemed to show up with a plate of food...


    For those that don't know it already, this is the key to Jason's heart.
  28.  # 28
    Posted By: Jason Morningstar
    Huge thanks to all the friendly Danes (and the random Swede) I met and played with.


    And thanks to you! I had lot of fun playing Shab-al-hiri Roach with you, even though we accidentally locked you out of the room.

    - Anders
  29.  # 29
    My AP report for A Day in the Life is up at the Forge.
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2007
     # 30
    is Jason attempting some kind of Eagle Claw move in that picture? Jason, comments?
    i'm glad you had fun, and i'd like to hear more about what you picked up from 'em.
  31.  # 31
    I'm doing my best "Watch-Mikkel-Bækgaard-punch-the-crap-out-of-me" technique, which is surprisingly effective. I hope that Forge thread turns into some useful dialogue, although initial signs point to "no". If it flames out, I'll try again here.
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2007
     # 32
    so, what's the coolest thing you saw at Viking Con?
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2007
     # 33
    what thing surprised you about their play, and did it help you question your play?
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2007
     # 34
    i'm listening to the audio, and it's really great. it's great to hear someone else's perspective on things. wow, really great stuff! and cool-ass accents! i'm really entertained. really good. thank you!
  35.  # 35
    Thank Frederik (fjj here) and his scheming minions who set it up and did the work. I just talked. I think the coolest thing, for me, was that there is a very active scene in Denmark and they are really excited about "indie games" as well as their native tradition, which is equally challenging and cool.
  36.  # 36
    We Danes are used to get inspiration from abroad and mix it with our own ideas. Most Danes are good at English and with all this internets thingy it is easy to catch up on the latest stuff. However, due to all of our production being in Danish and this being all work just for fun, there is no real incentive to push ideas back over there to you guys. My idea with setting this up was to fix some of that.

    So I'm glad you enjoy it - and not just because of the accents :-)

    It is also quite interesting to hear Jason's comments. Even if he in some ways may be stating the obvious, it still helps me reflect on the wide range of options and their pros and cons. It is definately not as simple as either indie games or traditional games, or Danish style or Forge style (whatever these terms may mean).
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeOct 16th 2007
     # 37
    Thanks fjj! good stuff!
    good communication, on all parts.
  38.  # 38
    I am seriously committed to getting some of the hottest, most interesting Danish material translated. I think this will involve equal parts pleading and threatening. I think once the guys producing this stuff see that it is of great interest to the English-speaking community, it won't be so hard to convince them in the future.
  39.  # 39
    •  
      CommentAuthorMerten
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2007
     # 40
    Excellent stuff, Jason. I especially appreciate the actual play report, and probably the recordings as well once I've have listened them.
    • CommentAuthorpedyo
    • CommentTimeOct 17th 2007
     # 41
    Jesus, I hate watching myself speak (I'm the bald unshaven guy towards the end of the film)!
    That aside...
    I know that a few Danes have worked a bit on translating their scenarios but I'm not sure if anything came out of it.
  42.  # 42
    Here are some photos from Viking Con.
    • CommentAuthorkallisti_dk
    • CommentTimeOct 19th 2007 edited
     # 43
    It was great meeting you Jason, thanks for the autograph.

    It was entertaining and education playing the Roach with you. I can definately see myself playing it in the future. Also, the expansion (Roach II: Roach Harder! :) ) looks great. I especially like the WWII one. The potential for mayhem is astonishing!
  44.  # 44
    My goal for 2008 is to make it to a European con - I'm setting my sights on either RopeCon or VikingCon as they both sound like a lot of fun! Is there plenty enough for a poor, non-Danish or Finnish speaker like me to do?

    Jason - which indie games went down particularly well? I'd love to hear about I've just noticed the thread dedicated to the Danish hotness!

    Peter - how did Dead of Night go? I'd love to hear about it!
  45.  # 45
    Andrew, Grey Ranks was a fantastic session (Thomas just posted an AP report, so ask him about it), Psi Run was very good (again, an AP report here), TSOY was good, and both sessions of The Roach were less than good, approaching train wreck status. Different participants saw it differently (a few loved it), but I set a high standard and felt the Roach sessions were failures.

    The Roach sessions failed for numerous reasons - I tried to facilitate two at once to meet demand, the players didn't all get the mood and tone cues and stepped on each other's fun, there may have been language issues, we were all tired, I didn't demand that we stop when it was obviously going poorly and the players insisted we continue, and it can be a hard game to play in general.

    The reasons TSOY was only "good" - it was a pretty linear scenario designed for rank beginners, and I'd pared down six tightly-interconnected PCs to three so that there wasn't as much Key hitting. It was just awkward, but still enjoyable.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMerten
    • CommentTimeOct 19th 2007
     # 46
    Posted By: Andrew KenrickI'm setting my sights on either RopeCon or VikingCon as they both sound like a lot of fun! Is there plenty enough for a poor, non-Danish or Finnish speaker like me to do?


    Gregor or some other member of their entourage can probably answer this on behalf of RopeCon. I think there's around 10-12 hours of (speech) programme in English, though I do have a feeling that Viking Con might have more actual playing stuff, especially when it comes to narrative variety of games. We had several tables last year, but the space wasn't too crowded at any point I checked it out.
    • CommentAuthorsven
    • CommentTimeOct 19th 2007
     # 47
    Posted By: Andrew KenrickMy goal for 2008 is to make it to a European con - I'm setting my sights on either RopeCon or VikingCon as they both sound like a lot of fun! Is there plenty enough for a poor, non-Danish or Finnish speaker like me to do?


    I imagine that also Danish Fastaval would be of interest to you. I haven't been to any of these, but as I hear these three cons are far superior to anything in Sweden when it comes role playing.
  48.  # 48
    Neither Fastaval nor Viking Con have activities in English on a regular basis, but you could try to contact them to check if they plan to set anything up:

    Fastaval:
    http://www.fastaval.dk
    info@fastaval.dk
    Each Easter in Aarhus, DK.

    Viking Con:
    http://www.viking-con.dk
    kontakt@viking-con.dk
    Each Autumn leave in Copenhagen, DK.

    You may also be interested in Knudepunkt. More theoretically minded, includes a lot of LARP - as far as I know. Next year it is in Finland: http://solmukohta.org/
    • CommentAuthorpedyo
    • CommentTimeOct 19th 2007
     # 49
    Dead of Night was a good session that never quite lived up to my expectations. Mostly, this was due to the fact that the players never really took advantage of the many ways that they can influence the fiction and in many ways it played much like a traditional game (say, Beyond the Supernatural or the like). They latched onto "I've got just the thing!" but other ways of using Survival Points were never utilized.
    I blame myself! I should have stopped the game from time to time and remind them of their options. Two of the players were very enthusiastic though - one even said that it was one of the best sessions ever, so that's also something.
    For my taste, DoN would be better suited for my regular gaming group that would be better equipped to take control of the story.

    I agree with your evaluations of the games you ran, Jason. Grey Ranks and PSI-Run were standouts. TSOY gave a promise of better things to come. I guess we were all just a little bit tired at that point and that showed. For my part (I played Tuck), I felt I had a hard time hitting my Keys in a game that was very focused on solving the mission - I feared, perhaps wrongly, that I'd slow the game down too much if I sidetracked it with Key of the hypocrite.

    But, you know, two great great sessions (and one that everyone involved felt was fantastic) in a weekend is great!

    /Peter

1 to 49 of 49

  1.