Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031192And there is much discussion over "whither GaryCon."  A LOT of us don't want to see it undergo unlimited growth.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;1031193Also agreed!!! Uncontrolled growth has, historically, destroyed a lot of conventions. I've seen all to many convention organizers, whether a small group or a large organization, fail to plan for the future and fail to grow new convention runners and wind up being utterly swamped when the convention hits a certain size. Venue costs also go up, as does operational overheads and liability-related costs. Conventions which have what amounts to a managed growth strategy and plan survive far longer then those which do not. Attendance caps can get a lot of people's knickers in a twist, but them do work to minimize problems.

The GEEK Game Demo happens in less than a week and I find that this is something I need to be aware of already. Keeping growth at a manageable level is just another factor for me to keep in mind.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031192And there is much discussion over "whither GaryCon."  A LOT of us don't want to see it undergo unlimited growth.

Indeed; I had a similar discussion with one of the Trolls (of Troll Lord Games) at the second-to-last LGGC; the individual I spoke to seemed perfectly happy with the 200 +/- person attendance, as did Gary (again per discussion "off to the side" with him).

Also, a lot of con-going for me is knowing I can meet up and hang out with people I know and enjoy their company.  Simply showing up to game somewhere "just because" becomes an exercise in "Eh, so what" pretty quickly to me.  I would probably have gone to this past GaryCon regardless (a dear friend cajoled me in to going by picking up a lot of the tab), but seeing EOTB, Mythmere, Falconer, Francisca, Paul Stormberg and so many other swell folks there really made it for me.  Plus I lucked out and met some of the great TSR artists and writers from back in the day.  I'm planning on going again in 2020, but take those factors away and it becomes a lot less appealing.

Geez, none of you asswipes came to see me.

I'm gonna cry.

Quote from: thedungeondelver;1031217Plus I lucked out and met some of the great TSR artists and writers from back in the day

That's awesome that you met Larry Elmore:)

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031249Geez, none of you asswipes came to see me.

I'm gonna cry.

Did your badge say Gronan?

As for the newer edition stuff, all you need to do is join a few of the tier one games, have fun, and invite the players and the DM to try and play in a few older edition games to get the full Con experience. I did not see an intro track for AD&D, but there is nothing stopping the Con from running linked AD&D storylines like AL does targeted at newer players.

Yes, my badge said "Gronan of Simmerya."

That said, I rarely was found outside the Legends of Wargaming room.  Or the small bar down at that end of the conference center.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031313Yes, my badge said "Gronan of Simmerya."

That said, I rarely was found outside the Legends of Wargaming room.  Or the small bar down at that end of the conference center.

I watched a little of your Battle of the Ice game, but other than chatting with one of the players about the aforementioned incident with the Teutonic heavy cavalry breaking through the ice, I didn't linger as I didn't want to distract anyone.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031313Yes, my badge said "Gronan of Simmerya."

That said, I rarely was found outside the Legends of Wargaming room.  Or the small bar down at that end of the conference center.

Then I probably saw you but would have had no reason to say hello, but next year I will.

As for maps, I am navigating fhe Tokyo rail network and even with color coding , the big bad would have caught and eaten me by now.

Quote from: RunningLaser;1031257That's awesome that you met Larry Elmore:)

I did, I did not have anything for him to autograph, and I felt terrible about it!  Jeff Easley signed my DM screen, Darlene, Erol Otus, David S. LaForce, got 'em all from them but dang it I did not have an Elmore print or anything to sign.  Next time I go if he's there I'll make sure I've got something.

I don't get the debate here. My players don't really have a problem doing mapping. There's always at least one guy in every party who seems to enjoy doing it.

Quote from: Motorskills;1031002Right, but real cavers are primarily there to map (explore).

D&D adventurers are not there primarily to do that, it's like third on the list.

Not really. Knowing where safe places are, hidey holes, the fastest way out, unsprung traps you can lead enemies into, and so on can be REALLY important. And sometimes mapping can reveal possible secret rooms. Knowing where you are is important in a dungeon. Even simple systems like say Keep on the Borderlands its oddly easy to get turned around and lose track of where you are when seen from first person.

And as noted previously. Mapping can also alert you to hidden teleporters and other tricks.

Quote from: Omega;1031945Not really. Knowing where safe places are, hidey holes, the fastest way out, unsprung traps you can lead enemies into, and so on can be REALLY important. And sometimes mapping can reveal possible secret rooms. Knowing where you are is important in a dungeon. Even simple systems like say Keep on the Borderlands its oddly easy to get turned around and lose track of where you are when seen from first person.

And as noted previously. Mapping can also alert you to hidden teleporters and other tricks.

I don't disagree with any of that, but not all of that requires mapping per se.

"The Cleric halts a few yards behind, taking rearguard in the corridor behind us. The Thief enters the room and checks for basic traps before waving the group onwards. The Fighter continues through the room and takes vanguard in the corridor ahead of us. The Wizard and Thief take basic measurements of the room, and make the agreed subtle emergency retreat marks in chalk. No-one has made a sound, hand-signals only. Thirty seconds later, the group moves on."

As a DM, if a player presented me (verbally) with that, I would work with it.


A lot of what you offered is simply not a priority when there are monsters wandering around. It can be done - should be done - on the fifth visit to the place. Four thousand years later they are still looking for hidden compartments within the pyramids.

Quote from: Motorskills;1031946I don't disagree with any of that, but not all of that requires mapping per se. .

Chalk can be rubbed out. And chalk doesnt tell you visibly that something is seriously wrong. (because we walked through at least one teleporter and the group only knew about it because I was mapping and thought I'd goofed up my map.)

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1031249Geez, none of you asswipes came to see me.

I'm gonna cry.

If I do GaryCon, I promise to track you down and loudly pester you about your book.

...several times over the weekend.

Quote from: Omega;1031955Chalk can be rubbed out.

"Rubbing one out" has a different meaning in the dungeon!