Mars wrote:Did anyone pick up any interesting nonTSR stuff?

We picked up "THE TAROT QUEST" MichiCon 10 Tournament by Tr-Tac and a NeoCon II Program(1983).

We also won an unpublished Tom Wham/Dave Trampier game called "MONO Sodium Glutimate POLY" from 1980. WAY COOL!

-Tower of Gygax one-of-a-kind "blue" DM's Shirt signed by everyone who ran the adventure and some celebs including Frank Mentzer and Tim Kask.(we really wanted this as we co-wrote one of the rooms and our friend DM'd twice).

-Adventurer Card game w/  2 expansions all signed by creator plus 7 promo cards(signed by Luke Gygax, Christopher Clark, Tom Wham, and the creator)

-Meticulous reproduction of the unicorn on the first page of the DM's Guide done by the original artist Darlene.

-Talisman 3rd Ed sealed

-Talisman Adventure unpunched

I think Shawn and I will have to fill in for the UK/AUS guys who aren't going to be here next year for Frank's next round of adventures.

-Devon

Man that was some six days!  I dont think I got more than four hours of real sleep on any given day during the con.  I will just briefly reiterate what several others have already said.

Wednesday - It was great to see everyone again that I met last year, and it was real nice to meet the people that either werent there last year or for whatever reason didnt get to meet.  The Rathskeller was a great place to have the dinner and contrary to what Badmike said....I didnt get drunk at all.  I only had three beers and when I walked out it was under my own power and I didnt stumble or stagger at all.

Thursday - Mad dash for Crazy Egor's at 10 a.m. once again.  I didnt spend nearly as much time there as I did last year.  No spectacularly rare items (at least none that I was aware of) this year like the Embattled Trek.  There were a couple of Wilmark Dynasty adventures but I passed on them.  I picked up the items I was looking for at Goodman's booth, and spent some time perusing Malcolm's booth as well.  Picked up the new Troll Lord items and yes....I was lucky enough to witness a couple of breasts pop out of a chainmail bikini top while I was there.     But not all of Thursday was a happy day for me.  After withdrawing some cash from the hotel ATM to pay Al for a few items he brought me I found out that I was no longer able to withdraw money from ANY ATM.  I called my bank to find out what the problem was only to find out that they had red flagged my account due to "unauthorized use" of my ATM and had no choice but to cancel my bank card.  According to the bank rep, someone tried to use my card to withdraw cash at an ATM in Ohio.  Since I was obviously using it in Indiana, they disallowed the transaction.  The only way I could get it straightened out was to go to a Bank of America branch otherwise they would only be able to send me a new card which would take about a week.  Surprisingly enough I found out that there wasnt a BoA branch within 100 miles of Indy.  So I figured I was pretty screwed.  But I got a nice surprise when I called my credit card company and found out that they had increased my credit limit a few months ago and now I was all ready to do some damage come Friday.

Friday - Spent more time in the exhibit hall but didnt buy a whole lot.  Spent a lot more time just talking to everyone.  The auction Friday night was huge with all the above mentioned items there.  Bracton and Blackmoor outbid me on a few of the items I was hoping for but I managed to snag a couple of nice items anyway.

Saturday - The elves got together at the Hyatt and got ready to face the perils that were unleashed by Frank.  A nice bit of combat and some difficult puzzle traps were overcome by the green team and we emerged almost unscathed.  The Saturday rares auction was tame compared to the Friday auction.  I did manage to pick up the 1st print Palace of the Vampire Queen at the end but once again had to face the nightmare of my bank giving me a raw deal.  When they ran my credit card it came back "declined".  How embarrassing that was.  I called the 24 hour customer service number only to find out that they were CLOSED.     I explained what the problem was to the auction staff member and they just said to come back on Sunday after straightening out the problem with the credit card.  When I got back to my room I was so pissed I tried calling again.  This time I actually got a real person and explained my problem.  They said that my card was used at a location in Kentucky.  I am thinking to myself "what in the hell is going on here?" when I realized that Troll and Toad's store in in Kentucky.  Once I gave the guy the explanation of what was going on they immediately removed the hold on my credit card and come Sunday morning I was able to pay for the PotVQ with no problems.  

Sunday - Al's "Return to Tegel Manor" game.  Suffice to say this was simply the most fun I had during the con.  Al is a fantastic DM and really got us going quickly and set the mood for the entire game.  I honestly didnt think we survive until the end but we managed to prevail even though we had a traitor or two in our midst.  But at least there were no shrews this time.     I am sure Al will give everyone a nice rundown of the game once he gets back home.

Just a quick note of what I picked up:
Palace of the Vampire Queen 1st printing
Warriors of Mars
Wee Warriors The Vanquished Foe
R4 Doc's Island
Starstone
UK copy of Tomb of Horrors
Beastmaker Mountain
Original Delta Green and Delta Green Countdown
Walker in the Wastes (Pagan Publishing found one in a box and I managed to snag it for cheap)
Tegel Manor (yay!)
Several D&D Gazetteers to finish them out, and lots of various Judges Guild modules.

And frankly, the best deal of the entire con as far as I am concerned:  I picked up MERP Grey Mountains during a Friday afternoon auction for a whopping 8 bucks!

That is it for me at the moment.  I havent eaten all day and I havent had hardly any sleep.  I had loads of fun and it was super great to meet everyone and get to see all of the people from last year.  It is extrememely doubtful that I will be attending next year but I hope to make GenCon a once every two or three year thing.  Congratulations to everyone that got stuff they wanted at the auction.  I also have to give thanks to all of the Elves.  You guys were a lot of fun to game with and made me realize that I still suck at math.     And thanks again to Frank and Al for taking the time to put together two of my most memorable D&D adventures ever.

Gotta go eat something now before I start cannibalizing myself.  

bracton wrote:I now have the world's exclusive collection of Tim's clothing, other than that owned by Tim himself!

Is that , or is that not, a statement that should make you pause and wonder, Whhaaa?

Egg of Coot wrote:Thank you.  They were a joy to paint.  I hope you enjoy them.

The Egg

Thank you for painting them, and making them available for charity.  Reading the Fineous strips from The Dragon are some of my earliest RPG memories.  I bought a bit too much this year at GenCon, but this set is at the top of them all.

Blackmoor wrote:Not to steal the thunder (Sorry Frank ) but I can't keep it in anymore...........Domesday Book #2 went for $18,000 to an secret bidder,  Frank will let more details out as he is able too.

Um.  Wow.  No:  WOWWOWOWOW.  No.   will have to suffice

Blackmoor wrote:Playing Frank's Module was awesome and he has some real cool news about future stuff as well.

I've heard a few hints like this from other attendees, too, and would love to hear further details

for those who have asked, no i did not win the domesday. i dropped out after bidding $9500, and i was nearly lapped (!). oh well. on the plus side i did get an author`s copy of st1 as well as some other cool things from lawrenson (thanks malc & karen). at the auction i won the  adventures in fantasy playtest copy (i had never seen one before), a 1986 red sonja rpga tournament, and four editing manuscripts (L2, the battlesytem rules, the wilderness survival guide and the best of them all Q1). i took a quick look at Q1 and it looks to have lots of frank`s editing notes. it should be a fun read.

Blackmoor wrote:
Not to steal the thunder (Sorry Frank ) but I can't keep it in anymore...........Domesday Book #2 went for $18,000 to an secret bidder,  Frank will let more details out as he is able too.

That number just blows me away.... you can buy a whole game company for less than that I'm sure.... That has to be the most expensive game item there is, I can't think on anything else that will come close...

Brette:)

As I'm only beginning to come out of GenCon-Mode, I'll keep this post short until I can catch up on some sleep.  In one word, the convention was

AWESOME!

For me the best part of GenCon was meeting and hanging out with my fellow Acaeumites, truly a great group of people.  These guys were like old high school buddies, and after a few hours, it felt like I had known them for years.  I spent most of my time in the company of BadMike (Mike), AdderMcOne (Brendon), KingOfPain (John), KillJoy32 (Al), and Prufrock (Martin), and I think a fantastic time was had by all.  Although the convention only lasted four days, the memories I have will last a lifetime and I am definitely planning on making a return next year possibly with my older son in tow.  I was actually sad to see the convention end and my only regret was not being able to witness Al's followup adventure to Tegel Manor.  (And yes, BadMike does flinch anytime he sees a small, furry animal .)  

You could always count on at least one Acaeum member to be scouring the consignment store or stationed in the auction room;  the bidding was lively and always entertaining whenever the more interesting and collectible items appeared.  Since most of us sat together, it was almost comical when all Acaeum hands were raised for particular items.  Frank and Tim did a superb job at the auction bringing to life the history of items with their unique firsthand perspectives and it was an honor to meet them both.  Also during the auctions, I enjoyed talking with Stratochamp(Bill) at length and was amazed and a bit awed at the passion he has for this hobby and collecting in particular.  Bill is a true gentlemen, a focused gamer, and a demon on the auction floor when he has his heart set on a rare.

Despite a slew of shrink wrapped items and some shrink sets of shrinkrwapped items in the auction   , the only item I won was a one page note from Gary to Frank with both their signatures about a detail in Deities and Demigods, a small piece of ephemera but one which can capture the imagination and nostalgia of all old school gamers.  The rares were nice but the simplicity of this item really appealled to me.

It was also nice to meet, chat, and/or game with Blackmoor, Bracton, The Burntwire Brothers (yes they are brothers and absolutley great guys), Contrarian, DBartman, Increment, MadHermit, Lawrenson, NetRodent, Rabbit67, and Yaya.  If anyone is wavering about attending next year and you have never been before, I would definitely recommend going.  You won't be disappointed.  

Playing in Frank's game with a bunch of hard core, old school gamers was an event not to be missed.  Of course there was never any doubt in my mind that the Elves would win and Frank was such a good sport about humoring the Dwarves and their chances of winning.  Basically for the Dwarves, Frank implemented a 'No Party Left Behind' policy

Also, I need to apologize yet again to Brian and Brendon.  After the rares auction Friday night/Saturday morning, Mike, Brendon, Brian, and I rolled into to the Tower Of Gygax event from 2 to 4 AM.  Unfortunately, my female, Elven fighter/magic user named "Divine" fumbled her weapon twice and shot Brian's Gnome illusionist in the back and stuck Brendon's Halfling thief at critical moments.  Who needs a killer dungeon when your own party members try to kill you?  

One final note, let me reassure all who had Goodman Games requests that I can safely say, "Mission Accomplished!" and I will get in touch with you individually to make the necessary arrangements.  

OK. Enough for now... Time for some more sleep.

My biggest regret was not having played in Al's Return to Tegel Manor.  He did give me a glimpse of his game notes, however, including the character descriptions.  He is one DM.  Which, speaking as a DM myself, is just like they're supposed to be.