GenCon Indy 2009

I’ve been to many interesting places over the past few months, from Seattle to Slovakia. On the 9th of August, I returned to Colorado. A few days later I set off again for GenCon Indy – one of the largest gaming conventions in the US.

Once upon a time, I used to go to these conventions to play games and have fun. I can still remember my very first GenCon, when Gary Gygax signed my copy of The Temple of Elemental Evil. These days I don’t have much time to play games. Instead I’m the one signing books. As a freelancer, GenCon also provides an important opportunity to network – both discussing challenges and ideas with other designers and artists, and shaking publishing trees to look for future work. Beyond that, the exhibitors’ hall is filled with all sorts of geek treasures – the latest game releases, enough dice to meet the needs of all Bulgaria, wacky t-shirts, costumes, books, foam weaponry, and much more.

Of course, things were a little different this time around. Given that I’m going to be homeless for the foreseeable future, I couldn’t indulge myself in the exhibitor’s hall; there’s not much point in buying a new game when you don’t have a table to play it on. Beyond that, it’s become clear that there’s a limit to how much work I can get done while traveling. I’m exploring a few interesting projects, but I can’t take on too much. All the more so because I’m still wrapping up my third Thorn of Breland novel, The Fading Dream.

Nonetheless, GenCon is always a wonderful experience. I was able to catch up with lots of old friends and made a few new ones. A few noteworthy moments:

This is Glenda Rogers, who showed up at one of my signings. If you don’t know Eberron, her costume might not mean anything to you. But if you’re on top of your faiths of Eberron, you’ll recognize her as a paladin of the Silver Flame. The fact that someone was inspired to create an Eberron costume is enough to make me smile, but Glenda took things a step farther; she has made pendants of the Silver Flame arrow-and-flame symbol, and she gave me one of these. Of course, the best part of the story is that this isn’t her only Eberron costume. She’s also made an Emerald Claw soldier’s outfit – the Emerald Claw being the archenemies of the Silver Flame. So she’s playing a dangerous game! (She’s also playing Dungeon & Dragons Online, but I don’t THINK that’s dangerous.)

I spent a lot of time behind a table waiting to sign books or talk to people. There were a few sessions when I was actually quite busy, but a lot of time it was fairly quiet. Luckily for me, I wasn’t alone. Over the course of the convention, I shared a table with artist Wayne Reynolds and fellow writers Michael Stackpole and Ed Greenwood. Ed is the creator of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and as such we are mortal enemies. The moment we met, we opened with a vicious debate on the role deities should play in a campaign setting and the pros and cons of mirroring historical settings in a fantasy world… and from there it was only a matter of time until a bottle was broken and the brawl began. Luckily, Bossy intervened; here you can see her and Ed working things out.