Thursday, October 19 – The drive to New Jersey:
The drive was long, but UberCon was fun. Wayne Smith and I made the trip in my Toyota Sienna (mini-van).
The trip started out Thursday morning (October 19) with a semi-truck jack-knifed across the highway at the very start of the trip. We missed the actual incident, but must have shown up only a minute afterward, as we were one of the first dozen vehicles on the scene. Fortunately, by riding onto the shoulder, we and other cars were able to just squeeze past the wreck. Trucks were stuck.
It rained for half the trip and that kept travel speeds below the posted limit. The sun came out for the second leg of the trip in Pennsylvania, but we came to a complete stop in the mountains for about 15 minutes and crawled along for another 20. That was okay, because it gave me the chance to get out of the car to take some pictures of the mountains and sky with my digital camera. Gorgeous scenery, for sure. My Grandfather grew up in Pennsylvania and I visited family there when I was 10 or 11 years old, but I didn’t remember how gorgeous the countryside was; especially with the leaves turning Autumn colors.
I commented to Wayne, that I imagined the Eastern Territory and southern portion of the Great Northern Wilderness (Palladlium Fantasy) to look like the forested landscape, tall hills and rolling mountains of Pennsylvania. The trek in the mountains also reminded me of the family’s visit to Keith Parkinson’s home and the fun we had with him, Mary and the kids. Looking at the landscape around me, several Parkinson paintings sprung to mind and I found myself missing my old pal and his creative genius. (For those of you who don’t know, Keith Parkinson passed away last year at the young age of 47; taken by leukemia.) It left me with a strange sense of melancholy and fond memories at the same time.
It was 9:30 by the time we rolled into the hotel parking lot. I gave Kathy a quick call to let her know we arrived safely, and ordered pizza. Wayne I collapsed in our hotel room beds after clicking on the TV to watch the Mets/Cardinals game to see who the Detroit Tigers would face in the World Series until pizza arrived. Yum.
Around 11:00 pm, I went downstairs to check in with Kevin Jagh (one of the convention organizers) and met various folks working as part of the convention crew. A pleasant British fellow, Chris Caley, was assigned to give me a hand and we went out in a rainy mist to unload The Rifter #35 from the van. I had brought 10 cases as giveaways for everyone attending the convention, and the books were to be stuffed in the convention bags that night in preparation for Friday admissions. Wayne came down to give us a hand, but asked if we could set up the table the next morning as he was tired and in the middle of playing Eve Online. I said sure, but stayed behind to putz around. I ended up setting up 90% of the booth before hitting the sack around 1:00 A.M.
Friday, October 20:
We slept in Friday morning, found an IHOP, had brunch, came back and finished setting up the booth.
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I finally got to meet artist, Mark Evans, in person! We have been working together for something like five years now, and have had many a long telephone conversation, but we had never met. Mark (who painted the fantastic Rifts® Madhaven cover, among others) is just as nice in person as he is on the phone. He was selling art prints and signed at least a dozen Madhaven books and The Rifter #35 for fans. We also got to meet his girlfriend, and Mark insists he’ll be at the Second Palladium Open House, May 4, 5, 6, 2007 where all of you can enjoy his company and artistry as well.
I participated in a couple of panel talks that afternoon and decided to run an impromptu Palladium Fantasy RPG game. The game was fun, but I felt I was off my game and didn't run at my best. Craig was fun and played a memorable Huggan the Dwarf, Chris played a nice Sir Toomes, Steve was a perceptive Wolfen, and the rest of the players were all excellent, but Mike was nothing short of amazing. He played two characters, a plucky Goblin Thief and a snooty, aristocratic Elf, with the consummate skill of a born actor, doing voices and attitudes that clearly defined each character. He was fabulous, fun, and funny. One of the best “character” players I have ever had the pleasuer of plahing with. (He does voice characterizations even better than I do when I’m in the groove.) Awesome.
After the game, I hung around and talked with people, knocking off around 1:00 A.M.
Saturday, October 21:
Our morning started with a return visit to the IHOP. Wayne scarfed down some Boston Creme Pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage, while I chomped down a delicious Philly Steak sandwich and some onion rings. (Okay, not the best choice for my breath since I'd be talking with fans later that day. Nobody said anything, and I did use some breath mints, so I hope I didn’t curl anybody’s hair with onion breath.)
I had four or five panel talks, several with Mike Stackpole and other guests, as well as a solo panel or two. I love people and can talk for hours, so I enjoyed the panels as well as meeting and chatting with people, one on one, at the Palladium booth.
I won’t even try to name everyone I spoke with, but Todd, Chris, Beth, Johnny, Jeff, Caine, Dan, Ralph, Kevin, Mac, Craig, and the Fosters were among the most notable. EVERYBODY was friendly, nice and fun.
John and Emma Foster – long time fans who I had the pleasure of meeting in person for the first time – were super-nice. They hung around to chat, took a few pictures, and bought a bunch of books and artwork. But nicest of all, when they went out for lunch, they came back with a sack of hamburgers, fries and Cokes for me, Wayne, Brandon and Mark. Thank you both very much. I was starving and thirsty, and that food hit the spot. And leftovers heated up great in the microwave Sunday morning.
The Saturday Night BTS-2 Game:
Alyssa Smith, the game coordinator, had me worried. My Saturday night game was a “charity” game and cost $20 a person. I was worried, because I didn’t think I’d have more than 2-3 people willing to shell out 20 bucks to play in one of my games.
Much to my relief, 13 of the 14 slots were filled by game time. (Thank you everyone for making me look good!) The game was a blast, and I think everyone had a good time with the possible exception of two gents who were exhausted (sorry guys, hope you enjoyed what you could). The players included Ralph, Dan, Dan, Caine, Eric, Jeff, Dan (there were three Dans!), Johnny, Kevin, Mac, Robert and Beth. I wish I knew Beth had NEVER played any RPG before, because I would have given her more attention and more explanation of things, but I didn’t learn this until the next day. From where I sat, however, Beth is a natural and she played wonderfully. I hope she enjoyed herself, too.
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To make a long story short, the game was GREAT! I sure had a blast and the players accomplished things other, previous groups playing the same adventure, had not. (So did the Friday night group . . . big time.)
After the game, I hung out with a couple of the players talking for an hour, then chatted with Chris O’Neill and his wife for a while, before retiring around 1:30 A.M.
Sunday, October 22:
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The indomitable Brandon Aten, co-author of Rifts® Madhaven, aka Galactus Kid, aka “Hey I’m famous, you know,” joined us Friday and Saturday, and came back on Sunday with his fiancé, the lovely Martha, in tow. I fear we probably bored Martha to death as we discussed game mechanics, story ideas and other (fun for us) game stuff with Mark Evans, Isaac, Alex, and Fe Fe. Isaac and Alex are a pair of long-time Palladium gamers working on a Rifts® world book for next year. It involves the latest goings on with the Federation of Magic and tentatively slated for release in 2007. They left me with a chunk of the book to review, that I hope to read soon. I love hooking up with these affable gents from Rhode Island, as they are always a joy to talk with, and Isaac is one of the best players I’ve ever run at a convention. I’m told he’s also a heck of a Game Master, while Alex is a budding young artist. I’m betting they are both pretty darn good writers too. Their ideas are excellent and fit exactly with what I have in mind for the Federation of Magic.
I participated in a couple of panels, bought a sculpture from a talented young lady, and spent most of the day visiting with fans and friends who drove in for the day.
The convention ended at 4:00 P.M., Wayne and I broke down our booth, we rested a bit and met with the UberCon organizers, staff and guests for dinner around 6:30.
Other highlights:
I got to meet Ken Kelly (famous artist), had fun chatting with Chris O’Neill of Ninth Level Games (co-author of Kobolds Ate My Baby), shared a panel with Greg Costikyan, met a phenomenal young artist, Jennifer Rodgers, who I hope will be doing some work for Palladium in the future (her art nouveau horror work is eerie and beautiful at the same time), Dan Simons (another artist) and a young sculptor whose name I, regrettably, forget (I purchased her excellent Harley Quin sculpture which now rests proudly on a shelf in my office).
One of the true highlights for me was sharing panel talks and private stories with Michael Stackpole. We had a blast on panels together and enjoyed something like four hours of conversation after dinner on Sunday night. It was one of those fun evenings that sped by so fast that I was startled when Mike noted that it was going on 2:00 A.M. and he had to hit the hay!!! It was a genuine pleasure, Mike, keep on dancing.
I was happy to make new friends and reconnect with a few old ones.
The Convention People were great
Andrea and Kevin Jagh, Kyle Frost, Alyssa Smith who I kept calling Alicia for some stupid reason (sorry Alyssa), Chris Caleyand the entire Ubercon crew made me and Wayne feel completely welcomed and at home. They were among the most considerate, helpful and generous convention staff I have ever had the pleasure to work with.
In case you didn’t know, Andrea and Kevin Jagh provided the Palladium booth free of charge and paid for our hotel room, all in an effort to help Palladium out during these rough times. How awesome is that?! And as if that were not enough, they treated Wayne, Mark and I like honored guests, and they bought us and their other guests and volunteers a delicious meal at Outback, Sunday night. We then all gathered back a the hotel for drinks, games, karaoke, and good conversation. (No I don’t sing, and you don’t want to hear me try). It made for a very pleasant evening.
I especially want to extend a special thanks to Chris Caley for being a big help and a nice guy the entire convention. I hope he and his wife can join us for the Palladium Open House next year. My apologies for missing anybody. It was a pleasure spending time with everyone. Hey, if you get an opportunity to go to a future UberCon, I highly recommend it.
Monday, October 23 – The trek home:
After a long night of fun, we didn’t hit the road till 10:30 in the morning. The weather and traffic was better going home than coming to the con, and we made it back home in about 10 hours (including a few stops for food, water and gas). Alex M gave Wayne and me a hand unloading the car before we made our way back home. As much fun as we had, I was glad to be home with my sweetheart. Of course, there were a few new Halloween figures in the front yard waiting for me too (see our Halloween display elsewhere online – Kathy is a creative genius when it comes to creating “ghouls.”)
That's my report. I hope you found it interesting. Palladium's next convention where we have a booth and guests is Youmacon in Troy, Michigan, November 3-5. We hope a bunch of locals come on down to visit, buy and get autographs. Meanwhile, though I don't know if I can make an appearance, Julius Rosenstein, James Brown, Jason Marker and a few other Palladium notables will be running games at U-Con, up in Ann Arbor a weekend or two later. Join the fun playing with outstanding G.M.s at U-Con.
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Keep those imaginations burning bright.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Copyright October 25, 2006[/b]