I attended Marmelade Dog 23 gaming convention for the first time. It is a small convention of roughly 300-400 attendees, about 45 minutes away from my home in Michigan. I ran Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent again. My 10am game was the only OSR game being run in my timeslot. It seems more games from the OSR need to make it to Marmelade Dog in K-zoo due to the popularity of those games these days. I saw a lot of 5E being played and a few pathfinder games, and a ton of board games. 

Showed up got, checked in, (both my boys attended as well), and found my table, a 3x8 table that rapidly filled up. I initially submitted for 5 players, and by 20 min to 10 (start time) we had to move tables, add a second table and filled it up with 9 players. Two of which said that they had been recommended by someone to my game (which blew me away). 

Mike, Dave, Joel, Adam, Charles, Joseph, Asher, Reily, and Larry, chose their pre-gens and we ended up with a good mix; Cryomancer, Pyromancer, Warlock, Fighter, Barbarian, Berserker, Huntsman, Cleric and Thief. 

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

The group came along the wrecked carriage, found clues of battle, followed the trail to the monolith, found more clues, then set off in search of a second mound where "the enterance to the crypt" was supposed to be. Finding the clues they "found the door or the door found them" and they descended into the crypt. 

The spent some time trying to figure out what to do about the chewing and engorging from atop the nest of a beasty, and finally decided to sneak past. They fought some Mummified Egyptian Felines and a pile of skeletons from the servant crypt. 

Crossed over the floor made of blood vaults, and then encountered the crucial trap. The cryomancer lost his hand to it, and several others lost digits trying to figure out how to pass through the curtain of light. The berserker went on alone for a bit and met with Thaumagorga (a statue of) as he lashed out with pike and bloodied him quite good, before returning to the group. Eventually the Warlock cast a particular spell and allowed the party to get beyond the trap. 

They were asked for aid by a few apparitions and missed a vital clue for the next step. Of all nine players none of them put two-and-two together with the hint and it  eventually led to their demise. 

They entered another hall of statues, and after playing with them a bit and figuring a few things out, they entered the crypt. Unfortunately it was a false crypt, and with 2 min left of our four hour block they were trapped circumstances beyond their control, and found themselves gasping for air as the room was sealed. The false crypt claimed yet another group of characters!

All in all it was a great time, everyone seemed to enjoy it, it was great to play (DM) for a few friends that I have played with before. My two boys couldnt stop talking about the game during our 45 min drive back home (which is always a good sign.) 

My only regret was that I didnt have any 2E books to sell, as three of the players wanted one. I promptly gave them the website. 

During intermission we chatted about the OSR, Hyperborea, Garycon, and other sundry topics, many of the players also perused my art books, and were particularly intrigued by several of the originals for the current kickstarter for Beasts and Cannibals.