Mist-Robed Gate: Dexcon AP

Brennan livejournaled about my Dexcon game of MRG. Thanks, Brennan!

DexCon Debriefing

So, Elizabeth and I went to DexCon this weekend and had a lot of fun. Here’s the rundown:

We played Russ’s game Contract Work, which is a lot of fun. It’s about contract killing. He has some concerns about the mathematical rough edges it has, and sure, it’s not done yet, but it’s going to be a really good thing when it is. It’s pointing at a really cool new thing, structurally, and he runs it really well. What I’m most excited about, though, is that it’s not just good for its thing, but also, the formula he’s got in it is obviously also the formula for heist movies and ‘catacomb plunderer’ action film.

It’s Complicated went really well both times we ran it. One session turned out to be an 80s drunken college kids movie about being trapped in a morgue freezer on a dare, and the other was a reality show about failed or just inconsequential celebrities. Who knew that IC was a game that’s good for reality shows? We hadn’t predicted it, but Shael and Ellen and Bret twigged to that immediately and it was super great. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages.

Mist-Robed Gate went really well too. I had fun running it, and it seemed like Lilith enjoyed watching. I gotta figure out how to insert new players in the middle of an already-running game. Thanks to all my players!

It was great seeing my tribe and hanging out. We had some pretty serious crowd anxiety, and like Elizabeth and I both sort of flipped out about that. But it was nice. I got to see some of Jenn’s new art! I got to see new Annalise books! We talked about games with Bret and Shael and Ivy and Jere and Bob! There was a flowchart! Rob showed us the proofs of Misspent Youth! Gingerbread smells good. Oh shit I have to send formalwear email.

P.S. Also my car exploded but now it is okay and thank you everyone who came to our aid in dealing with that. You are all lifesavers. Gummi lifesavers.

Mist-Robed Gate Preorders

Update: Preorders are now closed.

I’m very happy to announce that the first fledgeling has left the nest. Mist-Robed Gate is finished and going out to the printer soon, and now you can preorder it.

It’s going to be gorgeous. Jonathan’s doing layout for me, and I did some art, and have you seen the cover oh be still my heart I love it so much. The graphic above is a promo bookmark, which you can get inside of a copy of Elizabeth’s “It’s Complicated,” or with a preordered copy of this game.

Preorders cost $24, with $5 shipping, national or international. I should have them before or right after GenCon. You can click this link to order one.

Along with the rules of the game, you’ll find lots of support material in the book. There’s an extensive filmography (by my friend Evan, a film student and all-round excellent dude; he worked his butt off on it), a chapter about tea, and a chapter about snacks to serve during the game—which ones you should buy and which you can make, and simple recipes for those—so you know everything you need to throw a Mist-Robed Gate dinner party. And the LARP rules too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

This is a game for enthusiasts, and the more you know about the genre, the more fun you’ll have with it. But, you don’t have to be familiar with the genre to play Mist-Robed Gate (Meg Baker wasn’t), and it plays well with large groups, so the more the merrier! Go nuts, play it with all your friends at once.

If you have any questions, go ahead and ask me in this post or go make some noise at the crosspost on Story-Games.