58 Days Till GaryCon! Swag of Conventions Past

This one is going to be a short photoblog. Here in a nutshell is all the free stuff, or swag, that I have picked up from GaryCons II-IV.

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Front and center is a Hyperborea lithograph by Ian Baggley from GaryCon II. Going back and to the left (no JFK jokes please) are the other GaryCon II items: two issues of Knights of the Dinner Table that I already had and the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting and Atlas for D&D 3.5. The Campaign Setting is actually maybe 5%-10% rule specific, the rest if mostly descriptive text with plenty of adventure hooks for the clever GM.

GaryCon III swag includes The Random Exotic Creature Generator by James Raggi IV, and The Cabal King by Jason M Cook and Jon Johnson; a tournament module that was supposed to be run at GaryCon II, but events conspired to keep it from being run.

For GaryCon IV, I have the commemorative GaryCon d4 (on the copy of The Cabal King) and the Castles and Crusades module Dwarven Glory by Stephen Chenault. Having never played C&C, it was an interesting read and has piqued my interest in the system.

While the main purpose if GaryCon is to play games and make friends, getting free stuff doesn't hurt either.

78 Days Till GaryCon!: Post-Christmas Day Gaming Swag.

I hope everyone's holiday went well. While I didn't ask for any gaming materials for Christmas, being in the Chicago area for the holidays means being able to hit one of the best gaming stores out there. I've mentioned Games Plus before when I first started this blog. Now that I live in upstate New York, I only get to visit it twice a year, during Christmas and GaryCon. So after spending the annual Boxing Day family get-together with my Dad and stepmother at Olive Garden, I headed to Mount Prospect to pick up some gaming gear.

The first order of business was to get 8 d3s for HackMaster. I chose the standard d6 labeled 1-3 twice as opposed to the "three-sided" die since they are easier to acquire and read in my opinion. These are pretty popular among HackMaster players like myself. Particularly among those that favor battle axes, which do 4d3p damage. I could have used a lot of these at last year's GaryCon, so I decided to stock up prior to GaryCon V. I also grabbed the latest two issues of Knights of the Dinner Table while I was at it.

In non-gamer swag I managed to get nine movies including Blade Runner and Layer Cake, both of which get the old gears turning when coming up with adventure ideas. Hopefully I'll be able to watch a few of them when I get home.

Speaking of which, Friday is going to be a travel day for me. Since this may impede blogging, I'll be posting Part Two of Memories of GaryCon II tomorrow.

W00T!

PopAble Polyhedrons made it's goal of $2800 six hours ago and has even exceeded its goal. Thanks to everyone that donated.

K is for KickStarter

According to Blogger, this is my 100th post. I was going to have this post be about the campaign world the archipelago is set in, but instead I am going to hold that off until S (for Setting) and focus on something different.

A lot of would-be game designers have been using Kickstarter as a means to raise funds for their pet projects. I usually pass on a lot of them. There's a joke that goes, "How do you make one million in the gaming industry? Start with two million." So it never seemed like a good investment. But I am making an exception far a gaming product that I do think deserves backing.

Douglas Gray has created a KickStarter for PopAble Polyhedrons, a product that puts the unusual dice we gamers love into Pop-A-Matic bubbles like you see in the board game Trouble. Originally, Douglas made them as a neat little variant die-roller, and gave one to Jolly Blackburn, creator of Knights of the Dinner Table. as may you remember, Jolly and his wife Barb lost their daughter Amber last year. Amber spent her entire life in a wheelchair with limited mobility. As a result, the Blackburns have had a keen eye for devices that would help the disabled, especially when it came to gaming. Needless to say, for people with limited motor control function in their hands, picking up and rolling dice can be a problem. So a Pop-A-Matic die roller can be of great use to them. That inspired Mr. Gray to start his Kickstarter project to make PopAble Polyhedrons a reality.

Douglas' goal is to raise $2,800 (US) by May 2, 2012 to get things going. Pledges of $10 or more qualify you for something special. Like all Kickstarter projects, if the project does not meet it's pledge goal, your account will not be charged. Hopefully, we can help Doug make his goal and start opening up new opportunities for all gamers.

D is for Dice Bags

My brother got me a new dice bag by Games by Gamers when we were at GaryCon as a belated birthday present. I had been in the market for a new dice bag for a while. My previous bag, while still in good condition, really didn't meet my needs so it was due to be replaced.

For a long time, I never carried my dice in a bag. I would either keep my dice in the same container I bought them in if I bought a set, or throw loose ones in a jar that my brother and I kept. For a short period of time, I kept a set of the usual standards in a small BreathSavers tin. But eventually, my collection grew to this.

And I needed something that could carry all that. My previous dice bag was large enough, maybe too large. It was made of a thin material and was a hassle to carry around. My new bag is just the right size for all the dice I need to carry, is made of sturdier material, and sits upright when open. It's a definite improvement over the rattling black bag I had before.

F is for Friendly Local Game Store(s)

For the gamer, the game store is more than just a shop. It also serves as meeting place, rumor mill and communications hub. Though the internet has made it possible to acquire gaming products more easily, the game store provides the social atmosphere that is necessary for tabletop role-playing.

Now, no two stores are alike. Some stores simply provide a place to purchase games, and that is it. Nothing is wrong with this business model. But, it is simply a business and nothing more. Some game stores are the stuff of gamer nightmares: poor product selection, employees with next to no product knowledge, and an atmosphere that says, "get your shit and get out!" These stores drive away both new and veteran players alike, which hurts the hobby. But then there is the Friendly Local Game Store, or FLGS as we gamers like to say. These stores go out of their way to provide a wide range of product, an inviting environment, and a place for gamers to meet and play. Today, I'm going to talk about two such stores.

Games Plus in Mount Prospect, Illinois is one of the best game stores, if not the best in the Chicagoland area. Seriously, I have heard stories of gamers coming through Chicago just to visit this little store in the suburbs. It is worth the trip. Games Plus has a wide selection of current and out-of-print games; role-playing games, boardgames and tactical simulations. Their walls are covered with miniatures for all genres. And best of all, they have a large game room for groups to play in. The store is also well-lit, clean and the staff are knowledgeable and personable. In addition to all that they offer a program to their regulars where, for every $100 spent in a six-month period, they give a $10 discount on purchases of new product. Games Plus is also the host for events such as ENWorld's GameDay. Overall, they provide great selection, great staff, and a great place to call your store.

The second store I have to mention is my current FLGS, Griffon Bookstore in South Bend, Indiana. The Griffon is a bit smaller than Games Plus, but in turn, it provides more than just games. As it's name suggests, it is also a seller of books. And by books, I am talking everything from science-fiction to military history to philosophy. Normally, a game store that sells items other than games would do so to their detriment. But by keeping their stock in the realm of things gamers are normally interested, they manage to keep things from veering away from gaming. On an interesting side note, when my father and stepmother came to visit me this past Februrary, we stopped by Griffon just to show them where I spent my Saturdays. Despite neither one having an interest in gaming, they walked out having bought around $20 of books and cards, as well as a better understanding of my favorite hobby. I can't think of a better endorsement.

Games Plus is located at 101 West Prospect Avenue in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The Griffon is at 121 West Colfax Avenue in downtown South Bend, Indiana. If you are in the area for either one, it's worth taking the time to check them out.

D is for Dice

Dice. Generators of random numbers. And an integral part of the RPG scene. When you have a situation where you absolutely have to know whether or not something did or did not happen, you go to the dice. Roll a die, add a modifier, and compare the result to the number you need to meet or beat. Most role-players have their own set of dice they bring to the game. Some have superstitions surrounding their handling. Some are convinced that a given die always rolls high or low. I have been known to get dice out before a game and position them either high or low number up depending on how I need it to roll.

As a veteran gamer (got started on BECMI in the 80's), I have become both a collector and critic of dice. So when last week these dice became the talk of the net:

 

I had to say something. A lot of people are calling these dice cool. And I admit, they look cool. But I will have to say that as a gamer, I don't care for these dice. Or more accurately, I don't have a use for these dice as far as using them to game. I see too many issues with them that preclude them from being used as anything other than a show piece. When it comes to dice, I have a few pieces of criteria before I decide to buy them.