There are moments which can change a person for all time…
Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, Rankin Bass
Gary Con 2026 was my first Gary Con, and I am so excited to have been coaxed into going (thanks, Diane!). It was as life-changing as the first year working a Ren Faire, or those first visits to Dragon Con and Gen Con. I was a little worried when preparing to go though.
See, over the years, cons have grown and become bigger, harder to manage or get into, and pretty much overwhelming. I am a team player and love supporting those around me, so as I saw these venues and the creatives in them become more and more thunderdome about participation, I have lost a little steam about venturing out into the overcrowded halls of those places. Why do that when I can hide in my tavern cave at home with my cats and just write there and then throw my creations out into the dark corners of the forgotten interweb?
But from Wednesday night, while going in to pick up badges, to the very end, everything was so wonderful. The staff was all so helpful and happy; the halls of the Grand Geneva were crowded, but not Gen Con crowded. Everything was organized well, and I got to focus on enjoying myself and playing some games.
My first interaction was running SagaBorn D100 on Thursday, and I was a little nervous. I always want my games to be perfect, and well, nothing ever is perfect, right? But this was great. I was greeted by a couple of fellow Vintage RPG Podcast community members who had signed up, and the party of six was off to the adventure. It was a good preview for the rest of the con. Everyone was just great. I ran two sessions of Sagaborn D100 and maybe a total of 6 Escape! The Devouring Ooze (both official and unofficial sessions), and I was overwhelmed by the quality of the players. No strange off-topic, overly violent RPG moments, or passive agressive game play. Everyone just joined in as if each table were their usual playgroup. I think the quality of attendees could be summed up best by the man wearing the shirt that just said, “You Are Enough.”
For the Vintage RPGers: I had many great conversations with new friends Woody and Desiree, comparing past adventures and favorite games. Patrick snuck into one of my games and was quite charming as a scoundrel. It was great to put faces to the wonderful people of that community.
All players brought excitement and fun to the Escape the Ooze games, and I am grateful to those who purchased a copy.
I saw old friends Brian Colin and Allen Panakal, which got me roped into an unplanned game with Tiger Wizard and his Torn RPG. It was an absolutely weird, fun game exploring the swamps in order to find the feared Goat Dagger. I suggest heading over to his Patreon and start playing yourself. I hope to play Brian’s Vast Grimm in the future.
I also got to meet the crew at Titmouse, where a close friend’s daughter now works, and we all got pictures and swapped stories, and I walked away with a copy of their Drunkards, Druggies, & Delinquents.
My crew this year – my partner in crime, Laura, who played Dutch Blitz so many times at the same table over the con, that one passerby said: “This is the longest game of Dutch Blitz I have ever seen!” Gort and Chris, ready for adventure each day, kept things lively and full of great conversations (and congrats to Chris for learning how to play Tak from Patrick Rothfuss).
Next year, I hope to play in more strange games, and now that I know where to find discussion panels, I will probably attend a slew of those. I didn’t get to talk to any of the RPG legends I wanted to, and I missed out on connecting with anyone from Chaosium, but all the small accidental meetings were just as fulfilling. Though a wizard showed up exactly when needed, hanging in the hallway, a long white-bearded man strode by, and Gort said, “Who the f**k is that old wizard…?” without skipping a beat, I replied, “Elminster.” Gort laughed, but then got real serious when he realized, “Oh wait, that’s Ed Greenwood!?” Which just about sums up the con.
