First off, apologies for the missed entry this week, assorted gamers. This one wasn't actually my fault, though--Blogger was down for a bit, due to some technical issues, so even when I went to put up an entry on Thursday, I wasn't able to. As such, here we are.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing I missed.
Rather, I've been working with El Willy on revising the WEGS "Ultimate Dungeon Party"--a series of advanced Arks set to debut at Origins this year. Containing the Monk, Templar, Dungeoneer, Warlock, Glaivemaiden, and Sneak, the UDP really has some great content to it, all in a little 54 card deck! However, I haven't gotten a chance to play with it yet, and told El Willy that I'd give it a go at Wright State's Glory Con this weekend...
I'm not going to mince words here. Wright State's gaming scene is massively frustrating. They did absolutely minimal advertisement for Glory Con; we didn't even hear about it at Wittenberg until Gem City ComicCon, where they had a half-page ad in the con's on-site book.
The last time we went to Glory Con, the amenities were nice, but there were next to no events whatsoever. EEE and I ran the WEGS classic "Return to Castle von Yumenstein..." for three sessions, but our table by itself made up most of the events in total. Overall, things were poorly organized, poorly advertised, and poorly set up.
It appears that things haven't changed.
I arrived at WSU today, ready to throw down the UDP, only to find a totally blank room. Walking around the WSU Student Union, with an armload of minis and other WEGSing supplies, I managed to find my way to the bookstore, where the clerk was kind enough to pull up the university events list. Glory Con, apparently, is only tomorrow...as opposed to the 14th-15th date, in the ComicCon ad.
This could have been easily prevented, if the WSU group had a website or responded to e-mail (I've personally e-mailed the current president, only to receive no response whatsoever). Even a Facebook page would be helpful, in both advertising and organization. No such luck.
Honestly, guys. Get your poop in order.
So, it appears that I have a free evening for once. That means that I can finish out some of my major projects right now. I'm about 1,000 words away from being done with Draft 1 on "The Pendulum Method", which will be sitting at 16,000 words total. And, as mentioned, there's also the UDP, which is a total blast.
Time for me to limber up those fingers, friends and neighbors. I've got to get started!
Showing posts with label Glory Con. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glory Con. Show all posts
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
In Which The Warlock Posts on Three Cons...
As the weather heats up, so does the convention season. And, lo and behold, it's finally broken 70 degrees out here in Flatland, which means that dice-slinging is on the horizon.
After a quality start to the con-season at WittCon, I was excited to have Den Con 2011 on the horizon. The WittGuild's been trying to build relationships with area universities and gaming organizations, and Denison's group has been really busy, building a game library and gamer culture in Granville. With them so close to Columbus (and The Big O), it's good to have some friends and neighbors up yonder...
...that is, it would be. Unfortunately for me, the PlatinumChick came down with a nasty stomach virus Friday night, after my Laundry one-shot at Witt. At 2 am, she was begging me to stay home with her, and I gave in.
I immediately felt horrible about it--not about the fact that my wife needed me; I have no regrets in that regard--but rather in a realization. I've been running convention one-shots of various games (primarily WEGS) for almost 8 years now. This was the first time, in all those years, that I've had to cancel.
I e-mailed Mr. Mike, the head of Den Con 2011, immediately, but still haven't heard back. I'm hoping they're willing to have me back next year. The WEGS train has to roll on! Granville needs to hear the Cold Roll Gospel sooner than later!
But, with that cancellation, the PlatinumChick and I were able to sleep in and, on Sunday, meet L-Train, EEE, and NuJosh for a trip to Dayton's Gem City ComicCon, held at Wright State University. I don't typically get to do much trolling for floppies at Champion City ComicCon, as I'm usually helping to run the game room, so it was nice to be able to peruse the vendors from all over the Miami Valley and beyond.
I have come to a conclusion, though, regarding comics vs. gaming conventions, stemming back to our trip to C2E2 last year. Overall, I tend to be much less a fan of comics conventions, simply because there's less to do.
At a typical gaming convention, I can always find something that piques my interest. I might spend some time trolling around the dealer hall, then drift over to a Paint-and-Take event, then play a one shot or borrow something from the board-game library to play. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll go to a panel, or visit some of the small-press places, to find out what's on the docket for the coming release schedule. Sometimes, I'll even try to do a little schmoozing with some of the muckitty-mucks at various gaming companies, trying to get my name out there. Fundamentally, there's a variety of events, so that if I get bored at one, I can move on to something different with little difficulty.
At the comics conventions I've been at, the inverse is true. While there might be some panels or artist/writer booths that I'd visit, the prime attraction is only the dealer hall. And, truth be told, there just isn't enough variety in what they're selling to really appeal. When you've trolled through case after case of Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperbacks, all priced relatively closely, things tend to get a little repetitive. There just isn't enough variety in stock or items to keep my attention.
But you might say, "What about the gaming dealer hall? Isn't it all the same stuff there?" Well, yes and no. While there are some similar games that get sold everywhere--d20 supplements, current edition D&D items--most of the vendors are more specialized. Either they'll sell for a specific company--the SJGames booth comes immediately to mind--or they'll focus on a specific aspect of gaming. There are booths specifically that sell minis, booths that sell dice or battlemats, booths that sell chits and other knick-knacks that are gaming-related. There's enough variety that one can avoid just seeing the same items in box after box, on shelf after shelf.
What shocked me most at Gem City, though, was not something I found in the longboxes. Rather, it was something from their program that blew me away: Glory Con. Yes, Wright State's apparently back, having a gaming convention once more.
The last time we went to Glory Con, it was something of a disappointment. While the creators had ample room and a quality vendor, in Bell Book and Comic, there was no real schedule, and EEE's and my classic WEGS module, "Return to Castle VonYumenstein, Part VI: The Revengening! (a Prequel)" was one of the few actual games being run. I'm hoping to see some more information on Glory Con in the near future. I would have provided a link, like the conventions above, but there's no website or Facebook page to be found...
Time shall tell, I suppose. Besides, what else am I going to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon, than chuck some dice?!
 |
| Alas, poor Den Con...I'll make it next year... |
...that is, it would be. Unfortunately for me, the PlatinumChick came down with a nasty stomach virus Friday night, after my Laundry one-shot at Witt. At 2 am, she was begging me to stay home with her, and I gave in.
I immediately felt horrible about it--not about the fact that my wife needed me; I have no regrets in that regard--but rather in a realization. I've been running convention one-shots of various games (primarily WEGS) for almost 8 years now. This was the first time, in all those years, that I've had to cancel.
I e-mailed Mr. Mike, the head of Den Con 2011, immediately, but still haven't heard back. I'm hoping they're willing to have me back next year. The WEGS train has to roll on! Granville needs to hear the Cold Roll Gospel sooner than later!
 |
| Dayton's own Comic Book Extravaganza |
I have come to a conclusion, though, regarding comics vs. gaming conventions, stemming back to our trip to C2E2 last year. Overall, I tend to be much less a fan of comics conventions, simply because there's less to do.
At a typical gaming convention, I can always find something that piques my interest. I might spend some time trolling around the dealer hall, then drift over to a Paint-and-Take event, then play a one shot or borrow something from the board-game library to play. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll go to a panel, or visit some of the small-press places, to find out what's on the docket for the coming release schedule. Sometimes, I'll even try to do a little schmoozing with some of the muckitty-mucks at various gaming companies, trying to get my name out there. Fundamentally, there's a variety of events, so that if I get bored at one, I can move on to something different with little difficulty.
At the comics conventions I've been at, the inverse is true. While there might be some panels or artist/writer booths that I'd visit, the prime attraction is only the dealer hall. And, truth be told, there just isn't enough variety in what they're selling to really appeal. When you've trolled through case after case of Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperbacks, all priced relatively closely, things tend to get a little repetitive. There just isn't enough variety in stock or items to keep my attention.
 |
| Dealer hall from GenCon Indy 2010 |
But you might say, "What about the gaming dealer hall? Isn't it all the same stuff there?" Well, yes and no. While there are some similar games that get sold everywhere--d20 supplements, current edition D&D items--most of the vendors are more specialized. Either they'll sell for a specific company--the SJGames booth comes immediately to mind--or they'll focus on a specific aspect of gaming. There are booths specifically that sell minis, booths that sell dice or battlemats, booths that sell chits and other knick-knacks that are gaming-related. There's enough variety that one can avoid just seeing the same items in box after box, on shelf after shelf.
What shocked me most at Gem City, though, was not something I found in the longboxes. Rather, it was something from their program that blew me away: Glory Con. Yes, Wright State's apparently back, having a gaming convention once more.
The last time we went to Glory Con, it was something of a disappointment. While the creators had ample room and a quality vendor, in Bell Book and Comic, there was no real schedule, and EEE's and my classic WEGS module, "Return to Castle VonYumenstein, Part VI: The Revengening! (a Prequel)" was one of the few actual games being run. I'm hoping to see some more information on Glory Con in the near future. I would have provided a link, like the conventions above, but there's no website or Facebook page to be found...
Time shall tell, I suppose. Besides, what else am I going to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon, than chuck some dice?!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
WEGS-vangelizing at Glory-Con, and More! So much more!
So, Wright State held their annual Glory-Con this weekend, and the Witt-Weggers were out in-force to sell some of the Wright State folks on the indy-game sensation...
Ebbs and I put together a scenario that was briefly called "Return to the Escape to Castle Von FitzYummenSteinoVich--Part VII, the Revengenationing! (A Prequel). Basic premise of the scenario? The citizens of the nearby village have been traveling in secret to the High Castle on the Hill and returning with delectable sweets, the likes of which you've never seen. The only problem being? The castle is guarded by the spirit of the one of the ancient candy-making elves, the Princess Khee-Blar!
Ebbs' major idea with this one was to create a draw by using various types of candies as minis. While our headliner didn't actually appear--a massive chocolate rabbit, riding a racecar--the battlemap was full of marshmallow peeps, gummi bears and dinosaurs, and Swedish "moat monsters".
Here are the pics!
First, here's the castle itself. Since we didn't have El Willy's Copper Pot to use, we had to make do with his bastard half-cousin, the Crystal Pot!
Here's the Princess, in action during our first session.
So, one of the more complicated elements of WEGS is the "Cold Roll". To make a Cold Roll, you start by rolling 2d6. This is to represent your target number, for a following percentage roll. The highest value on the 2d6 becomes the tens place, the other number becomes the ones place.
Typically, in WEGS, a roll of 00 is a complete and utter failure. However, on a Cold Roll, this is replaced by 'boxcars', or two sixes. A critical success is typically an 01, or in the case of a Cold Roll, snake eyes (two ones).
Given that, I present to you, courtesy of Eric Ebbs....Schroedinger's Cold Roll!
My favorite picture from GloryCon--truly sums up the dice-rolling mayhem of WEGS!
All told, I was fairly pleased with GloryCon, though there's a lot of improvement to be made. Wright State's Adventurer's Guild is really an organization in a rebuilding stage, after a major fiasco several years ago which really killed their funding and their attendance.
That said, there were many fundamental flaws with the con itself. Advertising was incredibly sparse, and the rooms used seemed cavernous and not very well suited to the audience. The biggest difficulty, though, was the lack of a schedule. Every con I've ever been at always has at least some kind of schedule, telling you what events will be held when. it gives patrons something to expect, and something they can rely on.
This really wasn't the case at Glory Con. It was difficult to get things organized, and to get players, so as not to interfere with other events. While our second session had many more players than the first one, it still left some to be desired.
All said, I'm really jazzed about Origins this year. We have 7 Witt-Weggers rocking out in Columbus this year, and will be just in time for the premier of D&D 4th edition. While I'm personally excited about D&D's new incarnation, I'm actually a little burned out on D&D. Needless to say, that's kind of odd for me, as it's my typical game of choice. Our current game group, in fact, has somewhat given up on D&D for a tick--naturally, Pirates of the Underdark is on hiatus--in lieu of a series of one-shots. While we're off next week, as my parents are in town to discuss wedding plans, I'm planning a Dark Heresy game right now, using the new Black Industries/Fantasy Flight rules.
Oh yes, this game makes me happy. Never have I seen a book that so seamlessly blends its crunch and fluff so well. Yes, there are flaws with the book--most notably the utter weakness of starting characters--but those are easily fixed...the God-Emperor commands it!
Ebbs and I put together a scenario that was briefly called "Return to the Escape to Castle Von FitzYummenSteinoVich--Part VII, the Revengenationing! (A Prequel). Basic premise of the scenario? The citizens of the nearby village have been traveling in secret to the High Castle on the Hill and returning with delectable sweets, the likes of which you've never seen. The only problem being? The castle is guarded by the spirit of the one of the ancient candy-making elves, the Princess Khee-Blar!
Ebbs' major idea with this one was to create a draw by using various types of candies as minis. While our headliner didn't actually appear--a massive chocolate rabbit, riding a racecar--the battlemap was full of marshmallow peeps, gummi bears and dinosaurs, and Swedish "moat monsters".
Here are the pics!
First, here's the castle itself. Since we didn't have El Willy's Copper Pot to use, we had to make do with his bastard half-cousin, the Crystal Pot!
Here's the Princess, in action during our first session.
So, one of the more complicated elements of WEGS is the "Cold Roll". To make a Cold Roll, you start by rolling 2d6. This is to represent your target number, for a following percentage roll. The highest value on the 2d6 becomes the tens place, the other number becomes the ones place.
Typically, in WEGS, a roll of 00 is a complete and utter failure. However, on a Cold Roll, this is replaced by 'boxcars', or two sixes. A critical success is typically an 01, or in the case of a Cold Roll, snake eyes (two ones).
Given that, I present to you, courtesy of Eric Ebbs....Schroedinger's Cold Roll!
My favorite picture from GloryCon--truly sums up the dice-rolling mayhem of WEGS!
All told, I was fairly pleased with GloryCon, though there's a lot of improvement to be made. Wright State's Adventurer's Guild is really an organization in a rebuilding stage, after a major fiasco several years ago which really killed their funding and their attendance.
That said, there were many fundamental flaws with the con itself. Advertising was incredibly sparse, and the rooms used seemed cavernous and not very well suited to the audience. The biggest difficulty, though, was the lack of a schedule. Every con I've ever been at always has at least some kind of schedule, telling you what events will be held when. it gives patrons something to expect, and something they can rely on.
This really wasn't the case at Glory Con. It was difficult to get things organized, and to get players, so as not to interfere with other events. While our second session had many more players than the first one, it still left some to be desired.
All said, I'm really jazzed about Origins this year. We have 7 Witt-Weggers rocking out in Columbus this year, and will be just in time for the premier of D&D 4th edition. While I'm personally excited about D&D's new incarnation, I'm actually a little burned out on D&D. Needless to say, that's kind of odd for me, as it's my typical game of choice. Our current game group, in fact, has somewhat given up on D&D for a tick--naturally, Pirates of the Underdark is on hiatus--in lieu of a series of one-shots. While we're off next week, as my parents are in town to discuss wedding plans, I'm planning a Dark Heresy game right now, using the new Black Industries/Fantasy Flight rules.
Oh yes, this game makes me happy. Never have I seen a book that so seamlessly blends its crunch and fluff so well. Yes, there are flaws with the book--most notably the utter weakness of starting characters--but those are easily fixed...the God-Emperor commands it!
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