Free PDF's for the Gencon Deprived
- Thread starter arwink
- Start date
Hark, then, to my tale of woe.
Some three long years ago I fled the "old country", haunted by the shadow of a scandal. Full fifteen hours I suffered, stuffed with hundreds of others inside a small, barely ventilated container (although I had to change containers in the City of Angels).
At last, were reached our destination, tossed upon an unquiet land haunted by fey and the spirits of great warriors. It is known by many names, but most knew it once as Middle-Earth. The place where Helm's Deepwas filmed once stood is but within walking distance.
Now, bereft of kin and forced to live in a land in which medical care is freely available, mandatory overtime is illegal and employers must have cause to terminate employment; surrounded by brooding green hills and the ceaseless singing of birds in a temperate climate, I find myself without GenCon.
This is true tale of woe, for here RPG books cost ninety dollars or more, and the selection is extremely limited as bookstores must also act as import/export brokers, submitting all books to the classification authority for rating and thus delaying the availability of books for long days. In this forsaken land credit cards are rare and precious and the exchange rate not very good, making the purchase of online material, expensive as it is, an event of great joy as many obstacles have been overcome.
Someday, perhaps, I shall visit the old country, and see once more the hills of Seattle whence flow the bulk of game designers, or the hallowed, fabled halls of GenCon; but this year nor next year shall such an event come to pass for one such as myself.
Some three long years ago I fled the "old country", haunted by the shadow of a scandal. Full fifteen hours I suffered, stuffed with hundreds of others inside a small, barely ventilated container (although I had to change containers in the City of Angels).
At last, were reached our destination, tossed upon an unquiet land haunted by fey and the spirits of great warriors. It is known by many names, but most knew it once as Middle-Earth. The place where Helm's Deep
Now, bereft of kin and forced to live in a land in which medical care is freely available, mandatory overtime is illegal and employers must have cause to terminate employment; surrounded by brooding green hills and the ceaseless singing of birds in a temperate climate, I find myself without GenCon.
This is true tale of woe, for here RPG books cost ninety dollars or more, and the selection is extremely limited as bookstores must also act as import/export brokers, submitting all books to the classification authority for rating and thus delaying the availability of books for long days. In this forsaken land credit cards are rare and precious and the exchange rate not very good, making the purchase of online material, expensive as it is, an event of great joy as many obstacles have been overcome.
Someday, perhaps, I shall visit the old country, and see once more the hills of Seattle whence flow the bulk of game designers, or the hallowed, fabled halls of GenCon; but this year nor next year shall such an event come to pass for one such as myself.
arwink
Clockwork Golem
maransreth said:arwink, I live in the same city as you!(I think that says it all as to why I cant go)
Indeed it does. Although Capellan has called Brisbane home for many a year and has still made it to two Gencon's in a row (Mind you, he cheated this year by spending twelve months working in Boston).
I don't suppose you've been to Brisbane's local con, the BIG weekend, in recent years? If so, it's possible we've run into one another somewhere along the line.
DarrenGMiller
First Post
Since I became a high school band director in 1993, I am resigned to the fact that until I retire or unless I change careers, I will never be going to Gencon. You see, band directors don't have the cushy summers off that most teachers get, we get about one month. For me, I get a "summer break" from the final week of June and return to work the final week of July. I had rookie camp, drumline camp and color guard camp the last week of July, band camp the following two weeks (first 2 weeks in August) and then started with in-services, faculty meetings, staff retreats, work days, district meetings, etc. last week, which continue through next week, in addition to nigh camp and my "Welcom Back!" picnic on Friday night. Then, school begins on the last Monday before Labor Day. So, maybe I will see you at GenCon 2021, which is the earliest I can retire. We can get together for a game of 5th Edition D&D.
DM
DM
Barendd Nobeard
Explorer
(1) I work for a large school district. This is the busiest time of the year for us--preparing to open for a new school year.
(2) My mother-in-law runs the largest Irish music festival in the world - Milwaukee Irish Fest. It's always the third weekend in August and something my children never want to miss.
(3) My children visit relatives in Virginia every summer and fly back on the third weekend of August.
If GenCon would just keep to the dates they originally announce, I could have gone. Alas, circumstances beyond their control have forced date changes on them two years in a row. Perhaps next year, if they really move to the last weekend in July as they have talked about....
(2) My mother-in-law runs the largest Irish music festival in the world - Milwaukee Irish Fest. It's always the third weekend in August and something my children never want to miss.
(3) My children visit relatives in Virginia every summer and fly back on the third weekend of August.
If GenCon would just keep to the dates they originally announce, I could have gone. Alas, circumstances beyond their control have forced date changes on them two years in a row. Perhaps next year, if they really move to the last weekend in July as they have talked about....
Gen Con is scheduled too late for teachers!
I don't know what the people who do scheduling for Gen Con are thinking! Many of us teachers (me included) had to report for teacher work days and inservices this past week. So unless the geniuses who run Gen Con move the event back a week or two, I'll never be able to attend (which is a shame, because I only live one state/4 hours away).
I don't know what the people who do scheduling for Gen Con are thinking! Many of us teachers (me included) had to report for teacher work days and inservices this past week. So unless the geniuses who run Gen Con move the event back a week or two, I'll never be able to attend (which is a shame, because I only live one state/4 hours away).
GenCon Scheduling
Major convention centers are often booked years in advance. Add in a certain disdain for certain types of conventions, and you get scheduling problems.
People are asking for July dates for GenCon, but GenCon LLC is getting stuck with August dates. Comic-Con International (the San Diego Comic-Con) would love August dates, but keeps getting stuck with July. So here's my proposal.
No, it's not exchanging conventions, it's exchanging convention center staff. Indianapolis gets San Diego's convention center staff, San Diego gets Indianapolis' convention center staff. Since SD likes sticking fan cons with July dates GenCon will occur in July, and since Indy likes August dates for fan cons, Comic-Con will happen in August. Problem solved.
Major convention centers are often booked years in advance. Add in a certain disdain for certain types of conventions, and you get scheduling problems.
People are asking for July dates for GenCon, but GenCon LLC is getting stuck with August dates. Comic-Con International (the San Diego Comic-Con) would love August dates, but keeps getting stuck with July. So here's my proposal.
No, it's not exchanging conventions, it's exchanging convention center staff. Indianapolis gets San Diego's convention center staff, San Diego gets Indianapolis' convention center staff. Since SD likes sticking fan cons with July dates GenCon will occur in July, and since Indy likes August dates for fan cons, Comic-Con will happen in August. Problem solved.
BSF
Explorer
My tale of woe is one of limitless work. I worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I do have today off. Yay! But it is a long trip for the last day of a Con. I could have probably tried to get the time off work, but I would have had boss veto power on that one up to the last minute, which sucks for planning.
The other issue is money. I could afford it, but we just moved into a new house and affording it would significantly drop our savings. So planning for a vacation that I might have to cancel anyway when I can't comfortably afford it is a no-go for Gen con this year.
The other issue is money. I could afford it, but we just moved into a new house and affording it would significantly drop our savings. So planning for a vacation that I might have to cancel anyway when I can't comfortably afford it is a no-go for Gen con this year.
