We asked for submissions, and we received several from players in Falls Church, VA… about the same NEO. We’d like to announce Brian Orban as our NEO of Note for April!
Steve shared this memory when Brian got involved with the small Warhammer club: “The first time Brian came to a club event, he was playing a git mob army, so right away it was clear he was a good guy. Our local group was just beginning to transition from the getting off the ground stage to the rapid growth stage. When you hit this point the club really needs people who not only have imagination of what the club can do, but the skills to make them happen. Brian has both in spades. He can always come up with a great idea, and then implement it. Whether it is building tables full of terrain for a narrative event or getting the manager of a local gaming shop to turn over the store for a whole day for Coalescence, Brian’s the guy who can do it. He is also an aficionado of eastern European resin, an apologist of the airbrush, and an encyclopedia of lore and tactics. And an all around good guy (and dad!) to boot. But most of all, he loves narrative gaming. So he’s been a natural fit for the northern Virginia scene, which has a very strong narrative play community. We are lucky to have him in our local group, and the narrative community as a whole is lucky to have him too!”
Brian participated in AoS events at NOVA Open 2017, and as soon as the GT ended on Sunday afternoon he stepped up and helped start packing away terrain and tabletops. The narrative organizer, Aaron, welcomed the help, and during that time cleaning up they started a conversation that lead to the formation of a dynamic team to plan for a bigger and better event at NOVA 2018. Aaron said, “Brian brought a new perspective and tireless energy to shake up what I had tried to do with the narrative events at NOVA Open in past years. His passion and vision exceeds my own! And if you haven’t seen those ships he has building… well, if you’re at NOVA on Labor Day weekend 2018 then make sure to stop by the AoS hall to check them out!”
Club member Nate said, “Before I met Brian my brother noted there was a player who knew the rules down stat and would field merciless armies. I had to know who this person was (and little did I realize that he was a “forefather” to our group). I stayed clear of playing him for a long time due to my brother’s experience and my own fears… but when I did, I had a blast and gained a new respect for those trying to show us all where the bar is at… for both gaming AND campaign settings and styles.”
Everyone made comments about the scenery Brian brings to share at game nights and, most recently, populated 8 tables for Coalescence: Malign Portents on March 17th. Evan summed it up best: “Brian will come with literally a warehouse of awesome scenery… seriously he has made the best terrain I’ve seen. Games Workshop should use his sets as the gold standard. Our local group has really grown in the last year with special thanks to Brian. Brian will set up tables with all his scenery and while everyone plays he will do the number crunching and rules explaining, selflessly not participating in our narrative events to ensure they run smoothly.” Evan played in both the Coalescence events Brian ran for the club, and he remembers, “his patience with players and explaining rules while handing out scenario sheets he had written up showed his dedication to the community!”
Congratulations, Brian! And thanks to the members of the community that had all this to say about Brian… and much more! Now that we’ve heard from some of the members of his club, we will invite Brian to talk more about his local group and share what inspires him to continue organizing and growing this community.
Narrative Event Organizer Network 