KamCon 2026 was awesome!
With Gabriel and Alyssa coming in from the East and Chelsea and me coming from the West, the WatcherDM crew successfully executed a pincer maneuver on KamCon. What a great convention! Read on for a review and testimonial, a succinct play report of the four games I ran, and some convention reflection.
KamCon Kicks Ass
I had no idea what to expect going into KamCon.
I’d met some of the organizers at TCTC this year; they had a booth promoting the event. I wasn’t at all sure I would attend. It sounded fun, but Kamloops is not exactly next door to Vancouver. Being a car-less serf, I couldn’t see myself making the journey. Who would babysit my kid? Where would I stay?
One by one, these problems resolved. KamCon had a great carpool community, and we caught a ride with a really nice guy. We even jammed a little on an idea he had for a Delta Green module; if/when he finishes it, you can count on a review from me!
Meanwhile, Gabriel and Alyssa were completing the Great Canadian Road Trip. After a week-long odyssey across the Prairies, they arrived. Through some insane coincidence, we ended up staying at neighbouring hotels.
The trip was well worth it. KamCon took place on the TRU campus, at a really cool building. The RPG Room was a literal, separate room – quite the change after the aircraft-hanger-type rooms at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It was a great playing experience. The only downside was that I heard absolutely none of the concert Friday night!
Venue food was terrible (I had some ‘Chow Mein’ that was literally unseasoned spaghetti noodles), but there were some really great Indian and Nepali restaurants nearby. The Cosplay turnout was awesome; everywhere you looked, there was something to make you smile. The maker-community turnout was pretty great too. Chelsea and I snagged a really fun handmade bat-stuffie for our daughter.
Delta Green felt like it was everywhere. It definitely sounds like an awesome game. I’m looking forward to playing some soon. I also got to meet some members of the Mythos and Mayhem podcast. I’m happy to report that they were really cool, fun guys.
The players for the RPGs seemed to be a bit more experienced on balance than the TCTC crowd. There was less of a line for walk-in sign-ups – that’s something I hope they improve on a bit in future years.
Last thing I want to shout out is the quality of the art and swag at KamCon. I hang all of my TTRPG Con lanyards on a hook on my wall; the Kam Con one is a very nice addition, with a great colour palate and a cool illustration.
All in all, I’m stoked to attend again next year. It’s a great Con, and I’m excited for it to grow bigger and bigger each year.
KamCon Play Reports
I ran four games in three days. It was exhausting, but also very rewarding. I think I’m going to try to really go nuts next TCTC. I’m hoping to run six or more games!
Mothership
Friday night, I ran Nirvana on Fire. It’s an adventure I really like, and I’ve run it before at other Cons. Once again, it delivered in spades. This is the game I played with the guys from Mythos and Mayhem. They played a Teamster named Sweepy (think Scruffy with a broom) and a Scientist named Steve Irwin. Chelsea played an Android named Positivity Bot. The other two players (really nice, funny people) brought a flat-topped Marine named Buzz and a cold-blooded, mission-oriented Android named ATLAS.
I’m always so impressed when I run this one. The beats really work: the AI’s creepy broadcasts up front, the lying Abbot, the decaying colony, Genma’s twisted body, the Spear of Bishamonten, the final confrontation with the AI. This particular session had a great ending. Buzz got abducted, stuffed into the Genetic Editor, then rolled the Perfect Weapon mutation, allowing them to defeat the Spear. Epic stuff!
Blood Prairie One
Saturday morning I ran some Blood Prairie Bounty Hunts. Over the four hours, the crew of three captured or killed an occultist trying to summon an unshod angel, a Nephilim giant sheltered by Plainsmen, one of three deadly sisters, and a serial killer attempting to build a Railway God. They also ran guns for a camp of striking rig workers, which led to strike breakers summoning an Oil Elemental out of the derrick, scattering the camp. Chelsea’s character, Marla Singer Gun Slinger, threw a cigarette at the necromantic giant, causing the whole situation to go up in smoke. Although they did not technically ‘save’ the camp, they did blow the monster up, killing only Marla in the process.
All told, a very successful run, at the cost of a mere three lives.
Seven Sealed Spirits
That same night I ran a Knave 2e game using Seven Sealed Spirits. It runs a lot longer than a convention slot, so we just did the main dungeon, but it was awesome. I had a lot of fun roleplaying Targrasp and Daystar again. One of the players had the genius idea of using the multiarm spell to pay Targrasp’s wizard-fingers price for the Spirit Crusher.
They managed to get all the way to Targrasp and kill him – honestly, with surprising ease. In the process, they loosed Smokeweaver, Twicelion, Daystar, and Stormbloom, so they did reemerge to a world of sentient smoke-skies, sentient cat monsters, burning forests, and rose-eyed pirates. That’s what makes it such a good one-shot! Very memorable ending. They cashed in their treasure and bought a boat ticket to somewhere they hadn’t ruined yet.
Blood Prairie Two
The Sunday morning slot was another Blood Prairie game. The morning slot was a little arduous; I’m not much of a morning person, and it’s a bit hard to get into the lightless, post-theistic horror vibe with the sun shining in, but we persevered.
The game itself kicked ass. Two lady Gunslingers tracked down the murderous moonshining Blackmont Brothers, but were intimidated by Zero’s mastery of the cold. Beating a tactical retreat, they later managed to capture a horse thief. Unfortunately, the cad carried a bottled demon, which he tricked the alcoholic character into opening. The ensuing battle resulted in both the bounty and the thirsty hunter being incinerated, but (despite an incident with a Hungry Cloud) a lone Gunslinger managed to ride back to town to collect the cash.
Regrouping with a new character, the players rode out again. This time, they discovered two Sloth Devils feeding off the despair of an accidental killer. They rescued the bounty and killed both Devils, mostly due to the Hard Case’s incredible proficiency with a wooden leg. I’d pictured this encounter ending with the players turning the devils against each other, but no – it was wooden leg for the win.
KamCon Reflection
A few things occur to me.
Shorter Sessions
I enjoyed running Blood Prairie Bounty Hunts, but I think my formatting was off. Two-hour sessions seem like the right move; it’s a more natural unit of time to play out one or two big encounters, a bit of travel, and some random encounters on either side.
Obviously, I could run twice as many of them as well. If people wanted a four-hour delve, they could just sign up for two sessions. They wouldn’t have to be consecutive, but you could reuse your character. It’d give people a chance to level up.
If you come to TCTC, keep an eye out for these drop-in games!
KamCon Represent
The other thing on my mind since the convention is a bit less fun, but it still feels important to say. As you may know, on the last day of KamCon, elsewhere in Kamloops, a bunch of masked idiots made a bit of a scene. These guys are going to get a lot of press, but I really just want to underline how few in number these people are.
In the very same city, there were more people gathered that morning to throw math-rocks and pretend to be elves. There were more people peacefully playing board games with diverse groups of strangers. There were even more people dressed up in silly fascist costumes. And all of these people were attending an inclusive nerd event in the same building. The forces of division and hatred could barely get a dozen idiots together.
The news is going to focus on these assholes (and hopefully that’ll help send them to jail), but I just want to say, I was in Kamloops that day at KamCon. What I saw there was a far better representation of that city and its province than these dipshit goof-ass ICE-cosplayers.
Sorry to end on sass and politics! Forgive me for my rancour. We’ve got a more general Summer Update, some gameable Magic Masks and Tattoo Goblins, and a discussion of damage in the OSR. Take a look! And don’t forget to check out our store and BloodPrairie.com while you’re here!