JulianJ Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 I have been working hard recently, that's why I have not been around the forum. I heard of a board gaming weekend (it's bank hol here in the Uk so the trains are rammed) and I wanted to go. Particularly as it is held in a castle. Purists might say its really a gothic style fortified manor house, but I call that w**ky pedantry. It does have a 13c Pele tower (small watch tower/keep) and that is good enough for me. Anyway, haven't done much f2f gaming for a while so looking forward to it. Will post some pix when I get there later today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Sounds like a great thing to go to. What games will you play? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Where is it being held at, Julian? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 JulianJ, Sounds wonderful. Be sure to have beer! If the game's simple, just add pretzels! Also, please post pics. Am not up to speed on fortified manors. Regards, John Kettler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) Back now. Had a brilliant time. The place is called Featherstone Castle, near Hadrian's wall outside Carlisle. I was wrong - it is a fully-fledged castle. I walked the outer bailey. The walls at the back (non Scottish side) are low, 5-6 ft high but have crenellations and evidence of fighting (long gone wooden) platforms. I imagine that in times of trouble all the locals ran for sanctuary and defended the walls with pitchforks and woodsman's axes, which would be quite sufficient if there were enough of you. Played CamelUP (camel racing...eh?!), Bruges, a Harry Potter magic game, SteamPunk Rally (crap), and various others; The Captain Is Dead was great (you are on the starship enterprise, Picard/Kirk has snuffed it and you have to repair the jump drive before the aliens get you while all the systems are breaking down). I ran a fearsome Cthulhu rpg - in the Blue Room - dimmed the lights and played VERY SCARY MUSIC. One of the players had never done roleplaying before, even though her husband (couldn't attend) is a big RPG player. She really enjoyed it: "I see what he's on about now." I said: "I've just set a very high bar." @John Kettler After the Tudors seized the throne, England became a much safer place. Wealthy people didn't want the discomfort of living in castles, so they built fortified manors, which were much more like houses, but did have some defensible architecture, a sort of "castle lite". I don't count them as proper castles. So was pleased that Featherstone is real. I have lots of pix but I have been unable to post. I usually use MediaFire but it does not seem to appear on this forum. Suggestions gratefully received. As always matters, the people were great so had a fun time; accomodation very spartan...but that didn't bother me. Edited August 28, 2019 by JulianJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 Well, f me. One of the players wanted to play Bruge because it was very expensive so they hadn't bought it....I've just looked and it is $150 second hand! That is taking the piss. Not VFM at that price, it's a fairly straightforward economy game. I did notice that it doesn't have social or religious unrest, which is a bit funny for 15C Holland. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 JulianJ, Sound like you had an amazing, and wildly diverse as to subject matter, gaming experience. Am no expert on the 15th Century, but Bruges is in Belgium, not Holland. If you haven't seen it, the film "In Bruges" is well worth a watch. Greatly appreciate all the info on the castle you played, fortified manor houses and such. Hope you can find a way to post your pics. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 Hi John - OK geography not my strong point her, I feel. Featherstone castle daylight Side of Castle by Infrared Light I just can't post images. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 (edited) I've managed now to upload to Imgur and can post images. No idea why this site won't accept Mediafire. Only a year late! I should be preparing to go to two games conventions and fit Hadrian's Wall in between. COVID-19 sucks. This is the Scottish Reiver's view. The front wall does seem awfully low. Drinking designer beer that Ian (hat) had kindly brought, playing Bruges on a lovely afternoon, with an affectionate and daffy dog around. I'm holding the cards. The side of the castle by infrared light. The main gaming area was in the ballroom on the first floor with the semi-circular tower. Playing Call of Cthulhu in deliberately sinister gloom, in a room with heraldic symbols over the fireplace. Some players were very experienced RPGers, a couple of them had hardly done any role-playing but they loved it; I had promised to write a second installment for this year, but sadly the con has had to be cancelled. Edited July 12, 2020 by JulianJ why is there always an effin' typo? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacillator Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Call that a castle Julian? This is a castle: Not sure whether you can stay there for a weekend of games however, and it looks like you had a great time anyway . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StieliAlpha Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 19 hours ago, Vacilllator said: Call that a castle Julian? This is a castle: Not sure whether you can stay there for a weekend of games however, and it looks like you had a great time anyway . One of the Katharer castles in the Pyrenneas? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacillator Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 @StieliAlpha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers In Syria. Boy did they know how to build defences... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StieliAlpha Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 14 hours ago, Vacilllator said: @StieliAlpha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers In Syria. Boy did they know how to build defences... Arrgghhhh, I should have known. I even have as map for “Cry Havoc - Outremer”. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Yes @Vacilllatoryou are absolutely right. As a castle afficionado, I always have had that one on my "to do" list. Not to mention popping into the citadel at Aleppo, the amphitheatre at Palmyra, etc. Sadly it looks like I am not going to be able to tick it off my list, given the current state of things in Syria. A masterpiece of a castle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianJ Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Actually we did have a virtual gaming con at the weekend. I played DnD with some of my old friends (using Roll20 and Discord - which worked quite well). Then we went down the "virtual pub" - basically gabbing away on discord, with various people dropping in and out, while drinking. It was almost like being in the bar together, although not quite. I really want to get back to RL. Although I am not the most sociable of people, it's really put that into perspective. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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