UBCon 2012 Report

Well, I’m back!

I spent the past weekend as the gaming guest at UBCon 2012, the twenty-third UBCon to date, at the University at Buffalo (I kept thinking it ought to be referred to as SUNY-Buffalo, but apparently no one calls it that). I’m glad to report that it was a great con. Attendance and enthusiasm were high; everything from the “Gaming Asylum” to the cosplay events to the panels was well-attended. There was a constant hum of activity and fun.

Things got off to a great start Friday with what was probably the smoothest air travel experience I’ve had in years, possibly ever — no lines, no delays, no turbulence, no one sitting next to me. The con staff picked me up at the airport and whisked me away to a great room at the Marriott near campus. I took a nap for a couple hours (since I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before) and then they sent someone to drive me over to the con itself.

The major event for me on Friday was running Scales Of The Serpent, one of my “stock” Champions adventures that I frequently use at cons. I’ve probably run this adventure two or three dozen times, and it’s not often that the players surprise me — but this time the group did. They used their powers in some clever and unexpected ways, and roleplayed well. In the end, despite strong odds against ’em, they won the day!

Saturday got off to a bit of a hiccup, unfortunately. I was slated to do a panel I’ve done at a number of cons, called “Ooooh, Let’s Kill All The Orcs!: Morality In RPGs.” According to the schedule the con staff thoughtfully provided me, it was to take place from 9:00 to 11:00 PM Saturday night. Unfortunately, I realized at about noon on Saturday that the convention program booklet and website both said it was from 9:00 to 11:00 AM that morning! So if anyone showed up for it and was baffled by my absence, I apologize — I’d been told it was being held twelve hours later! If you get the chance please catch it at another con; it’s a great seminar, especially with strong audience participation.

Saturday afternoon I ran my second game: The Shadow From The Mountains, a Fantasy Hero adventure in which what seems to be a simple caravan robbery reveals the existence of a far deeper, more sinister plot. The players (several of whom had also been in the Champions game the night before) did a great job and ended up beating the evil dwarven necromancer who was behind the nefarious doings. It was particularly cool that the guy playing the rogue, whose character had gotten badly smacked around by an evil martial artist in the first combat encounter, came up with some damn clever tactics in the final battle and was largely responsible for dropping the main villain so quickly. All in all, a great game; afterwards I went out for dinner with several of the players.

My last event was Sunday morning — a panel on “World Design.” This is a fun two-hour event where I discuss the basics of world creation for gaming/fiction and then, with the help of audience participation, do a simple world design. I think we came up with a pretty damn cool world (see accompanying photo courtesy of Jim Snider) and may just have to make use of it (or something inspired by it) somehow someday. ;)

Overall UBCon was a fantastic experience for me, and I hope I get to come back sometime. If you live anywhere in the Buffalo area I encourage you to come on out for the event next year! Special thanx to con director Katie Miller, Erik, Max, and all the other con staff and volunteers for making the event so much fun!

A Dire Warning

Unfortunately, not all is well Up North. While in Buffalo I was shocked and disturbed to discover that, no doubt due to the laxity of American security officials, our country is under attack from north of the border.

That’s right, folx. Tim Horton’s has invaded the United States.

At great personal risk I infiltrated one of the enemy’s outposts and purchased several Chocolate Dipped Doughnuts to confirm that the threat is real. I have no doubt that the Canadians are planning a full-scale culinary assault sometime in the near future, and may even have plans to cross the Mason-Dixon Line.

I urge all loyal Americans to resist Canadian Communist doughnut aggression! If you spot a Tim Horton’s in your vicinity, inform the authorities at once. Do not attempt to engage the enemy yourself; simply retreat to the safety of the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kreme and let the Army repel the invaders post-haste.