RopeCon 2005 Report

For five years the con has managed to survive without me, or maybe I have managed five years without the con, but in 2005 we're back together.

This time I decided to use my Hirst Arts molds to make a modular dungeon. But instead of a regular run of the mill dungeon crawl, I decided to populate it with the excellent Black Tree Design Zulu War British and Foundry Darkest Africa figures. Then it was a simple matter of making supplementary material and writing the rules.

Thus was born...

Castle Chelmsford 3-D

In my previous years at the con, it's generally been so that things are just starting up on Friday and on Sunday most people have stayed up two nights, the con is dead and smells like it... so I concentrated my efforts on Saturday and promised to run the game from noon till 8 PM.

I visited the con on Friday night to pick up my badge, check my table reservation (which actually was there, the level of organization has improved by miles), post ads of the game and listen to Greg Stafford talk about the good old days. Greg was a blast. The con has had its share of rather boring guests of honor lately, but Greg was really great.

Back on Saturday morning, I started setting up. Before I was even done, players were asking for spots on the game, a very positive sign. Setting up the dungeon took longer than I thought, though, so I decide to let the layout be for the rest of the day instead of changing it between games as I originally intended.

Over the course of the next eight hours I ran four games for a total of about 15 players. The pace definitely picked up during the day and I would have had more players willing to join but by 8 PM I was so knackered I decided to call it a day.

Post Mortem

• The evening is much livelier. It might be a good idea to book the next event for the 16-24 timeslot instead
• The rules worked well despite total lack of playtesting. This was partly due to the "players vs. the system" design which let me fine tune things as the GM
• Overall, the game was a raving success by my standards

The pictures

	Here's one of the posters I spread around the con.
	The terrain.
	The dungeon fully populated.
	Another view of the dungeon.
	Another top view of the dungeon.
	More overview.
	The dungeon is modular and entirely made of Hirst Arts blocks.
	The first two players ready to go.
	The African Auxiliaries were the first ones to meet the players.
	The redcoats getting ready.
	The barracks.
	Things getting hectic in the corner.
	The brave escapees progress.
	The Pan-African Traditional Medicine Practitioner takes on the redcoats.
	The graveyard.
	Redcoat guards spring to action.
	They don't like their tea time being disturbed.
	The guards rush to the scene while the witch doctor takes another path.
	Lady of the Jungle pauses to admire the decor.
	The penultimate line of defense: Sikhs.
	Bombay Jones prepares to meet the escapees.
	Brave Sikhs advance.
	Here's Bombay Jones with a sidekick.
	The parasol bearer proved to be a magnificient bullet magnet even without any special rules...
	Things aren't looking good for the Empire...
	The Royal Knitting and Needlework Society guarding the treasures.
	The final confrontation. Will twin Webleys save the day?

The Rules

The complete Castle Chelmsford 3-D package is also available. It includes the actual rules and some promotional material as a curiosity. Just follow this link: The Chelmsford Files.

Sucks! (2)

(10) Rocks!

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