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Preparations are underway yet again for my annual trek to GenCon, and I'm looking as forward to it as ever.

Alas, I'm a last-minute-planning kinda guy, so I'm up writing this post to you to help me stay awake as I finish what I hope is my last load of laundry so that I might have clean socks for the convention. You'd really think I'd learn from year's past to do this kinda thing over the preceding weekend. . .

So, who am I, and why am I blogging for you?

Fair enough.

I'm WolfStar76, but you can call me Dustin, and really, I'm just a Dungeons and Dragons fan. Most specifically, I'm a fan of the RPGA and the wonderful campaigns they produce.

I've been volunteering my time with the RPGA at major conventions since GenCon SoCal 2005, and was fortunate enough to be asked to join them in HeadQuarters starting this year. (If you think running a table is madness, you should see some of the small, but URGENT fires we often put out in HQ!)

Some of you might also know me as a D&Di News Guide. I'm one of those gamers whose friends are all scattered to the winds, as such, the announcement of Dungeons and Dragons Insider has been one of those topics where I've done my best over the last year to absorb every little tidbit of information I can.

My friends and I already use an existing Virtual Table Top to play, but we're looking forward to what's being offered by WotC.

Thanks to duties with D&Di, my "connections" at RPGA HQ, and a natural 20 on a couple Streetwise and Diplomacy rolls, I've landed the responsibility of being the "Sagamore Ballroom Blogger" for GenCon this year.

The who, with the what? For those of you that aren't familiar with GenCon Indy, Sagamore ballroom is THE place for all things Dungeons and Dragons at GenCon. Yes, you'll find other groups running a few games here and there, but the vast majority of D&D games happen here.

It's also the place where you'll find all the D&D Miniatures tournaments going on, and there's usually a few surprises as well (like last year's 4th Edition announcement).

So, this year my job is to keep you informed of what's going on in this room at the show. I'm still looking forward to seeing what's going on myself.

Some highlights dancing through my mind in no particular order:

• Living Forgotten Realms premiers at the show. I'm told we sold out a record number of tickets in a record amount of time. If you want to try and get in with Generics, please do stop in, there's always *someone* who doesn't show up - but get there EARLY for a shot at the tables!
  
• We're going to run a character creation station to help you create your first LFR/4th Edition characters. While we won't likely have enough time to go over your character's richly detailed backstory, we should be able to help you understand your powers and make sure your math is correct
  
• The Delve is back again! This time with Star Wars and D&D delves. A *great* way to kill a little time, the Delve is your chance to enter a classic dungeon crawl, with encounters of three varying difficulties. The further your party can progress, the greater the reward.
  
• D&D Minis Championships - little explanation needed
  

I've also heard a rumor that there may be demos of some of the D&Di tools in the Sagamore Ballroom (depending on space and other factors (like, power!). If there are, you can bet I'll be bugging whomever I must to be first in line to play with the Shiny New Things. You'll get word straight from me on all the goings-on.

Have something specific you'd like to know about in the Sagamore Ballroom? Feel free to send me a PM here on the forums. I'll do my best to report on what I can.

Otherwise, well, I hit the road tomorrow morning, I'll be sure to check in when I arrive.

So, I managed to get checked in over at the Sagamore Ballroom, picked up my GM shirt, badge, DM Screen, and swag bag.

Attended the RPGA Judge Meeting. Meanwhile, in the back of the hall Didier Monin (WotC_DM) was setting up a pod of six computers to run the Character Visualizer and Character Generator Demos.

When the meeting was over, I sauntered over to watch him work, and introduced myself. He shook my hand, and gave me a chance to toy with the software.

So, where to begin. First off, the interface for the Character Generator is a pretty straightforward affair. I'd describe it to you here, but a picture is worth a thousand words. . . and I didn't have my camera on me. I'll either snap a shot or two with my camera-phone tomorrow, or wait until someone else gets pics posted in the forums and borrow theirs.

There was a tutorial running as well, though I didn't find that the software really needs one. You click once on your choices to get descriptive text at the bottom of the screen, or double-click to make your choice (or unselect your choice).

For my demo I made a Dragonborn Paladin, just to kick the tires.

The first part of the process is to select your race. Done. Clicked next. Choose the class - and when you click on a class you get the full PHB text describing that class. Powers, Abilities, suggested builds, it's all there.

Next is assigning ability scores. You can choose from 4 methods. The 3 from your Player's Handbook (I didn't take the time to test the die roller for Method Three - maybe tomorrow). Method 4 is to let "Red" (the dragon from the tutorial) choose your scores for you. I'm not sure if this is random, or a suggested build. I'll have to play with it some more and/or ask Didier about it over the con.

I went with Method 2 for a quickie point buy, and once my stats were assigned, it was on to choosing powers.

Now, here's where the first "bugs" of this "not-quite-beta" software were made apparent. In choosing my at-will powers, my paladin feature abilities (like, Divine Challenge) were intermixed with my Paladin class powers to be chosen. IE - If I took Bolstering Strike and Enfeebling Strike, Divine Challenge wouldn't be on my character sheet. So they're still teaching the software the difference between Feature powers (that you always get) and Class Powers (that you choose).

Not a major problem, but still, something that leaves it fairly reasonable that this is still Alpha.

So, I chose my powers, as well as my feats (Durable). I moved on to Equipment. Didier tells me there are still some data fields to be filled in here, getting magical enhancements to work and auto-calculate their advantages (like getting a Pact Blade +1 to apply to Implement powers). This again is just a matter of time, but strikes me as a reasonable "wait for beta" item.

Equipment has a "Shopping Mode" to differentiate when to spend gold, and when you're just adding an item to your character (like that +2 Amulet of Life you just found). I didn't *see* a place to adjust your gold directly (for that Dragon Horde you just raided) but I'm betting its in there somewhere.

Last but not least, I got to take a look (on the screen) at what a printed character sheet would look like.

Essentially, it was the PDF form available from the Wizard's website (here), with all the fields filled in.

That's the first two pages, at least (especially nice if you have a duplex printer). The third page was something I, personally, have been waiting for. Power Cards - complete with your up-to-date stats.

The cards are, apparently, still a work in progress, as they didn't list the effects of your powers, but they DO make a nice note of your modifier to your rolls, as well giving you a breakdown on the card of how your bonus was calculated (+2 from strength, +1 from the power, +2 from weapon proficiency, etc). I don't know if that will remain once they get power text working or not, but I kind of like the option.

Regardless, I came away from the demo quite satisfied. It's nice to see the software up close and personal for myself.

I know that many of us are chomping at the bit for this program to be done "already", and many people point to the various tools for character creation already available on the web.

So far, most of the ones I've seen (form-fillable PDFs, a spreadsheet, and a pay website) aren't as sophisticated as this appears to be so far. That's not to fault those existing tools, they're filling a void that needs filled, and they do a fine job. They just require a little more work on the part of the user than the Character Generator will.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to play with the Visualizer tomorrow (the AC wasn't on in the Sagamore Ballroom yet today, so while I wanted to tinker a little more, it was just shy of sweltering in the room).

If I learn anything more, I'll be happy to pass along what I know as the con progresses.

Holy cow! Where does the day go?

Just finished up my shift in the RPGA HQ. I was supposed to walk out at 11:30. . . didn't realize it was almost 1am until I got to my room.

GenCon RPGA games takes a LOT of co-ordination. Today alone we've had over 2100 people through our various events. That's simply an INCREDIBLE amount of "traffic" - and Thursday is our slow day. Friday will be a little more populous, and Saturday. . . well. . . all bets are off on Saturday.

I had the opportunity to meet Chris Youngs in the flesh today, and from there I was introduced to none other than Gamer_Zer0 himself. He quickly wrangled me in front of his camera and had me give a quick video introduction of myself.

I don't know when/were I'll be posted, but if I find out, I'll be sure to link it here (or, if it happens after GenCon, I'll make a post in the D&Di forums (my "home" here on the boards). Fair warning, I don't usually look like a pirate - but I sat in on a demo at the Privateer Press booth this morning, and I liked the bandana.

Shortly after having my video introduction taken, I was also invited to the VCL meet and greet (thanks again, GZ!). There I met several WotC employees, and forum regulars, Webster, Solice, and CrazyMonkey (I'd link their profiles, but seriously? 1AM. I should be sleeping. Mebbe I'll do it tomorrow.)

It was nice to stop in and meet some of the others who help juggle the forums. The free food and beverage was nice too. . . I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd eaten.

There's little else my frazzled mind can think to report on at this time, so I'll be cutting this short - perhaps after some rest I'll recall some more anecdotes to share over breakfast.

Rest well, readers!

Sorry for getting this to you late!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWpjkcq8Ik

Well, another GenCon has come and gone, and I find myself worn out, tired, and happy.

There's a certain kind of energy that comes from a convention the size of GenCon, and a special kind of tired to go with it. Yes, I'm a little sleep deprived, but I also carry that kind of "spent" feeling where you know you've done something your really enjoy. The fact that I get to share that experience with 30,000 others is all the sweeter.

I don't know how long I'm going to have this blog, but I'm still hoping to get some pictures to everyone once I get home and get some USB cables sorted out. That won't be happening tonight.

However, with Solice and Gamer_Zer0 both at the show, and hopefully not flying home until tonight/tomorrow, I won't be getting locked out of here just yet.

So, highlights from this last day.

Sunday morning was still surprisingly busy this year. Typically this is the day where many people have either advanced in tournaments, need to make last-minute purchases, or simply decide they've had "enough" and we end up getting lost of "no-show" ticket holders. I don't know if it's because of 4E, LFR's premier, or just dumb luck, but that wasn't the case in the Sagamore Ballroom today. We were still pulling judges from our pool of players this morning (we can never really thank those of you who step up like this enough), and scrambling to get them battle-mats to draw maps on this morning.

I took a little time this morning to play with the Character Visualizer for the first time, and it seems to be a nice program that's really coming along. I can see there's still a few options needing to be set (I couldn't change the skin color of my dragonborn), but I'm suddenly enjoying the idea of a custom character portrait.

I did, however, manage to catch the eye of Didier this morning (WotC_DM) and he was very kind and gave me a personal demo of the Game Table application.

Now, I've used other VTT applications. I was one of the early adopters of Fantasy Grounds, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was expecting from a VTT. Game Table meets my personal standards, and even has a few nice "bonus" options I didn't quite expect.

I'm a little addled, and I'm typing this from my car ride home (love my cellular modem!), so I may make mistakes or miss items here, but feel free to ask me questions in the D&D Insider forums, and I'll do my best to answer things.

Here are some of the highlights that jumped out at me:

• First and foremost, I'm pretty sure Didier told me that the Game Table is currently feature complete (at least for launch features). There are some bugs they're well aware of (like "Conditions" crashing the program), as well as some UI changes they'd like to make to simplify things. However, this is, to me, exciting news, as I would think this means we're moving ever-closer to Beta tests.
  
• The Game Table DOES allow a GM to import any JPG (and I'd assume other image formats) into the program and slap a grid on top.
  
• The DM can control what the player's see in a variety of ways. On the "overland" map he showed me (a JPG image of the map leading to Kobold Hall from the back of the DMG) He was able to hide the entire map, while leaving the grid on. With that, players would see a black grid and nothing more. From there he was able to move a light-source around, and what was "lit" was revealed to the players. Adding a player token (2D or 3D) and attaching a light allowed that light to move with the player.
  
• Moving into Kobold Hall - the entryway was lit, however the light source didn't bleed into the next room, because the DM hadn't revealed it yet. This allows a DM to conceal hidden passageways, or simply not reveal what's on the other side of a door until the players are ready to proceed.
  
• Once the next room was revealed, the player view and the DM view still differed. The DM had chosen to reveal all but a couple kobolds. The ones that were hiding were still visible to the DM, but not the layers. Very nice touch.
  
• Moving on to Inititive. There's a nice combat tracker in place, the DM may, at his discretion hit a single button and roll initiative for all the characters (PC or NPC) in a single click.
  Of course most of us would rather roll our own initiative. No problem, as the players roll their Initiative, the DM can drag their results) which show next to their portrait along the left side of the screen) into the initiative box. Once everyone has their score, it's one click to sort eveything in initiative order.
  Player's (or NPCs) often know the value of Readying an action or Holding an action. You can click a value in the Combat/Initiative tracker to indicate a ready or held action. When the player then DOES take their action you drop them onto the tracker, and it will either set them ahead or behind the current person's turn accordingly.
  
• Tracking damage is simple as well. Just take the result of the damage roll (drag from the portrait of the attacker) and drop onto the minus sign next to the HP of the defender. The program instantly does the math. (and if something is healed, drag the results onto the plus sign accordingly).
  
• Characters also get a detail window where things like Temp Hit Points can be tracked and maintained separately. I didn't think to ask, but I would assume that dropping damage onto a character with Temp HPs would deduct from the Temp Pool first.
  
• Traps. Got a false floor (for a pit trap, or a quick acid bath), great! Drop the tile onto the map as you're building it (in the Dungeon Builder) and set it to be "flipped" making the floor look flush and normal.
  The caveat here is that now you, the GM have to remember where that pit trap is. No problem. With a quick set of keystrokes, Didier produced a "note" that only the DM can see, and placed it right on the tiles hiding the trap. Now the DM has a (hidden) visual reminder that there's a trap, and where it's located.
  
• 3D minis. A lot of people have had a lot to say on 3D minis and the microtransactions that are (last I heard officially) that are going to come with them. One of the issues I've had with that is that of being able (or unable) to clone the 3D minis.
  While final pricing and options are still being decided, it looks like in this arena, there's been an update (at least since DDXP).
  The game table will support cloning of minis (and tokens, and notes, and tiles, and. . . really it looked like anything you can manipulate). However, you may still have a limit of how many 3D minis are in your table's "pool".
  For example, let's say you buy Irontooth (or a pack containing him (see adventure H1 - Keep on the Shadowfeel if you don't know Irontooth). and you have access to two copies of that 3D mini. You're running a combat that needs four tough-looking Goblins. No problem. Drop Irontooth on the table, clone him. The first two figs will be 3D, the 2nd two will be 2D.
  Now, this may or may not be good news depending on your opinion of 3D minis and their costs - but the advantage I see is that if they do stick with the currently proposed pricing structure, I don't have to go digging around for 3D copies of a figure, then find the 2D version if I run out. The software just hadnles it for me.
  
• Starting a game! I almost forgot about this, it's a pretty spiffy feature too.
  There WILL be a game lobby. So, it's Friday, you're getting ready to play Keep on the Shadowfell. So, you setup a table. You don't want just anyone getting in on your game, since you've been playing with your friends Alice, Bob, Clark, and Denise (players A, B, C, and D respectively).
  So, when you create the table you create seats for how many players you want (don't know what/if the upward limit is). So, you setup four seats, and lock them each with their own password (the Game Table uses a different term, but I don't recall it). I'd simply use the name of the player, or the name of their character for simplicity.
  As you're waiting, you get a call from Bob. He can't make it tonight. Now your party is without their paladin, and you need a new Defender.
  No problem. Open up the seat by removing Bob's password. You don't want just anyone sitting in, however, since you're down a role, so you can filter the seat to only accept Defenders. Now you just sit back and wait for someone to join the lobby.
  While you're waiting the GM can go in and check the map, make any last-minute changes he wants, etc - without allowing the players into the map (wouldn't want to spoil the surprises!).
  Once everything is set with the map, and a new Defender is found that's agreeable, the DM can then allow players into the game itself and the real fun can begin. (I assume that the VoIP (voice-chat) application will let the GM be tweaking the map and things while still talking to the players in the lobby). I also presume the GM has the option to boot people out of the lobby if they're simply not a match (because, no matter where you go there's always a griefer on the Internet).
  

That pretty well covers the highlights of the game table as I recall. There were some other neat features (the ability for the GM to create fixed numbers to assign Gold, XP, etc). Movement being something that players can plot out (to avoid those pesky Opportunity Attacks) and the like as well, but I'm sure others will talk about those. . . or say things in the forums to jog my memory.

For now, it's time to close my laptop and quite probably take a nap. I'll be returning to my duties as D&Di News Guide (doubly important since mudbunny is on vacation this week), so I'll be back in two-way communication starting tomorrow.

It's been a great trip. Going back to work tomorrow just won't be the same.