OK, so I'm writing this during Game 2 of the World Series, so it will be brief. How so? I started to do this after the 1st inning. It's now the start of the fifth and here we are still at the intro. After Jason Fry's visit a few weeks ago, it has turned out that its the Royals vs Mets, so both of our twitter feeds have more than a little baseball right now. The Royals won last night in an epic 14 inning game. The Mets are up at the moment by one run. Beyond these games, it has been a week for Star Wars gaming as well.
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Star Wars Wednesday - Rebels Returns
Ok, so I seem to have a moment between a string of work deadlines, a writing project, and the ALDS to sneak in an update. Last week week's post was so consumed by something in that list of events, I didn't realize it til Thursday. This week, Rebels season 2 premieres...on Wednesday, actually.
Read MoreMidwest GameFest - Event Signup
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Midwest GameFest opened its event registration to Kickstarter backers, and should be open to all in the near future. I'll be running Star Wars, Savage Worlds The Last Parsec, D&D Adventurers League, and Numenera. The D&D AL events aren't posted yet. There will also be panels on Saturday afternoon.
Events will continue to be posted until the con, so check back for more or to see if space has opened up on a full event.
Aethercon IV - One Small Step: Giants in Space panel
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AetherCon is a free online game convention, complete with games and panels. I've been invited to participate in a panel called One Small Step: Giants of Space. My fellow panelists are Katrina Ostlander of Fantasy Flight Games (and one of the developers I've worked with) and Jason Walters of IndiePress Revolution and Hero Games. d20 Radio's GM Chris is the moderator.
AetherCon happens to fall the same weekend as Midwest GameFest, so this panel will be my only chance to join in this time around.
You can find more information about participating on the Aethercon site, but here's a brief rundown:
AetherCon is a free to attend, free to partake, non-profit initiative. Thoughout the weekend there will be a plethora of tabletop RPGs on offer for all to play in. Among those will be three, three part tournaments taking place over the three days of the event with final tables to be played on Sunday.
All games will be run on the free, browser-based virtual table top Roll20. This program will allow GMs and players alike to simply click on a link and enter the playing area as opposed to needing to download and install the software to participate.
In addition to the collection of independent RPG playing opportunities and those run by RPG publishers, there will also be Q&As and themed panels as well as speedpainting duels using the free, browser based conferencing program Anymeeting.
Midwest GameFest 2015
in Conventions
I'll be a guest at the new Midwest GameFest in November in Overland Park, KS (Kansas City metro area). I'll be running games, of course. My schedule is yet to be determined, but it will include Star Wars RPGs, The Last Parsec (Savage Worlds), and likely a couple of others depending on a few other factors, mostly time. D&D and Numenera are high on the list.
There is an ongoing kickstarter with a few days left for those interested in getting a bit of a deal on pricing and swag. There are still stretch goals to meet.
Star Wars Wednesday - KCCC and Star Wars Day at the K
This past weekend wrapped up the busiest and most condensed span of conventions I've ever dealt with. It was fun, but hectic. Kantcon followed by GenCon followed by Kansas City Comic Con and wrapping up with Star Wars Day at the K (Kaufman Stadium, home to the Royals MLB team). I ran three different Star Wars RPG adventures in seven sessions, The Last Parsec twice, and D&D 5e twice (plus one non-convention session). Star Wars Wednesday - GenCon 2015
I briefly thought about just making last week's post "GENCON!" and moving on...but I didn't even get a moment for that. It's been a busy and fun few weeks...and it's not over yet.
Read MoreStar Wars Wednesday - Convention Season 1995...2015
The summer convention season is in full swing now. At this point, everyone has heard the San Diego Comic Con news and its fantastic secret Star Wars concert. I caught the panel and more online, while working on my own events for several upcoming conventions. It was fun, catching the great behind the scenes reel from the con, followed up by a random retweet that unexpectedly served up a (presumably) bootleg periscope feed of the concert itself. I actually missed a fair amount but managed to catch the fireworks finale in all of its wobbly grainy phone-camera streaming video glory. So on with the shows....
Read MoreKansas City Comic Con - Gaming Guest
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Announced today, I'll be attending the new Kansas City Comic Con as a gaming guest on Friday and Saturday. KCCC is August 7-9, 2015 at Bartle Hall, downtown Kansas City. Schedules for gaming, panels, and other events will be announced before the show. Keep an eye on the web site for updates.
KCCC previously announced TSR and gaming legend Jim Ward as their first gaming guest. Jim is known for the original D&D Deities and Demigods, Gamma World RPG, Metamorphosis Alpha RPG, a long list of video games, and running TSR for a time.
Star Wars Marvel comics writer Jason Aaron was announced as the show's first creator guest. Jason writes the best selling main Star Wars comic line.
The show continues to announce media, creator, and other guests.
Star Wars Wednesday - Star Wars Days
Monday was the increasingly popular Star Wars day, or May the Fourth Be with You. I tend to think a day later in May is more suitable, but a terrible pun is amusing and memorable, so most seem to be running with it. Sometimes, it seems like everyone is trying to get in on the action - a point made on Monday's @midnight show on Comedy Central. Lots of deals and a few really good announcements. And Celebration news and stories keep surfacing, especially now that more videos are hitting the internet.
Star Wars Wednesday - Celebration Anaheim 2015, Part 2
Star Wars Celebration. Too much to be confined to one day, and too much to be confined to one blog post. Star Wars Wednesday - Celebration Anaheim 2015, Part 1
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim was fantastic. It certainly had a seemingly never-ending stream of announcements and news, starting off with a bang with the new Star Wars Episode VII trailer. It's as big or a bigger hit around the world as it was at the show. But, Celebration had far more than that. For starters, it sold out 4 day tickets, Saturday, and Sunday tickets. Star Wars Wednesday - Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, Almost There
On the way to Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. The is an extremely early flight, following a too short night brought about by too many deadlines and other work compressed by said deadlines. I'm ready to be done with that for awhile. On the plus side, no line at security. This looks to be written in at least two airports and an airplane. Ten minutes to boarding. Time enough to pass along a couple of fun things I hinted at last week that I get to be part of at Celebration.SW Celebration Anaheim - Star Wars with Fantasy Flight Games Panel
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I'm very excited that I get to be part of Fantasy Flight Games seminar/panel, suitably named Star Wars with Fantasy Flight Games. It will be on Friday, at 1:30 at the Fan Stage. Fellow panelists will be Steve Horvath (FFG SVP of Marketing and Communications), Steve Kimball (FFG Board Game Manager), and artist Jake Murray.
Here is the event link in the Celebration Show Planner.
Star Wars Wednesday - Riding the Waves
Another week another...two deadlines. Let's just say I've been staring a few Revit* models for most of the last week, and I've seen a few too many moon rises at the office. Could be worse...it wasn't sun rises. With a few other things happening lately, I'll be glad to spend a few days at Star Wars Celebration next week.
Read MoreStar Wars Wednesday - Planet Comicon 2015
Planet Comicon was very successful again this year. The crowd control was better. The main hall probably had more than last year (hard to tell), and the main stage was a huge upgrade in size and atmosphere. There was plenty of Star Wars, and the light saber dealer appeared to clean up, given the number of sabers seen around the con. The 501st, Rebel Legion, and other groups were attended, complete with photo-op dioramas and even a mock up of a Rebel snowspeeder.Star Wars Wednesday - Rebel Plans
The Rebel Alliance continues to dominate releases this month and next. From games to TV, the fight against the Empire is once again center stage in the Star Wars universe.
Read MoreStar Wars Wednesday - GenCon 2014
in Conventions, D&D, Star Wars Wed., awards
Last week was GenCon 2014. As usual, I didn't have time to post, or even the time to prepare a post beforehand. It was a fantastic convention, and record setting at 56,614 attendees, up from last year's 49,000 or so. The dealer hall was even bigger than past years, and I had the least amount of time to see it this year. I had few things going on, and a few things were announced...
Read MoreStar Wars Wednesday - Rebellion Day Rebels
Star Wars is steadily gearing up on all fronts. Fantasy Flight Games announced the Rebellion Day store event for Age of Rebellion. JJ Abrams released a new Episode VII sneak peek. A new Rebels trailer arrived. Next week I'll likely be talking about whatever news comes out of San Diego Comic Con. New and old games keep rolling along as well. I played Star Wars Miniatures for the first time in roughly forever, followed up by a couple of Star Wars Age of Rebellion Beginner Game sessions at Kantcon this past weekend.Star Wars Wednesday - Rebels and Wondercon Rebels
Another week, and more Star Wars revelations. No, not the latest rumors about breakfasts or filiming or nebulous canon statements and other stuff, but actual reveals from the upcoming Rebels show. Plus Fantasy Flight Games releases more about the huge Rebel ships coming later this year for X-Wing.
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