From: signal9 Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2025 14:01:12 +0000 (-0600) Subject: Strange Artifacts Invitational, WIP X-Git-Url: https://git.vexinglabs.com/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=7dda129db43840046e02b9fdf59564b4734776cd;p=vexingworkshop.git Strange Artifacts Invitational, WIP --- diff --git a/content/images/20251005_120059.jpg b/content/images/20251005_120059.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..06b7eee Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/20251005_120059.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/20251005_143834.jpg b/content/images/20251005_143834.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69a7c64 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/20251005_143834.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6043.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6043.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..611d970 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6043.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6045.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6045.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..999e565 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6045.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6046.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6046.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5388689 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6046.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6051.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6051.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc72e6d Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6051.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6055.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6055.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ca8bb4e Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6055.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_6056.jpg b/content/images/IMG_6056.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..26a7564 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_6056.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_8891.jpg b/content/images/IMG_8891.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a388177 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_8891.jpg differ diff --git a/content/images/IMG_8897.jpg b/content/images/IMG_8897.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a21fef5 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/images/IMG_8897.jpg differ diff --git a/content/strange-artifacts-invitational-2025.md b/content/strange-artifacts-invitational-2025.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65a551f --- /dev/null +++ b/content/strange-artifacts-invitational-2025.md @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@ +Title: Strange Artifacts Invitational, 2025 +Category: Blog +Date: 2025-10-20 +Tags: events, wargaming, gallery + +October 5th, 2025, the Strange Artifacts crew hosted our first [Forbidden +Psalm](https://www.forbiddenpsalm.com/forbidden-psalm){. .anchor} event, the +__Strange Artifacts Invitational__. Held at [Total Escape +Games](https://totalescapegames.com/){. .anchor} in Broomfield, Colorado. As a +relatively new club, we've hosted game days and we've made our appearances at +local cons, this was our first attempt at an organized event. + +When it comes to running an indy game event, we are fortunate to have plenty of +fantastic examples to learn from. We all greatly admire Ana from [Gardens of +Hecate](https://gardensofhecate.com){. .anchor}. Her own Forbidden Psalm events, +[Turm 2023](https://gardensofhecate.com/blog/miniature/turm-2023-report){. .anchor} and +[Turm 2024](https://gardensofhecate.com/blog/miniature/report-turm2024-kamping-kitbash){. .anchor} +are massive standouts for the entire community. I am in no way ashamed to tell +you that I borrowed heavily from the Turm format when putting together the +event, down to the player packet and rules. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ana and +her willingness to share her experience. + +![Forbidden Psalm]({static}/images/IMG_8891.jpg){: .image-med} + +## Planning and Execution + +We wanted our first event to be successful, and that meant making sure that +everyone who participated could play and have a great time. The first most +important lesson we learned from Turm was to limit the size of our first event - +we chose to follow suit and limit the event to eight players. + +But how do you get invitations out for an invitational? After setting aside +seates for the Strange Artifact Crew ourselves, we extended personal invitations +to friends local friends, and a few more to members of the [In Rust We +Trust](https://discord.gg/g2nXPbhguU) community. While our more remote friends +were not ultimately able to attend, we did have enough folks locally to go ahead +with the event. + +![Animal Cultists]({static}/images/IMG_6056.jpg){: .image-med} + +## Expectations and Scenarios + +Strange Artifacts is a good crew and we all came together with an ethos that +makes narrative games fun and safe to play. That being said, it felt important +to me that expectations were made explicitly clear. Taking another point from +Turm, I wrote up some basic rules and expectations. Each player would bring +their pre-rolled and fully painted warband, adhering to Forbidden Psalm: End +Times Edition rules. We decided on three rounds of play, and as a narrative +event, I wanted to be clear that this was not a competitive tournament. + +Eight seats means four boards, and we wanted to have the full diorama +experience. One enthusiastic member took to the task right away and built two +excellent, thematic boards and even went so far as to write an original scenario +for one of them. Our own [Kitbash Chaos](https://www.youtube.com/@KitbashChaos) +brought his beautiful red desert board, and I built the last, specifically +intended for Dashed Hope, a scenario from the Forbidden Psalm core book +campaign. + +Some weeks before the event, a few of us got together and discussed the +scenarios we'd play. Since none of us had completed the original campaign, we +decided to pull scenarios from the book. This gave us time to paint monsters for +every scenario. In some cases, that was a lot of models! As for the narrative +hook, we deviated a bit from the original scenario, and tweaked each one to fit +our own story. + +Even though we had plenty of time, naturally much of the narrative was written +the day before the event! + +Our player packet with rules, narrative hook and scenarios can be found +[here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bXWhwfV3oB7JKDCFES2f7TcqzKUpjSUXOV_pgR13yDA/edit?usp=sharing){. .anchor}. + +![Fire Monks]({static}/images/20251005_143834.jpg){: .image-med} + + +## End with Gratitude + +We are forever grateful to Total Escape Games, who charged us absolutely nothing +to hold our humble event at the store. Not only that their Event Manager Kyle +asked many questions and gave helpful suggestions which helped guide us towards +smooth execution of our goal. +