Neoncon 2011, Part One

If you did not know, I spent last weekend in Vegas at Neoncon. I will post a more complete version of My NeonCon Experience 2011, there are a few topics I wanted to touch upon first.

My next post will include a bucket of hate I have to send to Vegas and its people. It’s a full bucket. Overflowing I may add.

NeoExodus Pre-Release

If you did not know, NeonCon was a pre-launch event for NeoExodus. Over the three days I was there (I flew back early Sunday morning), I ran three NeoExodus adventures: Encounter At Ramat Bridge, The Sashenka Incident and a playtest of Ruins of Trovaska.

After my Friday morning slot, I was out of books! A good way to go…

The product is great. No doubt. The adventures, though complex and filled with politics, did go over well. I would really love to have more GMs to allow more people to experience NeoExodus. In time, it will come. I will have Ruins of Trovaska and Slaver of the Dominion (it was on the Neoncon program, but I was tired and no one showed up, so I gladly took a slot off) on the next Genghis Con program, here in Denver.

If you have a NeoExodus story you want to share, do not hesitate to email me (jp@chapleau.us), tweet it (@JPOnGaming) or post it as a comment here or on Facebook, I am extremely interested in what you think.

Pathfinder Society

Mike Brock (aka my Paizo Overlord) and Stephen Radney-Macfarlane (SRM) were in attendance and both ran a few adventures. I even tagged in for Mike when he woke up late on Saturday morning. It all worked out in the end. Unfortunately, I was not able to able to get either of them to sit at a NeoExodus table… I guess the call of Vegas was too much for them.

Mike and I had a long chat over a number of things regarding the Society.

Yes.

You all know.

This means that most of the conversation is covered by this filthy beast known as the NDA monster. However, that means there are a lot of GREAT announcements to come. I mean seriously. This is stuff that make me want to play and get MORE involved with Paizo and the PFS campaign. I certainly hope that you will too.

We spent a lot of time talking about how I felt about the Campaign and what I would like to see change. Truth be told he and I spent a few hours Tuesday before the con talking about this. So in effect, this was a return on some of the topics we talked about. I cannot wait for him to announce the many things he hinted at. Among the dates of PaizoCon (July 6-8), I can say them since the Paizo blog now announced it.

Vendors

Among the vendors were a number of returning faces, including Infrno with whom I had a chat. Okay I spoke with Mike Muldoon, the brain behind the operation. His flaming mohawk really looked cool. I was pleasantly surprised to see the various changes and updates to the system since the last time I took a good look at it. Mike really liked it when I told him that he had "Replied so fast, I did not have time to complain"^TM, which was true. I also got my first Infrno reward…

The program has come a long way and I like it more and more every time I see it.

D20 Pro had more demos, but I didn’t have time to really sink my teeth into that one. Mat Morton & Co was there enjoying the con.

I spoke with Quentin Boomer about his latest book, The hole behind midnight for which he had some free art; the Art Institute Lady who assured me that I was not a hopeless art case… Heard that Louis? SHE liked my painting AND she is much more pleasing to the eye that you; the 42 Games guys maker of Orbit (I only got to play 1 game but their latest installment really makes the game look much better than last year’s pre-release product); and I browsed through the number of other items (being broke has benefits).

Venture Captains

This year again, NeonCon allowed a number of Venture Captains to get together and play some PFS and other games. In attendance, I can remembet Robyn Nixon (from Los Angeles), Mike Az (from San Francisco), CA Garrett (from Boise, Idaho), Rene-A (from Phoenix, Az) and of course, our host Doug Daulton (Mr. Vegas). We played a number of events, I saw Robyn take part in a Dark Ages tournament (a minis game I never saw played before). I got a seat for Rene at a Blood under Absalom table (which I once again Oversaw, strong of my Tacticon Experience).

I really like meeting these guys face-to-face. It allows for a different dynamic and a lot of idea exchange. Like in the old LG days, one thing that always surprised me is the variety of background and interest shared by campaign staff. Yet the common passion unites us. Very cool.

I want to salute Robyn who was plugging my own blog more than I was, and praising it too! Thanks Robyn!

And especially: Thanks Doug and crew for putting it all together.

JP