Thoughts And Ruminations...

Day two of "back from vacation" and things seem like they are running as smoothly as ever. Loq and I did take some time out last night to help a friend grieve the recent loss of his father, and some alcohol was involved.

Gaming-wise, I'm not quite entirely certain where my head is at. I need to run a game, of that much I am certain. Helping Shady run some of his stuff at GenCon was pretty much like coming home. I belong behind a GM's screen and while I've pretty much always known that, it was cemented in my skull this weekend.

I am currently (re-)writing one of my homebrews, and it could use some playtesting. I just need to find the time to finish writing a couple of chunky sections, and then it could be ready to run.

Alternately, I could just use the shiny new Deadlands: Hell on Earth Reloaded book I picked up at the convention. After having waited four plus years for this book, I can honestly say that it is most of everything I could have ever dreamed of. Being only one book that needs to cover the breadth of twenty or so older tomes, it does an admirable job, but it does leave a few areas lacking. S'okay though, it's got just enough to use without getting in the way of any story I (or any other GM) wants to tell within the setting.

Either way, I've been talking about this for far too long. It's time to either poop or get off of the pot...

...[GRUNT]...

-- GopherDave

I'm Back...

I am back from my vacation to GenCon. It was good and it was needed. Had a good time with current friends... hooked up with some old friends... and ran into a friend I have not seen in over twenty years. All in all, a mostly good convention. I say mostly good because the two things I really wanted to buy sold out before I could get to them. So, no Netrunner or Iron Kingdoms RPG for GopherDave. The good news is that based on the demand from the convention, Privateer Press has moved up the release date of the IK RPG from sometime in October/November to September 19th, which less than a month away.

There was also good news in that FASA is back... ...sort of. Redbrick LLC, the company that's been handling Earthdawn for a bit hooked up with one of FASA's original founders (Ross Babcock) and is bringing the old girl back. Without the Shadowrun and Battletech licenses, I do not imagine the new FASA will rise to the heights of the old one, but it is good to see a familiar brand back in action. They had new editions of Player's Guides for Fading Suns and Blue Planet released at the convention, while the production values are less than stellar, they are solid products.

I took a look at the new Malifaux plastics while I was there, and I am pretty certain that these will be well received by the player base. The detail is good. They seem fairly sturdy. The prices will be on par, if not a touch lower than metal figs of the same type. All in all, a good showing for Wyrd.

For the convention, I played in five games (some good, some bad), helped run the same scenario three times (all good, some great), and had a blast. I'm looking at doing it next year with the whole family...

-- GopherDave

T-Minus One Day (And Counting)...

Things doth proceed with the pace that time and business allow... Wednesday I leave for GenCon, the (supposed) best four days of gaming.

I hope it is. I'll be sharing the trip and the room with Grumpy, Shady, and theJoe. All good guys and all can be a heck of a lot of fun to be around. From what I understand, cell-phone reception in the main hall is spotty at best, so Loquacious, Skribl, HighSign, and BigBank might be more on their own than initially believed. That being said, I'm fairly certain that they will be able to handle pretty much anything that needs handling. With all that being the case, I'll have no real choice but to relax and have fun... ...Damn.  =P

Now, the night before, I will be packing clothes and sundries. Wednesday morning, I'll be dealing with last minute store stuff, doing some shopping for the trip in terms of snacks/drinks, and packing necessary gaming stuff like dice, scratch paper, and writing utensils. I debated packing things like dice and what not, figuring I would just pick some up at the convention, but my first game is Thursday morning at 8AM. I'll need them sooner than the dealer hall opens...

As for blogging while there, I have debated doing so. I might, but nothing is decided yet. I definitely won't be wearing the sweater vest/tie thing while there. It'll be too hot, and I am not there to work. I am there to play games and chew bubble gum...

... I need to remember to put bubble gum on the list...

-- GopherDave

Wait For It...

Okay... Mental crunch-time is kicking in and as the trip to GenCon approaches, I am being to compelled to cancel my portion of it by my own nature of not being able to let go. I've made trips before in the past and let others run the store, but those trips were pretty much of a business nature, and not as long of a time duration as the upcoming GenCon trip.

No, the GenCon trip is (mostly) for pleasure, and that evokes feelings of guilt within me that I find hard to quash. I understand that this is my hang-up, and that there are friends and family encouraging me to make said trip due to how I've been acting lately. To those folks I say "thank you". You see what I desperately need more clearly than I do at times. I'm just stubborn and don't listen well.

Beyond that, work proceeds apace on the sorting project. At this point, while I am hoping it gets by the time I leave for the convention, I'm not counting on it. Who knows... I could be surprised...

-- GopherDave

Tipping Points...

It's already been a somewhat busy day at the store and the day isn't even half over. It'll be a good day once it's done, but I have to survive it first.

Thinking about the impending convention has got me realizing just how much I need this "vacation". I need to get in some solid role-playing. I am only in one game that meets consistently, and that game just had a system upheaval due to playtest concerns of the GM/Author of the setting. I liked my previous character in the setting, and had some emotional investment in him. Now I have a new character (which I do like) but since he is new, there is less care on my end whether he lives or dies yet. He is still in the "numbers on a page"-stage for me. Eventually, he may make it into a place where I care about his "death", but it may not be for a bit, yet.

As for running games, I am not running a thing and my mind is starting to feel it. I am working on things for the local convention in January, but I need something going soon, or I am going to lose it big time. It's like there is a part of myself that I have lost touch with and I'm not certain how to get back.

It's an ugly feeling, and I do not like it in the slightest...

-- GopherDave

Impending... Something...

Okay, I leave for GenCon in less than a week and am *SUPREMELY* behind on a couple of projects. I have no doubt they will get (mostly) done before I leave, it'll just be easier on my mind if I know they are accomplished.

Now, here's the kicker... If these things are not done before I go, it's not the end of the world. In a lot of respects, the issues are very much first world business problems. I just have a touch of CDO and would really rest easier if things were put to bed.

As for the convention itself, I'm looking forward to it to some degree, though my "business owner's" mindset is making it very difficult to completely let go. I should not worry. I have perfectly competent folks manning the store while I am away. I'm just... me... which is to say I am a passive-aggressive control freak. Despite all of that, I know that I need this break more than I will admit to myself. So, I plan to have a great time...

In terms of gaming goodness, I plan to play a few games, hit up the Wyrd booth to check out the new Malifaux plastics, go to OtherWorld Designs and pick up some gaming-related garb, and just generally see what is new and exciting in terms of gaming. While tempted, I will probably not pick up a great deal of stuff. Loquacious and I own a game store after all, and can get much of anything we want that will be at GenCon for much cheaper (read: wholesale) if we are just patient about it. There is are a couple of items thought that, if they are there, I will be sorely tempted to pick up immediately. The main one is this...

I have loved this game ever since I played the original. I still consider it the best CCG ever created, and I wish I still had my batch of cards for it. Come to think about it, if I run into a dealer selling off bulk deals of the old cards, I will probably pick some up...

Hmmmmm....

-- GopherDave

Working The Chain Again...

Okay... Today at the store was weird. It wasn't overly busy, but I felt absolutely exhausted as I left around 7PM this evening. Something about Tuesday shipment days make it very draining for me. The good news is that we actually got a sizable restock of Dragon Shields in. For those who don't know, Dragon Shields are probably the most expensive brand of card sleeve on the market. They are also the best quality sleeves for CCG players, hands down. The company that makes them cannot keep up with demand most of the time. We are frequently out of stock of them as they sell quickly when we do manage to get a quantity in.

In other store-related news, the MtG card rearranging/reorganization proceeds slowly. I pretty much stated to the employees that I wanted to have this done by the time I leave for GenCon. Looking at the calendar, I realize I leave for GenCon in one week. In regard to this project, it's go time if it is to be done by the deadline I imposed.

That is on top of all the other stuff I have been trying to get done by then. I have my own project that I am INCREDIBLY behind on. On top of that, I promised a friend that I would help him run his GenCon events as I know the game system better than he does, which means I need to re-read said game system to refresh my own memory.

It is times like this where I wish there were about four of me, but I know the world couldn't handle that... Plus Loquacious would probably kill at least three of them in an effort to save her own sanity... =P

-- GopherDave