Grumbling Dwarf

GaryCon 3 Wrap Up

The last time I was in Lake Geneva was for Lake Geneva Gaming Convention, but I don’t recall how long ago. It was before E. Gary Gygax passed. I was a bit out of place since I went there on whim. As I tried to recall the exact name of the con, I came across this thread on the Dragonsfoot forums. You’ll notice some guy that goes by Col_Pladoh but signs his posts “Gary”. heh  The thread goes on for 16 pages.

I did not prepare for GaryCon 3. I figured I’d just show and run into some of my fellow gamers from Madison, WI.

I arrived late afternoon. I registered for the day and made my way around the hotel. The first thing I noticed was how it grew. I failed to mention that GaryCon was derived from Lake Geneva Gaming Convention, so it’s my interpretation. There was 6 large rooms for gaming, a lounge/bar area that featured a musical guest, and a room for vendors.

I roamed around a bit and made myself into the dealer’s/vendor’s room where I ran into the guys from Troll Lord Games, Tim and Steve. I know they just released the long-awaited Castle Keepers Guide and I was interested in picking it up.  I bought some of their goods, some PHB’s for my group in hopes to run a game or two. Thanks for the deal Tim!

It was close to 6p and so I made my way up stairs to the open gaming area where the auction was to be held. Items would be rare items from Gary’s collection as well as some donated by Troll Lord Games and Games by Gamers – no website. Proceeds would go towards the Gygax Memorial Fund. Here is where Frank Mentzer outlined some rare items and ran most of the auction with Tim Kask. I don’t know the final dollar amount raised, but I do know some items went as high as $800.  A couple high-dollar items were a game master copy written by Tim Kask for an adventure he authored for the event, a page missing, but will be provided to the buyer. Tim mentioned starting to do some rpg work with Frank. So stay tuned on that venture. Another item and brought a bit of silence into the room was a shirt that Gary wore. It was a tropical print and, much like a majority of items, contained a certificate of authenticity.

While I was at the auction I sat near a guy named Greg. Nice guy who flew in from New Jersey to join the con. You can see him in this image drinking a glass of water. Yes, that’s Frank Mentzer running a game. I think it was 1st Ed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

I wandered downstairs to see if I could join a game. Good luck getting into a scheduled game. Those were full. Lesson learned, either run a game, or be sure to preregister for ones in which you want to partake.

I then realized that Steve Chenault was going to run a Castles and Crusades game. There were at least 16 people at the table, but Tim, a long-time friend of Steve’s said he’s seen him pull off 23 players at one game. Crazy. It was a good time. Steve did a great job and the players stayed involved.

The game went on for hours, and I had to leave. I was checking in on twitter and read that Steve was 5 hours into the game, fueled by Dr Pepper, and up to 20 players.

On my way out I did a quick run through of the gaming areas. It was 10pm and the energy had not dipped. Games were still going strong. I noticed a couple of gaming icons. One was Skip Williams running a game in the pickup game area. SKIP Freaking Williams, the guy that should get as much notoriety as the other authors of 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons.

Coming from stealing a snap shot of Skip, I went into the bathroom before my 40+ minute drive to my mother-in-law’s house. I noticed this other guy on his phone. It looked like he was texting. His badge read Zeb Cook. I asked Zeb if he would mind if I took a photo of him. He was more than happy to oblige.

Thanks Zeb!

It was a good time. Next year I’ll be either running a game or ensuring I register for one or two. I’d also be getting a room so I can enjoy the fun with everyone.