My Gencon Trip Part 5

Roaming The Exhibition Hall Part 3

The Paizo booth was on my list. Basically, Paizo has made a name for themselves through the D&D product. They published Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine during the past few years. They covered a lot of ground and campaign settings. In fact, they did a few adventures in the old Mystara setting (formerly The Known World from Basic D&D). The last issue was set to have an adventure called Kill Bargle (the villain first introduced in the Mentzer Basic Players Book). Larry Elmore did the cover of it. I held the last copy at Gencon in my hands, but I put it back as I was trying to keep funds open for other things.

Paizo does some amazing work. If you have seen the Game Mastery stuff they do, then you know it's top notch stuff. Quality printing too. They do some nice D&D compatible modules as well. I wasn't really browsing their stuff too much at Gencon, but my local game store owner was showing me their Module D1: Crown of the Kobold King. Very nicely done with color pictures and everything. Paizo also offers most of the old D&D and AD&D modules and rulebooks online as pdf's for a low price.

When I put back that copy of Dragon, I had picked up the DVD of The Gamers. This was the movie I had screened on Friday, and I laughed hard throughout the movie. Funny, funny stuff. Paizo i selling the DVD though their website as well. Don't wanna get into it too much here, but you see the gamers at the table playing, and then we see the scenes as their characters do what The Gamers want then to. As I said, funny stuff, but I hope to get into it in another thread.

Though Paizo is not longer publishing Dragon or Dungeon, they have a new quarterly magazine in the works for gamers who need that fix. Also, they will continue to make D&D compatible modules through the D20 and OGL.

One of the companies that jumped on the D20 bandwagon in a big way was Goodman Games with their Dungeon Crawl Classics. This is basically a nod to the old days "when adventures were undeground and all NPC's were there to be killed." I've purchased a couple of their first level adventures and find them to be very old school in feel, even with the D20 rules. At Gencon, they were on my list for two reasons. First, they were doing a 1st Edition AD&D compatible module called Saga of the Witch Queen. I bought it.

Second, Erol Otus was brought in to sign autographs. Erol has done several covers for the Dungeon Crawl Classics line, but old schoolers will also remember his art graced the covers of Tom Moldvay Basic D&D and David "Zeb" Cook Expert D&D, among other books. As luck would have it, I found a copy of Cook Expert for an autograph on Friday and a Moldvay Basic on Sunday. Otus and Larry Elmore are two of my favorites, and I met them both.

Larry had a booth with all of his art, and there is some amazing work to buy and put on your walls. He did the covers of Frank Mentzer's Basic, Expert, Companion and Master Sets of D&D. I went to Gencon intending to get Larry, Frank and Gary Gygax to autograph my Basic D&D Book, and I did. How cool is that? To me, it's pretty cool. I had a dilemma. I wanted Larry's Basic and Expert pictures, but I didn't feel I had a way to bring them home that wouldn't screw them up. By the time I realized on Sunday that I could have shipped them home (duh!), I had spent too much money, going over my Gencon budget.

This was a shame as I had my eye on Larry's Art Book that covers his history in art. That is on my list for next time, and yes, a next time is being considered seriously. Once doesn't seem to be enough. Larry had various colored post cards and black & white stickers. Yes, it's the cheap way to get something, but I had to get something. Anything. His work is that awesome. If I could afford to have Larry (or Erol for that matter) do art for HotDC, it would happen. He had an amazing selection to choose from, some beautiful ladies too. By the way, there were some lovely ladies at the booth with him too, perhaps inspiration for his art?

Make no mistake, there was plenty of art on display and for sale at Gencon. In reading the 40 Years of Gencon Book I bought, I noticed that Larry was one of the instigators way back then who got a section at the convention for the artists. Medieval, SciFi, Fantasy, you name it, there was art for it. I didn't spend as much time as I'd have liked to looking at it all.

There was also a section for guests from the entertainment industry who were signing autographs, including Ellen Dubin (Lexx, The Collector), Matthew Atherton (Who Wants To Be A Super Hero), Lani Tapu (Frascape), Adrienne Wilkinson (Xena). I did grab a couple snapshots from the autograph booths, but alas, I didn't seek autographs as I'm not that familiar with their work.

There was a booth I happened to pass on Saturday for Dark City Games. That had what looked to be a very basic games called Legends and some affordable modules for it. It looked very basic, which is a plus for me. Too many companies make it all convoluted. In this age of computers and an easy option to just play World of Warcraft, we need basic games to get them back at the table. The more convoluted a game, the less likely to attract a new gamer. But, that's for another post. Fact is, Dark City appears to be a small company trying to get into the game, and I wanted to support the cause on Sunday. Alas, something else grabbed my money along the way.

The guy next to Crazy Egors took about $20 when he plopped down that Moldvay Basic book and the accessories to Basic D&D and Hollow World (many in shrink wrap still) at $2 a pop. Just missed a copy of Castle Amber too. Then, I grabbed the Gencon book, and that was it for me. The fact is, I could have easily sunk $200 or more at these used book booths (Crazy Egors, Troll & Toad and I forget, sorry). I was looking for B & X modules and some were there. I bought a few. One booth had some Companion and Masters Mods unmarked, but when I asked, ouch!!! Pricey.

I just can't convince myself to pay $20 or more for modules, even ones I don't have. I'm sure that's a fair price considering, buy there's this thing called ebay. Also, Half Price Books and other sources. My luck, I spend $20 on Rhasia (B7) and find it at the used book store for $5. I'll take my chances, thank you. As I said, I intend to come back, and maybe there will be a budget for me to spend more. Oh, the used game books and boxed sets these places have, a collector's dream. I did add a few affordable books to the collection at least.

The auction was going on accross the hall from the Exhibit Hall. Frank Mentzer and (Former Editor of Dragon Magazine in the early days) Tim Kask were there. Met Frank, didn't get a chance to meet Tim. The auction seemed to be a huge success. I missed getting a Keep on the Borderlands for $1 when I couldn't get my card out of the bag quick enough, but I got a BSolo Mod, the Ghost of Lion Castle. There were other items I'd have loved to have gotten, but you gotta keep your head at a place like this or money gets spent quickly.

One collector, probably a game store owner, sat with two others. One guy was on a laptop probably checking the going rates on things. These guys must have easily spent $500 to $1000 just during the time I was there. I'm sure there were a few people just wanting that one thing or another that didn't care for being outbidded by hoarders, but that's the way these deals go down. If you really want it, then you have to spend the money.

I'm in my third part of this column about the Exhibition Hall, and I fear I'm not doing it justice. I'm only giving you a small picture of things. I'll add a little more, though it's not gonna be enough. Only thing I can say is if you haven't gone, start making plans now and go.

Did you know there was a little obstacle course in the back behind the computer demo area for Segway Races? That's right, they have Segway Races there.

Mayfair Games had a booth. These guys were a co sponsor of Gencon, along with Wizards of the Coast, Upper Deck, Tenacious Games Inc. and WizKids. Mayfair does a wide variety of card and board games. You know, back in the 80's, Mayfair did Role Aids, which were compatible with AD&D. Tenacious is the company that makes The Spoils card game, and there was a Spoils Tournament. They also sponsored the Rukus On The Roof Party on Thursday. Some of the companies in this paragraph I'm not familiar with, but as sponsors, they helped make Gencon 40 go.

Card Games were represented. I can't really ignore that, but to be honest with you, I'm just not into them. Magic The Gathering allowed Wizards of the Coast the money to buy TSR and the D&D line back in 1997. When I was still occasionally playing Basic D&D with my cousin, I remember looking to see what this Magic stuff was all about. People looked like they had fun, but one look at the prices turned me off quick. $20 for a card in some cases? No thanks. Sure the card might help you win, but sheesh.

At Gencon, there were booths selling some of these cards, and they went higher than $20 for some cards, let me tell you. If people have fun playing Magic, The Spoils, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pirates and the other games, more power to them. That's really the point anyway. But it looks like it would get expensive real quick.

I wanna mention the clothing apparel, shirts, hats and the like. You could get a shirt with fantasy or SciFi art or whatever sayings they had on them. There were medieval outfits for sale. You could get your own shirt designed. Speaking of medieval, there were swords, daggers and that sort of stuff available as well. How will I get that on the plane? You could design your own foam weapon too. Lots and lots of miniatures were available for sale. In one area in the main hallway, there were miniature painting contests.

Need dice and dice bags? Well, there were lots of booths for that. Dice of every color and compound imaginable. Col. Zocchi had the Gamescience booth. He did a seminar that I attended, and I understand he's been to more Gencon's than anybody. I got a coupon for my Zocchi dice, and yes, I went and got it. His had a very informative seminar on game design, by the way.

Chessex was there with their assortment of dice, battle mats and other useful game accessories. I actually picked up one of their battle mats at my local game store a while back. You use their special pens to write on it, and windex will clean it right off at the end of the game session. Good stuff.

I'm going through my cards and stuff to cover a few tings in closing, but again, I'm only scratching the surface of things.

By the way, a starter pack for the World of Warcraft Card Game was included in every swag bag when you signed in. Haven't opened mine. Not surprised to see them doing this, but I would think they are making good money with the online game.


Got a sample card for a game called Scion, a scifi card game.

Got a couple cards for the new card game 24, based on the TV show, of course. They had a demo table at the booth.

Got a card for the Star Wars game. I believe this is a game put out by Wizards of the Coast. That one was demo'ing at the Wizards booth.

Another card for Stargate. As I said, lots of card games.

Got a few collectors cards at Weis & Hickman's DragonLance booth for the upcoming movie. One was signed by the voice actor. The character is Tasslehoff Burrfoot, voiced by Jason Marsden.

Got a card for something called Eve. I think it's a card game as well as an online role playing game.

Got a business card of Larry Elmore, because it looked pretty cool. If I had the money, I'd hire him in a minute to do art for my game.

A card for a game called Kill The Hippies. This one looks like it would be a fun game to play for laughs. The card appears to be the Font Of Revirginization.

Got a business card for something called itabletop.com. Sounds like it could be a useful tool for playing table top RPG's on line.

Dave Arneson signed a card for me that was when he won the Orgin's Hall Of Fame award. Pretty cool actually.

There was a post card sized card for National Security Decision Making Game. Trust No One. What made me grab the card was that it had a little kitten positioned at a window aiming a rifle towards the street. I got a chuckle out of that one.

I got a card for a game callec Skrall that offered 50% off the purchase at Gencon. I believe this is a scifi game.

Michael Stackpole, who did three of the writing seminars I attended, had a card for his podcast Fortress Draconis. this guy is an excellent speaker, and it is probably worth a listen.

I grabbed a couple cards for the card game Full Metal Alchemist.

By the way, it's worth the mention that there was plenty of Anime representation at Gencon.

Lulu.com had a booth. I plan to publish through them. When I got to Gencon, I thought I might be able to order Labyrinth Lord through them and my HotDC Charts Book that I had uploaded to their site, but they weren't set up for that. They do sell quite a bit of stuff that may interest RPG fans. What is really cool is anybody can publish a book through Lulu.

A game called Dragons of Kir was represented with a booth, and they handed out book marks. Looks like a fast paced, two player strategy board game that might be fun to check out. I think they had a demo table at the booth as well. It would probably take two FULL days to really go over everything in the Exhibition Hall and demo what you want to demo, and even that may not be enough time.

Cliche Games had a card for Dragon Hoard that read, "Did you know that 1% of the world's dragons own 90% of the world's wealth. Do you think that's fair?" dragonhoard.com is the site, but I haven't checked it out to see what it's all about.

There was a booth in the back for Fellowship of the Dice. They were screening this movie during the convention, but it didn't fit my schedule. I considered coming back to check out the DVD on Sunday, but alas, money was tight.

Got a card saying, "Join the revolution" It was for the 2nd Annual Indie Game Developers Showcase. It was an electronic gaming exhibit.

A card for something called Campaign Coins. I believe these people do coins you can use if you are a Live Action Role Player.

Got a card advertising a collectible strategy card game called Pox Nora. Looks like you could register online and get in on the game early.

Got a card for Days of Wonder. Looks like you can register to play online versions of Days of Wonder or Ticket to Ride for free for 60 days.

Got a card for a game called Prophesy - Heed The Warning. Looks like a role playing game on a world scale.

Got a Gleemax card. Before D&D 4th Edition was announced, Wizards of the Coast unveiled Gleemax. This will be part of their Digital Initiative and a way for gamers to hook up and get into other games.

It's worth noting that Robert E Howard Days was a part of Gencon. I know there were many fans of Conan. I grabbed a free comic. There were books and other stuff.

In the exhibition Hall, the Age Of Conan game was being unveiled. There was a booth with screens to demo the game, and free swag was given to all who visited the booth. Sounds like a fun game, and there are so many to choose from for those who don't have time or can't find a table to game to play.

Star Wars Galaxies had a 14 day free trial for their game. It says Celebrate 30 years of Star Wars. Has it been that long already? Wow!

Gods & Heroes - Rome's Rising had a card offering people to join their Beta Playtest. It's always nice to Beta Test if you can. I got to do that with Turbine's Asheron's Call. Didn't see Turbine represented, and I thought I would be for Lord of the Rings Online.

A card that had a 14 day free trial of Linneage 2 on one side and Dungeon Runners for 7 days on the other side. Wonder how the dungeons are in Dungeon Runners?

Geek Squad was there.

Atari was there.

Eidos was there.

Didn't see Obsidian there, but there was one screen to demo Neverwinter Nights 2's Expansion Pack (Mask of the Betrayer). With 4.0 rules coming out, wonder how long it will be before Neverwinter Nights 3 comes out?

But, they still play Neverwinter Nights 1. There was a flier advertising a free persistent world with NWN1. nwnaria.com is the place to check out if you want that online multi player experience without the monthly fee.

The ENnie's were held at Gencon for the 7th year, and they handed out fliers to let the people who didn't attend the banquet know who won. enworld.com is the place to go to check out that and other cool stuff. They are covering 4th Edition D&D pretty heavily there.

Got a flier from Immortal Eyes Games, makers of such board games as Pecking Order, Conquest of Pangea and Terra Nova.

Dronolan's Tower had a nice colored flier advertising music by gamers for gamers. hey had several CD's at their booth, and it can be a good mood setter for your games from what I heard.

Dwarven Forge had a flier advertising their Cavernous Lake Expansion Set 25mm gaming terrain for miniatures. If you do the miniatures thing in your D&D or other game, this stuff may be for you.

Gamer Print Shop had a flier. They print RPG Maps for Gamemasters and RPG Publishers.

Origins was there handing out swag bags and advertising their convention, which takes place June 25-29 in Colombus, Ohio next year.

Mark O'Bannon of Shadowstar Games had a little illustrated book called How To Tell A Story.

I also grabbed a poster and a little book for the computer game, The Witcher. The book was a short story called The Lesser Evil by Andrze J. Sapkowski.

They also had places for the kids. As I said, there was quite a bit to cover. I hope this gives you a decent idea of some of what was there. It's time for me to leave the Exhibition Hall.

Next

Seminars, Games And Other Fun Stuff