GenCon 2019 - Bloodborne and Dawn-of-Madness

Dawn of Madness Preview - Byron Leavitt game writer

I got sucked into Diemension Game's cooperative dungeon crawler Deep Madness.  Their follow up prequel promises to be as weird (hopefully less difficult), and a very different experience. Hints of this game 's art were shown on the Deep-Madness Kickstarter. Dawn of Madness will be Kickstarted in a few months (Fall 2019): check out the preview Kickstarter page.

Byron Leavitt, the lead writer for the game, demonstrated the prototype game via the storybook  "Emily's Realm".  I learned that this game plays more like a choose-your-own-adventure book on steroids than it does a dungeon crawler. It is a co-operative nightmare in which each player has their nightmares meshed with the others. The party is guaranteed a story ending based on decision and encounters, but the ending depends on which character is affected the most during gameplay. 

Instead of using lots of tiles to make a gameboard(like in Deep Madness) a single spider-web board with blank identifiers is reused; areas are identified/assigned locations based on the story (i.e., Emily's house). Time and actions are tracked with a ladder-like system (see Roman numeral track in below image with character chits).

Most appealing, is the way characters "level up"/devolve as they experience their mental issues. These even have various miniatures, so as Emily explores her past she may transform into some demon-like thing. There are several currencies that each represent mental parameters--I forget the specifics but recall one color being akin to anxiety, for instance.    

Image credits: Deep Madness Kickstarter update Aug 2019

Dawn of Madness Preview 1

Check out our preview Kickstarter page at http://bit.ly/DoMPreview! It may be a late Dawn of Madness Friday, but we're coming back with a doozy! Here is our first video in a new series diving deep into Dawn of Madness before the Kickstarter launches in mid- to late-September, describing why Dawn of Madness is not just another board game: it is, instead, a horror experience in a board game. (Sorry for the choppy editing and the questionable quality, guys: I really wanted to get this out today, so I put it together over the course of a few hours.) More to come! #Kickstarter #boardgames #horror #survivalhorror #crowdfunding #miniatures #dawnofmadness

Posted by Diemension Games on Friday, August 9, 2019

Bloodborne CMON – Michael Shinall

As fans of the Bloodborne video game (and huge fans CMON's Zombicide games), my son and I went all-in on the Bloodborne Board Game Kickstarter. 

At GenCon we listened to co-designer Michael Shinall walk through the game.  

Keen-eyed readers may spot my son,

Q&A with Anna Smith Spark - GenCon2019 Writer's Symposium

This May, 2019 I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna Spark Smith for BlackGate.com: Disgust and Desire: An Interview with Anna Smith Spark. Among the dark fantasy crowd, she is known as the Queen of Grimdark. The David Gemmell Awards shortlisted her The Court of Broken Knives. The sequel The Tower of Living and Dying continued the Empires of Dust trilogy (Harper Voyager US/ Orbit US/Can). The last installment called The House of Sacrifice is available Aug 13th! That's now.

Fortuitously, she was invited to the GenCon Writer's Symposium; GenCon is the world's largest tabletop gaming convention, this year luring >70,000 guests to Indianapolis, IN. I volunteer for that symposium and was granted a panel slot to extend the interview live. Thanks to Melanie Meadors and Kelly Swails for working the program and running a splendid symposium.

Despite well attend sessions throughout the convention, by the time 5pm rolled around Friday, our Q&A drew an intimate crowd (~10). We opened with a reading of her famous introductory chapter to The Court of Broken Knives. The notion of doing a reading was a bit impromptu, so we hadn't a tripod, a professional video recorder, or ability to tune-out the other sessions (thanks to audience member Dirk for stepping up to film). Anna Smith Spark graced us with reading the entire chapter (~10min), which left the room wanting her to just read for the full hour. See insert video. Her reading of the same chapter at a Goth City Festival 2018 is also on You Tube and is breathtaking.

Before I could even finish this post, new fan Michael Farrell found the YouTube recording and posted in the commentary: "this was the highlight of my Gen Con." Mine too. Also in the audience was John O'Neill, founder and editor of Blackgate.com (and Gotham Robot enthusiast). It was surreal to have him present along with Anna Smith Spark; we continued discussions over dinner. 

BTW, Anna Smith Spark is known for outrageous footwear, and she did not disappoint. Friday, she blessed us with the dragon shoes. 

More video snippets of the session may emerge as I decompress from an intense convention, but for now please listen in... read our interview Disgust and Desire: An Interview with Anna Smith Spark., and check out her series!

GenCon - Dyscrasia Merchandise revealed - T Shirts & Mugs

Dyscrasia Fiction Merchandise now available via Zazzle

Check for discounts at Zazzle, they are always running so deal between 15-50% off!

Modeled by true friends and family at GenCon #52

Note: only the Helen's Daimones T-Shirt is available for the public

GenCon 2019 Writer's Symposium Behind the Scenes - Volunteering

This serves a snapshot scrapbook for the Writer's Symposium at Gen Con #52, 2019.  Every year in Indianapolis, it's a guaranteed blast of fun with authors, readers, editors, and gamers! Volunteering is a lot of work, but those who do get to hang out with a bunch of like-minded folk. Looking forward to seeing everyone next year. 

Trade Day - GenCon 2019 - Learning Financial Literacy Through Games

 "Is That The Best You Can Do?"

Free Market Kids' "Is That The Best You Can Do?" game is inspired to teach basics of financial literacy and negotiating skills, but it's fun whether or not you care about learning. It is as easy as Uno... but totally different. The games works with three people, but works best with four or more for the negotiations to get exciting. It is excellent for family gatherings, home schooling, or class settings. A match runs about 30-45min, but a single ~5min round can be fun and full of teachable moments.

Wed July 31st at Trade Day GenCon 2019, Free Market Kids demonstrated the game with ~17 librarians, game developers, and teachers. 

How-to videos are available in a previous post, covering the concept and set-up.  

Check out the entire You Tube Playlist too (link).

This post shows short clips of mini-rounds. In short, these demonstrate how easy the game is to pick up.  Negotiating can be fun... but it is most fun with abstract "Alternate Identities" and "Flying Cars" on the market.

Savage Sword of Conan #5 and #6

Savage Sword of Conan #5 - 2019
Savage Sword of Conan #6 - 2019

4 stars for each; reviews by SE

Well #5 was satisfying. Was just getting into Koga Thun as a villain... and that may be unwise. Trying to avoid spoilers, but even from the cover blurbs (below), it is clear that Koga Thun's story arc runs dry. Cripes, there was enough material there to stretch it out, but Marvel seems to insist on a lack of focus.

As before, Scott Oden's "Sword of Vengeance" continues at a nice pace throughout. Octavia is in a real pinch now.

I am confused about where #7 will go, since #6 is pitched as a stand alone tale.  I'll be disappointed if #7 ignores the trajectory of prior #6 issue: As per my other reviews of this series, Marvel already has three separate and simultaneously released Conan comics in 2019... and each of those have separate stories/novellas. The last thing any of these is reboot of a story after 5 episodes. 

Official Blurbs

#5: SHOWDOWN WITH KOGA THUN! The mystery of the magical treasure finally revealed! It’s now or never, and CONAN must make a choice that will determine the fate of Stygia! Either way, KOGA THUN will not let the Barbarian go without a fight! Plus: The next chapter in the all-new CONAN novella, “The Shadow of Vengeance”!

#6 :THORFEL’S REVENGE FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE! Brought to you by the creative team of Meredith Finch and Luke Ross, this all-new self-contained story springs from classic Conan mythology as Conan is led to death by the son of a man he had wronged in the past. But stripped of his weapons, his strength, and even his wits, Conan will have to dig deep if he wants to live to see the dawn! Plus: Continuing the all-new Conan novella “THE SHADOW OF VENGEANCE”

Savage Sword of Conan #4

Savage Sword #3 - Review by SE

SE Review of #2
SE Review of #1 

The Reign of Wizardry - review by SE

Frazetta's Reign of Wizardry cover

The Reign of Wizardry by Jack Williamson
S.E.: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to the Sword and Sorcery Group on Goodreads continuing to sponsor group-reads, I re-discovered Jack Williamson who wrote fantasy from ~1930-2001. I tracked down The Reign of Wizardry (with the Frank Frazetta cover) and Golden Blood to read. This review covers the first.

This ~142 page novel, first published in 1940, reads as a solid pulpy adventure. It could easily have been a Howard Conan novella. Jack Williamson presents the classic Theseus (i.e., Minotaur slayer of Greek mythology, and founder of Athens) as a heroic avenger out to remove the evil, Minoan sorcerers of Crete.

In fact, Theseus conceals his identity, going as "Captain Firebrand." There is an over abundance of going undercover; Firebrands even assumes the role of "Gothrung the wandering Northman" (a third identity, and very Conan like). It reads real fast, and in a few hours you join Firebrand on a dozen daunting missions. Betrayals and disguised impostor-ing abound. It fits most requirements of Sword & Sorcery:

1. Magic abounds, and it is usually evil black-robed wizards dishing it out
2. Our hero has a magic sword with special powers, called "Falling Star"
3. Melee - lots of battles
4. Fast pacing, focus on action more than character (though the characters had just the right amount of depth
5. Lots of early pulp adventure were steeped in historical fiction; Robert E Howard's fascination with pioneer-like adventure and the history-infused Hyborian Age, this one retells classic Greek mythology with pulpy flare
6. Predicaments - Theseus is constantly challenged by overwhelming odds, and manages to survive somehow.

Highly recommended for fans of pulp adventure and Sword & Sorcery

Cover Blurb:
Before the Glory of Greece, Crete ruled the known world - and kept it enslaved by black magic! The evil of Minos held sway, protected by three unconquerable walls. First is the fleet that they call the wooden wall. Then there is a giant of living brass - he is the second wall. Then there is another barrier about the power of Minos, the Wall of Wizardry. Theseus, the tall Achean, the man they called Captain Firebrand, vowed to scale and destroy all three, and to rid the world of the evil yoke of Crete.

But Minos had other defences besides the walls, and many ways to attack as well...









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