AVL Scarefest--A Halloween Weekend Of HORROR Gaming--Invites Gaming Ghouls To North Carolina!

The full moon parts the clouds on a chilly fall evening. Tucked someplace in the North Carolina mountains is a secluded camp retreat. A rustic cabin sits empty...dark....unsettlingly quiet. It's the Halloween season -- the time when the monsters come out. You steel up your nerve, enter the cabin...and enjoy three solid days of horror gaming mayhem!

Asheville Scarefest runs from October 21 through 23 at the Montreat Conference Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The organizers embrace this time of year by hosting and encouraging a schedule of horror-themed roleplaying. Call of Cthulhu? Check. Dread? Check. Deadlands? Check and check. (Even Ghostbusters is making an appearance!) This genius idea of a game convention originally started off as a Pathfinder Society-specific yearly gathering focusing on horror-themed fantasy adventures. Last year, the organizers opened it to any and all game systems with a focus on keeping the horror "alive". Horror adventures for D&D. Horror adventures for DCC RPG. Horror adventures for Pathfinder. And horror adventures for horror RPGs. Click here and take a look at what's available thus far for three days of terror-fueled gaming. (And the GM cutoff doesn't happen for another month!)

The location of Scarefest only adds to the atmosphere of the weekend. The Montreat Conference Center is a secluded mountain resort, and attendees will be staying in a "rustic" lodge. Let me set the stage...

Why do I get an "Overlook Hotel" vibe from this photo?

Oh-so-inviting residential lodging.

The event is nicely priced. $20 gets you a weekend pass for everything. Lodging is very reasonable (though rooms are going fast), and -- due to the isolation and difficulty running out for a bite -- a weekend meal plan for $70 will make sure you're fed throughout the convention.

The con is a smaller regional one (last year's attendance was under 200), but it's getting bigger and they've got at least one out-of-towner interested enough to make the trip -- yours truly.

Oh, and I shall be running some games too at this terror-filled weekend. And what better way to celebrate the season than by running several Cryptworld adventures during the weekend?

Maybe a few horror-themed boardgames would be fun during the downtimes. I may bring Betrayal at House on the Hill and Are You a Werewolf, in fact. And who might be up for a midnight game of Nightmare?

YES MY GATEKEEPER!

As always, I'll be live-blogging from the event, so stop by The Savage AfterWorld during Scarefest to catch up on what's going on. Or, better yet, join us for three days of horrifically fun gaming!

Cthulhu Insanity Dice Now On Kickstarter! Simplify Those Fear & Insanity Checks!

Ben Burns of Dark Cult Games just launched his Kickstarter for Cthulhu Insanity Dice. This set of two 10-sided dice are perfect for horror RPGs when the players fail a fear check or lose that last bit of remaining sanity. One dice has 10 different fear reactions: babbling incoherently, explosive rage, flee in panic, faint dead away, etc. The other dice has 10 phobias that could surface when the player takes enough mental damage. These dice are going to be an invaluable addition for any horror RPG player. And it's only $13 for a set! Check them out!

Organize Your Convention Travel Data With Your Own Personal PC Record Sheet

When attending a game convention, there's a ton of information you need to have on-hand -- your flight number, your hotel reservation number, a checklist of everything you need to take, your planned purchases, your game schedule, etc. When I go to a con, I have all of this info printed out and tucked into folder I take with me. Convenient, yes, but very cumbersome. 

Brandon Kruse of D&D Doodles felt the same about his various checklists and schedules, so he created the "Unofficial GenCon Character Sheet." Styled like a typical PC character sheet, the form has a place for all of your travel info as well as your schedules, checklists, and other important information all on one sheet. Incredibly useful, and the design of the form is a masterstroke. Although tagged with GenCon's logo, this sheet will come in handy for *any* game con you plan to attend. I've already downloaded it and I plan to print a few for my upcoming con attendance this year. Great work, Brandon!

The Savage AfterWorld's Post 1,000 Giveaway Winners!

Hey gang! The results are in for The Savage AfterWorld's Post 1,000 Giveaway! We had 50 folks vying for for some of My Favorite Gaming Things, and here's the winner's list:

Old School Gamer Patch goes to Trey Causey! 

Two d20 keychains each go to Jarad Cornett and Roberto Navarro!

The Cthulhu die keychain goes to Wayne Snyder!

Chill's Evenings of Terror is awarded to Steve Smith!

The Anomalous Subsurface Environment adventure series will be heading to Matthew Schmeer!

Three World of Thundarr the Barbarian Sourcebooks for Mutant Future are heading to Jonathan Nichol, Luke Gissara, and Corey Shields!

It Came From the Late, Late, Late Show was won by Ton Bolenbaugh!

Two copies of Stuper Powers have been won by Will Arnold and Ed May!

Cartoon Action Hour has been won by Rus Ketcham!

The Mutant Future RPG Package that consists of the Mutant Future rules (soft cover); Deviant Database (both 1.0 and 2.0); One Year In The Savage AfterWorld; and The Metamorphica has been won by Tony Tucker!

And the entire Cryptworld game line consisting of the Cryptworld rules (soft cover); Monsters Macabre (soft cover); and Creepy Comic Conversion Issue 1: The Case of the Painted Beast is going to Philippe Tromeur!

My thanks to everyone who entered and congrats to those who won stuff! Emails will be going out tonight asking for your mailing info.