Today we have a treat of the official Narosia Sample Characters. These characters will be in the book, included in the fiction of the book, and ready for any convention event or demo.

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Novapunk - the Novapunk adventure, the first live playtest of Novapunk went extremely well. We had decided to test whether or not we could deliver the Novapunk experience using Mutants and Masterminds 3E. Unfortunately, the answer was no. We believe a core element of any cyberpunk game is the cruch of the tech rules, and that includes guns, and gun combat. It just wasn't there the way we felt it needed to be. Now, that said, the minion rules in MnM work very well so I think there is a lesson to be learned there, but otherwise MnM just isn't a fit. Additionally, while I think the adventure was a good adventure it was not a good showcase of Novapunk. So, fun as it was (and we had a great time) we need a different adventure and a different system. The characters (.sig, killswitch, tangent, hammer, and Edge) were awesome, as were the players that played them. I think a little more backstory and characterization will flesh them out even more, but overall I think we nailed that. The response to the setting was also great and really told us we were on the right path.

Narosia Quick Start - the players that came to make characters really got into the options and we really fleshed out some great characters. Unfortunately, we didn't leave as much time as I would have liked to play it out and missed an opportunity to really introduce the world as well as I could. I am going to have to rethink the format and perhaps go with a 2-hour character generation session followed by a 3-hour adventure (that you can just show up for an play a pre-gen). 

Kickstarter Panel - this was really great. I got to meet three other recent Kickstarter veterans and we jammed on our challenges and successes. A lot of good information sharing and I definitely know what I am doing for my next Kickstarter.

Cowbowy Cthulhu - another outstanding event. Once again I had some great players show up for this game who were entirely willing to dive into their characters and really embrace the insanity. Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

D&D Next: Village of Hommlet - I started the adventure in the Inn of the Welcome Wench and made things all kinds of crazy. We had a great group of players who were all there to see what all the fuss about D&D Next was all about, setting aside their preconceived notions of the game. It ran great - really outstanding. It was fast moving, fun, easy to play, and felt like D&D. The reason: it actually felt like you could do anything and ultimately I think that is the heart of what old school gaming is actually about. This is the third time I've run D&D Next and unlike some other games I have run it has been very fun to run as a GM. That is a critical element for any game. The last thing I want to explore in D&D Next is high level play. If high level play is fun, and easy to run, I think this will be a very great thing for the industry. Regardless of your opinion of D&D, having a fun game that is easy to GM and makes a concerted effort to teach game masters how to be a good game master as the industry's flagship game is a big win. 

Venue - the new convention center (Eagle Crest Marriott, Ypsilanti, MI) was awesome. Great support, great food, awesome chairs, quiet rooms, continuous flow of water, great layout, easy parking, easy access, beer.... This is a great move for us.

Next year: More Narosia, Monster Hunter International, Skyrim, Novapunk, and Cthulhu. Dammit! So many games, so little time. If you haven't gone, you need to go. If you are Pathfinder fan, the Pathfinder Society was packed and ran extremely well. 

U-Con prereg is open and all of my events are posted. I'm still thinking about something in the 3pm-7pm slot on Sunday because I never want the con to end. Any requests? Savage Worlds Village of Hommlet? D&D Next Village of Hommlet? Dungeon Crawl Classics Village of Hommlet? HERO Anything? Let your voices be heard.