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There was a lot that rocked about PaizoCon for me.
I played in or GM'd no less than 10 games from Thursday night (yay Nani) through Sunday night (Pharoah rocked, and I so called the pumpkin bombs). It was quite the marathon. Haven't had that much near continuous gaming since the insane games of my school years.
The goblin brains were great.
I get to at least lay eyes on a lot of industry luminaries. I didn't pester them too much. Didn't want to be "that person". But it was cool seeing them. Bulmahn is a hoss.
I met some really great people. I was flying solo for the Con and even though I wasn't part of any of the groups that were there many people went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Auspicion and Squeak were great (mooched free rides from them a couple times to Seattle and the Crabpot). And there was this almost complete game group from North Dakota (North Dakota? I know right. Who would have thought?). It was great hanging with them and they seemed like the kind of game group that most people want to be a part of. I can't remember everyone's name so I won't embarass myself by trying, but you guys rock. Hit me up on facebook. Everything is in my profile.
Among the Dead is a great adventure. I regret that I was near passing out and trying to run it around 1 or 2 am Saturday. It was still great. Get a GM to run it for you if you haven't played it.
I love that I got so much GMing in. You can learn a lot by watching and playing, but you learn and grow the most I think, by doing. And it is always nice to be reminded how a natural 20 confirming a natural 20 crit threat can ruin your BBEG's day.
Touring in Seattle was great. There was the Pike St. Market with the original Starbucks, all the open vendors, and Golden Age Comics and then the Seattle Aquarium, Iver's, the Underground Tour. And I can't leave out that rocking toy store off of Pioneer Square (that frog is still tripping me out). Thanks Jason, for meeting us down in the market, that was pretty cool and that pasta was some of the best ever.
The Crabpot and the meet and eat were awesome. Wow did I gorge on some crab, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussles, and on and on. There was even someone at my table taking butter shots, well, at least one. Nothing but respect.
So overall it was awesome and I can't wait to do it all again.
Please post your own personal favorite moments. I will no doubt have more to add once I am fully recovered.
Tam
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Panda40 and Tambryn,
You guys were two of the people that made the trip so memorable. I really enjoyed talking with you at the Crab Pot Ed, but we sadly saw little of each other once the gaming marathon began. Next year, we should make a point of getting into a game together.
Tambryn, what can I say man. You where the first Congoer that Squeek and I met, and one of the last once we saw before retiring to our rooms on Sunday for 15 solid hours of sleep and relaxation. You even covered both dinner that first night and parking at the tour and never asked to be repaid; what a true gentlemen, putting me to shame! Despite being so tired Saturday night, you rocked a good game for us. I can't wait until next year when you'll (hopefully) be fully rested. We gotta get something in on Thursday.
Nathan, Amanda, Samantha, Nathan's fiancee and Samantha's husband (sorry names are a bit *blargh* after 8 hours of solid driving, so they're no way I'm remembering your board names) you guys were awesome. From hanging out with you on the tour to Tam's late night game, it was all a blast. I'm sincere in my invitation to try out virtual tabletop gaming with our group - jump on my teamspeak server at <www> dot <ausp> dot <org> slash <teamspeak> and we'll take it from there.
Daemonslye, your Paladin in Hell game was fantastic. I'll be coming back for part 2 next year with a fresh character, who, you know, didn't die despite his single goal of survival . . .
Aside from the many friends I met at the Con (more than I could hope to name), it wouldn't have been such an amazing event without the dedication of the fantastic Paizo Staff. From helping Jason Bulmahn mercilessly slaughter 200 PCs during Friday Night Fight Club, James Jacob's incredible preview of the upcoming adventure path "Serpents Skull" and Sean K Reynold's "Angelic Armageddon where-the-iconics-completely-failed-to-save-the-world", it was all such a blast.
Daemonslye: "A ranger who *scares* me."
Jason Bulmahn: "Activate the monsters . . . THREE TIMES!"
Sebastian and Garrett: "Bat spirits!"
James Jacobs: "The monkey on the witch's shoulder jumps excitedly up and down with a wicked smile on its face as she casts her spell . . . Oooo OOo OOO, Ahhh, AHh, Ahh!"
Nathan: "Helloooo there lassie . . ." *shows his upper thigh*
Amanda: "Oh really . . . if you'll just sign *here*, and *here*, and *here* . . ."
Samantha: "Why should we trust you?"
Sean Reynolds: "It is too late for that, mortal."
So much to remember right now, but all in all one of the best vacations ever. I'll be back again next year . . . with friends!
My high moments were the two games I got into (the price of not playing PFS). The first one fizzled when the GM didn't show up, but another game that just happened to have a vacancy more than made up for it.
In it, I played a dwarf ranger, who heavily favoured his crossbow even though the composite longbow was more effective. There were some funny times, such as when an aptly placed cause fear spell sent the barbarian running for the rest of the fight (at only the third round, and at the final battle, no less!). I had also jumped dramatically through the window the round before, so when I rolled an 11 on my saving throw and jumped back through the window was a hilarious moment. Not to mention the bar fight, in which I got a critical by throwing a chair at somebody's head, and where the fighter used a 'lucky beer mug' to impressive effect. Since he worshipped Cayden, that just made it funnier.
The Grimm campaign...words fail me. Gary McBride is an amazingly skilled GM, whose talent for voices alone kept me on my toes. Jack was a very fun NPC, and really inspired me in my own Grimm campaign. My favourite moments were probably:
All in all, excellent games. I look forward to next year!
