NASCRAG is the National Society of Crazed Gamers, a group of gamemasters, writers, and artists who have been presenting a series of multi-round role-playing tournaments at the Gen Con game convention since 1980. From 1980 through 2010 the tournaments were Dungeons & Dragons, since 2011 they have been for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (PFRPG). The NASCRAG tournament is one of the largest and the oldest independent role-playing competitions at Gen Con. It is a multi-round, single-elimination, team advancement tournament in which teams of six (this number has varied over the years) compete with other teams in a role-playing adventure. Teams are scored on role-playing and achieving personal and team goals.

Organization

NASCRAG is an independent gaming organization that consists of a core of 60 to 80 members. GenCon provides Nascrag with 20-30 complimentary GM badges every year and some judges simply pay their own way. Event organization duties for NASCRAG are handled by Ross Davidson and David Mitchard. NASCRAG was previously run by "Squirrel Queen" Carole Bland, who took over the post from her husband, NASCRAG Chief Lackey Emeritus, Len Bland, in 1993. The job of marshaling the roughly 100 players per timeslot (4 or 5 timeslots per year) into manageable teams of six is handled by NASCRAG's Master of Ceremonies. In 2017 Doug Moore took over the Master of Ceremonies duties. From 2004 to 2016 the position was held by Tom Lommel and his assistant Buster Pishkur. Through many years in the 1980s and 1990s, Buster also assisted NASCRAG's longtime Head Marshall "Big" Al Baker. NASCRAG's elaborate scorekeeping system is currently handled by Ross Davidson. NASCRAG keeps a steady influx of fresh blood through the efforts of "pressgangs," led by Brian Chase and Doug Moore. Pressgangs wander the halls of Gen Con, attempting to persuade new players to join.

History

In 1979 a group of friends attending Gen Con wanted to play in the D&D Open. But the Open was very popular and had to turn away many players that year. These friends, headed up by Len Bland and James Robert, decided to run their own tournament starting in 1980. Bill "Indy" Cavalier joined the group in 1982 (Fez III) and has been contributing an increasing number of illustrations to NASCRAG events ever since. Indy's lighthearted style complements NASCRAG's humorous adventures. After more than three decades of existence, NASCRAG and its players have formed a growing community at Gen Con. Hundreds of players return every year to play and try to win. Some teams have been participating for decades. The judges are all highly experienced GMs and players, usually recruited from winning teams from past tournaments. NASCRAG has been around long enough that several children of the original members now judge for the group.

Style

Early NASCRAG adventures featured intricate story lines with epic heroic adventure and puzzle solving. This has evolved into an emphasis on role-playing, humor, and puzzles that differs greatly from the combat, strategy, and dice-rolling of traditional D&D tournaments. The NASCRAG focus is on the characters, their interactions, and their relationship to the unfolding story. The characters are individually illustrated and often given distinctive mannerisms or vocal accents to encourage role-playing.

Adventures

Primary Tournament

Every year, NASCRAG runs a multi-round adventure as its primary tournament. Six adventures based on the troubles of Fez – the Wizard of Time. Licensed and printed by Mayfair Games in the 1980s. It was during this period that the name NASCRAG was coined.

Secondary Events

In some years (when they are feeling ambitious) NASCRAG will run a second event.