Welcome to Roadworthy! This is a chance to show off a Road Crew Judge and allow them to share their experience and wisdom. We provide these profiles to help provide insight into their personality and style, and maybe give up-and-coming Judges some advice on improving their game.
The Road Crew theme for 2019 is Road Trip! We want you to get out there and experience the world. Whether it be in real life or online, you can always explore unknown lands and make new friends. Who knows, maybe we’ll put you up on our website. Jump on into the Road Crew program for your chance!
Come with us to the west side of Ohio, where we meet up with a man whose adventures sometimes go a little backwards—on purpose. Let’s meet Tom Fritchman!
Roadworthy: Tom Fritchman!
What’s your name, where do you live (and game), and how would you describe yourself?
I’m Tom Fritchman! I live in Tipp City, Ohio. I game at local stores like Bookery Fantasy and New Carlisle Toys & Games.
How did you first discover DCC?
GenCon 2017. I was doing my usual wide-eyed wandering of the show room in a daze (despite having come to GenCon for years by that point). Suddenly, I saw some amazing artwork and it drew me to the Goodman Games booth! After speaking with a few people there, I bought a core book & a few adventures. I read through a good portion of the book in my hotel that night and I knew this was a game for me!
As of “right now,” how many Road Crew games have you run in this or past seasons?
So, despite owning a copy since August 2017, I didn’t play until February 2018. Our regular GM had to miss a week, so I ran Sailors on the Starless Sea as a one-shot. I didn’t run a single Road Crew game either year, though I did run another session for friends in September. 2019, however, I’ve finally run my first two Road Crew games! I’m looking forward to running more!
What’s your favorite Road Crew game experience so far?
I ran a Mutant Crawl Classics re-skin of Sailors on the Starless Sea. On the advice of Judge James Walls, I ran it backwards. The suggestion and my decision came the night before so I didn’t have a lot of time to line everything up. So I did the whole thing on the fly. But my absolute favorite part was when the players collectively started building a culture and belief structure for their Neolithic tribe. By the end of the session they even had a Patron AI to call their god!
Tell us where you run your Road Crew games.
Bookery Fantasy In Fairborn, Ohio and New Carlisle Toys & Games in New Carlisle, Ohio. I’d say FaceBook is the best way to find out more about either store!
What advice would you give to other Road Crew judges?
This one I learned from Judge Chris Lauricella at AcadeCon 2018: when you’ve got a big group and a time limit, find the highest initiative. Then ask the person to the highest’s left and right who has higher between the two of them. Go around the table in that direction rather than figuring out a turn order. It’ll keep things moving!
Do you have a go-to or favorite adventure to run at Road Crew events? What adventure do you most recommend for a first-time judge at a convention? Why?
Right now my go-to is Sailors on the Starless Sea, as that I’ve run it three times. But for conventions I’d have to say The Endless Chasm of Zaxxyn by Hector Cruz from Gongfarmer’s Almanac 2018 volume 5. It’s short, it gets players right in the action, and it’s the kind of suitably gonzo stuff that I think would go over well at conventions!
Interested in learning about our other amazing Road Crew judges? Click here for all the Roadworthy profiles!
