[Gateway 2013] More like Fateway 2013!

Get it? Because, like, lots of Fate stuff on the schedule? Ah well.

With the release of Fate Core and FAE, I suppose that was inevitable, but still, it's cool to see so many GMs embracing them. Gateway, the last of the three annual Strategicon game conventions in Los Angeles, is just a few weeks away (August 30th-September 2nd), but pre-reg opens tomorrow, August 10th. And this is our last convention at the Sheraton. Next year we move to the Hilton down the road. So many memories, presumably!

There are no fewer than thirteen Fate Core, FAE, or Atomic Robo games on the schedule. Breakdown after the jump!

That was the jump. Did you enjoy it?

Friday 2:00 pm 

F4: Escape from the City of the Doomed, With Special Guest Ivid the Undying (Me)
"In Great Kingdom, Unknown searches for YOU." This dumb joke I made to myself at 1:00 in the morning sparked a vague idea for another in a series of AD&D pastiches/homages using an increasingly drifty Fate Core as a base. This one's less about mashing up old modules and more about being a genuine sequel to the three adventures these five PCs have already experienced together. Here's the blurb:

"In Great Kingdom, Unknown searches for YOU." -Yakov the Weary, Jester. WHAT WITH ONE THING AND ANOTHER, our heroes find themselves imprisoned in Rauxes, capitol of the most powerful empire on Oerth. Can they win their freedom before the city is reduced to dust? Is this the end of these Fate Core adventures based on old-school AD&D influences? I still have three weeks to prep, right? Find out!

Friday 8:00 pm

Star Trek: To Boldly Go (Morgan Ellis)

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Potemkin. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Play classic Star Trek using the new Fate Accelerated Edition rules.

Ack! I would totally play in this if I weren't running a game Friday night (not at the convention). I bet the approaches are things like Security, Command, Science, etc. Right? I don't know, I'm just guessing. Mor importantly, Morgan is the cervello di tutti cervelli of Fate GMs, so you can't go wrong here.

Saturday 9:00 am

Freeport - Under the Waves (Sam Carter of Mars)

Freeport, the City of Adventure! A local has discovered something strange in the waters off the coast of A''Val.. and needs some intrepid souls to help sort it out. What will await you below? Fame? Fortune? Death? [A Freeport adventure using the new rules-light Fate Accelerated Edition ruleset.]

I've known Sam for, I dunno, almost ten years, and after all this time I still think it's "funny" to append "of Mars" onto his name. At any rate, people sure like that FAE, huh? Cool. Sam's another great GM, even if he is a friend of mine, so if you can get into this one, you won't regret it. Oh, it should probably be noted that this has no relation to the Fate Freeport book in development with Green Ronin. This is Sam's own thing.

IOU: Freshthing Orientation (Seth Halbeisen)

You've never heard of this college, were stunned by the sudden acceptance letter, and the volumes of attached fine print, and you're pretty sure it might be a prank... This campus is different. REALLY DIFFERENT! That building is a huge tree! Another is a glowing creator... Your tour guide just stunned a T-Rex while avoiding a saw-bladed Frisbee! Is that a TALKING cat?!?!? What kind of school is this?

Another great Fate GM, by all accounts, Seth is a person I do not know. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be "glowing crater" instead of "glowing creator," but either way it sounds pretty compelling.

Saturday 2:00 pm

Return of the Iron League of EVIL! (Seth Halbeisen)

Just when you though the world was safe again. They are back and ready for vengeance. Huge Iron shod blimps blot out the sun, Steam Powered Ninjas at every corner, and goliath engines of destruction threaten the city. Only YOU can defeat them! Only your team has a chance... Only the CENTURIANS can save the day!

And another game using FAE. On the basis of Seth's sterling reputation as a Fate GM, I'm not going to correct the spelling of "Centurians." Respect.

Saturday 8:00 pm

The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific (Kristine Chester)

Victory has been achieved, WW2 is over, and the troops are coming home! Only the war isn't quite done for the She-Devils, a group of lady pilots who have remained in the Pacific frontier to take down would be warlords.

Kristine's also running this Atomic Robo scenario at GenCon, so if you missed it there, now's your chance! I have the PDF of the PCs open in a tab in Chrome as I type this, and they look pretty sweet, so sign up.

Freeport - A Quick Errand (Sam Carter)

A member of The Syndicate has gone missing. Finn thinks a rival is involved, but without proof he needs to move carefully. You can serve as his hand in this business - with no ties back to him if things get ugly. He's offering exactly what you need (and hinting you definitely should not refuse his job offer). [A Freeport adventure using the new rules-light Fate Accelerated Edition ruleset.]

Sam Carter, FAE, Freeport, play it, etc.

A Dark and Stormy Night (James)

When:1939. Where:island of Vincoa, in the South Pacific. Who: the air ace, the big game hunter, the academic, the native and the spy. What: a fast paced game of pulp action! It late 1939 a group of adventurers have found out the Curse of the Emerald Octopus did not bring them the wealth they have sought out. On a dark and stormy night can they fight off the shark toothed Jade Shark cultists?

I'm not sure which James this is, but the blurb contains the phrase "shark-toothed Jade Shark cultists," so I say go play it. This is a Fate Core game, bee-tee-dubs.

Sunday 9:00 am

The Centurions of Science! (Me)

Hi. In this game, you get to play Nikola Tesla, Wong Kei-Ying, Annie Oakley, Harry Houdini, and a version of Winfield Scott Lovecraft (father of HP) who's a kick-ass secret agent instead of the syphilitic nutbag he was in real life. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

Did I mention I wrote these at 1:00 am? This one of the ARRPG scenarios I'm running at GenCon, so again, if you missed it there, you can play it here. There. At Gateway, I mean.

Smoldering Memorandum (Patrick Rowley)

Steve Hatchett has convinced his buddies to come out to Palm Springs with him for some well-deserved R&R, courtesy of his rich girlfriend's Country Club membership. Of course, there''s no rest for a burned spy, so wherever Matthew Easton goes, trouble isn't far behind...

I don't know what this FAE game's about, exactly, but Pat was my neighbor in the dorms at UC Irvine back in the early '90s, and we played AD&D multiple times a week (because college and dorms), so that seems like endorsement enough to me. Pat's one of those Happy Jack's people; if you are too, you may know him better as Mouser.

Sunday 2:00 pm

Open Minds (Patrick Rowley)

It's a quiet day for Alpha, the top-line Psionic Rescue and Retrieval unit in the Southern California branch of The Sanctuary. As a matter of fact, it's been too quiet. No new psychic eruptions in weeks. No nefarious Collective plots to subvert the current World Order. No attacks on Sanctuary agents. Either the entire Psionic world has suddenly gone quiet, or something big is about to happen.

Hey, another FAE game from Pat! What a supportive friend. Interesting side note: Pat used to be a ride op on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. But don't ask him about it -- he has absolutely no stories about his days in the Magic Kingdom.

Fate of a Kingdom (James Forest)

In the world of Eave, humans are not the dominant creatures, but still that have developed their own kingdoms. The Kingdom of Danaan and the Empire of Tulathe are two such human powers amid the sea of the elves that hold the sway over the world. It is an anime inspired world of pseudo-science, magic and swashbuckling Players will be the first to play in this world.

Ooh, I bet this is the same James from before! I can't be sure, though, so I'm not going to risk misinforming you. This sounds like a pretty cool concept, right? I've been watching a ton of Sword Art Online lately, which is probably making me more receptive to the premise than I normally am, and I'd normally be really receptive to it anyway. (Advice: SAO's totally worth watching, but you can stop after the opening titles to episode 16. Trust me.)

Sunday 8:00 pm

Science Team Super Five vs. Biomega: Tokyo Under Attack (Morgan Ellis)

With the threat of Biomega long gone, Japan's premiere extra-normal defense force, Science Team Super Five, has dedicated its resources to the scientific betterment of mankind. But the dread specter of Biomega has returned to threaten the world. Long silent alarms call the new Science Team Super Five into action. Armed with their advanced Reflex Armor suits, cutting edge science, and hard trained teamwork. Will it be enough to stop the giant beasts of Biomega?

What's not to love about this Atomic Robo game from Morgan? He's also running it at FateCon at Endgame this weekend, so if you missed it there you can play it at Gateway. I certainly plan to. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make the PCs for this now.