Baldman looks like they listened to feedback (kudos to them!) and has moved AL games for GenCon to a private ballroom away from the main hall. It had gotten too loud and crowded in the main hall. It's still in the overall convention complex in one of the hotels attached to the convention center (pretty common to go to games not in the main convention center area - I've never had a Call of Cthulhu game in the center, for example). Anyone who is interested in going to GenCon this year needs to buy their badges soon (you can get a refund into late June if you change your mind). Event registration starts in late May but the pre-registration for events should start in about a month (letting you build your wish list, etc out of the 50K+ events). The hard part this year will be housing as all the hotels downtown sold out and people will need to be carpooling in from the hotels 10+ miles away. All of this is said to start the conversation about going to GenCon and if you'll be playing or DMing AL adventures there! I plan to go - I might DM a little but will plan to do the epic events, author only events, and possibly a premier or two. If I can get all-access, I might do it but that's hard to get. Of course - you can get your fill of other games there (Cthulhu!!! Munchkin!!!). Who plans to go and what do you plan to do? Fred
Planning for GenCon
Been going to GenCon for about 10 years straight now. My experience is that the wish-list building starts up about two weeks prior to actual event reg, so that event reg day is hundreds of people poised over their computers, waiting to click the 'submit wish list' button when it lights up at noon.
I'm kind of hoping AL returns to the ballroom at the Marriott where LFR held its last year of events; the ballrooms on the second floor facing the convention center all seemed available for open gaming, so they should be available to be 'taken over'. One tip when mustering -- if you don't already have a full table of people to play a game you've signed up for at GenCon, be sure to show up to the mustering area 10-15 minutes before the event starts so that you can put a full table together. The more organized your group can be before you reach the table, the quicker and better your mustering will be.
I've always been curious about running games at GenCon, but since I pay for all my other stuff (badge, room, etc.,) in advance, I don't know that running games would be very valuable to me other than for the experience. Not to mention that any game I run cuts into my gaming time, which since I typically DM locally, I tend to be very protective of when I'm traveling.
I'll be at GenCon with two friends and my fiancee, and we plan to get in a healthy dose of Adventurers League, along with some True Dungeon and possibly a bit of board gaming around the edges. My fiancee is planning to hook up with some folks who will be running a Harry Potter CCG tournament as well.
Looking forward to all of it!
--
Pauper
I'm kind of hoping AL returns to the ballroom at the Marriott where LFR held its last year of events; the ballrooms on the second floor facing the convention center all seemed available for open gaming, so they should be available to be 'taken over'. One tip when mustering -- if you don't already have a full table of people to play a game you've signed up for at GenCon, be sure to show up to the mustering area 10-15 minutes before the event starts so that you can put a full table together. The more organized your group can be before you reach the table, the quicker and better your mustering will be.
I've always been curious about running games at GenCon, but since I pay for all my other stuff (badge, room, etc.,) in advance, I don't know that running games would be very valuable to me other than for the experience. Not to mention that any game I run cuts into my gaming time, which since I typically DM locally, I tend to be very protective of when I'm traveling.
I'll be at GenCon with two friends and my fiancee, and we plan to get in a healthy dose of Adventurers League, along with some True Dungeon and possibly a bit of board gaming around the edges. My fiancee is planning to hook up with some folks who will be running a Harry Potter CCG tournament as well.
Looking forward to all of it!
--
Pauper
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
Because I am a cheapskate, I plan to be in a hotel at the edge of town anyways.
Looking for games all day Sat, and possibly the Fri PM and/or Sun AM session.
all-AL, Season 3 or 5 (because I do not want to accidentally trap my primary character in the Mists). Depends on what is scheduled and when.
Look for a Monk who does everything except be monk-like. (At WF I 'played Ranger' because a +1 longbow did more against incorporeal undead than repeated applications of my elbow would.)
Looking for games all day Sat, and possibly the Fri PM and/or Sun AM session.
all-AL, Season 3 or 5 (because I do not want to accidentally trap my primary character in the Mists). Depends on what is scheduled and when.
Look for a Monk who does everything except be monk-like. (At WF I 'played Ranger' because a +1 longbow did more against incorporeal undead than repeated applications of my elbow would.)
