Gary Con Report: Wednesday, March 21

Well I'm here...

...and I fucked up royally.

But first thing is first: the drive down was lovely. Much of South Eastern Wisconsin is hilly and rural with large woodlots and farms between Milwaukee and Lake Geneva. It was quite warm for March, a major improvement over the cold and snow of last year. I arrived at the resort and stopped by the front desk to see if my roomate had arrived yet.

He hadn't and he isn't expected to arrive until tomorrow. It seems I misunderstood his instuctions. Now I'm stuck here without a room for the night. The fellow at the desk said that he could stratch up a room for the night for me, but it would cost more than I could afford right now. At this time, I'm down to two options:

I could drive back home or to my mother's home in nearby Mukwonago, burning gasoline (i.e. money) along the way.

Or...

I could try to sleep in my car tonight and hope no one pinches me.

Not only did I fuck up, but I AM fucked... and not in the fun way.

In the meantime, I'm holed up in the resort lobby blogging on my iPad and pondering on what to do. I just dined royally on a salami and provolone on wheat while I watched Frank Metzner, Jim Ward and members of the Gygax clan trade pleasantries. Maybe I can find a game to pass the time.

It's going to be a loooong night.

Location:State Road 50,Lake Geneva,United States

The Dark Lord of the OSR speaks...

While I'm packing for my trip to fun-filled GaryCon--Where did I put my thumbscrews and my strap-on dildo?--I thought I'd share this inter-tubes offering from Jim Raggi, his new video blog... vodcast... thing...

Enjoy!  I'm going to have to stop off at Sam's Club for more lube and nylon rope.

T-Minus two days and counting...

Soon, very soon now, I'll be in beautiful (Unlike last year, this week promises to have nice weather.) Lake Geneva, WI at...

I'm planning to get in a day-to-day contribution on the events, shenanigans, and goings-on. That is, if Amazon.com can get my new AC/DC adapter for my laptop. Otherwise, I 'll have to use my iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard.

So be on the lookout for a fat, nerd with a beard... oh wait... Just be on the look out for this ugly mug!

If you think I look horrifying here, imagine me naked!

Coming Soon: EPT Draft Rules!

Victor Raymond, pillar of the OSR community in my area, alumni of Prof. M.A.R. Barker's game table, and president of the Tékumel Foundation, reports that the original, pre-publication draft of Empire of the Petal Throne will soon be available on Drivethrurpg.com.

You darn kids with your "desktop publishing!"

Having played the published version before, I'm very curious to see just what the good Professor initially had in mind for his magnum opus. Once it comes out, I might have to write up a compare/contrast article.

Abraxis: On Kindle

A few months back, I mentioned Abraxis: The Lost Continent, an evocative science fantasy by Dave Morris and Jamie Thompson with inspiring concept art by Russ Nicholson.

Art by Russ Nicholson

The lads at the Fabled Lands blog collected all that material (including a poem by Robert E. Howard) and put it together into a handy Kindle eBook. Until this Friday, you can download that book for free.

GaryCon Update.

I wanted to post this earlier last weekend, but Real Life is a bitch.

I signed up for my events for GaryCon. With the exception of Saturday, I tried to keep it to one event per night to leave myself time for pick-up games and other things. I'm leaving Sunday open so I can play in Victor Raymond's EPT game. I also decided to help out a fellow convention goer--and reduce my own hotel bill--by rooming with him.

Here's what I'm doing:

Thursday:
2 PM: Ghostbusters - How Dry I Am
I haven't played WEG Ghostbusters since middle school!

Friday:
10 AM: Heroes of Barsoom Episode 1 - The Lost Sextant vof Inak
This is part one of a two-pater. I'm not sure how the the GM is going to modify 1st Edition for Barsoom, but it should be interesting to watch.

Saturday: 
10 AM: Heroes of Barsoom Episode 2 - The Lost Sextant vof Inak


6 PM: Amazing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea - Taken From Dunwich
I pledged for ASSH's kickstarter campaign. With a copy on the way, so I want to see how well the game runs.

I'm hoping that there will be some kind of cork board where one can post pick-up games and that Warriors of the Red Planet is out in some form by that day. See you all there!

Warriors of the Red Planet Update

Art by Frank Frazetta... as if you didn't know.

It had been a while since we last heard from Al and Thomas Denmark about their Baroomian Swords & Wizardry supplement Warriors of the Red Planet. In our last installment back in September, the game had gone into layout. Then, after many long months of silence, Thomas posts a sample of how the final book might look.

I'll give you a moment to look it over.

Wow! Full color and professional layout! If this looks anything like the final product then Warriors looks even better than I ever expected! I would have been satisfied with a black and white .PDF composed on MS Word or Pages, but Thomas springs this serious professional shit on us. Work of this calibre cries out for a hardcover!

Thomas says that he is trying to get this finished by the time the House of Mouse releases "John Carter" to theaters in early March. Personally, While I'd just be happy if he get's this released by GaryCon where I can run some pick-up games, it's a excellent date to shoot for. In my college Mass Communications courses, they taught us the concept of "synergy:" using multiple forms of products or media to promote another.  Even if the movie flops horribly, it will get gamers excited about Barsoom in particular and the Swords and Planet genre in general. The best thing is that despite the entertainment industry's sway over copyright and IP law, most of Burroughs' work from this era (including the early John Carter tales) are in the public domain, you won't have to fork over huge licensing fees to Robert Iger to get in on the fun.

Along with Warriors, I'm hoping to see other game companies ride the "John Carter" bandwagon and follow suit and produce a whole bunch of Barsoomian-style products. Paizo is going to release their Distant Worlds campaign setting book for Pathfinder late next month. I was expecting Adamant Entertainment to come out with some more material for their Mars campaign setting for Savage Worlds and d20, but they seem more preoccupied with other projects (apparently they seem more pre-occupied with a RPG based on a pulp movie from the 80s than cashing in on an upcoming media event). However, more is needed. We need scenarios. We need airship deck plans to play out epic boarding actions taking place high above the Martian deserts and  paper miniatures for those who can't paint. Speaking of which, there are plenty of excellent "NOT Barsoom" figures available on the market which I will be reviewing in very near future, but perhaps will shall see more and more come out as the months go by. (Hey! Reaper! Are you guys listening?)

While we are waiting, I'll be here, plotting and planning my own adventures on the Red Planet (and possibly beyond). Of course, being a Burroughs purist and not a Disney-fied Family Values Fascist, my Martians will be appropriately attired...

Art by Chad Spliker