Dreamation 2013 After-Action Report

I just got back from the Dreamation 2013 convention, and it was, as always, a wonderful time!

I ran the three “Giants” modules, using the AD&D rules, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. A couple of players went through all three, while there were some newcomers in the later sessions as well.

The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief went like clockwork. The party snuck around, killed giants in their sleep, charmed one to get information, and eventually found the treasure room and the teleporting device that took them to The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl.

Best… yarmulke… EVER

By the time they got there, however, they took a decidedly more aggressive approach, lobbing fireballs and lightning bolts around, killing lots of giants but not getting any information (or treasure, as they kept slagging anything worth taking).

The Hall of the Fire Giant King was more of a mix of the two approaches. They started off great, sneaking around invisibly, but found themselves having to take out a band of gnolls and two fire giant guards. Things could still have worked out for them, but they left the bodies where they could be found, alerted the wily Obmi that something was afoot, and lost two of their band to some poisoned arrows. They weren’t helped by being fooled by a trio of rakshasas impersonating the lords who had hired them. Once the remaining adventurers were cornered by fire giants and hell hounds, the rakshasas also struck, and the party either teleported away in ignominy or used haste to run for the hills.

Thrilled that her wedding
reception was in the same
hotel as a gaming con full
of LARPers in costume.
Really!

Still, everyone agreed it was a grand time, and I certainly had a lot of fun running the modules. I hadn’t run them since I was in high school, and never in a real tournament situation. Loads of fun.

I also ran two sessions of Ogre Miniatures, which I’ll recount in a separate post.

The rest of the convention was a blast as always. Lots of great games being played, over 1,600 gamers packing the hotel, and a really great staff putting everything together. If there were any foul-ups, I was unaware of them.

Definitely highly recommended (along with the other cons put on by the same outfit, Dexcon and Metatopia) if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of New Jersey or even farther afield.

Written by 

Wargamer and RPG'er since the 1970's, author of Adventures Dark and Deep, Castle of the Mad Archmage, and other things, and proprietor of the Greyhawk Grognard blog.