Special events
Proof that there is life after roleplaying. If you're looking for a slightly different challenge, or a slightly different thrill, look no further.
The events
- Baron Munchausen — moderated by Liz Argall
- Diplomacy — organised by Bernard Philbrick
- Frag — organised by Paul May
- Mission Improv-able — organised by Liz Argall & Mike(y) McClure
- Second-hand store — organised by Wes Nicholson
- (Back to the main games page)
Baron Munchausen
Moderated by the hon. Liz Argall
"...Of course a gentleman always retains dignity in an emergency, and so I assured the duchess that the urchins were well used to such hard work, and we had more than enough cabbages to provide fuel for the rest of the trip. She was so pleased with my assurances that she fainted away and had to be cut loose from her stays, so I left her with her ladies and retired to the engine room to see what could be done about our situation."
Bring your filthy urchins, your weening upper-class morals, and your snuff box – the Munchausen Tournament continues at Phenomenon with more unbelievable tales of totally true events.
Professor Munchausen is a story-telling game for as many players as are willing, involving the relation of tall tales to a faintly incredulous audience. Audience members (ie those not brave enough to tell stories) are always welcome.
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 3 | Genre 1 | Rules knowledge 1 |
| Story/plot 4-5 | Seriousness 1 | Adult content BYO (but do remember there will be ladies present) |
Diplomacy
Organised by Bernard Philbrick
What is Diplomacy? It’s a diceless board-game for 7 players who each take control of one of the Great European Powers at the beginning of the 20th Century. Your aim is to take control of Europe, through capturing 18 strategic provinces called Supply Centres. Sounds simple, right?
The beauty of Diplomacy lies in the fact that all movements of pieces are simultaneous; all orders of all players are executed at the same time on each turn. Whose moves succeed and whose fail are easily determined by the simple rules.
Crowning all this is the fact that any player is lost without allies. The most important part of the game is negotiations which occur before each move; negotiations which establish alliances, elaborate war plans, and backstabs.
Turning on your ally is all part of the game. All's fair in love and war, and in Diplomacy, one is often a mask for the other.
The final outcome of a game of Diplomacy is always the responsibility — for better or worse — of each player. Diplomacy offers a totally chanceless competition of wits and wiles.
How about it? Do you have what it takes to rule the world?
Frag Ultimate
Organised by Paul May
Game
starts. Enemy in sight . . . Frag him! Grab his stuff! Run! Get a bigger gun!
Grab some armor! There he is again! Frag him! Whoa, there's another one. Run
. . . you're hit! You're down. Respawn! Grab a weapon! Start again!
Frag is a computer game without a computer. It's a 'first-person shooter' on a tabletop. Move your fighter and frag your foes; draw cards for weapons, armor, and gadgets; move through the blood spatters to restore your own health! If you die, you respawn and come back shooting! You can even get 'cheats' that allow you to shoot through walls and ignore damage!
Frag Ultimate is a Phenomenon-long tournament of Frag contests, linked together only by the perpetually-respawning characters. The contests themselves will be different over the weekend, from the traditional Deathmatch killfest to demon-hunting —well, demon-slaughtering, anyway. All, though, will involve lots of (simulated) blood and loud noises. Oh, and the Guided Nuke.
Win or lose you can continue as long as you like, but those that get wins improve their characters as the games progress.
The overall winner will be the owner of the most advanced character at the end of the last contest. There will be prizes, including for the most games with the least wins (although I don't see a lot of people wanting that one...).
Type: Boardgame (including at least one on a ping-pong table).
By the Guerilla Ontologists
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation As much or as little as you like; these are first-person-shooter characters... | Roleplaying: See Characterisation. | Sexual content: Um, players can choose female-looking characters if they want? |
| Cathart potential: Only what you bring with you, and it probably won't last. | Seriousness Nil, unless you're a tactics weenie - and only if you get taken seriously. | Violence: It's the point of the game. |
Mission: Improv-able
by Liz Argall & Mike(y) McClure
Whose theatre is it anyway?
Improvised theatre throughout the convention, drawn from a number of different sources (Whose Line is it Anyway?, Theatre Sports™ and more) — all culminating in a competition on the last day. All comers welcome!
You're a food critic who's being stewed by cannibals; 60 seconds ago you were Captain Worm... Who knows what the next 60 seconds will bring? Comedy! Action! Drama! You'll see it all!
Lunch Breaks: Workshops, practice games and experiments in improvised storytelling
Dinner Breaks: Demonstration and non-competitive games
Last Session (#9, Monday afternoon): The Mission: Improv-able Competition
The competition session is for teams of FOUR, all the other events people will be mingled.
For more details check the web site http://pheno.ozgamer.net/games/mission:improvable/.
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 4 | Genre All will be explained! | Rules knowledge All will be explained! |
| Story/plot That's up to you! | Seriousness As serious as you want! | Video rental scale "It's like a cross between an ant farm and an etch-a-sketch™" |
Second-hand stall
Organised by "Uncle" Wes Nicholson
This year, Pheno will be running a second-hand stall, coordinated by the ever-helpful Uncle Wes. The stall will run for all four days of the con, from Friday night to Monday afternoon.
If you would like to sell something at the stall, please bring it along, marked with a label clearly showing your name, and how much you want for the item. The kindly folks running the stall will do the rest.
Pheno will not charge you any commission for this service, but please note that all responsibility is yours. A locked cabinet will be available for valuable items. If you would like to donate items, any proceeds of their sale will go to CanTeen.
Unsold items will be returned to their owners along with any monies made from sales, so please remember to give your current contact details to the volunteers working the stall.
Items left behind after the convention ends will be disposed of as Pheno sees fit; most likely in a last-minute auction at post-con drinkies. Any proceeds from this final sale will go to CanTeen if the owners cannot be contacted (...or woken up — Ed.).
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 0 (there will not be a prize for the best rendition of the haggling scene from 'Life of Brian') | Genre 1 (we assume you all know the haggling scene from 'Life of Brian'...) | Rules knowledge 1 (ability to count an advantage) |
| Story/plot 0 (there might well be a prize for the best chain of purchase - donation - purchase - donation - etc...) | Seriousness 1 (but Australian legal tender only — no fruit or small mammals will be accepted) | Adult content Supply your own brown paper bags... |