January 12th, 2019
Conventions, Gary Con, The WEGS Fray
Where: Gary Con!
When: Thursday, March 7th
Time: 7 – 10pm
System: WEGS Basic Old Skool System (WEGS BOSS)
I kick off my Gary Con 2019 events with something near and dear to my old school heart, an adventure inspired by a block of descriptive text from Gary Gygax’s epic adventure module, The Keep on the Borderlands. Back in the 80s, this was THE module that introduced many to basic Dungeons & Dragons. Within the module was the Caves of Chaos, a maze of dark tunnels to lure inexperienced heroes to their doom. In my very first game, my Elf quickly fell under a swarm of rats just shortly after character creation (Cave A, Room 2). I was hooked.
In another nearby cave complex dwelt the fierce Hobgoblins – it is there we find the “plump half-dead merchant”, his wife, and four other prisoners chained to the wall. The merchant and his wife’s time is running out as both are slated to be eaten that night! It is here that our adventure begins. Each player selects one of the six prisoners to play: the half-dead merchant (who begins with half HP!), the merchant’s wife; one of the two men-at-arms who serve as guards for the merchant; an orc (who will fight goblins and hobgoblins gladly) or, perhaps, a crazy gnoll.
Players also begin by picking a class for their character (Fighter, Magic User, Cleric, Thief, Ranger) – and then the game is afoot! In a prior session of this adventure, the merchant’s wife was a magic-user and became the group’s leader. In same game, the crazy gnoll thief just ran off, deserting the others to fight on their own. Twists and turns await!
Can the group band together and find a way out – or are they just doomed to hang around for dinner?
Find out with WEGS, the Wickedly Errant Game System. Rules taught!
Here’s a link to our full menu of Gary Con events!
January 12th, 2019
Conventions, GameWick News, Gary Con
A quick look at the events I am running at Gary Con XI (2019). It’s a good mix of WEGS Old Skool Fantasy rpg adventures and special Shuffling Horror events. For fantasy rpg fans, WEGS, the Wickedly Errant Game System, is a fun system for dungeon-y misadventure. There are two types of WEGS events: WOSF (our original recipe system) and BOSS (the new Basic Old Skool System we’re working on)-both are easy to play and intro rules are taught at all games. For horror fans, Gary Con attendees get the chance to play in sneak peek Shuffling Horror events (titles to be released later this year). More info on each event is coming in future blog posts (links below updated as these occur).
GameWick’s Gary Con Events (2019)
Thursday
10 am – 12 pm Shuffling Horror: Roswell 51
12 pm – 2 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32 (Sneak Peek)
7 pm – 10 pm A Plump Half-Dead Merchant And His Wife (BOSS)
10 pm – Mid Shuffling Horror: Pittsburgh 68-The Cannibal Creeps (Sneak Peek)
Friday
11 am – 1 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32 (Sneak Peek)
2 pm – 5 pm The Caves of Utter Chaos (BOSS)
8 pm – Mid Tomb of Utter Horror (WOSF)
Saturday
11 am – 1 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32 (Sneak Peek)
2 pm – 5 pm The Caves of Utter Chaos (BOSS)
8 pm – 10 pm Cast & Blast: Beyond Thunderdoom (BOSS)
Sunday
11am – 1 pm How Many Heroes Does It Take To Slay A… Beholder?!? (BOSS)
A Beholder?!? Yup… I plan on ending the con with a total party kill!
January 5th, 2019
Conventions, Gary Con, The WEGS Fray
Now in its eleventh year, Gary Con XI is held in honor of Gary Gygax and celebrates his “life well-played”. The convention is set in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the town where the Gygax family lived, the first Gen Con was held, and TSR (the original publisher of Dungeons & Dragons) was based. It is run by the Gygax family and attended by many who played alongside Gary in the early days of the tabletop roleplaying game hobby.
For D&D fans, Gary Con is a destination gaming experience that cannot be beat! Below is the full menu of the events I am running there this year. Description blurbs for all of these events will follow in another post.
Overall, this is a good mix of old and new WEGS Old Skool Fantasy events. Designed for full-throttle sword-n-sorcery adventure, WOSF is heavy on the dungeon fun sauce. At some sessions, I’m playtesting a new intro system call the BOSS (Basic Old Skool System) which evokes an early D&D vibe. New players are welcome at all events. All rules taught!
There’s a few Shuffling Horror games creeping about the schedule, too, including the next Shuffling Horror release, Innsmouth 32, and a Pittsburgh 68 expansion called Cannibal Creeps (a special Gary Con sneak peek).
Something old, something new, and always something completely offbeat for our Gary Con friends and fans!
Wick’s Old Skool Menu : Gary Con 2019
Thursday
10 am – 12 pm Shuffling Horror: Roswell 51
12 pm – 2 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32
7 pm – 10 pm A Plump Half Dead Merchant And His Wife
10 pm – Mid Shuffling Horror: Pittsburgh 68-Cannibal Creeps
Friday
11 am – 1 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32
2 pm – 5 pm The Caves of Utter Chaos (BOSS)
8 pm – Mid Tomb of Utter Horror (WOSF)
Saturday
11 am – 1 pm Shuffling Horror: Innsmouth 32
2 pm – 5 pm The Caves of Utter Chaos (BOSS)
8 pm – 10 pm Cast & Blast: Beyond Thunderdoom
Sunday
11am – 1 pm How Many Heroes Does It Take To Slay A… Beholder?!?
A Beholder?!? Yup… I plan on ending the con with a total party kill!
December 26th, 2018
The WEGS Fray, Trove Roll
The annual rolling of the trove begins! Twelve hot-out-of-the-oven random trove rolls are coming at you from now until the New Year. Jumpin’ Jazzophat, that’s more than one a day!!! The slots will be filled in as we continue the roll out.
Can you handle this TROVE OVERLOAD!?!
On the first roll of WEGS-mas my GM rolled for me…
Mystic Potion: Fear My Lyrd
Realm: Mystic. Success Roll: 88%.
Potion strength : 8 SPS.
Duration: 2d6 innings (upkeep starts when duration ends).
On the second roll of WEGS-mas…
Large Helmet +3 ARM% + Fearsome Attribute
Large helm usually adds +3% to Armour, but this is doubled to +6% due to its fearsome attributes (horns, dragon plume, nasal guard, or full visor as per Kreator’s whim).
On the third roll of WEGS-mas…
Silvervine Elf Cloak
Realm: Magic. Charges: 4 per day.
When worn, this cloak of woven silvervine grants the wearer (2d6+4) Grace rank.
Astral Glow (charged effect): Emits a silvery glow, 2 SQR radius for 8 innings. All within glow gain 44% enchanted invulnerability and are invisible to ethereal creatures. No ether creature can enter the glow.
On the fourth roll of WEGS-mas…
Enchanted Sheath : Scabbard of Fire
Realm: Magic. Charges: 4 per day.
Made from the hide of some enchanted beast of fire, this sheath imbues its weapon with four enchanted charges per day. Each charge causes (d10 x 4) elemental/enchanted wounds to those it strikes. Re-rolls of 1 is automatic for charged damage die rolls; for a spoint, the player can gain RR2s as well. Special Effect: Afterburn. Those wounded by the charged effect suffer an additional (2d6 x 4) normal wounds for the next two spantes.
On the fifth roll of WEGS-mas…
+2 Short Sword
On the sixth roll of WEGS-mas…
Mystic Potion: Sphere of Light
Realm: Mystic. Success Roll: 88%.
Potion strength : 8 SPS. Duration: 2d6 innings (upkeep starts when duration ends).
On the seventh roll of WEGS-mas…
Bow of Quickening : Short Bow
Realm: Neutral. Charges: 4 per day.
1 fire action per charge, no aim action required.
On the eighth roll of WEGS-mas…
Enchanted Arrows : Piercer Arrows, 8
Opponent suffers (d6 x 10)% Invulnerability penalty on strike.
On the ninth roll of WEGS-mas…
Breast Plate, Leather. +5 ARM%
No move penalty.
On the tenth roll of WEGS-mas…
Medallion of Protection : Resist Fear
Realm: Neutral. Charges: 8 per day. Success Roll: 88%. Strength: 8.
Automatic Resist Fear, from inning to spante (or vice versa).
On the eleventh roll of WEGS-mas…
Mystic Staff : Bless With Fire
Realm: Mystic. Charges: 4 per day. Success Roll: Grace%. Strength: 8.
Each use expends one charge.
On the twelfth roll of WEGS-mas..
Potion of Wounds: Heavy Brew
d% wounds healed.
A very merry WEGS-mas to all – hope to see you WEGS-ing around the game table in 2019!
December 22nd, 2018
News, Reviews
Thrills! Chills!
A Roswell 51 review from David Chapman, the pappa rat over at The Rat Hole game review site. We mat David at Gen Con this year, when our game caught his eye. As he notes in the review, David loves his B-movies, especially retro sci-fi B-movies.
In his review, David zones in on what makes Shuffling Horror shine:
“Just like a GM, the Director is one part player, one part guide, one part rules guru, and one part storyteller. Unlike an RPG, you can easily play this game straight, with the Survivors and Monsters just a collection of opposing stats, augmented with dice rolls. If you do that, the game is still fun. But when all the players, Survivors and Director, work together to tell a story; that’s when the game truly starts to shine.”
Read the full Rat Hole review here.
December 22nd, 2018
News, Reviews
Alan Clift (Kadet) posted a review of ROSWELL 51 on the BoardGameGeek forums. Alan is no stranger to Shuffling Horror, having run the game with us at Gen Con and Origins Game Fair this summer. He knows his way around the Shuffle Board for sure!
Here’s some highlights from his review:
–Playing it feels like watching, or even making, a sci-fi B-movie from the 50’s!
–Roswell 51 is a good game with its action-based card-n-dice play that is set in a retro alien invasion theme. It becomes a very good game when players get into character, adding embellishments to the action scenes that the game creates.
–The game has rich fight/flight mechanics. The use of scarce resources, called survivor points, modify dice rolls providing strategic choices. These should be used sparingly as your life depends on it!
–Game play allows for the players to embellish the plot, like actors with creative reign over their characters. This really brings the game to life!
Read the full review here.
