After years of talking about it, I’m finally going to the Origins Game Fair. The reason is two fold: 1) I’ve never been to the convention, having always chosen to go to GenCon instead and 2) I have a bunch of friends who will be a Origins whom I’ve never had a chance to game with.
As with GenCon in 2007, I’m not playing any Dungeons & Dragons. At GenCon it was because I wanted to try out some non-D&D events, since I could always get my sword-and-sorcery fix through my weekly game. This time around, my gaming group has switched from D&D to Star Wars, and I’m curious about how others run Saga Edition. Even better it’s being run by members of the Order 66 community, so there’s a chance I might run into some folks I’ve heard on the show or seen in the forums. There’s a remote chance I’ll pick up a session of D&D 4E, just to see how it plays with people outside of my campaign, but honestly there are plenty of other games I’m more interested in playing.
Like Spirit of the Century. I have two SotC games planned: one a scheduled event at the con, the other a private game with blogging/podcasting friends. I’ve also worked in games of Mutants & Masterminds (again to see how others run the game) and Call of Cthulhu (because hey, it’s CTHULHU). I’ve also slotted two board games — Catan: Seafarers, which I’ve always wanted to play, and Battlestar Galactica, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about.
I’ll be heading out to Origins with a sizable contingent of Blackrazors. There are five of us attending, and we plan to dedicate Wednesday night to our traditional “eat steak, drink beer” routine from GenCon and Nuke(m)Con. As for the rest of the con … it’s an open book. I’ve built in enough time to wander the exhibition hall, which I expect to be smaller than GenCon’s but larger than anything I might find locally, and I’m slowly assembling my Origins shopping list (expect Hackmaster Basic to be at the top of that particular list).
I’m not sure if I’m going to be blogging at Origins; wireless at GenCon was hell, and I don’t know if it’s worth it for me to bring my laptop, but we’ll see how it goes. For those who are curious, or would like to roll some dice with me at Origins, I’ve posted my schedule below.
Thursday
- THU 9:00 AM – 6263 – HackMaster Basic Learn to Hack
- THU 1:00 PM – 6336 – Mutants & Masterminds: Paragons Revealed!
- THU 8:00 PM – 6432 – Spirit of the Century: Sword of Mars
Friday
- FRI 9:00 AM – 6679 – Star Wars: The Betrayal of Darth Revan
- FRI 2:00 PM – 6819 – Star Wars: Death of the Star of Agnor
- FRI 6:00 PM – 4041 – Battlestar Galactic Board Game
Saturday
- SAT 9:00 AM – N/A – Spirit of the Century
- SAT 2:00 PM – 4424 – Catan™: Seafarers
- SAT 6:00 PM – 7220 – Call of Cthulhu: A Night To Remember
Sunday
- SUN 8:00 AM – 7412 – Call of Cthulhu: Consider Yourself…