Kobolds Ate My Baby at Brewfest

As you may recall I attended a small gaming convention called Brewfest which took place at a brewery on the Mississippi River on a lovely October day. The gaming was in full swing when we arrived and most people were enjoying either Pathfinder games or Warhammer. It was so cool!

Despite the name, Brewfest, seemed to mostly involve drinking brews like iced tea and soda. Mr. Geek and I did have some alcohol, but I also ended up mostly drinking my favorite version of tea, unsweetened with lots of lemon. For a small fee you could get a collector cup and drink all the non-alcoholic beverages that your gaming heart desired.

And what did our gaming consist of, you may ask. Well, we played Kobolds Ate my Baby! This is a very, very seriously light-hearted game. You play a kobold, which is a little furry beast in this game. You serve King Torg (ALL HAIL KING TORG!) and must venture out of your cave to do something related to gathering food, especially babies!

Yum! And see the baby wants to be eaten....

Kobolds do not understand human language, but as a skill can take "Speak Human" and gain the understanding of a whole SEVEN words. Your character has points in Brawn, Ego, Extraneous, and Refelxes, aka the BEER system. Very apt for the setting that day.


We had so many players that we had two GM's. Both did a really excellent job and made the game insanely fun. Our goal was to collect ingredients and then throw them into the volcano, but these ingredients included the dead body of King Torg because our side was allied to the Queen.

Queen Grot's Volcano Delight

• 1 volcano pepper
• 1 chicken alive or dead
• 1 zombie baby
• cheese
• the carcass of King Torg

To play the game you really have to be ready to be silly. You could be called upon to bark like a Kobold and upon death give a speech about your deceased Kobold. Player death is pretty common since you are basically a very stupid creature. Oh, we also at one point were put under a spell in which both sides of the table had to switch character sheets and play that character for a moment.

Somehow my stupid Kobold managed to survive most of the game and make it from our battlemap to the next table's where King Torg lived. Along the way I ran into a naked elf, ate a bunch of leather coats that were hanging up in a place I broke into and bored a hole with a spoon through a man's head... Finally, the Kobold Blehhh made it to King Torg, wrassled him (the game's term for grapple), but was tragically killed along with the King by one of his minions!

Whew. It was a real delight and we really enjoyed the company of the other gamers.

I'm Going to Brewfest

Those of you that play WoW recognize this scene.

It's Brewfest! My DK is getting drunk, riding rams, and giving me a wicked gaming hangover with the wavy screens of doom that you get when your character gets her drink on.

What if you could go to "Brewfest" ?!

Well, when I picked up my comic book pull list today I found a flier advertising just such an event. It's a regional gaming convention happening within driving distance of me!

Brewfest 2010 is in its 2nd year. My friendly local game shop guy recounted me with some tales of last year's event when I picked up my comic books. Apparently the location is lovely and they have a dumbwaiter that delivers beer and food to the second floor. It's a local brewery and it sounds awesome. I'm not sure with the gluten issues if I'll be able to sample the beer, but the games that are going on sound like fun! I am looking forward to a day or two of table-top RPG's and checking out the Warhammer Tournaments. I don't have enough figures yet to play myself, but I will at some point!

If you live in the area registration ends Oct.1.

CONS & Sleep: I'm your BIGGEST Fan!

Following up on Monday's post about low-cost and in-room dining at conventions I wanted to share another post with some advance planning tips.

I am so excited about GEN CON and reading twitter updates for SDCC just amped up the excitement level of waiting for the convention. GEN CON (and another event that I got tickets for that I will talk about later) is part of my gift to myself for completing my Master's Degree in 18th Century Literature. While I would love to take myself to Tokyo, back to Hong Kong, or to Ireland to really celebrate the economy made me look much closer to home. Hey, I'm not complaining.

With that in mind for most of us the reality of attending a convention in an economical fashion includes things like sharing a room and sharing a ride. Luckily riding with a group or taking mass transit to get to a Con is also environmentally friendly.

Even if you aren't sharing a room the first thing you need to think about when staying somewhere long-term is the reality of getting some sleep. At most hotels during convention season you will be dealing with a lot of noise. Double that if you are sharing a room and will have people coming in and out at different times. Hell, during the last Renaissance Faire I stayed at there were men in the next room howling like monkeys at the TV at 1 AM (not Faire-goers by the way).

My best suggestion with trying to sleep in guerrilla conditions is bringing a long a very small fan. If you put this on the nightstand at the hotel and pop in some earplugs you have increased chances of feeling awake enough to pay attention during panels and when meeting your favorite actors, artists, or writers.

I've also read tips from other convention goers who had success downloading free or .99 cent white noise generators for the iPods and people listening to whatever MP3 player they brought along.

You may also be thinking of that other magical way of sleeping through anything: a lot of alcohol. This will work in most situations, but if you party every night at a Con you will at the very least feel like Cthulhu is in your brain and likely begin to resemble him as well.... I suppose the partying theme should be saved for a future post.

What are some things that have worked for you to bring you sweet dreams during conventions?

Con Dining: Beyond PB&J

After four days you will be tired of sandwiches....

SDCC is about to hit the west coast while all across the globe the convention schedule for fans of almost anything continues to grow with new events and old favorites.

In the heat of battling for exclusive items, attending seminars, meeting your idols, and taking it all in it's important to remember to eat. How does the savy attendee solve the dilemma of finding easily accessible food and yet also saving funds for that got-to-have collector item?

I have given this a lot of thought as this year some of my gaming BFF's and I will be attending GENCON. I don't want to spend the time and money tracking down restaurants compounded by the fact that I have to find gluten free and vegetarian fare for my dietary needs.

Let me introduce you to some foods that would make either good snacks or great meals for those on a budget. Even if your hotel room doesn't have a microwave almost all hotels have a microwave in the lobby. Your first step is to make sure you stay at a hotel with some kind of free breakfast as that will simplify some of your food needs.

SNACKS:

There are a lot of good meal bars that you could stash in a bag of holding or your Cthulhu waist pouch. Some good options that also happen to be gluten free, healthy, and taste pretty great are Soy Joy, Luna Bars, and Cliff Bars.

Cliff bars lead the pack as they have more calories than the others, a number of added vitamins, and are quite filling. Paired with an apple from your free hotel breakfast this would make a fast and healthy lunch between seminars.

Other good options would include trail mix, microwave popcorn, tortilla chips, and of course cookies (which for the gf person there are many options these days).


DINNER:

Here is the beyond PB&J, beyond ramen, part of the post. If your hotel room does not have a fridge it may seem like you are very limited in your food choices. However, a trip to an International Grocery, larger chain store, or a co-op/natural food store will yield amazing choices that are not perishable. These foods will give you a full complement of nutrition and even veggies.

First up on my recommended list are the meals by Tasty-Bite. They make items in the vegan range, gluten-free range, etc. Can you imagine after a long day coming back to your hotel room and fixing a fast, hot-meal of Indian food?! There are a lot of meals to choose from in this line and they cook in 1.5 minutes.

These meals can be paired with microwave rice such as Anne Chung's Rice Express for a full meal that you can share.

Other brands that make good non-perishable food that comes in gluten-free include Amy's Vegetarian Chili's and Soups (you'll need to bring a can-opener), Thai Kitchen, and A Taste of Thai.

Hell, if you bring a jar of pickled Japanese veggies it's even possible to make a passable and very cheap mountain of sushi to take back up to your hotel room with this kit. All you have to do is microwave the rice for the sushi.
BE EARTH-FRIENDLY:
Conventions, like any large gathering of people, tend to create a lot of waste. Be mindful of this. Ask about recycling at your hotel or at the convention center. If possible stash any plastic, cardboard, paper, or glass in your trunk to recycle when you get home. Bring your own water bottle and refill it and if you are microwaving food at your hotel consider bringing a small bowl from home and a knife/spoon or spork. You can wash it out in the hotel sink and re-use it each day instead of throwing away paper or plastic disposables.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
As you consider the type of convention, the means of travel, and the amenities of your lodgings decide ahead of time how much food you can bring and what type. At the very least bring along snacks and re-usable water bottle.

Let me know any other easy food options that have worked for you in the past or ones that you plan on trying.