Quote from: Fifth Element;320583You've played it? What can you tell us about it beyond what's been in the previews?

If someone told me "we're going to redo Star Wars but its going to feature a hip-hop soundtrack and Han Solo will be played by Miley Cyrus", I don't need to go watch it to know it will be an atrocity.

RPGPundit

Quote from: boulet;320599Scottish stormtrooper FTW!

That was awesome.

Quote from: RPGPundit;320650If someone told me "we're going to redo Star Wars but its going to feature a hip-hop soundtrack and Han Solo will be played by Miley Cyrus", I don't need to go watch it to know it will be an atrocity.

But you're suggesting people should be "getting gang-raped with broomhandles and then chain-dragged with golf-carts" because of a fucking game? Get some perspective.

Quote from: Fifth Element;320685But you're suggesting people should be "getting gang-raped with broomhandles and then chain-dragged with golf-carts" because of a fucking game? Get some perspective.

Spare the abuse, spoil the company.

17:30:  Sorry for the delay, but I've been in Return to the Tower of Gygax!  Tim Kask himself was our first DM, and then we had a replacement take over--Mr. Frank Mentzer!  (But only after Tim Kask killed about a dozen adventurers).  Both gentlemen were gracious, funny, and definitely old-school.  My buddy Schuyler actually got a "white ribbon"--basically showing to the world that he rocked the Tower!  He dipped arrow in green slime to defeat some rampaging trolls--brilliant.  This is a wonderful, wonderful event, and I encourage anyone going to Gen Con to partake if they have a love of legacy in this hobby.  Mr. Mentzer also chatted us up about the history of D&D.  It was just a fantastic afternoon.





Septimus is FINALLY here--I got a picture with Bill Coffin holding his baby.  A hardcover is on the way, but it's a pretty nice, black-and-white layout.



It still doesn't touch the RPGA, but Pathfinder Society is looking pretty good!



I met Andy Hopp today, of Low-Life fame!  Super-great guy, and very unique artist.



Considering the daggers being glared at times from the ENnies booth this year, and to keep everything sedate, I won't be covering the ENnies tonight.  Apologies, but I'm sure you'll be able to find alternate coverage.

I'll be posting a larger recap tonight, as per usual.

I don't get the appeal of Septimus at all.

God, Bill Coffin looks like a shockingly nice guy.

Nice guys shouldn't ever make the mistake of working for KS, but I guess he knows that by now...

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;320722I don't get the appeal of Septimus at all.

There's so many games I don't get, I don't worry about it much.

Quote from: Pierce Inverarity;320736God, Bill Coffin looks like a shockingly nice guy.

Nice guys shouldn't ever make the mistake of working for KS, but I guess he knows that by now...

Yes he was a nice guy when I saw him earlier today at the TORG/West End Games Booth.

I was in my full Klingon Magistrate/Clergy outfit at the time.

- Ed C.

Oh, Bill Coffin was amazingly nice.  We actually talked a little about Palladium Fantasy.  I kept it complimentary--I didn't want to get into the nastiness between him and KS.  Bill Coffin is a great game writer, and I'm happy his game finally came out.

Evening:

Pathfinder remains easily in the lead for convention buzz, but Wizards of the Coast’s announcement today about Dark Sun definitely got some folks talking. The really interesting thing is that there isn’t a huge legacy fan base for Dark Sun—a lot of the younger players I spoke to didn’t really have much of an idea about what it was—so they’ll be defining it for a new generation of fans. For me, my precious Greyhawk is safe, and my mad, hopeless plot to have it licensed to certain legacy-keepers remains alive.

I was really happy to see Troll Lord Games getting some attention. When I went by earlier, it was fairly quiet, but it picked up in the afternoon.



The Margaret Weis booth cracked me up.  You have a 20' end table, and like 14 people in the booth working:



Talked to Jeremy Keller, who was doing some really interesting demos of Chronica Feudalis. It’s nice to see a new presentation that seems inherently playable.



The Indianapolis Colts are playing the Minnesota Vikings tonight in the adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium, so we again see the hilarious juxtaposition of true-blue Indy sports fans mixing with 98-pound social misfits dressed as some obscure anime character. They didn’t seem to mind the wench outfits on the ladies, though.

The Reaper Minis booth has aisles of minis. It’s one of the most sublime gaming shopping experiences I can think of. And if you’re looking for something in particular (“yes, I need a gnome suitable for use as a pirate character”), their booth staff is spot-on with the help:



I say it every year:  Dwarven Forge makes beautiful, beautiful displays:



The Mindstorm Labs guys released their creature supplement for the Alpha Omega RPG. They don’t seem to make many waves online, but observing them at the convention, they have a pretty dedicated following of fans. And their books are some of the most beautiful in the business.





The RPGA remains massive:



Ran into David and company from GOLD: The Web Series. It was great catching up with him, and I’m hoping he’ll have good news soon on the sponsorship from the next season.

Tomorrow will be busy: I’m running a Microlite74 game in the morning, and doing my GM’s Jam in the afternoon. But there should still be plenty of room for some good coverage.

Jeff and I saw Michael (Chgowiz) right before the exhibit hall closed.  It’s so great to see him here, and I can’t wait to catch up with him tomorrow.

WotC has some really cool promo statues. Oh, speaking of WotC, this next year will see the D&D edition of Heroscape. That should go over pretty well, I think.

I was happy we got the scoop on the new WotC setting today. OK, we tied Critical Hits on Twitter, but we were up with the news on theRPGsite immediately (and here just a few minutes after).

Today was a great day, and I talked to a lot of gamers who were still playing 1e or older versions of D&D (considering I was in games DM’d by Kask and Mentzer, that may not be a surprise). There’s tons of quality gaming, but outside of Pathfinder, I don’t see any single gaming product that’s really catching fire. This is a strange year, in a lot of ways—it’s almost like everyone’s taken a deep breath. There’s tons of events, and plenty of interesting accessories, but most folks I talk to see it as a down year for RPG releases, fair or not. That’s ok—Gen Con isn’t dependent on shiny new releases to be awesome. There’s dice and catching up with old and new friends and meeting your favorite designers. Obviously, companies need to make money, but the buzz or lack thereof I report on here isn’t indicative of their financial experience at the convention. I only report what I hear on the floor, and try to give you a sense of feeling for the convention overall. I hope I accomplish that, at least.

I’ll catch up with everyone tomorrow!

EDIT: As a little bonus, here's our group, post-dungeon death, with Tim Kask:

Quote from: Koltar;320747Yes he was a nice guy when I saw him earlier today at the TORG/West End Games Booth.

I was in my full Klingon Magistrate/Clergy outfit at the time.

- Ed C.

By the way, it was nice meeting and talking to you.  Sorry if I surprised you at first when I called you by your screen name

Quote from: The Game Guy;320752By the way, it was nice meeting and talking to you.  Sorry if I surprised you at first when I called you by your screen name

You didn't surprise me - I was practically exhausted because I had already been on my feet all day and something about the boots was starting to hurt my feet.  Sorry if my facial expression made it seem that way.

 I didn't mention - because you seemed all 'hush-hush' about Rpgsite.

By-the-way, saw the Forge booth & Ron Edwards. Didn't talk to him he was in mid-conversation with someone and they had sign-up sheets for demos of SORCERER on torn sheets of yellow legal pad.

Their booth (FORGE) seemed really tiny compared to past years.

The guy working the IPR booth had a map on how to find the Forge booth in relation to theirs. It was interesting putting faces with names and finally seeming the covers of some of these RPGs that I'm nevr likely to see at the store I work at.


Oh yeah , bumped into Joe Wolz at a booth


- Ed C.

Quote from: Koltar;320758You didn't surprise me - I was practically exhausted because I had already been on my feet all day and something about the boots was starting to hurt my feet.  Sorry if my facial expression made it seem that way.

You did look tired, but you were friendly and I enjoyed our talk

Quote from: Koltar;320758I didn't mention - because you seemed all 'hush-hush' about Rpgsite.

Nope, I said nothing to you that I haven't already said here

Quote from: Koltar;320758By-the-way, saw the Forge booth & Ron Edwards. Didn't talk to him he was in mid-conversation with someone and they had sign-up sheets for demos of SORCERER on torn sheets of yellow legal pad.

Yep, saw Ron Edwards one day while I was walking by The Forge Booth.  Even from 100 feet away I wanted to walk over and punch him in the face.  

He is an ass

Quote from: Koltar;320758Their booth (FORGE) seemed really tiny compared to past years.

It didnt seem small to me, however it looked very empty.  I guy tried to pull me in as I was walking by and I was like, er no thanks.

Oh, and very disturbing is the booth with guys dressed and women selling clothing so other men can dress like women.

That booth needs to be banned from Gencon

A few more pics for everyone:


WotC has some awesome statues for their games:




Just for you, Pundy!  They refuse to quit!



Jedi, Jedi everywhere:



This girl had tons of pictures taken of her.  What's really creepy is when girls aren't dressed up and guys still take pictures--especially without permission.  Gen Con isn't always a bastion of social etiquette:



Does my heart good to see Space: 1889 still represented out there!:



I'll have my daughter with me in the late afternoon for a while tomorrow.  I'm not sure which one of us is more excited!  She's a (very old) nearly 5, and is 50% Princess, 50% Batgirl.  She will LOVE the costumes.

Isn't Space 1889 supposed to see some action in the near future?