GenCon Without A Plan

This year my friend and I went to GenCon without a plan at all. In fact, that was our plan. Every year had open time for doing random things, but there was some sort of objective. This year the objective was to not have one. We did the whole convention with generics and showing up to places, and quite frankly we had a blast. For those interested in being planless - or just unable to get into the games they want - here is basically how it works.

Step 1: Grab A Bunch of Generics Early On
This shouldn't be a surprise, but to do events with generics you need generic tickets. Most events have a charge of $2/hour (or 1 generic ticket / hour) but some games run a bit more depending on their situation. If going for the whole weekend using generics, I'd recommend grabbing about $40 worth on your first day. It gives you a healthy stockpile that should last you most if not all the weekend.

In getting generics, you're generally better off going into one of the halls where games are played and finding an Event HQ. The lines - especially on the first day in the morning - are short to non-existent (unlike Customer Service and Will Call) and they can sell you generics just fine.

Also, the best part about generics is if you buy too many they're refundable -unlike specific event tickets.

Step 2: Find A Game/Event You're Interested In
The second step is to find a game or event you're interested in. The event finder on gencon.com has decent granularity in its search engine. You can search by category of event, day of event, start time of event, specific game, and/or specific host. You can also filter out full events. So look and find something you want to try. I'd recommend looking for games with open seats, but you can try for full tables too. A lot of times people miss games. Just have a backup in mind for if everyone shows.

Step 3: Show Up Early. Really Early. Ask About Wait Lists
Show up to the room early, and ask if there is a wait list. For games being run by groups, they often have someone by the door to answer questions, feed the GMs water/throat lozenges, and manage tabling/wait lists. Fantasy Flight Games, Baldman Games (they run 5e), and Catalyst have always done a good job with wait lists and getting your name on early is good. Paizo will try to get you in, but their table mustering for events is more ad hoc and they tend to not do waiting lists.

Step 4: You Won't Be Seated Right Away
The thing to remember with Generics is that you not only won't, but can NOT be seated right away. by GenCon rules an event host has to give people 10-15 minutes to show up with event tickets before filling the seat with generics. That means you'll be waiting until about 4:10 to 4:15 for an event starting at 4:00. There is nothing the event hosts or GMs can do about that. And if you try to sit down earlier, and someone with a ticket shows up, you're going to lose your seat.

The best plan here is to be patient, but stay visible and present. You want to hear when they call your name because unlike an event ticket there is no rule about how to use a wait list.

Step 5: Enjoy
Once the event starts, you're just as in as anyone else. Have fun, listen to the person running the game, and do your best to be a good player.

Also, don't be too sad if you can't get into a game you really want to play. Most games have events going every day, so there is always tomorrow. Also, there is always something going on at GenCon so just go find the next thing you want to try.

GenCon Bound

Hello!

This Wednesday I'll be leaving home and driving to Indiana for GenCon 2019. As such, this blog may be vacant this week. Odds are we'll miss posts this Wednesday, Friday, and next Monday.

I say this every year and tend to post something from the convention, so we'll see, but no promises.

This is the first year I'm going to GenCon without a plan. I know there is a lot to do, but with the exception of wanting to try out the Sentinels of the Multiverse RPG I have no idea what I'll be up to or doing. Which will hopefully give a chance to try out random things and see what is out there.

Have a good week. Enjoy your games!

Back From GenCon

I'm back from GenCon. I'm also very tired. While I've slept since getting home from GenCon, I find the fatigue from going for the 4 days is lingering. The two long days driving probably don't help, nor does just getting older. :P

GenCon was a lot of fun. It was my first time GMing, and I ended up running 4 sessions of 7th Sea 2nd Edition for John Wick Presents. The experience of GMing was awesome, and I can't give Monte Lim enough praise for organizing the JWP GM's to make for a great con. One of the most amazing things about GMing for them was getting to see the other tables and hear all the whoops, cheers, and bursts of laughters coming from all the other tables.

Aside from the 16 hours of GMing for JWP, I also got to play in a session for Fantasy Flight Games' new Legend of Five Rings RPG - more on that later - and I finally got to play in a game of MASKS: A New Generation.

That said, let's get into some of the big take aways from the Con.

GenCon Bound

There will be no posts this week because I'll be at GenCon for the week. My friend and I are heading out Wednesday to drive to Indy, and won't be back until sometime early next monday (so no post them either.)

This is my 4th or 5th year at GenCon and every year I've been trying something new. This year I'm going to be trying running convention games. I'll be running 7th Sea for John Wick Presents, so if you're signed up for some of those games maybe I'll see you there. I'm looking forward to it, the adventures lined up for this year look fun.

Beyond my GMing, I'm looking forward to trying out Fantasy Flight Games' new L5R game.

Aside from that I'm not sure. I might wander Indy a bit if the temperature isn't too high, or see if I can find some other mischief to get into.

Take care of yourselves, and have a good week!

Gen Con Round Up Part 2 - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I'm not sure if I've done this before, and right now I don't have the time to go back and check. However, I like the idea of breaking down a review of the entire Gen Con experience this year into three categories: good, bad, and ugly and going from there.

As a disclaimer, this is entirely subjective and my opinion on the experience of attending Gen Con 50. I am sure others have had similar experiences. However, I am also sure many have had opposite experiences. It is what it is:

Gen Con Round Up - Part 1

Gen Con is over and I'm back home. We got in on Monday around 3-4 in the morning, and with yesterday something of a delirious haze now in the past I find myself collecting thoughts on what was a pleasant con experience for the most part. As my schedule didn't allow for day 2, 3, and 4 round ups, I figured I'd start with that and move on to other things over the course of the week.

Gen Con Day 1 Recap

Today felt like a really quick day, but I also feel like I accomplished like 90% of what I really wanted to do this convention. Namely, I managed to play some 7th Sea which was fun, and I acquired a copy of the L5R boxed set.

The boxed set was most of the day. My friend and I weren't lucky enough to be among the 700 people able to get into the tournament, so we grabbed some generic tickets and set up camp around 9am for a waiting list. Even with that we were about 25th in line. Three and a half long hours of waiting later and the waiting list started to move. Then it stopped with us still about 10 people back. The judges started talking to each other. The number twelve was said. We counted down.

Fortunately the line was self policing and honorable. We were split in two lines but the people technically ahead of us in the other line flat out volunteered that myself, my buddy, and the two people behind us were ahead of them before. That rounded out the count to 12. We were in...kinda.

They didn't have enough seats in the tournament for us to play, which sucked. But they were willing to give us the game and the promo deck box in exchange for the event cost. Considering rumor is FFG sold out of the boxed sets inside of 90 minutes of the Exhibitor Hall opening and it's a sweet deal. So we took it. I'll have to check tomorrow if FFG has more of the boxed sets available.

All in all, I'm happy with how it worked out and the game is beautiful. I have some unboxing pictures (just quick snaps with my phone) I'll put up later when I have more time.

The 7th Sea adventure was standard fair by comparison. We showed up early, explained we had generics, and waited. Turns out they had some empty seats and so on the advice of one of the GMs we took seats for "Release the Kraken".

The adventure here was a blast. Hats off to the GM - Brian - for running an amazing adventure and handling all the hurdles players were throwing at him with Spider-man like grace and ease. The guy handled social knacks and seduction rolls mid-ship to ship combat, for just a sampler of what we put him through, and it ended up being a fun, funny, and thrilling bit of high seas adventure.

Between the two events ended up clearing the day. Normally I stick around for the night scene more, but I've been fighting a cough and I'm hoping to ditch it for more fun tomorrow/Saturday.

Next Week On Hiatus

As I said on Wednesday, next week is GenCon. If nothing else that means posts here become even more irregular. While I hope to have an update up on Monday, and maybe some final thoughts going into the event for Wednesday, I make no guarantees.

After that, there will probably not be the normal Friday post - though historically I do manage to get some stuff up during the event - and the following Monday will be suspect at best. We tend to leave the Con a little after noon on Sunday, and get home between 4 am and 9 am on Monday morning....then it's time to sleep.

So here's hoping for a fun GenCon, and just another good time in Indy!

1 Week 'Til GenCon

It's 1 week until GenCon. The show is sold out too. I'm not even sure what that means, aside from it's probably going to be croweded. There are literally thousands of games being run and everything from table top RPGs, to LARPs, to board games, to card games, to video games is going to be on display. So what are you looking forward to? Do you even go to cons?

GenCon is always kind of weird for me because as a rule I don't like, and don't do well in, large crowds of people. However, at GenCon I usually manage just fine. The crowds aren't as much a bother, and I think it's because while the rooms are full to bursting, the con staff have everything setup so you still always have space.

We'll see if that holds true this year for me as well, but I have no reason to believe it won't. As for what I'm looking forward to, I have no clue. Finding things I want to pin myself down for is hard this year. It might be the year I take the test and see just what GenCon has to offer without ever sitting at a table. I expect it's a lot.

Vote in the ENnies!

It's award season again. If you're no in the know, Table Top RPGs have their own awards. They're called the ENnies and you can vote in them right now! Follow this link. Vote for your favorite in each category. Then, come GenCon, see if your favorite game won any awards.

I find myself pulling for 7th Sea this year, but Evil Hat always has a spot in my heart too - they just do so much good stuff. The big guys like Paizo and WotC are also there, and if something they did truly sticks out it is also worthy of recognition.

But don't let me tell you how to vote. Go out there and support the games you love!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR THE ENNIES!

The X Card - Lessons From GenCon

Regardless of running at a convention or at home, player safety is a big deal in RPGs. As much as some people like to say we're just doing "pretendy fun time games" a lot of people are lowering defenses and opening up internal doors to let the fantasy happen that may otherwise be sealed tight. Also, while some common topics that make people uncomfortable (rape, torture, etc) are fairly easy to avoid, sometimes there are tamer things that set people off (like spiders, bugs in general, etc.)

Quick Fix: GenCon Bound!

As I mentioned on Monday, I'm headed down to Indy today for GenCon. There won't be a regular post on Friday, but may be sporadic updates depending on my access to wifi and computers over the convention.

I hope everyone has a fun rest of the week and weekend to follow.

GenCon Beginner's Notes

This Thursday GenCon 2016 begins. Technically it begins on Wednesday if you're in the industry or in the area, but the real kick off is Thursday morning. With that said, there won't be regular posts this week. Why? Well, Wednesday I'm going to be on the road all day (and getting things together Monday/Tuesday for that trip) and Thursday through Sunday I'll be at GenCon.

All that said, there is still time for some beginner's tips for the event. If this is your first time, take a look. Some of these tips may just be what you need to keep you going.

• Carry a Water Bottle - beverages on the con floor are expensive and can be hard to find. There are hydration stations regularly placed but they're best used to refill a water bottle. You'll be doing a lot of walking, and if you're outside it gets hot. Odds are you'll be sweating a lot if only from the press of bodies. Keep yourself hydrated!
• Shower daily, maybe twice - Speaking of sweating a lot, shower every day. I recommend showering in the evening. Not all hotels change your sheets daily for the same guests - especially during Conventions - so being clean before going to bed will give you your best sleep. If you need to, take a quick wake up shower in the morning to freshen yourself up. Trust me, people wil know if you haven't showered, and numerous events have rules saying that if people are distracted by your odor you'll be asked to go deal with it. Don't face that embarrassment.
• Plan Your Meals - If you're like me it's almost too easy to forget about a meal. You get in the swing of gaming, you have events to get to, and oh my god, did you see that board game they're demoing? Carve out some mealtimes for yourself. Also, check out the area around the con for restaurants. The Johnny Rocket in the Center Circle Mall is good, and almost without fail the restaurants (even the fast food) are better than the convention center food. Also, Food trucks sell out fast
• Good Shoes Save Feet - Lots of walking. Make sure you're wearing shoes you can be comfortable in.
• Respect the CosPlayers (and other guests) - Don't snap a picture of someone without their permission. If it's a cosplayer, ask. Odds are not only will they be cool to have a photo taken, they'll even pose for you. If they say no, respect the fact that they may have somewhere to go. Be polite. Don't be that guy (or gal) that gives the rest of us a bad name.
• Respect the Event Staff - This goes along with respecting CosPlayers and other guests. The GenCon staff, in my experience, are very personable and polite. The only cases I've seen them be less than such was when the person they had to deal with was. Don't block entranceways, don't block lines, follow the rules for the convention, and be polite to the staff. It'll make your time better.
• Carry Generic Tickets - Generic Tickets are so useful that last year my buddy and I didn't even buy normal event tickets with one exception for a very specific event. Otherwise, we just showed up, got in line to use generics, and played games on our schedule. On some occasions we used generics to help random people who seemed cool out. Also, every event at GenCon is paid. They use that to pay for the conspace itself and the event organizers need to collect the right amount of tickets. Carrying generics is a good safety net in case something you thought was free actually has a cost.
• Double Check Your Events - Double check that the event you're going to is the event you want to be at. This includes edition. If you show up to a D&D 5th Ed game with a D&D 3.5 Ed Character, you're going to have a bad time. Worse, you're going to slow down the whole table as the GM and you have to figure out what to do now that you've been seated with a bad character.
• Have Fun - Seriously, have fun. Let yourself have fun. There's enough going on at GenCon you should be able to find something you love about gaming and do it. Try new games. Wander the dealer hall and check out demos. See what games are doing quick demo runs. Have fun though, it's why you're going, right?

Discussion: GenCon Excitement?

Just a quick post for today, and sorry it is so late. What are you excited about the most at GenCon this year? If you're going what event? If you're not, what announcements are you hoping for?

Personally, I'm excited for any new information we can get from FFG about the L5R license. I'm also looking forward to seeing how others play 7th Sea 2nd Edition.

Beyond that, I'm just looking forward to the con itself and being able to explore a bit more since we nabbed a skywalk hotel this year.

What about you?

GenCon: Fortnight Checklist

Two weeks from when you're reading this GenCon will not only have begun, but will be 25% through. As such, this is a great time to make sure you've got your broad strokes in order. This checklist is what I made for myself, and I figured I'd share it with you.

• Confirm location of Badge and pre-paid event tickets
• Good shoes for the con
• General Idea for clothes for con
• Transportation locked in
• Hotel room or over-night arrangements locked in
• Confirm with travel buddies all if still set
• Begin discussion of snacks/drinks for trip
• Check Event List for newly opened events

Not particularly long, and definitely not in a sensible order, but it is a general list of things I have found is good to confirm/look into.

Most important is the badge. By now, if you had the badge mailed to you, you should have it. If not, you need to report it lost/stolen ASAP if you want to have one waiting for you at Will Call. If you do have to pick up your badge at Will Call I recommend after midnight on Wednesday, or before 7 on Thursday. Lines get pretty nuts the first day, though they're still better than for folks who are looking to buy.

I'll have more on last minute GenCon prep in the coming week, mixed in with normal updates. For now, are you going? If so, what are you looking forward to the most?

GenCon Tip: Don't Sweat Missing Event Registration

This year my friend and I are going to GenCon for the third year. It's become an annual trip, and frankly I've been looking forward to it since I confirmed I could swing the finances t his past January. In a bit of a change of pace, a third person is making the trip with us this year and it will be their first GenCon. Mostly we've handled the big stuff for them (housing, pointing out when to register, etc) since my friend and I have it down. This weekend though was event registration, where you can try to sign up for guaranteed seats at events you really want to play.

Mysteriously at a con as big as GenCon those seats go fast, and even if you click the "submit my wishlist" button at the very instant it becomes available you may miss out on them.

However, this isn't something to stress about. GenCon is a huge con and there is a lot going on. Also, people frequently don't show up to events on time, enabling you to grab their seats if you're prepared. Heck, last year I skipped event registration all together and still had a great time with lots of gaming.

So what do you do? Simple: buy generic tickets. Show up to the event early. Be polite.

As a rule, after 10 minutes an unclaimed seat is considered abandoned and they go first come first serve. Some places do waiting lists. Some places don't. Sometimes a waiting list is started but someone doesn't know so you get bad information. Whatever the case, don't be rude about it. Form a line close but not in the way of actual event ticket holders.

Now, this doesn't mean you will definitely get into the event you want. There's a good chance you won't get in if there is super high demand and low supply. However, there is a good chance you will get in - or find an alternative means of experiencing the thing - if you're patient and polite.

You can have a lot of fun at GenCon with just a handful of generic tickets and a willingness to hang around a few minutes. And if you really want to play a game, why not just wait the few minutes to be sure you can't?

GenCon Wrap Up

As of this writing I am back home with my body in full recovery mode from the con. Why recovery? Well, if you've never gone to a con before there are two things you may not be aware of: one, cons can be very physically taxing from all the walking, standing, and longer hours people tend to pull at them; and two, by interacting with people from all across the country/world you are also exposing yourself to those germs.

GenCon Day 3: Star Wars, Paizo, and Sol

Day 3 is over, and all in all it was a much more sedate day. It was also the first time I ran a game at a con, and I felt it went well, especially considering I had no intentions for GMing at all this weekend.

We started the day off trying to get into one of the official FFG Star Wars games. That fizzled, but I opted to run the Force and Destiny Starter Pack for my friend and 4 of the people who had also been hoping to get in on a game. FFG provided the starter pack (not to keep) and was thrilled we were willing to try. THankfully, the booklet pretty much ran the adventure itself so I didn't have to do much aside from know rules, make some rulings, and play the opposition. All in all folks had a good time and by the end of the adventure four new heroes had awoken to the force, gained a holocron, and saved an ancient Jedi temple from a Dark Side force user seeking to corrupt it. Good times.

With that game done, and only a couple hours until the waiting list opened for the next run of Star Wars, we hit the vendor hall. We played a demo of a game called 100 AD with the designer (fun game, though a bit too PVP cut throat for my tastes). The game involves buying influence in the senate of ancient rome and is the kind of thing I could see the Diplomacy crowd really getting into. We also spent some time at the Monte Cook Games booth and talked about The Strange and Numenerra.

After that it was back to FFG's room where we managed to successfully (albeit by extreme luck) get the last two seats in an Edge of the Empire game. We had the same GM we had last year, and it was even more fun. Highlights including a bar fight going from fists to plasma grenades (with proper escalation to blaster pistols and blaster rifles in the middle) in less than 6 seconds of in game time, and a scenario where two PCs tried, and somehow successfully, pulled a "Weekend at Bernies" with a comatose racer pilot to get him past his manager/crew and into his race car.

We left FFG to close up their room and headed upstairs to try Paizo's game room. Last year this was the location of the biggest disappointment I had at GenCon. This year, I have to hand it to them because they fixed the issues. Information Booths were much more readily available, and properly staffed with friendly people who were willing to help. An area was set up for free 30-60 minute beginner games, and they even had some demos on hand for their card game and such. It was probably the most improved experience I had this year. Though, at this point, I may be more invested in D&D. Not that I get to play either much.

Finally, before heading home, we got dragged in to demo a boardgame in development called Sol. This game isn't even up for kickstarter yet and was played with 3d printed pieces. The game is a strange mix of cooperative and pvp where the players try to harvest as much energy from the sun as they can to launch their mother ships before the sun goes super nova. The thing is, you can use anything another player has built (and they can benefit from this as well) and the more you do, the faster the sun approaches super nova. In the end of the game, the player who has moved their mothership the furthest up the board survives. Everyone else dies a fiery, painful death as they are unable to escape. I'll have more on this game when it does kickstart, but it started a bit slow and quickly ramped up to being very fun. The designer who ran the demo was also very open to feedback and ideas, even trying some of our ideas on the spot in the game.

Now, well, it's about time to go to bed. GenCon has one more day, and after that we hit the road to go back home. If things go according to plan it'll be a greater than 24 hour day, though I may see if I can talk my friend into leaving early after checking out the vendor room in the interest of getting home before 9 am on Monday.

Because of that there'll be no update tomorrow, or post on monday. We'll see about catching up on Wednesday. Until then, Happy Gaming.

GenCon Day 2: Lots of Gaming, and Some New Friends

Day 2 of GenCon is over and all I really have to say about it is: Oh sweet, dear lord, MY FEET!

Kidding...mostly. Aside from my legs being in a good deal of muscle fatigue due to my inadequate level of fitness and sudden high levels of demand, today was pretty fun, but also had a couple of negative notables. What kind of negative notables?

Simply put: I ran into my first (two) bad experiences with fellow players in a con. Even more unfortunate is both were at the same game. However, I should also point out that the game was still over-all a large positive.

The first of the negative experience gamers brings up a couple of points I feel are common sense but may bear pointing out:

1. Make sure the game you are at is the game you think it is, including edition.
2. Don't give the GM a hard time about collecting tickets, or not having enough.

It probably goes without saying that both of these happened with the first person. They showed up to a Level 1-4 D&D 5th Edition game with a D&D 3.5th edition character. Not the same thing. This caused a small discussion with the GM when they were questioned on certain numbers and they were all - due to power scale differences - far off from where they should be.

As for the second thing, the GMs don't have a choice in this matter. If an event is 4 tickets, you need to give 4 tickets. The GM can't give you a pass because if they do not only are they being unfair to all the other players, but they also get in trouble with GenCon itself. This issue ended up with the person being peacefully ejected from the game.

The second bad experience was more generic: rules lawyering, telling players what they should do, and constant prattling on about what would be amazing if someone had a character above the level range for the adventure (yes, if we were more powerful than intended for the adventure, it would be easier. shocking. :P) In defense of the young man, though I'm the kind of jerk that never affords this defense much merit, they were young. Also, the GM handled it well so we were ok.

Beyond those, today was fun. My friend and I played some D&D 5th ed (a 1.5 hour adventure and a 4 hour adventure) than cut across back to the Hyatt for some L5R fun under the guidance of Sean Holland of Sea of Stars RPG Blog. I left that game with a new appreciation for the Suzume and a desire to play one, so damn good job, Sean. :)

Not much that really drew our interest after Sean's L5R game so we returned to the hotel. Tomorrow is a new day, and among other things includes the "big event" for D&D 5th. We still also want to see if we can get a game of Star Wars in with FFG. We will see what we get.

GenCon is half over. It's already been worth the price of admission. If I get to come again next year, I may even try my hand at GMing.

GenCon 2015 Day 1: This Is Why I Game

As I write this my legs and feet are burning from day 1 at GenCon. My friend and I left our hotel for the convention at about 8:00am, were there before 8:30, and didn't leave until about 10:30pm. All in all, about 14 hours of walking, meeting folks, and gaming. To put it simply, it was a blast. Granted, I might be biased as I had some great rolls today but I had more fun today than in almost all of GenCon last year, and I had a lot of fun last year.

In a lot of ways today was a great reminder of why I game. How so? Well, I only really played 4 games today, but here is what I did:

• I commanded a space ship in 'The Amega Weapon' and managed to grab the galaxy's most dangerous super weapon before hunting down my fellow players across the board.
• I got to take on the role of Ray Stantz, Ghostbuster Extraordinaire, in the upcoming Ghostbusters board game and help my team stop a group of rampaging ghosts. My crowning moment of awesome? Diving back into Ecto-1 so I could "cheat the rules" to be able to remove slime tokens from Venkman and Winston getting myself much needed XP and freeing them up of action restricting debuffs.
• As Akodo Ochiru I attended the Topaz Championship in the Heroes of Rokugan module "New Beginnings." I did not compete, but when wisked away to a spirit realm stepped forward for my companions and out wrestled an Ogre with the aid of my honor and ancestors.
• Finally, as Utaku Mizuko in an AEG inspired event that will impact the L5R Canon in a story coming out next year, I wielded the sword of Otaku and sliced the arm off a demon saving one of Shinjo's descendants before slaying the demon with the aid of my fellow samurai.

None of this even touches on the people I met, sights I saw, and other experiences. It was a great time.

Oh, also, my friend and I randomly got grouped up in the AEG event with 3 people we played D&D with last year. What are the odds, huh?