@ -12,9 +12,9 @@ summary: "In which I drive to Philadelphia and try to play a bunch of games."
### Thursday
#### Driving there
The drive in was really exceptional. It took about six and a half hours, but in light of the 10-14 hour white-knuckle hauls I've had to undertake, it was a dream. The weather was warm but not sweltering, and frequent cloud cover and light rain kept the temperature mostly within reason. The real highlight of the drive was a really tiny boat on a trailer named "Toot Toot". Good luck out there, Toot Toot.
My packing checklist made sure I didn't miss anything I needed, so as soon as I got on the road it was a genuinely enjoyable trip. I had a bunch of artificially flavored sports drinks, beef jerky, raisins, I was good to go.
My packing checklist made sure I didn't miss anything I needed, so as soon as I got on the road it was a genuinely enjoyable trip.
The drive in was really exceptional. It took about six and a half hours, but in light of the *multiple* 10-14 hour white-knuckle hauls I've had to undertake, it was a dream. The weather was warm but not sweltering, and frequent cloud cover and light rain kept the temperature mostly within reason. The real highlight of the drive was a really tiny boat on a trailer named "Toot Toot". Good luck out there, Toot Toot.
#### The Lodgings
I thought my friends booked an AirBnB, but they just booked a regular BnB, some secluded farmhouse well into the rural outskirts of Philadelphia. The farmhouse has wireless, hot water, a fridge, and air conditioning so I can't complain. We picked up our badges and got some food, nothing interesting to note.
@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ They closed out the panel with a short discussion on ways to get in tune with yo
The Q&A was funny, two of the three questions I heard were just monologues about personal experiences with bad roleplay which does legitimately suck but also isn't really a question. All in all, excellent panel.
### Saturday
My agenda for Saturday was pretty light: the character writing panel was the only talk that really set my heart on fire, I wasn't going to compete in any tournaments, and I *absolutely* did not want to spend more time in the merch hall than necessary.
@ -85,7 +84,7 @@ I woke up early and saw a white-tail buck grazing down by the stream on the edge
>}}
#### The Audobon Museum
I did a bit of shopping for museums and the bummer was that most of the big museums are in the city center proper, meaning that parking and ticket prices were exorbitant. To my absolute delight, I saw that the Aubudon museum and estate were closer to the lodgings than even the convention center, had free parking, and a $7 dollar admission. Sold.
I did a bit of shopping for museums and the bummer was that most of the big ones are in the city center proper meaning parking and ticket prices were exorbitant. To my absolute delight, I saw that the Aubudon museum and estate were closer to the lodgings than even the convention center, had free parking, and a $7 dollar admission. Sold.
{{<figure
src="day3_audobon_flower.jpg"
@ -109,6 +108,7 @@ Ten Candles is an improvised horror storytelling game with some really interesti
- everybody dies at the end
- fully improvised
- lots of dice!
- set stuff on fire
##### Character Creation
What I loved most about character creation was Vice, Virtue, and Brink. Each player writes one virtue and one vice on separate index cards. Virtue is handed to the player to the left, Vice to the right. Brink describes an action taken by a character (based on their vice), and is handed to the same player who received the Vice you wrote.
@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ Gameplay revolves around two systems: the dice pool and the candles. The dice po
When a character takes an action, they roll the dice pool. The presence of any number of sixes indicates that the player who rolled may narrate the results of their action. It does not signify that the action *must* succeed or turn out positively for the character, just who narrates.
The presence of a one is significantly more serious; all ones are removed from the dice pool *unless* the roller sacrifices one of their four cards: Vice, Virtue, Character, or Brink. If a card is sacrificed, you can reroll the ones. If you get any ones, the sacrifice was in vain and the dice are not returned to the pool. If you get at least one six, the dice are returned to the pool.
The presence of a one is significantly more serious; all ones are removed from the dice pool *unless* the roller sacrifices one of their four cards: Vice, Virtue, Character, or Brink. If a card is sacrificed, you can reroll the ones. If you get any ones, the sacrifice was in vain and the dice are not returned to the pool. Otherwise, the dice return to the pool.
Moment is unique in that it can be activated at will if it's at the top of your stack. You activate your Moment, describe an action you take to express the Moment, and roll the dice pool. If you succeed, you earn a Hope die. Hope die are per-player. Your Hope die counts as a success on 5 and 6, and is never removed from your personal pool.
@ -128,11 +128,10 @@ The core gameplay loops boils down to this:
- A character takes an action
- They roll the dice pool
- The dice pool either shrinks ( ones were not rerolled by a card sacrifice ) or remains the same ( no ones were rolled to begin with)
- The action succeeds or fails, in which case a candle is extinguished.
- The action succeeds or it fails which results in the snuffing of a candle
There's more details, like a process after a candle is extinguished by which players take turns making new, true statements about the world and its occupants, but I think the important parts are here.
#### Mystery Shed
I found out that this creepy stone shed was the source of a pool of water that fed a rivulet connected to the larger stream running through the property. Was it built on a spring? I don't know enough about hydrogeology to even begin to speculate.
{{<gallery>}}
@ -146,4 +145,3 @@ I found out that this creepy stone shed was the source of a pool of water that f
### Sunday
Sunday was thankfully extremely uneventful. Packing and checking out was smooth, nobody forgot anything, and we all got to hug before we went our separate ways. The drive home was smooth and straightforward, and I was unpacked by dinner time.
unknown
5 months ago