Special Guest
The Player's Special Guest: Karl Blackshaw
Karl Blackshaw has been roleplaying since the early
days of the D&D "white box" set. Introduced to roleplaying by one of his
wargaming friends, Karl, then 15, nagged his parents to purchase the
radical new hobby core material for his birthday.
Like so many others, Karl read the player's handbook in a single night,
crouched under the blankets of his single bed with a torch. The next weekend,
he collected a group of friends - Dave, Spud, Danny and Danny's girlfriend -
and began what has been an epic journey through over one hundred and
twenty different roleplaying systems. Dave's first scenario was a bit
rough and ready (aren't they all), but Karl was not fazed by this, and he
was the binding force to keep that first game going for 3 years as they
slaughtered their way through dungeon after dungeon.
But Karl's experience is not limited to home-run games. Karl has also
played at numerous conventions in England, the US and in Finland, taking
home on average three trophies and 4 certificates. Karl's stamina
during a convention is legendary, often spurring him to drag writer's
out of bed at 6am to get in an extra session at a convention.
In the more commercial vein, Karl
has been a vocal and enthusiastic playtester for published systems
worldwide - its a rare first edition roleplaying ruleset that doesn't
have his name somewhere in the credits, although it is a long standing
tradition to not mention him directly, but in an anagram form.
During FauxCon 7, Karl will be holding a number of seminars for
Congoers of any stripe, whether boardgamer, roleplayer or warhamer -
The Importance of Beating Ernest on understanding CheapAss
games, Diet and Glycemic Index: knowing when to scoff
the mars bar, and When Volume is Not Enough for players
who want to maximise their freeform trophy haul.
Karl will also be holding an informal question and lecture
session in the registration hall, canteeen and on the benchseats
at the front of the convention area.