The Wolf is howling at the moon in excitement for Big Bad Con 2012. His appetite for games however, is hard to fill. Little Red has rounded up over 100 games (schedule coming soon), plus Games on Demand, open gaming, panels and the Improv Workshop. Still… it isn’t enough to sate The Wolf’s hunger for games. The schedule is packed but he wants more. How does he want to do it? Bingo, add another full day of gaming in 2013.
The big question is when. So options he’s pondering.
Move to Veteran’s Day weekend (early November). Challenges here: getting close to Thanksgiving. Not everyone gets Veteran’s Day off work.
Keep Big Bad Con on Columbus Day weekend, but extend it to Monday. Challenge here: even fewer folks in fairy tale land have Columbus day off.
Keep Big Bad Con on Columbus day, and start it on Thursday (running Thursday-Sunday). This is how the “big guys do it”, but it isn’t the standard fare for Bay Area conventions.
So, The Wolf is inviting you to comment here (polls lack the nuance to discuss all the options) and let him know what you think. Would you like a 4th day of gaming? When could you make it happen?
Big Bad Con is proud to announce the Evil Hat room. In addition to Big Bad GM (fueled Evil Hat’s Fate engine) and the Evil Hat games offered in Games on Demand, and Rigney’s Room, Evil Hat will have it’s own abode at Big Bad Con to hang up its, well, er hat!
Here’s the games you can find in the Evil Hat room:
Into the Woods – Penny for my Thoughts in the Big Bad Woods. Dark fairy-tales.
Lithium Summer – You have no name. Don’t Rest Your Head.
Reunion – Old college friends in New Orleans. Of course. Don’t Rest Your Head.
The Wolf thinks there will be more… New Khan City… Atomo Robo RPG and who knows what else. You’ll just have to come by and see if you too, can wear the Evil Hat!
Ryan Macklin, friend of The Wolf (we’ve both spent time under the Woodsman’s axe), and immanent creature of the Internet, will be packing his backs and coming back to Oakland to game with us at Big Bad Con. So far this is what we’ve got on the schedule from Ryan:
THOR MUST DIE! – Are you ready to end a Myth? Can you stop becoming one yourself. Let’s kill THOR!
Emerging Threats Unit Welcome to the secret paramilitary wing of the Centers for Disease Control — the Emerging Threats Unit.
Who knows what else Mr. Macklin might have up his sleeve for his October homecoming.
Big Bad Con wants you to come and game all weekend without having to worry about what games you’ll get into. To make this happen The Wolf has installed and online sign up system. Starting September 1st (over a month before the con), you can register for games online.
The online registration allow players to see who else has signed up for a game they are in, it lets GMs know who will be in their games in advance in case they want to send any information before the game or tailor story/characters to their players, and it lets the con staff know what games are in the most demand so we can (and will) solicit GMs to run more of those games.
When you arrive at Big Bad Con your badge will have your name on the front and all of the games you’re in on the back, including their start time and location. So all you have to do is show up, game all weekend, and have a great time.
Should you have a hole in your schedule that you want to fill at the con, we still have plenty of options. The Games on Demand room will be full of GMs ready to run a host of different games based on your preference. Just stop in, request a game, and the coordinators will get you at a table rolling dice. Also, the folks at the registration desk are happy to sign you up for any scheduled game that still has openings or gets any cancellations. Finally, we’ve got an open gaming room where you can start up a game of your own, check out a game from our game library, or hop into a game that is just starting.
At Big Bad Con you’ll get as much gaming as you want, all weekend long, hassle free.
The Wolf has been going to conventions for over a decade, slowly adding names of the biggest, baddest GMs to his little black book. Each year, for Big Bad Con he invites, cajoles or conscripts them all to run at Big Bad Con. Just to name a few, here are some of the amazing GMs that will be running games at Big Bad Con 2012:
Carl Rigney – Hailed by players and GMs across the pacific northwest as the best GM in the land, Carl can’t go to a con without attracting a flock of each gamers. Featured on the website “Hell Yeah, Gamemasters!” Carl is recognized as giving players some of the best games they’ve ever had. To quote “Carl Rigney, hell yeah!”
Shaun Hayworth – Veteran of over a hundred Burning Wheel games, chosen by Luke Crane to be a Burning Wheel HQ demo GM at PAX, and podcaster emeritus, Shaun will be running a host of Burning Wheel HQ games in the Burning Room at Big Bad Con.
Leonard Balsera – Lead system developer of the Dresden Files RPG and Spirit of the Century, co-host of the gaming advice podcast Narrative Control, and Bid Bad GM Judge, Lenny will be running a fracas of Fiasco’s at Big Bad Con (in addition to serving as a judge for the big event Big Bad GM).
Luke Crane – Burning Luke. Author of Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, Mouse Guard and Free Market. Luke is known throughout the land not only for the awesome games, he makes, but the awesome games he runs. Games that stab you in the face.
Todd Furler – Known from coast to coast for his literal mastery of gaming, Todd has honed his craft to a razor’s edge. Todd doesn’t consider a game successful unless everyone pushes away from the table at the end and says “Damn, I would pay to see that movie.” Having been in half a dozen of them himself, The Wolf can assure you that you will!
Ryan Macklin – AKA Ryan “Fucking” Mackin of the Internet. Author of Mythender and The Emerging Threats Unit, Ryan has seen every side of gaming there is. Podcaster, writer, editor, project manager, player, GM, and all around awesome dude.
Jason Morningstar – As if his name didn’t say it all. Jason, of Bullly Pulpit games, author of Grey Ranks, Fiasco, Shab Al-Hiri Roach, and many more, will be running a host of different games at Games on Demand as well as running a midnight rendition of the 12 person LARP Tribunal.
Gil Treviso – Frequently described as the “highlight of the con” Gil’s games are noted for their historical authenticity coupled with over the top action. Gil is amazing master of props, canny voices, and blood-curdling horror. Unsurprisingly Gil will be running a Delta Green game of Cthuhlu at the con.
Josh Roby – Author of Smallville, Vicious Crucible, Sons of Liberty, and many more games, Josh has an amazing eye for what a game needs to take it from good to awesome! Josh will be running a Houses of the Blooded LARP in the dreaded gazebo!
Our Four Big Bad GM Contestants: Mike Bogan, Matt Steele, Michael Garcia, and Scott White. Each of these GMs received hoards of accolades for their games last year, and as the most nominated of the GMs, they have all been invited to complete in this year’s Big Bad GM. They are also all running additional games besides competing.
And this is just to name a few of the amazing GMs we have at Big Bad Con. Others on this list include Shannon MacNamara, Morgan Ellis, Sean Schoonmaker, Daniel Hodges, Noam Rosen, Alan Hodges, Rich Taylor, Lalita Devi, Mattea Ezgar, Karen Twelves, Duane O’Brien, and more.
Given this list, you can rest assured that Big Bad Con wll be filled to the brim with awesome game masters. So awesome in fact, that the best GMs of the con are nominated by their players to compete in the following year’s Big Bad GM (and Iron Chef style competition for GMs).
