Intercon A

The first three New England Intercons were sponsored by the Interactive Literature Foundation (ILF). It was time for a local organization, and so NEIL was born. There was also a question of what to call the con, given the new sponsorship. There were several ideas, but using letters seemed different and interesting. Thus, Intercon A was born.

Intercon A's attendance suffered a little given a last minute snowstorm. Those of us who made it to the con didn't mind being snowed into a great set of games.

Con Chair: Charley Sumner
Attendance: 172
Friday, March 9th, 2001
Times Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Track 5
7 PM Opening Ceremonies
8 PM Miskatonic Class Reunion The Unexpected Storm The "Ultimate" Prize A Medieval Day at the Races Build Your Own Game
(Workshop)
9 PM
10 PM
11 PM
mid House Meeting!
(first run)
1 AM
Saturday, March 10th, 2001
Times Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Track 5
9 AM Appalachian Wedding Collision Imminent! Toytanic   Build Your Own Game
(Writing)
10 AM
11 AM
noon Lunch
1 PM City of Flashlights Airplane 2 The Play's the Thing
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM
5 PM Dinner The Play's the Thing
(open performance)
6 PM
7 PM The Man In Black A Night at the Four Aces Killian's Chalice The Long, Cold Night
8 PM
9 PM
10 PM
11 PM House Meeting!
(second run)
Intercon Dance Party
mid
???  
Sunday, March 11th, 2001
Times Track 1 Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Track 5
10 AM House Meeting!
(third run)
The Dutchess of Enslo   Build Your Own Game
(Runtime)
11 AM
noon
1 PM Con Wrap, Shameless Plugs, Dead Dog

Airplane 2: The Plane That Shagged Me (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Plane)

Authors: Chay Casso, Ken Clary, and Ricky Leiserson
Players: 31

Space - the final cliche. These are the voyages of the Starship Airplane. Its 6-hour mission: To explore bellybutton lint, to breathe new life into hackneyed jokes, to boldly parody where everyone else has parodied before. Set on the first commercial shuttle flight from Moonbase Beta to Marsbase Alpha, Airplane 2 is a one-night, two-room game, run previously in October, 1999 under the auspices of the MIT Assassins' Guild. A game of parody, adventure, intrigue, and silliness. And Famous People. And spies. And weirdness. And religious endeavors. And a young woman's struggle with gangrene (mustn't forget that part). Airplane 2 is written and run by Chay Casso, Ken Clary, and Ricky Leiserson. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what the Airplane is, you have to experience it for yourself.

Appalachian Wedding

Author: Ben Llewellyn
Players: 18-30

Blood Mountain, West Virginia, 1932. The Wilkeses and the Booths are celebrating(?) the marriage of Hattie and Mac. Maybe the wedding will even happen! Come join the happy couple in this special day of love.

This must be a big day. Even State Senator Bubby Crowe is here to mark the occasion. Heck, even Mickey Wilkes, the war hero who stayed in Paris and became a poet is here, and he was here just a few months ago, for his little sister's funeral. Today would be the perfect day, if only Preacher Wylie had survived that ambush...

PLEASE NOTE: Love will be simulated by patty-cake.

Build Your Own Game Runtime

Facilitator: Kelly Diane MacDougal
Players: 12-30

Come play a never-before-seen game, written in a weekend! Players will experience the results of a panel of sleep-deprived writers who met for the first time on Friday night, commited to writing a game in 36 short hours. Expect anything and everything in a game whose every detail is unknown until the con starts...

Build Your Own Game Workshop

Facilitator: Kelly Diane MacDougal
Players: 12-30

This is an active participation workshop. Members will come up with the game concept and outline during the scheduled planning phase. Then under the guidance of an experienced writer and GM (Trust me, I'm a professional) you and the other participants will craft the game over the course of the weekend and debut it on Sunday morning.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the planning meeting. You may come and suggest ideas without committing to the actual game writing and then join us to see the result. Those who decide to hang on through the whole process will most likely lose some sleep, but hey it's a con. You will be free to play a game or two on Saturday, all I ask is that those who want to help write and run devote at least one full game slot to the writing process.

No experience is necessary only enthusiasm. All necessary production materials will be provided by the moderator, including a computer (probably my laptop). This has always been a fun workshop in the past, with many of the games going on to successful runs elsewhere after some fine-tuning. Come and be part of the creative experience without it interfering in your 'real' life.

City of Flashlights

Author: Suzanne Miller, Moira Parham, Jeannie Whited
Players: 20-30

Ludicrous mechanics, cliche plots, power-mad GMs. You've endured it in vampire games for years. Now come work it all out of your system. Set in Paris, Texas, City of Flashlights is a spoof of the vampire genre from the GMs who brought you City of Light.

Discover who killed the Prince. Choose a new Prince. Fight the Garou. Deal with annoying Faeries. Discover who killed the other Prince. Choose another other Prince. Bribe the power-mad GMs when they show up as Justicars. Recover some of the sanity you lost in other vampire games, or perhaps lose more. Can you ghoul a canary?

Collision Imminent!

Authors: Jeff Diewald, Michael McAfee, Don Ross, Alexandra Thorn, and Mark Waks will be running the game. John Corrado Jr., Anne Cross, Philip Goetz and David Lichtenstein are also authors of the game.
Players: 25-40

COLLISION IMMINENT! Can someone turn that alarm off? 'Please report to your assigned lifepod station immediately...' Have you seen Fifi? Why does that engineer look worried? '...where a trained and friendly Imagineerium starship cruiseline crewmember will help you...' Did you hear that thump? COLLISION IMMINENT! What do you mean I can't get another Rigellian Core Meltdown to go? What am I supposed to drink while I wait? Is the air getting thin in here? '...to safely board a lifepod that will carry you to rescue in the unlikely event of an actual evacuation...' COLLISION IMMINENT! Will an officer please report to the Leo Deck? Daddy? Do you know where my Daddy is? 'Please do not panic!' COLLISION IMMINENT!

Come join the unexpected end of the maiden voyage on the newest and most luxurious starliner of the Imagineerium fleet. Play one of the crew or several of the passengers in this fast-paced horde style game that was a smash hit at Intercon 15.5! See the Collision Imminent! website for more details!

The Dutchess of Enslo

Author: MaryAlyce Rensa
Players: 8-16

The Dutchess lost her husband 5 years ago to a shipping accident. She always suspected foul play but never had proof. She devoted her energy into her magicks and has become a rather powerful wizard. Learning her true nature caused her to search for a rare artifact, that was broken down into three pieces. She has one, knew of the second and just recently was able to negotiate a "trade" for the item. Then she learned where the third piece was, and that has become a problem. Her arch nemesis of hers and her husbands, of many years, has the precious treasure. Now she has to use all her skills to reach her goals, and still not hurt any of the loyal citizens of her domain. They loved her for many years, but will they still love her if they knew who she really was?

Meanwhile, the Duke rose to power by killing his predecessor. He then desired to expand his domain, and cleverly killed his rival neighbor Duke in a freak shipping accident. However, he didn't count on the widowed Dutchess to be so good with politics and with the people. Her being a wizard just complicated the problem even more. But he studied her well, and knows what all wizards love. Magicks. He silently began to hoard some of the rarest treasures of magicked items, while he continued to spread rumors of her disloyality to her people, and her inappropriate use of domain funds. And all of a sudden, she invites "him" to her domain, as a guest. Now was the time for him to strike. He waited all his Dukedom career for this chance, and he wasn't going to blow it.

Who will reach his/her goal, and will the loyal citizens be the ones to suffer?

House Meeting!

Author: Kreg Segall
Players: 10

What happens what seven strangers are picked to live in a house to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real? Join us in the well-decorated but tense living room of a popular MTV show on a typical episode.

There may be fights, sulking, and teen angst, but in the end you can be sure that the housemates will learn just a little bit about themselves, all to a cool soundtrack. The small cast of characters will run the gamut from 'wildly annoying' to 'endearingly annoying.'

House Meeting! will be raucous and silly. There will be arguments, obvious product placement, and touching moments. Apply to be a housemate today!

The Intercon Dance Party

DJ: Terilee Edwards-Hewitt

Come celebrate the convention and all the friends who've shown up to be there. It wouldn't be an Intercon without a fabulous party to be at on Saturday night!

Killian's Chalice

Authors: Peter Mascitelli and What the Puck Productions
Players: 16-30

Who has the best Tavern in Worcester? That is yet to be seen as rival changeling motleys compete for ownership of the legendary Killians Chalice. This contest attracts all manner of fae, including the local Lord and some outsiders that want the Chalice for more personal needs.

Legends about the Chalice will come to light, as both Seelie and Unseelie explore the mystery of this highly magical artifact.

Watch as chaos erupts in Worcester during the St. Patrick Day festivities. May the best Motley win!

The Long, Cold Night

Authors: Alex Newman and Beth Kelly
Players: 10-20

Ebon night. Icy snow. A wind as sharp as a razor. A howl from outside. A scream from inside. Nowhere to run. No idea what you're running from.

A weekend at a Utah ski lodge turns into a nightmare when a blackout, an unexpected blizzard, and a man-eating monster come together to trap the guests and staff inside. But is what's outside worse than the horrors inside the lodge? This is an intense psychological thriller aimed at adults. Mature themes and subject matter abound. Minors may play, but we're not responsible for their lack of sleep afterwards.

The Man In Black

Author: Brian Williams
Players: 23-36

Most people come to Jericho-4 to get away from the long reach of the United Federation of God. They form an odd collection of dissidents, free-thinkers and criminals, all united in a desire for a quiet life...

Then someone hired the galaxy's most infamous assassin, The Man in Black, to carry out a hit on Jericho-4. No-one knows who the target is, but The Man in Black has attracted a large following: The Man in Black Groupies, dedicated watchers of the great man's hits, Secret Agents of all forms and persuasions, Law Enforcement Officers and all the sorts of people you don't want in a place like Jericho...

Now they're all together in the bar, The Man in Black, named after the great man himself, and word has it the hit is going to be tonight. Will you be a Local, just hoping for a quiet life, or an outsider, come to help or hinder The Man in Black, or perhaps someone else entirely, who's just happened to choose exactly the wrong time to visit Jericho-4...

More details are on the game website.

A Medieval Day at the Races (The Really Nasty Horse Racing LARP)

Author: Don Ross
Players: 25-50

Even under the shadow of the recent passing of our beloved King Richard, there is cause for jubilation. For Richard's heir, the newly crowned King John, has chosen the Maid Marian as his queen, and they are to marry on the weekend amid great jubilation and much drowning in mead.

To celebrate this auspicious event, the new King has called for a day of horse racing. Nobles from all over the realm have come to the royal palace to compete with the finest of their steeds. News that the hand of the royal ward, Cecily, will be offered as a prize has only increases the anticipation.

Come one, come all, to the palace grounds! Bring your loved ones, bring your friends. Bring your horses, bring your pets. But most of all bring your money. Because if King Richard had a fault, it was a dislike of gambling - but the new King is a player himself.

Just don't tell the new queen *wink*.

Horse racing will be simulated on a miniature track with model horses.

Miskatonic Class Reunion

Author: Mike Young
Players: 16-25

Join your host Maxwell Hocforth III for Miskatonic's first class reunion. A game of Lovecraftian horror, and what could be more horrifying than a class reunion?

A Night at the Four Aces

Authors: John Corrado, Jr., Stephanie Olmstead-Dean and Gordon Olmstead-Dean
Players: 20-42

Gangsters, Spats, Flappers, Bootleggers, Hooch, Cards, Horses, Fast Boats, Big Cars, Aeroplanes, and Jazz in 1929!

It is 1929. America has never been more prosperous. Despite Prohibition, 'dry' America thirsts for hooch. Moonshine is manufactured in the mountains, and green beer in the cellars of Chicago, but the best illegal booze is the real stuff, brought in from Canada, where no liquor laws apply. Gangsters and smugglers work to keep America wet!

Lakeshore, Ohio is situated perfectly for smugglers. Located between Cleveland and Chicago on the Great Lakes, the town has a harbor and a civil airfield. Downtown, everyone's favorite nightspot is the Four Aces. This is the story of that club, and of some of the people whose lives crossed there.

The Play's the Thing

Author: Tom Russell
Players: 6-10

In 2148, the UN CHRONOS Project uncovers evidence of an unknown, unpublished play by William Shakespeare. A golden opportunity for the organization, a mission to the past to recover the play is authorized. Due to the nature of Time Travel, the top Shakespearean actors in the world are recruited to travel back in time, assume the identities of Shakespeare's troupe and perform the play before King James himself.

Join an historic expedition to the past to recover and perform this lost play by Shakespeare! A very freeform LARP for players looking for a serious challenge. Some knowledge of Shakespeare and actual theatrical experience very helpful. Contact Tom Russell for more details.

PLEASE NOTE: Players will be expected to improvise a performance piece before an audience.

Toytanic - The Final Voyage of the Beary Celeste

Authors: Kelly Diane MacDougal and Jim MacDougal
Players: 8-19

The Beary Celeste is a boat used to take underprivileged and sick kids for sailing/fishing trips. Every child receives a toy when they come on board. You are those toys. Unfortunately hurricane Bambi caused the ships lines to snap and you are adrift in the Atlantic. There are no humans on board and you must find a way to get yourselves rescued.

Rescue isn't as easy as it sounds. While Captain Jimmy the frog and his crew, Nurse Christine and Fred Bear, are capable of sailing the boat, humans would notice a bunch of toys walking around and talking. You must find some other way. Things are complicated by that loud Mr. Snipper, and that stupid dinosaur keeps running around yelling his head off. Perhaps if everyone would just shut up and let you think, you would be able to figure it all out.

The "Ultimate" Prize

Author: Nancy Sonia Gervais
Players: 15-30

The year is 1398 in Northern France. The Regent has ordered that all attend his masquerade ball and a contest that will be held as part of the festivities. The prize is said to be his soul.

No one has heard from him in a few days and many believe he has gone mad. What is required to win and who will have the courage to attempt the contest. Come and find out as you too can quest for the 'Ultimate' Prize.

All characters will be pregenerated and handed out on a first come, first serve basis. All rules will be from 'The Long Night' (MET) only.

The Unexpected Storm

Author: David C. Helms
Players: 20-25

You and your traveling companions were done for, until you spotted the Inn. Blessed warmth, a glowing fire, and good food did much to restore you, and now your brain begins to slowly turn. Why an Inn, here, in this desolate mountain pass? Why so many other travelers, in said pass? What do they want? Why are they here? What is that strange creature crawling around under the tables? Is that a Wizard, over there? What brings a master of magic to this place? And surely that is a Paladin, in the glowing suit of armor? What evil does that one hunt, in this cozy Inn? That one there, between the two guards, must be a nobleman, he's simply dripping in wealth.

That reminds you of the dream you had last night, a dream of great wealth, hidden, but waiting for you. It was nothing, just a passing fancy. Still, must remember to check my room for hidden panels...

A strange collection of people, in a slightly strange place. Until the storm breaks, you are stuck with each other, and this Inn.