Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

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A U G U S T
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Every year I contemplate how much this post actually needs to say about what Gen-Con even is. It seems like 95% of the people posting have gone before, and the other 5% know exactly what it is and have just never gone until this year.

BUT! As a good social scientist, I know the importance of testing the null hypothesis, so until I receive private messages from literally every person on the Forums I must assume it is helping someone.

Wait is this subforum open to the public

Oh hey, it is, which means actually this thread is potentially being read by the billions of people interested in Gen-Con around the world, and surely some of them will benefit from learning that you can �play games,� �buy cool things,� and �stan headcanon babyvore-crinkles yiff.�

Thanks Satan!

GEN CON!

What is Gen-Con? Besides the GREATEST FOUR DAYS OF THE YEAR?

Well, it is possibly the world's largest gaming-writ-large convention. Boardgames, RPGs, video games, cosplay, collectible card games, posclay, auctions, anime, steampunk fursuit goth-ravers, yosclap, endless fields of merchandise, backpacks entirely too large for human wear, 3 books, literally more t-shirts with nerdy sayings or pictures on them than you can imagine, scalpyo, �celebrities,� nerd-branded beer, and endless fields of enormous people collapsed against the convention hall walls; truly, Gen Con has everything you might expect or hope to find in the ideal type of Place Where Gaming Things Happen, and more!

To understand how a gaming convention came to be the best possible use of anyone�s free time, it might help to semi-briefly explain how we got here:

Thanks Deviant and 8one6!

HISTORY THAT EVERYONE WILL READ

1968: The Lake Geneva Wargames Convention is officially started by E. Gary Gygax, gaming hero and biotruther, after it is becoming increasingly obvious that there are enough people in the region interested in wargames to justify the massive expenditure of $50 for a place to game for the weekend. I feel like the official story was that attendance was 50 cents each and between attendees and hot dog sales he precisely made his money back, though this leaves unexplained the great mystery of how much did he spend on hot dogs???

On a serious note, it is positively delightful to read contemporary newsletters and correspondence from this era, when it was downright exciting if you knew of a group of a dozen people in your whole state who were interested in wargames. Nowadays we have a hard time finding a dozen people in arm�s reach who do not own a full run of Funko Pops.

1974: Dungeons & Dragons comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

1978: Gen-Con relocates to Kenosha, Wisconsin, due to space concerns, reminding us just how little space there must have been in Lake Geneva for Kenosha to be a big-time upgrade.

198?: TSR solidifies its symbolic and actual domination of the industry by building a castle in the Exhibition Hall that feels like it takes up about � of the space. The castle domination continues unabated for ages, and you would never guess that D&D�s successor company now does not even bother showing up anymore.

1985: Gen-Con relocates to Milwaukee, which must have seemed like the absolute end-game big leagues at the time. While I can hardly claim to really know what it truly felt like before this, this move really seems to solidify the organization of Gen-Con as we see it today, with the biggest space of a convention center reserved for dealers to hawk their nerdy wares while every other possible space in the complex is reserved for one manner of game or game-related activity. I know it might sound obvious, but I think every other convention I attended in 2018 besides Gen-Con had other activities going on in the convention space at the same time (even Origins), whereas Gen-Con has long cleared the decks when it shows up.

1993: Magic: the Gathering comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

1997: Quarex attends Gen-Con for the first time, demonstrating his age and relative level of incompetence by spending $75 on a Lich card and buying four Gillian Anderson posters, while further demonstrating his propensity for bad ideas by not attending again until 2002. edit: oh god Captain Rat thank you for pointing out I typoed 1998; our inside joke "Nine Teen Nine Tee Sevunn" would not have existed if we had not gone then)

2003: Gen-Con moves to Indianapolis, and Milwaukee is trashed forever after as a garbage-tier convention-host city compared to the unbelievably warm welcome Indianapolis gave and has continued to give year after year (in only the second-ever example of unexaggerated �boy, that was the worst thing ever� criticism, after the time AOL joined Usenet).

2004: *checks notes* NaviaDratP comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

2016: Quarex misses his first Indianapolis Gen-Con, breaking everyone�s hearts forever.

2017: Gen-Con celebrates its 50th anniversary, and even though I believe all the organizers from the first few years have died now, Mike Carr (designer of Dawn Patrol/Fight in the Skies, also the only game officially run at every Gen-Con) is still going every year, and this is totally gonna be the year I play in one of his sessions! *Mike Carr instantly explodes*

You can also read Nesbit37�s write-up on the amazing Best 50 Years in Gaming site, which I must say remains shockingly relevant considering I assumed it was going to be basically a one-shot for 2017 but NESBIT37 IS ALWAYS COLLECTING INFORMATION.

(Thanks Bottom Liner and Nesbit37)

SUMMARY

The idea of a room full of people coming together to play their beloved games en masse may look significantly different in 2019 than it did in 1968, considering everything from the rooms to the people to the games are virtually unrecognizable to their past selves, but I think part of the magic of Gen Con is precisely that it has stayed so amazingly true to its original intent despite it seeming like literally everything in the gaming world has changed since then. There may be more people playing wargames at Gen Con 2019 than there were wargamers in the whole country in 1968, and yet wargaming is probably only the, like, 50th biggest draw overall (no data were harmed in the production of this sentence).

INDIANAPOLIS

One of the absolutely most exciting things about going to Gen-Con is the location, particularly given what happens to it during Convention Time**. Nearly every business likely to be patronized by nerds within a good three-block radius is suddenly and mysteriously covered in banners welcoming people to come and game there, crude (or even not-so-crude) drawings and paintings of characters from Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z, Star Trek, Pok�mon, Lord of the Rings, Naruto, Wasteland 3, Walking Dead, Avengers, Wasteland 2; anything remotely popular you can name.

It might even sound cheesy if you have not experienced it, but it is almost impossible to maintain a completely dead ironic front while realizing you are in the midst of thousands of people who share your interests and businesses EXPERTLY PANDERING FOR YOUR SWEET UPPER-MIDDLE-CLAS$. More than anything else, this is what to me turns it from a convention into a lifestyle event/theme park; you basically cannot escape, and so you can only choose between fully immersing yourself in it or hiding in your room (no hard feelings to people with anxiety or crowd issues; I love you too and here is a big hug).

And, as implied both just now and in the history section earlier, the move from Milwaukee to Indianapolis (oh hey, and this is the 17th Gen-Con in Indianapolis, tying Milwaukee!?) changed the tenor of the host city entirely. Indianapolis is full of cheery welcoming people who will happily tell you that we are their favorite yearly event because most of us are easy to deal with and actually tip well, whereas it is no exaggeration to say that in Milwaukee, employees at locations from hotels to mall food court kiosks openly disdained Gen-Con while we were there, particularly as I understand it the more years we returned. The Milwaukee newspaper ran an article that of course now I cannot find basically saying �good riddance� once we left, though this article from 2015 talking about how the Midwest Gaming Classic has had trouble expanding in part because venue owners in Milwaukee still literally do not want gamers in their spaces is fairly illuminating: https://www.patrickstomlinson.com/2015/04/23/milwaukee-hasnt-learned-from-gencon/

The main downside to Indianapolis as a host city is the airport, but it is definitely not a coincidence that it has begun growing dramatically over the last decade, finally reaching the point that you might actually be able to get a direct flight without already living 3 hours� drive away in the first place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_International_Airport#/media/File:IND_DOMESTIC_JAN_2018.png

It seems like details on specific transportation issues, like the best place to park or the accessibility or non-existence of airport shuttles, is changing every year at this point, but the good thing is that there always seem to be good ways to get from wherever you arrive/stay-once-you-are-there to The Convention Center Itself, which really is the most vital point of all. And, as we all learned from watching Hobocon, it is easy to just sleep anywhere in the �. Oh wait we learned from Hobocon that even napping in a chair during the day will probably get you yelled at, never mind.

HEY HERE IS THE OFFICIAL HOUSING REGISTRATION WALKTHROUGH EVEN THOUGH I THINK IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE TO GET IN THE QUEUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVxowlXXiHI&t=128s

GONNA MAKE A SECOND POST WITH ALL THE USUAL SUGGESTIONS WITH PLACES TO EAT AND STUFF TO BRING AND SUCH, THEN A THIRD POST TO RESERVE AND NEVER USE!?

_{**Defined, I would say, as Tuesday to Monday, even though obviously the convention is not formally running that whole time, and heck the official gaming tables at the airport even run until Tuesday morning I think?!?!}

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jan 28, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 05:38

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# ? Apr 30, 2024 17:38

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Here is my always-updating list of recommended things to bring:

Cash! Some vendors, and of particular note the Auction/Auction Store, offer discounts for paying in cash, so even though it is not a necessity like it used to be before mobile card readers were everywhere, it is still a good idea
Dice??? Granted this is the least dangerous place in the world to forget dice
iGizmos/Cameras/Phones/Whatever
Chargers for what ails ya (phone, laptop, tablet, tableau, plateau, mesa)
Batteries, failing to remember your chargers
Googies (my Mom's aphasiac word for "snacks to eat on the go" (Suggested Road Food For Travellers On Facebook Page: Quest Nutrition Quest Bars[tm{tm}])
Hand sanitizer FOR EMERGENCIES
Notepads(tm) (hey, I take notes on my phone too, but sometimes paper comes up in gaming)
Pens/pencils/pansals
Black AND Silver(!) Sharpies for autographs on light or dark surfaces(!!!)
YOUR MEDICINE/PAINKILLERS/BANDAGES/INSULIN/TESTOSTERONE/GOLD-PRESSED LATINUM
Probably some insoles or gel inserts or foam blocks to walk on or whatever
Collapsible/lightweight water bottle with flavored beverage pouches
Gum!
Splenda, mayonnaise, and hot sauce packets: The Condiment Trifecta
TRAVEL CUTLERY KIT!!!!!

And here is the, as mentioned, suprisingly often-changing list of easily-walkable places to eat:

Firstly, a map showing all the places to eat close to the Convention center. The closest food to the convention itself is likely in the form of food trucks on Georgia Street (right outside the uhh East entrance I think). I have heard basically only good things about all of those trucks though I have not tried them myself yet.

The Ram (brewpub with gamer-themed menu, though always too full and not nearly as unique an experience as it was in like 2003)
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, though Lawen would kill me if I did not mention St. Elmo Steakhouse in the same breath
And speaking of St. Elmo, after 2015, Harry & Izzy's actually became my favorite place to eat in Indianapolis, because as Mudcrab Merchant points out, it is basically the food from St. Elmo (connected next door) but at a fraction of the price.
First Watch (I have not been there but apparently it has the FRESHEST INGREDIENTS despite being a chain)
Patachou (closes at like 3 P.M., but legitimately amazing quality breakfast/lunch)
STEAK 'N' SHAKE BECAUSE I AM FROM NORMAL, ILLINOIS AND I WILL BE PROUD OF OUR HOMETOWN CREATION UNTIL THE DAY I DIE
Prime 47, if you want to go a little farther for some food you also cannot afford. I remember going here with my then-girlfriend once and it was very good, but we also felt strange eating somewhere so fancy while wearing Hawaiian shirts.
Fat Rooster Diner in the Hyatt had an astoundingly good and cheap lunch buffet, including a cooked-to-order pasta man, though fair warning they mentioned they would probably run a limited menu this year
And Yard House is heartily recommended by RADIO FREE WALRUS
Thanks to CellBlock, we now know that
CellBlock posted:
there is a Primanti Bros. in Indianapolis now. If you like big sandwiches with french fries on them, that's a good place
, conveniently located in the Circle Centre Mall (also known as "the thing that you always walk past near the Convention Center but quite possibly have never gone into that has the movie theater")
PLUS apparently Café Patachou has opened a pizzeria called Napolese Pizzeria which is also seemingly in the Circle Center Mall so I need to eat there RIGHT NOW
AND WOW the Circle Center Mall hits just keep on coming!!!
Conan the Librarian posted:
Also, I'm not sure how this wasn't mentioned earlier in the food section but I've had a wonderful time at Pearings Cafe for great breakfast crepes and coffee each morning of the con.

Some of the best Indianapolis restaurants that are still technically walkable but are probably like a mile away or so:

Milktooth, suggested by DJFooBoo as the "head chef is a James Beard award winner who focuses on breakfast/brunch. Holy poo poo you should eat there dumbass!" Thanks ;(
MacNivens for Great Scotch Eggs!
Mesh on Mass is "spectacular" THAT IS ALL I KNOW
Not gonna lie, I have wanted to go to The Rathskeller ever since Gen-Con first moved, as it somehow got talked up as the single place you absolutely must go that was not close to the convention. Needless to say I have therefore never gone, but I DO love me some good German food.
Bazbeaux for pizza
Bakersfield for tacos...!??
Bru Burger for ... burgers
Bluebeard sounds like a pretty amazing place with a constantly-changing menu
Union 50 sounds delicious though it has LIVE MUSIC so BEWARE
Shapiro's Delicatessen made a list of the best 25 restaurants in Indianapolis so just go there already
Long's Bakery for THE BEST DONUTS APPARENTLY
Maxine's Chicken and Waffles is, according to Elephant Ambush, the best breakfast.
Fogo De Chao to gorge on unlimited top-notch steak and other meaty gubbins
Lawen posted:
Punch Bowl Social - I stumbled (literally) across this place last year and it was a high point of the trip. It's a big, nice bar at the other end of Georgia St near the basketball arena. It had good food and very good cocktails and is the only place in Indy I've found where I can do shots of Fernet-Branca. It also has 8 bowling lanes, 3 dart boards, 2 ping-pong tables, 2 bocce ball courts, 3 private karaoke rooms, a retro arcade, corn hole, a giant Scrabble game, and plenty of table space for board gaming. Best of all, it was completely loving empty last year -- they'd only opened a few months earlier and no one seemed to know about it. I apparently got drunkenly, annoyingly effusive about it in GroupMe and people were mean to me but don't hold that against Punch Bowl. I'm definitely planning to go back this year and imo it'd be a great venue for Shot Wednesday assuming nerd trivia is still dead. (DR. GARGUNZA ALSO BELIEVES THIS PLACE IS GOOD: "Just outside of the range most con-goers are willing to walk for food, and seldom busy outside of exactly lunchtime. Decent food, some good veggie-friendly options, and the owner and staff are really cordial to out-of-town dorks like me and my group.")
Reynold posted:
The Eiteljorg Museum is like one block from the convention center, and it's cafe offers a somewhat limited menu of southwestern-style food, local craft beer, and a changing "quesadilla of the day." You don't need to pay any admission to eat there.
Maigius posted:
It's kind of off the beaten path, on the street between the stadium and the convention center to the east, but The Slippery Noodle had good food and big portions. When we went last year, I brought some fettuccine Alfredo back to the hotel.

And, now, some random advice:

If you are not in good enough shape to be on your feet for hours a day and to walk about a dozen miles over the course of several days, you might want to get on that. For reasons entirely unrelated to the convention, generally, but in this case specifically for the convention.
The Comic Con thread suggests the 6/2/1 rule, though I prefer the 5/3/1 rule, but the idea is the same: Sleep at least 5/6 hours, eat 2/3 meals, and take 1 shower every day. Honestly, if you can handle going a long time without eating, I suggest taking advantage of your hotel's free breakfast buffet (you should stay at a hotel with a free breakfast buffet) and stuffing yourself silly and then trying to make it until dinner time, since nearby businesses are often packed during lunchtime and ending up missing two quality hours of the exhibit hall just to eat a sandwich seems like a bad deal to me. And yes, this is often called the "3/2/1" rule, but seriously, I have never seen anyone consistently sleep ~3 hours a night and not end up literally passing out AT THE GAMING TABLE by day three.
Favor messenger bags over backpacks, and even backpacks over rolling suitcases (from both usefulness and not-injuring-others perspectives). You could probably favor fanny packs over messenger bags if you were that comfortable looking ... ...... not much different than the others around you.
Due to the average level of social capability at any gaming convention, Goons have traditionally proven to be excellent choices for hangout-buddies here; I will use the third post in part for lists of Goon-run events (both formal and informal) and other such meeting-up-portunities (since last year I did a bad job helping coordinate that).
Slandible posted:
E>> One other thing I would suggest I didn't see in the OP, is dressing in layers. I know it's the middle of summer and you're going to be packed into the center like cattle, but by around 8 pm, a large amount of people start leaving. And by close to midnight, all the AC units in the place turn it into a giant meat locker. I froze my rear end off the first night.
theironjef posted:
First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

(yeah Kuma's Corner is amazing, one of the best burgers I have ever had and death/black metal food names!

Most everyone who hangs out in these threads ends up with a decent hotel room, at least according to informal surveys of the GroupMe group, but if there are any loners in the thread planning ahead for next year, you might want to try to find other people also looking to see if you can get multiple entries into the hotel lottery together. Though you also might want to ask around about that person just in case you run into one of those legendary Kinda Worrying Goons (though again, all things considered, it is kind of amazing how great our forum gang has been to hang out with over the years).

Oh speaking of the GroupMe group, here is how to join our now-basically-year-round Gen-Con chat group

Lawen posted:

Go here to download the app for your iOS/Android/Windows Phone.

Make an account.

Click here to join the GenGoons group!

is it just me or is the text in this post smaller, what is going on edit: O.K. it looks fine now cool

YO CHECK OUT THIS THING AGRIAS120 AND PROBABLY-NON-GOON TROUT MADE, AN APPROPRIATELY VERBOSE GUIDE TO PLACES TO EAT IN INDIANAPOLIS THAT MIGHT EVENTUALLY INCLUDE THINGS BESIDES FOOD TOO!!!

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 20:08 on May 3, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 05:39

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

This reserved post is really open to suggestions.

I did not get the sense that anyone ever actually looked at the random YouTube videos and BLOGZ and enthralling audio dramas from years past, but I can certainly dig through those links again if people were using them to pass the time to make Gen-Con come sooner!!!

!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I should have this post be a FAQ for questions literally asked in the thread!!! Wow!

Oh hey, here is an answer to a question that will probably be asked: yes, there is, surprisingly, an airport shuttle still; I swear nobody knows about it, as it certainly has not come up recently as far as I know, but I just found this confirmation on Go Express Travel's webpage, cool:

Downtown Indy Express posted:

The Go Green Airport Shuttle is the express Indianapolis Airport shuttle serving Downtown Indianapolis. Our most popular stops serve Lucas Oil Stadium, The Convention Center, and The Marriott Complex (JW Marriott). The shuttle operates from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, every half hour, 7 days a week.

EDIT: HEY I FIGURED OUT SOMETHING ELSE TO DO WITH THIS POST, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT

LINKS TO PAST THREADS
Archives needed:
Gen Con 2003 Thread Attempt~ #1: Just A Young Lad Looking For A Hotel Room
Gen Con 2003 Thread Attempt #2: Anachronistic Hero Lab Promotional Placement
Gen Con 2004 Thread Attempt #1: Rhandhali's Rhuminations
Gen Con 2004 Thread Attempt #2: A Second Rhandhali Post Has Hit The Forums
Gen Con 2004: Well No Actually A Thread About An NPR Story On Gen Con
Gen Con SO CAL(!) 2004: Wow It Was Real Probably!
Gen Con 2005 Thread Attempt #1: Space Pope Had The Goods Though
Gen Con 2005 Computer Game Interview Request Thread In Games Proper: Ends With A Milwaukeean's Lament
Gen Con 2005 Thread Attempt #2: Three Posts.
Gen Con 2006: Surprisingly On-Topic
Gen Con 2007, Kind Of: Quarex Seeks to Understand the Differences Between Gen-Con, Origins, and DragonCon
Gen Con 2007, Kind Of, Redux: Seorin Just Wants Spoilers
Gen Con 2008: The Saddest Official Thread Ever
Gen Con Paris 2009: No, That Did Not Actually Happen, Sorry Man
Gen Con 2009: At Least They Tried
Gen Con 2010 Thread Attempt #1: Title Mocking Indiana, Thread Bad
Gen Con 2010 Thread Attempt #2: Title Also Mocking Indiana, Thread Also Bad; Coincidence?
Gen Con 2011 Lightly Mentioned In This Thread About The Specific D&D Tournament Taking Place There
Gen Con 2012: Indianapolis Washed Away By Tidal Wave
Gen Con 2013: Gen Con Moves To Lemuria For Better Downtown Hotel Coverage

Archives no longer needed:
Gen Con 2014: Year Numbers Definitely Started Sounding Futuristic For Me Here
Gen Con 2015 and Gen Con 2015 Part Two: 2016
Gen Con 2017: Celebrate 50 Glorious Years Of Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae
Gen Con 2018: I Think This Is Still Going On

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Jun 27, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 05:40

BlackIronHeart: Aug 2, 2004; The Oath Breaker's about to hit warphead nine Kaptain!

Is this where I complain about perennially having a 6pm or later housing lottery time? I wanna see someone's supervisor.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 05:50

OgreNoah: Nov 18, 2003

BlackIronHeart posted:

Is this where I complain about perennially having a 6pm or later housing lottery time? I wanna see someone's supervisor.

I got my earliest time ever in the last 11 years of attending: 2:51 PM. I'm sure everything will be long gone by then.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 05:52

Fellis: Feb 14, 2012; Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

GEN CON

# ? Jan 27, 2019 06:05

Carteret: Nov 10, 2012

Thanks Quarex, I'll have you know I read every word of your OP, AS USUAL and you are a poet.

Also I miss you. Come to Rathskellers on Wednesday gosh darnnit

# ? Jan 27, 2019 06:19

Nemesis Of Moles: Jul 25, 2007

Perpetual Time Slot Complainer Nemesis of Moles here to announce this was the year I finally got a reasonable slot and I'll be staying in the JW, as is my birthright

EDIT: Toppers Pizza delivers to the downtown hotels and does some really wacky loving pizzas that are also pretty good. I wouldn't recommend eating a tater tot topped pizza covered in cheese whizz but hey its a vacation gently caress it eat like hogs. People liked their buffalo bacon pizza last year at the Fiasco game.

Nemesis Of Moles fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Jan 27, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 06:21

Texibus: May 18, 2008

best time in our group for the hotel lottery this year was 4 pm... please let me know if some lucky goon group has an extra good time

# ? Jan 27, 2019 06:39

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Fellis posted:

GEN CON

GEN CON

Carteret posted:

Thanks Quarex, I'll have you know I read every word of your OP, AS USUAL and you are a poet.

Also I miss you. Come to Rathskellers on Wednesday gosh darnnit

Thanks man, I sometimes laugh to myself when doing these write-ups, particularly given that the nature of huge starter posts like these is that they so rarely get read.

I am proud that my series of cosplay anagrams resulted in Torrent defining "scalpyo" as "stealing cosplay pieces from someone who is wearing them."

# ? Jan 27, 2019 07:22

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

Second, System Mastery gonna be there again, if anyone in here cares. We'll be running two recording live shows (System Mastery and Expounded Universe) and also a new thing, Quiztem Mastery, which is going to be a live-only panel style quiz show with guests from other podcasts. Basically Big Fat Quiz but RPG/Game themed. Probably run a few games too, haven't decided yet.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 08:22

Admiral Joeslop: Jul 8, 2010

I got a hotel and my tickets, then put in vacation for the whole week.

Some other rear end in a top hat already put in that week and due to my work being dysfunctional to the point of excess, there's very little chance of two people going on vacation the same week.

So I'm just going to run my chip route to the bone the previous week and Mon-Wed, taking our 2.5 hour drive with plenty of time to hit Shots Wednesday. If i have to find someone to pay to run back stock, I'll do it.

This'll be my third time and like hell I'm missing a year already!

theironjef posted:

First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

Second, System Mastery gonna be there again, if anyone in here cares. We'll be running two recording live shows (System Mastery and Expounded Universe) and also a new thing, Quiztem Mastery, which is going to be a live-only panel style quiz show with guests from other podcasts. Basically Big Fat Quiz but RPG/Game themed. Probably run a few games too, haven't decided yet.

Why aren't you making James shell out for a sweet hotel room??

# ? Jan 27, 2019 11:03

djfooboo: Oct 16, 2004

This might be my last GenCon for a while, gonna make it count!

# ? Jan 27, 2019 16:18

Ilor: Feb 2, 2008; That's a crit.

GEN CON!!!

I lucked out on the lottery this year - 12:26 PM.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 16:30

Numinous: May 20, 2001; College Slice

The wife and I are going for the first time this year. We've got a lottery time for 1:50 PM which from what I'm reading is kind of on the cusp between "awesome time" and "everything booked"

Does anyone know if the housing portal accepts hotel/reward points? The wife has a shitload of Hilton points we wanted to use but this seems like maybe not the best time to try to use them.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:15

Ilor: Feb 2, 2008; That's a crit.

What the gently caress, man? By 12:26, everything was already booked! I ended up at the Courtyard (back of the JW). Unreal.

EDIT: False alarm. The portal was just not showing me all the options. That's weird. In the Westin now.

Ilor fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Jan 27, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:36

Double Agent: Mar 28, 2005; Maybe we're not just a bunch of frak-ups after all.

I got a room at the JW, but it looks like all of the rooms with 2 beds were already gone.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:38

WerrWaaa: Nov 5, 2008; I can make all your dreams come true.

Got a badge. Got an AirBnB (that I expect to get cancelled...). Now what? Waiting. Forever waiting from one GenCon to the next...

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:39

Ilor: Feb 2, 2008; That's a crit.

Double Agent posted:

I got a room at the JW, but it looks like all of the rooms with 2 beds were already gone.

Yeah, king+sofa was all that was available for me too.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:52

Fellis: Feb 14, 2012; Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

housing reg is a massacre this year

its like 12:30 reg time or gently caress you no skywalk

# ? Jan 27, 2019 18:56

Toshimo: Aug 23, 2012; He's outta line...

But he's right!

Fellis posted:

housing reg is a massacre this year

its like 12:30 reg time or gently caress you no skywalk

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution to this without bending the laws of space and time.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:02

Double Agent: Mar 28, 2005; Maybe we're not just a bunch of frak-ups after all.

Toshimo posted:

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution to this without bending the laws of space and time.

Thing is last year, from what I heard at least since I was too far outside of the window to get a downtown room anyway, was that this stuff was lasting longer into the day. I heard that downtown sold out completely at like 4. This year it seems like it's going to be a lot faster.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:05

Fellis: Feb 14, 2012; Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

Toshimo posted:

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a solution to this without bending the laws of space and time.

I feel like there's something they could do to change the distribution of people to the times or something. Following this on the Fans of Gencon facebook page where a VIG is providing updates feels like watching a cow dipped into a bath of piranhas

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:25

Toshimo: Aug 23, 2012; He's outta line...

But he's right!

I don't get where you are going. There are a finite amount of rooms and clearly many more people want them. Unless you are suggesting that they hold out rooms and dole them out so that some people who get earlier times get worse rooms, then there's not much to be done unless GenCon buys up the minor league stadium next door and levels it to build more hotels.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:43

Nemesis Of Moles: Jul 25, 2007

GenCon Tent City, I'm in.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:45

Alien Rope Burn: Dec 5, 2004; _{I wanna be a saikyo HERO!}

Looks like I missed the lottery (not that I could afford a room on my own, anyway), so I figure I should see if there's anybody taking any crashers this year. I am not proud. I can offer goony references and would pay my share.

It's not a disaster, I can stay with cheapass friends out in the sticks if I have to, but figure I should throw this out there.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:51

Fellis: Feb 14, 2012; Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

Toshimo posted:

I don't get where you are going. There are a finite amount of rooms and clearly many more people want them. Unless you are suggesting that they hold out rooms and dole them out so that some people who get earlier times get worse rooms,

The time crunch is very stressful and makes it hard to plan and adapt to the changing conditions. instead of like:

20 people get 12:00
20 people get 12:01

what if it was 5 additional people per minute (obviously i don't know the actual numbers) I feel like the whole experience would be less stressful and not as prone to error. Unless you are the booker for your group or have been lucky to get a good timeslot, it's very likely that you are seeing a non-intuitive booking site for the first time

It's very minor, but I think people would much prefer it to the free-for-all we have now

quote:

then there's not much to be done unless GenCon buys up the minor league stadium next door and levels it to build more hotels.

e: I mean we are approaching hour 2 and almost everything downtown is sold out. Why even bother giving people reg times of 3pm or later? Just send em an email that says "go gently caress yourself"

Fellis fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jan 27, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:53

Alien Rope Burn: Dec 5, 2004; _{I wanna be a saikyo HERO!}

Nemesis Of Moles posted:

GenCon Tent City, I'm in.

The line for the showers is so short!... uh oh.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 19:55

Toshimo: Aug 23, 2012; He's outta line...

But he's right!

If there are 72,000 attendees and noon to midnight is 7,200 minutes, then they are probably throttling at 100 attendees/minute and I'm not sure that some of the hotel sites can handle significantly more than that level of throughput. I mean, yeah, I'd like for there to be a better solution, but I don't know that there's an easy one, especially since we are seeing what appears to be a 3-4x increase in demand, year-over-year.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 20:01

Numinous: May 20, 2001; College Slice

Got a room at the Hilton Indianapolis. We were looking at the Hampton Inn but that booked while we were making our decision.

Looked like all of the skywalk rooms were booked but there were still plenty of options downtown.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 20:07

Fellis: Feb 14, 2012; Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them.

2:11pm all downtown gone

# ? Jan 27, 2019 20:12

Ego Trip: Aug 28, 2012; A tenacious little mouse!

Toshimo posted:

If there are 72,000 attendees and noon to midnight is 7,200 minutes, then they are probably throttling at 100 attendees/minute and I'm not sure that some of the hotel sites can handle significantly more than that level of throughput. I mean, yeah, I'd like for there to be a better solution, but I don't know that there's an easy one, especially since we are seeing what appears to be a 3-4x increase in demand, year-over-year.

They don't actually send anything to the hotels for months.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 20:13

Avenging Dentist: Oct 1, 2005; oh my god is that a circular saw that does not go in my mouth aaaaagh

My housing time sucked again this year (6:30 PM EST), but luckily I grabbed a backup a while back so I'm still downtown. After one year with skywalk access, I'm never going back to airport hotels. You can't make me! (Especially since being a cosplay wrangler sucks when your hotel isn't in walking distance.)

# ? Jan 27, 2019 20:16

The Moon Monster: Dec 30, 2005

Anyone remember when 4 day passes sold out last year?

# ? Jan 27, 2019 23:30

OgreNoah: Nov 18, 2003

The Moon Monster posted:

Anyone remember when 4 day passes sold out last year?

It was just a week or two before the Con actually started. You've got some time.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 23:41

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Carteret posted:

Also I miss you. Come to Rathskellers on Wednesday gosh darnnit

How did I forget to respond to this part when I started writing it first

I really have no idea how I have continually managed to miss this, considering it is a Goon Tradition(tm) AND I have been trying to go to Rathskeller's anyway for the entire time I have been going to Indianapolis for this nonsense. I am sure Captain Rat or Torrent might remember why we ended up doing something else last year.

theironjef posted:

First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

Excellent call; Captain Rat and I ate there right after spending an hour at the Nine Lives Cat Caf�, and that was a one-two punch for the ages.

djfooboo posted:

This might be my last GenCon for a while, gonna make it count!

DJFOOBOO NO WHY I thought you were local?!

Admiral Joeslop posted:

I got a hotel and my tickets, then put in vacation for the whole week.

Some other rear end in a top hat already put in that week and due to my work being dysfunctional to the point of excess, there's very little chance of two people going on vacation the same week.

So I'm just going to run my chip route to the bone the previous week and Mon-Wed, taking our 2.5 hour drive with plenty of time to hit Shots Wednesday. If i have to find someone to pay to run back stock, I'll do it.

QUIT YOUR JOB

Numinous posted:

The wife and I are going for the first time this year. We've got a lottery time for 1:50 PM which from what I'm reading is kind of on the cusp between "awesome time" and "everything booked"

Does anyone know if the housing portal accepts hotel/reward points? The wife has a shitload of Hilton points we wanted to use but this seems like maybe not the best time to try to use them.

QUIT YOUR JOB wait yeah it sounds like your time probably got you a downtown room, so kudos there.

Speaking as someone with a perpetual codswallopian amount of Hilton HHonors points, I personally put my elite status to use by getting my room in August. As in, the previous August. That does not do you much good now, but keep it in mind for the day Gen-Con ends this year!!! I ended up paying about $25 more a night than if I had gotten the room through the Gen-Con block it sounds like, but, well, I have had a room since August so that seems worth it to me.

WerrWaaa posted:

Got a badge. Got an AirBnB (that I expect to get cancelled...). Now what? Waiting. Forever waiting from one GenCon to the next...

I remember you waiting for last year. How did your Gen Con 2018 go WerrWaaa?!?!

Nemesis Of Moles posted:

GenCon Tent City, I'm in.

HOBOCON WHEN

I still perpetually think back fondly to the 40 Years of Gen Con anecdote about the dude who used to drive up to Milwaukee in a windowless van with his bros and park in the Brewers stadium lot and just washed and shaved in the parking lot bathroom or something. For someone whose entire life has been barely tolerating anything less than pure opulence, it always does sound tempting to try!

OgreNoah posted:

It was just a week or two before the Con actually started. You've got some time.

Yes, though they sold out about a month before in 2017. So it remains to be seen whether the slight cooling in demand due to it no longer being the 50th anniversary will be offset by "it being yet another year for still more people to be hyped and plan to attend."

# ? Jan 27, 2019 23:52

Carteret: Nov 10, 2012

Dr. Quarex posted:

How did I forget to respond to this part when I started writing it first

I really have no idea how I have continually managed to miss this, considering it is a Goon Tradition(tm) AND I have been trying to go to Rathskeller's anyway for the entire time I have been going to Indianapolis for this nonsense. I am sure Captain Rat or Torrent might remember why we ended up doing something else last year.

I believe your excuse EVERY YEAR EVER (besides the year we all don't want to think about... the dark Quarex-less Con) had something to do with the Auction Dinner? Or was that on Tuesday and you just hate us.

# ? Jan 28, 2019 00:04

nesbit37: Dec 12, 2003; Emperor of Rome
(500 BC - 500 AD)

so glad they did exhibitor housing earlier this week. I've been in the hospital since Friday and I can't imagine the anxiety the housing lottery would have added on while here if I had to either miss it or deal with it while doctors are doing unspeakable things to me.

# ? Jan 28, 2019 00:06

OB_Juan: Nov 24, 2004; Not every day is a good day.; Dinosaur Gum

Hype for another year of gencon!

Quarex - Come to SHOTS WEDNESDAY

# ? Jan 28, 2019 00:35

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 30, 2024 17:38

Agrias120: Jun 27, 2002; I will burn my dread.

GEN CON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

# ? Jan 28, 2019 02:06

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

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