10 things to know before going to Gencon, a newbie’s guide
Posted inEvents & Holidays

10 things to know before going to Gencon, a newbie’s guide

I’ve learned quite a few things during my first adventure to GenCon, so I came up with what I think to be the 10 most important things for your average con-newbie to know before embarking into the epic sea of awesomeness that is GenCon. I hope it does someone some good, I hope my experiences can help others avoid some of the pitfalls I ran into along the way

  • Bring Cash: – most booths do take credit but some of them do it manually. Security concerns are an issue along with possibly waiting days for it to show up on your statement. Also some booths have a minimum purchase amount for credit.
  • Bargain Hunters: The final day is the best day for deals, most vendors want to haul/ship back the least a mount of product possible so prices get slashed and bargains surface.
  • Parking: Avoid parking at the Hyatt or other hotel garages, the Circle City Mall parking is much cheaper, also parking prices increase on certain days. Also obviously – arrive as early as possible if you want any chance at a decent parking space.
Fleshing out your campaign world
Posted inDungeon Master's Musings

Fleshing out your campaign world

So over the years I’ve always arbitrarily planned out my campaigns, starting with a central idea/location and spiraling outward. The DM’s guides have always suggested to do so and it’s always been the easiest way to just (for lack of better words) pull stuff out of your ass to create a game world. I realize some of the best campaign worlds may have been taken from thin air with little to no planning, however I’ve always envied a fully realized idea. Having everything done from the get-go can really put your head in the game when it comes to planning motivations and dripping your storyline with vivid places and NPC’s. Looking at some of the maps of Faerûn can make your jaw drop, so in an attempts at fully realizing something I took my current campaign world and sat down and took some time to spiral it outward in leaps and bounds.