Origins Ho!

[jaegamer]

I have to say that Origins' registration site is faster than Gencon's - when it's up. The navigation, however, is beyond hideous. Pretty much the same as last year.  The navigation can't have been designed by anyone who actually has to use it, and you don't "claim" the tickets until you check out.  Since I was after some fairly "hot" stuff that had only a seat or two available once I managed to get the right screen up, I ended up checking out half a dozen times just to fill my schedule.  Everything takes half-a-dozen more clicks than it should.  Maybe it's a ploy to get people to not pre-register... Oh, wait, wouldn't the con go under if no one came? 

*sigh*  The two big cons of the summer, and their web designers are on some kind of wacky drugs... or at least, they have no notion how to design a web site for actual people to use.  I said it last year, I'll say it again: Read "Don't Make Me Think", folks, and forswear your wicked ways.

My Origins schedule is behind the cut.

Wed, 6/28  

• 6:pm – 11 pm Call of Cthulhu Post Mortem (7022) You are attending the funeral of Edward James  Eddie  Burke, a small time criminal. You have a very specific personal reason for attending the funeral and, most likely, so do the others in attendance.
  

Thu, 6/29

• 8 am – noon Living Death Warriors Rest (6807) Cornwall is synonymous with danger to those of the White Rose as well as those who live there. What foul deeds drag you back to Bodmin Moor? Set in January 1899 for heroes of 5th level and above. Previous play of this series is helpful but not essential.  
• RUN 1 pm – 5 pm Serenity RPG Some People Juggle Geese (6391) It's a simple job - legal, even!  All you have to do is deliver a shipment of goslings to a moon where the main form of recreation is juggling geese.  What could possibly go wrong? An adventure in the Firefly/Serenity universe.  Characters provided.
• RUN 6 pm – 10 pm Blackmoor Ep. 26: Lessons (7294) An almost corpse, laying beside a muddy road, may lead to orphans found, or at least avenged.  A Dave Arneson's Blackmoor adventure for heroes levels 1-6?
  

Fri, 6/30

• 10 am – 2 pm GURPS: Firefly Trains and Firefly's don't mix (6106) Join Captain Reynolds and the rest of the crew of the Serenity from the television show, Firefly, as they pull off another daring crime. (Probably will have to give away my ticket for this, since I have to choose between this and Dogs in the Vineyard)
• 1 pm – 5 pm Dogs in the Vineyard Red Rivers (7395) The town of Red Rivers has gone horribly wrong. How will you put things right?
• 7 pm – 11 pm Living Death Return to Lost Valley (Hidden Treasures #8) (6805) Africa: May 1899. Nine years after the Society's first visit to the Lost Valley, you return to seek aid from the qabal known as The Ankh. Will the mission succeed or will the Red Death destroy the Lost Kingdom? Previous play of this series is helpful but not essential.
  

Sat, 7/1

• RUN 8 am – noon Blackmoor Ep. 24: Just Business (7290) When is a deal, just a deal? When does it force a compromise that taints you and who your are? When is it time to reconsider the path you are on? When is it time to change your view? When do the ends justify the means? Do you always have to hold yourself to the highest ethical standards, or sometimes, do things boil down to just business? A Dave Arneson's Blackmoor adventure for character levels 4 through 10.
• 1 pm – 6 pm Living Death Ancient Footprints (Hidden Treasures #7) (6803) The Society is searching for knowledge from the destroyed Library of Alexandria. A place trod by ancients is your destination. Guided by a legend from another qabal, Travelers head to Asia Minor in May 1899. Previous play of this series is helpful but not essential
• 8 pm – Midnight Fudge The Prisoner: Jolly Good Fun (7416) When? 1965. What? A new treatment for those who are Unmutual. Where? In the Village. Be seeing you.
  

Sun, 7/2

• 8 am – noon Blackmoor Ep.25: Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (P) The city of Jackport is in need of heroes, but when one of her finest champions succumbs to dark influences can you uncover the wrongs that have been obscured by the deepest darkness of night? Recommended for characters who have played Sign of the Arcanum. A Dave Arneson's Blackmoor adventure for heroes levels 4-10. Part Two of the series: And the Cabal Cried Out, No Hiding Place.
• RUN 1 pm – 5 pm Serenity RPG Some People Juggle Geese (6392) It's a simple job - legal, even!  All you have to do is deliver a shipment of goslings to a moon where the main form of recreation is juggling geese.  What could possibly go wrong? An adventure in the Firefly/Serenity universe.  Characters provided.

Comments

[varianor.livejournal.com]

Wow! Good luck finding sleeping time with that schedule.

The book looks neat. My wife is working on a website for her company. I'll have to pick it up for her.

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

"Don't Make Me Think" is an excellent book on the theory of web design. I'd also recommend A List Apart and Asterisk, even though the latter is no longer being updated.

Simple shopping carts are practially prehistoric web technology, and yet the Origins folks seem to have no idea how to program one.

As for sleeping... sleep is for the weak. Actually, as long as I temper my drinking time I should be good for sleep on that schedule. I'll even have time to shop.

I'd love to try that Serenity game

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

It looks fun!

Re: I'd love to try that Serenity game

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

Well, it's off topic, but I'm sure I could be persuaded to run it at BloodStock next year...

Sheesh, I'm not on Vampyres any more

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I haven't been for years!

[femalegamer.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to find out now if I got into your game. I had several things in my cart, and then screwed up and wasn't at "add events to badge", but my badge wasn't on my Manage Purchases screen, so I thought it might show up if I checked out.

It didn't, but I did get a Transaction Error and no confirmation of that order to my email, BUT later, after I did my second try, it shows up on manage purchases. I'm trying to get into my credit card log to see if I got charged, in which case I'll have an extra badge, two extra LA BI tickets, and my replacement for that slot to find new owners for.

... and it apparently doesn't even show the transaction I got a confirmation email on my credit card statement. Grr, they better not have screwed things up! Last year I didn't get any tickets.

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

If all else fails, sweet, Fort Wayne is only an hour and a half away, and if you get six people together and provide a diabetic-friendly meal, I'll come run it for you. (grin)

[femalegamer.livejournal.com]

You're so nice. :)

[raconteurx.livejournal.com]

I'm not certain whether the timing of the various Firefly-oriented events will prove compatible with all the Cthulhu Live and Killer Bunnies stuff that my girlfriend and I will be doing, but perhaps we'll cross paths at some point. The Firefly LARP looks interesting, and I can vouch for the gamemaster... she ran a terrific Babylon 5 LARP at GenCon Indy, don't recall the year at the moment.

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

Alas, the LARP was sold out before I could get into it. In addition, I have a terrible track record with LARPs - I never have fun at them unless I'm on the staff. I suspect I'm just not good enough at generating an agenda.

[jaegamer.livejournal.com]

I'm now running two of the Blackmoor modules that I was going to play, and will probably switch to Sign of the Arcanum on Sunday if I can. Carry on...