More (AUTHOR)ities updates!

Was very happy to have had the chance to run Itras By: Menagerie during the (AUTHOR)ities event this April 2018. My good friend Mark (dressed in blue with stripes) played a bookstore owner who awoke in Imperia Manila with no clear memory of how long he has been there. With him was Shop, the embodiment of his bookstore given human form.

We were having so much fun that I totally forgot to try taking any pictures of us.  Thankfully, my dear friends Maita and Magsi passed by the table to say hello. Maita had taken some pictures which meant I now have two pics of me at the TAG Sessions table for the day 1 of (AUTHOR)ities

Day 2 was a very busy day. While I had to handle things alone on day 1, Day 2 had my partner Rocky at my side to help me juggle the affairs of the day. Beyond just the table tasks of introducing role-playing games to the people (with the most common inquiry being, "Do I need a computer to play that?"), I was also tasked to moderate two talks that day. The first talk was all about Book to Game adaptations and the second was on Interactive Storybooks.

We tried to feature as many games as possible at our table. Josh T. Jordan's Heroine got a LOT of interested eyeballs on them, with people asking if they could purchase the books. I had to regretfully tell them that I had no stock with me and that they were more than welcome to order it online.

Many also marvelled at the beauty that was Itras By: Menagerie, loving the book's heft and artwork. I wish I had a physical copy of the first book too, but I only owned that one  in PDF format.

I also tried to showcase some of my PDF only games. That Night Out, Sickening Queens, and Bad Timing also had some display time.  Some people who approached were very happy to see our Pride Flag, which I insisted I have on display because we all deserve equality, no matter what bigoted government people may say.

All in all, (AUTHOR)ities was a tremendously wonderful event. I do hope to get copies of the photos taken by the CCP people and I realy hope that we will be invited again to return in the coming years!

AUTHOR(ities): The 9th Philippine International Literary Festival Day One

Had a fantastic day at the AUTHOR(ities): The 9th Philippine International Literary Festival! I was so excited about the whole day that I totally forgot to take photos of the my table. But it was an opportunity to showcase Itras By, Itras B: Menagerie, Heroine, Girls Elsewhere, Dangers Untold, Sickening Queens, Bad Timing, That Night Out, and A Single Moment!

I loved being able to run games for so many people. Some of them were completely first time gamers, having never tried a game in their entire lives. Others had some tabletop rpg history but were happy to try something new.

I felt tremendously honored to be able to share my passion for gaming with more people. In the Itras By demo session, a man named Alvin Shoppe who owned a Shop that had become a personality had no memory of how long he had been in Itras By. The day was another festival, Fiesta ng Masayang Tuldok (Festival of the Happy Period) with the Manananggal Titas once more showing off their best dresses. After having a few drinks with Mang Tonio, the policeman at a cafe where a Corgi and some invisible companion asked for the toll, Alvin finds a golden key in his pocket and soon learns that Inang Bai had cursed him with forgetfulness. But when she saw how much Shop had fallen in love with Alvin, she gave her a challenge: If Alvin chose to stay rather than return home, then they were meant to be.  Alvin choose to stay and the two renamed their bookstore, Alvin and Shop.

One A Single Moment game was about a couple of gay Samurai who did not have the Honesty to admit their truth to one another. Their secrets lead to deaths and a sorrowful end.   Another ASM game had two close friends who were soon to be brothers from a Clan marriage becoming the direst of foes when one mistakes the other's friendship as a man without any Honor in treating his wife well. Death was a common thread in the games.

I was also able to connect with a number of educators, professionals, and other teachers who were eager to explore role-playing games as teaching tools or creative writing prompts. I offered my time to give talks if any of them needed a speaker to get their students more curious to role-playing games. For many, I gave them the links to DriveThruRpg.com so they can grab the PDFs if they're interested in checking out more games.

Finally, the night was filled with cool reunions. Was able to hang out once more with the fantastic people of Project Tadhana, the brains behind Darna (and the upcoming Lastikman and Bagani) game, and the creative minds who crafted the Talinghaga and Tala games.  Got to see Talecraft people as well and had a lovely hug from Carlo Vergara as well.  So that was the fun first day!  See you all tomorrow!