When most folks think of role-playing games, the first thing that comes to mind is a session of Dungeons & Dragons in a dimly lit basement, battles against hordes of goblins and orcs and an experience where combat is the main part of the experience.
And then there’s Retail Magic, an offering that focuses on the day-to-day running of a magic items shop. No combat, no monsters (unless they’re buying something), just selling stuff in a store.
One would think that would be a rather boring experience, but quite the contrary, as players taking part in the Moose Jaw Gamers Association RPG Game Day were able to find out for themselves.
“I’m having an absolute blast,” said event organizer Talon Regent during a short break from a session of Retail Magic. “Think about a fantasy world, but we’re not off on some grand adventure, we’re selling potions to various eccentric adventurers who stop by. A lot of things can happen, and they often do.”
Around 70 folks stopped by the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre throughout the day Saturday for the event, which offered gamers a chance to try out a variety of role-playing games during a trio of three-hour sessions.
“It’s all different fantasy worlds and getting into character and having a great time,” Regent said. “This is the very first time for this type of event and I’d say it’s a smashing success. We have close to the amount of players we’d have at a normal GAX event, but with an extreme focus on RPGs, and it’s been going really, really well.”
In the past, RPGs were almost solely about combat of some sort or another. Swords and sorcery, outer space battles and even combinations of the two were de rigueur.
Now, games like Retal Magic and Under Hill, By Water are becoming more and more popular as relaxing adventures with a different take on the role-playing genre.
“I’ve personally fell absolutely in love with Under Hill, By Water,” Regent said. “You’d think it would be boring because it’s hobbits in the Shire and there’s no combat involved. I’ve previously played D&D, where there are monsters and threats of death at the turn of every corner, but just enjoying some time in the Shire, serving customers in a pub or resolving the mystery who stole Farmer Jenkin’s cabbages, it can be a lot of fun.”
One of the main ideas behind RPG Game Day was having folks try different types of adventures, which fit well with the format of the event.
“If you wanted to stick with one specific style of game and play three three-hour segments, you could absolutely run a complex nine-hour campaign,” Regent said. “And if you want to experiment with some less-known RPGs, you can absolutely do that. A three-hour short campaign can give you a sense of the mechanics and let you discover it, and maybe you’ll want to continue to play the game later on.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Moose Jaw Gamers event without a charitable component. Regent estimated they would bring in around $700 for Hunger in Moose Jaw, expanding on the donation made earlier in the year from the wildly popular Gaming Expo.
The Moose Jaw Gamers Association is also aiming to start expanding its offerings, with more events involving video games and the like potentially filling up the calendar in the future.
“We’ve received feedback on different investments we’d like to make, like more consoles and TVs so we can hold more video game tournaments during the winter and grow as an organization,” Regent said. “So we’re trying to continue to grow and expand and hopefully things just keep getting bigger and better.”
