Please recommend North American tabletop roleplaying conventions.

[Gothic Sunshine]

Came in to suggest DunDraCon, read the first post, noticed what day it is, turned around and went out the way I came in...

Actually, I would suggest not attending DunDraCon. I will not be attending next year, and I'm going to be discouraging people I know from attending.

I am attending DunDraCon right now, and I'm just not happy. The key problem is, I attend cons to play scheduled con games. I didn't get into a single game the entire day today. I'm looking at how many first choices and priorities every game session has, and it's obvious there is a severe shortage of games that's resulting in some people not getting to play.

I have never had trouble getting into games at KublaCon, where I can easily fill a schedule. I'm sorry, but I bought a badge for $75 to play scheduled TTRPG sessions, and DunDraCon obviously cannon consistently deliver that experience.

I also hate how I had to come from my house to the hotel just to find out I'm not in any games, because assignment is only an hour or so before the game starts. I coulda just stayed home and played Stardew Valley or something today.

If I weren't local and were shelling out for a hotel like I do for KublaCon, I'd be even more upset.

 

[Gothic Sunshine]

I gotta say, Oregon seems like a pretty great place to be a gamer, given the density of game stores, cons large and small, the proximity to Washington, the Oregon Renaissance Festival, etc.

I like the TTRPG store in Portland.

Can you get to the Oregan Renaissance Fair without driving?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Can you get to the Oregan Renaissance Fair without driving?

It's in Springfield, next to Eugene. I believe you can fly there or take a train.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Actually, I would suggest not attending DunDraCon. I will not be attending next year, and I'm going to be discouraging people I know from attending.

I am attending DunDraCon right now, and I'm just not happy. The key problem is, I attend cons to play scheduled con games. I didn't get into a single game the entire day today. I'm looking at how many first choices and priorities every game session has, and it's obvious there is a severe shortage of games that's resulting in some people not getting to play.

I have never had trouble getting into games at KublaCon, where I can easily fill a schedule. I'm sorry, but I bought a badge for $75 to play scheduled TTRPG sessions, and DunDraCon obviously cannon consistently deliver that experience.

I also hate how I had to come from my house to the hotel just to find out I'm not in any games, because assignment is only an hour or so before the game starts. I coulda just stayed home and played Stardew Valley or something today.

If I weren't local and were shelling out for a hotel like I do for KublaCon, I'd be even more upset.

I like DunDraCon -- the people are friendly, the venue is good, and it has a grass roots feel that I really dig -- but it's too hard to get into games. I've gotten into one game so far this year, and it was a war game, not an RPG, which is what I came here to play. (But it was fun, at least.)

I think there are some diversity issues with game choice and session length -- lots of D&D and OSR stuff, which generally isn't what I'm here for, and a lack of uniformity in slot starting time, which ends up making registration choices tricky. Like, I'm not signing up for an 8-hour OSR game starting at 2 pm, which will blow through dinner and kill two slots and is something I could find easily enough if I wanted to at home. I'm sure they have reasons for doing it this way, but it shouldn't feel this frustrating to find games. It's my only real knock on things.

 

[Gothic Sunshine]

I'm at a point where this is just unacceptable. I paid $75 for a con badge, Kubla is, what, $85? Kubla, I get into games all weekend long, whether Prime or Fall. I may not get exactly what I want, but I will get a game I have interest in. That's why I'm so mad. It's not just spending an entire day at a convention not getting to play convention games, it's that clearly other cons can deliver the actual experience I'm paying for, and DunDraCon can't. I am made of salt right now. I told DunDraCon this, too, that Kubla can offer me games to play, and they can't. It should not be acceptable to register for a game convention, buy a weekend badge, preregister for your games online, and not get into a single game for an entire day. It shouldn't just "be how the system works".