Brian Goes to GenCon

Graphic designer. Scotch-drinker. Gamer.

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Toy soldiers: The weird and wonderful wargames from Gen Con's open play hall

I have been going to Gen Con now for nine years, and one of the highlights of every trip for me is a tour of the wargaming hall.

I’m not super into miniatures, largely because of the expense and time-suck. But they’re still super cool to look at. You can see a couple shots of the Sailpower game we played towards the end.

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Great tabletop gaming gadgets from Gen Con 2015

Gen Con isn't just a convention where you get new games, it's where you get new gear. I'm always amazed at the diversity of the vendor floor. It's a real hotbed for niche entrepreneurs to pitch their...

It was absurdly tempting to buy those wooden dice.

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61,423

The number of attendees at GenCon this year.

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July 31, 2015

Back in the early 2000’s, Jack began a new campaign centered around The Waterdeep Investigators (a continuation of a plot line Jack and Chad had started a year or two earlier). We were an independent branch of the government rooting out corruption and preventing terrorist attacks on the city. In high school, we ran that campaign for what seemed to be an eternity. A year? During our exploits, an anti-group of enemies called The Spectacular Seven, each being the opposite of a PC. An evil counterpart, if you will. In that showdown, half the party died, but three of us survived. As I went off to college, we continued playing that campaign during a summer and winter break. In an epic fight to keep Waterdeep from being overrun by wererats, my rogue/investigator survived (having been killed and resurrected twice in the same session) and finally met the legend himself: Garret Hammond. It was a bittersweet adventure because casino-owning and master manipulator Visghanti still rose to power in Waterdeep. Despite the outcome, Sir Leuth had been resurrected as another halfling and rejoined The Waterdeep Investigators under a new alias and rose to the top of that group’s power, albeit limited due to laws Visghanti put in place.

Finally, after years of speculating with Jack and Chad what happened in Waterdeep, we finally committed and played one last adventure. Leuth performed 4 years of infiltration and investigation of Visghanti’s casino and public appearances, and Garret infiltrated the sea docks business being run by a crime organization Visghanti controlled. At a memorial service parade for Lucavy, we sprang our plan. Garret killed the sea dock mob boss and created a gang war, killing off the two major crime factions working for Visghanti. Meanwhile, Sir Leuth tailed Visghanti through his casino as he made a break for his safe house. After Garret and Leuth fought their way through the casino and confronted Visghanti, The artifact Pathfinder finally took over Garret’s mind to “protect the lord of Waterdeep” and stop Leuth from trying to kill Visghanti. Desperate, after spending decades of trying to bring lawful justice to Visghanti and losing comrades during his excursions, Leuth did what he had to for the “greater good.” He tumbled to put Visghanti between he and Garret, pick pocketed a Wand of Magic Missile from the invisible Visghanti, and he held it up as a defensive act. As Garret moved into position to throw Pathfinder and kill Leuth, Visghanti swung his saber down as Leuth revealed his true identity: "I am Sir Leuth." The saber made contact with the wand, causing a massive mile wide explosion, killing Leuth, Garret and destroying the casino and multiple blocks of Waterdeep. In the rubble lied Visghanti as he bled to death, waiting for help. In the name of the greater good, Sir Leuth finally accomplished what he'd been waiting over ten years to accomplish. His war was over.

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Today was board game day: Small World, Lords of Water Deep (I won), Robinson Crusoe and Dead of Winter. After setting up Robinson Crusoe (our first time playing) for an hour without even actually starting the game, we abandoned it altogether. Good luck learning that game, Chad.

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Timid Monsters. Made of baked clay.

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Alright, Chad. It's HarnWorld decision time.

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RIP Garret and Sir Leuth

Two incredible characters with a long legacy finally met their demise. They went out with a bang, and I can’t wait to do a write-up about it. It was so great bringing a close to the story of my most beloved character, Sir Leuth.

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Nom nom nom. Walking Tacos.

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The lectures NSDM puts on are pretty incredible. Weird. And incredible. Terror Network time because why not.

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Leveling Sir Leuth up to 15th level. Just so he can meet his demise tonight.

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Sailpower miniatures game. Lots of math, but lots of canons and naval battles.

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So much Cataaaaaaan at GenCon. Debating on a travel version with an enclosed dice roller.

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Finished my first NDSM game. Basically had 50-ish people split up into China, U.S. and Russia, and within those countries, each person has a political or military or cultural position with their own end goal they are trying to achieve. After playing a 4 hour game, I achieved absolutely none of my goals. Russia was basically in a Cold War with itself, no one had money because the government leadership swindled everything for themselves and were silently interested in the military not getting any better. Because nukes. It was a complete blast and utterly chaotic in a good way. Also, Jack ended up in jail for nearly 60% of the time. Hilarious to us, not amusing to him.

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So the exhibit hall was overwhelming. Lunch break.

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Made it a point to avoid the mad rush this year. Reposting my archival footage from two years ago. It was a cool moment to see this happen… but I doubt I can get that newness feeling back. Thus, I slept in and ate breakfast instead.

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Cultural reading along with some Cajun goodness.

yatscajuncreole.com