The Road To Gencon
Will I go, or won't I? That was the question. I didn't know for sure, but I had an offer very early on to sponsor my plane ticket and give me a place to stay from an old friend. The trip would be a combo of Gencon, visiting my good friend and checking out some racing in the great state of Indiana. For 25 years or so, I was involved in racing here in California. I published a magazine for 18 years, announced, handled race track publicity and started a division with my friend that is still going strong. But, that's for another blog.
Racing slowly put an end to my gaming hobby. When I focus on something as intently as I did racing, other interests just don't get the time. The books were put up, though I added to my collection occasionally when I found something I liked. Computer RPG's such as Neverwinter Nights (AOL), Neverwinter Nights 1, Asheron's Call and Baldur's Gate had to serve as my RPG experience. Even now I have a hard time getting back to the table as my friends have all moved.
I believe I have already posted about working on a game a few years ago and them coming back to start on HotDC, so I'll spare you that. The Gencon possibility was there, but do I get on a plane? I was freaked at the idea. About a week before I made the decision to go, I learned that Dave Arneson would be there and would be doing a Blackmoor seminar. Then, I heard Frank Mentzer would be there. You know, Tom Moldvay passed away this year, so I finally made the decision to go. I wanted to meet these people while they were still here.
In another post that I will call Stupid Things We Did At The Table, I will recall some of the memories of my early days. Basic D&D was a big part of my life throughout the 80's, particularly from 82-85. I still recall the Gencon ad in the back of Moldvay Basic. I wanted to go then, and as I was on the plane. I still couldn't believe I was going. I was really going. What was it going to be like? I had no idea.
The first mistake I made was not signing up ahead of time. They offer preregistration for a reason. Take advantage of it. My excuse was the plane, but not next time. Flying was actually fun, and it didn't take that long. I figured on beating the lines by registering on Wednesday. I did, but I missed out on getting into the games I wanted to play because of waiting that long. I've been itching to get back at the table again, so this was a bit disappointing.
What I was hoping for was a Beginner's D&D game or two. I'm not too familiar with 3.5 rules and didn't want to slow things down. I was also looking at Tunnels & Trolls for a session or two, but I missed the boat on that. There was a Dungeon Board Game happening on Wednesday, but I opted not to do that as I was with my friend and didn't feel right about doing it then. He's not a gamer, he's racer. So, gaming wasn't looking like a possibility.
I did pop into the RPGA room on Saturday to see about getting in a Beginner game. I had a few Generic Tickets I thought I could use. I thought it would require two of them, but I heard $30 from one of the organizers. Now, I wanna game, but $30 is a bit steep for a 2 hour session. Probably should have checked out the open table area, but Seminars and wandering the Exhibit Hall were my main plans for the event. Next time, it will be Game Time!
Gencon is about gaming, and if you want in the game, register early and reserve your seats at the table online. And, let me tell you, there are a lot of games to choose from. If you want card games, RPG's, war miniatures or whatever, it's happening at Gencon. New games and out of print games are happening. I would love to see about getting into an old Basic D&D game next time or perhaps starting one. I'm learning how this all works, so maybe next time.
So, I didn't get into the game. What was I doing then? Walking through the Exhibition Hall and attending several seminars. Some of the seminars were for fun, like Dragon Lance, Forgotten Realms and Knights of the Dinner Table related events. Others were for learning, such as Michael Stackpole's excellent writing seminars and Col. Zocchi's seminar on getting a game published. I learned quite a bit, and I had a few laughs as well.
Then, there was the Exhibition Hall. I had a plan laid out for buying some of the stuff I was interested in on Thursday and being a "fan boy" for certain autographs. I would do this throughout the weekend. What will follow is more about my experience as well as my observations and opinions on some of the things I saw. I offer only a tiny glimpse of what I saw. There is so much I didn't see that I will be looking for next time. I did take pictures with my cheap digital. Some are posted and some will be.
To be continued...
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Meeting The Fathers Of The RPG As We Know It
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