Seven Hills is one of the (many) conventions that takes place at the Garrison Hotel in Sheffield. It runs on Saturday and Sunday, with three game slots on Saturday and two on Sunday. All games are advertised and allocated specific slots and gaming tables prior to the event. Everyone gets to "presign" for one game prior to the event. Referees get an additional presign for each game they offer. So it encourages you to offer to run exactly to two games. Given that it's a convention blessed with a large number of high quality referees, it works very well.
Unlike its Uncle Convention - Furnace - Seven Hills has a theme each year. This year the theme was "urban legends". There's no-one holding a gun to your head to ensure your game matches the theme but it's a matter of honour to try to do so.
For convoluted reasons - and totally against the zeitgeist - I've recently been running some Blakes Seven games. Since the scenario invokes the discovery of an "ancient Martian Artefact" then it was pretty easy to tack the "urban legend" theme onto that.
For my second game, though, I tried to cleave closer to things and had this idea of running an "Elvis is still alive" game - based on the film "Bubba Ho Tep". This was great in theory but, as the convention got closer, I began to struggle with it. My original idea was to use the multi-genre rules I'm developing - "Manifold" - to run the game. However, it turned out that those rules are just a bit too complete for such a throwaway game idea. I would have had to think carefully about downgrading the character's physical stats and balancing that with higher levels and bonus points. I could've produced pregens but I wanted players to make their own characters at the table. It would have been too complex.
I couldn't find an appropriate alternative set of rules commercially available. (I welcome recommendations. I guess I'll get lots of Fate aficionados recommending it.) Anyway, at the last minute, I did a "hack" of my lightweight "Code" system which looked like it would do the job.
The convention was at the end of the Easter holiday, so I was able to travel up early on Friday. I checked in and found that I, like some others, had been accidentally booked into two rooms. I was only charged for one but felt guilty. I know that some people who come to Seven Hills can't get a room because the Garrison books out so quickly. It looks like rooms would have been available at the last minute if people had asked.
Friday night was ace. I met and chatted to a couple of people as usual. There was an "event" on - as ever - but this was just a birthday party. They had a live band but they were talented and very restrained on volume. Much quieter than the usual Friday night disco. Even better, Julian offered to run a game of "Dungeon Crawl Classics". A slot zero game! My first one ever! I've always preferred it when a convention is a weekend convention with things happening on a Friday rather than a two day one, just on the Saturday and Sunday. Arriving a bit earlier really seems to help.
The game was lovely. DCC is an OSR D&D game, apparently created as a response to 4th Ed D&D. Straightforward rules but a MASSIVE rulebook which mainly seems to be descriptions of the many and varied possible outcomes of spells cast using a "mercurial" magic system. I approve of wild magic.
The game was set in Lankmar and had no clerics. But it did have a "bennie" system called "Fleeting Fate". These can be used for many things, including recovery. They are freely given out but need to be freely spent. If you hoard them, you can lose them as they all disappear if anyone rolls a "1". Again I approve.
The scenario was super simple. Our various rogues started off in chains and had to fight our way out of the dungeon of the evil sorcerer. But the table was all old time players delightfully eating up the scenery supported by a light touch GM. Who knew you could have so much fun finding a wheelbarrow in a dungeon? The evening just flew by. Slot zero. I approve.
I couldn't find the time for breakfast anywhere in my room or on the telly. So I turned up at what seemed a reasonable time - 7:30 - only to find that it started at 8:00. That gave me time to nip over to Morrisons for supplies and still be first into breakfast.
I was very grateful to Keary for popping over to chat with me. He updated me on Continuum 2018. We debated the sign-up system they use there and I came to realise the particular issues they face. It's actually a pretty big convention. If the organisers want to maintain some control but allow free sign ups, the sheer number of signup sheets they have to pin up between games is massive and takes time. Mmmm I need to think about that one.
Saturday morning was my "Famous Dead People in a nursing home" game. I was worried it wouldn't run. There have been times in the past I've offered games at Seven Hills and garnered no players. The games on offer are all EXCELLENT and you're competing with the very very best referees. And I only had one presign. As it turned out I had a full table of 6 players - all but one of whom have played in my games before. It's lovely when people show such appreciation.
The youngest player had difficulty thinking of an appropriate famous dead person to play, so she played my pregen version of Hitler. (Original brain, clone body.) The other players made David Bowie (had to happen, I suppose), Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe (both of whom I'd considered doing as pregens in the run up to the convention) and Che Guevara. Not one I'd thought of but very feasible.
The last player made Ray Dolby - the guy who invented everything to do with Acoustic Technology, apparently. Wow! Talk about a left field choice!
The game went well. When their remote, secret, secure nursing home was attacked, the OAPs fought back with relentless efficiency. Hendrix, boosted by Dolby's tech, shattered the giant walking robot tank with a single massive chord - derailing the first attack. Monroe and Hitler made the worlds most effective "good cop, bad cop" team and Hitler even converted one of the baddies to his cause.
Then they were able to ambush the mercenary team sent to take them out. These were actually "The Expendables" from the first film. But, what with Che Guevarra's ambush allowing the team to take out Stallone and Statham before they could get a shot off, they were also dispatched in short order. And Dolph Lundgren was definitely swinging towards Hitler's viewpoint.
In fact more damage was done to the PCs inadvertently by Marilyn Monroe than all of the Expendables put together. Someone gave her a rifle - because she'd fired one in "The Misfits" (and still had the original outfit to put on). She nearly killed Bowie and Hendrix.
Anyway it turned out the bad guys were hired by a spider like race of lizards from Mars who wanted their exiled prince to return, and Bowie was more than happy to go.
It was a fun game with great players and great characters. Being hypercritical, for me it lacked a certain something on my part and there are two things I'd do differently (better) next time. Up the NPC personalities to match the PCs and add in one extra plot twist.
After lunch I played in Declan's Timewatch game. The table was nearly all really really good convention Referees who'd all prebooked the game - so that tells you how highly rated it was. Time agents sent back to unravel an anomaly which, it turned out, involved hyper evolved cockroaches, the melting metal terminator and an impeached Donald Trump. Unfortunately we were required to save Donald Trump - though we did manage to kill off Tony Blair. Declan is a good Referee. The players were all excellent. Declan's scenario was ace and the setting is great, with lots of popping back and forth in time to set up things in advance so they're ready just when you need them etc. But the system didn't pop for me. I felt the "bennies" (called "stitches" - nice touch) gave quite limited benefits and I spotted a flaw in the system. I had a bow wielding Amazon who spent "shooting" points to aid her missile rolls. Julian had a gladiator who spend "scuffling" points to aid hand to hand combat. After a while, my character had more scuffling left than his and vice versa. At the end we would have been better off swapping weapons. Odd. Great setting, system issues.
Great game though.
After tea, I popped, to reception. When I logged onto the hotel wireless it told me I was a loyal customer and I could pick up a free drink voucher from reception. Nice little bonus.
The evening game was a "Mindjammer" game run by Dr Mitch. This is a transhuman setting powered by the Fate system. Four great pregens - a sentient starship, a vat-grown supersoldier, an engineer with cybernetic enhancements and a Xeno-linguist who was suspiciously pure human. Too pure to be natural.
We were dispatched to find out why hive mind humans were having issues with sentient energy clouds. That's an oversimplification of course. It was my first Dr Mitch game and he came across as one of those gentle, softly spoken referees who quietly stir the pot and up the ante until you somehow find yourself in a frenzied fight for survival. Of course there was more to it than that. Moral decisions, inter-party friction and switching allegiances. All great stuff. Didn't convert me to Fate though. I still find the system comes between me and the Roleplaying somehow.
In the after game chat, Dr Mitch let me know how much he enjoys my food reviews in these diary entries and I realised I hadn't included any for this convention yet.
Ok I'll whisper it. (The food at the Garrison is still fine, the service is good and supports the convention well. But the quality isn't as brilliant as it used to be.) I ate in my room all day, food I bought from Morrisons in the morning. Far more than I could manage to eat and costing less than a single course of the bar food at the hotel. Sorry.
The bar staff are friendly and efficient and the bar carries a wide range of craft ales which go down very well. I hope that fills the bill, Mitch.
I have had a super two days. Seven Hills remains supremely well organised, with a wide range of superior games on offer and a really friendly and inclusive atmosphere.
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