Skip to main content

Dragonmeet 2025 – just done it…….

 After previous experiences at Grogmeet, Expo and Chaosium.com, I was happy to finally be able to go to Drgaonmeet this year. In previous years the beginning of December has been the ideal opportunity to get some summer sun and VitD with the missus somewhere else in the world to relax, have a ice cold beer somewhere hot and build up the VitD reserves to protect me for when I come back and face the coughs and splutters of the commute into London………..

So this year as we had already been on holiday and done all that in November, I was able to go to Dragonmeet 2025. It was held at the Excel Centre in London which seemed to be a big deal with various people I talked to, even described like it was a reboot or Dragonmeet v2.0.

I really liked the new venue – if you have been to Expo you know how busy and claustrophobic that can get, Dragonmeet 2.0 was spacious while still being busy – although I expect in the coming years the numbers will grow. I like the fact that it is predominantly RPGs and it is only 1 day. No need for every Con to be 2 or 3 days tbh.

It was also a good calendar slot to have a second run through of my Twilight 2000 crossed with Day of The Triffids scenario, to further prepare before Grogmeet in 2026. Also as a ref you got free entry so everyones a winner!

The emails and organisation from Dragonmeet v2.0 were fine, with games added and player sign ups all completed before the event, so no complaints there.

A mate of mine also came along and signed up to my game which I ran in the afternoon slot (14.00 – 18.00). There was no way I could get to Excel for 08.30 to run my game in the morning slot (09.00 – 13.00). He drove down so I managed to avoid public transport and all its vagaries….

We parked in the Excel car park (£25 for the day) and in a few mins were in the event after getting our wristbands. We arrived about 11.00 and had a wander around the stalls. Bumped into a few familiar faces who it was good to catch up with and managed to haggle a bit with the guy selling Tales of the Old West RPG to get the game, GM screen and dice mat, then sought out Leisure Games and thank goodness managed to pick up a Delta Green Handlers Screen (only been trying to get hold of one of these for about 4 years!). also had a chat with the seller of Orbital Blues for a while, nearly bought it but that’ll be next year (or maybe Santa will bring me the rules…). There was a stall selling older RPG materials (I was tempted by the Rolemaster box set), but disappointingly no ‘Bring and Buy’ like at Expo. Maybe something they can add in the future events…

At no time did it feel rushed or busy enough that you couldn’t stop and peruse a stall, which I really appreciated.

After our look around and some purchases we went to get some lunch, and had plenty of options.

Then it was time to run my game. The room bookings seemed to have caused some confusion as two of my players had ben told to go to a different room from the one I was running the game in, but after a bit of looking everyone managed to arrive around 14.00. Only 4 of the 5 players turned up, but that was fine. Only 1 PC didn’t make it (it was a heroic death involving two hand grenades…) otherwise the recon unit was successful in its mission. I’ll write up the scenario as part of my Grogmeet review next month.

Thanks to the players who made the game so entertaining and good to see so many familiar faces. Assuming my holidays next year don’t get in the way, I’ll be attending again next year.

After the game it was time to go home, get a cup of tea and start thinking about planning for other cons next year………….Owl Bear and Wizards staff and Necronomicon 2026 I’m looking at you……

Atb and Merry Christmas and remember parrying is for wimps….


 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grogmeet 2025 pt2 – the Blacksat strikes back and it’s a load of old (Dragonbane) Trolls…..(Spoilers, spoilers and more spoilers)

To paraphrase from Jacksons LOTR films ‘Space seems to be back on the menu boys’, so for a few months I have been considering how to bring the Delta Green scenario ‘ Blacksat ’ to the table. It is one of those scenarios that when I first read it, I thought interesting idea – but how can you make it work at the table? Let’s be honest – the Delta Green scenarios tend to require the Handler to do a lot of heavy lifting to make the key ideas in the scenario work, which isn’t a problem – working out the finer details is often the fun bit. Blacksat is the first scenario in a series included in the ‘Control Group’ book. The idea being that it can be played as a linked campaign with the subsequent scenarios in that book. The players take on the roles of a space shuttle crew in 2010 assigned to repair a top secret satellite or ‘deniable anti satellite weapon platform’. Of course not all is as it seems…. Before Grogmeet I ran it twice online. I find running a scenario at least two times tends...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hellfire club has nothing on the 2am club…..Grogmeet 2025 pt 1 (Spoilers, spoilers and more spoilers for Gatsby and The Great Race – a Call of Cthulhu scenario).

  Where to begin with Grogmeet? Do you begin with the excitement as the tickets are made available? The excitement of submitting a game? The excitement of seeing the games offered and signing up? The excitement of using the Birtish railway system never knowing if you’ll reach your destination? Whenever the excitement starts it gradually builds and before you know it, you are walking into Whitworth Locke venue in Manchester and play gets underway. Although in my case, the train I was due to get was cancelled so I made it into the Whitworth with about 10mins to spare…….. Gatsby and the great race – Call of Cthulhu, Friday 17 th January… The first game I was involved with was the rather legendary ‘Gatsby and the great race’ written by Paul Fricker. I had heard of this scenario over the years. For those not familiar it is a multi-table scenario with several Keepers each running their own table. For ‘reasons’, players get to change tables during the scenario. This makes for a great...
Post a Comment
Read more

Its Twilight 2000 but not as we know it………..

 ‘Day by day, I struggle to maintain not only my strength but my sanity. It's all a blur. I have no energy to write. I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore…….’  Sometimes you come across a game that just appeals to you. It hits you in the gut and shouts ‘play me’. When I saw a fellow Grogsquad member offering a one shot of Twilight 2000 I was intrigued. For a few years I have been playing in a Twilight 2000 campaign (online) and started running a face-to-face campaign at my local gaming club ( Bedford Gladiators – come along if you are nearby!). T2000 is a Free League game (at the moment..) set in the WWIII that never was, it’s a post-apocalyptic world with little in the way cheer and hope. The FL version is the 4e’d. It really is designed for campaign play….. Here’s why…. It seems to be considered quite ‘crunchy’ in comparison to most RPGs nowadays, but for me that is part of the appeal. A key component of the game is its relentless attrition. When pla...
Post a Comment
Read more