Neoncon

Experiencing Tentacle Difficulties …

Doug — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:09:22 +0000

2009 T-Shirt

Featuring original art by Christian N. St. Pierre, the 2009 show shirt is a great addition to your con shirt collection. In keeping with the 2009 theme of Lovecraftian horror, N40M1 is “Experiencing Tentacle Difficulties”! Don’t let the Old Ones win, get your 2009 show shirt now!

Play Blood Royale!

Mike S. — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:41:45 +0000

We’ve confirmed a game of Blood Royale this year. Naturally, you don’t want to devote your whole weekend to one game so we’ve got a pretty cool set-up. Basically, you stop in at the table and log your actions and the game evolves over the course of the weekend. I’m guessing if you’re reading this you are already familiar with the game, but if not here is a brief description.

“Power is Wealth, Wealth is Power”

Up to five players control one of the major blood lines of the middle ages and must guide their dynasty of family members through the ages as they attempt to gain the most wealth through diplomatic, economic and military means.

Taking a unique twist on your typical multiplayer wargame, Blood Royale downplays the war aspect of the game and makes the dynastic families political fortunes as the heart and soul of the game. Players must utilize their family members well if they wish to create a stable seat of power in their country and in the rest of Europe.

Now that you’re salvating and can’t wait to play, here’s the catch. There are only 5 seats for the game. Stop by the Games HQ table at the show and secure your seat early.

Need more information? Got questions? Reply here.

GEN CON SPONSORS GAMESU 2009

Doug — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:43:37 +0000

LAS VEGAS (October 28, 2009) Neoncon, a regional, multi-genre gaming convention, is proud to announce Gen Con LLC as the exclusive sponsor of GamesU 2009, the Social Games Unconference. Video game professionals have the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) and GamesU serves the same purpose, but for the community of traditional, tabletop/social game developers and publishers. Already generating buzz across the industry, GamesU has all the earmarks of a “must attend” event for both established and aspiring game designers. Gen Con’s support of the GamesU launch is tremendous validation of the vision held for the event, now and in the future.

Taking a page from BarCamp, WordCamp and other more tech-oriented unconferences, GamesU creates a community-driven and ground-up learning environment where game designers come together, share ideas and learn from one another.

“Gen Con is excited to partner with Neoncon to launch GamesU,” said Scott Elliott, senior director of sales for Gen Con LLC. “The experts assembled for this inaugural event represent decades of publishing experience coupled with the cutting edge of face-to-face gaming. Grassroots, fun, smart and social games – these are the hallmarks of a Gen Con experience, which is why we are on board.”

Taking place in Las Vegas from November 5-8, Erik Mona of Paizo will present the Keynote Address at this inaugural GamesU. Among others, Mona is joined by a notable group of presenting game designers, which includes Randall Bills (Catalyst Game Labs), Marcelo Figueroa (Greater Games Industry Catalog), Joshua J. Frost (Paizo), Matthew Grau (Wildfire), Jess Hartley (White Wolf), Ed Healy (MoonStew), Boyan Radakovich (Shifting Skies), Stan! (Super Genius Games) and John Wick (Wicked Dead). Topics include game design, pitching to the pros, career development, effective use of the Internet and online social networks and much more.

About Neoncon/GamesU

In 2007, a small, local RPGA-centric event was relaunched as Neoncon, a regional, multi-genre gaming convention. From its inception, Neoncon’s primary mission has been “to elevate the discussion of tabletop gaming” and help bring it out of the pop-culture “basement” in which too often lingers in the broader public mind. Supported by local monthly game days and growing number of key publishers and distributors, Neoncon has steadily grown with each year of operation. With the 2009 show, Neoncon introduces GamesU, the Social Games Unconference; itself a most tangible expression of Neoncon’s mission. For more information visit the website at www.neoncon.com.

About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy and licensees for European and Asia Pacific Gen Con shows. It was acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, who owns the company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming culture and community. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com.

Volunteers Meeting 10/31/09

Steve — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:53:46 +0000

Neoncon is looking for volunteers to help run games and a lend a hand throughout around the show. Join us at 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 31^th, at the Las Vegas Library and learn about the exciting opportunities and rewards for volunteers at Neoncon 2009.

Feel free to come early and/or stay late and play with our hosts Vegas Game Day, sponsored by VegasGamers.org. For more information including directions please visit www.vegasgamers.org

Adamantine Author

Mike S. — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:26:52 +0000

How many times have you been sitting around the gaming table and heard, “Man! That was sweet! We kicked their butts!” or “We broke that module!” Thousands, right? How many times have you heard, “That was a great plot!” or “That NPC fishmonger was so well developed and added a real sense of depth to the game!” Never? Yeah, me either. It’s time for adventure authors to get their due. The Neoncon special event: Adamantine Author is all about praising the author’s creative skills.

Here’s the deal. We give you the location, main villain, an NPC, the adventure level and 7 days; everything else is yours to play with. Then your fellow gamers will run and play your adventure and give it a score based on several factors. The winning adventure will net you a badge to Neoncon 2010, prestigious mention on neoncon.com and a published copy of your adventure.

Go sign-up for the Adamantine Author contest now by sending an E-mail to AA@neoncon.com to make sure you get all the information on time. Think this is a cool contest, but you don’t want to write an adventure? That’s fine, sign-up to play or GM the adventures your fellow gamers write. Where else are you going to get such a unique experience? That’s not enough for you? How about some free stuff? We’ll be having a special raffle for all the players and GMs. You can further participate by voting on the NPC you wish to see featured in the adventures. Hurry and check out the poll.

You can find complete details for this event under the “Play” Tab.

Check Out our New Stuff!

Mike S. — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:25:32 +0000

Several new events have been added to both our RPG and Board Games schedules. Now might be a good time to go back and take a peek. While I’m excited about all the events, there are a few I’d like to highlight.

Board Gamers should be sure to sign-up for the Ticket to Ride Tournament and test your luck and skill against your peers. Don’t know how to play yet? That’s ok, we’ve got demos scheduled throughout the convention. Learn how to play and put that beginners luck to good use in the Tourney.

Erik Mona, Publisher at Paizo, will be running a playtest for a new Pathfinder Society adventure. Be the first to play it, and if that wasn’t good enough you get to play with Erik.

Josh Frost, Event Manager and Head of Organized Play at Paizo, will be running a game of his most recent Pathfinder Society adventure, The Devil We Know—Part II: Cassomir’s Locker. Also, look for his table of the Pathfinder Interactive for an extra special experience.

Lastly, both Erik and Josh will be playing in the Neoncon Special Event: Death Dungeon. What better way to conquer a dungeon than with a Pro at your side?

Neoncon Volunteers Meeting 10/15/09

Steve — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:21:24 +0000

Neoncon is looking for volunteers to participate in running games and a few extra hands to help out around the show. Come join us at 7:00 PM on Thursday the 15^th at Palace Station Hotel and Casino and learn about the exciting opportunities and rewards for volunteers at this year’s Neoncon. The meeting will be held in the Hospitality Tower Suite 3010.

Volunteers Meeting – Saturday 09/26/09

Steve — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:09:18 +0000

Neoncon is looking for volunteers to help run games and a lend a hand throughout around the show. Join us at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 26^th, at the Las Vegas Library and learn about the exciting opportunities and rewards for volunteers at Neoncon 2009.

Feel free to come early and/or stay late and play with our hosts Vegas Game Day, sponsored by VegasGamers.org. For more information including directions please visit www.vegasgamers.org

Introducing Death Dungeon

Mike S. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:31:03 +0000

With great adventure comes great reward, but only if you can survive long enough to claim it.

Sir Sdleihs has issued a challenge to all adventures of the land. Come and prove you are the best of the best. He has commissioned the mysterious Three Sages to conjure a small village and castle that he will fill with nasty surprises. As a special feature, they have promised that no two teams will experience quite the same dungeon.

Form your team and see how much of our dungeon you can conquer. Don’t be fooled though, this contest isn’t just about brute force. Death comes in many flavors and you will taste them all. If you don’t win you’ll be just another pile of bones, but if your team makes it the deepest, you’ll be richly rewarded. Well, your next of kin will be; no one survives the dungeon. But don’t worry, we’ll display your names in a place of honor at neoncon.com and try to get that Raise Dead cast by next year so you can defend your title. Remember, He who dies last dies best!

This event will run in a standard 4-hour slot and use the Pathfinder RPG rules. There’s no need to be familiar with Pathfinder RPG rules, everything you need to know will be provided on a cheat sheet. Players will have 15 minutes to select their party from the “Mercenaries Guild” and choose three magic items from the Magic Shop. At the end of the convention which ever team has survived the most of the dungeon will win. There is no restriction on how many times you can play.

Session Registration Now Live!

Doug — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:51:55 +0000

We are happy to announce that session registration is now live. You can find complete schedule details in PLAY. To register for individual game sessions, you must use the following Warhorn sites:

Warhorn – General: This site is used exclusively for all gaming sessions which are NOT RPG and LARP events.
Warhorn – RPG & LARP: This site is used exclusively for all RPG & LARP gaming sessions

In addition to Warhorn, we have prepared details on the following tracks in an easy-to-read format. Later this week, we will post details about our D&D Minis, Warhammer 40K, HORDES/Warmachine and Magic: The Gathering events.

Finally, please note the following about session registration.

If you plan to play both RPG/LARP and General events, you need to create two seperate Warhorn accounts. We apologize for this inconvenience.
While you are free to sign up for both Warhorn schedules, you will not be cleared to register for individual game sessions until we have confirmed your paid pre-registration.

See you November 5th!

Doug Daulton
Executive Producer
NEONCON 2009