Conventions and OD&D

[badger2305]

Having just gotten back from North Texas RPG Con, I can attest to real interest in old school games and gaming. With four Tekumel events, Rob Smith, Scott McKinlay and I decided that we're going to start planning a "Tekumel Track" for next year's NTRPG. I think this concept could be applied to OD&D/Old School games at other conventions. By "track" I mean a series of events set up so that people can play pretty continuously throughout the convention, and referees don't book all of their events on the same day and time. We could create discussion threads for each convention, and coordinate event planning ahead of time (as well as recruiting new players!).

Probably the first place to start would be to discuss which conventions (if any) people are planning on going to, and potentially running events at. I will go first: I am planning on attending Gamehole Con here in Madison, Wiscowsin, in late October this year. I am also getting persuaded to go to Millennium Con in Austin, TX, in mid-November. What about the rest of you?

[multiarms]

I am planning on attending Gamehole Con myself. It will be my first time there.

Also this fall I will be at Origins and Con on the Cob (a small regional con in Northeast Ohio).

[badger2305]

Jun 15, 2021 13:15:06 GMT -6 multiarms said:

I am planning on attending Gamehole Con myself. It will be my first time there.

Also this fall I will be at Origins and Con on the Cob (a small regional con in Northeast Ohio).

Origins event registration is open, as is Gamehole Con. Thinking on running any events?

Some background: a convention usually ends up having about 3 events a day (e.g. 10am-2pm, 2-6pm, 7-11pm, or something like that), so over approximately three days (Thursday evening, Friday, Saturday, Sunday through the afternoon), four referees each running two events covers most/all of the time for events. So if you ran two events, and I ran two events, etc. that's half of what's needed. Anybody else going?

[Desparil]

I'm not a huge con-goer, but I sometimes go to TotalCon in Massachusetts. That's not until February, though. I'd say there's a high chance I'll go in 2022.

[multiarms]

Jun 15, 2021 14:44:12 GMT -6 badger2305 said:

Thinking on running any events?

Actually, it had not occurred to me that I might run an event at these cons. I have been playing RPGs since the early 1980s, but I'm relatively new to the OSR scene. I'm new to this forum and in fact I only discovered that there was an "original D&D" sub-subculture about a year ago.

I have done lots of refereeing, using a number of systems. I have run only one con game ever (and 4 of the 6 players were from my regular gaming group). But I've been thinking about it a lot since your post yesterday. 

I think I could put together a fun scenario to run using OD&D or a clone such as Delving Deeper or WhiteBox FMAG. In fact, it would kind of cool to buy a number of hard copies of a clone and hand them out as gifts to any players who need them (both are $5, so no huge expense). I would probably only want to run one event.

I will definitely consider it. I really want to meet some more people in person who are part of this scene, and running events at a con would probably be a good way to do so.

I also know someone who has a lot of experience as an OD&D ref (since 1975). Maybe he could be cajoled into running something at Origins.

- Nick

[mrmanowar]

I'll be at Gamehole, so I'd play in these games. However, I'm bringing my kids, so my running of events is limited this time. I've only played OD&D, never ran it. However, I'd love to play it again and meet other OD&D people from this forum.

[rsdean]

For the rest of this year, I might be at Cincycon in October and U-Con in Ypsilanti MI in November.

Next year, assuming the schedules have gone back to normal, possible multi-mode conventions would include Scrum Con (DC area) in February, Cincycon in March, and Gencon in August, with a bunch of miniatures convnetions interspersed.

[Finarvyn]

There is a Cincycon? My youngest used to live in Cincy and if I had known I might have gone to visit more often.

[rsdean]

Jun 17, 2021 4:00:20 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

There is a Cincycon? My youngest used to live in Cincy and if I had known I might have gone to visit more often.

Indeed.


cincycon.org/

It’s usually in March, but they moved it to October this year. I’m guessing 2022 will be back to March.

[Vile Traveller]

Jun 16, 2021 8:48:42 GMT -6 multiarms said:

In fact, it would kind of cool to buy a number of hard copies of a clone and hand them out as gifts to any players who need them (both are $5, so no huge expense).

Back when the world was normal there was a referee who would hand out copies of the BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules to players at cons (I let him have them at cost). I reckon it's a great way of spreading the old ways beyond just the con experience itself.

[multiarms]

Jun 17, 2021 4:00:20 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

There is a Cincycon? My youngest used to live in Cincy and if I had known I might have gone to visit more often.

I attended Cincycon 2020. It was in early March, right before the COVID lockdowns began. I remember we were all talking about the virus and how the first cases were being reported in Ohio and Kentucky that week. A few days later we were in full lockdown. I'm pretty sure that convention was inadvertently a "super spreader event." 

As for the con itself, the venue is not great. There are 2 big huge rooms. All the tables are close together. It is very noisy. There is one men's bathroom and it was a mess.

Most of the events were boardgames and wargames (primarily 40k and historicals). I attended for 2 days and registered for 2 events of Call of Cthulhu, 2 events of DCC RPG (both with the same judge, who was good), and one session of 5e where the DM never showed. There was a group at the con playing Steve Jackson's new version of The Fantasy Trip, but all their events were full. That seemed like the best thing at the con as far as RPGs. If I were more interested in wargaming and boardgames, I think it would be more fun, but I don't plan on attending again.

There is another convention in Cincinnati called Cin City Con. I have not attended but I heard it was a good small con. That is planned for the same weekend as Origins (October 1, 2021).