The Bulwark

In case you weren’t around this weekend you missed a lot! Yeah, nothing was scheduled officially but we had a great weekend of pick-up gaming. Pip ran Call of Cthulhu were we got to see a vintage special edition core book by Chaosium and several investigators lost their minds. Several Skinks were cured of a condition which rendered them armless by Betsy. On the heels of that Don ran a massive 8 player Dungeons and Dragons game, which followed on the heels of Arkham Horror where Chris was sealed in an alternate dimension never to be heard from again.  The next day JD put together a casual AGoT group, and Drew marched Dwarves to slaughter the undead hordes of Khemri.

It was great seeing all the pickup games. If you dropped by just to hang out we were glad to have you! Remember the Bulwark isn’t just a spot to game, it’s a place where everybody knows your character’s name.

May the God Emperor bless our members. So often I am asked “How can I help the club”, or “What does the organization need”, people are ready and eager to donate tangible items. Things like fans, or chairs, or what have you. The fact is we get those things off of Craigslist, or purchase them using the dues our members pay.

What we really need is people to coordinate and run games. This doesn’t have to be anything huge, just you, a few friends having a good night. Have an old table top RPG you have been wanting to play for a while? Run it! We have members chomping at the bit to play in some home brew games.  Right now we have Call of Cthulhu, World of Darkness, and Scion being ran at The Bulwark, and we have plenty of people asking about other games too!

Do you love a board game and want to get some players together?  Let me know, and I will create an event. If you are interested in playing a game the club can order a copy for you at a huge discount!

So when people ask me, “how do I give back” I tell them just have fun, and bring people along for the ride.

Monday night John “JD” Deatrick made a boast. During A Game of Thrones league play he said he would purchase a chapter pack for the player who started on the lowbie table and rose the highest. Phillip “Pip” Sexton has had a wretched time, he is able to hold his own in casual games, but unable to see any sort of victory during league play. He went into the evening with not a single win under his belt. Well that all changed. After a first place win on a table of four and a second place on a table of three, Pip soared up in the rankings and as promised JD has penciled in a special order with the Bulwark’s special order desk.

Congratulations to Pip, and congratulations to JD for maintaining the honor of his house.

A couple of exciting announcements coming from the Bulwark! Starting in July we will have membership cards which will be used to record the payment of monthly dues.  This will offer a sure fire way of telling who has, and who has not paid their club dues, and make sure club organizers don’t accidentally double charge members. The last thing the Bulwark wants to do is divert any more of your hard earned money than we need to. Besides, an extra $10 is a new chapter pack and can be put towards a lot of gaming fun!

Speaking of chapter packs, the second week of the Game of Thrones Living Card Game league is roaring along, JD is currently sitting at first, with Drew and James sitting next to him at the leaders table Monday night. A full list of our league standings appear below.

The players of the Strange Aeons Warhammer Escalation Campaign (say that five times fast) have had their first round this month. Right now Karen Hechel is on the top of the stack commanding her Tomb Kings army, with Drew and Betsy trailing closely behind. Each of them also has an extra Empire point which they carry into the campaign proper.

Coming up in June and July the Bulwark will be hosting the Dungeon Bowl! Members are encouraged to create 4 man teams with the goal of getting their party through a dungeon to the finish line faster than other PC opponents. The event will run in an Eberron setting and will run like a league as well. If you and your friends think you are the best adventurers this side of Karrnath stay tuned for details!

As always, the Bulwark tries to bring you the best in Chico gamin. We have a lot of private games that are hosted at the Bulwark which aren’t mentioned. If you would like to take advantage of our large tables, library or gaming aids and host a game at the Bulwark simply send an email to Blythe@thebulwark.org or post a comment on our Facebook group. We are open 7 days a week as events come up, and we can pencil your group in anywhere.

A Game of Thrones – The Battle For the North
1st – JD
2nd – Drew
3rd – James
4th – Ben
5th – Ryan
6th – Andy
7th – Joelz
8th – Margo
9th – Don
10th – Pip

Strange Aeons – Warhammer Fantasy Escalation
1st – Karen (Tomb Kings)
2nd – Drew (Dwarves)
3rd – Betsy (Lizardmen)
4th – Ben (Dark Elves)
5th – Damon (Skaven)
6th – Spencer (Gobbos)
7th – Andy (Empire)
8th – Ryan (Orcs)

New Haven by Night will be returning to Chico State starting June 18th.  The Chico State Campus is New Haven’s ancestral home, and the Bulwark is happy to host them during the cold and rainy parts of the year.  Now that the weather is cheering up, the local members of Prince Batavus’ court will lurk about Chico State instead of gaming store behind K-Mart. “I like the CSU Chico site primarily due to the sheer size. The scale of the site allows us to adopt real-life locations as representations of in-game locations, adding to the degree of believability when one says they are or are not at a specific place,” says Lee Elmore. Lee has been playing in the local Vampire LARP through its several incarnations, most of which have been at Chico State during Chico’s 10+ year LARPing history, “While the CSU Chico site doesn’t have as easy access to restrooms or air conditioning, it grants us the ability to spread out and play.”

No doubt the Bulwark has had a positive impact on the game by connecting new players like Josh Amaral to the community. Josh is looking forward to the move, “open space, the buildings, it all just gives a more, almost sinister, ambience”. NHbN has had a positive impact on the Bulwark as well, while the community was being created NHbN helped solve problems of harsh fluorescent lighting, and establishing atmosphere, concerns which are no longer an issue inside the gaming shop.  The Bulwark looks forward to seeing more creatures of the night around early October, when the weather starts to change. That said, the Bulwark will still try to play an active role in NHbN and if you are at all interested in playing the longest running game in Chico simply email the staff at NHBNStaff@irondragongames.com.

Kublacon was absolutely fantastic. We had several members of our store place in tournaments including Magic the Gathering, A Game of Thrones, and a splendid performance in the Golden Gargant tournament.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, we look forward to joining Team Chico next year!