Clericon 2025

Another Clericon has come and gone and, as the two that came before, it was a big success; for an inclusive environment that feels small and welcoming, for great OSR games and engaged players, Clericon is hard to beat. As a bonus, Glen Williams is postcard perfect at this time of year, when it's alive with Fall colours. Father Aaron is a great host and an all-around good guy.

I ended up signing up to run 3 games this go-around. Here's a quick recap:

Sat morning: OSE

I ran 6 characters through a module I have run a bunch of times before, but never have I had a group that swats away every obstacle I present with such speed. A tough physical puzzle? Done. A combat encounter with skeletons? The first level cleric turned them all in the first round. Done. An even harder physical puzzle? This will stump them. No it won't: Done. An abstract word puzzle? Done. A fight with a living statue... there's only one way to avoid this combat. Oh you figured it out? Done. A gotcha moment at the end where a villain waits outside holding an NPC hostage? "I cast SLEEP." Aaaaaand: Done.

I honestly felt bad when it was over - as if I had cheated the players out of a rewarding combat moment when their characters might be at risk... but in the end, not a single hit point was lost. So weird.

Sat Evening: The Quiet Year

I love running this game because it requires no prep, and the pacing always works out. As with every time I have run it, the story got weird and had several moments of pure synergy. Of course, as with all Quiet Year games, everyone died at the end.

Sun Afternoon: Clay-o-Rama

This was the game I was looking forward to running the most - and the least. It's a stupid game (in the best way) by Zeb Cook. In it, you make a monster out of play dough, and then fight them. I only had 4 players, so the whole thing took just one hour. However, it was a heck of an hour, with a lot of laughs and a lot of photos snapped - I think this game is something I would really like to run again. It's too much fun to ignore.

I'm really hoping to make it to a few other cons this year, and that Clericon continues to run in the future (I know Father Aaron is already planning CC IV). By the way, if you aren't familiar with The Dungeon Minister, his BX recap show is a treat: highly recommended. Check it out here.