Back from Origins!
- Thread starter Dextra
- Start date
romp
First Post
WotC's booth has been in a shrinkage mode for the last few years at Origins, Paizo's is the same size and all they sell are magazines (although it looked like they had plushies for sale this year?!). A friend stopped me and asked me where Wizard's booth was when we were only a couple of booths away from it. That was a bit odd for the largest RPG company, IMHO.
HellHound said:
Interesting comment. Is it just the fact that it's full-color? Because, mechanically, AE is just a very slight incremental improvement over AU. The only changes are extending classes to 25th level (mechanical), adding 10th-level spells (mechanical), a handful of new feats and spell templates (mechanical), a new class (mechanical), a new race (mechanical/setting), the inclusion of most of the setting info previously published (setting), and full color (appearance). Which is why i haven't bought it yet--don't like Diamond Throne, and never had any interest in a new setting. I just wanted a better set of rules for playing D&D. $50 is really steep for a handful of feats, 10th-level spells, and 21-25th level characters (especially when we're around 10th). I'll probably cave someday, because the ritual warrior/combat rituals, and the new magic stuff are pretty cool.And i tend to be a completist.
But it leaves me wondering what someone who isn't interested in Diamond Throne and didn't think AU passed muster would see in AE?
[Oh, and i heartily recommend snagging AE or AU and using it for your next Arcanis campaign. If you like Arcanis, stick to it--i really don't think there's much to recommend Diamond Throne (there's nothing wrong with it, just nothing special about it either, IMHO). But use AU for the ruleset. You may never go back to D&D3[.5]E again. I know i won't (i'm using AU/AE for my Al Qadim campaign right now). IMHO, every change from D&D3E is an improvement, with the only parts of AE that aren't better than D&D3.5E are those that aren't changed. But that's a big-ol' digression. I'm really curious what differences you see between AU and AE.]
I made it to Origins on Saturday. I've made it every year since they've been in Columbus (I'm in Cincinnati). Used to go for an overnight stay, but ever since GenCon moved to Indy a group of us just go up on Saturday to check out the vendor area and take in some demos. Always a good time.
Couple of things I'm curious about and maybe somebody can clue me in:
1) How long is Origins going to remain in Columbus? I love having Origins close by, but have always questioned the wisdom of having a game convention 2 months before and one state away from the largest rpg convention in the world (GenCon). Yeah, I know Origins was there first and I hope they stay, but I'm just surprised they've elected to remain in Columbus.
2) How was attendance this year? Were the vendors happy? The vendor area seemed busy.
That said, here are my highlights from Origins:
MINIATURES
I'm a miniature gamer, so I was happy to see Privateer Press was there with their new mag, No Quarter. I picked it up - beautiful magazine. There were also a number of new releases from Privateer. Also picked up some cheap DND miniatures to fill out my collection.
I've never been a huge fan of WizKids stuff, but I was still really surprised at the small crowds around their booth. In years past, they have always been packed. Probably doesn't help that they've announced they're discontinuing MageKnight.
As someone mentioned, Rezolution from Aberrant Games looked really cool. I REALLY don't have time for another miniature game but may have to make an exception for this one.
Oh, and Mongoose was there with their Starship Troopers and Judge Dredd miniature games. Starship Troopers looks excellant and I really want to demo at GenCon.
Kenzer was demoing a western miniature game the name of which escapes me. Looked interesting, especially the plastic overlay to determine where a fig has been shot - supposed to be released at GenCon.
ROLEPLAYING
Wasn't looking for much new roleplaying since I'm not looking for a new system and have more than enough D20 books. Still, I found some great deals. Green Ronin had some of their older releases for very low prices. $20 dollar sourcebooks for $5. I picked up Testament (which I've always been curious about) for $10. Also picked up several sourcebooks from other vendors that I've wanted for deep discounts.
CARD GAMES/BOARDGAMES
Nice little card game I picked up after doing a demo was Anachronism. It is not a collectible card game, per se, but you do purchase different packs to pick up different historical warriors and warlords. However, you can see what warlord you are purchasing since the cards come in clear packs. The point of the game is to fight your opponent's warlord while using other cards to bolster the attacks and defenses of your warlord. Cool game that uses dice for combat. The cards are beautifully illustrated and nicely stylized, they also have a 'History Channel' logo on the back (game is somehow affiliated with the History Channel). Only downside is that the cards are somewhat expensive.
That's it for now.
-Steve
Couple of things I'm curious about and maybe somebody can clue me in:
1) How long is Origins going to remain in Columbus? I love having Origins close by, but have always questioned the wisdom of having a game convention 2 months before and one state away from the largest rpg convention in the world (GenCon). Yeah, I know Origins was there first and I hope they stay, but I'm just surprised they've elected to remain in Columbus.
2) How was attendance this year? Were the vendors happy? The vendor area seemed busy.
That said, here are my highlights from Origins:
MINIATURES
I'm a miniature gamer, so I was happy to see Privateer Press was there with their new mag, No Quarter. I picked it up - beautiful magazine. There were also a number of new releases from Privateer. Also picked up some cheap DND miniatures to fill out my collection.
I've never been a huge fan of WizKids stuff, but I was still really surprised at the small crowds around their booth. In years past, they have always been packed. Probably doesn't help that they've announced they're discontinuing MageKnight.
As someone mentioned, Rezolution from Aberrant Games looked really cool. I REALLY don't have time for another miniature game but may have to make an exception for this one.
Oh, and Mongoose was there with their Starship Troopers and Judge Dredd miniature games. Starship Troopers looks excellant and I really want to demo at GenCon.
Kenzer was demoing a western miniature game the name of which escapes me. Looked interesting, especially the plastic overlay to determine where a fig has been shot - supposed to be released at GenCon.
ROLEPLAYING
Wasn't looking for much new roleplaying since I'm not looking for a new system and have more than enough D20 books. Still, I found some great deals. Green Ronin had some of their older releases for very low prices. $20 dollar sourcebooks for $5. I picked up Testament (which I've always been curious about) for $10. Also picked up several sourcebooks from other vendors that I've wanted for deep discounts.
CARD GAMES/BOARDGAMES
Nice little card game I picked up after doing a demo was Anachronism. It is not a collectible card game, per se, but you do purchase different packs to pick up different historical warriors and warlords. However, you can see what warlord you are purchasing since the cards come in clear packs. The point of the game is to fight your opponent's warlord while using other cards to bolster the attacks and defenses of your warlord. Cool game that uses dice for combat. The cards are beautifully illustrated and nicely stylized, they also have a 'History Channel' logo on the back (game is somehow affiliated with the History Channel). Only downside is that the cards are somewhat expensive.
That's it for now.
-Steve
HellHound said:
This sounds delightful. Your kids have the coolest parents.
--Erik Mona
http://www.superunicorn.com/erik
PS: Next time I see you guys at a show, I'm following you around the exhibit hall a bit. You have a great ability to find some of the best stuff I didn't even notice.
