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| At home, Paige's first meeting with Santa and Mrs. Claus. |
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| What a pleasant couple! |
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| Down LA way… |
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| We bumped into another pleasant couple from days past! |
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| Methinks they'd look pretty good with kids of their own. (They can't have mine though! ;) |
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| And what Christmas in SoCal would be complete without a day at the beach. |
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| And a few fishing lessons to boot! |
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| With God smiling down on all! |
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| And so it stretched. At times the full length of the convention center in Indianapolis, and right out the doors! For me though, this is where it begins, not where it ends. My first outing to Gen Con, an event for which the Pure Steam Dev Team has been playing since 2013. It did not disappoint. But why did I not have to stand in line, I hear you ask… |
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| This is why! I worked the con. 20+ hours, to be exact. Gamemaster, son. Been gamin' and masterin' since the summer of '95. Upwards of 25 years under my belt. And I can roleplay you, your grandma, and your next door neighbor under the table, any diggidy-dang day of the week. |
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| Ok, check. So, dungeons? Who's got the dungeons? |
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| Oh Batman, when are you NOT present where geeks gather? Riddle me that! |
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| Fleets of tables sporting CCGs were on display. |
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| Some with incredible meters-wide displays themselves, catering to everything from the nostalgia-hungry manchild, to the anime-maniac, to the casual player, to the grognard, young and old! |
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| Star Wars nerds were definitely full in force, packing impressive tabletop war-gaming sets. |
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| Most impressive. |
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| And here's what we hoped would most impress: our very own in-house RPG product, the Pure Steam Campaign Setting (now with that new 5th Edition scent)! |
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| This year's con also reintroduced me to Warhammer 40k… |
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| …courtesy of those who actually knew how to play, and took no small amount of pleasure in placing us n00bs out in front of the action like so many hapless pawns! |
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| A view of the battlefield from our perspective. |
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| And one from theirs. |
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| Here's where the battle turned, though: when Adam C., our project lead, plopped his space marines in by drop pod and proceeded to cue his victory music! (I guess even the boss is allowed to have some fun, too!) |
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| The highlight for me, though, had to be the 20+ hours of Pure Steam RPG sessions that I hosted (in a Doc Holiday as played by Val Kilmer voice) over 3 days. Above, you can see my table in medias res. |
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| We even had our multi-award winning cosplayer, Chris, stop by with his newest self-made look. (I'm just sorry I couldn't get a better shot of him as I was in the midst of a session!) |
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| And it's safe to say I made some fast friends and fans on my first gig. "Your table was the highlight of the con for me," the fan, pictured above in a cap and his arm over my shoulder at center, said. Other team members pictured from left to right: Adam C., Chris, Benton, Adam S., Bryan, Paul, and Brennan. Let's do it again, guys! |
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| My #1 fan even brought his freshly purchased product of ours to be signed by the whole team. Now there's a collector's item! Congrats, my man, and all the best to you in the future! |
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| My 3-year-old mows the sidewalks in front of Nana's house with his new gift, leaving bubbles in his wake. |
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| Nana with 2-month-old Paige in her best summer finery. |
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| Water balloons are fun. Pools are fun. Together they're even better! |
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| The Little Man offers his opinion on our arrival at Funderland. |
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| All aboooooard! |
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| Little Paige with Nana. |
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| Ewan shows off his Takara Tomy cars. |
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| Plus Dinosaur Escape the board game, and his very own Megatron! What more could a boy ask for!? |
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| "Hey there! I'm Ewan. Come and meet some of our dearest friends, why don't you?" |
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| "Here's me with Francesca, one of my new Italian friends! She's a natural with me. Can you see Daddy and Giuseppe behind us?" |
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| "Francesca, now joined by her partner Lia, make a me-n-teeth sandwich. I like it!" |
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| "Mommy, Daddy, and me (snoozing)!" (after dinner at the Gaudio home in Vacaville) |
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| "Daddy and his former student, Anna, (Giuseppe's wife)." |
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| "Smiles all around as we send off the Gaudios (with Mathilde in pink and Federico in blue) to their new stomping grounds: Philadelphia!" |
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| "Me and my new best bud, Ash! Can you see his daddy behind us?" |
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| "Ash offers a flower on the way to the Sac Zoo." |
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| "Mommy and Ash with a monkey—or is that Mommy with two monkeys?" |
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| "Mommy, again, with flamingoes." |
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| "WHAT ABOUT ME? MORE PICTURES OF ME!" |
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| "Smell my foot, Ash." |
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| "Go! Go! Go! GO!" |
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| "Seeing the Okunos (Mark, Ash, and Emma) off as they head back to Santa Barbara." |
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| "Daddy takes me into the pool for the first time—naked! Me, not him." |
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| "Well, that's all for now! I'll be right here by this stand until next time. Buh-bye!" |
