Dragon Con 2012 - Questions

[Erasmas]

So, Dragon Con is coming up in a few weeks and this will be my first "real" convention. My costumes are coming along and I am getting pretty stoked. But my real question is... what do I do once I am there?

I don't really want to stand in line for hours on end waiting to shake a Red Shirt's hand or to have my picture taken with the guy that played that alien creature in that one movie. I also don't want to drop $100-$200 on some random seminar about how to maximize the effectiveness of my Chaos Troops in Warhammer 40k. I was extremely excited to find out about this thing called True Dungeon... only to have my dreams crushed and my heart wrenched out of my chest when I found out that it is only offered at Gen Con.
:smallconfused:

What I want to know is: the bee's knees of Dragon Con. For those of you who have been before, what is the "not to miss" event(s) of this shindig?

[Douglas]

It's a very good idea to show up Thursday and pick up your registration badge then. If you can't do that, at least try to arrive a minimum of 2 or 3 hours early on Friday, because the line can easily be that long.

As for specific things to go to, it depends very much on the details of what you're interested in. There are a LOT of different things at DragonCon, covering a very wide range of nerdy interests.

One thing I plan to participate in is a competition called the Cheese Grinder - build the most overpowered 11th level character you can using Pathfinder rules, sit down with 5 other people doing the same thing, and see how many rooms of a very creative and dangerous dungeon you can get through before dying. Any time someone dies, a new player is brought in. The six people who complete the most rooms will face off in an arena battle to determine the final winner. It runs continuously for 48 hours, so you can fit it in almost anywhere on your schedule if you're interested.

That, of course, would only be interesting to you if you enjoy the process of designing powerful D&D characters and testing how much power you managed to wring out of the rules, which is a quite narrow interest relative to the broad range of interests represented at DragonCon.

For other things, let's see...

There are quite a number of famous authors and actors who you might be able to meet there - and I'm not talking about Red Shirts or "that alien creature" folks. Looking through the list and picking out just the ones I recognize instantly: the actor who played Bra'tac in Stargate SG-1; Kevin J. Anderson, prolific Star Wars and X-Files novel writer; Captain Sheridan from Babylon 5; Felicia Day; Major Sheppard from Stargate Atlantis; Todd McCaffrey, science fiction author; Darth Vader from Star Wars; Gimli from Lord of the Rings; R.A. Salvatore, creator of Drizzt Do'urden, the original good-aligned drow; Brandon Sanderson, my personal #1 favorite author; Ba'al from Stargate SG-1; Patrick Stewart, actor for both Captain Picard in Star Trek and Professor Xavier in the X-Men movies.

There are plenty of costuming events and competitions.

There are a large number of tracks for discussing many various specific popular novels and TV series. Stargate, Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, Battlestar Galactica, and I have no idea how many more.

There are a bunch of things about various technology fields. Robotics, information security, creating video games, etc.

There's apparently going to be an astronaut leading one track.

There are several artist workshops.

Same for writers workshops. If you have dreams of being a published author, there are plenty of places to get advice for that at the Con.

Board gaming of all kinds is plentiful.

There are a lot of more traditional "play through a module with a story and fixed group" type D&D games, though if you want to participate in those you'll have to sign up early before all the spots are taken.

There are some live action role play events, but I don't know any details.

I'm sure there are a great many more things I haven't mentioned. Seriously, this thing completely takes over five or six major skyscraper hotels in downtown of the ninth largest metropolitan area in the entire United States. It is probably the biggest convention you will ever see in your entire life. The sheer number of attractions it has is mind-boggling.

[Holocron Coder]

douglas covered most of the things. Most things at Dragon*Con can be broken down into these categories: shopping, fan panels, art panels, science/tech panels, parties, costuming, gaming. Most of those are held in particular areas or hotels (except for parties, which are everywhere, constantly). O, also drinking. But that's not everyone's cup-o-tea.

I'll be there myself this year :smallbiggrin: Hopefully I'll get this costume I'm working on done (cleric in a friend's D&D-character group), and I might even pull out my Earth Kingdom Iroh costume... was a hit at last year's AWA, but would be more fun with a group :smallfrown:

[Erasmas]

Awesome, thank you guys!

I am into tabletop gaming, video gaming, movies, writing, and costuming... so yeah, I am looking forward to it all. And looking at the list of things that are going on was part of why I came here to ask. There seems to be so much going on that I have no idea where to start. I avoided signing up for any of the gaming sessions because I am going with a large group and don't want to have to block out several hours away from everyone else. I figured I would wander around (in costume) and just take everything in. And if I find something that I really want to do... hopefully I can pay for it then!

[Monkplayer]

Gamers I've played in this contest 5 times, and no gaming experience has even come remotely close to the intensity and enjoyment! It's truly an amazingly epic level experience!

PENSACON presents Cheesegrinder-RPG Survival Tournament! Sponsored by Bobe's Hobby House!


PENSACON is pleased to welcome The Cheese Grinder RPG Survival Tournament!

The Cheesegrinder has been one of the featured gaming events at DragonCon for the past 12 years, in which over 350 players compete over 48 hours.

The Cheesegrinder now comes to Pensacon 2016 with the same intense, exciting, action packed gaming event. To introduce this unique event to the area, we will be holding a free The Cheese Grinder RPG Survival Tournament! Preview Event on Saturday, November 14 from 10:00am-10:00pm at Bobe’s Hobby House!

Bring your most powerful, most “Cheesed out” 11th level Pathfinder table-top role-playing character (PC), and if your character survives the longest, then you win the tournament! Several different type of “Cheese Points” will also be available to purchase for $1 each. These points can be used for a variety of effects during the game. One of which will allow your PC to change places instantly with another PC at any time.

“The founder of Pensacola Roleplaying Association states, “In my 15 years of gaming, there has been no game session that even comes close to the immense excitement, enjoyment, or intensity of The Cheesegrinder. What you experience at this tournament are encounters you would never see in a normal game session which makes it all the more surprising and fun. It’s a must attend event.”

Your character will face riddles, traps, monsters, and maybe even other PCs in deadly combat, so is your character (PC) tough enough to last longer than the other contestants? When a player’s PC dies then another gamer takes that seat in the tournament. You can even re-enter the tournament with your same PC, once you’ve waited for another gamers character to die.

Pre-made characters will be available for free.

Some current prizes are but more are coming: Medals for 1st through 3rd place d20Pro, Virtual Table Top Software for 1st - 3rd place (http://www.d20pro.com/) random door prizes 1st prize winner also gets; Crystal Caste Dwarven Stone Tiger Eye full size dice set, and the Hrothgar’s Hoard Dice Case with exclusive custom lining. $130 prize 2nd place winner also gets medal and software: a Pathfinder Core Rule Book autographed by Lisa Steven Paizo CEO, Erik Mona Publisher, Jason Bulhman Lead Designer, and Sean. K. Reynolds former game designer. More prizes to be added soon!

For all the details on character building go to: http://thecheesegrinder.com For questions on specifics of the event, contact [email protected] For driving directions to Bobe’s Hobby House go to http://bobeshobbyhouse.com/

The tournament is in Pensacola, FL., (45 minutes from Mobile, AL, 5 1/2 hours from Atlanta, 3 1/2 hours from Jackson, MS, 7 hours from Orlando, 8 hours from Nashville).

Keep the Dice Rollin,

Monkplayer