CCI Report

[mythusmage]

Went to the San Diego Comic-Con preshow. After a long line I got my badge and into Huckster Hall. Didn't wander around much (me dogs was pantin'), but I did catch the folks at Privateer Press and Green Ronin. I also stopped by Adventure Retail and had a look at the stuff they brought.

Wizards also had a booth (next door to Hasbro), but they were doing cardgames. I think they're letting AR handle the RPG stuff.

Also ran into a new RPG publisher, Andromeda 2500. Also the name of the game. Supposed to be out for Comic-con, but the printer is late.

Bad news: The art is a step above Fantasy Hero 5e (If you've seen FH5e you'll know how bad that is.)

Good news: Young artist who shows promise and just needs a little encouragement to do better. And, the publisher already has a lot of supplemental material up on his site.

More coming up tomorrow. Till then.

 

[Crothian]

If you happen to find Udon, stop by and say hi to Jim for me. And look at their art, its amazing.

 

[mythusmage]

CCI Day One

Udon: No sign of them. May be under a different name or partnered with somebody. Shall keep my eyes open.

In other news...

Had a chat with James Earwicker of Andromeda 2500. According to James his new game uses 4 attributes, a d20 for opposed tests, and percentiles for skill checks. Feels more comfortable to him doing it that way. Good layout and writing in the proof copies he brought along to the con, and the character sheet is well organized and comprehensible. He has hopes for his initial effort.

Stopped by the Privateer Press booth and chatted with a nice lady (who's name I didn't catch). Word is, Warmachine is doing gangbusters. She was also evidently enthused about the response she was getting at Comic-Con. Privateer is focusing on their miniatures line at CCI this first year, so they had little in the way of RPG material on display.

Late report from Green Ronin. Talked with Chris Pramas on Wednesday about how his stuff is doing. Mutants and Masterminds is doing great. The d20 Modern supplements are doing well. The fantasy stuff not so hot. This last he attributed to 3.5, which he said undercut a number of publishers besides him.

Adventure Retail was busy on Thursday. Tons of folks dropping by and buying stuff. Stuffed critters when I was visiting, but buying stuff. I picked up a tome on dragons and a copy of Fantasy Hero, which pretty much tapped me out for this con. (If you'd like to donate to the "Help Alan Get More Stuff at CCI" fund, you can do so through my Amazon Honor System link on the table of contents page at my web site. Should process through by Sunday. Not that I'm asking or anything.)

Also talked a bit with a fellow from WotC. Said he, Wizards will be bringing RPG stuff to CCI 2005. Which may mean a debut or two at CCI before it shows at GenCon.

Finally, I met Peter Adkison at the GenCon booth at CCI. They are focusing on an upcoming StarWars event they're coordinating, but he was willing to talk about GenCon.

For those of you asking for a GenCon East, not anytime soon. Company isn't ready for it, and likely won't be for a few years.

Did attend a panel. Margaret Weis was there talking about Dragonlance. Among the tidbits I picked up was a story about a TPK during playtesting. She also revealed the possibility of a Death Gate Cycle RPG, and that the movie rights are currently up for grabs.

And the deep, dark secret of why Raistlin looks the way he does. The artist thought it looked cool.

I'll keep my eyes open for Udon Publishing today, and for anything else I think might interest you. I'll try to post this evening on today's events. See you later.