GenCon 2001 Photos
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BASHCon is a game convention hosted by the University of Toledo. Monte, Skip, and I were among the game industry guests. It's a good show, the staff is friendly, the area is comfortable (it's in the student union of UT, which means not only do they have a lot of open areas and small areas, they also have an area with several restaurants and even a Starbucks coffee. I recommend checking out the con if you're in the area, we had a good time.
I spent a lot of of time with Monte at this show (he and I shared a flight in from Chicago and stayed at the same hotel) which was cool because he and I haven't been able to hang out much since I moved out of Washington. We got to talk a bit about my move to the east coast, Arcana Evolved (which was going on sale the week after the show), and other miscellaneous gaming and friend stuff. So thank-you to BASHCon for that! :)
Monte and I met up in Chicago on our respective layovers on our way to BASHCon, and while waiting for our flight we ran into Steve Wolbrecht (standing) and Don Early (reading an early copy of Arcana Evolved) of Dead Gentlemen Productions (the folks who made The Gamers). We chatted for a bit while waiting for the plane. They're nice guys. :)
BASHCon sent a van to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel; we initially went to the wrong hotel, which had this weird giant frog statue outside.
On the way into the registration table we passed some guys playing a battlemech minis game.
A panoramic shot of the dealer room, guest starring Monte Cook. They had a pretty good selection of stuff at the show, from RPGs to minis to costume accessories and other stuff.
One guy had a bunch of really old TSR minis that had been in a flooded garage -- old D&D stuff, Star Frontiers, and stuff we couldn't identify. He was selling them for a quarter each, and Monte and I each bought a few interesting bits (I got a catlike basilisk and a whirlwind elemental that had a bearded old man's face).
The guests and staff eating dinner at Tony Packo's, a Hungarian restaurant in Toledo made famous because of the character Max Klinger of M*A*S*H is from Toledo and spoke of the restaurant often. I had the vegetarian chili, macaroni and cheese, and apple dumpling for dessert -- all three were quite good. :)
University of Toledo has a pretty cool campus with some neat buildings, although it was REALLY cold in February. Apparently my 2 years re-acclimitizing to California weather wore off most of the cold-weather tolerance I developed in Wisconsin. :P
Monte, Skip, and I at the "D&D Designer Q&A" seminar.
The open gaming area at the show ... a lot of tables with people playing RPGs and minis games.
The fountain on campus near the building where the con took place. It was covered, though I don't know if it was due to the weather or construction.
Another cool UT building.
A view of one of the gaming tables in the miniatures area. They had three rows of tables lined up, each table running its own game. A pretty nice setup with plenty of room to move around.
A close-up of one of the minis games, with mechs attacking a city.
A battle with some cool burning tokens that I thought look neat.
Another mech game, this time with some mechs advancing on a coastal city.
I liked the purple color scheme on these Warhammer 40k minis.
A 40k battle involving several large ships.
Detail photo of the big ship in the above 40k battle.
Another minis game, this time with cool Hirst Arts castles in the corner; I don't know if they served any game function, but the castles also acted as dice rollers (drop your die in the top, it comes out the bottom after bouncing on some interior angles, ensuring no cheating).
A couple of people from the Society for Creative Anachronism, in the heat of battle.
A civil war mini-game scenario.
Like many conventions, the con has an auction area.
One guy in the dealer's area was selling old gaming stuff for the widow of a friend of his who died in Iraq. He had two copies of the original 1st edition Deities & Demigods hardback with the Chthulhu mythos ...
... and the Melnibonean mythos.
Some people playing a Vampire LARP.
This was the 20th BASHCon, and the show had a display case representing 20 years of gaming at UT.
Monte and I wanted to play in a game on Saturday, so some of the folks at our last Saturday seminar volunteered to run a one-shot game. We played Forgotten Realms ... Monte played a paladin of the Red Knight, I played a cleric of Tempus.
Me, Monte, Aaron Williams, and Kerry Breitenstein at the "Breaking Into the Gaming Industry" seminar.
Monte and Doug "Psi" Friess (Doug is the guy who organized the con and invited us to attend).
Someone took a board game they liked and build a scaled-up version with terrain and minis. Pretty cool!
Some clever person brought her daughter's Girl Scout troop in to sell cookies. Girl Scout Cookies + gamers = profit.
I liked the paint jobs on these Warhammer lizard things.
Steve and Don performing the "Dance of the Spinning Wolbrechts," a strange act where one picks up the other, spins around, sets him down, and is in turn pick up and spun by the other. Apparently this is something that originated in the Wolbrecht family, but is contagious over long periods of exposure (which explains why Don does it now, too).
Don (of Dead Gentlemen), Pat (our dedicated driver from the show staff) and Steve (of Dead Gentlemen) in a jaunty pose.
Monte and I met up in Chicago on our respective layovers on our way to BASHCon, and while waiting for our flight we ran into Steve Wolbrecht (standing) and Don Early (reading an early copy of Arcana Evolved) of Dead Gentlemen Productions (the folks who made The Gamers). We chatted for a bit while waiting for the plane. They're nice guys. :)
BASHCon sent a van to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel; we initially went to the wrong hotel, which had this weird giant frog statue outside.
On the way into the registration table we passed some guys playing a battlemech minis game.
A panoramic shot of the dealer room, guest starring Monte Cook. They had a pretty good selection of stuff at the show, from RPGs to minis to costume accessories and other stuff.
One guy had a bunch of really old TSR minis that had been in a flooded garage -- old D&D stuff, Star Frontiers, and stuff we couldn't identify. He was selling them for a quarter each, and Monte and I each bought a few interesting bits (I got a catlike basilisk and a whirlwind elemental that had a bearded old man's face).
The guests and staff eating dinner at Tony Packo's, a Hungarian restaurant in Toledo made famous because of the character Max Klinger of M*A*S*H is from Toledo and spoke of the restaurant often. I had the vegetarian chili, macaroni and cheese, and apple dumpling for dessert -- all three were quite good. :)
University of Toledo has a pretty cool campus with some neat buildings, although it was REALLY cold in February. Apparently my 2 years re-acclimitizing to California weather wore off most of the cold-weather tolerance I developed in Wisconsin. :P
Monte, Skip, and I at the "D&D Designer Q&A" seminar.
The open gaming area at the show ... a lot of tables with people playing RPGs and minis games.
The fountain on campus near the building where the con took place. It was covered, though I don't know if it was due to the weather or construction.
Another cool UT building.
A view of one of the gaming tables in the miniatures area. They had three rows of tables lined up, each table running its own game. A pretty nice setup with plenty of room to move around.
A close-up of one of the minis games, with mechs attacking a city.
A battle with some cool burning tokens that I thought look neat.
Another mech game, this time with some mechs advancing on a coastal city.
I liked the purple color scheme on these Warhammer 40k minis.
A 40k battle involving several large ships.
Detail photo of the big ship in the above 40k battle.
Another minis game, this time with cool Hirst Arts castles in the corner; I don't know if they served any game function, but the castles also acted as dice rollers (drop your die in the top, it comes out the bottom after bouncing on some interior angles, ensuring no cheating).
A couple of people from the Society for Creative Anachronism, in the heat of battle.
A civil war mini-game scenario.
Like many conventions, the con has an auction area.
One guy in the dealer's area was selling old gaming stuff for the widow of a friend of his who died in Iraq. He had two copies of the original 1st edition Deities & Demigods hardback with the Chthulhu mythos ... 
... and the Melnibonean mythos.
Some people playing a Vampire LARP.
This was the 20th BASHCon, and the show had a display case representing 20 years of gaming at UT.
Monte and I wanted to play in a game on Saturday, so some of the folks at our last Saturday seminar volunteered to run a one-shot game. We played Forgotten Realms ... Monte played a paladin of the Red Knight, I played a cleric of Tempus.
Me, Monte, Aaron Williams, and Kerry Breitenstein at the "Breaking Into the Gaming Industry" seminar.
Monte and Doug "Psi" Friess (Doug is the guy who organized the con and invited us to attend).
Someone took a board game they liked and build a scaled-up version with terrain and minis. Pretty cool!
Some clever person brought her daughter's Girl Scout troop in to sell cookies. Girl Scout Cookies + gamers = profit.
I liked the paint jobs on these Warhammer lizard things.
Steve and Don performing the "Dance of the Spinning Wolbrechts," a strange act where one picks up the other, spins around, sets him down, and is in turn pick up and spun by the other. Apparently this is something that originated in the Wolbrecht family, but is contagious over long periods of exposure (which explains why Don does it now, too).
Don (of Dead Gentlemen), Pat (our dedicated driver from the show staff) and Steve (of Dead Gentlemen) in a jaunty pose.