Gen Con Here I Come!
For the first time in 20 years, I am going to Gen Con, and I could not be any more excited for it.
A while back, I was lucky enough to get approved for a Gen Con press pass. Not long after that, I got an invitation email that pretty much made my year. I got invited to the pre-con Dungeons & Dragons event for 50th anniversary and new core books! I could not be any more excited.
I have no idea if this means I’ll have a chance to pre-purchase any of the books and bring them home, but I am super excited to spend an afternoon with the creative team working on one of my favorite games.
There’s a social hour, some presentations, and even a roundtable. I went to Gen Con in 2004 on a press pass for the Star Wars Galaxies Stratics website, where I was an admin, and I got to interview some of the devs there.
Getting to repeat that two decades later has made me unbelievably happy and grateful for the opportunities I’ve had (and am lucky to have now).
Gen Con 2024: What’s Up?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that I was going until a lot of events had already sold out. Mostly from games like Dragonbane, though I've been told that a lot of people don’t show up, and that standbys can often get in anyway.
I am really excited for the one Dragonbane game I signed up for. It’s called Duckberg’s 11, a Duck Tales-themed heist adventure. It sounds so silly and so fun.
Then I’ve got a ton of D&D stuff for the 50th, like retrospectives on 3rd Edition, the Ravenloft setting, Forgotten Realms, fiction in general, and other cool stuff. It’s going to be great.
Plus, I’ve been writing both RPG content (as you know and love), and I’ve been working on some fiction, too. I’ve not fully decided which is going to be my “main” project, but I can’t not take advantage of the pretty fantastic writers’ symposium at Gen Con. The track includes everything from RPG writing to novels, working with editors, getting an agent, self-publishing, indie and small press stuff…and a lot more.
I always hear that “the hallway track” is the most important and fun part of any convention or conference, and I have a feeling that’s going to be the case at Gen Con, too. Not only from playing games, but hopefully making all sorts of connections with other writers and industry professionals through sessions like that.
Last, But Definitely Not Least
What I’m looking forward to the most, though, is being able to interview Tomas Härenstam, the founder and CEO of Fria Ligan (Free League Publishing).
Since Dragonbane is my favorite TTRPG, I can’t wait to get to pick his brain about it, learn more about the old versions of Drakar och Demoner, and about other games I love like CY_BORG.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to record it or what, but I will certainly be publishing what comes out of it here. :) So stay tuned, nerds!
Are you going to Gen Con this year? Have you ever been?