Throwing Rocks in Texas (Part 1)

It’s been more than two weeks since NTRPGCon and I’ve yet to chronicle my exploits in Bedford, TX. Partly to blame was the inevitable post-con crash that afflicts most of us who spend four days in the company of our far-flung comrades in dice bags only to return to the mundane daily grind, but I also came home to find my internet connection on the fritz for a week and that took the wind out of my sails. Enough time has passed to fill my proverbial canvas anew, but that also means the following may be corrupted by time and faulty memory. Take this all with a small pinch of salt.

Unlike my journey to Gary Con, the trip down to Texas was a breeze. Once again, I got to fly in a turbo prop from Long Island down to Philly before graduating to a real, honest-to-goodness jet plane. Some folks might see that as a quaint means of travel, but with my love of the past, there’s nothing like taking a ride through the skies and watching the props whirl just outside the window. Plus, the guy sitting next to me had the largest carry-on bag in history, so the flight attendant (although I think I can call her a “stewardess” if the plane has propellers) moved me up to the front row in return for promising I’d open the emergency hatch in case of a crash. That is assuming a prop didn’t break free on impact and turn me into Wash in the closing half-hour of Serenity.

From Philly it was a nice flight to Dallas-Fort Worth. The young guy beside me, hailing originally from a formerly French-controlled African nation and having the most unique accent I’ve ever heard, spent the flight watching either that movie starring Real Navy SEALS™ or the longest Armed Forces commercial in history (it’s the same thing, actually) with French sub-titles. We arrived in Texas without trouble, but I learned that the previous evening saw Biblical thunderstorms in D-FW and interrupted the travel of fellow NTRPGCon attendees.

A brief wait (less than 15 minutes) had me in the Holiday Inn shuttle and en route to the hotel. Another con attendee was in the van with me, but was suffering through his own version of my trip to Gary Con. He apologized for his surliness later and now I must apologize because I can’t remember who that was. Sorry, brother. Refresh my memory if you’re reading this.

At the hotel, I learned that since I was technically two hours early for check-in, my reserved room with the rest of the con folks wasn’t ready and would I mind another room on a different floor? Knowing my gaming kin, “Yes, please.” So instead of being ensconced on the fifth floor, I had a quiet little room on the second floor right by the stairs down to the lobby. Again, after my room in Lake Geneva (literarily the farthest room possible from the action of the convention), it was a godsend. And those stairs meant I could avoid the elevator and work off some of the big Texas meals I figured I’d be eating while in town (more on that later). Mike Badolato, one of the con’s organizers wandered by as I was checking in, so I got to put names to faces from minute one. He was just the first of many folks I’d get acquainted with over the next four days.

With my bags safely stowed in my room, I wandered down to the ballroom and grabbed my con badge. I ran into Allan Grohe manning the Black Blade booth, saw a few other familiar faces from Gary Con, and got settled. The area was quiet. Vendors had yet to arrive and most of the gaming tables were vacant. I began to wonder if this whole North Texas thing was all hype, but then learned that the Charity D&D game was underway down in the “Longhorn Room” (what else would you expect in Texas?) and that’s where the masses were gathered. Rather than join the crowd, I hung around the ballroom for awhile chatting with the stragglers and new arrivals. Out in the common area beside the lobby, Jeff Dee was setting up his display table and I introduced myself. We chatted about his Kickstarter projects and Goodman Games for a bit before Jeff kindly taught me how to play Cavemaster, his new Neolithic RPG. Folks, Cavemaster would be one of the bright lights of the con for me and I can’t recommend picking up a copy strongly enough. The whole premise (“it’s an archeological recreation of the first RPG played by our caveman ancestors”) and game mechanics (it uses rocks. Really, rocks.) are unmitigated genius if you enjoy turning an off-beat concept into high art and unique but simple rule resolution. I’d get a more in-depth crack at Cavemaster before the con was over, but Jeff taught me the rules in less than three minutes.

The Charity Game finished not long after and who should I run into by my Gary Con partner in crime and soon-to-be fellow panelist Tim Kask. Tim and I caught up, talked shop, walked the parapet, and then, (and there’s no way to write this that doesn’t sound sleazy) went back to his hotel room so he could show me his Snakeriders. Tim and Frank Mentzer, his fellow Eldritch Enterprises compadre and my own convention buddy, were roommates for the con and Frank rolled in shortly after. We chatted about upcoming EE projects (I’m eagerly awaiting “Spider Bitch on the Rag,” although I’ve been told it will have another, more commercial title when it hits the market) before they invited me to dinner at the hotel restaurant. The three of us headed out to eat and encountered the plague of NTRPGCon: the wait-staff (emphasis on “the wait”). The slow service would become the running joke of the convention. It was obvious that the Holiday Inn was not prepared for gamer appetites—or merely human ones—and I suspect that this is the primary reason NTRPGCon V will be held at a new location.

Dinner was mind-blowing, the highlight of the con for little old me. Halfway through my burger, I realized that my table companions were Jennell Jaquays, Frank Mentzer, Tim Kask, Jim Ward, and (briefly) Erol Otus. That song from Sesame Street—“Some of these things belong together…”—started running through my head, but everyone was very welcoming and encouraging and we had a blast mocking Alien vs. Predator on the restaurant TV. Nevertheless, it was a reminder that somewhere down the line I had crossed a threshold and was now officially a game designer of very small renown. Thank you all so very much for warm welcome.

When dinner wrapped up, Tim, Frank, and I hung out on the patio and they told me secrets Man Should Not Know about the old days with Gary and TSR. I don’t actively ask about the Old Days when I’m with those guys, wanting to avoid being a rabid fanboy, but I’ve learned that just by hanging around with them and letting them talk, I pick up a few interesting anecdotes along the way. I’m like the Margaret Mead of the gaming industry. Luckily for the guilty, I don’t always recall all the tales the next day, but the ones I do remember are doosies. At last, the late hour and the flight caught up with me and I managed to get to bed at a respectable hour—but not before dropping $40 on some old Judges Guild stuff from the con store. It would be the first of several purchases I’d make before heading back to NY.

Next up: Emirikol is killed and the Tim & Mike Show makes its debut. 

"Gonzo Gaming" Panel at NTRPGCon with Tim Kask & Michael Curtis

For those of you who were not able to attend, video from NTRPGCon is now up on YouTube. Below is the panel on "Gonzo Gaming" that Tim Kask and I presented on Friday. The first clip overlaps with Dave "Zeb" Cook and Steve Winter talking about 2E. Tim and I take the table around the 25:00 mark and continue through into the next clip. Doing this was a blast and it was with great pride and joy that a few familiar faces sat in to watch the shenanigans. I hope everyone walked out with a few ideas on how to "gonzo" up their campaigns.

Gary Con Recap Part I

Like the target at a snipers’ competition, Gary Con is an event viewed through many lenses. As a gamer, I experienced the con through the fun and camaraderie I had at the tables, but as a designer, it was interpreted by who I met and spoke to in the publishing industry. And lastly, as someone with a background in history and archiving, Gary Con was a place filled with those whose roots extend back to the long-ago days when this was all new and wondrous. No matter which lens I viewed the weekend, however, it was an outstanding experience.

Unfortunately, the four-day weekend began on a down-note when I received a phone alert that my first flight of the day was suffering from an hour-and-a-half delay. This alert came ten minutes before I was set to depart for the airport and threw all my travel plans askew. Forty-five minutes of trying to contact the airline on the phone without success eventually drove me to abandon my efforts and drive to the airport anyway. The clerk there managed to get me on another flight, but from another airport, making a $100 cab ride necessary to make my flight. Further complications at O’Hare delayed me again and I finally arrived in Milwaukee four hours behind schedule. Luckily, the Lodge at Lake Geneva was kind enough to dispatch a shuttle to convey me from General Mitchell to the hotel. A very big thanks to Larry the Night Security man at the Lodge for coming to my rescue!

After finally arriving five hours later than I intended, I discovered I had missed the meet-n-greet entirely, as well as the majority of games. Dropping off my bags in my room, I wandered down to the hotel bar looking for something to eat (and was again foiled since the restaurant had long-ago closed). I did spot someone in a tied-dyed shirt playing the Battlestar Galactica board game and soon found myself talking with Allan “Grodog” Grohe and Mark CMG of Creative Mountain Games. Alas, last call followed all too soon and a Diaspora of gamers was sent into the desert of the Lodge’s hallways. A brief snack from a vending machine and a long discussion with fellow gamer David(?) from Stone Mountain, GA closed an overlong travel day.

Friday arrived in much better shape. Determined to remain on New York time, and anticipating a diet of completely fattening meals during the weekend, I was up at 6 AM to take a walk around the Lodge’s grounds. Back at the hotel, I finally managed to acquire breakfast and to meet Tim Snyder of The Savage Afterworld at the concession table. Soon thereafter, the Vendors’ Hall opened and I stepped inside to discover Dan Proctor behind the Goblinoid Games’ table, which was situated next to Black Blade Publishing’s wares. I spent a good hour inside there talking with Dan and Alan, as well as meeting John Adams of Brave Halfling (who had his game boxes for sale nearby), Jeffrey Talanian (of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea), and Jon Hershberger of Black Blade. Across from the Goblinoid Games table was the Artists’ Nook. There sat Jeff Easley, who was kind enough to sign one of his illos in my copy of the Dungeon Alphabet, and Jim Wampler, creator of “Marvin the Mage.” I can’t say enough nice things about Jim, both as an artist and a person. He’s an old-school Gamma World fan to boot and did me a solid during the course of the con. Stop reading this right now and go to Mudpuppy Comics and check out a free issue of Marvin. I’ll be here waiting.

With time to kill before my first game, I wandered the rooms, snapping pictures. There, I ran into Frank Mentzer, who I met last year at I-Con. I was pleased that Frank not only remembered me, but went out of his way to welcome me into the ranks of professional game designers. (I’ll let the “Stonehell Outhouse” comment slide, Frank.) Frank’s always a pleasure to talk to and is generally interested in my own efforts to till a row in the field of game design. That means a lot to me.

As I was wearing my Stonehell T-shirt the first day, it wasn’t long before I had my first fan approach me to say how much he enjoyed my work. I’d see Zach (a.k.a. Nogrod from Dragonsfoot) several more times during the con and he’s another great gamer, one I’d share the experience of Tim Kask’s OD&D game with later in the day.

When 2 PM rolled around, it was off to the wargaming room for a game of Dungeon!, an activity I last enjoyed when Reagan was in the White House. Running the game(s) was Dave Megarry, the original designer of Dungeon! Dave took the time to explain the origins of the game, as well as bring the original Dungeon! prototype board for us to “ooh and ahh” over, but the real bomb shell was yet to come. I had encountered Dave and his wife upstairs an hour earlier as they unloaded a large table from the back of their car. I gave them a hand wrestling the dark green table through the front doors of the hotel, not thinking much of the activity other than I was giving a fellow gamer a hand. Only during the event was the identity of that table revealed: it was Dave Arneson’s ping pong table, the same one where he played the original Blackmoor campaign on decades ago! Having never met Dave in person, this was the closest I’d ever get to him and it was an incredibly cool experience. I could see that the opportunity was not overlooked by fellow Dungeon! player, Tavis Allison of the Mule Abides and Adventurer, Conqueror, King. I’ve met Tavis before and, knowing his interest in the history of our hobby, was certain he was just as floored by playing at Dave’s table as I was.

After finishing the Guinness Book of World Records’ Longest Game of Dungeon Ever (the other game’s players packed up, departed, and went on to marry and see their children graduate from college before we finally completed our game), it was back into the Vendors’ Hall to hang around the Goblinoid Games table. There, I met Jeff “bighara” Sparks and his wife (who is not at all still angry about a game Jeff ran 10 years ago), and signed a few more copies of Stonehell Dungeon.

At 6 PM, I got to play OD&D with Tim Kask. The adventure saw us exploring a frigid glacier and the mysterious Tower of the Phoenix located within it. I had a blast, even though we lost a few party members before we actually got inside the place, and, in true old school fashion, forged the legend of Sigurd Bear-Breaker. Facing down a certain TPK, my dwarf drank a potion of giant strength and challenged two giant polar bears to a wrestling match. He broke both their spines and allowed us to continue the adventure to its completion.

Tim was another pleasure to finally meet, especially since he was one of the judges on last year’s "Three Castles Award." During a break in the game, Tim invited me to the VIP Smoking Lounge (otherwise known as the patio off Tim and Frank’s room where they had stashed one of those big standing ashtrays they had somehow “acquired” the days before) and we talked about the old days of Dragon, the Dungeon Alphabet, and artists. Like his partner in crime, Frank Mentzer, Tim was very gracious, kind, and encouraging in regard to my design efforts. It was great getting to talk with him outside of the game.

The game ended around 10 PM and I had the chance to talk with some more fellow gamers (both newly met and by this time old friends) up at the bar. Eventually, the day’s events began to take their toll and I excused myself to grab a few hours’ rest before starting in all over again the next day.