Living Greyhawk at PAX?

Litejedi

I made a similar thread last year, but it doesn't hurt to try again.

Tabletop gaming seems to be somewhat of an afterthought at PAX. It's there because Jerry likes it (sort of) but there's not much to it other than what the attendees bring and a few games (i.e. Die Siedler and Diceland) mandated by the people who run it. There were the D&D duels last year, but they took inordinately long and as some people know, I think there were flaws in the rules. I saw a post on the front page about how they're going to expand it, and I think if this is going to be the case, that they should include Living Greyhawk modules.

Living Greyhawk is the largest Living campaign in the world. People play in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and the States. A living campaign is a campaign that is run by the players. People write modules, other people play them, at the end of every adventure you get a certificate that shows that you've played it. Your character levels up over time, and there are rules and regulations set out by the Circle (a group of people who run the campaign), and to a lesser extent, the triad (three people who run the campaign in a given region). There are a great number of regions as well. Seattle is part of the Duchy of Urnst, and there are certain modules that are exclusive to that area of the world. This means that people from England or New York or New Zealand *can't play them anywhere else.*

What is the point of all of this? Well, I think that PAX had Living Greyhawk, it would draw in even *more* people than it does already, as well as providing something real and definitive for people to get once they are done playing. Some people enjoy playing "sit down" modules where they are given characters by the DM and thrown into a dungeon crawl, but I don't think that's particularly fun, and I know for a fact that there are people that agree with me. Look it up at www.rpga.com to find out more. There's also the Duchy of Urnst yahoo group at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/duchyofurnst/ and the Duchy of Urnst website at http://duchyurnst.org/. Both are resources that can be drawn upon by organizers and people interested in playing.

I'm making a poll too, to find out of other people are interested in this. I'm not holding out much hope, but I can always try. Thanks!

Nephirij

this sounds pretty cool. I RP sometimes, so this could be pretty interesting.

GeeCee

D&D is for nerds.

Robert Khoo

GeeCee wrote:

D&D is for nerds.

Welcome to PAX!

Mike Fehlauer

I play LG. I'd *love* to see LG at PAX. If you too want to throw down at the show, get in touch with the Duchy of Urnst triad. Their email is somewhere on the group website:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/duchyofurnst/

PAX deliberately gives equal attention to console, PC, and tabletop, so I'm disappointed that you think tabletop is an afterthought. What gives you that impression? Anything I can do to make the tabletop love come through more clearly?

-Mike

Nephirij

id love to play, but i would need someone's help to make a character and such.

Litejedi

It's somewhat difficult to describe my problem. I've gone to both PAX's ('04 and '05, I even turned down being an omeganaut the first time, zomg) and while they were fun, and it was nice to get away to Seattle for a while, there were many occasions where as a tabletop "guy" I felt like I didn't have anything to do. Primarily it was because there were so damn many people, and it was so frantic and disjointed, and only so many games. It's impossible to play many tabletop games in situations where there are prepubescent teenage boys screaming about Wangs while you're trying to figure out what to do next in Advanced Civilization (which a kind attendee brought). It got better the second year, as a lot of it was moved to a quieter area and seemed better organized, but I was still at odds with the format of many things.

It seems to me that even though I enjoy the gamut of gaming activities, the entire affair wasn't exactly "for me" because I get my greatest enjoyment from involving, character-driven RPGs (I know LG isn't this, but you take what you can get ) and strategic tabletop board/strategy games. It seems designed for people who like to pwnzor bitches in Tekken, and the like. It's a very high energy situation, and I'm somewhat of a low-energy person. It's difficult to explain it better than that, since my problem isn't really quantifiable. Perhaps all my problems will go away when the tabletop section moves to a hotel, who knows? I'm almost sure that nobody else feels this way and that I'm wierd, but you asked, so I gave you my reasons.

Edit: I should point out that I am in no way referring to ccgs. "Yu-gi-Oh" and pokemon do not interest me in the slightest.

Mike Fehlauer

I see what you mean. First year's tabletop area was suboptimal--too high-traffic. That's why we put it in a seperate area last year, and why this year we're putting it in it's own *building*. When I throw dice I want a quiet low-chaos area where I can think and communicate with the people at my table. The new venue should do the trick.

We'll have some space at this year's show for quick games (low point-value Warmachine, CCGs, Diceland, etc)--the idea is to provide a horizontal surface for games that can be played in 60 minutes or less. Strategy games, RPGs, and big wargames will be at the hotel where players can focus and get away from the hustle and bustle of the Meydenbauer. Plus, being outside the Meydenbauer allows 24-hour gaming.

This year I'm also focusing on bringing in more tabletop exhibitors. Sabertooth and Privateer Press are both returning and I'm gunning for some other big names. PAX is right after GenCon, so it's hard to get attention (and, from a logistical standpoint, hard to get the booth materials and personnel up to Seattle) but I am trying.

-Mike