Two months later, I felt it was time to reach out to all of us for a status update on RTR.
Things are quieter for RTR, that’s for certain. While we remain dedicated to our mission of building a community through gaming, we also recognize the unprecedented times we live in. Burnout, stress, and many other concerns are very real consequences of living through a pandemic and other emergencies. Our volunteers are impacted just like everyone.. Many of us are less available right now, as we dedicate energy to our own health. This means less events, but we’re not shutting down by any means. Here’s what’s going on and coming up for RTR.
SEMI-ORGANIZED PLAY
CALL OF CTHULHU SOP (Q1, 2020)
Our Call of Cthulhu SOP finished in the digital realm as we got (just barely) ahead of social distancing safety measures. Interest remained strong and I expect it will return Q1, 2021.
FLAVORS OF THE APOCALYPSE (Q2, 2020)
The Powered by the Apocalypse program continues and is well attended. We’re holding it entirely via online meetings, using a variety of platforms that best match our needs. Or, in some cases, are the most responsive that day. It’s been an adventure for sure getting visual and audio working each session, but the GMs and Players are serving as gracious test subjects, teachers, and guides for this process. Oh, and the new format is going wonderful and we’ll probably continue to utilize it to call attention to smaller projects in the future.
SEEK THE STARS! (Q2, 2020)
Seek the Stars! is having a fantastic season of old and new faces, both as Fatemasters and Players. The light-hearted comedy and sometimes satirical nature of the game has been a welcomed pressure valve for me at least. I hope others are enjoying it just as much. That group has been a bit experimental this season, using the digital landscape and other rules systems to create a really unique experience. Hats off to a wonderful job.
THE CONTINGENT (Q3, 2020)
July will bring us to one of our most popular SOPs: The Contingent. Last year saw the Storytelling group pass the torch to a talented new set of faces and I’m excited to see what they’ve created. I spoke with Tori, the SOP Showrunner, and the plan for now is an entirely online season, much like what we’ve done for the Seek the Stars! and PbtA SOPs. Details will come out soon.
NEW GUARD (Q4, 2020)
Our New Guard volunteers are hard at work on their 2020 Q4 season. Just like Contingent, they are preparing for a fully virtual experience.
OTHER SOP UPDATES
We don’t currently have a Sunday SOP planned for Q3 or Q4 2020. We intend to have a D&D SOP ready for the Q2 slot by 2021. As you can imagine, that project has the same challenges as any new SOP, plus the added weight of the pandemic. I had a (fairly unrealistic) goal for some D&D one-shots for Q3 2020, but came to my senses. Please contact me if you’re interested in volunteering with the D&D project, or have ideas for a Sunday Q4 slot.
SPECIAL EVENTS
TALES FROM THE CRIMSON BOAR
Randy, our Special Events Organizer, and the rest of the Organizers started discussing what this year’s fantasy event, “Tales from the Crimson Boar” would look like as a virtual event. We hope to have updates soon. Crimson Boar will answer a lot of questions about our next major special event, Dark Carnival.
TRY IT OUT
Try-It-Outs are paused right now. Although, if someone is really itching to run a digital Try-It-Out, please contact me.
SOCIAL EVENTS
Sadly, it’s been some time since we’ve been able to hold our monthly Casual at Deja Brew. We really don’t know when these will start again. Some have suggested video chats where we can hang out, but we don’t really have a Volunteer to manage that at the moment. We encourage people to stay in contact via our Discord server and our Facebook page. Voice chat is available on Discord and Facebook now lets you create group Messenger video-chats right in our space.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Looking forward, RTR Leadership is preparing for this to be the new normal for the rest of 2020. Some gaming stores and other gathering spaces are reopening and I encourage everyone to patronize your Friendly Local Gaming Store in whatever way you can (and is safe for you). However, play space remains closed and, even if it were open, our events would remain virtual. RTR will continue to look to the CDC and other health organizations for guidance on how to safely interact with others in the meat-world. We miss all of you dearly, but out of abundance of caution, the gaming table remains virtual for now.
