[GenCon] EN World photos and stories - add your own!

[Negative Zero]

I'll get some shots when I head down to Indy to game in a couple of weeks and e-mail them to you.

awesome! use this email address: don@improvedinitiative.com (my hotmail addy get full way too quickly, and the junk mail filter is merciless )

... But I *DID* get some pics of the fountain.


In fact, I got some pics of some kids standing directly underneath the pounding cascade in the middle. For reasons of propriety, I didn't get a pic of one kid straddling the spout and getting what I have to imagine was the world's most powerful enema-- but it did make me yearn for my own dumbass youth. ...

awww c'mon, everyone loves a good enema picture! (see above for address ... if you don't post them here that is.)

~NegZ

 

[alsih2o]

for those of you who weren't there- negzero has one of those "i could listen all day" voices/accents. beautiful stuff

 

[der_kluge]

Every year, I find that I could go through the entire dealer floor, and still miss half of it. I perused it several times, and I went through it again Sunday afternoon, and realized I'd missed large chunks of it still. Impossible. Someone needs to formulate some kind of exhaustive route that goes through all the booths so that I can cover everything.

One of the coolest things was those plastic molds that you pour plaster-of-paris into, and make your own Dwarvenforge stuff. I'm sure the Dwarvenforge guys didn't appreciate their booth very much!

It's interesting to see how some of the big D20 publishers have their d20 books displayed like an afterthought. Like, Privateer Press. That's interesting, since I only really think of them as a d20 publisher. It's also to see that there were some other d20 publishers there that I'd never heard of. Like Dark Furies. I'll be posting my pics of all the d20 publishers' booths soon.

I saw lots of EnWorld folks. Talked with, and met several. I definitely intend to run and play in more games next year. Most definitely a priority.

 

[Cog]

If it helps, Chris Perkins (I believe) mentioned you quite notably in the Star Wars Seminar! I can't remember what the suggestion was, but two people made a suggestion for a product improvement, and he responded with, "You haven't been by chance talking with ArthurQ, have you?"

There was a mention by someone else in another seminar, but I cannot remember who, where or what about....

(edit: It was the "What's new in the Realms" seminar)

 

[Brian K. Moseley]

Back from Gen Con, and what a time it was! This was Darkfuries’ first Gen Con (and though I’ve gamed for over 20 years, it was my first as well). I can’t wait for SoCal! I know I’m forgetting to mention a bunch of things, but here are some of our highlights:

HIGHS
Seeing friends and meeting SO MANY great folks!
The enthusiasm and praise for Inns & Taverns, Aether & Flux, and the Color Companion floor plans.
White Wolf using our Canyon Road Tavern Color Companion floor plan in their booth demo.
The Exhibitor Reception on Friday night.
Plenty of space in the exhibit hall, and excellent air conditioning.

A side note for folks who asked: We’ll have limited quantities of the Color Companion floor plans available from our online store – once my work computer functioning properly again and I can update the website.

LOWS
Forgetting our camera - Again!
Being unable to attend the ENNIES Awards.
Not getting our demos of Aether & Flux into the events.
The 3+ hour lines of folks waiting to get inside when the computers went down.
Passing up my window of opportunity: a 12-person line for John Rhys-Davies’ autograph.

 

[Rugger]

Funniest moments: Both center around the gathering at PS O'Rourkes on Sunday.

#2: We gave a few people a ride back to their hotels after the gathering at PS O'Rourkes and failing my Intuit Direction check I managed to get us lost. The funny part was the three guys in the back telling gaming stories don't pause for a second as I pull the car over on the highway and have to navigate by atlas after going about 5 miles out of the way. It was all about the gaming.

Well, I think that is it for now. Gencon was a blast and I can't wait to go again!

Heheh! If it makes you feel any better, Kugar and DonAdam never skipped a beat...but I did worry for a second. Then the Heineken reminded me that women are excellent navigators and Queenie made her Intuit Direction check! Shame on you for stealing her credit! Thanks to both of you for the ride!!

Highlights:
- Being in the first wave to grab AU...and getting Monte to do a "Vanna White" pose with it....I'll have to post that later...
- Playing a ton of Living Greyhawk (my fate is tied to it due to being on a Triad) and Green Regeant.
- Getting a sneak-peek at the what's coming up in Piratecat's Story Hour... MUHAHAHAHAH!
- Running into Piratecat randomly a number of times...made me feel right at home, as this is what happens at New England cons...
- The Hyatt. Damn. The Air Conditioning went down to 55-60 degrees...it was clean...people were SUPER nice...great place. Oh yeah, and it had a Subway and McDonalds in the lobby. Didn't have to buy a single $12 breakfast buffet...
- Mini painting classes with Jen Haley. She can do incredible things with a mini, and just WATCHING her made me feel like there is hope for me!
- Hmmmm.....more to come....

Downsides:
- Not being able to see the Ennies...schedule was too full!
- Introducing myself to, and chatting a bit with Hellhound...commenting on how dang nice the Print on Demand stuff looked...and then proceeding to forget to go back with money to BUY some!!
- The flight back...on Monday! I heard about lotsa hangups on Sunday, but even on Monday morning there was an hour wait to get through the security checkpoint...on top of the 40 minute wait to get to the ticket counter!
- Seeing the wandering Ennies "after party crew" at Ram's (instantly identifiable by the "damn handsome" Teflon Billy), and not stopping by to say hi...but at that point I wasn't sure I could even walk...goooood Brown Ale they got there....

And the Bestest Part: PJ O'Rourkes.

Clay is the man, as is his brother and the staff that came in on their DAY OFF to serve us geeks. HUGE kudos for all involved!! Memorable moments:
- Stepping out of the cab with Kugar to find this guy grinning from ear to welcoming us...and I just happened to see some of the picks the other night to know that it was Clay (it was good to not have to wonder where his hand was...Maldur was inside already )
- Clay's recital of EVERYONE's names every time someone new walked in....
- Hanging out in deep "geekversation" with Barennd Nobeard
- Discussing Croathian's many, many, many posts....
- Monte and Sue stopping by...very cool. Can't wait for the Pics!
- Playing Munchkin (for the first time) and repeatedly noting that the "experienced" Munchkiners were always winning. After which Maldur would politely note that he was still level one.

So many great things happened at GenCon...can't wait for next year so I can meet more folks!!!

-Rugger
"I Ramble!"

 

[Storminator]

You were an awesome ogre, quite possibly the highlight of that game. Only as I was driving home did I get a handle on how I should've played my 18 Int ogre mage when leading a group of boneheaded ogres -- for the whole game, I was torn between talking ogre-ese and talking 18-int-ese.

I should've been yelling at you guys: "No! Cromlok NOT smash now! Cromlok wait for signal! Wait! For! Signallll!" and then rolling my eyes and saying prissily to myself, "Honestly, sometimes I don't know why I bother explaining things to these nincompoops!" etc.

Ah well. Sucks to get a handle on a character a day late. The game was still great fun .

Daniel

I'm just glad you weren't mad cuz I was trashing all your plans!

It wasn't me! It was Cromlok! He has a life of his own!

PS

 

[Ed Cha]

Well, here's my preliminary GenCon Report. Originally, I was planning to stay until Sunday, and come home after Clay's party, but I wasn't feeling so hot today, so I decided to come home a day early. I'm glad I did, because I've now got a raging sore throat and a fever. I hope I didn't infect everybody yesterday and this morning. If I did, I'm sorry! One final note. Because I feel like crap on a stick right now, I'm probably going to forget lots of stuff. I'll post more as I recall it.

I'm sorry to hear that, Buttercup. That's the hardest part about conventions-- staying healthy. With so much exposure to so many people (all the handshaking, close quarters, etc), irregular (and often unhealthy) meals, and lack of sleep, it's easy to get sick. I hope you feel better soon though!

Originally posted by Buttercup Anyway, this was my first con, and I really didn't know what to expect.

I didn't know it was your first convention! You seemed like an old pro when I met you.

Originally posted by Buttercup I had the pleasure of chatting with MEG Hal, who is a really charming guy, and the very pleasant Ed Cha, who wrote Hamlet of Thumble. I bought a copy of it, and Ed autographed it with a really nice note. Thanks, Ed!

Hey, you're welcome! Everybody loved you at the MEG booth. They all said you seemed to have great energy and a wonderful smile. And yes, Hal is a super guy. Are you planning on coming out next year?

 

[Buttercup]

for those of you who weren't there- negzero has one of those "i could listen all day" voices/accents. beautiful stuff

I'll second that. Neg, you could get work doing voice-overs, I'm sure.

And Ed, you bet I'll be there next year. And I'll stay longer too.

 

[BOZ]

*Boz looks just like I pictured him!

you mean like that guy under my screen name?

you look just like your avatar too, only... not as tall as i'd imagined.