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Post by foster1941 on Aug 2, 2005 2:37:53 GMT -5
There are some con pics by varagon posted on the SEKGG page, including one of Brian Blume -- the rumors are true! The confusion seems to be that he was playing in a game with Frank, but it was a non-rpg (un unpublished game by Tom Wham, at least according to varagon's caption) not Frank's D&D game (of which there are also pics -- can anyone identify the rest of the people in the pics of Frank's game -- I recognize Frank himself, and you can read Mike and Elizabeth Stewart's (aka Sieg and Indigo Rose's) nametags, but who's everybody else; anyone we know?).
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Post by northrundicandus on Aug 2, 2005 5:56:11 GMT -5
For Frank M.'s AD&D game:
"Frank M.'s RPG game- 12 hours on Saturday!" Nope. It was only 5-6 hours. Rob Kuntz' game was 12 hours.
Based on that picture, moving clockwise from Frank, "Doc" (Nym Freyasdottir's husband - I think his first name is Keith), Ken "Jeffery St. Clair", Me, I can't remember the name of the guy in the golden shirt, Indigo Rose, and lastly Sieg. Paul J. Stormburg was going to join us, but he was really spent after Rob Kuntz' incredible marathon game.
"Davis C. talking to Darlene (awesome cartographer) and Chris while lookin g over her artwork to her Tarot card deck."
That was not a Tarot deck! That was her Jasmine card game.
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Post by northrundicandus on Aug 2, 2005 12:57:11 GMT -5
I received a PM from one of the fine posters at the Alehouse, inquiring about the Lake Geneva Convention. I’ve decided that others may be interested in my responses, so I’m posting them publicly. The anonymity of the message sender will be maintained. What's the inside dope on the convention, the Trolls and C&C? Is Peter Bradley really as big a pizzle in person as he is on the net? On the whole the Convention was a lot of fun. 1st Edition AD&D was definitely King of the Con, and I didn’t see as many C&C games as I thought I would. The only thing missing was an OD&D game. That fact inspired me to break out the brown books and come up with something for next year. Many people came because of 1st Edition, though I was saddened that so many at the tables were saying, "I haven't played 1st edition in 15 years..." The only Troll I met was Peter Bradley, A.K.A. Gideon Thorne. He’s an alright guy in person, though Gary was constantly picking on him because he’s such a liberal. He’s a huge believer in C&C, and is quite the evangelist for the system. After viewing some of his artwork at the Con I had to agree that some of it is quite good, but I did mention that I would like to see more contrasts in the drawings. I think this may just be a limitation in his medium of choice, which is digital. Peter’s father is a very funny guy, from the U.K. He’s a huge history buff, and is heavily involved with military re-enactments. He was kind of a fish out of water with all those gamers at the Con, but I found that refreshing. I saw Steve and Davis, but never met them. Dude - Davis looks like a serious stoner - but he may have just been hungover from one too many beers. :-) Mentzer seems a bit arrogant on DF, how is he in person?
He comes across as a very “regular” guy. He’s not arrogant at all. He seems to think the world of Gary. His genuine appreciation of TSR giving him a job when he was in pretty dire financial straights is evident, and he’s grateful to all the gamers who helped him make a living back then. I played a board game with him and enjoyed his Slice of Aquaria Dragonsfoot game. He’s really just another gamer. While his DM style is not something I would necessarily emulate, he has a very easy-going conversational style. Intelligence is definitely rewarded in his games. Although we had NO combats, we had ample opportunities to get our asses handed back to us by dangerous foes. His dungeon was full of 5’ passageways, but I persevered and was rewarded with a reasonably accurate map, which I was able to keep. Hear any secrets or juicy gossip? What does Gary really think of C&C?
Frank is definitely dusting off some of Gary’s old mid-70’s notes to release an adventure for the Trolls in true High Gygaxian prose. It is not a rumor – it is a fact. I overheard Frank talking to Gary at his house about some of the finer points of one set of maps. Gary seems grateful that the Trolls are publishing his stuff, but his primary focus is still Lejendary Adventure. After discussing my years of love for D&D and 1st Edition, he told me I should give LA a shot. Who am I to argue with the Master? :-) More thoughts to come as I digest them.
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Post by foster1941 on Aug 2, 2005 13:10:26 GMT -5
I went to GenCon every year from 1988-97, so I've at least seen, if not actually "met," many of these folks before -- Gary, Frank, Jim W, Tom W. It was a little distressing how much older and grayer they all look in these pics than when I last saw them (but then I suppose I don't look much now like I did in 1988 (when I was 13 years old) either...)
And, if I can be excused a question in possibly poor taste, how does Gary's health seem to be holding up? Does he show any outward signs of his strokes (slurred speech, difficulty moving, etc.)? I believe he's just turned 67, which is pretty far up there for a guy that, at least as of 1988, was virtually chain-smoking unfiltered Camels...
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Post by northrundicandus on Aug 2, 2005 13:28:52 GMT -5
I went to GenCon every year from 1988-97, so I've at least seen, if not actually "met," many of these folks before -- Gary, Frank, Jim W, Tom W. It was a little distressing how much older and grayer they all look in these pics than when I last saw them (but then I suppose I don't look much now like I did in 1988 (when I was 13 years old) either...) And, if I can be excused a question in possibly poor taste, how does Gary's health seem to be holding up? Does he show any outward signs of his strokes (slurred speech, difficulty moving, etc.)? I believe he's just turned 67, which is pretty far up there for a guy that, at least as of 1988, was virtually chain-smoking unfiltered Camels... Gary was chain smoking cigars every chance he could. And if he could have smoked in the convention room he would have smoked there too. You're correct on his age, and Frank is in his fifties. I'm glad I was able to finally meet both. They won't be around forever. Gary's speech is still very articulate, and his hands sometimes tremble a bit, but there were no obvious signs of a stroke. If you haven't met them in person yet, please make arrangements to do so! I don't mean to sound morbid, but we've already lost DCS. Time will march on. If you look carefully in Gary's pic, you'll see a "Players Wanted" sign. That was for a 3e game. All the 1e games were full. ;-)
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Post by francisca on Aug 3, 2005 0:32:55 GMT -5
Had a good time. Got to play MA with Jim Ward. Ate lunch and did a bit of gaming with northrundicandus.
Looking forward to next year already.
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