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This time next month, we’ll be close to wrapping up Winter Fantasy, a table-top gaming convention hosted by Baldman Games. This is the one and only gaming convention I attend all year, and it’s the only one I want to attend. Every February, we rent a large van, pile in, and drive out to Ft. Wayne, IN to enjoy arctic weather. On the way, however, we have time to play three adventures, which gets our new characters ready for higher-level play. We’ll also run a game on the way home. We call the trip Winter Vantasy. I’m running a module by on of my favorite three D&D Adventureres League writers, Will Doyle.
During the 4th Edition D&D days, I glued magnets to the bottom of my minis and used my magnetic battle map to run games. It made playing in the van a lot easier.
Having largely wandered away from gaming, I don’t currently plan to actually game at Winter Fantasy. I’ve bought a convention-long badge but no event tickets. Gaming has never been my focus there. This is the one time a year that I drink heavily, so much so that I probably match my alcohol intake for the entire year (or close to it). My bar tab costs as much as my room (not really), and I once drank O’Reilly’s out of their scotch (really). I get to see a lot of people that I otherwise wouldn’t. That’s why I’m there, and a small convention facilitates that experience.
Last year was online only, and I had some good Zoom calls, but attendance is limited. There’s nothing like heading out to the bar and actually seeing people. This is the first year back since COVID hit, so I hope to see as many of them as possible. I know that won’t be all of them.
Winter Fantasy is best described as “cozy.” Give it a shot.
Follow me on Twitter at @gsllc
Follow Winter Fantasy @WinterFantasy
Follow Baldman Games @baldmangames
Follow Erik @Erik_Nowak
Follow James @heridfel
Follow Nathan @SicedOne
Follow Christopher @MetalfanVasey
Follow O’Reilly’s @OReillysFtWayne
Follow Will Doyle @BeholderPie
Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, LLC, who neither contributed to, nor endorsed, the contents of this post. (Okay, jackasses?)
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