The Asylum Steampunk convention - 23rd-26th 2019 - Lincoln
Last year I came across “The Asylum - the biggest Steampunk convention in their world” online. I dropped them a note to ask if they wanted me to run games. When they said yes, I booked a cheap B&B in Lincoln for one night and attended Saturday and Sunday, just to dip my toe in the water and see how it went.
I was impressed by the little I saw of the event. It is a feature of many multi-day Steampunk events that they run evening events that are separately ticketed. Though these are - I assume - BRILLIANT balls, concerts and soirées, they don’t float my boat so I cheekily asked if I could run a long game in the evening. I didn’t expect to be allowed to as this would be a free event. But I was allocated a table in the student union bar and gained enough players for a great game.
So, it was a success.
This year I vowed to come for the whole extended weekend - it was a Bank Holiday Monday. And found myself really looking forward to it.
I asked if I could bring a second referee - agreed.
I asked if we could run a game in the student Union at nights - they gave use a massive room on the top floor.
I asked if I could run a Live Role-Play - AGREED!
I spent an unconscionable amount of money in the run-up (for me). I bought a top hat. I bought a set of special googles with “gamesmaster” lens inserts. Instead of booking as cheap B&B in town - I booked accommodation on the University Campus - which was a bit more expensive, especially given that it was student accommodation with shared bathrooms etc. By the time I got around to booking all single accommodation was gone so I had to book a double room. I bought an extra Banner to advertise the event. I had new character sheets and table notices printed and laminated.
(Note: if after reading this report you decide to visit The Asylum, book your accommodation early. Cheap stuff books out very early.)
Last year I’d noticed that many Steampunks didn’t just dress up. They created characters and then dressed up as those characters. So, through the event’s Facebook Page, I offered to prepare bespoke character sheets for anyone who sent me a photo of themselves and a character description, so they could actually play their Steampunk alter-egos in an adventure. I was only contacted by three people to make six character sheets (always couples). The reason, I reckon, was that people are working on “this year’s outfits” right up until last minute. But I enjoyed statting up the characters whose descriptions I DID receive.
For my second Referee the first person I contacted was Dave Winterbottom. Dave organises the TTRPGs at many of the country’s Anime cons. He is an Expo stalwart and also does stand-up where he and audience design TTRPGs live on stage. (Nope - I don’t get how he’d do this either - but he DOES.) Luckily he agreed. And I was able to offer him free accommodation because I’d booked the double room.
Finally I realised that I probably needed to design so new scenarios as people might have played my standard ones the previous year. So I asked for title suggestions on line and received many excellent ones.
To be honest, I would have liked to travel up on Thursday night but I couldn’t justify the additional room cost to myself. Instead I chose to travel up Friday morning. I got up and travelled at stupid o’clock. I didn’t need to. As a four day event, it doesn’t start until mid-day. But I was just too excited.
Aside 1 - The train routes recommended by two different ticket sites varied immensely. When I studied closely I found that one web-site’s suggestion - via Nottingham - was faster on the way up whereas the other - via Sheffield - was massively quicker on the way back. Go figure? So rather than advance book or split tickets I chose to spend a bit more and buy a flexible return.
Aside 2 - I’d debated whether to buy a new suitcase for the event. For some reason the one I’ve been using for convention visits was wearing out. With all the other expenses, I decided to give it one last outing. The wheels fell off the instant I left my house!
Aside 3 - I lost my old banner on the way to Fantasticon the weekend before The Asylum and my new, second banner, didn’t arrive until the morning I left - ie after I’d set out - so I was without banners and feeling a bit unprofessional.
The journey was fine and I got a taxi to the University where we were based. I was met by the organiser in charge of that site - who I’m getting to know quite well from various events. He let me into the room where the gaming would take place and I set myself up - one table for a display and one table for playing. (Table covers, natch.) Like last year, the outside of the room housed the smaller items in The Great Steampunk Exhibition and the tables soon started to fill up with artwork and artefacts of all kinds. Some fascinating - some inexplicable. All showing hours of loving work.
It was a short - 2min - walk from the building with the games in to the student union. There I was able to check in and collect our armbands and keys to the room - though it was too early for get in. I was also able to check out “our” room upstairs for the evening play. It was massive - easily able accommodate a whole convention by itself.
The convention started. I remained in the gaming room and didn’t attend the opening ceremony. Slowly people began to drift in. As usual, at first, they were just getting their bearings and few had time to start and play a game. As well as the University site - which used multiple buildings and had masses to see and do in and of itself - the festival (it isn’t really just a convention) spread out across the City of Lincoln to many other sites. The Castle, Markets in the Town Centre, The “Engine House” (live music) etc. There were free vintage double decker buses ferrying loads of steampunks between these many venues non-stop. No wonder few people had time to stop and play a game.
Soon, however, people began to stop and play. Especially as - on a baking hot bank holiday weekend - the room we were in had excellent air conditioning and some people came in just to get respite.
Despite my offering a full range of genres, every game I ran on Friday was Steampunk. I had an eclectic collection of players. The exact details of the games I remember are on a separate post.
The thing about Steampunks is - especially at The Asylum - they pride themselves on being “splendid”. They are universally happy and polite. They never criticise or comment on other people’s outfits, for example, except to say how wonderful they are. They are just looking to enjoy themselves and the games were universally a delight to referee.
The day event closes at 5:00pm, by which time I had run several games.
I dropped my case off in our room - which was in the same building as the one we were running games in - and went over to the Student Union Bar for an evening meal and the evening game.
Initially I was disappointed to find that the Union no longer sold the pies it had specialised in in 2018. This was replaced by an outdoors barbecue. £8.50 but its USP was that along with your choice of burger or hotdog, every plate received several ribs and chicken wings. All well cooked. Value for money, and probably easier to supply the large clientele than cooking individual pies.
The student bar was also good value - £3.50 a pint for bog standard lager and cider. £4.00 for better lager etc.
At 7pm I went up to our evening game room. It was an OVEN! I opened all the windows and doors and it began to cool down. Several people turned up asking for a game and Dave arrived just in time to join in.
The game ran until some time between 10:30 and 11:00pm. As I went to turn in, Dave announced “No! We’re going to promote the games.” He went down to the bar and proceeded to consume copious amount of alcohol and talk to people about TTRPGs. (Dave was fresh back from appearing in and promoting events at the Edinburgh Fringe.) Steampunks are so splendid that you can walk up to anyone and they’ll talk to you about what they’ve been up to and listening to what you’ve been up to.
The bar closed at 11:30 but we sat drinking at a table outside, talking to some great people. We went to our room where the drink enabled Dave to give me some forthright feedback on my refereeing and how I should promote TTRPGs events. Blunt, maybe, but nice for someone NOT to beat around the bush. I loved it.
We didn’t get up too late and went over to “The Refectory” - again only 2min walk from our rooms - for the breakfast included with them. As you’d expect for a Steampunk event this was a stolid full English affair. The room was full of people in various forms of clothing - most too early for full regalia. Again every was polite and engaging in conversations about what everyone was doing.
Saturday and Sunday were both full days of gaming followed by longer games in the Students’ Union at night. Food was from the Refectory during the day (“Meal deal” less than £6) and the (unvarying) barbecue at night. (We could have eaten in the Refectory had we wished).
Saturday night we even had enough players to run two full tables.
All of this was on the University site and everything was within 3min walk of everything else. Even though our focus was so tight, and we stayed within a tiny percentage of the festivals total site, we still got to see loads of fascinating sights. The constant parade of costumes was stunning. The props and vehicles were amazing. (My favourite was the - in progress - full size Steampunk version of ED-209). And everyone and everything was simply splendid. We drank until after midnight and had many interesting chats - including with the luminaries of “The Ministry of Steampunk” themselves. Whilst I’m sure the many tit-bits I learnt about how the festival has developed over the years and the nuts and bolts behind it weren’t meant to be confidential, I’m not going to go into them here. Let’s just say they were fascinating and enlightening.
On Monday a lovely couple arrived in the gaming room and set up to offer Board Games and TTRPGs. They have been cataloging every Board game and TTRPG produced that they can find that has any reference to Steampunk - and collecting as many of them as they can. Their file of games is a very impressive piece of work.
Dave and I ran a few more games. I offered my Live Role Play to a very small audience, wrapped up and made my way home. And slept for most of Tuesday.
The Asylum is, quite simply, Heaven on Earth. We saw only the smallest, smallest portion of it and everyone was simply delightful. I was struck by Facebook posts after the event from people who said they were nervous about coming because of the difficulty they have in social situations who said just how easy it was to talk to everyone. And that was my experience as well. I normally need TTRPGs to help me interact with people. Not so at The Asylum. Everyone great everyone else as old friends.
Tickets for the event are £40 (I think). This gets you access to almost all the sites for the various events on show that I didn’t get to see. I was quoted that 4,000 tickets were sold. However, the market and other events in the centre of Lincoln are free and the organisers estimate the festival brings 30,000 Steampunks and “steam-curious” people onto the streets of the city reach day for four days. 120,000 footfall.
It’s on those streets in the free part of the event that the only friction seems to occur. Steampunks revel in looking splendid and love having their photos taken. All they request is that you ask permission politely first. Apparently anyone with an SLR camera feels they can turn up in Lincoln over the weekend and behave like amateur paparazzi, yelling at people and snapping pics freely and without manners.
I highly recommend The Asylum as an event in and of itself that everyone should treat themselves to. Dave is an absolute convert and, before leaving, made sure next years dates didn’t conflict with The Fringe. He’s going to be back.
If you’re interested in TTRPGs, there’s just me and Dave at the moment. Other more dedicated events might suit you. But there’s potential for growth. We could probably run a TTRPG convention nestled within the larger event but I’m not sure that’s the best way forward. Next year Dave and I will be back and I’m thinking of asking a third Referee along. However, I will order each of us (me included) to take a day off from the gaming to climb on a free vintage bus and head out to explore all the wonders The Asylum has to offer. Jet Pack Racing, Dinosaur Racing, Teapot Racing, Tea Duelling, Low Altitude Display, Steampunk Choirs, Talks, Seminars, Display, Exhibitions, Markets etc. etc. And to promote the evening games to see if we can’t fill that upstairs room at the Students’ Union each and every night.
As you’ll see, I’m a convert. I may just be a Steampunk myself.
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