The Warlock's 2013 CSW Convention Tour--Stop #1: CincyCon

As part of my efforts to show off  Cold Steel Wardens throughout the Ohio Valley, I decided to start my yearly convention route just a hair earlier, at CincyCon at the Atrium Hotel in Cincinnati.  I'd never managed to make it to CincyCon, though I'd heard good things about it at several other conventions throughout the area.

The CincyCon War Pig!

First up, my demo games:  I was pleased to have three of my four demo games go off throughout the weekend, which was a massive plus.  This had been a personal worry for me, as when I'd demoed less-familiar games at other conventions--WEGS comes immediately to mind, at AnCon a few years back--I'd had extremely limited success.  Seeing interested gamers willing to give up an hour or two to try a new system was particularly encouraging.

And those games?  A total blast!  Our first game saw the burly metahuman Sawbones leaping through a mafia goon's SUV-windshield, using one of the goon's compatriots as a human shield.  Our second game was even more bombastic, despite the fact that several gamers at the table had never played an RPG in their lives!  One player, taking on Crackdown, looked at the character sheet as if it were in Cyrillic before I waved him off and said, "Don't worry about this.  You're a big black guy with lightning fists, standing on top of a warehouse.  Tell me what you want to do, and we'll make it happen."  From that point on, he was hooked!

It's that game that really stood out to me, as I received one of the best compliments I could have asked for.  One of the players there had convinced the rest to try CSW, as she was a big comics fan, particularly of the Iron Age.  Before they sat down, I even remarked on her old-school Ghost Rider t-shirt, as I was decked out in my own gray-and-black Dark Knight t-shirt.  Halfway through the game, she looked up from the table with a big smile and said, "This reminds me so much of Sin City.".  All I could do was beam.

The convention on the whole was a truly positive experience.  Events were well organized, with an optional pre-registration system.  While the main hall was fairly loud, space was ample and well-lit.  The Atrium Hotel has surely seen better days--it's a little worn around the edges, but still in great shape, and our room was spacious and well-worth the price.  I might have liked to see the Dealer/Vendor Hall be a little more separate from some of the games--the Dealer Hall shared space with numerous miniatures games, which made for some crowded navigation, but this is a minor caveat.

CincyCon made for a great way to start off our convention season, and I know I'll be back next year.  Next up?  WittCon X, and the debut of my homage to Grant Morrison's "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth".