LVO 2017: Narrative Event Overview
AdamHarry visits the LVO 2017 Narrative Event!
Hey BoLS Readers! The BoLS Crew was at LVO 2017 and we had a blast. Goatboy shared his thoughts about the overall event and it got two hooves up from him! I also want to say that it’s a pretty impressive event and if you get the change to go, DO IT! But I wanted to shine the spotlight on what is probably my favorite event the 40k Narrative:
I’m not trying to rag on the other events – the “Big Tournament” is the main draw and LVO even ran a huge 30k event, an AoS event and LOTS of other games and tournaments were going on the entire weekend. And they were all Fantastic! But, for me, the Narrative event captures the essence of why I started playing 40k in the first place: Because it tells a story!
In the video, I speak with Dan who is 1/2 of the team that runs these events all over the place (Glenn is the other – they may have also had some extra help from volunteers). They are fantastic guys and really work hard and making sure that everyone in the event is involved and feels the impact of their games on the over-all arc they have crafted. I’ve had the pleasure of playing in their events before at other cons and it’s fantastic. They go out of their way to paint a picture of the battle raging on each table and inter-linking them. The only way I can describe the event that makes sense is “Playing 40k with a Game Master.”
As Game Masters, they are constantly tweaking things in between rounds making sure both sides are engaged. And it’s not tweaks in a bad or unfair way, they want the players to have a good time first-and-foremost. But that doesn’t mean they are going to just give you an easy “win” – Each board has a story/theme and they work with the players to make sure that what ever is going on with the table fits with the narrative. What’s really cool to see is that the players dive-in, too. They get that infectious excitement from Dan and Glenn, who in turn feed off their enthusiasm – it’s a feedback loop that creates more and more awesomeness.
The Narrative Event at LVO had a big score board so players could see how their faction was doing, too. And while winning the objectives and games is part of the challenge, for me, the real way to win is to have the most epic story to tell. I may not be able to tell you who won the “Big Tournament” in a year or two, but I will be able to tell you about the awesome fight over the Imperial Shrine on a Hive World! That’s why these events are important and that’s why I’d sign-up. And don’t think for a moment that the player caliber is any less than the type of player you might face in the Tournament – these guys still know how to kick butt. They just like to tell a story while they are doing it!
The only regret I had from visiting LVO this year was that I couldn’t play in the Narrative event myself. But there is always next year!
Big Thanks to Dan and Glenn for running the LVO Narrative along with a bunch of other awesome events – Keep the Hobby Alive!
