The Secret History of Troll Hoot

No one can tell you what the Troll Hoot is, Neo; you have to see it for yourself.

A few years back, we got the idea that we could get together with some friends scattered about the Ohio area for periodic gaming.  Nothing too serious, just every few months.  We started out with a trip to Columbus for some Call of Cthulhu at the Red Roof Inn.  That was fun, but we never really followed through.  A fair bit later, Tom started announcing an upcoming "Troll Hoot" in Dayton with an open invitation to not only our current friends, but the whole Tunnels & Trolls (hence the name) community.

I thought it was a bit crazy, announcing this like a convention when it clearly was not, but Caed-Robin, always up for a party, signed on, followed soon by our friends-to-be, Mandy and Steve (and their dogs). We gamed and ate out and lurked in the gloomy bar and generally had a blast.  So, there it was, a weekend of Tunnels & Trolls (and one of those trendy card games which I slept through) pulled off with no regrets.  Even the run-down hotel was good for a laugh.  We all agreed to do it again in a nicer place next year.

In the midst of all this, we met Monk at one of Tom's Gen Con events and they started chatting online.  When we announced Troll Hoot II, Monk said he would be flying in from Arizona to attend.  I kept asking Tom, "Does he realize it's just us?"  Apparently he did.  This Troll Hoot began the tradition of people running games other than T&T, with Monk adding some TAG to the mix and Steve introducing us to Rifts.  Troll Hoot II also began the tradition of Caed promising to join in but ditching, and me scheduling a Star Wars event and then canceling it. Robins are fey and unpredictable creatures.

We skipped a year because 2009 was kind of crazy but, in 2010, with a lot of help from our friends, another Troll Hoot fell together, with a new player at that.  I really couldn't complain anymore; the silly name worked.  The non-con lives on.

So far, I've always left it to Tom to write these things up, so the summary blogs listed here are all his:

• Troll Hoot I (2007)
• Web Page
• Summary
• Troll Hoot II (2008)
• Web Page
• Summary
• Troll Hoot III (2010)
• Web Page
• Summary
• A more detailed summary from the forum (without pictures)

Troll Hoot IV is in the planning stage (update: see here instead).  We're thinking downtown Mansfield in late April or early May, and I'm giving up on my old Star Wars event (which I did finally run in Arkansas, inadvertently kicking off a campaign that went on without me) in favor of the game I'm currently infatuated with, Doctor Who.