By Tyler on November 9, 2011
James Lorentz of the New England Role Players Association was at Carnage this year, recording the audio of role-playing sessions throughout the weekend. Yesterday, NERPA published “On the Brink of Invasion,” an adventure for The Unexplained run by its creator, Brad Younie of Carnivore Games.
If you didn’t make it into Brad’s game this year, here’s your chance to find out what happened!
Posted in Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, carnivore games, conventions, nerpa, podcasts, Role-Playing Games, the unexplained |
By TheGrayMan on October 29, 2011
Just wanted to let everyone know that many new games have been added to the events being held at Carnage this year. Be sure to check out the addendum page! Author and game designer Walter Hunt presents his new board game Rails of New England Friday and Saturday evenings. Panic Station, direct from Essen, will be run by Joe Reil on Saturday afternoon. Zeppo Young will be presenting demos of the Hullbreach CCG. If you are looking for a fun prehistoric time, then check out The Lords of Rock in Wonderland. In the miniatures room we have added the latest steampunk offering Dystopian Wars. Also start your engines for Nascar: Martinsville 2003 Sunday morning.
These are just some of the fantastic games not listed in the book! So be sure to see if one of your favorites has been added.
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, carnage, carnage in wonderland, ccgs, conventions, miniatures, Role-Playing Games, web addendum |
By TheGrayMan on October 29, 2011
This year the staff has decided to lend a hand to those affected by Irene in our home state. We will be holding The Uncommon Nonsense Silent Auction. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Vermont Red Cross. Games have been donated by various game companies and individuals. They will be displayed near the registration desk. The auction will begin Friday at 1pm and all bids must be in by Saturday at 6pm. A list of all games with a suggested starting bid will be available near the desk. There will be auction forms available at the desk. Bidders need only write the name of the game on which they are bidding and the bid price. After the Saturday 6pm deadline the highest bidders for each game will listed at the front desk. High bidders should pick up their games by the end of the convention on Sunday.
Here are just some of the great games that will available in the auction:
- Dominant Species
- Manoeuver
- Formula Motor Racing
- Ivanhoe
- Leaping Lemmings
- Conquest of Paradise
- Battle Line
- Breakthrough Cambrai
- Rails of New England (Can be signed by designer Walter Hunt)
- Asteroyds
- Pantheon
- Mouquetiers du Roi
- Axis and Allies: D-Day
- Hull Breach CCG
- Karma RPG
- Dream Factory RPG
- Amun-Re
- Dragon Parade
- Terra Prime
- Many others!!
So come bid on some great game and help the Vermont Red Cross help our neighbors hit by the floods!
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Role-Playing Games, Uncategorized | Tagged auction, carnage, carnage in wonderland, charity, conventions, flood relief, hurricane irene |
By Tyler on October 14, 2011
The rapidly approaching traditional Carnage math trade has launched on Boardgamegeek.com. Again helmed by Matt Golec, the Curiouser and Curiouser Carnage Math Trade provides an opportunity for Carnage-goers to offer up unwanted games in hopes of getting something they’d prefer in return.
Matt’s introductory post goes into the whys and hows of a math trade, but in short it’s a computer-coordinated arrangement that maximizes the number of exchanges among participants based on their stated desires.
Start hoeing out your libraries to find some trade fodder!
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, carnage, carnage in wonderland, ccgs, conventions, math trade, miniatures, Role-Playing Games |
By Tyler on September 30, 2011
Stealing across the highways and byways of New England like an army of white bond ninja, the Carnage convention book has by now found its way to your mailbox, rookery or other communiqué receptacle. And thus we unleash its electronic doppelganger into the ether as well! Below you will links to not only the convention book, detailing the many pleasant ways to pass the hours of November 4th through 6th in the confines of the Lake Morey Resort, a registration form with which to communicate your heart’s desires, but also a schedule grid, allowing the forward-thinking convention-goer to most efficiently pack their weekend with tabletop gaming goodness.
In addition to the delights contained within these files, keep a weather eye firmly fixed on the Convention Book Addendum page. Late arriving games and unexpected changes alike will make their beds there.
- Carnage in Wonderland Convention Book [PDF, 1257kb]
- Carnage in Wonderland Pre-reg Form [PDF, 45kb]
- Carnage in Wonderland Schedule Grid [PDF, 60kb]
- Carnage in Wonderland Schedule Grid [ODS, 31kb]
- Carnage in Wonderland Schedule Grid [XLS, 26kb]
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, convention book, conventions |
By Tyler on August 25, 2011
Photo by 8one6.
The Carnage in Wonderland page on Warhorn.net now lists the weekend’s offerings in Living Forgotten Realms adventures from the RPGA. Hie thee hence to whet thy palate for Dungeons & Dragons action this November!
Please remember that Warhorn is a scheduling tool used by the RPGA coordinators. It is not affiliated with Carnage, nor a part of the convention registration process. Attendees wishing to preregister for Carnage should utilize the form in the back of the convention book, in addition to signing up via Warhorn for RPGA-run sessions.
Posted in Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, conventions, dungeons & dragons, fantasy, living forgotten realms, Role-Playing Games, warhorn |
By Tyler on June 22, 2011
There’s a special gleam in the eye that comes from one of only two sources: a surfeit of mercury vapor in the hat-making process and the feverish dreams of a Carnage role-playing GM. Such visions cannot be contained within a single skull for long, of course. They must be freed to propagate through all the psyches of the gentle, unsuspecting populace.
Get a sneak preview on what’s in the 2011 program book by seeing what the GMs themselves have to say about the games they’re running at Carnage in Wonderland:
Do you have information to share about what you’re running at Carnage? Let us know in the comments section below.
Posted in Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, conventions, GMs, Role-Playing Games |
By Tyler on June 1, 2011
June is that magic time when a Carnage GM’s fancy lightly turns to “What the heck am I going to run this year?”
As always, a GM should runs the thing that inspires them the most. We’ve all been at the table when the GM’s heart just wasn’t into the game of the moment. And that’s no fun at all. So first ask yourself what games have your attention — and probably still will in November.
For those of you looking for more firm inspiration, check out this wish list we’ve put together of games, old and new, we’d like to see at this year’s convention, behind the jump. To be clear, the games our stalwart GMs run year in and year out — your specialties, which are far too numerous to mention even in passing — are always wanted. Those games are your signature events, the ones for which you’re known, and we’re always happy to have them.
That said, if you’re a GM waffling over system or setting, knowing just that you want to run “something,” you might find a nudge in one direction or the other here. If there’s a game you’re hoping to play, mention it in the comments. Maybe someone will be inspired, knowing there’s a kindred soul out there.
Once you know what you want to run, hop on over to the GM sign-up page and put it to good use.
Games We Would Not At All Mind Seeing Run at Carnage 14
Organized Play
In addition to the mad motley that our independent GMs throw every year, Carnage is pleased to offer organized role-playing as well. As in the past, we hope to host TC Realms, Pathfinder Society, Shadowrun Missions and Living Forgotten Realms. We’ll bring you more news on those fronts as we acquire it.
If you’re interested in GMing within an organized play structure, contact us and we can put you in touch with the lead people for the campaign in question.
Posted in Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, conventions, GMs, Role-Playing Games |
By Tyler on May 31, 2011
As we kick things into gear behind the scenes for Carnage 14, we’d like to invite all our hard-working GMs to let loose the ideas that simmered away all winter, just waiting for the right moment.
The right moment, of course, is that the GM sign-up form is back and ready for action. Pour all your glorious, incandescent thoughts and strokes of genius into its samite fields, from where they progress to take form in the crucible of our mighty event database.
If you’re new to the sign-up form, take a look behind the jump for more information about filling it out the maximum happiness of all parties involved.
Rules of the Game
Let’s run through the sections of the form:
GM Contact Information
This is the easy bit. It’s how the relevant field marshal can contact you prior to the convention in case of scheduling conflicts, clarification of what your game might entail and all that.
Event Information
The nitty-gritty about your game: the name of the game or adventure, which category of gaming — board, card, miniature or role-playing — it falls in and a description. The description is key in that it hooks in prospective players with a glimpse into what they can expect from the game: plowing through Imperial stormtroopers, delving the depths of Moria, or optimizing farm production, for instance. Keep it snappy and engaging; this is your one chance to make your pitch to the widest audience possible.
Game system applies if you’re using a particular rule set, mainly in miniatures and role-playing games. The difference between editions of a game — Dungeons & Dragons third edition versus fourth, for instance — can matter significantly to some people, so be clear. The maximum and minimum number of players control the fate of many, as that maximum is the most players your game can handle. Consider carefully.
Scheduling Information
There are two sets of fields here, one for your first choice of a time slot and one for a backup, in case there are no more tables available in the first slot. There are XX official slots in Carnage’s gaming schedule. There’s plenty of time around these slots for open gaming, but these are the time slots in which everything in the convention book fits:
- Friday afternoon, 1pm to 5pm
- Friday evening, 7pm to 11pm
- Saturday morning, 8am to 12pm
- Saturday afternoon, 1pm to 5pm
- Saturday evening, 7pm to 11pm
- Sunday morning, 8am to 12pm
- Sunday morning, 10am to finish
- Sunday morning, 1pm to 5pm
The two pulldown menus for day and time slot let you mix and match freely, so be certain you’re choosing a time slot that exists. No one’s showing up for a 7pm game on Sunday.
And finally, have you GMed at Carnage before? It lets the Carnage staff know if you have an established history with the convention or not.
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, carnage, carnage in wonderland, ccgs, conventions, GMs, miniatures, Role-Playing Games |
By Tyler on May 15, 2011
"One, two! One, two! and through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack." Art by John Tenniel.
Carnage’s theme this year comes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. With a literary starting point like that, the role-playing GM is veritably besieged by ideas to borrow, spindle and mutilate to their desire. Beyond visiting the book itself for inspiration — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass are both available to read online for free, thanks to websites like Project Gutenberg — you can see how Alice’s adventures inspired future authors. The Looking Glass Wars books by Frank Beddor reinvent Carroll’s books as distortions of the true history of an alternate universe. Jack Chalker’s Wonderland Gambit trilogy draws on imagery as part of a reality-bending tale. An episode of Warehouse 13 pitted agents against the mind-swapping properties of Lewis Carroll’s mirror.
Variations on Alice and her Wonderland companions have shown up in plenty of role-playing games, too. Dungeons & Dragons‘ vorpal sword comes from Through the Looking-Glass, in the poem “Jabberwocky.” Alice, Queen of Hearts is one of the most notorious villains of Empire City in the super hero game Silver Age Sentinels. Wonderland is a setting of surreal horror in which characters plumb the depths of layers of reality — or fight back against incursions from below. In the world of WitchCraft, the sleeping Red King dreams of the realm of Hod, sephiroth of dreams; if he woke up, the whole sephiroth would vanish.
One can also easily imagine a slapstick Toon caper through Wonderland, a cyberpunk thriller in which the Red Queen is a malevolent AI preying on deckers talented enough to enter her domain and a fantasy dungeon crawl through underground warrens to rescue the king’s youngest daughter from the avatars of primeval chaos.
Do you know of any other references or homages to Alice in Wonderland in role-playing games? Tell us in the comments section.
Posted in Role-Playing Games | Tagged carnage, carnage in wonderland, conventions, Role-Playing Games |
