cdenham wrote in North Texas RPG Convention 2014: June 5-8:Thanks!  I wish I could be there.

Would someone be willing to pick up me copies of AFS Magazine and The Bottled City Adventure?  If so, please just drop me a PM.

I'm interested in any other unique/limited books or trinkets that might drop in there as well.  :)   (At least I might snag a few deals on Ebay while everyone is away!  :lol: )

I will take care of it unless someone else has volunteered. If anyone else wants anything else, let me know.

Up too early....still beat.  

Check out over 400 pictures from the NTRPG con taken with our Eye-Fi cameras that automatically load up to Facebook!  Hopefully attendees will post more in the weeks ahead.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NTRPGCon/257759370993971

Mike B.

stratochamp wrote in North Texas RPG Convention 2014: June 5-8:Wonderful convention again Doug & Mike. I'm very tired after a 13 hour drive home (I did not want the items I brought down for my talk thrown about by baggage handlers). Great games, great friends & great fun. Thank you!

Bill,

The pictures of your items and talk looked awesome... wish I had gone.  Is this something you do each year and/or are you thinking of doing it again in 2015?

~throwi

There are some pics on the site of the mind-boggling amount of D&D history Stratochamp shared with us at the con.  Thanks for bringing those goodies to Texas!  Although honestly I don't even think I'd have been able to drive straight knowing what was in the car.  Doug and I haven't started talking about what we will feature in 2015 but it probably depends on Strat.....we aren't going to make him drive to every NTRPG con just so we can slobber over his goodies.  But we might have some sort of talk every year if Bill is up to it, the parts I was able to sit in on were absolutely fascinating.

Mike B .

Doug and Mike. thank you for running a great convention.  It was the first time to NTRPG for myself and my 2 friends from Northern California.  We all had an amazing time.  We played some  great games and were able to meet a lot of new people.  It was also a lot of fun reuniting with the rpg gang.  I enjoyed meeting both of you in person and look forward to the convention next year.  Great photos by the way!

Well I'm glad folks liked my talk (especially those watching from the U.K.-thanks David!).  I meant to have more prepared; I ended up mostly winging it. If I'm asked to reprise I will have fewer items on display, but hopefully mention all that I had wanted too.

As an aside while getting ready I noticed the descriptions for the brown boxes. Tim Kask's books are actually 1st print Alpha books (not "Gamma"). The box that is shown as a "Gamma" print was actually a replacement box that Tim picked up later to house his books, as he felt that the state of his other "Alpha" box (with horizontal stripes) did not reflect well on TSR when he was out at cons running games. Tim told me this when I bought the "Alpha" box from him that he had set aside back in 1970's.
Similarly Rob Kuntz's box and books are also 1st print "Alpha". I suspect that Rob probably took a set without a sticker, as he knew what was in the box.
Terry Kuntz's set is also an alpha print, as in the Near Mint set that I have as well as one other first print. So I also have two "Beta" boxes, two 2nd prints and two 3rd prints (which were Brian Blume's and Steve Marsh's respectively).

Hi Brette, I did follow instructions and hit the record button before I started talking...But you'd have to ask Doug/Mike as to when that would be available.

So while I was playing in a Labyrinth Lord game (fun adventure, excellent DM- Matt Evans) I was grading my white boxes and I discovered something (Helped to be looking at a good sample size all at once) interesting. The Reference sheets to the prints before 4th print are the packet of loose pages. All three of my 4th prints have the correction sheet as the attached top of the stapled reference sheets package. All five of my white boxes have the reference sheets stating reference sheets right on top of the stapled set of sheets (and no correction sheet to be found). All eight of my 6th/7th prints look the same on the cover to the the 5th print box reference sheets, but the Tolkien references have been removed (Balrog, Treant etc.). If this holds up for other peoples sets there would be another anecdotal way of distinguishing white box sets.

(continued from previous post)

PHG comes running back up the stairs-hole, and tells the rest of the party to follow and be ready to BRING IT. Several party members follow PHG downstairs, including Glen's fighter who, wearing a ring of fire resistance, covers himself and his bearskin cape with oil, and then sets fire to himself. Fortunately for Glen's dog, he commands his dog to stay with Liz's cleric. Now Laggamundo's mom didn't raise no fool, so Laggamundo did not follow PHG down the stairs. I think it is at this point more tremors happen, and the stairs-tunnel collapses, trapping those who followed PHG in the downstairs cave area. Oh well, good luck, suckers, you'll need it!

As all this is happening, Liz, Glen's dog, & Laggamundo hear the Lady Thief break into hysterical laughter. Running to see what is going on, the dog gets real excited about something beyond the door in the hallway, Laggamundo and Liz can't be bothered. Perhaps there is some bacon-monster in the hallway. Whatever, Lagg & Liz move on to check on Lady Thief.

As we enter the secret room, we see Lady Thief swooshing around with some awesome new sword she discovered. I think it was some sweet sword like an intelligent sword +2 with detect undead or something. Jealous of his fellow thief's luck, Laggamundo pushes her aside to find some loot of his own. Opening the cabinet, Lagg sees a pouch that is nailed to a corner. Inside the pouch is a magic ring. Suh-weet! Lagg eagerly tries it on, only to find himself incredibly weak. Something is wrong...

It is a ring of weakness! It was placed there by Rogahn to punish any would-be thieves. To get it off, Lagg enlists the aid of Lady Thief, who with her new awesome sword, cuts Lagg's finger off. Thanks, BadMike, ya jerk!

About the laughter. It turns out Lady Thief had read Rogahn's diary, which describes how Q was attacked by an undead army unleashed by an earthquake, and how the only remaining exit, the secret passage in the back of the underground caves, was collapsed and sealed shut! The Lady Thief was laughing about how PHG (and now much of the rest of the party) went downstairs to find an exit that wasn't there!

Oh well, time to go check out what was behind that door that had Glen's dog so excited. It turns out, fresh air could be smelled in the hallway. The last set of tremors must've opened an exit to the outside!

As Lagg, Liz, Lady Thief, and Glen's dog race toward freedom, disaster strikes! Liz the cleric is paralyzed by a carrion crawler that had been crawling on the ceiling! Fortunately, Lagg was invisible, and so was unseen and unparalyzed as he ran on to the exit. I told you Laggamundo's mommy didn't raise no fool! Lady Thief and the dog, not being as smart (or as self-serving) as Lagg, foolishly decide to fight the carrion crawler and try to save Liz. For those of you familiar with the carrion crawler, and how it can easily wipe out entire parties, you KNOW the odds aren't looking too good, to say the least, but let's get back to what happened to PHG and company.

PHG led the rest of the party into a nest of hostile Neanderthals. The Neanderthals prompty throw their spears and turn PHG into a pin cushion. PHG dies a swift, ignoble, and unheralded death. At long last, the mule is avenged. You can now rest in peace, you mistreated, ninja-protecting noble mule. Rest easy, knowing that the psychotic-halfing-guy can no longer slap ANYONE now.

The rest of the party puts down the neanderthals and later some stirges. I think some more tremors hit, and the stairway-tunnel is reopened. So the party returns upstairs looking to rejoin Lagg, Liz, & Lady Thief.

But getting back to the paralyzed Liz... Lady Thief pulls out her new awesome sword and proceeds to attack the carrion crawler. Glen's dog also gets in on the action. Laggamundo is suddenly struck with a strange sensation. Is that a twinge of conscience? Perhaps. He is NEUTRAL, after all, and not chaotic. Lagg ain't about to risk his own neck, but with freedom in sight, he pulls out his bow and starts to pepper the carrion crawler with arrows from a safe distance. If things go bad, at least he can run away to freedom and safety. Lady Thief gets the idea, too, so she runs off and joins Lagg in firing ranged weapons at the carrion crawler, while the dog keeps it from feasting on the paralyzed Liz.

Unfortunately for Liz, Lagg & Lady Thief ain't hitting diddly squat. Perhaps spurred on and empowered by the ghost of Glen's dogs of the past, generations of canines who have long since perished within the halls of Quasqueton, Glen's dog makes a heroic stand and proceeds to lay the smack down on the carrion crawler! Alas, even the brave dog is eventually paralyzed, too.

At this point, my memory is a little fuzzy, but something happens to further injure the carrion crawler, causing it to fail its morale check and to scurry off to safety, deeply wounded. Perhaps one of us actually landed an arrow or something. All I know is there was no way I went back to melee a carrion crawler! Lagg & Lady Thief carry the paralyzed Liz and dog out to safety. We have escaped from Quasqueton, and even had one of the goblets! A success! And even more shocking, Glen's dog had not only survived the first encounter, it survived the entire adventure! The streak/curse of doggy-doom was over! (I'm sure due in large part to being separated from Glen for much of the adventure.)

Lady Thief carries the paralyzed Liz and dog off to safety, while Lagg goes invisible and periodically calls out into Q, in case the rest of the group can hear him. Not long after, the rest of the party makes it upstairs and finds the hallway. I believe BadMike rolls a wandering monster, and the surviving carrion crawler attacks. Perhaps it kills PHG's dog here? I can't really remember. The rest of the party hears Lagg calling and makes it out of Q alive. The only casualties are PHG and all of PHG's NPCs. We have defeated the "Escape from Quasqueton" scenario!

This was not only one of the funnest games I've ever played in, it was one of the funniest, too! For two years running, IMO this has been the best game of the entire con. This is why it is so hard to get into it. So do yourself a favor and try to get a seat next year. Just do me a favor and leave a spot for ol' Laggamundo, the nine-fingered Ninja Master, eh?

Blackfire wrote in North Texas RPG Convention 2014: June 5-8:Bill's session was recorded. Once we get everything in order over here we can start editing and uploading the videos of the sessions.

I for one, am looking forward to watching that one.

~throwi