GenCon 2007 looms large on my gaming horizon. While I’m going there to game, I’m also going there to shop. I know some of what I want, but the best part of GenCon is the stuff I don’t know I want — the new games, tools and just plain neat stuff that lurks in the exhibition hall, just waiting to be discovered.
Role-playing Games
- Spirit of the Century: I’ve heard nothing but good things about this game, and assuming my session of it goes well at GenCon (and maybe even if it doesn’t) I’ll be picking up this game.
- Agon: This game describes itself as “an action-packed roleplaying game about ancient Greek heroes who face brutal tests from the gods. With bravery, cunning, honor, and strength, one hero will prove to be the greatest and secure immortality in legend.” Given how much the guys in my group liked 300, this should be a good fit.
- Masks of Nyarlathotep: This venerable Call of Cthulhu campaign is set to be reprinted; I’m hoping to pick it up.
The Battlestar Galactica RPG is being released at GenCon, and I at least want to check it out. Paizo’s GameMastery modules look fantastic, and I definitely want to pick up at least one of them.
I also plan to wander by the Forge booth and see what’s new with the independent game scene (or whatever we’re calling it these days), and then just wander the exhibition hall looking for games that catch my eye. My primary criteria for picking a game will be something that can be run as a one shot, or as a series of short adventures, and which has a game mechanic sufficiently different from D&D to stretch the ol’mental muscles.
I’m open to suggestions; if you have any post a comment to this thread or e-mail me at nuketown@gmail.com.
Dice
I definitely need some new dice, as I haven’t picked up a good set of dice since GenCon (yes, we’re going to forget about the notorious ice cream dice, ok?) My first stop in that regard will be the Q Workshop booth. Their new Cthulhu Dice look freaking cool, but I think I need to get some Nuke Dice first.
If I’m going to be playing Spirit of the Century, then I’m also going to get some Fudge dice.
Software
When I get my new MacBook, it’ll be able to run Windows so I’m looking to pick up a Campaign Cartographer 3 upgrade at GenCon so I can get back to doing some serious mapping. I might pick up another utility or two for review purposes, if I can find some I like. The new version of Astrosynthesis is also a possibility.
Accessories
With our gaming group going on a 6-8 month D&D hiatus in favor of other games, I don’t feel a huge compulsion to pick up a bunch of ancillary D&D products, like templates and minis and such. And yet, we will get back into D&D at some point, so maybe I’ll just go with an open mind and look for things that might spark campaign ideas.
Since we’ll still be playing games that use minis (Star Wars, Savage Worlds I’ll probably be looking for stuff that isn’t tied down to a specific game or could easily be re-used elsewhere. And I definitely want to pick up some of Reaper pre-painted miniatures.