The art of the role playing event is an elusive one. But ALIEN WEEKEND, which we just wrapped at Runehammer here in Philly, flies pretty stinkin' close to the sun. I want to take some time to recap this great event, throw some gratitude, and look to the future.
Concept art by the amazing Marek Okon. ALIEN WEEKEND was meticulously researched to fit snugly in ALIEN timeline lore, and discussed between me and Alex Alvarez for at least 5 years. This dream was deep.
What in blazes is ALIEN WEEKEND?
Between several years of dreaming up the ultimate ALIEN role playing experience, fortuitous releases from FREE LEAGUE, and some practice running ambitious multi-day events in the Runehammer space, the conditions finally aligned to execute a 2-day role playing event of proper badassery. I've been a lifetime fan of all things ALIEN, experiencing the original film as an 8 year old with profound and everlasting creative impact. Once I connected with master GM Alex Alvarez, about 10 years ago, a shared vision of this concept began to form.
ALIEN WEEKEND is a simple idea: host 3 sessions of play in 2 days, forming a kind of trilogy experience for players that covers a wide range of the moods and themes that define the genre. The sessions should interact, progress, surprise and shock the player. ALIEN is no simple, one-note mood. It has nuance, variety, and a lot of character. Here's the format we settled on:
Session 1: The Military Clash- Friday night, we hosted an amazing 10 players for a HUGE battle on our 6x4 'Dyrewood' table. The shop was closed at 6, so we had the run of the space, complete with a few cold beers and plenty of cheers and laughs. The colonial marines were handily massacred by an enormous wave of xenomorphs. We used a simple system I whipped up that used our ALIEN DICE (from Free League). In the end, only 3 marines of 30 or more in play escaped, and only then by driving an APC off a cliff. This game was loud, crazy, and chaotic. The core lesson: Xenomorphs are utterly brutal.
Session 2: The Horror Vibes- Saturday afternoon, I took the GM chair and we shipped 5 players into The Octagon for our second session. My chapter was 'a horror road trip' akin to John Carpenter's THE THING. I challenged players with a mysterious terrorist cell that was working against Wayland Yutani, and a new amorphous xeno-form that tore its host to pieces if blood was drawn. Using Free League's ALIEN system was a blast, and super deadly without cumbersome hit points. We had cryogenic orbital weapons, a barely-working APC, and 2 character deaths by the end. My purpose with this session wasn't to pull out the kitchen sink of ALIEN tropes, but to alley-oop Alex so he could deliver the final blow in session three.
During my session on Saturday afternoon, players get handsy with our table, working to recover the crashed APC and GTFO
ASAP. I loved the moment my orbital weapon struck... their first baffling evidence of a terrorist cell called
The Cerebrus Protocol, which plugged seamlessly into ALIEN lore.
Session 3: The Action Movie- After some pizza and an hour break to chill in the shop, a group of 7 players sealed The Octagon door for session three. Using INDEX CARD RPG, Alex was set to deploy an all-out battle. I was a player in this one, with 6 other colonial marines. We each took our classic roles, knowing the films all too well. Hoo-rah. Of course there were creepy androids with an archaeological dig. Of course there were ancient machines housing xenomorphs. And yes, if you're wondering, PREDATORS appeared, too! It was weapons hot and shoot-it-if-it-moves for 3 hours of pure mayhem, complete with a queen xenomorph, acid splashes, and one-liners for the ages.
Alex reveals a huge nest of xenomorphs and their queen, surrounding our main objective. After this moment, it was grenades, flamethrowers, one-liners and pulse rifles in every direction. Some of our marines were even canon characters from the film, such as Lt. Gorman and Sgt. Apone. ICRPG shines under Alex's command here... acid blood everywhere.
This 1-2-3 punch, combined with good walking distance lodging, in-shop food delivery, the right music and lighting, dedicated table spaces and great friends... well THAT is ALIEN WEEKEND.
That Gratitude
Ok, it is imperative I express my gratitude for the numerous things that have to be blended just right (see below) to make this kind of event not only happen, but become the stuff of legend.
First of all, Alyssa had our backs behind the scenes... scheduling everything, arranging lodging, and having food delivered right when needed a refuel. With her and our cashier handling the shop's daily life, we were lost in our own little world.
Paul, Alex, Mac, Zack, Charlie, Peter, Jerry, Lou, Dillon, and Jarrod were our players for this event, and what a group of knuckleheads. I salute you guys. A day in the corps is like a day on the farm! Thanks for showing up with so much energy for these games.
This last one is weird, but I'm so grateful for the shop itself. It took no small effort and massive resources to design, build, decorate and complete our cool little shop. It's truly unique, and the environment I've been describing to friends for years. This is where IT can happen. It's not just a neutral location (rather than someone's house), or a great little shop for books, kits, and dice... it has a FEEL to it that is conducive to trust, collaboration, and distractyion-free gaming. I'm grateful it's come this far, and that's a big thanks to all my readers, fans, customers, homies, and patrons.
We had a lot of great 'dressing' for these games! Not only did Alex bring up a huge bin of sci-fi terrain, props, and zillions fo miniatures, I finally had the chance to use the new superlight fabric mats by DREAD MAPS. In this shot, the fabric is tucked neatly onto the octagon table and littered with my newest ALIEN terrain. We're so spoiled.
The Aspiration and Its Obstacles
For years, I've been barking about how conventions make little sense for the hobbyist seeking great play experiences. These events seem suited to panels, vendors, and press releases, but the hotel carpet, the fast food, the flourescent lights, the noise, the hustle, the chaos, the 'crud.' Nothing about it appeals to me. My aspiration with has always been to provide a truly different approach... not just for me and my groups, but for anyone! After 5 months of experimenting with different game events at Runehammer, here's is my latest thinking for those who want to join me in this 'movement' of refined and focused role playing events.
1: Solve the Scale
Why are conventions so big? There are obvious reasons, but they aren't about game quality. I don't need 50,000 people for a spectacular weekend, I don't even need 30! I need a few awesome tables of good friends, not a throng of strangers. Modern business assumptions tell us scale is supreme, but in this case, just enough is just enough. A half dozen attentive, sincere, energetic, empathic players is better than 600 strangers.
Cultivate real friendship with each player. Get to know them, THEN play
Where possible, retain players from one session to the next. This coninuity is gold
Don't explode ticket prices or 'squeeze' the players for event revenue. Trust the relationships you'll build, not the immediate bottom line or costs
2: Stay Focused
Distractions, bad lighting, low quality chairs and tables, hustle and noise all work against game immersion and a feeling of relaxed, private role play. Conventions force all these on the player, starting too early, going too late, offering short or non existent breaks, and asking players to scramble from place to place to find sessions. For the best event with real, lasting, memorable sessions all this noise and nuisance has to be kept at bay. A role play event should feel like a vacation, not a job. Comfortable seating, warm light, cold water, a fridge for players, late morning starts and reasonable evening ends, hour long meal breaks, quality food delivery, and more set the stage for happy, comfortable, well-rested people.
Cultivate a truly mature and comfortable environment
Where possible, lodge players within a 5 minute walk
Use a dedicated space. The event is the only thing happening
3: Enjoy, Don't Exhaust
We've all heard or lived convention stories of overdoing it. There's too many things scheduled, too much drinking, too long of hours, too tight of travel, too long of lines. Folks get sick at cons because of exhaustion. Why is it like this? The best games are relaxed, glowing, hilarious. Do half the sessions you have time for... let it breathe!
Don't do anything before noon
Wrap session at 10PM
Get players in lodging the day before play, and depart the day after play ends
4: Under-Cook It
Ok event GMs, this one's for you. In the last 5 months I've run a ton of games. From that perspective, I can say with certainty that less is more when it comes to game concepts, pitching to players, and thrilling execution. GMs are widely known to 'go deep' on their creativity... often building huge story concepots, nuanced NPC dialogue, and devious battle mechanics. They are eager to share all this with potential players, or carefully and brilliantly weave the 2-3 sessions of the event together in a grand and mind-bending narrative. As someone who has done this multiple times now... DON'T. Keep it simple! Pitch the basics, let things unfold organically, embrace the moment. You'll find more players and have more legends to remember.
Cultivate attention on players and meeting them where they are
Pitch sessions with a simple statement of system
Let session-to-session narrative evolve on its own
Loosely connect sessions with montages or hand-waving
As session three wraps up, the knuckleheads deliver their one-liners and soak in their absolutely crushing dice rolls for the night. A great group of guys from all over the country! Thanks for playing, y'all..
Go Get 'Em
ALIEN WEEKEND was a huge hit for all of us and for the shop. That isn't really the point of this blog, though... the point is: GO DO IT! We never volunteered to be forced into convention style play. Cultivate the experiences YOU dream of, and swing for the fences!
As always, keep an eye on the Runehammer page and app for upcoming events.
Strength.
-B