I've never been to Winter Fantasy/D&D Experience before but I recently moved to Northern VA so it makes attending this event very practical for me, at least for a day trip if not the whole show.
That being said, how does this show differ from other conventions people have been to, for example GenCon (my last show was GenCon 2000)?
Are all of the events at the show RPGA events or are there independent game events going as well (for D&D and other games)?
Will it be easy for most people to just walk in and get in on a D&D game even if they haven't generated a character (in other words, plenty of events with pre-gens)?
Will there be a sizeable vendor area where we can see products, art, games, etc. from a lot of companies for sale?
Will there be a lot of sessions available for discussions on running games, creating adventures, writing stories, interviews with gamer celebrities, etc.?
What's the best link to see the event catalog, such as it is so far?
L
I attended Winter Fantasy 2004 and 2005. I enjoyed both shows, and I would definitely recommend that anyone who enjoys D&D and is able to attend do so if at all possible. I've never been to GenCon, so I can't say how it compares - from what I have heard/read GenCon is a much bigger show. I have attended other sci-fi/fantasy conventions, and the big difference there is that gaming is usually just one small part of the con, whereas at Winter Fantasy it is not just 100% gaming, it is 100% D&D gaming.
Both times I was there, there were RPGA events, and DCI (D&D miniatures) tournaments. The games were held in a large hotel ball room, which doubled as the "vendor area". WoTC had a large booth, and there were two or three tables of books/dice/minis/etc. from 3rd parties. All merchandice was at full retail (no great deals to be had, that I was able to find anyway).
If you plan to go, you should register as far in advance as possible and sign up for the games you wish to play. Otherwise, you risk missing out because popular games "sell out" quickly. In my opinion, the Living Greyhawk sessions require the most preparation in advance, and are difficult to get into. For example, if you've never played LG before, you have to start out at 1st level. Most of the sessions will be "for levels 2-6". What that means is that the adventure has notes on how to scale it for different levels. Once you get there, you'll find other people wanting to play that session, but some will have level 4 characters, some level 6, etc. So unless you travel with a group that plans to stick together the entire time, you may have difficulty matching up with other people at the desired level for the desired session at the desired time, etc.
Compare that to the D&D campaign sessions: in those, you'll find pregenerated characters online you can download and print out. If you want to, you can create your own, but if you don't have the time it's an easy way get started. Plus, the campaign starts at level 1, and periodically announces "level kicks". So even if you've never played, you're character will automatically be the right level for the adventure you're playing (and all the other players will have characters with similar level).
There are a few (very few, when I was there) sessions called "D&D classics" - these were the ones where the adventure came with pregenerated characters, and the DM hands out character sheets at the beginning. They are "one shot" adventures, not part of a campaign.
A session with the word "delve" or "special" usually involves fancy Dwarven Forge dungeon pieces - if you've never played using these, you should really try getting in to one of these sessions - it's really cool.
As for the actual gaming, I had some mixed experiences. Overall, it was mostly good. But it all depends on 1) the DM who runs your game, and 2) the people that you're playing with. The RPGA works real hard to get good DMs for the show, but some are better than others (and personal preferences differ, of course).
Most of the people at the show are there because they love the game, but different people have different play styles - try to size up other people at the event and gravitate towards people you think will be compatible, personality-wise (easier said than done, I know). Also, if you don't already have an RPGA number, get one and sign up for "player rewards" on the RPGA website. You'll get a ton of points for attending the show, maybe enough to get some free stuff.
Note that this year they're changing the name from "Winter Fantasy" to "D&D Experience" - I don't know if there are more changes planned than the name, so things could be totally different!
If you go, have fun, and write up a full report for the rest of us!
Cool, thanks for the info!