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I ended up getting into a TD run with 5 other people that were interested from the Wyrmwood Gaming discord. We're doing the intro run, so hopefully it's fun. it was cheaper than a more pro run.
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May 20, 2019 13:57
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NESBIT37 WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE And/or we should start watching Gen-Con-appropriate things in an e-setting right now I completely forgot what nights you said worked, let me go check that after posting this Edit: Dr. Quarex posted:Wednesday is the day I am most singularly likely to have nothing going on and be sitting by myself on the couch in Captain Rat's living room, so I could get behind something like a semi-monthly viewing night (if we wanted to get through a lot of things by Gen-Con; monthly would probably make it seem more important, because obviously that is our intent)a Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 01:48 on May 23, 2019 |
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May 23, 2019 01:44
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Dr. Quarex posted:NESBIT37 TO ACQUIRE THE DOWNTOWN ROOM, TO TAKE ALL OF THE TRUE DUNGEON TICKETS, TO ATTEND THE GEN CON, AND TO HEAR THE LAMENTATIONS OF THE GROGNARDS Dr. Quarex posted:And/or we should start watching Gen-Con-appropriate things in an e-setting I obviously missed last night but this sounds great to me in general! Let me go find what the original options were... nesbit37 posted:I have numerous films that may fit the bill: Do we want to pick particular Wednesdays, and what time? I will be at Origins on Wednesday June 12 but pretty free for the next 2 months otherwise. also, I posted a huge long writeup about game conventions for the Philadelphia Adventurers' League group I run and feel like I should post it here just to get as much out of it as I can. Warning though, it is very long. TLDR: GEN CON IS THE BESTEST The Big Post of Conventions I attend a lot of conventions, and as such, I get asked fairly regularly my thoughts on if someone should attend convention X. I am just going to make a big post about it here I can hopefully point to in the future so I don't have to just retype this all the time. Please post questions and your own experiences in this thread. I am going to start with conventions I have attended and list them in no particular order. I am going to go with narrative for my feelings on them and not a rating, with the exception of how good the convention is for D&D AL play. That I will rate on a 5 point scale, with 5 being amazing and 1 being don't bother if all you want is AL. Gen Con Where: Indianapolis, IN When: Late July or early to mid August event style: Tickets Official site: https://www.gencon.com Best place for unofficial info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/genconindy/ Starting with the mother of them all, Gen Con. It is the oldest still running game convention in the United States and likely the world. It is also the largest attendance wise in the world with over 70,000 unique people going each year. I can answer any questions in depth about this convention. I've been attending since 1992 (non-consecutively) and was featured guest for the conventions 50th anniversary 2 years ago where I talked about the conventions history and the https://www.best50yearsingaming.com project I did which digitized every single Gen Con program, did some oral histories, made them searchable, and some other things. My board game publishing company also had a booth there last year and will again this year (2019) so I know about it from the exhibitor side as well. Why should you go to Gen Con? Gen Con is, IMO, tabletop gaming heaven. If you live in the United States and play tabletop games you should make it to this spectacle at least once in your life. It has the largest exhibit hall in North America which you can spend your entire convention in and not feel like you missed anything. It has over 17,000 events, runs 24 hours a day, and even though it's officially only a 4 day show things really start off on Wednesday and things are now starting to creep into Tuesday. If it has anything to do with tabletop gaming, it is here in some capacity. Why you shouldn't go to Gen Con? It's expensive. The badge price is just fine for the amount of entertainment you get. The events are based on a ticket system which you have to pay for in most cases, but most events this is not expensive (ie. $2 for a 4 hour event). This does vary, however. The expensive part is primarily the hotels. If you get a downtown hotel it's going to be around $250 a night. Not bad if you are splitting it with a group, but it's not cheap. You will also be tempted to spend a ton of cash on food and games. I know very few people who stick to their planned budget. Gen Con also takes a fair bit of planning. Due to it's size, the desirable downtown hotel rooms in the convention block are all gone by hotel reg day in January within minutes. Even the further away hotels by the airport are selling out these days. If you want to make sure you attend specific events you have a very similar problem during the eventapocalypse day in May. You can still have a ton of fun at Gen Con without getting the best hotel and the best events, but this can cause people a lot of stress. Also, you definitely need somewhere to sleep that is safe and comfortable. People are starting to sleep in their vehicles at night because they can't get hotel rooms and this isn't good. Happened back when the convention was in Milwaukee as well. Gen Con is also just very crowded. It takes up a huge amount of space. The entire Indiana Convention Center, the Colt's Stadium, and several of the nearby hotels, but it's still crowded. D&D AL at Gen Con AL is run here by Baldman Games. It's fine, but expensive. Baldman charges per seat $6 for a 2 hour game, $12 for a 4, $16 for a 4 hour epic (2019 prices). If you come to Gen Con feel free to play AL, but don't come here just for AL. D&D AL Rating: 2 out of 5 Origins Where: Columbus, OH When: Mid-June event style: tickets Official site: https://www.originsgamefair.com Best place for unofficial info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/862056080478738/ Origins is Gen Con's little brother. It was actually started a couple years after D&D came out to be a wargaming only convention because wargamers were baisically not happy at the time with roleplaying as a thing or fantasy getting mixed into their historical peanut butter. The convention is run by GAMA. Why you should go to Origins? Origins is like a mini, less-well run Gen Con. Its kind of messy, but it has under 30,000 people attending with the same type of mix of events and dealers and atmosphere, its all just on a smaller scale. Being on a smaller scale and less in demand it's also less expensive. You can also get tickets for events at Origins easier then Gen Con, so if there is something hot you want to try you may be able to get in at Origins where you would have virtually no chance at Gen Con. Why you shouldn't go to Origins? Origins, is..., I dunno, just off somehow? Like it's a great time, but they are stuck in the 1990s for all their systems and processes. Where Gen Con has done good and progressive things, like invite Anita Sarkeesian as a guest of honor, Origins has done the exact opposite and invited the founder of the sad puppies movement to their show. Par for the course for Origins, they do things like this not because they want to make a point but because it was totally on accident and didn't realize who they were inviting. Their ticket system is a mess, the lines take forever, their technology is very clumsy. They are also notorious for having virtually 0 online presence. Things are miles better this year, largely due to someone they seem to have hired this year with a knack for social media on facebook, but its still pretty terrible. Also, just because Origins is less expensive than Gen Con, it still isn't cheap. You still have to get to Columbus and get a hotel room. The hotels aren't Gen Con prices, but they are not cheap. D&D AL at Origins Just like Gen Con, AL is run by Baldman games. The games are a little cheaper, $4 for a 2 hour and $10 for a 4 hour, but still. Origins was, at least up until last year, Wizards focus of the old school conventions for D&D AL. I have heard this has changed, but I do not know if that is true for certain. It's easier to get into AL games here for sure, though. D&D AL Rating: 3 out of 5 Gamehole Con Where: Madison, WI When: October event style: tickets Official site: https://www.gameholecon.com/ Best place for unofficial info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1599867740231088/ This convention is relatively new, with 2019 being its 5th or 6th year. It was started by Alex Kammer and he does a great job running this convention. Why you should go to Gamehole Con? If you want to game, particularly D&D. There are a good amount of games here. That said, its still a pretty small con. They also make some pretty cool convention specific items, such as D&D monster themed plushies (they've done an owl bear, mimic, bullet, and otyugh so far. This year is a displacer beast). Also, because of Alex's connections they get some cool guests for such a small con. Matt Mercer and Pat Rothfuss were both there last year. You should also go if you want to DM. They treat the DMs very well and it's a lot of fun. Why you shouldn't go to Gamehole Con? You want to do thigns other than game. The conention center it is at, like most things in Wisconsin, is not really in walkable distance to anything. So if you aren't gaming, you are probably going to be either in your hotel or just hanging around the open play tables which are nothing to write home about. Madison is a very cool city, but if you don't have a car you aren't going to see much of it. D&D AL at Gamehole Alex has made it his mission to have more AL games at Gamehole than any other convention, and he has succeeded in that the past few years. The games and area are well run and given tons of space. Lots of great events, and AL admins and relavent D&D people there. It's also pretty easy to get into games. This is my favorite convention for AL play. I do believe there is a small charge for game tickets but I could be wrong. I've only DMed there and when I do its usually 30+ hours of games over 3 days with maybe one morning slot on Sunday. D&D AL Rating: 5 out of 5 Gary Con Where: Lake Geneva, WI When: March event style: tickets Official site: https://garycon.com/ Best place for unofficial info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/58339157369/?ref=br_rs Gary Con was started by Gary Gygax's family as part of his funeral in 2008. It has grown since then to around 3,000 people. Like Gen Con, if you play D&D, I recommend you go at least once in your life. Lake Geneva is the Mecca for D&D, essentially where it all began. This convention also has all of the old guard who are involved with the game come and attend. Lots of old school guests, and old school games. Why you should go to Gary Con? You love the history of gaming and just playing lots of games. They have lots of games from the 70s and 80s, board games, RPGs, wargames, and a lot of times you can play them with the people who made the game in the first place if they are still around. Lake Geneva is also a resort town, and though this is the off season, there is still a lot of good food and pretty things to see in the area. The convention is also held in what use to be the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, which just has some history of having one of the early Gen Con's in the 1970s held there. This convention is also fun if you like to drink, they have lots of beer there and do happy hours on friday and saturday for everyone. Why you shouldn't go to Gary Con? If you don't like old school gaming I would go gaming. Also, I feel the least safe at Gary Con. It has a large contingent of the OSR and just general old school gamers that attend, and a lot of these people are just less progressive in general and it can make some people feel uncomfortable. Not everyone is like this there, but I find you are more likely to run into the "keep politics out of my gaming" crowd at Gary Con than some of the others. Also, and this probably excaerbates the 2nd point, there is a lot of drinking at Gary Con. I don't see lots of people just wandering around wasted or anything, but obviously inhibitions will be lowered for the evening games and that can make the previous issues worse in certain cases. D&D AL at Gary Con There is a lot of AL at Gary Con. Not as much as Game Hole, but it seems close. Its run by the same crew that runs Game Hole Con and they do a great job. They also do some super fun events like a Grung character only epic (that isn't actually AL legal but they do it anyway) that are a lot of fun. D&D AL Rating: 4 out of 5 PAX Unplugged Where: Philadelphia, PA When: Late November, early December event style: line Official site: http://unplugged.paxsite.com/ Best place for unofficial info: Not sure, maybe reddit? PAX Unplugged has its 3rd yearin 2019. It is an attempt by Penny Arcade to move their successful video game and pop culture format to tabletop. It is the only line based con on the list, and warning, I really don't like the line con format. This means that instead of getting tickets, you have to wait in line to do things. This can suck up a huge amount of your convention time to do nothing but stand there. It may work well for video game cons or if you are really social and just like to talk to random people in line, but if that isn't the case and you like to have a more structured day or do other things you won't like this. I personally would not attend PAXU if it wasn't in Philadelphia where I live. Why you should go to PAXU? You want to attend a large con and live near by, or you want to visit Philadelphia along with the con. It has the feel of a comic con type event more than a table top con in my opinion. Its a newer format and may speak to you. Why you shouldn't go to PAXU? You don't like having to wait in lines and know in advance if you are going to actually get into a game or event you want to play ahead of time. You want a lot of structure in your convention experience. D&D AL at PAXU: There is a good amount of AL play at PAXU, but you have to wait in line to do it, so will you get a table with your friends or a table at all? They did do a ticketing experiement last year for some games, and I hope they do more of it in the future. There are tons and tons of people that come for tier 1 play, it's easier to get into tier 2 and higher. I am rating this con pretty low for AL play but it's mainly because if you want to do more than 1 or 2 games you have to spend a bunch of your time just waiting to get into the game. This is a problem with the convention format and not TRI who runs the AL play here. D&D AL Rating: 2 out of 5 Other conventions: I have also attended smaller cons including Dreamation, Dexcon, Dicetower Con, Unpub, Historicon, Toomanygames, Unseelie Court, Seelie Court, and some others I am sure I am forgetting. I can talk about them if people have questions but I am not going to talk about them individually otherwise unless asked just due to their size. Nothing wrong with them, they're just smaller cons I probably wouldn't attend if they were not near by and inexpensive. Some other cons I know about but haven't attended yet, or will be attending soon, are: Essen Spiel, Metatopia, GAMA, BGG Con, Dragon Con, Winter Fantasy, D&D Live. I have not been to any of them but can give my opinion based on what I know about them if you ask, or if you have attended and want to chime in about these please do.
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May 23, 2019 17:00
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I've got a stupid question. What do I put in the description for games I am registering for the auction/consignment? Do I just copy and paste from bgg or do I make some sort of note of the condition of the game?
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May 23, 2019 17:24
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IMO you should talk about condition, punched or not, missing things, etc.
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May 23, 2019 17:36
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Yes and if you manage to put something genuinely interesting or entertaining in the description it anecdotally could get you a better price... But that is also assuming you have an auctioneer who even reads the descriptions. And an audience paying attention (though that is part of how the description can help). But yeah, I would otherwise just second Nesbit37's advice as it covered the only necessary items. Also if you are selling something obscure the description can help not only explain what it is and why someone might want to buy it, but can help it get reclassified if the Auction staff thinks it is more valuable than you think and wants to put it in the collectibles section (or, potentially, move it to T.O.V.A.). Also wow I now need to go read Nesbit37's other post rather than being in awe of it
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May 23, 2019 22:58
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drat, I let my group down and forgot about event registration while we were all on a beach vacation together. We got a couple of PACG slots (but! Even! The! 9am! Slots! Were! Sold! Out!), but nothing else. Hoping to go find some more esoteric stuff to fill in our schedule with, and just hope we can use generics to get into the PACG timeslots that were sold out. I noticed Paizo seemed to scale back their PACG offerings this year, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the events sell out before. Crazy times. I’m really bummed we didn’t get seats at the Expanse RPG. We’re all huge fans of the books and were really looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll just buy the book and DM it for us that weekend. GEN CON!!!!!!
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May 24, 2019 19:49
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GEN-CON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nesbit37 I am definitely intrigued to see Uber Goober. Maybe followed up the next session by one of the objectively terrible ones.
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May 25, 2019 00:37
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I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? 
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May 28, 2019 04:24
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? There are tons of great events with spots open, and many that will be added between now and August. What do you like to play/do?
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May 28, 2019 04:54
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Lots of events are gonna be open forever, right up until they run - the GM On Demand space is a great place to play new TTRPGs, the Hot Game Room is a ticketed room to play board games and also if you just roll up to a game with some generics its like a 98% chance you'll get in. GenCon rules. Welcome! Hope to see you at the JW one night!
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May 28, 2019 05:01
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Also start walking at least 15 minuets every day if you don't already. If you're thinking about new shoes I wouldn't wait any longer than early July to start breaking them in. I'm a fat garbage-bag of a human and I averaged 8 miles walked every day of the con last year. If you start now you can get into "won't be near death day two, legs just up and fell the gently caress off day four" shape.
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May 28, 2019 05:35
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? If you like the idea of wandering around a football-field sized gaming shop, then there is a very good chance you could spend either a whole day or a few hours every day (or more) just looking through booths. Your specific interests will certainly influence how endlessly intriguing you find the Exhibition Hall, but like, I remember spending a solid hour just looking through Crazy Egor's gaming miscellany stock one year, and that was just one booth out of hundreds (though sadly Crazy Egor is no more). And that is not even getting into the Auction and Auction Store, which is (as everyone who reads these threads knows) actually my favorite part of the entire convention, and obviously per the way an auction works you could literally spend the entire convention in there minus getting in some sleep in the ~8 precious hours each day it is not running. But, yes, this is also the perspective of someone who significantly prefers gaming with his friends; if you like the "gaming" part more than the "focused socializing" part then yes definitely make sure to still get your game on. I quite likely represent a, like, 10% or smaller minority of attendees for whom gaming itself is not really the point at all (and most of them are probably the cosplayers or Spousal Activities crafting/painting-types, not that I have any data to back this up at all [hey Nesbit37, is there any data on how many people do not buy {or have someone buy for them <brace>} any tickets?]). 8one6 posted:Also start walking at least 15 minuets every day if you don't already. If you're thinking about new shoes I wouldn't wait any longer than early July to start breaking them in. I'm a fat garbage-bag of a human and I averaged 8 miles walked every day of the con last year. If you start now you can get into "won't be near death day two, legs just up and fell the gently caress off day four" shape. I do remember my first couple of times attending that my feet would definitely hurt by day four; then, I had the brilliant idea to work a job where I had to walk 7-9 miles a day, and ever since that job I have never processed Gen-Con walkin' as being excessive. So, that is my recommendation, that everyone spend a year in parking enforcement before Gen-Con 2019
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May 28, 2019 06:27
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Ticketed events are overrated. Imagine your dissapointment if you are paying to play with some asshat stranger. Instead play pickup games with your friends or goons!
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May 28, 2019 12:30
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? Get GroupMe. There are always goons looking to hangout and get a game in/drink
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May 28, 2019 12:40
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? I spent my first 4 or 5 Gen Cons doing nothing but the auction and the exhibit hall, and this was in the 1990s when it was a third of the size it is now. You'll be fine. Dr. Quarex posted:data question I dont have data on how many people do or do not buy event tickets but I guarantee Gen Con does. They have all kinds of data, including cool things like how many people had any certain event in their wishlist. I need to talk to Derrick, actually. I have been told they'll share more data with me depending on what it is any I want it. Now is a bad time, though. I need to hit them up when it is slower for them after Gen Con, though i may try to run into him and Marimac at Origins.
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May 28, 2019 12:42
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? shoooooooooooooooots weeeeeeeeeeeednesday
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May 28, 2019 12:42
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djfooboo posted:Ticketed events are overrated. Imagine your dissapointment if you are paying to play with some asshat stranger. Instead play pickup games with your friends or goons! Pickup games are great but ticketed events are great too, and can add some much-welcomed structure to your schedule if you're someone who appreciates that (I am.) Asshat strangers are so rare at GenCon that I can specifically remember the 3 instances I've encountered them. 2 of the 3 asshats were pre-teen children and the other was an MtG player, so no surprises there. 99.9% of people I've met are just really happy to be at GenCon and happy to play games with you.
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May 28, 2019 15:04
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Definitely agree on getting in walking shape before the con if you're not already. You will spend a lot of time on your feet, especially if you're schlepping back and forth between Lucas Oil and ICC or if you spend a lot of time in the exhibit hall. And most importantly - wear comfortable walking shoes, not flip-flops or heels!
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May 28, 2019 15:06
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Oh there are plenty of asshats at Gen Con. I agree they are not common, but they are there. From thieves, to the oblivious, to MRAs, they are around. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine signed us up for a 12 hour D&D game that started at 8pm that took place in a fantastical home brewed world made by the DM. I and several of the rest of us didn't really want to play but we went along. Immediately we regretted it. First we had to make our own characters, which took about 3 hours (never have players make their own characters for a con game unless its literally a 10min or less process). I, and a few others made melee characters, which played RAW in D&D 3.5 or whatever version this was. The homebrewed part was in the magic system, which the DM apparently decided he wanted to just treat as if we were playing Amber diceless roleplaying, so magic users got to do literally anything they wanted as long as the DM allowed it. We quickly got into our first combat. I rolled to hit, and missed. Turn over. The woman besides me does the same. Then the first wizard is up and spends, no exaggeration, 30 minutes describing how is character needs to palm his balls so he can jizz fire on all the enemies and describe how he sculpts it around, starts various objects on fire, how much they love being burned to death by his jizz, etc. Needless to say that was the last of that game for me and most* of my friends that were there and a couple others at the table. The one friend that really wanted us all to play stuck it out for like 6 hours before quitting. Not sure if he quit because he couldn't take any more or he loved it and just was too tired to continue for the full 12 hours. I don't talk to him much these days. It's games like these I really wish Gen Con had a game master rating system. I know you can email customer service about bad experiences but it isn't widely known. Also, we were all pretty sure the DM only ran this game to get a free hotel room. He had 12 players in a 12 hour game, that's 144 hours or play hours he can count towards a free badge and room for Gen Con. edit: I am not sure if this is the current number, but for a while it was 200 play hours needed by a GM to get a 1/4 portion, err, room share. nesbit37 fucked around with this message at 15:59 on May 28, 2019 |
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May 28, 2019 15:56
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nesbit37 posted:It's games like these I really wish Gen Con had a game master rating system. I know you can email customer service about bad experiences but it isn't widely known. Also, we were all pretty sure the DM only ran this game to get a free hotel room. He had 12 players in a 12 hour game, that's 144 hours or play hours he can count towards a free badge and room for Gen Con. It looks like it's 70 hours for a GM badge and 800 hours for a room. (It doesn't look like they do shares, but I guess a handful of people could call themselves a group to combine their hours.) And it sounds like that was probably just those guys' regular home game and they decided to subject some strangers to it for some comp. At least, I hope that player and GM knew each other, because either spending 30 minutes telling a stranger about jizzing fire or sitting and listening to a stranger do that for 30 minutes and going "yep, sounds good" are both awful. On a similar note; has anyone ever seen anyone playing FATAL at Gen Con?
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May 28, 2019 16:37
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Eastmabl posted:It's called a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. I'm running it on Thursday and Sunday morning. (The Sunday morning slot is getting moved to 10 am to go into the Modiphius room.) Sorry this is so late, but I pretty definitely won't be able to make it this year. I am definitely interested in seeing how your module works out for you and your players. I guess keep me posted if you like. My email is mreese60068 (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks! Have fun running the games, and have a nice time at the con!
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May 28, 2019 16:53
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8one6 posted:Also start walking at least 15 minuets every day if you don't already. If you're thinking about new shoes I wouldn't wait any longer than early July to start breaking them in. I'm a fat garbage-bag of a human and I averaged 8 miles walked every day of the con last year. If you start now you can get into "won't be near death day two, legs just up and fell the gently caress off day four" shape. My tips, though I’ve only gone once. 1. Start walking now. At *least* 5,000 a day. Wear sneakers. 2. Get yourself a good backpack, preferably with dividers inside. 3. Bring cash. 4. Bring along a high tech water bottle that doesn’t sweat. Pack a few simple snacks, like a small bag of Goldfish crackers or breakfast bars. Do have gum or breath strips. 5. Look at the map ahead of time. Decide where you want to go on each day and try planning a loose agenda, as an experiment. Definitely plan to have free time to browse. 6. Unless you’re playing an event that requires pre-built stuff, you should show up with an empty backpack. 7. Get there early for good parking. Also, vendors give out free coffee and water in the morning. You could also visit nearby restaurants for breakfast, but eat light. 8. Do the happy hour thing on Wednesday evening.
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May 28, 2019 18:59
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NeurosisHead posted:I'm attending GenCon for the first time this year, which is cool. I guess everything big is sold out already, which is less cool. Is wandering around the booths something that I can send the whole time doing, or should I start figuring out what else in Indianapolis I want to do? The first two years I went to Gen Con, my buddy and I had no idea what we were doing and didn't get tickets for anything. You could spend all 4 days just in the Dealer Hall doing demos and checking things out, as well as in the Games Library / Games on Demand sections. Don't worry--the best of Gen Con is still open to you! Think about getting some Generic Tickets (not a lot, just a few) to spend at those places. Embrace pick-up gaming with goons and friends! If something looks neat, ask about it--everyone I've met at Gen Con except the grognardiest of grognards have been extremely nice, helpful, and friendly. I only ever bring a backpack/satchel (I alternate which I bring each year, as each have pros and cons) with my dice bag, a small notebook and pen, and a mini or two just in case. Also toss in a waterbottle (Simple Modern makes cheap and great vacuum sealed waterbottles that won't sweat and will keep your water cold all day), a couple snacks, and maybe a USB battery to charge your phone. And you're good to go!
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May 28, 2019 19:05
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I can't remember if it was mentioned in this thread or the group me, but a lot of general gaming events are just a distraction to the rest of Gen Con IMO. Unless you're playing with someone special to you that you can't play with outside of the convention, its a game you really want to try and won't have another chance to easily do so, or some other unique situation, I would rather do just about anything else at Gen Con than play in yet another D&D game.
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May 28, 2019 19:13
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This is my 6th or 7th straight year. I am signed up for 0 offical events. Get some generics. Get in GroupMe. Watch the magic happen. Red posted:8. Do the happy hour thing on Wednesday evening. I think Deviant and I are starting at 11 am.
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May 28, 2019 19:27
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Thanks for all of the feedback! I'll be driving in and arriving sometime mid afternoon on Wednesday, so I'll probably get in GroupMe and start making some plans with you folks. Looking through the events, there's still lots of workshops and stuff that are really interesting so I feel a lot better about it now. I'm on those people that needs to make plans and schedules so having such a huge network of people who are experienced at dealing with the convention is super helpful.
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May 28, 2019 20:55
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NeurosisHead posted:Thanks for all of the feedback! I'll be driving in and arriving sometime mid afternoon on Wednesday, so I'll probably get in GroupMe and start making some plans with you folks. Looking through the events, there's still lots of workshops and stuff that are really interesting so I feel a lot better about it now. I'm on those people that needs to make plans and schedules so having such a huge network of people who are experienced at dealing with the convention is super helpful. I mean we have plans its just like: Wed Arrival - 5:59pm: drop luggage in room, pickup games with goons Wed 6pm - 10pm: SHOT WEDNESDAY Wed 10pm - Thur ??am High Velocity post shots additional drinking Thur ??am - come out of stupor long enough to sign $100 HV check Thur ??am - jolt up on floor of hotel room, put in earplugs to silence cacophony of roommates who need CPAP Thur ??am- wake up, ask if shower is free, fall back asleep x4 Thur 9:30am - wake up, reestablish time continuity, realize you have 15 min to destink yourself and run to get in line for the vendor hall rush/your 10am game Thur 10am - 6pm: gaming/vendor hall/panels/demos/auction for an hour to sit/do people eat lunch?/gawk at everything if it’s your first gencon Thur 6pm - 11:59pm: dinner somewhere, pickup games with goons, get in groupme, drinking at high velocity, goto 10 Fellis fucked around with this message at 04:37 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 01:05
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nesbit37 posted:I dont have data on how many people do or do not buy event tickets but I guarantee Gen Con does. They have all kinds of data, including cool things like how many people had any certain event in their wishlist. I need to talk to Derrick, actually. I have been told they'll share more data with me depending on what it is any I want it. Now is a bad time, though. I need to hit them up when it is slower for them after Gen Con, though i may try to run into him and Marimac at Origins. Though I will throw in an agreement that nearly everyone at Gen-Con is there to have a great time and if they are insufferable then that person is physically incapable of being sufferable. Red posted:2. Get yourself a good backpack, preferably with dividers inside. 3. Yes that. I think the number of companies giving discounts for cash is shrinking, but between the fact that the Auction still gives like a 3% discount for cash, other companies do too, and then you actually know how much you are spending, Gen-Con is indeed the only time of year I plan to use cash to buy things. 4. Oh good call; I am told every year to buy one of those 24-hour-cold ice tumblers and just keep refilling it, which seems like a good idea (albeit a little bulky but probably worth it in drink-savings). 7. You have had the legendary free coffee in the mornings?! PRAY TELL RED, IS THIS COFFEE AS MAGICAL AS IN MY DREAMS?! NeurosisHead posted:Thanks for all of the feedback! I'll be driving in and arriving sometime mid afternoon on Wednesday, so I'll probably get in GroupMe and start making some plans with you folks. Looking through the events, there's still lots of workshops and stuff that are really interesting so I feel a lot better about it now. I'm on those people that needs to make plans and schedules so having such a huge network of people who are experienced at dealing with the convention is super helpful. Fellis posted:I mean we have plans its just like: I want to post my own delightful schedule to prove even King of Aimless Meandering has plans but what if other people also start posting funny schedules!? Ugh, chuckle goodtimes and more posts; that would be awful. Monday 10 P.M.: Arrive in Indianapolis, set up room with same care and ultimate meaninglessness as placing an army in a wargame Tuesday 8 A.M.: Enjoy already hearing words like "character," "level," and "thrombosis" at hotel breakfast Tuesday Afterthat: Try to visit the tastiest/nerdiest places in town that Captain Rat and I have not visited in previous years; I think BRICS and Nada are on tap this year? and of course we expect to go to Doughnuts & Dragons at least once; probably not going to make it to the exotic feline rescue park or the ruins of Holiday Park or the convention Tuesday 10 P.M.: Enjoy the last waning moments of being in Indianapolis "early;" microdose Bubble Jug Wednesday Sometime: Try to get in as many hours working Auction setup as possible to keep my guilt low and schedule freer for the rest of the convention, followed by the traditional "disappointing walk through the beer garden" and attending Shots Wednesday wow?!?!?!?! Thursday: Take the traditional "incredibly sad to be preparing to enter Gen-Con" selfie, probably try to trick some people into bidding on old copies of Monopoly Friday: Pretty sure we always skip Friday SATURDAY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING T.O.-V.A.! T.O.-V.A.! T.O.-V.A.! Sunday: The part of 1408 where the convention resets and we realize we, John Cusack, are probably dead
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May 29, 2019 04:38
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Saturday 9:30pm - 11:30pm: ticket to True Dungeon: The deadly halls of castle wintermore Saturday 11:45pm: ticket to True Dungeon: the swamp gas of downtown indianapolis while you walk to Scotty’s Dr. Quarex posted:Friday: Pretty sure we always skip Friday Yeah agreed, friday is the lost day
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May 29, 2019 04:49
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Has there been any serious talk of extending Gencon to Wednesday? The last few years I've been really crowded on my schedule and I feel like it's really a three day con. Most things I'm interested in don't run on Sunday at all, restricting me to Thursday to Saturday to get in the events I'm interested in. Having gone to Origins last year I can say that the 5 day schedule was nice.
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May 29, 2019 07:40
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Conan the Librarian posted:Has there been any serious talk of extending Gencon to Wednesday? The vendors in the dealer hall would riot.
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May 29, 2019 08:13
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Dr. Quarex posted:7. You have had the legendary free coffee in the mornings?! PRAY TELL RED, IS THIS COFFEE AS MAGICAL AS IN MY DREAMS?! Yeah! Last I went, Mayfair games had a tent set up where the food trucks are, I think. You got a free pin for stopping by. I now realize they’ve since been sold, so who knows what goes on now.
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May 29, 2019 14:02
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Gen con pretty much already starts on Wednesday, at least as much as origins does. If by start on Wednesday you mean add a day to the exhibit hall? Yeah, that's not going to happen.
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May 29, 2019 14:39
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Dr. Quarex, I just realized it's Wednesday. Are we going to try and do this movie thing tonight or not? I'm getting old and need to schedule this stuff more than like 5 hours in advance. Not sure if it can even work tonight since Uber Goober is on a DVD and I don't have it as a file at the moment but we can see what happens!
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May 29, 2019 19:53
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Dr. Quarex posted:That would be cool to learn the dark secret of what percentage of people on the surface do not actually go to Gen-Con for ticketed events. I am going to find out it is like 99% and the last 1% buys literally every other ticket I have been to Nada twice since moving here, place is easily one of my favorites in the city, and probably my favorite within walking distance of the convention center, excluding the super expensive Harry and Izzy/St Elmo combo. I will probably work all day Wednesday but walk to the convention center around lunch to pick up my pass. Thursday I will try to get off but may have to work a half day, get off around 11-12 and walk over, Friday I should for sure have off. I got a few events but mostly I hope to do pick up games with goons. Someone explain to me this magical GroupMe?
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May 29, 2019 22:38
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Yoda posted:Someone explain to me this magical GroupMe? It's essentially a group chat/text program that makes it super easy to tag up with people at big events. And if you're in the middle of something, it supports muting such that Quarex won't utterly destroy your phone's battery gushing about random crap that's up for auction all the time. (Quarex...) It is awesome and you should get it.
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May 29, 2019 23:02
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its also handy for when your wifi signal shits the bed when 50,000 other people are trying to shitpost on facebook: you can switch it to SMS mode (i hope you are ready for the constant stream of phone notifications. Not usually recommended!)
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May 30, 2019 01:03
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Conan the Librarian posted:Has there been any serious talk of extending Gencon to Wednesday? Red posted:Yeah! Last I went, Mayfair games had a tent set up where the food trucks are, I think. You got a free pin for stopping by. nesbit37 posted:Dr. Quarex, I just realized it's Wednesday. Are we going to try and do this movie thing tonight or not? I'm getting old and need to schedule this stuff more than like 5 hours in advance. Not sure if it can even work tonight since Uber Goober is on a DVD and I don't have it as a file at the moment but we can see what happens! Yeah I meant for us to talk about the logistics before, you know, right now If you want to show something else just as a test tonight that is fine; or, you know, doing it next week works too. Ilor posted:It's Goon poo poo-posting and memes delivered directly to your phone in real-time! It is the best! Lawen posted:Go here to download the app for your iOS/Android/Windows Phone.  but fortunately if I am not responding for hours it means I am either asleep or at the Auction so it is easy to know whether my presence is relevant (never).
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May 30, 2019 01:14
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 09:52 |
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Going for first time to gen con or any sort of gaming con. Mostly going to spend some time with my brother, I grew up playing games and tabletop rpgs with him but it’s probably been close to twenty years since I played anything with him though he’s kept up with the hobby. There is a handful of ticketed events he got us tickets to while still leaving lots of breathing room in the schedule. The opening of the exhibit hall seems to be towards the top of his list. I wanted to watch a mobile frame zero demo but the only one on the schedule is sold out. Other then that and maybe playing some mtg drafts probably just going to follow my brother around, not totally sure what to do or expect. Going with an open mind.
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Jun 7, 2019 09:16
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