GenCon 2019: Are You Ready to RPGumble?!

Would love to do the whole 4-day geekathon like in days gone by, but time and money are my limiting factors these days. Having kids in both college and high school leaves little left over for dad’s geek stuff at the end of the day. =)

That said, I would love to see if I could show up for Saturday again this year since I only live 90 minutes drive from downtown Indy. I’m going to talk to my older son and one of my friends, both of whom have gone to GenCon with me in the past, and see if either or both are interested in a day trip this year. That probably won’t leave me enough time to participate in one of your sessions, but I could at least drop by at the end of one for a meet and greet or something.

For anyone considering going who isn’t sure if there is enough there to justify the trip…trust me, THERE DEFINTELY IS. GenCon has grown exponentially since it first moved to Indy. After the first 6 or 7 years GenCon was there, the city of Indianapolis happily invested tens of millions of dollars to nearly DOUBLE the size of it’s already large Convention Center, plus added multiple downtown hotels, all to accommodate GenCon, and GenCon reciprocated by pretty much immediately utilizing all of that new space. If you are at all interested in analog gaming, GenCon is the premiere convention for it. You can spend all four days there just wandering the immense dealer hall demoing games, talking to designers, checking out the huge auction, marveling at the cosplay/costumes, meeting celebrities/authors, watching performers and soaking in all the nerdy glory.

Hey @ArmandoPenblade, any chance you could livestream one of your sessions? No idea if that’s even possible let alone desirable, but there’s not really any way for me to get out there and I’m RPG-curious. You always make it sound like a blast.

Most likely I can’t fully livestream at GenCon–even if I could get the camera setup cooperating well, the data connection there for me (T-Mobile) is actively horrible at all times when I’m anywhere near the Con grounds.

That said, I’d be happy to record a session of mine sometime soon. I’ve actually been playing with ways of doing so here lately, so if/when I figure it out for my group(s), I’ll definitely post here :)

I was going to go this year, but the person I was going with had to cancel and it looks like I’ll be going next year instead.

So, I must admit I haven’t been to a GenCon since it moved from Wisconsin ( <- old guy). What is the convention like now days? What do you guys look forward to? I am so tempted to go, and its in my own state! Is it still mostly devoted to PnP, or is it a bit more diverse? @ArmandoPenblade kind of made it sound like there is a lot more going on these days. (The GenCon website is really horrid at providing details!)

Yeah, the website won’t be super useful until they start approving events in a month or three; check out the http://gencon.eventdb.us website I linked above for a really slick, sortable, searchable event catalog from last year.

While tabletop RPGs still dominate the listings, probably accounting for close to half the programming, there’s literally tens of thousands of events to choose from covering everything from the previously discussed wargames, videogame tournaments, TCG drafts, boardgame demos, workshops for everything from cooking to crafting and dancing to painting, seminars from game devs and authors, workshops, round-tables, movie and TV screenings, dances, cosplay competitions, charity drives, escape rooms, LARPs, VR demo stations…

It’s nerd heaven, man.

For me, I’m all about the RPGs, but I’ll squeeze some seminars or round-tables in during my breaks, and try to eat meals with friends near cool stuff like impromptu concerts and Werewolf tournaments. Plus the camaraderie of the big trip up there with some of my best nerd buddies!

I also haven’t been since Wisconsin. I think I went in 1996 or so.

As I mentioned in my post above, GenCon has absolutely exploded in the past decade or so. It’s now more than double the size it was when it first came to Indy in 2003 and draws three times as many people (over 61,000 gamers in 2018). It is as diverse as you can possibly imagine, with huge halls devoted to PnP gaming, CCGs, board gaming, and miniatures, a giant dealer hall with demos of dozens of new games, True Dungeon (a sort of interactive LARP/RPG with multiple rooms and props), meet and greets with artists, authors and media celebrities, workshops on dozens of topics, cosplay everywhere, an auction that runs 3 of the 4 days, and of course hundreds of events like Armando’s, where GMs host games in the halls, conference rooms and hotels all around the con. It’s massive, and a ton of fun.

Check out some pics from 2018 at Ars Technica. They also have galleries from 2017 and 2016 too. It’s hard to convey the sheer size and scope of the convention from any one picture, as the Indy Convention Center is huge, and the con spills out into all the surrounding hotels as well.

Suddenly I want RPG Gumbo

I was hoping for an interview with RPBryantGumble.

I mean I did bring gumbo to my regular Monday night game this summer, along with red beans, rice, and some seasoned corn. . .

“RPGourmet” is a fantastic restaurant idea.

Come for the food, stay for the game!

Looks like our group is a go! Went ahead and got my badge and everything.

I will absolutely be watching this thread for info on @ArmandoPenblade Fate Core sessions and doing my best to make it to at least one!

If anyone wants to organize some kind of QT3 meetup outside of normal gaming sessions, maybe a dinner or meet for a drink or something, keep me in the loop!

Heck yes, man! Definitely hope we can hang out and game.

It looks like my group is planning to stay through Sunday night this time around, which is a little weird, but nice. I don’t feel quite as compelled to cram my schedule knowing I can actually enjoy the Sunday morning events without feeling like I’ve got to get the heck outta Dodge.

My wife and I will be there Tuesday night (Trade day for me this year!) through Monday morning. Definitely up for some meet ups!

I feel better I read the title as “Are you ready to RPGrumble”, and the voice in my head said it:

RPG-Grumble not RPG-Rumble ;)

This Sunday is Event Registration day! @ArmandoPenblade, have your events been submitted? Do you have the titles and/or event IDs so we can look them up?

Yesindeedy!

  • Legend of Eternal Fantasia: Final Tale - Chapter 0 (She Fell from the Sky) (RPG19147022)
    • Fate Core
    • Thursday 10AM (4hrs)
    • Location TBD
    • In this JRPG-inspired action-adventure, the weary patrons of the Crimson Boar Inn are all that remain of the freedom fighters who once tried to rebel against the invading Anarxos Empire who have conquered their homeland. Though most have given up hopes of ever freeing their beloved city from the Anarxians, the group is roused to action when a mysterious, magical girl plummets from the occupying airship overhead, straight through the roof of their beloved bar. Claiming to have barely escaped horrific experiments being performed above the vessel, she begs their aid. Can the Crimson Boar Irregulars find the heroism within themselves for one last mission? It’s a tall order: infiltrate the fortress-like airship, find and rescue her brother, and deliver them both to safety once more. It’s the kind of thing heroes are made of, though. Are YOU brave enough to take on the Anarxians?
  • The Haunting of Sturmfell Manor (RPG19147020)
    • Fate Core
    • Friday 3PM (4hrs)
    • Location TBD
    • Decades ago, your family was cruelly taken by the malevolent darkness that lurks beneath Sturmfell Manor; ever since, you have haunted its shadowed halls, a ghostly remnant trapped in eternal purgatory, reliving your final days over and over again. Except now. . . something has changed. A new family has purchased the old manor and moved in. Rooms are not as you remember them. And somehow, your spirit reawakens enough to realize: they are in danger. Though it drains your spiritual essence to affect the real world, you feel compelled to try to communicate with them somehow. If you cannot drive these poor souls away before the darkness stirs, they will join you in forever haunting Sturmfell Manor. This session uses room discovery mechanics similar to Betrayal at House on the Hill, on top of the base Fate Core rules.
  • The Watertown Horror Book Club’s Very Bad Night (RPG19146167)
    • Fate Core
    • Saturday 8PM (4hrs)
    • Location TBD
    • The boys and girls of the Watertown Horror Book Club love horror novels, particularly the enormously popular Bone Chillers series from famed author Errol S. Tyne. So, with the annual Scholarly Book Fair starting tomorrow and the promise of the first new BC book in three years, the club is understandably excited! But little does the membership know that the club’s officers have a special treat planned for the big Halloween Booknanza they’re hosting the night before the Fair. Why, their surprise is positively ghoulish! Of course, no one can ignore the fact that gruesome, horrific accidents have been occurring at and around Watertown Middle School Academy. Accidents that seem to be lifted from the pages of the members’ favorite Boon Chillers books! Can the club’s officers solve the mystery, save the school, and still put on an awesome Halloween party? Turn the page and find out!

I am super pumped to run these games, and would really, really love to have any of y’all join me. Getting to hang out with @Vesper for a few hours each GenCon has been a genuinely wonderful “tradition” the last couple of years <3

(And tagging in @Seppey and @Lucidvizion who’d expressed interest previously).

My group’s coming in Wednesday afternoon and staying through Monday AM, so I can possibly sneak away for a Qt3 mealtime midday or dinnertime on Sunday :)

Armando, you can write a compelling hook.

I would love to go to GenCon again but I fear it’s an absolute zoo of people now. Also, I have an EV that would never drive it so I’d have to rent a car and I ran up what is likely to be a few thousand in medical bills (still awaiting the hospital’s proclamation of financial doom via the bill I’ve yet to receive) so I don’t know if I have the cash to spare.

On the other hand, I have vacation days to use so maybe I should figure it out. It’s just a four hour drive for me. :)

Thanks! I waffled on pasting in the “short” or “long” descriptions we were allowed on the GenCon site, but opted for the latter. I’m a wordy motherfucker, after all. . .

I am of the opinion that you should definitely come out. It can be crowded, especially in the dealer hall, but honestly, the con itself is spread through so many buildings in the ICC “campus” area now that it’s not that bad, even for my friends with anxiety. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the medical system doesn’t get you down too much, man.