North Texas RPG Con

Best con for the buck

I just got back from Dallas, Tx. where I spend 4 days with some pretty amazing people. This is my second year at con and it was better than the first. Why? I can’t say, really. Playing games I have never played with people I have never met, but felt like I had known them all my life, was just sublime.

I did not take a ton of pictures because I wanted to stay in the moment, but I think I have enough to share my tale of adventure.

I Brought the Doom because that is what barbarians do. This is a shirt I made based on my Shadowdark character Tarin Doomsinger whose final act was entering hell and telling the hundreds of demons, “Is this all you have for me to slay?”

You can get a t-shirt for yourself should your inner barbarian desire one.

Game #1: Tales of Argosa (👈 get it here)

Besides the cool DM Screen, this was a fun roll under game. We went down into the catacombs looking for the McGuffin and there were Gomes (supposed to be gnomes) fighting large cow skull (?) skeletons.

There was also a mad priest that struck my character, Venker, a rifle toting artificer, with a Death Wish curse and I leaned into it, hard. Surprisingly, I survived as did everyone else.

Game #2: Savage Worlds Adventure Edition: Wastelands

Fun setup and the wheel is an idea I’ve seen before, over on Professor DM’s channel, but have seen it used in play. It worked really well and I will likely get some of these mats for myself.

I played a robot named Whisperbox with lasers in his chest. I was part of a roving band of mercs hired to patrol the Bayou and keep it safe from monsters and critters.

After defeating Battle Toads (that’s what Whisperbox called them), some nasty gators and a Cthulhu-esque tree, which one of out team killed on the last roll before we were absorbed into the tree.

Game #3: Ghostbusters

This game was run by the legend Ol’ Man Grognard, Glen Hallstrom. We battled alcoholic ghosts who were drinking all of New York’s booze supply, ran into Dionysus the God of wine and charged to go to Olympus to defeat Sophrosyne the goddess of temperance who sent the ghost. Easy, right? Wrong.

We drove our ecto-one bread truck through a portal and battles hard to win the day. In the end we got donuts and we couldn’t buy our own drink in New York for as long as we lived.

Game #4: Vaesen

This was certainly a palate cleanser from all the other swingy games. I was part of an investigation team called to Russia by an eccentric oligarch to discuss our findings. We never made it. Instead, we were trapped in an Inn with the spirit of old man winter literally breathing down our necks while people were getting murdered.

It felt l was in the movie The Hateful Eight. We had to figure out was was going on before there was more blood on the snow. In end, we discovered the solution that the Inn's cat was a redcap (?) who was protecting family who owned the Inn.

No minis, no map just role play.

Game #5: Horde Wars

This was more of a “learn the system” game but fun none-the-less. We were hired to destroy an evil necromancer before the became a Lich. There undead, mimic doors and constructs standing in our way but when has that ever stopped anyone.

This system has a d12 mechanic for hits and skill checks. I was a pretty powerful dwarf for first tier with 22 HP and two attacks but I did get down to one hit point because our Paladin/Cleric wanted to stay and fight, and defeat, the construct. Goody two shoes.

Bring out your dead

What did I buy? Not much.

I was in a budget so I kept my purchases to almost nil. I did have to buy some extra d6s for Vaeson and I found Harn: Master Module , with map for only $15. I call this a win both for my budget and my collection.

Who did I meet?

I’m not a “meet your heroes” or fanboy, if I meet a luminary of game, cool. Instead I hung around with some fellow Youtube people who I do videos with including The Erudite DM (seen below), Lord Matteus and Gary from First Watch and Erik from Tenkar’s Tavern.

I also met Chubby Funster of Shadowdark fame and I met some folks who I’ve only known from chat like Fugli and Matt Sherman. Easily the best part of the weekend.

It was an epic few days. Have question about the con or the game I played or tell me your favorite con to attend.