I spent last weekend at Gen Con, by far my most concentrated days of gaming all year. Even though I forgot my Gen Con hat and neglected to pack any socks at all, it was still another successful convention adventure.
My Gen Con hat that didnāt make it to Gen Con š©
This yearās focus was primarily on Pathfinder 2nd Edition, which was released the same weekend as Gen Con, and for which Paizo was running Pathfinder Society scenarios. Along with my friend Erika, with whom Iāve been going to Gen Con for the last three years, I made this my focus, attempting to get in as much time trying out this new system as I could.
We ended up getting to play through three scenarios: āEscaping the Graveā on Thursday afternoon; āThe Mosquito Witchā on Saturday morning; and āOrigins of the Open Roadā on Sunday morning. The first two were scenarios for characters of level 1-4, and the latter was for level 5 characters, and for which everyone had to play with a pre-generated character (since no one could have gotten a character up to level 5 so quickly). I played, respectively, a fighter, a bard, and a wizard, so I feel like I got a decent sampling of the spread.
Session One: āEscaping the Graveā
The Thursday afternoon game definitely dragged a bit as we were all figuring out the rules, and there were almost definitely times that we got the rules āwrong,ā particularly when there were changes to concepts that overlap with Pathfinder 1st Edition, like grappling. For the first half of the session, only one person at the table had the Core Rulebook. That person was a player, and I think the GM was using a separate booklet that was provided, I presume, to all of the volunteer GMs at the convention. I acquired a copy during a brief intermission mid-session at the āGrab and Goā table just outside the Sagamore Ballroom where all the Pathfinder games were happening.
Our group for our first Pathfinder session on Thursday afternoon
Incidentally, I got the deluxe version, which basically just has a fancy-looking cover. One of the other players asked me honestly (not rhetorically or with admonition) why I got that version. And I answered honestly: Just to show off. (I also like the cleaner design of the cover instead of the illustration on the regular version. I donāt really care about the faux leather or the bookmarking ribbon.)
Session Two: āThe Mosquito Witchā
The Saturday morning game was actually the roughest one. Firstly, I had been up late the night before playing D&D with Erika and Ben, the latter of whom was play-testing an adventure heās developing for a Kickstarter reward as part of his job at Skybound Games. Then I got up early (after ~4.5 hours of sleep, which I grant you some con-goers would consider luxurious) to get in my weekly long run (building up to my third try at the 70.3 triathlon in October) of 9.5 miles. After a quick breakfast of a bagel and some yogurt, we sat down to play, and within an hour I was crashing hard. Itās not often that I buy a Coke at 9 AM.
Our GMās fiancĆ©e knit this mosquito witch doll visual aid
This adventure, āThe Mosquito Witch,ā was a horror-themed mystery adventure. It is supposed to be an open-ended exploration and investigation, but I often felt like we didnāt have any clear directions for where to go. We had an objectiveāget rid of the plague of mosquitos and see if the Mosquito Witch is real or just folkloreāand that may have actually been the problem. If the intent of the scenario had just been to explore with no particular objective in mind, then it would perhaps have been less frustrating feeling like we didnāt have a strong lead; wandering with seemingly no progress being made would have helped us to embrace the eeriness of the scenario.
Ultimately we completed the objective and got rid of the mosquitos, but we didnāt know we had done so until the GM quickly wrapped up the adventure, being low on time, and explained to us that the creatures we had just killed had been responsible. The most exciting moment had been when Erika caused the runaway carriage to flip when they cast someĀ color spray on two of the six horses. I guess we were supposed to pull the passengers out of the carriage, but I liked their solution more.
Session Three: āOrigins of the Open Roadā
Sunday morningās adventure provided a glimpse of higher-level play. Usually, first level play feels very limiting. Your character dies easily and you donāt have many spells or options. That wasnāt really the case with Pathfinder 2E. My 5th-level wizard definitely had more spells prepared, and there may have been some class features I didnāt use to their potential, but I felt like I had just as much fun with the level 1 fighter as I did with the wizard.
Our āOrigins of the Open Roadā session
There was a fellow at the table with us who looked very familiar and who just would not stop talking, garnishing his comments with nervous laughter. He had no ill intentions, and certainly wasnāt mean, but itās exhausting constantly acknowledgingāwith a response in kind, or with a polite smile or courteous laughāanother playerās commentary on everything that happens, especially when heās turning and looking directly at me when he does it. I started to get the sense that he wasnāt the kind of guy who picked up easily on social cues, and realized that he wouldnāt press a point if I just didnāt respond. So I didnāt anymore, and mostly just acted like he wasnāt talking at all. The game experience improved for me accordingly.
I somewhat surreptitiously messaged Erika, asking them if they recognized this guy from somewhere. They told me that they think we played with him last year, and that he jabbered as consistently then too.
We had some after-hours gaming as well, including the previously mentioned session of D&D that Ben ran on Friday night. We also reconvened on Saturday night to play Shadow of the Demon Lord, picking up a couple other players, Dan and Alex, who also work at Skybound. Iāve known Dan for a few years now through Ben, but this was the first time Iād met Alex. GMing with strangers doesnāt make me nervous, nor does running a game Iām not familiar with too much, but the combination of the two left me worried. But of course, Ben and Dan are good people, and I can wager that anyone they freely associate with would be as well, which assuaged my anxiety.
Ben preparing to run our after-hours D&D game on Friday night
We played both nights at the open gaming tables in the J. W. Marriott hotel where Skybound folk were staying. They have one enormous ballroom for open gaming, and smaller rooms designated for RPGs, but no oneās keeping track.
I was glad to get to runĀ Demon Lord because itās a system Iām still getting comfortable with, and so thereās a fun learning curve to it, and because Erika had been looking forward to playing it again since we played a game last year, GMed real standup by a guy who had plenty of experience with it. They like how much less there is they they need to keep track of as a player, which is important when youāre new to a system and even to the genre of tabletop RPGs. Itās also nice even if youāve been playing them for decades, because it allows you to focus on the story, if thatās the thing youāre into, which I am.
The rules system is so simple that, although I had some pregen characters that I had thrown together, I figured it actually wouldnāt be too difficult to make characters together at the table and still have time to run the adventure I had planned. So thatās exactly what we did, rolling dice for all of the fun backstory stuff that the rulebook has tables for. Danās dwarf, I recall, was randomly determined to have a āmagnificent bellyā and to be very well groomed, with an excellent beard. Alexās character had died once and been brought back to life, so he started with a couple points of insanity. Ben likewise had one point of insanity to start because his changeling had only recently learned of his true nature, having spent over six decadesāa randomly determined ageāthinking he was just a normal human. Erika had mostly made their character already. I was a little disappointed to see they didnāt go with a clockwork as they had previously expressed interest in, but what mattered more was that I enjoyed watching them read excitedly through the PDF of the rulebook on their phone and writing down bits for their character.
They completed the adventure without too much difficulty, maybe even not enough difficulty, as Iām not well versed yet in gauging these things forĀ Demon Lord. Iād give myself three stars of five if zero isnāt an option. Everyone seemed to have sufficient fun, and I appreciated that Alex downloaded the rulebook to his phone as well, and read up on the pantheon of Old Gods in order to better inform his choices for his cleric character. Erika also expressed again later that they were glad we got to play. And if those metrics werenāt enough, it should mark the session as a success that I find myself looking for time in my schedule at home to run moreĀ Demon Lord.
Between all of these things, I didnāt do too much wandering of the exhibitors hall, and purchased few things. I met up with my friend Alex John (not to be confused with Skybound Alex), and he introduced me to a game he had bought that I liked enough to get myself, but as a gift for my sister, who I thought would enjoy it. Walking around with Alex, I also bought a Player Notebook from Monte Cook Gamesā booth, which is conveniently divided into sections for three different characters. (I passed on the GM Notebook this time, but maybe Iāll come back to it.)
I bought a camera shortly before leaving for Gen Con, and tried it out by taking pictures of cosplayers, our Pathfinder sessions, and Cardhalla, the area where attendees build structures from donated gaming cards, which are destroyed on Saturday night by coins that are then donated to charity. Iām a little shy about stopping people for their picture, since itās not always clear to me when people might just want to be left alone to wander the convention, or if theyāre in a hurry to get somewhere.
I picked up the Pooky character for Red Dragon Inn, as well as their Gen Con themed set of Genevieve (the Gen Con mascot dragon) cards. This latter was not a deck, just a thin set of cards that Iām not even entirely sure yet how to use.
I only demoed a couple of new games, includingĀ Trial By Trolley, which the Skybound folks are publishing with Cyanide and Happiness, and which had its own booth. I was already a backer for the Kickstarter, and Ben had been telling me about the game and the Kickstarter campaign, so I knew what to expect already. Skybound Alex and Jon, another Skybound fellow I know well enough, ran the demo round that I played in. Since itās a social game, their contributions to the round really made it, and showed how much fun it will be at parties.
I donāt usually like using computers or technology of any kind at the gaming table, but Arkenforgeās GM tools software impressed me enoughāand it was cheap enoughāthat I decided after a demo and some exhaustive questioning about it to buy it. But I havenāt tried it out yet in a live fire session, so verdict is still out on that.
Unrelated to any gaming activities, I bought a book calledĀ Vote for Dog, a collection of animal comics (mostly dogs) that I knew Danielle would enjoy, along with an enamel pin and shirt to go with it that both declare, āVote for Dog.ā
When I go to Gen Con, I have to actively stop myself from worrying about what Iāve missed. I missed the destruction of Cardhalla, for example, because we were playingĀ Shadow of the Demon Lord at the time. I wish I could have seen Cardhalla go down, but I just have to be okay with my decision to prioritize one thing over another. Thereās no right or wrong way to do Gen Con as long as youāre doing the things you wanted to do, and I think Iāve managed that.
And Cardhalla on Saturday, hours before its destruction
And Cardhalla on Saturday, hours before its destruction
I did skip the Iron GM Championship this year. On balance and after a year of reflection, I mostly enjoyed the experience, but the opportunity cost was too high, taking up most of Saturday afternoon running a game for strangers in a competitive environment that isnāt my favorite. I instead spent my Saturday afternoon walking the floor, prepping forĀ Demon Lord, and taking a hard nap to make up for the lost sleep. No regrets at all, and I hope that Iron GM went well for everyone that did it this year.
The current plan is to skip Gen Con next year in favor of Dragon Con down in Atlanta at the beginning of September, for which Erika is also planning to join me. I havenāt been to Dragon Con since 2015, when I went with my cousin Edd and stayed with my aunt Mimi and her family for a week or so. Dragon Con has a much broader focus, with a lot more cosplayers and much more of a party vibe. Last time I didnāt get to really get into the party atmosphere after hours, but maybe next year weāll dive in and see what itās all about. Itās not āthe best four days in gaming,ā but Iām sure weāll still get some gaming in while weāre there.
Shoutout to this cupcake truck at Gen Con with a rainbow cupcake called the āMike Penceā
Gen Con 2019Ā Roundup I spent last weekend at Gen Con, by far my most concentrated days of gaming all year.
izzy806
amandla
discoholicmusic
romaincrisis
germansingergirl
2087