I was initially going to do one long report, but that would have been dumb. So instead I'm going to split it in three parts. Part One will be about the convention itself. The Second Part will be about Larp Prep and how making the game space into what you want it does nothing but help roleplay. Part Three will focus primarily on Accord and Changeling, and the emotional and cinematic experience that took place for quite a lot of us there.
I just got back from NERE, the North East Regional convention for Mind's Eye Society. Last year's convention was...overwhelming was a mild word for it. My first gaming convention, a bunch of faces I hadn't seen before, being in a place that I had no knowledge of the surrounding area, no knowledge of how to properly pace and I was running one of the games against the star attraction of the club.
This year was a bit different. It was held in Albany, NY, just a few minutes south of where I went to undergrad. I knew the area, I was familiar with protocol, I knew most of the people by face, if not by name. My characters had something to do, something that I will go into more detail with later. I didn't have a game to fuss about running. I was surrounded by friends who I have developed a rapport with both in and out of character.
I was ready for this.
First off, a big thank you to Margaret and Greg for bringing me up there and giving me crash space. I rode up with them, my friend Ephraim, and roomed with them and my dear friend Chris. It was four days and three nights of hectic running around pretending to be other people while being a bunch of smartasses in between.
The games took place from Thursday Night to Sunday Afternoon, I only played the Thursday-to-Saturday Games, specifically Requiem, which was being played Friday Night and Saturday Afternoon; Changeling the Lost, which was being played Friday Afternoon and Saturday Night, and Combined the Accord (or just better known as Accord) which was played Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. They ran for six hours per session.
It was a subdued convention, for the most part. Unlike last year, where we had roughly the entire run of both floors of the hotel we were in, we were scattered about the entire floors here.This gave way for a more planned out course of discussion, with many people deciding to just hang out after hours in the convention spaces and chat, talk and catch up. I live an hour away from game spaces, so I normally miss out of Afters. So being able to sit down and talk without a curfew or time limit where my bed is literally right down the hall. Add a liberal amount of honey-based alcohol and it becomes a very relaxed session of hang outs. A lot of people were tired by the end of game, and there was a lot of intimate and intense conversations between the player about gaming and life in general. I personally experienced conversations about Fish Malks, cinematic storytelling, the erasure of some cultural/lifestyles for the sake of following labels, religious stories, relationship foibles and intimate outtakes.
Larping isn't just about being other characters, building stats and putting on a show. It's doing something with a group of people and enjoying their company. I think that's at the heart of everything we do here.
There was a very strong focus on charity this year, with a lot of the items seen in game being up for grabs to the highest bidder. From player assistance, to plot points, to physical items. Auctions are always fun. I think, for two different games, I was part of two major items won: a party sized submarine and the key to a Changeling's Hollow that the True Fae could not touch. While the sub is fun, the Hollow is tied in with National Plot.
However, there were certain elements of the games that were being played that restricted refueling either of Mana/Blood/Glamour/whatever fuel your character uses, to being something you refilled through buying it. While I actually thought it was an interesting concept, I didn't think that restricting all other things BUT that did anything positive. It rewarded players who had money and left those of us who were running a little light on cash in the wind. Note: This isn't a condemnation, charity is charity, but if you're going to do that, inform us all at the outset next time.
Overall, I thought it was a blast. Where last NERE drained me of my joy in gaming, this one enhanced it, enforced it, bettered it. Part of me thinks that, primarily, it was because I had something to do for each game. Last year I just coasted, not really sure what I was doing (running Mage notwithstanding). This year, I had stuff to do, I was being engaged and was able to engage, and that makes all of the difference to me as a player and a performer. Things changes and rules altered, and all of my characters are going home different than when they went in.
Which brings me to the title of this part. It was sort of the unspoken theme at game, perpetrated mostly by Chris. One time, during a game in New York, one mouthy player kept going on about all of the things he could do as his character. He was doing this while in the middle of game, which resulted in a form of wank. Chris, while in character, replied with "Do you. Do you, Boo Boo." The phrase kept popping up this weekend in different fashions, and it sorta stuck with me. You do what you gotta do, just go ahead and do it.
Next up, I'm going to talk about how some of the games used the space to make it real, and how Changeling and Accord were the highlights of my experience.
Later.
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