East Coast Cons

[Aroooo]

Any good east coast gaming cons???

Aroooo

[Steve Long]

Believe me, I wish there were. For some reason it seems difficult to get a large con going in this part of the country.

I go to a bunch of great little cons in the Carolinas, but they're probably not enough to justify long-distance travel. Perhaps the biggest one I've heard of is ShoreCon, in NJ, but I've gotten wildly varying reviews of it (ranging from "fantastic con!" to "don't waste your time").

There's DragonCon, of course, but it's not really a gaming con.

[Aroooo]

Originally posted by Steve Long
Believe me, I wish there were. For some reason it seems difficult to get a large con going in this part of the country.

I go to a bunch of great little cons in the Carolinas, but they're probably not enough to justify long-distance travel. Perhaps the biggest one I've heard of is ShoreCon, in NJ, but I've gotten wildly varying reviews of it (ranging from "fantastic con!" to "don't waste your time").

There's DragonCon, of course, but it's not really a gaming con.

Exactly. There are some great fan cons along the east coast - we generally hit Balticon every year at least - but none of them are gaming oriented.

I wonder how much effort it would take to stage a gaming con in DC???

Aroooo

[Thag13]

Sadlly Steve, Dragon Con started as a gameing con.

while there is still gaming at Dragoncon its not the main event at all anymore.

But I notice a lot of folks showing up, to game, but the major publishers dont attend like they used to.

The Knights of the Dinner Table folks showup as did Wizkids and White Wolf. I think the Buffy RPPG folks were there, but realy absent were WTOC and Dicipher. This was after being there for a long time.

Steve Long was there last year,

BTW Steve, will you be attending this year??

[Steve Long]

Not sure, Thag. It's possible, but probably unlikely. It sucks an awful lot of time out of the production schedule that I'm reluctant to sacrifice.

[Warmace]

Only gaming con I know of on the East Coast is MACE, in High Point NC. Only reason I know of it is 'cause I live in Winston-Salem. :)

It's normally held mid November.

[Qamar]

Originally posted by Aroooo
I wonder how much effort it would take to stage a gaming con in DC???

That would be a very cool thing. The closest annual cons are Johncon (in Baltimore and it is decidely mixed) and Shorecon (a three+ hour drive, but I've had fun everytime I attended).

[GreyGuardian]

Most of the gaming conventions near the DC metro area (where I live) are solidly RPGA and Living-Greyhawk (ie dnd 3rd edition - not live action) focused. Some of them are strictly RPGA and LG and others have a mix of other games. Folks have expressed an interest in champions games though and I have some ideas bouncing around. But no idea on time frame.

The next gaming convention really near washington, DC will be in Tyson's Corner November of 2003 probably called Hochcon 2003. Details on DC regional conventions can usually be found at: Duchy of Geoff (http://www.rpgageoff.com)

Here's the link to the LG central website: Living Greyhawk (http://www.living-greyhawk.com)

The next major regional east coasty con's I know of are:

Patriot Games (in Richmond, VA - June 13-15) (http://www.patriotgames.org) which offers a mix of RPGA and other games. Of course if you do play LG you can go to patriot games and play the premier of Shades of Gray (a Sheldomar Valley meta-regional scenario) which I co-wrote.

Econocon 3 (http://www.narpga.org/cons/econocon/events.html) in norcross, GA (June 6-8)

and Weekend in the Yeomanry (http://www.mindspring.com/~madman31/) in birmingham, AL June 20-22. (Ok I only know about this one because Shades of Gray is premiering there as well.)

All of these conventions are run by local gaming groups so adding on a hero track in future years might well be possible. In general you can find more cons where ever by going to RPGA events calendar (http://events.wizards.com/rpgaweb/external/calendar.asp) .

[Qamar]

What is the current status of the RPGA and memberships? I joined several years back in as a "guild level" member and never paid a dime in dues. Am I a member? Can I attend a RPGA convention?

[GreyGuardian]

rpga is free currently. Check their website out, you might be able to reactivate your old number or can just request a new one I expect.

[Kid Chaos]

The problem with DragonCon was it merged with a sci-fi con and was then promptly tooken over by literally hundreds of rabid Star Wars costumers. I think the main problem is that the Georgia 501st Storm Trooper group seems to be one of the most active in the country. They are present at any and all events if they can help it. Gaming is getting pretty light though and I'm still wondering if I should bother trying to show up to run a champions game or not.

[GreyGuardian]

Anyone make it to Patriot Games?

Folks seemed to really like shades of gray :D

[Strike Man]

Is it only large Conventions your looking for? I personaly never realy cared for the super big ones myself.

I do know of a few smaller Conventions :)

[WonderStuff]

Originally posted by Steve Long
Believe me, I wish there were. For some reason it seems difficult to get a large con going in this part of the country.

I go to a bunch of great little cons in the Carolinas, but they're probably not enough to justify long-distance travel. Perhaps the biggest one I've heard of is ShoreCon, in NJ, but I've gotten wildly varying reviews of it (ranging from "fantastic con!" to "don't waste your time").


Unfortunately ShoreCon (www.gameconventions.com) has had some ups and downs. Such as being held less than 2 weeks after 9-11. But the management of ShoreCon has shifted somewhat in the last few months which should mean some nice improvements. ShoreCon is in Cherry Hill, NJ just across the water from Philly...145 miles (2.5 hours) from DC.

I used to run some Champions and Fantasy Hero at conventions but the demand wasn't there. It was tough to prepare a game, set aside a timeslot when I could be gaming myself, and then have 1 (or none) person show up. But that was years ago before this excellent website, 5th Edition Champs and all the progress made in the last year or so.

I am the Magic CCG coordinator for ShoreCon so I have many responsiblilties in the CCG room, but if we can get 5-8 Champions Players I will run a game or see that one (or more) get run in the RPG room. Can this Discussion Page drum up that kind of support? The Event Submission dealine for ShoreCon is approaching. Any GMs that feel like running at the con can signup.

E-Mail me directly at mark@frog-pond.com if you're looking for a Champions game at ShoreCon. If enough People let me know, I'll run the game. (probably Challenge of the Runestone)

Thanks,
Mark Allen