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Highlights from Gary Con XVII and Adepticon 2025 

March has come to a close, and with it, I have a break from preparing public games. It's been radio silence here for a bit and that's why. Expect more posts this month.
# Gary Con XVII
Gary Con is always a highlight of my year. It's a wonderful little con. Each year, I recognize more faces and make new friends in a way that does not happen at other conventions.

This year I ran 8 sessions of *Fate of the Norns*. Shout out to anyone who played!

I had 4 morning sessions comprising a 4-part mini campaign. The players had to race across Ireland and the Otherworld to retrieve an artifact in preparation for King Sitric's next war. It was exciting to have a player take part in the entire campaign, but it was a good time for all involved. 

There were 3 afternoon learn-to-play sessions. The two shown here played the beginning of our upcoming module, "Champions of Rag & Bone." The last one I pulled on ["Wealth, Illuminated"](https://blog.dungeonometry.dev/2024/10/steal-this-encounter-wealth-illuminated.html).

"Champions of Rag & Bone" nears the end of playtesting. With any luck, it will be hitting the printers this year. The con was also a good opportunity to plan follow-up projects. I'm excited to keep working with Andrew and Pendelhaven on future products. Liz and I also have some side projects we're hoping to share in the upcoming months.
# Adepticon 2025
This was my first year attending Adepticon. In years past it conflicted with Gary Con. That, plus its move to Milwaukee, made attending a non-brainer. And we're very glad we did. This was my first con in years where I was just an attendee with no games to run.
## Saga
I recently started playing the miniatures wargame *Saga*. My collection of Viking and Irish minis meant I was merely a rulebook away from playing. The game is a fun change of pace for my group. Maybe a little higher on the miniature count than I would like, but it makes for fun, narrative experiences.

A friend and I signed up for the doubles tournament, despite our utter inexperience. Preparing for this was a different kind of stress from preparing public RPG sessions. Painting dozens of minis with a hard deadline required far more hours of work. Having a final, physical manifestation of my labor makes for a new kind of pride.

After a few prep games (and weeks spent deliberating factions), we're proud of the showing we made. More importantly, the community is fantastic. They are welcoming and eager to help new players. The tournament had a strong emphasis on friendly play. I really liked that the prizes were given out in reverse order of performance; e.g., a box of free minis go to the players likeliest to benefit from it. 10/10 experience. That will be a mainstay of future Adepticons.

## Cool Minis and Games
Adepticon is a feast for the eyes, and I'd be loathe not to share what few lousy photographs I took.

I love minis, but I think I love miniature terrain more. There are a lot of fantastic crafters and artists out there.

The UV-resin waterfall workshop was a lot of fun.

*Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings* has beautiful miniatures. A lot of fantastic paintjobs from the community, too. I've got some of those dinosaur-riding orcs, but I'm not sure the game itself is for me. Their official demo did nothing to sell me on the game.

*Star Trek: Into the Unknown* was a fun demo. I like the multi-system mechanic given how crucial warp is to the Star Trek universe. The movement is more forgiving than X-Wing or Armada. The game as a whole was a little too fiddly for me.

A few games/minis I was so distracted by I didn't photograph and just brought home instead:
- *Freeblades*. Great minis, fun game, and the best learn-to-play demo for any minis game (and possibly of any game). Plus, tons of dinosaurs and most of their line is still in metal. 
- *Arena Rex*. No surprise, I'm a sucker for mythic fantasy. The game strikes the right balance of beer-and-pretzels casual game, with crunchy, board game like decision on your turn.
- *Arcworlde*. The game sounded fine, but frankly, I just love these minis. They've got great style and art that I associate more with the dedication and love for an RPG setting. And it's all metal!
- *Relicblade*. I love this aesthetic and skirmish scale. Had my buddy not picked it up, I certainly would have.
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