As of this writing, it’s been almost a week since Gamer Nation Con V, a magical 5 days–heck, yes, I am counting Wednesday!–of gaming with family. My own family–husband, Mark, and son, Brennen–and my Gamer Nation clan. Was it what I expected? Is it ever? A lot went on, and I have good reason to say I missed a number of things. (More on that below.)
But it was worth it! For me the con really started when we picked up our old friend and gaming buddy Jon Stevens from the airport. After getting settled and greeting other friends, the four of us headed to Dallas Games Marathon for an amazing pre-con barbecue thanks to the efforts of GM Tim Rayburn (of the old Radio Free Hommlet D&D 4e podcast) and his lovely wife Kate. Even halflings would have been ecstatic (and had no complaints!) over the tastiness and quantity of food. Thank you so much!
For me the top goodie in the my con package Thursday morning was being picked by my Castleycling Briarwood/Unicorn Hair core wand. In a nod to Hogwart’s venerable Sorting Hat tradition, each attendee threw a pair of D20 Radio D6s to reveal the wand that claimed them. I was delighted with my be-gemmed implement. It was a great start to the con.
But of course, the main attraction is the gaming, and I enjoyed all I did. During that first afternoon I played Jon’s Dragon Age game, “Duty Unto Death,” a free Green Ronin module. I picked a pregen of the “just a fighter” type because it was different from my usual choices of medics/clerics or magic/Force users. I had a lot of fun with it, even though the session ran very short. Jon told us afterwards that there were several reasons for the speed, one of which was that we worked together better than his previous group, which was good to hear. Definitely a quality over quantity situation. (More on GNC V from Jon’s point of view.)
Friday was my one day with a full 12 hours of gaming. I started with one of Eric Brenders’ sessions of “Demongates in the City” an urban fantasy/horror scenario using Genesys–loosely, that being one of the hallmarks of Eric’s GMing style. Again, I picked a fighter, who got a very cool (or so it seemed…) pair of gauntlets for beating up on demons. Alas, my PC, and one other, didn’t survive; Eric narrated it as a painful, terrifying, horrible end with lots of screaming. I was comforted–but not much–by him telling the group that he had already confirmed that this fate qualified us for the Avadra Kedavra Badge for having a PC killed by magic. Thanks…I think.
Next up was Jon’s “Young Jedi Field Trip,” a roughly Dawn of Rebellion era F&D adventure with teenage “padawans” being sent on a minor mission for their mentor. This was one of Jon’s original scenarios. In fact, he started thinking about what became “Field Trip” at the end of GNC IV, although I believe he originally intended it for a different genre. As always, Jon didn’t mind winging it and made sure everyone’s PCs had a chance to contribute and even shine. I hope this one ends up in D20 Radio’s Backerzone, or linked from Jon’s own blog, as I enjoy seeing how other GMs write their modules and how they use mechanics such as setting difficulties.
After supper from Sofra Kebab House (a favorite of my family’s, in the same shopping center) it was back to Eric’s table for his D&D 5e adventure, “When Good Books Go Bad.” I should have realized the moment I read the title during preregistration what the big monster was, but I still had a good time. I also took the opportunity to play a class (Sorceror) and race (Dragonborn) I’d not played before. I would use either one again, especially the Dragonborn; I see why my son liked it. I like 5e much better than the last 2 or 3 versions, and Eric is a good GM. I know I wasn’t as good a player as I usually am, since Eric asked me at least once if I was tired or something. (In hindsight, this was probably the first symptoms of illness.)
My final game of the con was an impromptu session of Artemis, the popular starship bridge simulator on Sunday morning. The out-of-game goal was to help a couple attendees earn their Captain’s Log Badge. I took Communications, one of the less-taxing posts. But a lot seems to have been added to Comm since I last played–which is great. In previous games I had played, I don’t recall being able to do much from that station, other than taunt enemy captains and tell the bases we needed to dock. This time around, I could give other Federation vessels orders (not that any of them complied the times I did so, at the Captain’s request), ask stations to produce particular weapons, and so on. The mission only lasted about 45 minutes, but I enjoyed it. And yes, the players did get their badges.
The con ended, as always, with the auction and of course, the announcement of next year’s theme. There were several Genesys books as well as omnibus PDFs from Maps of Mastery, among many other cool things. Alas, the Genesys book bids quickly went way beyond our ticket counts, although Brennen picked up 2 or 3 other sourcebooks. We also got a lovely wand for our daughter. The map omnibus flash drive was also much desired. Brennen told me about the bidding war over that. Finally, cartographer Chris West passed another to GM Chris, who then announced there was no need for the 2 to continue bidding, as there was now one for each of them. Class act–way to go!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get in nearly as much gaming as I desired/intended. I woke up sick with some kind of respiratory virus on Saturday. I went to the con, just to hang out, isolating myself in the back on that wonderful DGM couch, where I could see most of the comings and goings without exposing people. Some folks stopped by to–from a safe distance–check in on me, or even chat for a bit, as word spread that I was under the weather. I really appreciated their kindness, the moreso as the well-wishers included people who I didn’t know well. (See, just like the Ghost crew, we’re a family!) Keith Kappel actually nicknamed me “Patient Zero,” which I got a kick out of. I also did some game-related stuff, when I felt up to it Saturday. I’d taken advantage of GM Dave’s offer to order through his new shop, to get Fully Operational, the latest AoR book. So I read through that, as well as coming up with the beginnings of a Genesys setting, which you will read about here in the future.
Even though my bad fortune and immune system prevented me from doing more gaming, I did have a great time. One of the best things about GNC is meeting people. Jon was happy to introduce me to Addie Mann and I wish I’d had more time to chat with her. There w2as also some in-person time with the rest of the blog crew. (There’s a picture on the D20 Facebook page as proof!) I also finally met Chris West, Sterling Hershey, and Sam Stewart. All are great to talk to and I learned a lot. (It was an honor, gentlemen.) I hope everyone else had an even better time than I did. And I fully intend to make up for losing a day of gaming at GNC VI. So tell me all about your magical time at GNC V.
Oh, hold on a second…The GNC 6 theme…what was it again?…Yes–Supers! Gamers Assemble (once more) on April 4-7, 2019!
Linda Whitson
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