Tag: GenCon

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Editorial Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 7 Appalling Things I Witnessed at the Gaming Table

So far the articles we’ve published in anticipation of GenCon were tips to make your gaming experience better; plenty of “dos” that we think are helpful and important. Today we provide a list of “don’ts.”

Although we always try to see the positive side of things here at Dungeon’s Master, every now and then we have to acknowledge that there are some negative aspects of gaming and gaming culture. After last year’s GenCon I felt it was my responsibility to highlight a few of the worst things I saw at the gaming table and shine a big spotlight right on it. Many of the offenders guilty of the things presented in the article below don’t even realize that what they’re doing is considered uncool or rude. My hope is that by actually listing these things here today gamers will realize how off-putting or annoying these things are and avoid doing any of them at this year’s GenCon (or any game table for that matter).

We ran this as part of our Great Hits 2011 at which time I wrote a new intro for it. I think that the new intro is just as important as the original article so I’ve decided to include it with today’s re-post.

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Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 10 Things I Learned at Worldwide D&D Game Day

For some people GenCon will be their first opportunity to participate in public-play games. Although I played D&D for years, it was always with close friends at someone’s house. I’d never played in a public-play scenario before 4e was released. It wasn’t until I attended my first game convention that I played LFR and got to see what public-play was all about. Not long after that I got an opportunity to participate in one of Wizards’ Worldwide D&D Game Day events at my FLGS. There was something about public-play that really appealed to me. It presented me with a chance to meet other gamers in my community, yet it was more than that. I realized that my gaming experience could be greatly improved by seeing first-hand how other people ran their characters and how other DMs ran their table.

Today we’ve pulled another article from our archives that we think you’ll find useful if you’re heading to Indianapolis to attend GonCon or if you’re just starting out with public play (say with D&D Encounters). Of course many of these tips can just as easily be applied to your home games, so even if you aren’t attending GenCon this year you should still find something helpful in the list below. Enjoy.

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DM Resources Player Resources Top 10

In Anticipation of GenCon: Convention Tips 6 for Players, 6 for DMs

GenCon is less than two weeks away and we want to do our part to help make your con experience great. We’ve searched through the Dungeon’s Master archives to find articles that provide tips for players and DMs that are specifically related to conventions and public play. Of course these tips are often just as valid in your home games so even if you’re not going to GenCon we think you’ll find these tips applicable. You’ll likely see some trending throughout these articles because some tips are relevant regardless of context. In the end, we hope you find something in one of these articles that you can use to make your game and your con experience better.

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Editorial

Ameron’s 2012 GenCon Schedule

GenCon 2012, the best four days in gaming begins on August 16. That’s only 19 days from today. This year I’ll be making the 9 hour road trip from Toronto to Indianapolis with Marc Talbot (aka Alton from 20ft Radius). This will be my fifth consecutive year at GenCon but it’s his first. I’m expecting this year to be my best GenCon yet and I’ve got a wide variety of events scheduled. Of course some of the best parts of any con are the things that aren’t scheduled ahead of time so I’ve made sure to leave plenty of gaps in my itinerary.

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Humour Top 10

Greatest Hits 2011: 7 Appalling Things I Witnessed at the Gaming Table

While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2011. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.

No matter where you play D&D – at conventions like GenCon, at your FLGS or even at home – there are certain expectations regarding behaviour that all players are expected to follow. We take for granted that most of these things fall into the “common sense” category and assume everyone understands what’s expected of them. However, experience has taught me differently.

I’ve learned the hard way that when people participate in public-play D&D they tend to do things they’d never do during a home game. It’s as if they believe that public-play games give them a free pass with regards to a lot of very obvious objectionable acts. After seeing many of these violations in full force at GenCon this summer I had to write down some of the most egregious and appalling ones. My hope was (and still is) that gamers will read this list, realize they’re guilty of doing some of these things, and make a point of never doing them again.

During D&D Encounters over the past year I’ve witnessed a lot of these things with unfortunate regularity. As the DM I try to “correct” some of these poor practices, but it’s tough, especially because I don’t know a lot of these people very well. And I don’t think that it should always fall to the DM to be the bad guy.

I think that we all need to share the responsibility for letting other gamers know when they violate the social contract. Whenever any of us spots the things on this list happening we should do our part and inform the violator of the inappropriate actions they’ve undertaken. By working together we can make public-play D&D better and eliminate the 7 appalling things I witnessed at GenCon.

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Month in Review

Month in Review: August 2011

August was a great moth for gamers and for us here at Dungeon’s Master. The month began with another fantastic GenCon. Following the Con we shared some of the things we saw (good and bad) including previews of D&D Encounters, Lair Assault and the D&D Open Championship. We also received a shout out from Bart Carroll on the Wizard of the Coast website in his August 17 article A Look Back at Gen Con.

In August we continued narrowing the list of best feats in 4e (voting is still open), we looked at playing in a party where everyone is the same race, and we shared more of the antics from D&D camp. Our critique of 4e D&D and our speculation of what might be in store for 5e D&D also generated a lot of excellent discussion. August we saw the conclusion of D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard and the beginning of D&D Encounters: Lost Crown of Neverwinter.

If you missed any of the great articles from August, this is your change to get caught up. We want to thank everyone who visited Dungeon’s master in August and hope that you continue to visit our website everyday in September. We always welcome your comments and feedback so don’t be shy.

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Humour Top 10

7 Appalling Things I Witnessed at the Gaming Table

While at GenCon I played in my share of D&D adventures. For the most part it was a lot of fun and I had a great time playing. But one thing that really stood out for me a lot more this year than any other was the egregiousness with witch other players violated the social contract you agree to uphold when playing D&D or any RPG.

I’ve put together a list of all the social faux pas and violations of the social contract that actually happened at my gaming table during GenCon. I encourage you to use the comments section below to add violations you witnessed at your gaming tables to this list. Maybe if we put them in print enough gamers will read them and hopefully stop doing them or at least realize that these actions aren’t acceptable.

I’ll admit that I’m actually guilty of a committing a couple of these myself, but when I do I am aware that it’s a problem and I apologize to the table. Regrettably when these happened at my table during GenCon none of the offenders excused their behaviour because they likely didn’t even realize that they what they were doing was extremely uncool.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

Sneak Preview – Lair Assault: Forge of the Dawn Titan and D&D Encounters: Beyond the Crystal Cave

While at GenCon this past weekend I attended the seminar on Playing D&D in Public hosted by Greg Bilsland and Chris Tulach from Wizards of the Coast. It began with a general discussion about public play and then they provided us with a lot of great details about the next season of D&D Encounters and the upcoming Lair Assault.

Playing D&D in Public

During the general discussion there was a lot of back and forth with the audience. Everyone agreed that there was tremendous benefit to playing in public, most notably that it gives you a chance to meet new people. Together we can all learn from each other about the game. Everyone who participates in public play grows and develops as a player or DM. By playing in public we have an opportunity to portray D&D in a positive light and allow experienced gamers to act as positive role models to younger gamers.

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Editorial Player Resources

The 2011 D&D Open Championship

The D&D Open Championship is a chance for the best D&D players to pit their skills against one of the most difficult adventures Wizards can put together. It’s intended to be grueling and to force players into making really difficult decisions. And to make it even more difficult the players have only 45 minutes in which to complete each encounter. When the clock runs out it’s game over. This is one instance when it truly is the players vs. the DM

This year Wizards had help creating the adventure, The Fires of Mount Hotenow. There was a contest in which they asked people to submit their ideas for killer encounters. The best five were used to make up the adventure. One other important aspect of the D&D Championship that was changed was that this year players were allowed to continue playing the adventure, even if they timed out. However, they didn’t earn any additional points after timing out. In past years if you ran out of time you were done – full stop. But this year it was possible to complete the entire adventure even if you took more than 45 minutes in the first encounter. If, however, the entire party was killed then it was truly over.

I was again teamed up with the members of “The C Team.” We played in the second slot of the second day. Of the 44 parties that went before us only two completed the Championship for real, and five more completed it after timing out. As it turned out, no one else managed to complete the adventure in any of the subsequent slots. So once again Wizards put together an adventure that was brutal. And man, was it both fun and frustrating at the same time!

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Humour

7 Reasons Why I’d Rather Be At GenCon

If you’re like me you were left behind. Unable to attend the experience that is GenCon. Sadly I had to give the pilgrimage to Indy a pass this year. So to all my fellow gamers who were also left behind I present a list of 7 reasons why I’d rather be at GenCon. This should serve as motivation to ensure we all make the trip next year.

Until then read on…

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