Gen Con is always tough for me. When I first started attending, I just ran a few games, played a few games, and hit the Exhibit Hall. I didn’t really know anyone, no one knew me, and I could absorb it all without over-extending myself. Now it is getting more complicated. I still know very few people, and very few people still know me, but there are more obligations that go into a convention now.
The Experience
In most of the games I play in, we just sort of level up as the campaign progresses. I can buy that. My years of martial arts training tell me that a boot to the head is a very powerful lesson. Combat is a great teacher, assuming one survives. However, the theory always sort of fell apart for me when it came to wizards. Certainly, the wizard would gain a lot of knowledge about what worked and what didn’t after a few battles, but that doesn’t explain why a few weeks into his travels he suddenly knows how to cast a Fireball. Wizards always got screwed anyway.
Chatty Shorts (and not Chatty’s Shorts, you pervs): Gen Con 2011
In which Chatty takes a few minutes to post updates about Gen Con 2012 and how he used to be cool before he became an insufferable celebrity.
It Only Works On The Weak-Minded (Or The Unprepared)
Once upon a time, I was at karate class just minding my own business, when a 10-year-old girl wearing a blue belt walks up to me with a question. I’d been a black belt for some time, so this was not an unusual occurrence. I was expecting for her to ask for help with her kata or how to do roundhouse kicks or something like that. Instead, she asks me simply, “Sensei, what’s a Jedi mind trick?”
Chatty’s Gen Con 2011 Schedule and the Carpe Phil game
In which Chatty presents his 2011 Gen Con Schedule and shares the rules of his “Catch Phil” game.
Tae Con Do – The Ancient Art of Convention Self-Defense
As most of you are no doubt aware, Gen Con begins in a matter of days. I can’t go this year, but it is one of my very favorite times of the year. (I’m not sure if I like it or Christmas more, but Gen Con has a slight edge in that it doesn’t play music that annoys the crap out of me for three months beforehand.) It is the most concentrated unbridled gaming fun I get to have in any given solar year, and I like to strap on my ceremonial fanny pack and let my hair all the way down for four days. That being said, bad things can and do happen to convention-goers. There are people out there who attend conventions and other public events to prey on the unwitting. It behooves all of us to be aware of our surroundings and to make informed, safe choices to protect ourselves.
Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 4: The Pit and The Plan
In which Chatty chronicles the effect of his last depression (and recovery) on his writing career and how it shaped what he decided to go for.
I Haven’t Washed My DM Pants In Six Months And They Smell Like Umber Hulk
When I got home from DDXP last January, the desire to have a gaming group again had been fanned from a wee spark into a roaring flame. I immediately set about the task of inviting people and getting things set up, and before we knew it, we were playing our first game together. Now, just a shade under 6 months in, I’m taking a step back to see how things are.
Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 3: RPG Blogging, The Revelation
In which Chatty relates some anecdotes about his first year as a blogger, his first lessons and, more importantly, his coming to terms with what he always has been since middle school…
Save Yourself: Vote For Critical Hits
As many of you are aware, Critical Hits is up for an Ennie this year. Dave has already given you all several good reasons to vote for us, but I’m here today to seal the deal. I put myself at great personal risk to reveal this information, but a win this year would shed a lot of light on the truth all gamers need to know. The consequences for not reading could be quite random – and deadly!
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