Showing posts with label Gary Con. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gary Con. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Gary Con 2022

I had a great Gary Con this past weekend.   I spent all my time in the Elf Lair Games / Troll Lords Games booth.  I spent my time selling copies of NIGHT SHIFT and Castles & Crusades.

Tim and Jason at GaryCon


Elf Lair Games / Troll Lords Games

Elf Lair Games / Troll Lords Games

Elf Lair Games / Troll Lords Games

I also got the chance to run into so many people I only get to chat with online.  I stopped by the Goblinoid Games / James Mishler Games booth to finally say hello.

Goblinoid Games / James Mishler Games

I picked up some print versions of books I previously only had in PDF.

James Mishler Games

They were also selling copies of a new RPG, ShadowDark by Kelsey Dionne of the Arcane Library.  It looks rather good.

ShadowDark by Kelsey Dionne

ShadowDark by Kelsey Dionne

I also stopped by Bloat Games booth and got the chance to see Eric Bloat and Josh Palmer and grab a copy of their game What Shadows Hide.

What Shadows Hide

Again this looks like a lot of fun.

I am not an autograph hound, but there were some signatures I wanted.  Top of the list was Darlene.

Art by Darlene

Art by Darlene

I also got to stop at Jeff Easley's booth and got him to sign his art from the 25th Anniversary Boxed Set.

Jeff Easley

 

And of course, I HAD to pick up the tribute/homage covers of the new Castles & Crusades covers.

Castles & Crusades

 They do look really nice.

Castles & Crusades

I didn't play any games or run any, but I had a great time.  

Looking forward to next year!

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Gary Con 2022 Bound!

I should be in the car headed to Gary Con as you read this!   

Gary Con 2022

 Not running any games, not playing in any as far as I know.  But I will be at the Elf Lair Games booth next to the Troll Lords.

So if you are there come by and pick up a copy of Night Shift!

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Elf Lair Games is at Gary Con!

Forwarding from Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games:

Elf Lair Games

Elf Lair Games is at Gary Con!

Hey, folks, Elf Lair Games is at Ethereal Gary Con XIII, and yours truly is a convention special guest. Of course, I'm also still a Troll Lord Games guy so I'm involved with their stuff as well. Check the graphic below to see all of our events. I am involved with running 2 of our events and will be a guest on the following panels:

GM Tricks of the Trade - Thursday at 4 PM CST

Greyhawk DM's Round Table - Thursday at 7 PM CST

TLG Selling Games, Now and Then - Friday at noon CST

We're also happy to announce that all of our PDF items on DriveThruRPG and both print and PDF in our online store are now available at 50% off throughout the weekend in celebration of the con! Grab your copy of Spellcraft & Swordplay, Chutzpah!, The Witch, or our urban fantasy/horror old school hit Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars! 

Visit us online at https://www.elflair.com/products.html for more information and to grab your copy today!

Gary Con events
Click to enlarge

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We still have a couple of openings left in Dancing in the Ruins session 1 and session 2.

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Elf Lair Games / NIGHT SHIFT at GaryCon XIII

I will admit it.  I kinda take GaryCon for granted.  It's a fun con and it usually happens around my kid's spring breaks and it is only about an hour-long drive.  We can go there, play some games and sleep in our own beds afterward.

 Well, leave it to this pandemic to let me know what got once it is gone!

This year I, along with the rest of Elf Lair Games, will be running some NIGHT SHIFT games for Ethereal Gary Con XIII

Gary Con

This year I am running NIGHT SHIFT: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars along with Elf Lair Games founder Jason Vey and Derek Stoelting (one of our long-time collaborators from our Eden Studios days).

Registration for badges is ongoing, event registration has begun for some badge holders and will open up next week.

Here are the games we are running.

SPECTOR DETECTORS!

Spector Detectors! is my game.  Here are some details.
You are the SPECTOR DETECTORS! The hottest ghost hunting channel on FaceTube! Or at least you will be, one day. Right now you are busy checking out every reported haunted house in the tri-county area. Your team knows that the ghosts are fake, with a little bit of technological know-how and some good-sounding esoterica. You hope your next assignment, the historic Willow Crest Manor, will be your ticket to internet fame, glory, and plenty of advertising impressions.

Let’s Get Detecting!

This introductory NIGHT SHIFT game is run by RPG co-designer Tim Brannan.

Event Number 1026
Saturday at 2:00 PM (Central Time)
Hosts Timothy S. Brannan (1749)
Room 04 - Fate of the Norns Room
Duration 3 hours
Here are all the other games running as well.

Blood of the new moon

Blood in crescent city

dancing in the ruins

I wish I could play them all, to be honest.  It has been YEARS since Derek, Jason and I have thrown dice together at a Con.  

Elf Lair Games

NIGHT SHIFT should appeal to fans of old-school games and modern supernatural/paranormal fiction fans.   Essentially if you like the work we all have done of previous games (Buffy, AFMBE, Ghosts, AA, and more) then you should enjoy this.

I'll post when the games are ready for registration.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Going to Your First Con

It's just about Summer and that means Cons are in full swing.   One question that comes up from readers is "what do I do at my first Con?" or even "how do I prepare?"

I have talked about these ideas in the past and was recently inspired to share some of these ideas in honor of the Amazing Las Vegas ComicCon coming up at the end of June. If you're trying to plan your travels for your first ComicCon there are awesome Las Vegas package deals to suit anyone's needs.

I would say I have not been to a lot of cons, but so far this year I guess I have already been to three! So as always, your mileage may vary.

What Should I Bring With Me?
Many Cons are now limiting what you can bring in with you. Some don't want you to bring in fake weapons anymore, others might allow real swords, but have zip-tie on them.  If you are cosplaying be sure to check the rules first!
At many cons, the lines for food, drinks, and everything else are long. Sometimes really long. If you can bring in a bag, pack some snacks.  I still hear horror stories about the year that Gen Con ran out of bacon! So plan accordingly.
No one loves caffeine more than me, but skip loading up on sodas and energy drinks and instead opt for water.  IF you are walking a lot (and you do at most big cons) you will need it.

What should you wear? 
Comfort is the key.  If you are going to a large con then again you will be walking a lot, so comfortable shoes are a must.  This is also your time to let your freak-flag fly. I have an entire collection of t-shirts I can only wear in public around cons! Nothing offensive, but certainly ones that only my Geek brothers and sisters would enjoy.

If you are Cosplaying, again comfort is key.  Granted you might not be walking as much since you could be posing for pictures more, but consider it.  I have a great Victorian outfit I wear. But the trouble is it is also all black wool.  Great, as long as I can stay in some AC all day.

Whatever you decide, make sure you have everything.  Like any trip make sure you have extra clothes too.   I also make sure I have room for the t-shirts I'll buy at the con too.

What are some important dos and don'ts?
Please, PLEASE, check with your con's website to see if they have any special rules long before you go.
Many/all cons have a website FAQ of things you can and can't do.  Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con, for example, has a FAQ here: https://www.amazingcomiccon.com/about


DOs
- Pace yourself! You have a lot to see and do, no sense wearing yourself out Day One.
- Eat well! Plan your meals. Cons are great times, but eating sometimes gets pushed aside.
- Wash Your Hands!  Ever hear of "Con Crud"? You will! Exposure to so many different people leads to new viruses. Add bad eating habits, less sleep and different levels of exercise you have a nice mix that leads to Con Crud.
- Bring cash.  Not every place takes credit/debit card and some autograph lines only take cash.
- Budget yourself! Don't spend all your money day one.
- Have a great time! This is great experience and you should enjoy every moment you can.
- Looks for hidden treasures! Every town that hosts a con hopes you enjoy yourself.  See what they have to offer. I have found great places to eat and some I get just as excited about as the con itself.

Make sure you have your hotel and travel plans set and ready to go.

But there are also a few DON'Ts
- Don't be a jerk. Other people are coming to the con too. Some it might be the only one they go to this year or for many years. Don't be a jerk and ruin their con.  That goes for people working the cons, people working at the hotels, restaurants.
- Don't forget you are there to have fun!

I have to add that when it comes to Cosplay.  Cosplay is NOT Consent. Come on, don't be a jerk.
I don't care if you know every line of every Deadpool issue there is, that girl wearing the Gwenpool outfit that she spent hours (maybe days or weeks) working on is just as welcome here as you are.  She (or he) doesn't need Geek Gatekeeping from you, harassed or touched.  Tell her "hey, that's an awesome Gwenpool!" Ask her if you take her picture and then move on.

Remember the rule: "Butt on the floor, pictures no more."


Cons are becoming more and more family welcoming. So remember that this is also a lot of little kids' first cons too.  Give them a reason to want to come back every year!

Ready?  Let's go!


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Don't forget that the big OSR Sale is going on over at DriveThruRPG.  Just a little over 10 days left. Lots of great titles on sale including some from The Other Side.  Check them out.


Monday, March 27, 2017

Con Weekend!

Great weekend to start my Spring Break.

Frist up, met up with a friend at AdeptiCon on Friday for some Chicago style pizza.
On my way I picked up a copy of Tales from the Yawning Portal and Paternoster Investigations.  Just not sure if it needs to go on my Doctor Who shelf or my Victorian Age shelf!


Saturday we I got up early and drove up to Gary Con.
I ran into so many people I knew. It was so great to see +Erik Tenkar+Jeff Talanian, +R.J. Thompson, +Frank Mentzer+Bruce Heard, +Tim Kask, +Tim Burns, +Venger Satanis, +Satine Phoenix, Stephen Chenault (+Ends Meet Productions), +Mike Mearls, +Bill Barsh, and Danny O'Neill of Hammerdog Games.

Ran into Erik and picked up the AWESOME S&W Light. Helluva job on that!



Bill Barsh of Pacesetter was there too selling also sorts of great stuff.  I picked up his new 5e adventure Beyond the Caves of Chaos and some great minis; a "demon witch" which looks exactly like the Pacesetter Witch of Monte Rosa and Demogorgon.




Speaking of Caves of Chaos...
The word is out that Goodman Games will be producing reprint/updates to classic modules.
First up are B1 and B2. The new books will include the original versions, a new version for 5e and a bunch of additional material.

Ran into Bruce Heard and got "our favorite book" signed.


He says expect some more Calidar material soon!

Also ran into Frank Mentzer again.  He signed my British Basic book print.


It says: "To Tim (and Family) best 'Witches' from Frank"!
Hoping the see something really great coming up from Frank here soon.

Stopped by the Troll Lords booth and picked up the C&C and 5th edition versions of "Mystical Companions".  Both look fantastic. Can't wait to review them.  Also grabbed a copy of Bluffside.




Spent the rest of the time playing 5th edition Against the Giants.
The party entered The Hall of the Fire Giant King!



Right before I left I was sitting at the table playing running G3 when Danny O'Neill comes by a sees my GM screen, which he notices is one of his World's Greatest Screens from Hammerdog Games. He takes some pictures and notices my screen has a manufacturing defect in it. I was going to fix it with some duct tape (of course) but he goes downstairs to his booth and brings back a brand new screen for me! How is that for customer service! I mean seriously. I am glad I own two of these (one for D&D and another for Ghosts of Albion). THAT is dedication to customers.

Sunday it was back to Adepticon to pick up some more minis!






Everyone had a great time. Especially my wife who has now taken up painting minis!
She has no idea how much I am going to throw her way. ;)


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Gary Con 2017

In a last minute change of plans it looks like I will be going to Gary Con this year!
But I will only be there on Saturday.



If anyone wants to look me up while I am there that would be great.
I  am bringing my family and we hope to get a game or two in while we are there.



We don't have any games scheduled at all, nor do we have tickets. But that is fine really we can wing it.  I will not have copies of any books to sell though.  Waiting on the printer still for the Hedgewitch.

Hope to see you there!