Gencon Day 1: The Day of the Dungeon

Just so people don't think I'm purposely off, I do tend to interchange "GenCon" and "Gencon" because I've seen it spelled both ways. Feel free to let me know what the correct spelling is, but bad habits are hard to break, so I guarantee nothing.

Thursday was an early morning because PG and I were scheduled for our first True Dungeon event just before 10. We met in a designated spot (beneath the beholder was pretty popular with everyone) and turned J and Other J loose so they could do whatever since she and I were the only ones doing this one.

After checking our bags and getting our tokens, we found our table. Unfortunately, the rest of the party had taken the PCs we'd planned for, so we had to do some quick changeups. I played the Barbarian and I think she ended up being the cleric, though I can't remember for sure. We made our way through several puzzle rooms and a couple battle rooms. Unfortunately, we failed at two puzzles but made up for it later when we solved another puzzle without taking any damage. We were unable to solve the final puzzle too, which meant we didn't get any bonus loot, but we did get XP and treasure for getting through it.

From there we met up with J and Other J again and grabbed some lunch in the food court. This taught us a lesson: don't hit the food court at noon. Then it was a quick trip to the dealer's room, the first for PG and me. the Js had been hanging there for most of the morning. The room was crazy with dealers and con-goers all over the place.

There was even an appearance by the Tardis, so of course I had to grab a shot.

The other two events of that day involved general gaming. The first, however, was cancelled, so we ended up just vegging in the empty room for a few hours. I was able to get some more knitting done while others in our group played L5R or looked over the things they'd either bought in the dealer room or scored in their swag bag. After that, we got our Nascrag team together. We decided since we were all "True Blood" fans to call ourselves Team Bill, not because we're particularly fond of Bill, but because it gave us an excuse to yell out "Sookah" when they called our team name. Round 1 was a blast. We had to stay in character and try to get through the encounter quickly. PG and I played twins with southern accents, Other J played an amazing character, and everyone else rolled with it beautifully. Even the DM said we were a blast to play with. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Round 2, most likely because it took us a long time to solve one of the puzzles. We were bummed, though later it turned out to be a good thing for J and I. I did snag a pic of all of us right after the game, including Andy, our sixth player who ended up being a fun guy and a great sport! (yes, I cropped myself out of this. It's a me thing).

Some of the group headed to the Brazilian BBQ for dinner, but at 30 bucks a plate (all you can eat, but seriously, believe it or not, I can't eat that much) it was a little pricey for J and I, so we went to Steak N Shake with Other J instead. It was definitely worth it. The food was good, and for both of us to eat a meal plus share a dessert, it was a really cheap meal.

That night was my second True Dungeon event. This one was planned so our whole group could do it together. I went Fighter for this one since I'm much better at basic combat in general than I am anything else (though I do enjoy playing a caster every now and again). We managed to get most of the puzzles, though we missed the first and last ones. I'm surprised we did as well as we did. It was close to midnight when we started and after one when we ended, so we were all a little brain fried and exhausted. We didn't beat the dragon, but we weren't alone. I think out of all the teams that went through, only two beat the dragon, so most of us goers were defeated.

This was our busiest day and we felt it. True Dungeon proved itself to be something we're definitely doing next year.

ALF

GenCon Day 0: Tickets and Downtown Exploration

If you ever go to GenCon, be sure to use the Will Call option when buying your tickets. I don't recommend having them shipped because they're not insured. If they get lost in the mail, your out the money you spent on them. I also don't recommend waiting to register until you get to the Con, unless of course you're not sure you can make it til the last minute.

Gencon Day 0 is the day we picked up our tickets and did some exploring  before the actual con started. We started the day at the hotel's continental breakfast where we were the only two there. I took my knitting down to get a little bit done while we ate.



Parking in downtown Indy during this con is crazy. We found 3 dollar parking that was several blocks from the Convention Center. This was the start of what was going to be alot of walking over the next four days.

We were early and the will call line didn't open until noon, so we walked up to the mall to look around and find the food court. Since convention food is so expensive, we planned to utilize the fairly cheaper mall food on a regular basis. I sat down and had something to drink while J did a little more exploration. More knitting in public time, and I had a couple people stop and ask me what I was working on .

The ticket line was huge but once it got started, it moved pretty quickly. This was the first time I realized that my social anxiety fears were, for the most part, not going to be a problem. I had a conversation with an older woman who was there watching her grandkids so their parents could enjoy the gaming. In line, J and I also talked to a couple of other con-goers who gave us some tips on parking, food, and the general layout of Gencon.

After PG and Mr. PG got to town and picked up their tickets, we went with them to grab some food at the food court and then headed back to their room to build characters and play a game of hearts. Unlike our room, theirs was within walking distance. The rest of the group from MHK was going to be there in the early evening, so we headed back to convention center where I met up with two other knitters, one planned and one completely serendipitous. It was like a completely random Ravelry meet-up.

PG treated us to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. The food was amazing and even though the restaurant didn't have working air conditioning, it was still a nice, comfortable dinner. From there we headed back to the car, picked up our hotel roommate and headed back to our room. The walking had taken its toll and we were exhausted but definitely optimistic about the next day.

ALF

GenCon Day -1: On the Road

Our plan had been to start on the road by 6 am. Since J doesn't drive, he came to bed at about 3:30, effectively waking me up. I was psyched for the trip, so we ended up on the road by 4:09 am. Yeah, it was early. J hadn't slept, so a little ways down the road he conked out. Normally I hate having to drive with nothing to do. Our iPod connector wouldn't work right, we hadn't checked out any audiobooks, and after awhile, I just get sick of the radio. However, this time was okay, especially when I realized I could one-ear my iPod directly and kick out some podcasts on the long drives. This trip meant I got several episodes of the KnitPicks podcast under my belt.

We managed to miss all major traffic jams, even driving right through St. Louis. I remember when I was young, anytime we were driving through St. Louis between Michigan and Oklahoma, my dad would point out the arch. This drive took us right under it.

I love driving in big cities. I love how the roads overlap and how the skyline looks with the big buildings.

We only made three pit stops for the bathroom and gas. The second one was at a rest area in Illinois. The most depressing thing was the lack of attendant and the sign on the TV that said due to budget cuts, there was no one available to work.

We got to the hotel around 3, which was perfect timing since that was check in time for our room. The hotel we picked was the Super 8, about 6 miles away from the convention center. You couldn't beat the price, and when we were booking, our main goal was just to have somewhere to sleep and shower. The room itself wasn't bad. The beds were comfy, and the room was clean. They didn't give us any coffee until our last night there, though. And the TV guide was from June. But that wasn't really a big issue, and we were able to take advantage of the Continental breakfast all week, which really helped with our budget.

After a short rest, we headed out to see if we could find the convention center. We found it, but got fairly lost along the way. Still, when you're not on a timetable, getting lost can be amusing in a new city. The only really irritating thing was all the road work. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at Wal-Mart to get sandwich fixings so we wouldn't have to spend more money than needed on dinner. We'd munched on our snacks all day, so our budget didn't suffer from expensive fast food.

All the driving and the early morning had us crashing out pretty early, which was convenient considering how early we'd be getting up the rest of the week. I ended the night with some tea, knitting, and "The Dark Knight."

ALF

There's No Place Like Home

We pulled in about two hours ago, safe and sound from our week long vacation and our trip to Gen Con. The verdict? It was an amazing experience and we're already planning our trip for next year.

I have alot to write about and will probably spread the experience out over several blog posts, complete with pictures. Suffice it to say that social anxiety was not an issue (except for one moment of claustrophobia in the dealer's room, but that passed quickly). Exhaustion was the biggest thing since we were up from about 6 in the morning to 2 in the morning every day. I walked more than I have in months. I met some great people, played some fun games, and had one of the coolest experiences ever.

So stay tuned for some details.

Now I have to get back into a normal routine and get some sleep since it's back to work tomorrow.

ALF

Knitting in Public: Wal-Mart

Normally, knitting at Wal-Mart would be a really weird place to knit. But this past weekend (I may have already mentioned this), I had to take my car into their automotive department to get her battery replaced. They were busy so I had about a two hour wait for it to get done. I decided to use the time to work on my Jaywalkers.

I started in the little Subway cafe where I tried one of their breakfast sandwiches. I did the egg and cheese (provolone) on flatbread and lemonade to drink. It was really good and fairly cheap. The atmosphere was pretty quiet too, at least at first, before the rest of the city started pouring in. I had my iPod with me, so I listened to a couple old episodes from the KnitPicks Podcast.

I eventually wandered back to the waiting room in automotive. Not sure if that can be considered knitting in public since I was the only one there for the most part. Well, me and a giant bug that showed up and icked me out a little bit. Right before I left, some other people showed up, but for the most part I got to chill in silence while my car was finished.

Wal-Mart isn't my first choice of a knitting in public venue, but this is a good example of how great having a project can be when it comes to having to wait for some of life's little wrenches.

A Tale of Two Socks

I finally finished the first of J's Angler Loop Socks and we're both pretty happy with how it turned out. I really love the cabling on this one and I love the texture of the yarn. I did make a few mistakes, including reverting to the heel flap pattern of the Jaywalkers instead of following the pattern and a few wrong twists in the cabling itself. J says the heel is a little too low, which means I didn't quite make the heel flap long enough. But he still thinks they're comfortable, and since he generally hates socks, this is a plus.

The Jaywalkers are coming a little bit slower. I'm finding that after the softness of the other socks, the Felici yarn almost feels rough. That doesn't actually deter me, but the roughness seems to make the knitting go slower. Also, since I have the Jaywalker pattern memorized, I consider those my "travel" socks while I keep the Anglers at home to make pattern reading easier. (Once I finish that part though, they're both coming with me to GenCon so I can work on them at random moments of knittery).

I shortened the cuff but not too much. The BIL wanted a long cuff but I'm hoping these will work for him. I think they're going to be really cool socks once they're done.

Gaming: A New Article & Freeport

My newest blog article is up at F1337 Command, so yes, I'm going to take a second to pimp the site and the article. It's a fairly new site, but we're building a following and working towards more things there. Right now the focus is on DnD 4th edition, but there are some good articles and expansion is in the works. Check it out, read some articles, comment, and let me know if you have any feedback or ideas I can pass on.

Last night was our Pathfinder Freeport game, which started out as 3.5 DnD and was just recently converted to Pathfinder. I don't mind the new system so far, though I'm still a little confused as to some of the different terms. When it comes to the older systems, I generally just do what I'm told to do and stick with characters I know how to play, namely fighters, rogues, and rangers. Before the conversion, I was playing a mermaid cleric. The mermaid was because the ongoing "joke" with J and I was that he'd never let me play a mermaid. So the friend who is running this game, PG, said I could play mermaid in her campaign. It was great in theory, until I found out the system caused her to take some pretty harsh penalties to her defenses when on land (in hindsight...duh!) and that I wasn't really cut out for the old system cleric position. Sure, I got to turn some undead and that was pretty fun, but for the most part, I struggled with it and wasn't having much fun.

I'm now playing Phelia, an elf ranger bounty hunter who's joined up with the rest of the group to find and eradicate a cult and locate Lucius, a monk who's been possessed a couple times and has started an underground fight club. Now our PCs are getting ready for Swagfest, a two week festival in Freeport. Phelia had a few takedowns last night. This is actually my first stint as a ranger and so far I'm really liking it.

The gaming night also brought ice cream cake provided by PG and at least three inches done on the Jaywalker socks. Saturday gaming night goes hand in hand with knitting for me and CV, a fellow player and knitter.