Chaosium Con Three: Footloose & Sanity Free

There is something to horror gaming that, to me, is more than simple escapism or fun, each for their own (totally valid) sake. As a writer, I find that I really enjoy the collaborative nature of the storytelling done by everyone at the table. It is chaos to the nth degree, and it is often a great time because of the chaos...which can be controlled and/or managed. At some point, the terror stops and you go on with your day. The situation is finite. 

But there's also something to be said for horror gaming in that, at least for me personally, it's allowed me to better adapt and solution for the real life daily horrors that perpetuate and grow and continue.  Horror gaming ends up being a nice release valve for me; so, too, are the people that I get to do so much of it with. Last week happened to be when we could all do so in person. 

Chaosium's 3rd Annual Chaosium Con was again hosted in Ypsilanti, MI. at the Eagle Crest Golf Club (Marriott). I've got a writeup of last year's Chaosium Con, which you can read HERE, if that tickles your pickle. I thought I did a writeup of the first year as well, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. 

This year, I chose to play fewer games and do more social aspects (hanging with people between sessions, going to panels, etc.). Though I missed out on seeing friends do a live actual play, I was glad to finally get to play a game with Mike Mason. 

WEDNESDAY

I left Kansas City mad early, arriving in Detroit around 12:30pm after a layover in Chicago. I got checked in, changed some clothes, headed down to the bar to wait for Symphony Entertainment's Bridgett "World's Loudest Woman" Jeffries so we could go run some pre-con errands. If you've never had the pleasure of having your name screamed across several hotel lobbies at once, please come find me so I can introduce you to her. She's an absolute riot of a human being. 

L-R: Buch, Doc, Loudass, Diesel

After linking up with Al "Diesel" Smith and Matt "Doc" Tracey, we completed a solid supply and grocery run (where all three harrassed me mercilessly and hilariously for my shopping style), followed up by some dankity dank dinner at Ma Lou's Fried Chicken spot, which turned out to be an absolutely outstanding hole in the wall joint. 

After we got back to the hotel, Bridgett and I played catchup and rapped about things happening in our respective backgrounds back home. Shortly after that, the day (and all its travels) finally had its way with me and I was done. I crashed out early and I crashed out hard. 

THURSDAY

I was thankful for the rest. I woke up on Thursday feeling much more refreshed and ready to go. I know buffer days on either side of a vacation are a total luxury, but they also help me to ease back into or out of the daily grind better. This was also gonna be a long day as the con would start that evening with a Speakeasy Meet & Greet event directly followed up by the Symphony Entertainment Cthulhu LARP, which we expected to go for several hours. 

Just like last year, a group of us went out to Luca's Family Dining and Coney Island for a heavy and delicious breakfast. Amazingly, the server remembered most of us from the year prior and kept us laughing every time she came to the table. Fair warning, there appears to be a Luca's Coney Island restaurant as well, but with a very different menu. The two are NOT the same. 

Back at the hotel, Dactyl Doc/Keeper Doc (of Prospero House Publishing) ran myself, "Doc" Tracey, and Heather through his Houdini scenario "The Death of Superstition," which ended in spectacular fashion and with many, many vials of eyeballs to boot. You can read about his Chaosium Con experience HERE. 

The Meet & Greet was themed this year, and so everyone was dressed in the appropriate speakeasy styles of the 1920s. Organizations with a big presence at the con got to submit a drink to put on the bar's menus for the convention and this was the first chance most people had to try them out. A second bar at the back of the room might've helped mitigate the line buildup through the middle of the room, but the food was significantly better than in years past. 

Immediately after the Meet & Greet, Symphony Entertainment hosted a Cthulhu-esque LARP set in a mansion. I attended purely as a spectator, taking pictures and video clips where applicable, but it seemed that everyone was having a pretty fantastic time, even up to (and including) experiencing the final room. 

I left the LARP before it finished, chatted up a few people in the bar area, but headed off to bed shortly after. 

FRIDAY

Friday would be a busy one, what with two games back to back and (I assumed) late night hangs with folks after a full first day of gaming. 

First up at 9am, I played "Forget Me Not" out of Stygian Fox's scenario collection "The Things We Leave Behind," which is itself a fantastic amalgamation of modern day scenarios that really ramp up the horror in beautiful ways. You can buy that book HERE. 

We players woke up with only a few bits of memory left intact after surviving our van running off the road into a cornfield. To keep the surprise, I won't say much more than that, but this one took me by surprise as it was definitely not what I expected, though the entire table seemed to have a great time. 

I grabbed a little lunch, went to my room to stretch out for a bit (sitting for long periods does a number on my body) and then it was time for my 2pm game of "Dockside Dogs." Written by the fantastic Paul Fricker, today's session would be run by my friend "Doc" Tracey, who I always have a good time with as a player. 

Yet another great scenario that gives plenty of homage to the Tarantino film of a similar name, this one threw me a great curveball as I was one of the first players to die, which meant I took on a different role, which meant I almost took over the whole ass game from Doc's hands because the scenario very nearly gave me that power, which was hilarious. An absolutely wild romp of a scenario if done with the right table. You can buy a copy of that scenario HERE. 

After the game, I was HONGRY, so Doc and I went out for Korean BBQ with Sam & Nathan Pidde. Having never had proper Korean BBQ, I was immediately interested and we ended up at the delicious Macheko Grill. The only one of us who decided to cook their own food there at the table was Doc; I just needed to stuff my face with something tasty and ordered the kitchen-prepared bulgogi (which was sit-on-my-face delicious). 

Photos by Samantha Pidde

I had planned on going to watch the "Call of Cthulhu" movie produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, but when we got back to the hotel, the Old Ways crew was posted up at the long table near the bar and I hung out with them for a bit before starting to feel a little wonky. Another early night, but the day had been a long one. I was ready for more sleep. 

SATURDAY

I woke up around 5am (thanks, internal body clock!) and got some reading done before heading down to the convention area for breakfast. Again, the options this year were far better than last year. That there was a food truck from Bearclaw Coffee Co. this time around made things significantly better as well; they made a mean chai, and pretty much everyone I talked to enjoyed the hell out of their drink menu. 

First up for the morning: the Creators Meeting Creators Mixer with Evan Perlman, Heinrich Moore, and Bridgett Jeffries. Outside of the room, the Chaosium crew had set up several tables full of community-written content that's made it to print. They did this last year as well, buying up a bunch of hard copies of things and having them sold at the convention for people who may not know about either of the community content repositories on DriveThruRPG. You can read Evan's writeup about his experience this year HERE. 

I stuck around for an hour or so, speaking to a music composer about his work and a few others about my own writing (short story collections rather than scenarios), and had a mimosa before dipping out and seeing a few others in the bar area again. 

I grabbed lunch at the bar before my 2pm game with Mike Mason, Writer and Creative Director for the Call of Cthulhu line of books. We played through a scenario called "Aurora Blue," about a batch of prohibition-era federal agents tasked with ending an illegal liquor still business on a farm several hours away. Yet another great and twisty scenario that brought about some fun surprises AND run by Mike Mason, a man who's notorious for short and lethal (but thoroughly enjoyable) games. 

Photo by Matt Ryan

Once the game was over, I wanted to get off property for dinner, but didn't know where. I hit up Bridgett to see what she was doing and had the pleasure of joining not only her, but Heinrich Moore as well. The dinner at Aki Sushi Bar was exceptional, and it was the first time I'd seen that much sushi disappear without much of a struggle. We were full and we were happy and we talked about all the things we could do bigger and better next year to make for an even better con than the great one we'd just experienced. 

Damn near pregnant after dinner, I waddled through the bar area and sat down with a number of Symphony Entertainment family. Sam & Nathan brought their own homemade liqueurs, which we drank up greedily before we all started to bow out, nobody ready to leave the next day...or even the day after that. 

SUNDAY

Took my time getting up on Sunday, but was eventually summoned to the downstairs bar area to sign Doc's copy of my latest book, Under a Black Rainbow (a collection of surrealist horror stories you can purchase HERE). Luckily, that meant I got to see several people in the lobby before they dipped out to head back home themselves. 

I showered, I packed, and then I met up with The Old Ways Podcast cast members and friends in chaos, Miranda and Rina Haenze at the airport. Turns out we were all on the same flight out of Detroit and into Chicago, where we parted ways. 

I came to the first Chaosium Con with a lot of baggage. My parents had both died in the 2 years previous, I'd moved to a new part of town where I knew a smaller amount of people and which was, quite simply, an uprooting of all the things I once knew. I came to this Chaosium Con with some of that old grief lingering while new headaches were bubbling up in the background. 

But at least there were 4 days where I really didn't need to worry about anything other than being in the right room at the right time, or whether or not I needed another drink, or "will I eventually set this building/person/creature on fire today?". I didn't do all the things or chat with all the people I wanted to this time around, but it was another solid, horrific jaunt through the wilds of the Ypsilanti Eagle Crest Hotel. 

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