Is there any interest in an online 1E Con?

[tx7321]

This came up in another thread:

If an Online OSRIC/1E compatable Con was set up at some point in the future, would you "show up" and partisipate in it?

If yes, what kind of activities would you like to see included in such a Con (real time 1E gaming competitions with prizes (maybe timed and judged), booths, sponsers, speakers? And what location would be most effective at creating awareness of 1E style gaming (ENworld, Knights and Knaves?)

Anyhow, if enough interest is shown (by old school and new school gamers alike) it might be worth looking into.

 

[Xyanthon]

I would be interested but living in Japan, it may be hard for me to have an active participation due to the time difference. I think this was brought up on the Knights and Knaves boards not too long ago. I'd love to get some 1e game time. I'd also think it would be cool to have vendors like XRP, Ronin Arts, Pied Piper, Goodman, etc participate to some extent. I'd like to hear from writers, designers and artists and that sort of thing. Yeah, if if could be feasibly pulled off, I'd do my best to participate to the fullest extent.

 

[Treebore]

I hope these guys are all at the next GenCon making public noise about OSRIC. I think a lot of the "older crowd" may be talked into playing some of the OSRIC mods for "nostalgia" reasons, then relearn how much fun it was, despite any rules issues.

I think everyone who isn't exclusively on the WOTC d20 bandwagon should team up together and remind the oldies and show the newbies that D20 is far from the only game going.

I think if they do it for two or three years in a row, at all the GenCons, they may be very surprised and how much support they garner.

Sooner or later the harried DM's of d20 are going to go back, or switch to, simpler games that are less time consuming to prep, as well as allow for more to be accomplished during their sessions.

Properly running d20 requires a lot of time. Time many do not have. I think that is something everyone who has a "faster, simpler, game" should really start pushing. If it wasn't for C&C I would have quit gaming, or at the very least DMing, well over a year ago. I know darn well I am far from the only one in that boat.

 

[Xyanthon]

Treebore, I agree about going to the next GenCon. I wish that I could go (I've never been to one) but it looks like I won't be able to at least for another year. It would be fantastic for OSRIC to have a presence at GenCon. It'd be great to get to put faces to the screen names and be able to get together in person with like minds. Who knows, in another few years I may bring my son .

 

[Treebore]

This last GenCon was my first. It was a lot of fun. Fun enough that I am going to do my best to be there next year. It was nice to finally see Piratecat, Psion, Diaglo, etc.... Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to most of them much, if at all, since I was hanging out with my Troll Lords and Necromancer board friends, and meeting them for the first time face to face. I at least saw many of them at the ENNies Awards, and sat with the cool people from Table Top Adventures, talk a lot with Twin Rose, meet Rich Burlew, who gave a cool sign in my daughters OOTS book. I even got to meet and talk to Monte Cook and his wife several times throughout GenCon. Met a lot of the "faces" of various game companies, such as Joe Goodman, Fat Dragon Games, Kenzer, White Wolf, EPIC RPG, AEG, Green Ronin, Mongoose, Expeditious Retreat Press (Joe and Suzie are great people), etc... All very good people from what little I got to talk to them.

So yes, when your able to go, definitely go.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Properly running d20 requires a lot of time. Time many do not have. I think that is something everyone who has a "faster, simpler, game" should really start pushing. If it wasn't for C&C I would have quit gaming, or at the very least DMing, well over a year ago. I know darn well I am far from the only one in that boat.

I don't know if I would've quit gaming, but I do know that switching from 3E to C&C revitalized my gaming. And it made me take a look at the older systems, again. When I did that, I rediscovered some things I liked, and I also had some new understanding about why they were designed such-and-such a way. 3E encourages rules-mastery, so that you understand the hows and whys "behind the curtain," which makes for a better game. I took that approach to the old systems, and realized that I had some mistaken assumptions. I know I link to it a lot, but RFisher's site (especially his "I used to think..." article) does a good job explaining my shift in perspective. (So much so that I don't find any need to create my own site -- I just link to his... Hi, Robert! )

Anyway, my gaming picked up immensely, both in quantity and in fun. I even started a second group, which I never would've done, before.

To get back on topic, I, too, would be interested in an online con. My interest in tempered with caution, though. I'm not sure exactly how it would work. I'm not a fan of online play; I much prefer gathering around a table. However, I'd certainly take a look at an online con. As far as a location, I think Dragonsfoot would be a good place.

 

[grodog]

To get back on topic, I, too, would be interested in an online con. My interest in tempered with caution, though. I'm not sure exactly how it would work. I'm not a fan of online play; I much prefer gathering around a table. However, I'd certainly take a look at an online con. As far as a location, I think Dragonsfoot would be a good place.

I'll second your interest, and your concerns: does anyone know of good online gaming platforms, with voice/video, whiteboards, sharing images/maps, dice randomizers, etc. that could scale to support a large number of simultaneous users?

 

[tx7321]

-Moved to here-

An online Con could be advertised with flyers at gaming stores nationwide. This would help online vendors as well as the hosting web site.

The reason I didn't think DF would be the best match is 1. its members are already aware of AD&D and 2. its based in England. That means they'd have to get up in the middle of the night to host it (and all its English members would have the same problem as the guy from Japan).

Also, ENworld has A TON more members and activity and is much better established. If the word got out that on Weekend X a 48 hour OSRIC/1E Con was to take place at ENworld, you can bet most everyone online and offline (say flyers at hobby stores) would at least have heard of the location. And I'll bet we'd get a ton of 3Eers who'd partisipate just to see what all the noise was about...which would actually have the effect of spreading AD&D to new players rather then just supporting the old (DFs membership).
I mentioned Knights and Knaves as an alternative only because its the official home of OSRIC.

But yeah, ENworld would result in the largest numbers of partisipants, create the biggest "buzz" and have the most impact, so that would be my 1st choice.

One question is: would ENworld agree to allow an OSRIC/1E CON? If a Mod. is reading this, perhaps they could offer some direction into how to find out.

Grodog, those are some excellent questions.

 

[RFisher]

I know I link to it a lot, but RFisher's site (especially his "I used to think..." article) does a good job explaining my shift in perspective. (So much so that I don't find any need to create my own site -- I just link to his... Hi, Robert! )

That's what it's there for! (I thought maybe it would keep me from repeating myself so much on the boards, but it probably hasn't.) It's good to know someone has found it worthwhile.

It's also good to know that someone's gaming in my home town, where I developed all those "used to think" misconceptions. (^_^) Although, last I knew, some of my high school gaming group were still living there & still playing. (We had an online 2e game for a bit c. 1999 with the old group despite a few of us being scattered across the country now.)

As for the online con: If I had more time for real-time gaming, I'd be doing it in person. It would have my best wishes, though.