Posted on 5 Comments

AAW Games seeks DMs to run games at Gen Con 2022 ~ Attend Gen Con for FREE!

AAW Games is looking for GMs to run Dungeons & Dragons 5e compatible games at Gen Con Indy 2022, which takes place from August 4th-7th, 2022.

Continue reading AAW Games seeks DMs to run games at Gen Con 2022 ~ Attend Gen Con for FREE!

Posted on Leave a comment

AAW Games is looking for #dnd GMs to run games at Gen Con 2020 (online)

AAW Games is looking for GMs to run Dungeons & Dragons 5e compatible games at Gen Con 2020 Online, which takes place from July 30th to August 2nd, 2020. 

We have selected 6 fantastic adventures from our award-winning Mini-Dungeon collection.

Continue reading AAW Games is looking for #dnd GMs to run games at Gen Con 2020 (online)

Posted on Leave a comment

AAW Games & Playground Adventures @ Gen Con 2016!


gencon

AAW Games (Adventureaweek.com) and our friends at Playground Adventures are excited to announce we will be sharing a booth at Gen Con 2016!

AAW is looking forward to returning to Gen Con and will have a plethora of fantastic new products for D&D 5th Edition and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Aventyr Bestiary, Snow White, and Into the Wintery Gale will be available at our booth as individual purchases or as part of a special discounted Gen Con exclusive bundle. Likewise, Playground will have an array of family friendly books for numerous systems such as D&D 5th Edition, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Hero Kids, and PonyFinder, ensuring something for everyone at our booth!

Both companies are hosting various events for their available systems and AAW may even run games using Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop.  Artists and authors will be available at our booth for limited signings and conversation during the con. We can’t wait to share our exciting new products and look forward to seeing everyone there!

IWG4-complete-set

Posted on 6 Comments

Cliff Jones 1964-2014

Cliff-Jones-CJ-1964-2014

Cliffton Anthony Jones

Cliffton Anthony Jones, 49, died February 14, 2014, in Bellevue, WA. He was born April 1, 1964, the beloved only child of Percival and Evonne Jones. A co-founder of game company Wizards of the Coast, he most recently served as IT director at Seattle-based Gen Con. Mr. Jones enjoyed games, music, travel, and sports, and was well known for his warm heart and infectious laugh. He is survived by his parents and the many friends he made everywhere he went.

~

I would personally like to thank CJ for all his contributions to Adventureaweek.com, specifically- creating and managing the development of adventure conversions into the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop by SmiteWorks. CJ was my go-to-tech guy, my Dungeon Master, and most of all- my friend. He will be sorely missed by all of us here at Adventureaweek.com.
-Jonathan G. Nelson
Founder & Owner
Adventureaweek.com

The Seattle Times: CJ’s Obituary Page

Posted on Leave a comment

Gen Con Rookie and Ask the Paizo GMs

medieval-crusades-1While I’ve been to conventions before (Otakon being prime among them) I’ve never had the pleasure of going to one devoted to entirely to gaming. Everything I’ve read tells me that my expectations will be defied and that it’s too much to absorb in only four days.  The people I ask tell me either to make no plans or stick to panels and discussions.

 

To put it succinctly, I am utterly ignorant about what’s going to happen next.

 

Travel arrangements have been prepared, the hotel reservation was made weeks ago, my tickets and badge have come in; the stage is set for what I expect to be a momentous occasion. During the convention I’ll be taking copious notes about my experience as a first timer at GenCon and am going to do my absolute best to grab some good photos along the way (albeit on my phone).
———————————–

So it turns out they were right; it’s far too much to take in all at once. The vast majority of my time was spent talking to publishers and attending seminars, some of which I cannot talk about. However, I do have one that I can talk about and my notes from the event are below.

Ask the Paizo GMs

1. Remix content players unintentionally skip.

Did you have a really intricate dungeon scenario with multiple encounters on the right, but nothing on the left, which is where your players went? Then just flip things around. You can work things out later (Ryan Macklin mentioned at some point or another that one of his favorite things to see is the long bathroom break, and expounded on the use of it as a private place to plan the remainder of an adventure on the fly.)

 

2. You don’t need high levels for high drama.

With the correct atmosphere and approach an encounter with an otyugh can be just as death defying and harrowing as the raid on a red dragon’s lair.

 

3. Respect the GM

The rules are a social contract; if you want to be respected, you have to respect the players in turn. If you’re hearing this – “The rules aren’t as written? How do I know what they are?” – then you’ve bent things too far out of shape and need to reassess (and possibly apologize). This doesn’t mean you aren’t the GM anymore (indeed, you are the ultimate arbiter of rules) it’s instead a reminder that respect is a two-way street; don’t cause a traffic jam with your ego.

 

4. Reward tiny free XP presents for good roleplay

Remember that every time you do this, only one player benefits; instead reward everyone for one player being awesome or allow sharing of experience among PCs.

 

5. Game as a team effort

This is a particularly good one; of course you need a traps guy to get through the dungeon hall but engaging in teamwork to succeed on a given task isn’t the same thing as actually making a team effort throughout the gaming experience. Think about it.

 

6. Re-incorporation is good GM improv (seeing NPCs again)

Not only does this make the world more believable (for both you and your players), it gives them an incentive to treat NPCs like real people; while I haven’t killed, robbed or otherwise been malignant to anyone in real life, I understand there are serious (and sometimes innocuous) repercussions for doing so.

 

7. “Failure can be the cost of success.”

Sometimes this means the players fail and sometimes it means you fail; either way there’s plenty of learning to be done. Don’t allow the party to enjoy victory every time (indeed, our highest moments are often mirrored by our deepest depths) and don’t beat yourself up if some well-laid plans get thrown to the winds. Take away what you can from the experience and be better for it next time through.

 

8. Err on the side of the players.

This brings us to something Wes Schneider referenced about a dozen times:

The 2 Rule – A general, situation-based bonus/penalty to ensure game fluidity.

Did you really need the fighter to make it over the ledge? Grant him a +2 bonus for some equipment that fortuitously snagged on a rock and can be briefly used as a point of leverage. Was it important that the lich not get disintegrated? Give out a -2 penalty to the Spell Resistance roll because of its proximity to a potent magic item. While this shouldn’t be abused, don’t let your excellent story get bogged down by some unexpected dice rolls and implement The 2 Rule instead.

——————————-

WarmachineI also snapped a few nice photos – the gentleman that co-stars in some of these is my primary playtester (and chief minion), a fellow named Dixie Carr. His talent for enduring the trials of my adventures is matched only by his excellent talent for providing scale in a photograph.GenCon Marvel

 

Of course, I didn’t ignore the gigantic spider queen by the D&D Next Booth. For whatever reason, Dixie is not overly concerned with his imminent demise; some players just never learn.

Lolth D&DNext Gencon 2013PS: The Damned Souls of Fenleist PDF is live! Go buy it here!