Huzzah for Helgacon 12 !

Well, another Helgacon has come and gone, and I can unequivocally say for me personally that this one was the best one yet!

This year, our mighty con organizer Paul set up an extra "Premium Day", giving attendees an extra day of hanging out and gaming if we so desired, and I so desired. (Plus, since I moved back to PA he's been been my ride down to the venue. So showing up for just the regular days would have been something of a logistical kerfluffle.)

I enjoyed every game I played in, and all three of the games I ran I consider smashing successes. I'll be spinning the tales with lots of visuals and a bit of analysis in the following days.

As for the non-RPG gaming, which I consider sort of the side dishes to the seven course banquet of dice bouncing that I did, we played a couple of rousing games of "Escape the Dark Castle" which was jolly good fun in a "we're all gonna die, probably from rat bites" kind of way. Both times the hapless escapees got medievally murderated before we could make it out of the donjon. T'was fun, tho.

On Thursday night the Premium Day attendees all took part in a marathon session of "This House Is Haunted" which is kind of a weird cross between "Werewolf" and sardines, where you turn off all the lights in your house and send missions off from a home base to various selected rooms where there are stacks of cards you have to retrieve. Some cards are good, most either saddle you with ridiculous curses, like having to speak in an accent or walk like a zombie without benefit of your knees, or tally up to make you be possessed by evil spirits, which cause you to actively work against your human former colleagues. You could also get trapped in one of the rooms, until such time as a subsequent searcher met the conditions for your release. (Several players spent at least an hour in the venue's enclosed porch trapped in a ghostly dance party.)

I sat this game out as I was a bit weary after running my first game that evening, but I did perform a vital function as the guy who could call "olly olly oxen free" in case everybody got stuck in rooms. It was a hoot to watch, let me tell you.

Aside from that, the food was uniformly delicious. (Particularly Paul's pumpkin chili w cornbread.) The accommodations were excellent, as usual, and I had a great time seeing all the folks I only get a few precious chances to see each year.

So here's to another Helgacon for the record books. Gotta start planning what I'm gonna run at Helgacon XIII ! :)

BTW: Here's the Wandering DMs' take on the proceedings:

I played in Dan's "Lost Tomb of Ra Hotep" game and in Paul's "Stay Frosty" game, and shall be discussing them presently. Enjoyed 'em both!