Heading To PhoenixCon 2022 !!

UPDATED June 14, 2022

Pen by Savage Creations

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The image below is from Last August in Wisconsin and signifies what I will miss most going forward when I go to Wisconsin... My Friend Colter will be missing at all the Conventions I attend in Wisconsin

 

Greg and Colter

My Next convention I am going to is 

PHOENIXCON in APPLETON WISCONSIN

I opted out of GaryCon.  

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April 2022

I will be back in July for PhoenixCon. That will be strange to attend without "Greg's Friend".

As much as I am looking forward to going, I am dreading going, but BADGE #1 will be there  

I will be attending with another from our Tuesday Dragonscales game and it will be his first convention

 

SO, at the Next PhoenixCon I intend to run a few games during the con

(Not listed in order or any Timeslot)

The Colter Mathby Memorial Drunken Dungeon Master Challenge

A super secret game that will be amazing. Armed with one page of notes and a POORLY drawn map, I'll improvise on the spot. System - Dragonscales RPG. novices welcome Email gmbarry@msn.com for the character creation Bring a full deck of cards with Jokers

Note: This may not be the greatest game, but it will be the most entertaining...

(Drunken Dungeon Master is a title and may or may not be true based on the previous game, also I reserve the right to have no more than 2 pages of notes, typed big enough to read while consuming Spotted Cow)

 

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DragonScales RPG:  

The Demon Chronicles 1 and 2 

A series of games where the player will encounter beings from another place who threaten the entire world. these are not your stereotypical Demons, but the Lore has provided no other names for them. 

Part 1: You have by Hired once again by Murkie to find an item, he pays well and has always had some work for you. This time, you have to travel to find the item. Characters will be provided. No experience needed Bring a deck of cards with Jokers

Part 2: At the Great Library in Concord, several clues were found, the Team decides which one to follow for Part 2 Characters will be provided. No experience needed Bring a deck of cards with Jokers

ConGames: Maidens of the Desert - AD&D 1st Edition

Explore the Suel Empire that crumbled 3 centuries ago with a map that recently resurfaced with its location in the Sea of Dust

 

8 Characters of Level 15-18, Using standard classes (PH and UA). Poorly done pregens will be provided so please bring your own

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AD&D - So you think you have an Attitude!

AD&D 1st Edition

Only Dwarves need apply... 13th-15th level... bring your own or be issued a generic.... The followers of the God of Attitude and Drink are sent on a quest for the Ultimate Ale.
Beginners welcome.
Age 13+ please.
Pregenerated characters provided are lame

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PIZZATOON

The Players at the convention ordered buncha Pizza.. be the first to deliver them and get the prize...   Pregen x Provided or bring your own

All my games have twists and turns. I strive to put on a great game that moves along

I look forward to the Con with dread and a Hyper anticipation from building on such a great time last year.  From finding an appropriate way to honor my friend to making new connections. 

CON GAMES KICKSTARTER Update

Even though my Con Games Kickstarter was effectively KILLED by covid, I am not able to promote it at Cons as I have in the past. If I can build up my brand, I may pursue it down the road

How to Train your Dungeon Master 101

 So you want to make the LEAP from player to to Dungeon Master....

Here are some of the best tips you will ever find on becoming a Dungeon Master... Sure everyone has theories and think they know what they are doing, but most people are full of crap and useless BS

Am I going to make you the greatest DM ever.. No, but I will give you the tools needed to becoming one. 

What qualifies me to write this? I have trained several dozens of DMs and would trust anyone of them to run any game system for me. I am picky about who I allow to run games for me after several bad experiences in games at Conventions. 

It is an artform and anyone who tells you different is a moron.  

First: The biggest secret is... Not everyone is going to like your game or style. It is OK, we all have different tastes and don't get upset if someone is not happy with you.

(Highlight to Reveal)

I use the Approved Myagi approach to teaching, you may not understand why you are doing something, but then it hits you with the Wax On / Wax Off  moment of understanding. sometimes it takes a boot to the head, click below

NUMBER 1 (This assumes a new RPG system) 

Gather a friend or 2, and make characters.. does not matter what Class / race/ or anything else... The point is to learn how to make them

NUMBER 2  - Run some combat

Pick 1 dozen Monsters of low level, then run a dozen combats with the new characters. This will give you a good understanding of the mechanics and flow of combat. When you have finished with the dozen, you will have learned what works for you and what does not. try to be as descriptive as possible and detailed about where the hits landed and what they did

 NUMBER 3  - Go to the Tavern

Have them enter the tavern and try to find a piece of information on someone or something, or hire someone. This is a prime role playing exercise. Use different attitudes and accents and try to have everyone react differently toward the characters

NUMBER 4  - Run a small adventure

Have them travel to a cave with no more than 10 Rooms and 4 encounters. Give them just enough treasure and small item or 2 of magic. 

NUMBER 5  - Save all discussion until after the game

Do not allow players to argue any rulings during the game, if there is a point of contention, move on and discuss it after the game session and agree how to handle the same thing going forward.  It does not do anyone any good to hash out rulings during the game and every should be adult enough to to accept it and move on.  

(Rules Lawyering 101)

NUMBER 6  - Ditch the Script

Run an adventure with out a written script using only a few notes. This way you learn how to improvise when the player do things unexpectedly (And they will, every time, over and over again). I write for convention modules and when I want to publish or I need a specifically time adventure. but for most of my ongoing games, I just make notes and add them to the lore of the world for later references

NUMBER 7  - Tips

• You do not get better by watching
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• When you see something that is cool, make a note, use it later

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• You are the manager of Time and Pacing
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• Play with Experienced Dungeons Masters, ask questions after the game
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• Invite experienced Dungeon Masters to play in your games and give you feedback
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• Read, cannot stress this enough.. The more you read, the more you will get ideas to use
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• Watch Movies, pay attention to accents and try them
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• Go Outside on an adventure, get a sense of terrain.

 

The goal of a seasoned Game master is to keep the player guessing at what is coming, even if they know what they think is coming

DISCLAIMER: I do not subscribe to anyone telling anyone how to be a Great Dungeon Master

The best experience for Running any adventure is RUN an adventure. 

There is an ART to being a Dungeon Master. I urge you to discover your own voice and what works best for you. 

And Finally

From The Dungeon Master's Guide, 1st Edition

“It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. Never hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, if it goes against the obvious intent of the game.... You are creator and final arbiter. 

By ordering things as they should be, the game as a whole first, your campaign next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as it was meant to be.”

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Additional information can be found at the following Blog post:

Expanding your DM/ GM Skillset

Going to GaryCon 12.5 /13?

I am going back to GaryCon 12.5/13 in 2021

My Disclaimer:
There may possibly be some shocking content not meant for the squeamish not limited to the following –
Bad Acting, possibly coupled with Horrible Accents
Lousy Puns and Wicked Jokes
Bad Dancing
Unnecessary Die Rolls
Character Death
Descriptions of battles with implied gore
Killing of Monsters / Humans and other races
Salty Language
Adult Situations not limited to innuendo
Slaves
Implied torture / Rape
Political incorrectness

As I do not control the actions of players, I do ask that anyone offended run screaming in terror (or a Chinese Fire Drill) for my amusement and the amusement of others in the game

The above statement is now included in all my games Per Rules of the Convention (Except TOON, I am no longer running TOON at conventions for the foreseeable future)

My Promise: This will be an awesome time for all involved (except Dave, no one likes him anyway) Bring a sense of wonder and Humor and all will be magical

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I go to see the friends that I have made at GaryCon and to hang out with some truly AWESOME people

Personally, I owe no one an explanation and I am resisting a Big FU to certain people. 



I will also try not to make any comments on the GaryCon Facebook Page other than promoting my games (Under GMBGaming) I will not get involved with any discussions there


For the next GaryCon, I have decided to run some of my popular selections and a Dragonscales game 

Here is my  Submitted schedule that I will run on next year

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I will not be doing the Monty Python Flux tournament             
Sadly, The powers that be will make this a non event for me. Co Hosting an event means that I get credit for only half the event, even though we will be filling 2 tables, I may consider playing in it or running a separate FLUXX event at that time

Thursday

10:00 AM - Knight of Horrors
                  AD&D -    4 Hours

1:PM AM -  Star Trek Fluxx 

Fluxx, using the newly released Voyager version and the Original series decks

2 Hours - Judging who has the most fun... wins a copy of  Voyager Fluxx (brand new) 
                   

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FRIDAY

8:00 AM - Into the North - 4 Hours

Dragonscales RPG

This is an advanced game, (Rank 4) with New Magic items and Encounters

1:00 PM - FireFly Fluxx

The Popular card game of FLUXX with the Firefly Theme deck

Judging who has the most fun... wins a copy of the game (brand new)

                                        2 Hours

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Saturday

8:00 AM - Into the North - 4 Hours

Dragonscales RPG

This is an advanced game, (Rank 4) with New Magic items and Encounters

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16  Hours, the shortest amount of games I have ever run at GaryCon

Everything is subject to change and will change

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I am also trying to get a person to run one of my Modules AAAHhHH during Garycon so I can see how it plays out. Please let me know if you are interested


Sorry but I will not be running any TOON. I am open to suggestions and heckling

As to Why I have decided not to run any TOON games... 
With the New rules in place

Appropriate Game Content

As stated above, when you agree to run any event at Gary Con for our attendees you are doing so with the express understanding that you are running said event in a way to provide a fun and entertaining experience for our attendees. This does not include providing “shocking” or “horrifying” experiences in a game.

When submitting a game, please make sure to engage the appropriate age range selection for your expected players. Adult themed games are appropriate for adults. If you do plan on running a game that contains adult themes, it is incumbent upon each and every GM to provide a full explanation of the adult situations contained in your game in the body of the game’s event description. There simply cannot be any room for surprises when it comes to subjects that might be offensive or objectionable to our attendees.

To be absolutely clear on this subject, themes, scenarios, or encounters based on graphic violence and/or sexual content is never appropriate for a gaming event at Gary Con. This includes descriptions of rape, extreme violence, or extreme cruelty. Please let common sense be your guide in this. Some matters that might be acceptable in a home game involving consenting adults are not acceptable at a gaming convention. Violations of these edicts are violations of our polices and can result in immediate expulsion without refund as well as a permanent ban from any and all future Gary Con events and activities.

I feel it would be irresponsible of me to run a TOON game.  I find that I have to run things for Adults without any possibility of any complaints. 

I have never had a complaint about any of my games in the past but this opens up to having to have signed social contracts and divulge the secrets of games before they begin. 

Nothing good comes from these players contracts. 

I purchased a badge, but now I can’t attend. Can I get a refund?

We are sorry you can no longer attend. However there are NO refunds allowed. Please come pick up any merchandise associated with your package, or provide an address and payment method for shipping and handling costs. We hope to see you next year and have you join us as we celebrate.

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TRANSLATION: We are keeping your money and if you want your swag, you have pay extra costs for us to send it to you, in fact we won't even set aside the swag you are entitled to for pickup next year

Straight out of "How to win friends and gain influence"

Creating adventures

So, I really love the challenge of creating a module and writing in general... 

One of the hardest challenges is to test your own Creativity and push it to the limits. Each module written for a convention was intended to be better, more creative than the previous one before it. I have created a few that were one adventure not designed to have a part 2 and then the really special ones decidedly got a part 2 and seldom a part 3. I also started the campaign module, designed for 8 hours of play and to have a new part at each Con I attended.

Ideas come from everywhere, I do not dismiss an Idea simply because it would be difficult

Here is a preview of one of my Convention games: AAAAHHHHH

Ideas could emerge form any where, and this one was really special. My Gaming group was watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail, specifically The Caves of Caerbannog scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEcvSq4SDkc

This game was inspired by Monty Python. The key is keeping everything hidden from the players and revealing it slowly so that at the end, they are surprised by the final hook


Songs, songs can inspire great games. I created one from a Queen Song "The Fairy Fellows Master Stroke"  That song was about the painting by Richard Dadd - see below

All of the Pre-generated characters and NPCs are taken from the song... as was the premise for the game.  While writing games, I always look up things to add and this was challenging as the setting was using names of Wisconsin counties so this ended up being a partially arctic based adventure 

Also, books are a great source for running adventures. I am pretty good at adapting anything to games. I took "The Sleeping Dragon"

The first book provided a great game for a convention. At conventions I was attending at the time, 8 was the max players and game masters were paid for each person at the table. This book had 7 in the main Persona list so I created an 8th character for the game and gave him a background. I will say I have never had to fudge a roll or force an action. 

For one game I ran at GaryCon, I took the idea from "The Lair of the White Worm" If you have not seen the movie, check it out.

For my own Campaigns, I use many different sources and have been known to recycle an idea or 2.   

In fact I keep a few note books of ideas for running games. Some of them have been done, some are still works in progress and some will make an appearance soon. 

• The Sun is dying, the players have to quest to figure out how to restart it
• An All Elven game
• Dwarven game involving Ale
• High Seas Pirate Game
• Political intrigue with an invasion from an advanced bipedal creature, featuring many side quests and challenges
• Adventure through Arctic Territory
• Working for a Crime Boss in a city
• Merchant adventures  
• Werewolf PC adventure world
• Develop a couple of my previous modules to Dragonscales 

• Game based on Karn Evil 9 (77 Lost Worlds)
• Game based on Logans Run
• Game based on Pirates of Dark Water
• Game where "Klaatu barada nikto" works everything

So, be ready and open to ideas that can come from anywhere, half the time I am just talking to people and an idea come up

We created the Arena of Chaos from one of those conversations..  it was a blast to run at conventions

It was a battle royal where people created  characters based on the guide lines given and then went at it on 4 boards until there was One... lots of prizes were given during the game.  

Sometimes just looking up something randomly on the internet will give an inspiration. 

DISCLAIMER: I do not subscribe to anyone telling anyone how to make a great adventure of how to write an adventure...

The best experience for writing any adventure is play in an adventure. There is an ART to writing an adventure and running an adventure. I urge you to discover your own voice and what works best for you. 

Three People can run a module and all three will have a different feel to them. It is not something you will find in a how to book. 

If you look for how to create adventures, go to....

APPENDIX A: RANDOM DUNGEON GENERATION