Learn about Club Day here

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Philo had not been expecting things to go like this. He and Pax had done a lot of talking about the group, and he knew his head of house Professor Trishna had agreed to observe and DM (whatever that was, still hadn't figured it out) but the two second years had done must of the set up, like the booth they were now sitting in. A booth, normally where the head of the Hufflepuff table was, he found, with a color changing banner flashing "Gaming Club" above them and various games on their table next to the sign up list. If they couldn't find an older student willing to take managerial duties for the club, it might still be the two of them doing most the work. A prospect exciting but daunting.

The only thing they could really showcase were games, so Pax and he had been playing a leisurely game of Wizard's Chess while they waited. There were other games on the table, self shuffling cards and a set of gobstones animated to roll planetary circles around each other. Plus some of Pax's D&D maps and books, which Philo was referencing every few minutes as he made final tweaks to his character sheet. He couldn't plan out every aspect of his character just yet, some of the stats were dependent on randomized dice rolls, though Philo had a pretty good plan of what he wanted to play.

He was contemplating a list of Homebrew Flaws. They let your character take a bonus Feat at creation to a serious handicap during gameplay. There was one he might be able to swing with his proposed build, and he had been making another note when the pale faced prefect from his house, Ligeia Canterbury, breezed by their booth. She deemed them worthy of borrowing something of hers, or something, Philo was a little taken aback at the sudden entrance; and told them she had a game they might want to try, leaving her deck of Terr-Oh! cards before disappearing.

Philo forgot about having his Queen's Knight take Pax's King's Bishop, stopping the game to view the rules to the macabre card game. His face was squeamish. "Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty simple game actually," he told Pax, "but why does it have to be something gruesome, collecting and killing souls? Why not nuts? Or garden gnomes?"

He'd hoped Ligeia would have at least signed up before pulling a phantom act. The main thing to get the Gaming Club to fly would be interested folk who would sign up on their list.

Pax looked at the deck with a little more interest and a little less squeamishness than Philo, and offered a small smile. 'Well, I guess if it was something as straightfoward as that, Ligeia Canterbury wouldn't really be interested in it.' Looking over the chess board and assessing his situation (not a good one), he gave a puzzled frown and continued, 'Gnomes aren't too terribly gothic, after all... I've played odder games, if you can believe it. There's one where the more horrible fates you can devise for the characters on your playing cards, the more points you get. And that's a muggle game.' His friend Toby from primary school did have a fairly eclectic selection when it came to games.

'Why are they all just standing there?' piped up a tiny voice next to the chess board. Pax tore his gaze away from the game he was losing and realised that the Dungeons and Dragons miniatures that his dad had magically animated for him were apparently getting bored and coming over to see the chess match. How they managed to move so quickly when they were about the height of his little finger and had their feet were affixed to circular bases, Pax wasn't sure.

'That's how chess works,' he said quickly, a little embarrassed that the figurines weren't staying put. 'Could you go back to the D&D side of the booth, please?'

'But your army is being defeated!' exclaimed the elven ranger, brandishing her bow emphatically. 'We must assist them!'

Pax's few remaining chess pieces started grumbling amongst themselves about young upstarts with their action poses and flashy paint jobs.

'I know!' cried the bard miniature. 'I shall sing them a song to bolster their courage!'

'Oh-- Merlin, no--' Pax shook his head. 'Please don't--'

Too late. The bard was singing some old battle chant, and accompanying himself on the lyre.

Pax groaned, and cradled his forehead in her hands. 'Urgh. Maybe we should give that Terror Tarot game thing a try. The D&D minis are getting too into this chess game.'

Baxter had decided that two clubs should feel the obligation for "social activity" that his father had set forth for him. Newspaper seemed harmless enough, and gaming club sounded like it might be enjoyable. He really enjoyed playing Wizard's Chess, so that could be something fun.

Baxter approached the Gaming Club tables with caution, peering curiously at the singing miniatures who seemed to almost be commentating the chess match. "That's odd," he said, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Hello Wintergreen, Falkin," he greeted each of the second years. "Why is that thing singing?" he asked, motioning to the bard. "I've never seen that be a part of Wizard's Chess before. Is there a new variation of the game?" he asked. He wasn't sure how people just changed the rules of chess, but it wasn't unheard of for there to be a few different ways of playing one type of game. House rules and what not.

Club day was here! Eirene had gotten to the Great Hall early, armed with her quill, parchment, and barrettes in her hair, she stood with nary a wrinkle in her outfit.

Eirene intended on signing up for as many proper clubs as she could, because she just couldn't help herself. She didn't know how to sing or dance, but surely Hogwarts Players required her expertise! She'd barely passed flying, but of course the Quidditch booths could use a few tips on how to manage their teams!

She strode up to the gaming club booth, her expression as rabidly eager as always. Her energy had not dimmed throughout the day, and the only reason she hadn't visited the booth earlier was because she'd been shooting the second-years running it envious glances.

Eirene wanted to be happy for her friend, Pax Wintergreen. And she was! The setup was all very impressive. She only wished she'd thought of it first.

"Hello Pax!" Eirene chirped next to Baxter. "Hello Philo," she said less enthusiastically, but politely.

She still held a grudge against him for doubting her abilities in front of the new Professor Cadmon.

Several of the games on the table looked familiar to her, and wizard's chess was a particular favorite. Figurines sang to the chess pieces, which was not in the rules, she knew, and she noticed a deck of cards that looked particularly disturbing upon closer inspection.

She pointed to the top card with the harpy illustration. "Pax," Eirene commented in a whisper, not wanting a professor to overhear this. "Those look inappropriate for the first-years."

As she waited to find out the answers to Baxter's questions, Eirene scrawled her name on the sign-up sheet using her special, extra fluffy quill, and beamed at the boys when she was done.

Philo actually chuckled, that the chess pieces and the D&D miniatures were arguing. Just the concept that singing provided buffs to the other characters. "The pieces are only supposed to move, singing won't do anything..." He paused, at that incongruent moment where he was trying to explain the rules of one game to another game!

"Err, sure, we could try a hand at it." Philo deftly shuffled the cards. It was a skill he had picked up quickly, being ambidextrous. Before they could begin they had actual people show up. There was Baxter, who asked about the other miniatures. "It's supposed to sing, that's what that piece does, but it's not chess it's another game entirely...um, Pax can explain it better. It's complex."

Eirene also showed up. "Hello, hello." He had forgotten to say hello to Baxter. Eirene whispered a none too secret comment to Pax. Philo looked down at the top revealed card. Harped by a Harpy The harpy looked more like an enraged veela, like a featherless bird and...was she about to gut that guy with her claws...?

Philo placed the cards off to the side. "These aren't ours, originally. They're Ligeia's, I suppose she lent them too us. If she comes to meetings and brings these, well, we'll just have to tell her to play it with the older students."

'Yeah, um, good point, Eirene,' Pax added diplomatically. He didn't think the cards were all that bad, but perhaps Eirene did have a point, and it was better to be safe than sorry. Philo had the sense to move them away, anyway. Upon seeing that his friend had written her name on the sign-up sheet, he grinned widely back at her. 'Hey, you're our first sign-up! Thanks!' Pax hadn't been too worried that no one would sign up to the Gaming Club (or at least, he told himself he hadn't been) but it was still reassuring to actually have a real name on the list.

'Would someone shut him up?' Pax's only remaining Bishop was saying. 'Some of us are trying to lose with dignity!' The bard mini was still singing his little heart out, much to the chagrin of the chess pieces. Reminded of Baxter's question, Pax turned sheepishly to the fourth-year. 'Um, like Philo said, that figurine is from another game. I guess they must have been getting bored. Come on guys,' he beseeched the miniatures. 'Why don't you go back to the hex map?' He indicated the plastic sheet rolled out on one side of the booth, covered in hexagons, over which Pax had drawn out a forest terrain in dry-erase markers.

'There's no loot over there,' said the rogue figurine petulantly. 'I already checked.'

Sighing in exasperation, Pax decided to take matters into his own hands (literally), carefully picked up the rogue and the bard (to cries of 'Unhand me, ogre!'), and placed them back on the hex map. As he continued moving the other miniatures back to their native habitat, he explained, 'They're from a muggle game called Dungeons and Dragons. Instead of controlling a bunch of playing pieces like in chess, you get one, and you get to make up a character to go with it, and you play in a group and use all the characters to tell an adventure story together. Usually the miniatures don't talk, but my dad thought it'd be fun...' Pax sighed again, rethinking the decision to agree to that idea.

'Hey, um, so, what kind of games would you guys be interested in, d'you think?' He smiled hopefully at Eirene and Baxter, trying desperately to ignore the bard, who had now started singing a ballad about a band of heroes being held captive by an evil giant.

"Muggle game?" Baxter asked. He hadn't heard of it. But it sounded kind of interesting. "Adventure story? That sounds... interesting. But if you make up the character, does the miniature personality match up with it?" Baxter asked Pax. He wondered whether or not it would be any fun.

"I'd be interested in trying this Dungeons and Dragons game," Baxter said. "But I like playing Chess more than anything. I haven't really branched out into many other games." Gobstones never interested him, and the card game they were saying was inappropriate for first years held little interest to Baxter.

"Are you going to try any other muggle games?" he asked. "I played a lot of board game with my family while growing up, some of them are a lot of fun. It might be a neat way to get the involvement of some of the Salem kids, too," Baxter suggested. "Or it might be a neat way to have big group of people play one game."

She smiled at the boys. Of course they should be glad to see her name on the list! Secretly though, she appreciated Pax's enthusiasm.

Eirene bent to study the figurines, only half-listening to the older Ravenclaw's questions, her main thought being that they shouldn't have to worry about the Salem kids getting involved. Hmph! Hogwarts students should be their first priority. The foreign students would stop by once they saw how wonderful the idea was, but even if they didn't, that just went to show how odd the kids from other schools were.

The tiny, singing figurines were quite interesting, but too loud and rambunctious! They weren't even two inches tall and they thought they could be rude to Pax. Eirene frowned, about to turn up her nose and ask if the first-years had any good wizarding games, when a tinny, shrill voice sounded by her ear.

A robed figurine with long, flowing hair brandished her jeweled staff at the others and told them she was going to magic their mouths shut if they didn't pipe down. That! That was like everything Eirene wanted to be! Her eyes lit up.

"Can I make a character?" She butt in, her earlier criticism of Dungeons and Dragons forgotten.

"Like the pretty, smart one!" Eirene pointed at the mage. "How do you make one?"

Alice had been wandering the club fair aimlessly. She was happy to have something to do that day. So, she walked around, looking with wide eyes. That's when she saw the booth. The Gaming Club. She smiled, as she remembered talking about this with Pax, and quickly ran over to it.

She slowed down as she approached, worrying about seeming too weird for the club or something. It's not every day a little first year girl runs off to a gaming club booth! She walked up to them, standing behind someone bigger. She stood there, and waited, seeing if anyone would notice. It wouldn't be a big deal if she wasn't noticed as this was quite usual. She quietly said, "Excuse me," even though she'd be shocked if someone heard her.

Nearby, several older students made annoyed and angry shouts of "Oi!" and "Watch it!" as a fellow second year bumbled through them and fell to the floor right in front of the booth. Suddenly, Serenity Lee sprang to her feet with a meek smile and a red face. Her headband had fallen from her head during the stumble so that the dark brown curtain once again veiled her face from the world around her. She cleared her throat, squatted to pick up her headband (she couldn't bend over in the ugly dress), and reapplied it to her head when she rose again.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Tripped. Hello, Pax! Hello, Philo! Hello...first year."

Despite the fact that she didn't know the new Hufflepuff's name, Serenity gave her a friendly yet timid smile. The girl suddenly remembered why she was in such a hurry in the first place and dug around in her bag for something. Two chocolate frogs, a sneak-o-scope, and a pair of spectra spec glasses later, the Ravenclaw managed to pull out three or four thick envelopes of mail. She handed them to the boys and smiled.

"As promised, a set of the rules and some character sheets. I got them just this morning at breakfast." She glanced at Pax and figured he was confused, so she decided to give him a little back story. "Philo told me you were going to host Dungeons & Dragons games so I offered to help out. We play it at home a lot."

Curiously, she glanced at the first year who was almost the same size as she was. Was this girl going to sign up for something? As politely as she could without making the girl think she's going to bully her, Serenity made her way to the roster and signed up for the Game Club, specifically Dungeons & Dragons. It was while she was printing her name neatly that she glanced up in time to see some of the D&D characters walking around. She giggled and stepped aside to free the roster.

"Friendly lot, aren't they? I don't suppose you have any Night Elves, Pax?"

Philo answered Baxter. "We're open to any kinds of games, really, that's what I'm doing I guess." He was drumming his fingers on the table, each hand a mirror image of the other. "So if any of you," he addressed the growing crowd, "had a board game magical or not that's easy to pick up, you can suggest it. We're thinking open nights, sometimes, or special game days for really significant ones."

"Oh, thanks Serenity." She, like Pax, had grown up playing the game. While Philo had been pouring through Pax's guidebooks like his History of Magic text, he still considered either of them experts. He found Serenity's copies for them handled different campaigns, worlds, and creatures not usually found in a standard copy like Pax's.

There was still a little he could explain. "Well, this is a character sheet where you fill in your character's details, abilities, and stats. Those are numbers that determine what your character can do, it's strengths and weaknesses. Though Pax can explain it better."

Philo frowned, confused, at Serenity's mention of 'Night Elves.' Didn't house elves usually save some of their chores for the night? Oh right, these were those different giant elves.

"Besides signing up for the club in general, Pax is planning a short session to get people familiar with D&D, if you're interested." He gestured to another sheet.

Baxter eyed the younger children, wondering if the entire gaming club was going to be second years, Ligeia, and himself. He didn't mind younger students if they were well behaved- Pax was certainly nice and calm, and he'd known Cy since they were both very young, and he'd never really had a personal problem with either Eriene or Philo, but it would be nice to see a few more people his age.

"I might owl home about some games, then," He said to Philo. Baxter enjoyed a lot of board games, they could be fun. Clue was one of his favorites. He thought his fellow Ravenclaws would really enjoy it.

Baxter listened as more talk of this Dungeons and Dragons game was tossed around. The younger kids seemed to be excited, and Baxter signed the sheet that Philo motioned toward. "I'll give it a try," he said to both presidents of the gaming club. "It sounds really interesting." Hopefully it would actually be entertaining- and not overly easy. Baxter wasn't a huge fan of games that required little to no effort or thought.

"Well it was nice to chat, and I'll see you all at the first meeting- but I need to stop by and check on quidditch and a couple of other club." He smiled encouragingly at Philo and Pax before offering a little wave to the group as a whole and leaving to have a look at a couple of other booths that were set up.

The Great Hall was really buzzing that day, Connor was pleased as punch to see when he first stepped foot into the hall. From just about every corner of the room, colorful banners—some noisy, some still—had been put up over their respective booths, accompanied by the calls of particularly enthusiastic members and augmented by flashy displays of what their clubs were for. As light streamed in from the towering windows, it was a real sight to see the place alive with noise and color, the more painstaking advertisements giving the spartan Hall some color. Heck, the fourth year had even found himself admitting that the excitement of his fellow students was catching; there was no way in hell he’d join Choir and Orchestra again (or Ravenclaw’s team, either, he ended up in the Healer’s Hut frequently without adding ‘sports-related injuries’ to the list, thanks), but there were always other clubs to check out. The Gaming Club, for one, had always been at the top of his list.

As he made his way to the table manned (and mostly surrounded by) second years, Connor briefly contemplated looking around for his friends. Ultimately, though, he decided against it, figuring he'd have time to look for them later; just a few booths down he’d seen Blake at the Quidditch sign-ups for their own House and Ny being towed along by an older girl—Slant—to theirs. Kelvin and Ronnie were bound to pop up, he figured, and spent no more time thinking about it.

Both hands stuffed into pockets, the boy ambled up to the table just in time to see Baxter say his good-byes. “ ‘Ullo, cheerios,” he greeted them cheerfully, glancing around the booth and grinning at them all before settling on Philo and Pax. “Got room fer another big kid?”

This was just so exciting! So many kids were beginning to walk to this booth, and it all became quite amazing. Alice was always amazed by the hustle and bustle people could make. She navigated her way to Pax, where she looked up at him with happy, smiling eyes. "I have a question. Can I join?" She giggled slightly, looking down at her feet and then looking back up.

"I really feel like I fit in in this club. And, I mean, I'd love it to join this wonderful family." Her smiled faded quickly. "I uh, didn't mean that you guys are like old or anything. Please don't take it that way!" She said, eyes wide.

((OOC: As Maddydeen is on break best to avoid interactions with Pax for the time being))

There were a few other miniatures in a bag between the second year co-junior-presidents-whatever they would have to be titled once the club took off. Philo searched the bag. These ones weren't complete like the talking and 'questing' examples that prattled about the table. In an attempt to further answer Serenity's question: "The elves taller than ours, right? And Night means they're dark skinned or something." He found a few other elves. "These aren't painted yet, though, so maybe. If it's in the book I think you could do it."

The crowd was shifting, changing up who was pressed to the front of the table. Very exciting although it worried Philo more that he barely knew what he was doing.

"There aren't any age restrictions," he said, trying to clear up some confusion. "It's an open club, meeting together for fun on select weekends of the month. We're only using a signup to prove viable interest. Though you'll have to be dedicated for the D&D, that'll be more involved."