This past weekend brought GamerNation Con 2016, hosted in Dallas, Texas by d20 radio and the Order66 podcast. I had a good time last year and found a way to get a bit of time to return this year. The con is relatively small, but has a very dedicated Star Wars RPG fan base, and it hosts a wide variety of board games, RPGs, and...lip sync battle. GamerNation clearly extends well beyond the US and some attendees come from around the world - Germany, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Norway, and probably others I'm overlooking at the moment. It was fun to see those who returned from last year, plus those who I've met elsewhere, like GenCon or Star Wars Celebration. The guests of honor were Rodney Thompson (formerly of Wizards of the Coast, Star Wars Saga Edition and D&D 5e fame, now with Bungie working on Destiny) and Christopher West (Maps of Mastery).
This year I did more playing than running. I got my first shot at playing and captaining Artemis, a Star Trek-like bridge simulator game I've seen at GenCon and GNcon over the years. We beat the scenario in 35 minutes, defeating all enemies thanks entirely to my leadership. OK, it probably had more to do with my experienced crew who knew what needed to happen and when and could clue me in. It was fun. Among them were Rodney Thompson and Sam Stewart (Star Wars RPG lead at FFG), literally backing me up.
After that was a turn at Dark Moon, a semi-cooperative board game where a team tries to repair their failing moon-station-thing before those of the crew who are secretly infected wreck the place. I was one of the infected, and managed to keep from revealing it till after we won the game - though not without suspicion.
Saturday brought on two panels - one for Rodney and one for Chris, covering game and map design, and the process for each. Rodney's panel also brought a surprise - the Rebel Legion inducted him as an Honorary Member thanks to his years of working on Saga Edition.
Afterwards, Sam Stewart ran a Force and Destiny - actually a combined - adventure that is best described in his own words:
I also played an odd board game called Dixit, followed by playing in an Edge of the Empire adventure/con game playtest featuring locations from The Force Awakens.
Sunday I finally ran a game - a Force and Destiny session I called Nexus Awakens, featuring my new location of Auratera from Nexus of Power, set in the Force Awakens time frame. I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked, but prepared enough that it seemed to work out. After that came the auction where the attendees used their hard earned XP from the weekend to bid on prizes.
So, a good time for everyone, and we'll see how things shake out for next year.
Also, in case you missed it, I was on I'd Just as Soon Kiss a Mookiee, a podcast about Star Wars and the New York Mets...and the Kansas City Royals this time around.