I don’t know about you, but I had a wonderful time at our Furnace tabletop roleplaying game convention in Sheffield. It was a very good time, amongst about 100 folks, all coming from different places, but united in the love for some tabletop RPG action. So many positive comments and encouragement. Here’s hoping for many more.
With my organiser hat on, I could see that there were a few incremental improvements needed, mostly about safety, and these will be applied for the next one. It’s critical for conventions, even of small size, to have a written and publicly available Safety policy. It is rare for ours to be put into action, but it has happened, and will do in others, as it comes down to the mathematics of behaviour in a particular population distribution.
What, you weren’t there? Book yourself onto a steamer from your nearest port and get on over for October 2027, dates to be announced.
This time around, I decided to run Stoo Goff’s terrific Aegean RPG. As is my way, I use conventions as an opportunity to run and play games that I have never tried before. So, this was my first time out with Aegean, and it seemed to play really well.
AEGEAN is a role-playing game about a group of mythic heroes
building a new, free city on the shores of the Aegean Sea. There are
neighbouring cities to trade or war with, monsters to kill, gods to
appease, deceptions, negotiations and bloody skirmishes to survive.
We play to find out if the fledgeling city can thrive amidst the teeming
threats of ancient customs, neighbouring cities, the desires of the gods and the will of its own people.
The core game is a ‘characteristic plus skill’ number of d10 rolled in a pool, looking for 8+ for successes to beat a difficulty number, which defaults to zero, but often higher. A 10 on a die triggers extra benefits from accumulation of a storeable metacurrency of ‘Renown’ that can be spent to give extra successes in later tests, or the immediate satisfaction of an extra success now, triggering weapon qualities, or calling on the fates for other benefits. Keep your eyes open though, as Renown is to be spent, not hoarded, as you don’t want the end of session Hubris that comes with a selfish hoard of Renown. I mean if your Hubris is greater than your Glory, then the gods will take note and you will be ‘Vulnerable’. That adds you a die to your pools, but critical wounds may lead to death, the gods will permit it. Boasting as a mighty hero, expected, stepping over the line, the gods will make you pay.
Risk is accumulated as small consequences of social and martial interactions, that can be moderated and managed throughout the session by taking certain actions. Once Risk out paces your Endurance you are open to wounds and critical results that could lead to significant and longer lasting consequences.
The game play loop holds up very well. The percentage outcomes for the dice pool are available should you want a better idea of probability when making a test. I’d call the game a light to medium crunch with fairly intuitive play. The mechanics support the theme of Greek heroes, shaping behaviour and action, without feeling intrusive or forced.
I only scratched the surface of the game. Players develop characters and also their city. How will the ‘polis’ grow and prosper, what resources will it have, how will it fair in trade and war in the fickle tumult of the Aegean? Are you participating in the games? Did you win? Are you standing in the line for a deadly massed battle? How might your exploits shift the outcome? As such, this is a deceptively big game, efficiently exploring a range of play considerations, benefiting from a mini campaign format, where you see the consequences of the heroes’ actions and the fate of the city they call home.
There are a good range of supplements to go with the core book and some nice adventures to get you going. The printed books were purchased, along with the screen and two themed dice sets (Kretan and Athenan with bull and owl icons for 10s). I love them. They also forced me to get the game to a physical table! I ran ‘The Leaden Tablet’ and ‘The Curse of the Golden Bull’, both delivering exciting and engaging situations in a standard convention slot.
Of course, I was blessed by the gods with great players who really took on the premise of the game and brought many laughs as they navigated proud heroism and glory with hubris and curses. I take it as a good sign that I made some immediate sales of this terrific game!
I hope this isn’t the last time I sail the fateful Aegean. I mean, I could get a Role VTT game going with it pretty quickly…