Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The Walnut Room

So, the Plaza Hotel, the place where I'm staying during this research trip to Milwaukee (to work with the Tolkien manuscripts in the Marquette Archives therein), has a meeting room off its Art Deco cafe
called The Walnut Room, with wood-paneled walls, a great long table, shelves of books, comfy chairs, and a fireplace. When I first saw it I thought 'Wow. This wd make a great setting to play CALL OF CTHULHU.'

Last Sunday I got to prove that it was true.

When my friend Jim Lowder (who I knew before, during, and after our respective stints at TSR) suggested the possibility of getting together for a game, I immediately thought of the Walnut Room. While Jim made some invitations and gathered a group, I arranged through the hotel to reserve the room for most of the day Sunday (the 14th).

I don't want to give the story away, in case Jim decides to run it again, but I can say I had a great time playing jazz musician S. E. 'Easy' Henderson and hope Chaosium will print it at some point.

--John R.

Here's a picture for posterity; thanks to Jim for sharing. I'm the one in yellow hoisting a cup of tea. Jim is to my right, wearing the green Chaosium shirt. To my left is Dale Donovan, another TSR stalwart from the Old Days. Next to Jim is Ben Riggs, D&D podcaster, who's working on a book about the TSR/WotC buyout. The other three are members of Ben's group, whose names I'd gladly include if I'd thought to write them down at the time. Anyway, good gamers all.






--current reading: THE NECROMANCERS by Rbt Hugh Benson (1909)


at

3 comments:

  1. grodogOctober 16, 2018 at 9:01 PM

    I recognize Dale from GaryCon (I think?). Sounds like a good game, John! :D

    Allan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David BratmanOctober 17, 2018 at 7:15 AM

    Actually, the man in the green Chaosium shirt is to your left, not to your right. Or you could say he's to the right of you, from the perspective of the viewer of the picture. But your right means from your perspective in the picture.

    This sort of ambiguity causes endless confusion.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paul WOctober 18, 2018 at 4:40 PM

    This is a timely post for me! I have been rereading Jim Lowder's _Knight of the Black Rose_ (TSR, 1991) (I'm rereading old Ravenloft books for Halloween :)). On pagw 105 appears 'Lord Ratelif' in a flashback scene to Lord Soth's trial, as High Warrior of the Rose Knights. :) Did you know he gave you a cameo in that book? :D

    ReplyDelete