I thoroughly enjoyed VCON this year.  I ran my D&D Duels event for the second year running and had a 40% improvement in the number of participants (up to 7 from 5 last year), including two people who came back from the previous year. One of the best things was  that Jason Nelson (a Top-4 contestant in Paizo's first RPG Superstar contest) who was at the convention as an invited panelist registered as a participant and, in fact, won the tournament.

The tournament itself went well and fun was had by all. The best quote of the night came right at the end and was as follows:

“Nothing is funnier than a raven familiar grappling a tentacled toad familiar over ownership of a flag.”

I thought the dealer’s room was awesome this year – there was so much stuff I would have bought if I only had a large enough wad of (read as: any) discretionary funds.

The artist guest of honour was wonderful, especially her presentation for kids “The care and feeding of your BRAIN,” where she brought small plaster brains, mini pompoms, coloured pipe cleaners and other gewgaws and let kids make a brain-creature.  (She likes to use brains in her artwork - see "The Naked Truth" and "Mind Your Soup" at her online gallery).  I also discovered that, seen in it’s native 3D form, many of her sculptures were quite wondrous and very charming, unlike the rather disturbing or creepy vibe I tended to get from the 2D form of a photograph (keep this in mind when you view her galleries).  I also gained a great appreciation for the work of her colleague Benton Warren that he also had on display – there was this one “magical box” (it was titled “Ooops”) which showed a flower with a small figure over it from one angle and a closed up flower with no figure visible from another angle (it used a tricky mirror illusion to make it look like the actual contents of the box changed depending on where you viewed it from.  I should have taken a photograph of it, but didn't even think about that until after the art gallery had closed (If I’d only had a spare $600....).

This was my 10 year old son Nathan’s first VCON and he really had a great time.  He really liked the Lego table in the games room and was quite disappointed when it was only available on Friday. He made quite a few friends in the KidCon room and was really pleased to get so many compliments on his Elf Ranger costume (everyone loved that he had elf ears on) which will also be his hallowe'en costume this year.  We were also able to get to the Saturday night Dance Party for a while and he had a blast getting his groove on out on the dance floor (he simultaneously entertained many of the other guests who marvelled at his youthful abandon and energy). He was very sad when we had to leave after only a short time at the "post convention" Dead Dog Party and I’m quite sure he’ll be looking forward to next year.

I expect to get photos from the con and maybe even some comments I can quote on the web site in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled to find out what others thought.

:-j(enni)
aka: VCON 33 Webmaster

I Am A: Neutral Good Elf Ranger Mage

Alignment:
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Secondary Class:
Mages harness the magical energies for their own use. Spells, spell books, and long hours in the library are their loves. While often not physically strong, their mental talents can make up for this.

Deity:
Mielikki is the Neutral Good goddess of the forest and autumn. She is also known as the Lady of the Forest, and is the Patron of Rangers. Her followers are devoted to nature, and believe in the positive and outreaching elements of it. They use light armor, and a variety of weapons suitable for hunting, which they are quite skilled at. Mielikki's symbol is a unicorn head.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

I found this site with an "Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test" on it, which is pretty awesome.  My results are included below.

The higher your percentage, the more "pure" your are and thus the less tainted you are by the demonic influence of your average role playing game.  As expected, I'm not very pure when compared to the average test taker - particularly in the "Sensitive Roleplaying", "GM Experience" and "Livin' La Vida Dorka" categories.  My "Hacklust" and "Systems Knowledge" are pretty much on-par.  Altogether, though, I'm 12.71% less pure than average.  Woohoo!!!

Take The Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test and see how you match up!

Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score

Hacklust
My Score: 51.89% Will kill for XP
Average Score: 53.5%

Sensitive Roleplaying
My Score: 30.38% All the game's your stage
Average Score: 54.4%

GM Experience
My Score: 45.65% Puts the players through the wringer
Average Score: 69.3%

Systems Knowledge
My Score: 90.54% Played in a couple of campaigns
Average Score: 90.3%

Livin' La Vida Dorka
My Score: 40.23% Has interesting conversations in public
Average Score:  63%

Ultimate Roleplaying Purity
My Score:  55.99%
Average Score: 68.7%