Executive Producer's Column

Hi everybody, it's time for me to get off my executive producer butt and start preaching to the masses.

As you all know by now, we're running a Deadlands LARP at TusCon this year. Deadlands is a really cool game that's topping sales charts across the country. It's a twisted, dark, evil wild-west-type thing (think Tombstone or Wyatt Earp with magic and Cthulhoid monsters... this ain't John Wayne's Old West). In truth, it has all the things most of you (being of average intelligence) like about Vampire, without the stupid shit most of you have avoided these last 6 years.

Anyway, TusCon is Nov. 6th-8th. I know many of you show up either from the game or other stuff, frankly I think our LARP is probably the lamest reason to go to TusCon (with Bruce's Sunday afternoon Dead Dog party-chili rating in the 5 best reasons to attend), especially since this year Fred Saberhagen (author of, amongst other things, some of the best damn vampire fiction of the modern era) is the Guest of Honor.

So, to give attendees one last use of the system (since we had to write our own LARP system), we're doing a test-game party on Sunday November 1st. And, to help develop that western feel, it will feature food cooked over fire: BBQ (if you all beg real nice, Ben might be convinced to make his killer BBQ sauce, and excellent trainer for the Dead Dog Chili). Game will be held at Ben's place, starts at 3pm, and should run till about 9pm.

If you're going to attend TusCon and play or GM, you should definitely attend this. If you're going to attend TusCon, but haven't decided if you're playing, you should attend. If you're merely contemplating either, you should attend.

For purposes of food, we need to know how many of you folks are showing up. Please RSVP directly to me.

Is it Nightfall seven already?

Goodness how time flies. For the second year running if you're an experienced Nightfaller you'll be wishing for the prefire days. That said this years is a definite improvement on last year, inspite of the fact that they decided to start exactly where last years left off. Things start ata cavalry encampment, the cavalry has been sent to find the judge who got killed last year. They have (never explained how) captured The Creature from last year. Then up stumbles Hyde's love interest from last year (not his annual Asylum pet, the annual "good guy" woman Hyde always gets obsessed with, obviously Hyde has some unresolved Oedipal issues). A debate ensues as to whether to ride 7 days through the wilderness to get back to civilization or to ride back to Nightfall and take the train in 3 hours. Yes, apparently a train does regularly stop in Nightfall, don't ask me.

I'll break away from plot description (you should get some surprises after all). Let's say on the good side there's plenty of fire. Including flames shooting from Hyde's hand (not a terribly difficult trick, if you're willing to drop some lucre at William's Magic Shop, but it looks cool). There's also a nice sword fight, and an amusing chick fight (not nearly as cool as the chick fights in Dynasty, but what can you do without Joan Collins).

On the bad side, once again there are only two main shows and Bloodletting. Once again Hyde is not doing Bloodletting. Because of that you get no opportunity to see Hyde as truly evil. Unless you're familiar with Nightfall you'll come out of this year's show thinking that Hyde is rather cut-throat and certainly of questionable morals, but not necessarily evil. Bloodletting this year also relies on verbal gags instead of the more creepy (and therefore amusing) visual gags of those wonderful pre-fire years. There also didn't seem to be as much random street action as previous years, and the haunted house continues it's long downward spiral. Also no show on the train ride. I consider that extra unfortunate. The train ride shows were always great; good humor, and that added creep factor of being on a rickety train, in the dead of night in the middle of no where (well, not really in the middle of no where, but it felt that way).

To end on an up note: our very own James Clark does the best Hyde we've seen since the early days of Nightfall (the Nightfall III Hyde was a little better than James, everybody since are nothing in comparison). And Curt (that really tall guy with the gargoyle shoulder pads) is still doing crowd control and scaring the hell out of the kids.

Overall: better than last year, but not nearly on par with the pre-fire years. Probably worth going to anyway given our lack of quality haunted houses in this town. And it is always cool to see how they deck out Old Tucson. And they've got kettle corn from the best kettle corn guy in Tucson.

Joe Palmer

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