So, GenCon...

[mouseferatu]

Tired as I am, it always feels like I didn't have nearly long enough to spend with the various people I wanted to spend time with. Of course, had it gone on any longer, I think I would literally have no feet left. (I have very flat feet, so GenCon is a very painful experience, even with gel insoles.)

And of course, this year I went into the Con with some disappointments--specifically, my canceled novels--already tainting my emotional state. But that said, I had a really fantastic time, possibly the best Con in at least a few years.

Business

I had some very productive meetings, particular with Phil Athans (WotC fiction department) and Andy Collins (D&D RPG department). In addition to the fact that I just had a great time chatting with them both--and the fact that they both bought me and George lunch ;-)--both meetings included a lot of really interesting business talk. I don't want to count my cockatrices before they hatch, but if those meetings prove even half as productive as they appeared, I've got an excellent work year coming up.

Had some time to talk with josephbrowning and his lovely wife, Suzi, regarding the forthcoming Advanced Player's Guide from Expeditious Retreat Press. We're all really psyched about the book, and some early previews should be appearing shortly. Chatted a bit with James Bell of Fiery Dragon, and there are some pretty cool projects in the works there.

I also talked a bit with flamesrising and darkshiver, regarding content for the Flames Rising web site. No idea if anything's going to come of that, but I'd love it if it did.

Socializing (successful)

Spent some time--albeit not nearly enough--hanging out with oakthorne. Joe's a really good friend of mine, but it seems that our schedules never allow for nearly as much hang-out time as I'd like. :-( Still, it was a lot of fun.

Got to hang out, or at least chat, with several other great folks, including C. A. Suleiman and his wife Joanna, lemuriapress, wesschneider, roninevil, and--even more briefly--mearls, Rob Heinsoo, xomec and iamnikchick. And I met a number of really great folks for the first time, including Chris Sims, bodyandsoul152, and Jeff LaSala, as well as his brother and his wife, both of whom seem to be great people, and both of whose names--I'm ashamed to say--I've utterly forgotten. :-} Please don't take it personally; I"m awful with names. I met James Lowder, whom I've spoken with via e-mail but not before met in person. I really, really hope to have the chance to work with him at some point in the near future.

And I also met, for the first time in person, the fantabulous jesshartley, as well as the Viking and the Valkyrie (husband and daughter, respectively). Glad to finally meet you in person. :-)

Socializing (unsuccessful)

Alas, not all such interactions went as planned. I'd hoped to spend a lot more time chatting with Mike Mearls and Rob Heinsoo both. I got pretty much no chance to talk with James Wyatt--literally no more than a "Hey, how are you?" I really wanted to meet the_monkey_king in person, but just never had the opportunity to swing by the booth. Similarly, I was actually at the Paizo booth when paulskemp began doing the "Worlds of Their Own" signing (I was talking to James Lowder when it started), but I got pulled away before I could introduce myself, and didn't get back until it was done. I only barely had time to shake eytan_bernstein's hand, with no time to chat like we had last year. I missed gaanedan as well. And I'd planned to have a long meeting with Chris Youngs as well (he was supposed to join Andy Collins and me), but alas, other obligations prevented it.

Hopefully, I'll be able to rectify at least some of this next year.

Gaming!!

Participated in a two-session 4E Eberron game. It was run by C.A. Suleiman, and included George, Jeff LaSala and co., and the inestimable gloomforge himself (who I'd also hoped to hang out with outside the game, but again, scheduling prevented it). The game was absolutely fantastic, and really showed me some of the potential in 4E's skill challenge rules (something that, to date, hasn't really come up in my own game). I've known that skill challenges, when done right, can be as interesting as any combat, without losing any of the role-playing potential, but until now I'd never experienced it.

Plus, I always enjoy the chance to play Clang--a warforged fighter (formerly barbarian, in prior editions)--in C.A.'s yearly Con game. He's a lot of fun.

Consumerism!!

Came home with (takes a deep breath)...

Desolation, a game of post-apocalyptic high fantasy, from Greymalking Designs.
City of the Gods, the last 3.5 Blackmoor adventure, from CodeMonkey.
Unhallowed Metropolis, a truly funky game of a Victorian-Age future replete with zombie plagues and technology that's not so much "steampunk" as "Tesla-punk."
War and XPs, the latest Order of the Stick compilation.
Hunter: the Vigil and Requiem for Rome, from White Wolf.
A Magical Medieval Society (2nd edition) and Silk Road, from Expeditious Retreat.
Trail of Cthulhu and Stunning Eldritch Tales (the latter signed by Robin Laws, from Pelgrane Press.
Gamers 2 on DVD (not yet watched).

And I got George a stunning blue tiger-eye bracelet and pendant set that she absolutely loves. :-)

I was not able to get Pyramid of Shadows or the new Forgotten Realms setting, due to them selling out, but I can get my hands on those elsewhere well enough.

Oh, and while it's not something I "bought," I did get to see a screening of Fantasy Flight's Midnight Chronicles. It's not a movie unto itself, it turns out, but a two-hour pilot for a potential TV series. It's a little rough in spots, but overall, I was actually quite impressed. If it goes to series, I'll certainly watch it.

And that, I think, is it in a not-so-small nutshell. I'm tired, and I'm horrified at how much this trip cost, but I think it was definitely worth every penny.