Modern Cons? Hell no.
It makes me feel better I decided to go back in 2016. I always wondered what Gen Con would be like since reading about it in Dragon Magazine in 1981. I enjoyed it to a degree, but I do not know that I could enjoy it in the modern iteration of present day problems. I also think I needed about a quarter or less of a con to go to as my first con.
I often think a move back to smaller, gaming specific cons would be good. Too many comic cons and the like just drown out the gaming.
Anyhow, if I could, I'd like to go to a good science fiction convention in, maybe, 1965, pre Star Trek anyhow. Listen to Asimov, Hienlein, Clarke, Niven, and others talk. A Gen Con in, maybe 1983 or so would be good too.
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Quote from: Trinculoisdead on February 08, 2022, 01:19:39 AM
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Greetings!
Well, like in the other thread about conventions, Gary Con discussing their new requirements and procedures--hand sanitizer everywhere, vaccines required, and everyone required to wear masks. And of course, all gaming spaces are suitably "socially distanced" and reduced in gamer attendance for extra special safety precautions.
Why don't I just fucking wear my NBC gear from the military, and be sure to wear my military-issue gas mask?
Just cancel the fucking game conventions and have them again when these morons are replaced by people that want to be normal and not act like a bunch of pussy tyrant sheep.
That's what is disgusting about modern conventions, for starters.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
pussy tyrant sheep
I almost want to see this as an entry in a monster manual. Almost.
Quote from: HappyDaze on February 08, 2022, 01:42:53 AM
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
pussy tyrant sheep
I almost want to see this as an entry in a monster manual. Almost.
Or a movie.
Mad scientist in Jurassic World 5: After the disastrously independent
Indominus rex went rogue and led a raptor uprising, we have combined the DNA of the fearsome
Tyrannosaurus rex with a more compliant species, the domestic sheep. Meet the
Ovityrannus rex!
<mad scientist waves grandly as the tarp falls from a giant cage, revealing the dinosaur hybrid>
<the onlookers gasp>
Onlooker 1: You made a...
woolly tyrannosaur?
<as the mad scientist grins madly, the
Ovityrannus rex strikes a dramatic pose and emits a sound that's a combination of Godzilla's roar, and a sheep bleating>
Quote from: Pat on February 08, 2022, 02:41:27 AM
Quote from: HappyDaze on February 08, 2022, 01:42:53 AM
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
pussy tyrant sheep
I almost want to see this as an entry in a monster manual. Almost.
Or a movie.
Mad scientist in Jurassic World 5: After the disastrously independent Indominus rex went rogue and led a raptor uprising, we have combined the DNA of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex with a more compliant species, the domestic sheep. Meet the Ovityrannus aries!
<mad scientist waves grandly as the tarp falls from a giant cage, revealing the dinosaur hybrid>
<the onlookers gasp>
Onlooker 1: You made a... woolly tyrannosaur?
<as the mad scientist grins madly, the Ovityrannus aries strikes a dramatic pose and emits a sound that's a combination of Godzilla's roar, and a sheep bleating>
Okay... so, don't judge me too hard. I actually basically did this in my last campaign. Players were in a wilderness that grew over and around a long abandoned high tech city. They keep hearing strange roars in the distance. Finally, they came across a huge footprint with tufts of wool, but were spaced as if it stood on two legs. I let them know that this was the territory of a Llamasaurus Rex. They noped out of there.
Incidentally they eventually fought a shadow magic infused Llamasaurus Rex and, earlier, a pack of Llamasaurus (llama-raptor hybrids).
Quote from: Pat on February 08, 2022, 02:41:27 AM
Quote from: HappyDaze on February 08, 2022, 01:42:53 AM
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
pussy tyrant sheep
I almost want to see this as an entry in a monster manual. Almost.
Or a movie.
Mad scientist in Jurassic World 5: After the disastrously independent Indominus rex went rogue and led a raptor uprising, we have combined the DNA of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex with a more compliant species, the domestic sheep. Meet the Ovityrannus rex!
<mad scientist waves grandly as the tarp falls from a giant cage, revealing the dinosaur hybrid>
<the onlookers gasp>
Onlooker 1: You made a... woolly tyrannosaur?
<as the mad scientist grins madly, the Ovityrannus rex strikes a dramatic pose and emits a sound that's a combination of Godzilla's roar, and a sheep bleating>
Greetings!
*Roaring* *Laughing* Oh, geesus. I about choked on my coffee, with your scene there, Pat!
Well, I get worked up at some of this shit and it makes me say some creative things. *Laughing* Probably more nonsense, but that's ok.
Pussy Tyrant Sheep!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
On the original topic,
I went to my first gaming con in 1985 - Origins XI in Baltimore, and then again to Origins XII in 1987 in Columbus. It's a bit hard to compare since I was only 15 and 17 at the time, but I remember a fair bit of it. I didn't go through my 20s, but I started going again in the early 2000s - including Gen Con but mostly local conventions.
I'll be going to DunDraCon in two weeks. I feel like most of the convention experience is largely the same.
There are differences, of course. There's a wider variety of systems now, which I think is good. DunDraCon has a bunch of AD&D and DCC events, but also a lot of more modern events. In the 80s, there were a lot more of tournament dungeons where groups got points for different goals. That's gone out of style, which I think is fine. Dungeons are challenging, but it's hard for them to be objectively competitive between different groups, because RPGs are inherently open-ended.
I think that there are the foundations of legendary conventions happening NOW.
Locally, and mainly miniatures - but I will be running Classic Traveller on the days I am off work.
http://rockytopgamecon.com/
Venger Con looks like it will be great, although I still don't know if I will be able to attend. I'm trying, though.
https://tabletop.events/conventions/venger-con-2022
It isn't that yesteryear is long gone and should be bemoaned, it is that not enough people have told the "pussy tyrant sheep" to fuck off and start their own thing. You aren't going to do GenCon II - Electric Boogaloo immediately, but a local game day can become a small con can be grown further if people want to.
Here, have an article about small cons and some considerations.
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/small-but-mighty-how-local-cons-are-made?fbclid=IwAR34OtP1D4eXPnqvRBlds-vTVxmpc8TuJKhjLcpG3xmOi8fSuJxp7vHt6Ak
I've never really been into them myself. The only thing I liked about them was buying stuff (and the booze after). I actually don't really like playing one-shots (in general).
That said if a con was being run by small indie creators (a bit like Venger is doing) then they'd be a lot more appealing for me.
I think the way forward, is this type of indie-con where like-minded gamers gather and just have fun gaming and chatting. But without all these silly baby rules.
I went to a bunch of local cons during the 80s. They were great. This was before the internet so it was one of the few places that you could talk to other gamers about gaming. Especially people that played different games or with different play styles. So there was more of a sense of comradery amongst the people.
By the mid 90s the atmosphere had changed. RPGing was more established and commercial but, also, gamers had self segregated into several groups: D&D purists, NO D&D EVER types, AD&D-only, etc. But the biggest change was the emphasis on cosplaying which brought in a whole new crowd that weren't really gamers.
Ahh... the 80's Cons were glorious.
I did the big three LA Strategicon Conventions - OrcCon, Gamex, and Gateway. Back then, if you showed up to the Con, you *really* felt you were among your own kind. The Satanic Panic was very much a "thing" - yet here are a couple of thousand (by the end of the 80's OrcCon was busting out 10k+) fellow gaming cultists letting their nerdery fly. And it was truly amazing.
All these old hoary wargamers with their boxes of shit, taking up an entire ballroom where their entire goal was to simulate the entirety of WWII via major engagements over the course of the long weekend. Cosplay! The first cosplayers in their janky-ass Ren-faire outfits (some were actually legit).
And all the gaming! Everyone talking shop, sharing house rules, showing off new games, swag. It was exciting.
I remember it feeling like going to a Vegas casino OFF the strip, but instead of gambling, it was nothing but TTRPG's and Wargaming. And you'd get to meet the occasional TSR rockstar, it was quite impressionable for me, especially considering in my "civilian" life I had NOTHING in common with the vast majority of these dorks, but I felt super-united in the fact we played D&D.
Every con there was always people talking about the hype of the next "big thing" which since this was pre-Web, unless you ran on BBS's you often didn't know what that "thing" was until you got there. Or more often it was something you read about in Dragon magazine. You'd start seeing the first computer-gaming Play-by-Mail stuff - DuelMasters (now called Duel2) was huge. Because you could play your turns inbetween gaming sessions (it took hours to process and they'd post results). I don't think I slept more than 2-hrs over the course of four days.
After my first Con (1984) I was like - pff! I can do this. So I immediately started writing my own Con adventures and signed up to GM and never looked back. I received a *massive* amount of exposure to other games, ideas, and even the nascent industry itself. I never felt particularly connected to other gamers, mainly because my primary contact was with other FLGS locals that I ran into - and they were way too dorky for me hang out with socially (we're talking real cellar-dwellers by my idiot-teen standards of cool). But that first Con knocked me of my high-horse for sure. That Con really showed me how diverse the LA gamers were... and how far and wide it went.
One of my favorite memories I've mentioned before, and I swear to fucking Galactus, I know there is a pic of this somewhere, because my friend took it, and I later saw it in a print publication (it might have been Polyhedron! or maybe some Strategicon thing) - anyhow, this was around 1988, and I was pumped, I show up with my crew, and I remember it was really loud. I was lugging a dive-bag full of books (I swear it must have weighed 80lbs) and wanted to get set up as I was running a 4-day tournament adventure, and we were standing there for a moment taking it all in.
It was in front of the ballroom adjacent to the Free-gaming area (which was three-ballrooms jam-packed with people... oh the smell! Books and Body Odor!) and the ballroom next to us was filled with Wargamers. I hear this voice behind us boom in a HORRIBLE German accent "Oh my! It looks like the Allies have taken over!"
We turn around and there is this older black guy, in full Nazi Officer regalia with a big-ass afro (which alone was crazy as this was the era of the high-top fade and jheri-curls - no one had straight-up afros). I remember all of us dying laughing, we were like DAAAAAAMNN! But here's the thing... That look on that guy's face was one of pure utter delight. Here we were, sharing in this moment that could only have happened right there and right then. He wasn't even a TTRPG player - he was a fucking wargamer, but goddamit that juxtaposition of a middle-age black guy, in LA, in full Nazi-gear, and simply letting it fly with wild-abandon, I remember thinking "That's pretty awesome." I felt like, this must be some kind of watermark for how gamers didn't give a *fuuuuuck* about anything but having fun doing *our* thing - no matter what that "thing" was.
Today? dude... I would pay to see that shit happen.
I have so many good memories of early-80's to mid-90's conventions, a lot of bad ones, but they're nothing compared to the good ones. But I also think I was just lucky that I was in a place where the scene was just starting to become a "thing" - and I had no frame of perspective. When I came out to Dallas - I immediately went to the first Con out here A-Kon, and this was around 1996, and there was no real RPG organization, A-kon back then was TINY, and mostly anime. And I had been running tournaments and doing coordination back in LA, so remember talking to the A-Kon staff and they, at the time, didn't know shit about TTRPG's. They had a "free gaming area" that consisted of a couple of hotel-rooms... It was LAAAAAAME. They offered for me to organize things, but frankly I was too busy with real-life.
Now? With all the woke nonsense you couldn't pay me to go. Though if Vengercon goes another year, I think I may make the journey up there (can't this year), and I'll drink some beer and whiskey with you guys. We'll see if we can bring back some of the ol' time magic.
Quote from: oggsmash on February 07, 2022, 11:09:47 PM
It makes me feel better I decided to go back in 2016. I always wondered what Gen Con would be like since reading about it in Dragon Magazine in 1981. I enjoyed it to a degree, but I do not know that I could enjoy it in the modern iteration of present day problems. I also think I needed about a quarter or less of a con to go to as my first con.
I went to Gen con every year back in the 90s. The last was in 2001. Not sure what it is like now but back then it was huge. I spent half my time just wandering the dealers area. Tons of stuff to see and do.
Smaller cons are definitely less of a hassle to manage your time. But sometimes there can be less to actually see and do during the con due to whatever factors. But I think that is an issue only for the really small cons of which I've only been to like 2 or 3. 1 being a college run anime con. The other two being these odd little dealer cons that used to pop up in malls. Not sure they count as cons but they had that same sort of feel. Maybe they are expos or something. Still fun and where I got this weird green 8-sided natural crystal.
My first con was Origins '79. That was my first and only encounter with the TSR competitive-style play. Not my cup of tea, although I'm proud to say my character did survive. We were just kids then, so everything was amazing. We bought Traveller and spent all that night just rolling characters. Most of the events were board games and mini games, but it was also a rare opportunity to learn how other people approached role playing games. The play styles we encountered were often quite different from what we were doing. Some other people were actually speaking to each other in-character! I saw my first SCA people wearing armor and fighting with padded swords. It was cool to see just how many fantasy-adjacent hobbies there were.
I have not been to any of the big cons in decades but I went to Gary Con twice in recent years. That was fun, but most gaming spaces were so loud that I couldn't hear the GM. I still recommend it to anyone with an OSR interest. Everyone should have an opportunity to roll dice on Dave Arneson's ping-pong table and do some jousting from Chainmail.
Last year I went to a small con in Lexington, KY. That was nice, too. The big difference, to me, is that now we have the internet and fora like this. You don't have to drive five hours to discover what is happening in the hobby. Back in the day, walking into a con was like kicking open a dungeon door. You had no idea what you'd discover, but it would be something amazing that you didn't know existed.
Quote from: Jam The MF on February 07, 2022, 10:24:00 PM
I long for what the Cons must have been like, in the old days.....
They were cool until people started showing up with phones.
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
Quote from: Trinculoisdead on February 08, 2022, 01:19:39 AM
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Greetings!
Well, like in the other thread about conventions, Gary Con discussing their new requirements and procedures--hand sanitizer everywhere, vaccines required, and everyone required to wear masks. And of course, all gaming spaces are suitably "socially distanced" and reduced in gamer attendance for extra special safety precautions.
Why don't I just fucking wear my NBC gear from the military, and be sure to wear my military-issue gas mask?
Just cancel the fucking game conventions and have them again when these morons are replaced by people that want to be normal and not act like a bunch of pussy tyrant sheep.
That's what is disgusting about modern conventions, for starters.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
In the late 80s and early 90s I used to attend a convention which - no joke - had a sign on the wargamers room that said participants must bath at least once a day, and must wear deodorant.
It was a good con. The policy was wise and necessary.
Quote from: Mistwell on February 08, 2022, 10:01:20 PM
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
Quote from: Trinculoisdead on February 08, 2022, 01:19:39 AM
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Greetings!
Well, like in the other thread about conventions, Gary Con discussing their new requirements and procedures--hand sanitizer everywhere, vaccines required, and everyone required to wear masks. And of course, all gaming spaces are suitably "socially distanced" and reduced in gamer attendance for extra special safety precautions.
Why don't I just fucking wear my NBC gear from the military, and be sure to wear my military-issue gas mask?
Just cancel the fucking game conventions and have them again when these morons are replaced by people that want to be normal and not act like a bunch of pussy tyrant sheep.
That's what is disgusting about modern conventions, for starters.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
In the late 80s and early 90s I used to attend a convention which - no joke - had a sign on the wargamers room that said participants must bath at least once a day, and must wear deodorant.
It was a good con. The policy was wise and necessary.
Did they have to show their bathing papers at the door? ;)
Quote from: Trinculoisdead on February 08, 2022, 01:19:39 AM
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Huge crowds of snowflakes, who scream and cry if you aren't wearing a mask.
Vaccination card requirements, in order to attend.
If some libtard decides that you are guilty of some perceived "micro-aggression", and starts a fight that they can't win; it's your fault for being an evil anti-snowflake.
If you try to fly, instead of drive to the con; you basically get treated like a prisoner in Siberia.
A lot of the vendors now either are themselves, or else represent companies that hate you for not being a snowflake.
Many, many products on display, for systems or rulesets that I don't want to play.
The people who own, operate, and represent the companies driving the majority of the hobby now; want to ruin and destroy what I like about D&D.
Quote from: Jam The MF on February 08, 2022, 11:26:57 PM
Many, many products on display, for systems or rulesets that I don't want to play.
This one is a strange complaint. Variety isn't a bad thing. Take the good parts of what you don't want to play and put it into the games you do.
Pre-Shamdemic, going to cons was one of my favorite activities. Here's my take:
1) Small local / regional cons are more fun than big cons.
2) Cons that are specifically about XYZ are more fun than general game cons. AKA, Palladium's Open House was amazeballs because all 300 of us were there ONLY because we were PB fans.
3) The bigger the con, the more bullshit.
4) We need more segregation in the hobby. Everybody has chosen their stand, now we just need to go our own ways.
Quote from: HappyDaze on February 08, 2022, 11:02:04 PM
Quote from: Mistwell on February 08, 2022, 10:01:20 PM
Quote from: SHARK on February 08, 2022, 01:37:09 AM
Quote from: Trinculoisdead on February 08, 2022, 01:19:39 AM
What is it about modern conventions that is so despicable? I can think of some answers, but I am curious as to what it is that you refer.
Greetings!
Well, like in the other thread about conventions, Gary Con discussing their new requirements and procedures--hand sanitizer everywhere, vaccines required, and everyone required to wear masks. And of course, all gaming spaces are suitably "socially distanced" and reduced in gamer attendance for extra special safety precautions.
Why don't I just fucking wear my NBC gear from the military, and be sure to wear my military-issue gas mask?
Just cancel the fucking game conventions and have them again when these morons are replaced by people that want to be normal and not act like a bunch of pussy tyrant sheep.
That's what is disgusting about modern conventions, for starters.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
In the late 80s and early 90s I used to attend a convention which - no joke - had a sign on the wargamers room that said participants must bath at least once a day, and must wear deodorant.
It was a good con. The policy was wise and necessary.
Did they have to show their bathing papers at the door? ;)
Ha, no. I think they did shame people though.
Once they were cool. Getting a chance to go to one wasn't like finding the pot of gold in Ireland, but it was FUN.
But then the damned 92% let the 8% get it's foot in the door more and more until cons is just another woke brainwash. The 92% ALWAYS caves in, because when the 8% tells them "be reasonable" it'll never EVER figure out that the 8% will take it ALL. No matter how bad the 92% gets screwed over they just keep doing the same damn thing- cower.
Try to start a real fun con and it'll surely happen again, as surely as it rains in Ireland. I wouldn't even try because I know I'll get no backing.
The only "con" I'll go to is the gaming night we got around here where we got no woke crap no x-cards and the 92% better not whine.
Quote from: Spinachcat on February 09, 2022, 12:53:46 AM
Pre-Shamdemic, going to cons was one of my favorite activities. Here's my take:
1) Small local / regional cons are more fun than big cons.
2) Cons that are specifically about XYZ are more fun than general game cons. AKA, Palladium's Open House was amazeballs because all 300 of us were there ONLY because we were PB fans.
3) The bigger the con, the more bullshit.
4) We need more segregation in the hobby. Everybody has chosen their stand, now we just need to go our own ways.
And get banned and shamed and maybe blacklisted for discrimination? HAH! The 8% can do that all they want but Lord forbid anyone else tries to do that. Oh, it could work but the 92% would have to try some courage and unity and- hey, look- I'm not drunk no more so there's the moon rising in the west!
Quote from: Redwanderer on February 16, 2022, 04:21:51 PM
Once they were cool. Getting a chance to go to one wasn't like finding the pot of gold in Ireland, but it was FUN.
But then the damned 92% let the 8% get it's foot in the door more and more until cons is just another woke brainwash.
What cons did you used to go to, Redwanderer?
I went to GaryCon and NTRPG Con most years from 2010-2019. NTRPG was good *every year* because they kept it small and focused. Gary Con was good for the same reason until they switched locations to juice the growth, then it got worse and worse every year.
RIP Doug Rhea - your con brought a lot of joy and good times into the world!
Quote from: Redwanderer on February 16, 2022, 04:26:20 PM
And get banned and shamed and maybe blacklisted for discrimination? HAH! The 8% can do that all they want but Lord forbid anyone else tries to do that. Oh, it could work but the 92% would have to try some courage and unity and- hey, look- I'm not drunk no more so there's the moon rising in the west!
You're right, but courage is contagious.
Cons that don't bow to woke shit will draw crowds.
I'm hopefully going to NTRPG Con this year. I don't see a list of con rules on their site. Unless I am missing something that someone else has caught, it appears to be a pretty regular con filled with gamers and not the crowd I don't really care to associate with so much that calls themselves gamers. I'll be avoiding any 5E stuff like the plague, and hoping to hit up a Hyperborea 3E game and see if Jim Sampler's running anything.
This once-a-year thing will likely be the only chances I ever get to actually play a game of Hyperborea, lol. I'm already set to GM it when the books arrive.
I've never had the opportunity to go to any cons in the past and I'm 51 now. Better late than never, and this is the only one I've read about that doesn't seem super restrictive or gate-keeping, and old-school they way I'd like.
Andcon was probably one of the first gaming cons I ever went to. Andon ran some of the best cons and apparently for a time was managing Gencon.
Quote from: Spinachcat on February 17, 2022, 02:24:03 AM
Quote from: Redwanderer on February 16, 2022, 04:26:20 PM
And get banned and shamed and maybe blacklisted for discrimination? HAH! The 8% can do that all they want but Lord forbid anyone else tries to do that. Oh, it could work but the 92% would have to try some courage and unity and- hey, look- I'm not drunk no more so there's the moon rising in the west!
You're right, but courage is contagious.
Cons that don't bow to woke shit will draw crowds.
You are right, I would be curious to see what one that was mask optional and no vaxx needed drew for a crowd. I started eating at a restaurant where they were always mask optional, even when the state mandated masks in businesses, thankfully the food and service is great..but they got me in the door with that policy.
I went to Gen Con in 1984 or '85, I think it was '85. Pretty fun time, but not the be-all, end-all. Went to DragonCon a couple times in the early 2000's when I was living in Atlanta, and that was a whole different ball of wax. By that time it seemed to be all about advertising and professional cosplayers.
But I haven't been to a con since before 2005.
Been going to Cons since 2004 (ish) - uk cons and mostly smaller ones (200-300 people). They were and still are pretty awesome. The only difference between now and then is a wider variety of games, more women playing/running and muster was a bit less crowded this year. Also, the beer is more expensive. Oh, and games run in the main hall are asked to be considerate of children that might be there. Those in the bar/chalets can be as awful/awesome as normal. There's always been a "mature themes warning" or "minimum age required for certain games at the cons I've been to.
This year masks were advised but not required, and we didn't need to prove vaccination.
I missed out on the Cthulhu Dredd this year, but that was due to running in the same slot, everything else was awesome.
I am at DunDraCon now, and having a good time.
Last night I ran my Incan-inspired fantasy using D&D 5E. I just played a superhero game by Sean Patrick Fannon, using his Prowlers & Paragons system. I'm not sold on the latter, but it was worth a shot, and cool to play with an author whose work I have enjoyed. Not sure what I'll be doing tonight.
Tomorrow I'll be running a Doctor Who larp in the afternoon, and playing more D&D in the evening.
Quote from: jhkim on February 16, 2022, 06:15:36 PM
Quote from: Redwanderer on February 16, 2022, 04:21:51 PM
Once they were cool. Getting a chance to go to one wasn't like finding the pot of gold in Ireland, but it was FUN.
But then the damned 92% let the 8% get it's foot in the door more and more until cons is just another woke brainwash.
What cons did you used to go to, Redwanderer?
I never did go to a Gencon. Always meant to but by the time I got around to it friends of mine who used to go told me not to waste my time because the leftist crap was so bad. Older ones told me it used to be fun but now it sucks. This was years ago so tell me again about how the corner's being turned against the woke. GAH! Pisses me off thinking you're going to a nice village but find out it's turned into a rundown dungheap.
I did go to some smaller ones. They had dnd stuff with pokemon and some video games and comics so it was sort of a mix. It was all right but even those are getting hit by woke. You people got to get this through your heads- THE 8% WANTS EVERYTHING. They'll put cameras in your house to make sure you don't do anything they don't like. Knowing the 92% they'll just dust off the lenses and pay for the cameras.
Still, it was a pretty good time. These places usually got some good artists as in GOOD. One artist did pictures of Cthulhu and that thing in the pit he drew would've scared the hell out of Lovecraft himself.
And some dms had homebrew dungeons. Just cheap folders with cheap photocopied pages and hand drawn maps but pretty good. And no proms.
But now things like Gencon sucks because the 92% never learns. YOU NEVER LET THE 8% GET IT'S DAMNED FOOT IN THE DOOR.
I knew someone used to have a dnd night with his friends. I went a few times but then had to work night shifts so that was that but one day after a couple of years I bumped into him again and asked about it- turns out it broke up. I asked why figuring they had other things to do like what happens in life. Wasn't that. Learn something here 92%-
It was a guys only thing so they'd tell rude jokes and every game always had gals with big knockers needing rescuing somewhere. One of them could draw like a pro and would draw gals in a skimpy getups for each game, hell Frank Frazetta would've liked them- fun stuff.
But one night one of them brought his girlfriend along because she kept nagging him. Of course they had to tone it down, but then she brought a few of her college friends who were real feminist banshees. Now you got to remember there was never any talk about raping or anything like that, the idea was to save these gals so it DIDN'T happen but yeah those damned harpies ranted about how sexist that was- total blarney but hey got to compromise right 92%? So now they wanted "strong womyn" characters and this and that and you can't say that and stop drawing those pictures you sexist so and so and you know what that made the game- woke trash. And those women were ALWAYS pissed off and squabbling and late! It just ended because woke like feminists want to take over and screw it all up so most of the guys said screw this and left.
The moral of this story is when you give an inch to woke crap tests you'll lose it all. Think Gencon or rpg.net turned woke in one day? Try reading that bastard Saul Alinsky's book that's how it always works. Remember that Pundit.
You know what cons must have been like in the old days? Struggling. Welcome to VENGER CON, hoss! We need gamers... desperately.
https://tabletop.events/conventions/venger-con-2022
Currently serving 17 out of 100. ;)
VS
Quote from: VengerSatanis on March 17, 2022, 06:43:39 PM
You know what cons must have been like in the old days? Struggling. Welcome to VENGER CON, hoss! We need gamers... desperately.
https://tabletop.events/conventions/venger-con-2022
Currently serving 17 out of 100. ;)
VS
Even if I get banned from here like on rpg.net?
Quote from: tenbones on February 08, 2022, 10:41:07 AM
Today? dude... I would pay to see that shit happen.
Today...today, we get people asking about World War 2 games where nobody has to play the Germans because they're uncomfortable with the very concept.
Quote from: Thornhammer on March 17, 2022, 07:57:26 PM
Quote from: tenbones on February 08, 2022, 10:41:07 AM
Today? dude... I would pay to see that shit happen.
Today...today, we get people asking about World War 2 games where nobody has to play the Germans because they're uncomfortable with the very concept.
Greetings!
*Laughing* Well, I have recently played HOIIV--a World War II global strategy wargame--as the German Reich.
It was fun rolling the Blitzkrieg over everyone! ;D
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
I noticed Dragonmeet in London getting weirder & weirder - lots of men in dresses - until I didn't really enjoy it any more. Covid 20-21 came as a bit of a relief as I didn't enjoy December 2019 at all really.
I always used to envy american cons. UK cons were always these myopic and meandering things. ESPECIALLY tabletop cons. Round about 2007-ish I want to say that started changing for the better. You could actually go to a con with the expectation of more than buying overpriced tat and drinking in cheap cosplays. A lot of the Birmingham based cons were good. But then the woke shite hit and all the idiots decided to go full mask off on all their degeneracy. Nowadays there's loads of board games to play at cons. But they're super bloated, overpriced and expect you to sit there for multiple days in some instances. Which is no good when you bought a day ticket because the weekend ticket is over £100 and sold out in a week anyway. And buying 3 day tickets then goes over £120 or £150.
I know tabletop gamers have developed quite the taste for getting rogered up the bum in regards to prices for everything they buy now, but the price gouging alone is disgusting just to have to put up with sitting next to some unhygenic bloke who insists you call him Sapphire.
Quote from: S'mon on March 18, 2022, 08:09:34 AM
I noticed Dragonmeet in London getting weirder & weirder - lots of men in dresses - until I didn't really enjoy it any more. Covid 20-21 came as a bit of a relief as I didn't enjoy December 2019 at all really.
sounds like dragoncon in Atlanta.
Used to be a great place for RPG products, gaming stuff, anime, etc.
Now it's all COSPlay and movie schlock with the artists relegated to a back room and rpg shit shoved into boxes buried under tables.
Quote from: jhkim on February 08, 2022, 03:16:51 AM
I'll be going to DunDraCon in two weeks. I feel like most of the convention experience is largely the same.
There are differences, of course. There's a wider variety of systems now, which I think is good. DunDraCon has a bunch of AD&D and DCC events, but also a lot of more modern events. In the 80s, there were a lot more of tournament dungeons where groups got points for different goals. That's gone out of style, which I think is fine. Dungeons are challenging, but it's hard for them to be objectively competitive between different groups, because RPGs are inherently open-ended.
I went to DunDraCon V & VI. What's neat is that you can still see the original program books for those DunDraCons here:
https://www.dundracon.com/DDC_PreviousCons.php
Interesting to see some of those old adventure descriptions and some of the fun movies and seminars shown back then.