GenCon and into the Future

GenCon 2016 is this week. Wait. That needed an exclamation point. GenCon 2016 is this week! I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to attend a convention nor have I been so nervous. This year’s GenCon marks the two year anniversary of my start as a freelance writer. After jumping in head first into untested waters when Onyx Path Publishing offered me a job writing Shattered Dreams for Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20^th Anniversary Edition, I have published over a dozen articles. Although Shattered Dreams’ release is still forthcoming and I eagerly await its release—as I am sure you do as well—I am just as proud of the smaller work that I’ve done that’s been published by Raging Swan Press, EnWorld En5ider, and EnWorld TRAILseeker Magazine and others.

The reason that GenCon is so important (and nerve-wracking) this year is that rather than attending as a congoer or as a writer with a single, forthcoming credit to my name, I am attending with a dozen plus credits on my CV. And that means that I’m looking for more work from more and more publishers. I have some pretty big (for me) announcements that I will be making as the year progresses. Contract negotiations are in progress. I have meetings with publishers and other writers. I get to have lunch with Richard Lee Byers! Lunch with an author of Forgotten Realms novels! That’s unbelievable but real!

In Other News:

I’m in the process of redesigning my blog for a more professional look. Writing has become my career. I want to have every advantage that I can going forward, so my blog will be going through iterations and changes to make it sharper, cleaner, and generally better. As you can already see, I’ve added links to my resume and writing credits. I’ll also be adding some writing samples as well.

If you’re wondering why my output on my blog has been nonexistent, it’s because I’ve been busy writing articles and getting paid to do it. If you’re friends with me on Facebook, you know that my fiancé was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and has since had chemo, surgery, and she’s about to start radiation therapy. She’s cancer free! We’re not quite finished with treatments yet, but we’ve turned the corner.

Like the Joker said, “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” While I’m not as mercenary as the Joker, I have the same 24 hours in the day as you do. I split those between work, writing, being with my fiancé, and the sundry tasks that we all must do to get by (cooking, cleaning, bathing, paying bills). And unfortunately, that means that I focus my writing time on articles and short stories rather than reviews of my favorite Vampire: The Masquerade supplements.

That doesn’t mean that I won’t be updating this blog. It just means that my updates will be more sporadic than I’d like and less focused on the Classic World of Darkness. And the blog will be changing as I go forward. I’ll focus a bit more on hyping the articles and books that are being published or Kickstarted and just generally a less stressful experience for me.

If I get a chance, I will review a few things, but I try to be as in depth as I can with a review. That takes time, reading & re-reading, and a lot of writing and rewriting. So, I may limit reviews to books that I’m reading for other reasons. 

So, the future of Read the Damn Book is evolving. I hope that all of you come on this ride with me. 

Report from GenCon 2015

Cardhalla, where attendees have built impressive structures from donated cards

             I have been to a lot of conventions and even worked for one, but I have never had a better time than I had this past weekend at GenCon.  GenCon’s motto “The Best Four Days in Gaming” is not hype; it is truth!  I hadn’t attended a convention in several years, and although I had attended Gen Con previously, I really didn’t do everything that I could have to make it the best experience. 

            I would like to start by thanking the entire GenCon staff for running such a great convention.  I know from experience that behind the scenes of any convention is chaos, but the mark of a great convention is that the con-goers never see that chaos.  I can’t say what the GenCon staff did or didn’t do.  All I can say is that I never felt their presence, and everything ran smoothly.  That in itself is an impressive feat for a convention of 60,000 plus attendees. 

A wonderful balloon artist built this over 4 days of the convention

            Next, I would like to personally thank the medical staff in the first aid room in the Indianapolis Convention Center.  My girlfriend had an asthma attack on Saturday afternoon, and they were not only quick to help, but very friendly and experienced.  They treated her quickly and professionally.  I don’t remember your names, but thank you very much for everything you did!

            The city of Indianapolis was amazing, too!  Everyone was friendly and you could really tell how excited the city was to have GenCon.  The hotel staff at the Cambria where I stayed were so nice and outgoing.  They asked about the convention, and although they are further out from the convention than some might prefer, I cannot recommend them more highly!  Everyone restaurant in the city was re-themed for the convention as well.  We ate dinner at the Colts Grille and they had hung banners for various games and given new names to their menu items paying homage to a variety of games, comic book characters, etc.   Not to mention they gave us free, Indiana Colts themed dice. 

            GenCon was not all fun though.  As many of you know, I am a freelance writer, and I spent many hours wandering the Exhibitor’s Hall meeting game developers and handing out as many business cards as I could.  I met other writers as well, including The Gentleman Gamer, with whom I had lunch alongside Neal Price, the developer of Scion.  I attended many panels on freelancing and learned a lot, made some new contacts, and really got a better sense of the path to being a better writer. 

I bought a ton of d8's.  I always need them when I play wizards.

            Of course, I attended the Onyx PathPublishing events!  And in a case of burying the lede, they announced Vampire:  The Masquerade 4^th Edition!  Rather than being an homage to earlier editions of VtM like V20, this new version will update the mechanics and world much like Mage 20 updated that game.  Not much else is known about this edition, yet, but I will be keeping up with new information as it is announced.

            On the subject of Onyx Path Publishing, I would like to say that I have never met a nice group of people.  My girlfriend raved about how friendly and open you were.  She’s even talking about running a Werewolf:  The Apocalypse game in the future.  Your excitement for your game lines and the friendliness of your staff is both infectious and inspiring.  I always felt welcome at your booth, and I stopped by every day to meet someone new or just say hi to Eddy Webb or Neal Price.  (Btw, Neal, I’m really sorry I missed you Scion panel!)

Fantasy Age is a new RPG by Green Ronin and Baby Bestiary is an art book. 

            Other than the Onyx Path seminars, I attended several freelance writing seminars including Paizo’s and two lead by third party publishes like John Ling, Jr. from Frog God Games and Wolfgang Baur from Kobold Press among others.  I learned a lot about what it takes to be a freelance writer and especially how important it was to always have a business card on hand. 

            But GenCon wasn’t all work.  I played in the new D&D Adventurer’sLeague season adventure Harried in Hillsfar.  Our DM was great!  He kept the action rolling as we moved through the corridors of a strange temple.  

            I also played a new board game, Compounded, by Dice Hate Me Games.  It was so good that my girlfriend immediately bought the base game and I bought the expansion.  In Compounded, the players randomly draw elements and try to complete a variety of chemicals.  It’s a great game for anyone who enjoys science.  I think it’d be a great game for high school chemistry classes.  I highly recommend this one!

What is a convention without buying some old AD&D 2E books?

             Shopping took up a great deal of our time at GenCon.  My girlfriend bought a lot of art prints.  All of them are gorgeous.  I bought a ton of RPG books and new dice.  I wanted to get a copy of FFG’s new Star Wars RPG Force & Destiny, but the line was just too long.  I did get the new Green Ronin RPG Fantasy Age, and I can’t wait to read through that. 

            Of course, I bought plenty of older stuff, too, including a copy of Blue Rose.  I also found an old VtM module by Atlas Games called Blood Nativity and a copy of New Orleans by Night.  I had to control myself in the Exhibitor’s Hall.  The temptation to buy just everything was too great.  I limited myself to those items I knew that I would use in upcoming campaigns. 

            I also got a chance to meet my favorite podcasters, Kevin, Brady, and Dustin from UnderDiscussion.  They put on a great seminar for people interested in starting a podcast.  My girlfriend and I were able to chat with Brady and Kevin for a while after the panel too.  That was definitely a highlight of the convention for me. 

And of course, my White Wolf swag!

            The biggest surprise of the convention was sharing a bus ride with Richard Lee Byers, author of the Year of the Rogue Dragons Forgotten Realms book series (amongst many, many other fantasy books).  We had a great conversation on the bus ride back to our hotels.  I guess not staying in a downtown hotel closer to the convention really paid off!  I’m sad to say that I haven’t read any of Richard Lee Byer’s books, but I will. 

            That shuttle ride is also how my girlfriend and I made two new friends from California.  You know who you are!  I had a great time playing Compounded with you guys.  I look forward to seeing you at GenCon next year!

GenCon 2000 and GenCon 2015

I’m planning my first trip to GenCon since 2000, and a lot of things have changed in 15 years.  GenCon has grown much larger, more expensive, and even changed cities.  I’ve changed as well.  I have different priorities now, and maybe I’ve matured a little too.  Maybe. 

            My first trip to GenCon was a spur of the moment decision.  I’d just graduated college, and I’d just quit my first post-college job.  I didn’t have much going on, and when some of my friends said that they were going to GenCon, I decided to use some of the money I’d received as a graduation present to go to GenCon.  Those were much different times, and I was obviously an irresponsible twenty-something.  I was playing RPGs, but I was much more interested in TCGs, especially Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) and Decipher’sStar Wars CCG.

All of my friends played L5R, and of course, that meant I played as well.  I was never as invested into the game as my friends.  I’d already spent way too much money on Star Wars CCG, and after I became disillusioned with that game, other TCGs had lost their luster.  My closest friends, however, wanted to go to GenCon to compete in the L5R World Championship tournament.  The mechanics of L5R were different enough from Magic or Star Wars that I was interested too, but I refused to invest heavily into another TCG.  Nevertheless, I was able to build a “competitive” deck thanks to help from my much more competition-oriented friends. Those quotation marks are important as you'll find out soon enough.   

At that time, GenCon was located in Milwaukee, WI, and I remember dreading that long drive from Alabama.  My friends and I really didn’t have any plans for the convention other than playing in the L5R World Championship.  This was GenCon 2000, however, and it was a pretty big year for RPGs.  Wizards of the Coast had just released Dungeons & Dragons 3^rd Edition, and they had recently purchased the rights to L5R TCG and RPG from Alderac Entertainment.  WotC would use that license to create their a new version of Oriental Adventures based on L5R’s Rokugan setting. 

At that time I wasn’t playing D&D, and I really didn’t consider playing RPGs to be my “primary hobby” even though I bought a ton of books.  I was mostly playing L5R's tabletop RPG and of course, Vampire:  The Masquerade.  I was spending far more money on comic books and TCGs.  I just wasn’t interested in playing RPGs at GenCon or doing much that involved roleplaying.  In hindsight, it’s a shame, especially, because I really couldn’t have done much else at GenCon because I was playing in the L5R tournament. 

The L5R World Championship at GenCon 2000 was a two day affair.  L5R was probably at the height of its popularity in 2000, and the number of people who entered that tournament was astounding.  I’d never seen a tournament so large, and it was probably only rivaled in size by Magic the Gathering’s Pro Tour Qualifiers. With that many people competing, the tournament took the entire day just to determine who would make the cut for Sunday.  Most TCG tournaments are not single or double elimination; instead they use the Swiss Format.  A single round usually takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour to complete and with that many competitors playing in the tournament, the tournament lasted nearly 8 hours, if not more, due to the nature of the tournament format. 

I would like to say that I did exceptionally well in the tournament or at least made a good showing, but that’d be a lie.  My first round match is most likely the fastest tournament loss in the L5R's history.  In Magic the Gathering and some other TCGs, winning on the first time or even the second turn isn’t uncommon.  In L5R, winning on the second turn is nearly impossible due to the mechanics of the game.  For those of you who are familiar with L5R, you’ll be astonished to hear that I lost on my opponent's second turn.  A series of province destroying events and very fortunate draw helped my opponent destroy me before I got to take my second turn.  I’d add more details, but I don’t want to bore my audience with the rules, card descriptions, and interactions that led to my greatest defeat.  Even fifteen years later, that loss still hurts! If you're interested in the details let me know and I'll write a full version of that loss.  

My only souvenir from that GenCon was an L5R t-shirt that Wizards of the Coast gave out at one of their events.  The t-shirt is something of a collector’s item as it has both the revised L5R logo with the coins (after the Olympics claimed trademark on any design that incorporated 5 interlocking rings) and the WotC logo.  For a free t-shirt it’s held up well, and I’ll probably be wearing it at GenCon. WotC would later sell the rights to L5R back to AEG a few  years later.  

It’s 2015, and I’m going to GenCon again.  I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to be able to go.  So much has changed for me!  I’ve grown up, as strange as that is to admit.  I’ve given up collecting comics and playing TCGs, and my bank account is most thankful for that!  This trip to GenCon is far better planned, and I’ve got so many things to do while I’m there. 

My priorities have changed so much!  RPGs are more than a hobby for me.  I’ve been working on this blog for several years now. Although my updates have been sporadic, I enjoy writing about my gaming experiences and reviewing Classic World of Darkness books.  I’ve also started working as a freelancer for Onyx Path Publishing.  GenCon is more than just a vacation and a chance to game.  Now, it’s an opportunity to further my goals as a writer and network with other freelancers and game developers.  More importantly, GenCon is where I can play new games, meet podcasters, bloggers, and other freelancers.  My girlfriend and I are huge fans of the Underdiscussion Podcast, and we’ve been looking forward to meeting them at GenCon for a while.  My girlfriend even has one of their t-shirts that she won in a contest that she wants them to sign. 

I’m not going to GenCon to just play in one tournament; instead, I’m going to explore the variety of offerings available.  But I haven’t left L5R behind either.  The only RPG game that I’ve signed up for so far is an L5R RPG game.  I’ve never had a chance to play the 4^th Edition version, and GenCon is the perfect opportunity to try out a new system.  I’ll also be looking for pickup games and pretty much any kind of demos for new games.  My girlfriend is coming with me, and she is just as excited as I am.  We’ve been talking about this trip for nearly two years now.  It’s a perfect year for us to visit GenCon too, Tony DiTerlizzi is the Artist Guest of Honor this year and we are both huge fans of his artwork, especially his work on the Planescape campaign setting. I've been a fan of DiTerlizzi's work since I played the Blood Wars TCG way back in 1994 before I'd ever played one session of an RPG.  

Not everything has gone perfectly.  Event registration, which was this past Sunday, was a nightmare.  When my girlfriend submitted my wish list on Sunday, the system didn’t process it correctly, and we had to sit down later that night to work through our events again.  Every time we tried to build a wish list and submit our events, the system lost our order.  It wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened, but the frustration and anxiety caused by the website’s problems made the event registration process a lot more painful than it should have been.  I wasn’t too thrilled that I had to pay to attend some events, especially after paying $80.00 per badge. 

Once my girlfriend and I registered for our events, the excitement returned.  Maybe it was easier back in the day when I could just go to a convention with no more thought than whose floor I was sleeping on.  I’ve changed too much and have too many responsibilities to be able to go to a convention at a moment’s notice.  Yet, the planning and buildup to the convention has added to my excitement.  I’ve picked out the events that I want to try.  I’m going to meet with both my colleagues and many of the people in the RPG industry that I’ve admired.  I’ve changed and my expectations for GenCon have changed as well, and other than the event registration system, I think both GenCon and I have changed for the better.