GaryCon '22 Planning

[Kannik]

Alas I'll be switching to a virtual badge and won't be attending in person this year (I haven't looked at the procedure, hopefully it's painless to do so) and so won't be able to meet up with any/everyone at the con. :/ Maybe next year!

That said, if there is an enworld meet at the con, anyone interested in firing up a laptop with a vid conference thing so that those of us attending from afar can at least soak in the ambiance?

 

[Sacrosanct]

The cool kids all hang out in the Legends of Wargaming room and play CHAINMAIL historical games.

I saw you several times, but didn't want to interrupt you and say hi. I should have though, because we have talked digitally since way back in the early rpg.net days ya ol' geezer

The legends of Wargaming was my favorite room. The amount of detail on those tables was impressive!

Event registration was relatively painless this weekend. I'm particularly excited for the following:

Reading the DMG Aloud, by the Plot Points podcast
Tegel Manor 1984, run by Jeff Goad of the Appendix N Book Club podcast on Thursday
Dark Souls: What Remains in the Fire (I forget which slot...there's about a thousand of them)
Chromatic Dungeons run by our very own @Sacrosanct on Saturday

After the pandemic scuppered my first attempt at Gary Con, I'm looking forward to finally getting to go...assuming some new terrible variant doesn't come up in the next month.

It was truly my pleasure. I forgot you had signed up for it, so after the session, I was surprised lol. But it was a joy to meet you. I hope you had a fun time, gelatinous cubes notwithstanding

 

[Retreater]

The legends of Wargaming was my favorite room. The amount of detail on those tables was impressive!

I popped in to look at the artifacts but didn't spend much time in there. My friends played the Chainmail Jousting a few times.

I hope everyone had a good time. It was an enjoyable Con. I did over-extend myself with events. I'm still worn out.

 

[Willie the Duck]

The cool kids all hang out in the Legends of Wargaming room and play CHAINMAIL historical games.

I know this response is from last year, but Sacrosanct's comments indicate that you are still around and up to travelling to Cons and so forth. Glad to hear it and hope these past ~2 years have been well.

I saw you several times, but didn't want to interrupt you and say hi. I should have though, because we have talked digitally since way back in the early rpg.net days ya ol' geezer

The legends of Wargaming was my favorite room. The amount of detail on those tables was impressive!


It was truly my pleasure. I forgot you had signed up for it, so after the session, I was surprised lol. But it was a joy to meet you. I hope you had a fun time, gelatinous cubes notwithstanding

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Likewise! My brother and I enjoyed playing Chromatic Dungeons immensely. I really liked the options my bard had in combat.

The Gelatinous Cube was awesome - the giant spider, on the other hand, that's what got to me...

It was truly my pleasure. I forgot you had signed up for it, so after the session, I was surprised lol. But it was a joy to meet you. I hope you had a fun time, gelatinous cubes notwithstanding

Gary Con was about 90% awesome. D&D Adventurers League's No True Grung was, unfortunately, a miserable experience, one I nearly walked out on. It started out that our DM just couldn't speak loud enough to be heard, so that closer players had to relay what I thought they said to the further away players.

Then everyone was sent off to challenge other players at other tables to dice- and dance- offs. Combined with poor masking, a bunch of us were muttering the words "super-spreader event." Even if we're at a lull in the pandemic, it seemed horrifically irresponsible.

In general, you could see masking etiquette collapse as the con went on.

But there was so much that was awesome. The aforementioned Chromatic Dungeons, Tegel Manor 1984 was a hoot, The Counting House of Port Perdusz has me so excited for DCC RPG Dying Earth, Brendan LaSalle running DCC RPG is always phenomenal. The Dark Souls RPG was a perfect two-hour distillation of the game into a TTRPG.

The event I want to mention in particular was Skip Williams' What's a DM to Do seminar. In addition to his wife Penny, he always has special guests. And I was positively floored when I saw that the special guest was none other than Roger E. Moore, the former editor of Dragon magazine. I had thought he had entirely turned his back on the gaming world.

 

[Retreater]

Then everyone was sent off to challenge other players at other tables to dice- and dance- offs. Combined with poor masking, a bunch of us were muttering the words "super-spreader event." Even if we're at a lull in the pandemic, it seemed horrifically irresponsible.

I've been a super-vigilant masker during the entirety of the pandemic. I think an issue was that the resort didn't require masking. Walking to your rooms, in the lobbies, the lounge, bar, restaurants, open seating areas, employees, etc., there was rarely a mask in sight. By that point, you've already been exposed to hundreds (or thousands) of potential cases. So what's the point of wearing it at a table with 5 or so other players (who have already had to show proof of vaccination to gain entrance to the event)?
Sure, it was the requirement of the con when tickets went on sale (when we were at a very different stage of the pandemic), but the Herculean task of policing it at every table seemed like meaningless "hygiene theatre."

 

[Sacrosanct]

Likewise! My brother and I enjoyed playing Chromatic Dungeons immensely. I really liked the options my bard had in combat.

The Gelatinous Cube was awesome - the giant spider, on the other hand, that's what got to me...

I'm glad you had fun. That was the goal, after all I am very honored to have been the DM for you and your brother. Both of you are excellent players, and it makes it so much easier on the DM when players are engaged and into their roles. So thank you!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, I get that it would've been impossible to manage over the course of the event in the face of all the other factors. It just was frustrating - the rules should've been the rules.

I've been a super-vigilant masker during the entirety of the pandemic. I think an issue was that the resort didn't require masking. Walking to your rooms, in the lobbies, the lounge, bar, restaurants, open seating areas, employees, etc., there was rarely a mask in sight. By that point, you've already been exposed to hundreds (or thousands) of potential cases. So what's the point of wearing it at a table with 5 or so other players (who have already had to show proof of vaccination to gain entrance to the event)?
Sure, it was the requirement of the con when tickets went on sale (when we were at a very different stage of the pandemic), but the Herculean task of policing it at every table seemed like meaningless "hygiene theatre."

Thanks! You also managed to not get the two of us confused, which considering the masks would've been doubly easy to do.

I'm glad you had fun. That was the goal, after all I am very honored to have been the DM for you and your brother. Both of you are excellent players, and it makes it so much easier on the DM when players are engaged and into their roles. So thank you!

 

[Myrdin Potter]

I've been a super-vigilant masker during the entirety of the pandemic. I think an issue was that the resort didn't require masking. Walking to your rooms, in the lobbies, the lounge, bar, restaurants, open seating areas, employees, etc., there was rarely a mask in sight. By that point, you've already been exposed to hundreds (or thousands) of potential cases. So what's the point of wearing it at a table with 5 or so other players (who have already had to show proof of vaccination to gain entrance to the event)?
Sure, it was the requirement of the con when tickets went on sale (when we were at a very different stage of the pandemic), but the Herculean task of policing it at every table seemed like meaningless "hygiene theatre."

The rules in WI do not require it. The Marriott I was at in downtown SF last week also does not require it. The Con could require masks in events areas but there never was a promise that the hotel would be masks only.

The CDC guidelines say they are not required. Almost the entire country has dropped mandates.



I was frustrated with the not 100% compliance in tne con areas as those rules were made in advance and never changed, but I wore my mask.

I heard at least one interaction at the badge area where someone tried to get a badge without showing the required paperwork and the person loudly claimed about discrimination but they were refused entry.

The con also sent people to remind the different tables about the rules and I did not see anyone refuse to

So your disappointment in the resort was you having unrealistic expectations.

 

[Retreater]

I heard at least one interaction at the badge area where someone tried to get a badge without showing the required paperwork and the person loudly claimed about discrimination but they were refused entry.

My friend left his vaccine card at home, but luckily his spouse was home to send a picture of it, so there was no issue. I was at first concerned that he'd be unable to get entry into the con. This is why I reminded everyone. (They just don't listen, apparently. Haha.)

The con also sent people to remind the different tables about the rules and I did not see anyone refuse to

In my experience, yes, people put their masks up when this happened. And then took them off again in a few minutes.

So your disappointment in the resort was you having unrealistic expectations.

I wasn't disappointed with the resort. I'm sorry if I was unclear. I just thought it was unnecessary to demand gamers at the tables to wear masks when those same gamers were all cavorting in resort areas, maskless. It's not like the pandemic paused in a bar or lobby and then resumed while we were sitting playing games or walking the vendor area in the Forum. The whole situation of trying to police the gaming areas seemed foolish and unnecessary.
But I wore my mask regardless, because I had agreed to do so when I purchased my ticket. I did not, after all, want to break the tenet of my oath and risk losing my paladin status and becoming a regular fighter.