See anything unique? Eat anything bad? Meet anyone cool? Buy anything cheap? Tell us about it!
Anyone have any tales of a Gen Con gone by...
See anything unique? Eat anything bad? Meet anyone cool? Buy anything cheap? Tell us about it!
I once got to play D&D sitting next to R.S. Salvatore while Tracy Hickman was the DM! That was quite a bit of fun. To me one of the highlights every year is playing in Tracy Hickman's Killer Breakfast, which is a fun D&D adventure that lasts two hours and involves killing off 100+ 1st level characters in an amusing and musical way. Tracy (and his wife Laura) have a set theme each year, have a goofy yet fun filk song to sing, and then the first 8 people are brought up to the table on stage and Tracy starts the adventure. There is a LOT of improv and ad libbing because people are pretty much free to do anything. Everyone is initially asked, "How did you get here" and during the adventure "What do you do." Sometimes people die before they get a chance to be asked, "What do you do," but that is one of the risks you take in an adventure titled Killer Breakfast and which as part of its motto "You will die." When asked what they do, people are pretty much free to improv, and many do. The key to Killer Breakfast is NOT to survive the adventure (remember, You Will Die"), but to survive to the next round. Very few people are capable of surviving more than one round. There are three main ways to survive to the next round. The first is bribing the DM (or the DM's wife). One year my friend survived because she bribed Laura Hickman with a box of Godiva chocolates. The second is to do something incredibly funny/clever and original. One year a guy brought a note from his mother. And it worked! The third is to do something incredibly brave or stupid (often the same thing). This hardly ever happens anymore and I have no good examples.
Some of the stuff people come up with is truly creative, or truly stupid, or incredibly funny. And it is possible to kill off everyone the table through your actions! Many a player has made it to the table, said they were doing something creative, only to have someone else do something like detonating a claymore mine inside a very small courtyard and killing not only the skeletons but the entire group! A typical adventure can include all of the following: cows, a tornado, one of those round steel cages that motorcycle stunt drivers ride around inside, Godzilla, a breached warp core, and eventually a '57 Chevy floating down the river Styx with a 4" tall Duncan McLeod on the dashboard and a bomb in the back seat! It is very slapstick in nature, but watching Tracy adapt to the weird stuff that people come up with is a lot of fun.
One year, I was the first person to die. Tracy asked me, "How did you get here?" I said, "I rode in on my old, tired, girlfriend." This generated a loud groan from the audience so Tracy says that my girlfriend collapses (while climbing the stairs to the Inn of the Last Home in Solace) and I fall off the railing to the ground below and take 50+ points of damage and die. That year I played for all of 2-3 minutes, but it was worth it! Me and two of my friends have come to be a bit of a "cult hit" with the Killer Breakfast fans.
If you want to play a serious game of D&D then stay away from this event. If, however, you want to be in a room with almost 300 people and watch and (if you are lucky and early enough to get in the line) participate in what is in essence a vaudeville show of D&D then this is the event to attend.
[url=http://killerbreakfast.com/vlog/]Here[url]are some vids from Killer Breakfast 2007. The Cthulhu lollypop one is quite good.
-G/f theorized avenger, "Frebreeze Girl" to combat fat, unwashed gamer smell.
-Frightened/confused/condescending looks of locals watching cosplay weirdos shotcut through Nordstroms and the like. Priceless when a store clerk asks a zombie, "Is there anything I can help you find?" Zmbi: "Brains..."
-Unethtical price gouging $4.50 for a slice or a burger @ Convention Center, but you cross the skywalk into the mall and it's 1/2 that...if you're not lazy and stupid.
-The staff at Steve Jackson Games always yelling out "Correct change!"
Very nice ppl and totally on point.
-The poor both babes trying in vain to reitterate, "I'm married/spoken for/gay." to otherwise persistant pests.
-A zillion fictitious log ins for this site at the WotC booths for the "credit" on your score card to add to the giant foam d20 for free stuff. This is how I got my current ID for what it's worth. Maxed out card was 7 (credits) + d20 = free DMG II, more useless minis/card game crap, so so novel, ToB, etc. Higher you roll, the better of course...but, my God, the wait in line at times!
-Random gamer making out w/ mannequin or RPG booth props
-Incredibly timely/convenient sales & specials @ downtown vendors & restaraunts. 29k+ additional ppl in your metro population can't be wrong...
-The menues at RAM steakhouse, "Chuul rolls, Griffon burgers, etc" and the descriptors, "Troll Fingers (breaded pickles?), gotta' eat them fast before they regenerate." Local bars w/ ads outside, "We got beer! *picture of a Mario Bros. mushroom* 1-up!"
-Making an incredibly risky, but effective crit to a dick gamer (in game) then overhearing the Olympics announcement ('08) seconds later about US Fencing team taking a good medal, etc. The Russian invasion of Georgia during a sitting of Axis and Allies (eastern front), etc. Though Phelps didn't get any timely seredipity, he did kick ass which raised spirits all around.
-Accidentally ordering the "adult package" @ the hotel which is conveniently right f'ing next to the web TV button (wanted to check e-mail, all runs like Media Player) and laughing in hysterics when g/f and I watched, "Ho in the Haystack" (Amish-themed porn; on a farm, random barnyard animals, fake beards, etc) and who could forget "Black Meat Frenzy 2"? IDK, kinda' hard to beat the Oscar winner of part 1 IMO. Hard to tell...;)
-The 4 yr old stormtrooper in full costume (dad was a diehard fan I guess). I take a pic w/ his consent, then everyone takes that as a que, surrounds poor kid, flashes going off all over the place, child freaks out.
-Filming of a mayonaise commercial (or so I was told) in the Omni when we were playing Call of Chthulu in an adjacent annex. Totally weird XP.
-GT Souths; best damned BBQ I've had in a long time.
-Killer Bluffs at the Paint-a-Mini booths to pocket them and paint them at home (where the resources are way better), not stuck in a booth chair w/ crap brushes, very limited paints, filthy water, sitting next to some troglodyte.
Hickman, "Who are you and why are you here?"
Guy, "I'm from the government"
Hickman, "And you die!"
Guy, "Wait! I wasn't finished!"
Hickman, "OK, you're alive again."
Guy, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"
Hickman, "And you die again!"
The other Gen Con highlight for me was in 2000. One of my friends bought 3 tickets in the charity auction to go to dinner with the lead designers for 3rd Edition. It was quite a cool experience.
My first Gen Con was 96. I went with a friend to be in the Killer Breakfast. IT WAS AMAZING!!!! We both died fairly quickly and with no glory but staying to watch the whole thing was a riot. We still have parts of it we laugh about to this day. The one I still remember was the following exchange:
Hickman, "Who are you and why are you here?"
Guy, "I'm from the government"
Hickman, "And you die!"
Guy, "Wait! I wasn't finished!"
Hickman, "OK, you're alive again."
Guy, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"
Hickman, "And you die again!"
The other Gen Con highlight for me was in 2000. One of my friends bought 3 tickets in the charity auction to go to dinner with the lead designers for 3rd Edition. It was quite a cool experience.
Do you still go to GenCon and do you still do Killer Breakfast?
.How about a visit to the Ram at Indy Gen Con?
The Ram is very good, but I think that it is over-hyped quite a bit. After a few years the menu has become somewhat boring. I still go because the beer is good, but I am not so much into their food any more.
Anyone remember the Safe House?
It's still there in Milwaukee. It's a real hoot. If you ever find yourself up here, definitely give it a try.