Posted: August 10, 2018 at 11:41 am / by Steve Heineman / comments (0)
Convention Reviews
Gen Con 2018: A Weekend in Review (Plus Cosplay Photo Gallery)
FRIDAY
Friday morning started about as slow as Thursday, with us waking up to eat breakfast about 10a.m. Today though, we each had a mission. We brought several Magic cards with us to get signed by the various artists and headed directly for the exhibition hall. I of course was distracted several times by amazing cosplayers and running into people I knew. While checking out the photo op area, I met Mark of Wolf and Raven Arts wearing a stellar Lone Survivor cosplay. I told him about my Fallout cosplay and we geeked out a bit over his fantastic foam Shishkebab prop, which for those of you unfamiliar with the games is a flaming sword made out of junk.
I was also lucky enough to catch my good friends Lauren and Ethan of Thousand Faces Cosplay absolutely rocking their Red Sonja and Conan the Barbarian costumes, which they debuted for the first time only a week prior! They are two of the sweetest and most thoughtful people I’ve met throughout my time going to cons, and have both been very supportive of myself as well as many others of the cosplay community. They honestly played a big part in inspiring me to take the leap into cosplay.
Since there wasn’t a whole lot to their costumes, Lauren and Ethan were on a quest to find an appropriate leather pouch so they could actually carry things they would pick up over the course of the day. After we parted ways, James and I headed back toward the artist area. We weaved through the rows, marveling over the wonderful pieces on display. That is, until we got to Magic artist Eric Deschamps. I decided to stop at his booth for a chance to meet the man behind the art of so many of my favorite cards. I had so many cards with his art, but I narrowed it down to three for him to sign: Yeva, Nature’s Herald, Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh, and Venser, Shaper Savant. Each of the three were in decks that I play all the time, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get them signed.
One or two rows over, I met another artist that absolutely blew me away. Mike Sass, the original go-to artist for Bioware had a table with all kinds of prints, mouse pads, and playmats set up with his art on them. I was stopped in my tracks when I noticed that he was the concept artist for Knights of the Old Republic, which is still my favorite Star Wars game to this day. I took a few minutes to talk to him and ask about the work, and he said that he was responsible for the very first images of Darth Malak and Bastila Shan! I spotted a Darth Malak playmat that I very much wanted to buy, but I realized I was almost late for the Critical Role photoshoot happening out in the lobby. I figured I could come back and get the playmat the next day, but unfortunately Mike had sold his last one before I had a chance to return. I wasn’t all that surprised though… it was a pretty badass piece!
The Critical Role photoshoot was set up as a secondary shoot just in case people couldn’t make it to the main one scheduled for 9a.m. Saturday. In hindsight, I was so happy that this shoot was also scheduled because I was planning to be in my vault dweller on Saturday. James and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the other critters surrounding the group, taking photos of all the amazing costumes. Just about every main character from both seasons of the show was represented here. I can’t even tell you how many photos I took of that group having fun and enjoying themselves, admiring each other’s expertly crafted costumes. Seeing this group assemble has inspired me to start working on a Critical Role cosplay myself. I know I won’t have time to do it soon, but hopefully I can have it ready by next year’s GenCon!
After the photoshoot, we killed some time before meeting up with Dan and Dylan to go grab some food. I found a page in the GenCon program guide about a nearby restaurant called Scotty’s Brewhouse that had specials specifically for the con. What caught my attention was the fact that they were giving out free dice. I’m a sucker for free stuff, especially useful free stuff. I’m very glad we went, because the food was outstanding! They’re definitely a place that appreciates the nerdier side of life, as they offered a whole menu of themed dishes inspired by Pathfinder, a very popular tabletop RPG featured at GenCon.
As we finished up our meals, James was informed by a friend that a whole block of tickets to the Critical Role live show had opened up! We immediately jumped on Ticketmaster to secure our tickets with renewed joy for the rest of the evening. Up until that point, we had been planning to attend a watch party at the Sheraton hotel near the con. Our plans changed in the best way possible! To be honest though, my choice of meal at Scotty’s wasn’t the best. I found myself very full and quite lethargic as we left the brewhouse to walk to the Murat Theatre.
By the time we got there, both James and I were exhausted and dehydrated. We were still so happy to be attending the show, we pushed through it and jumped in line to pick up some exclusive merchandise. I bought a set of copper dice while James bought a shirt, a pin, and a set of those same dice.
The show was absolutely incredible. It was everything I’d hoped for and more. Plenty of the cosplayers I met at the photoshoot were there, still rocking their characters. The energy in the theater was intense. Brian W. Foster, the host of the CR after show Talks Machina kicked off the night with a facetime call to Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey, two members of the CR cast. They just had their first child a couple weeks prior, so they were unable to attend the show. It was also Travis’s birthday, so Brian led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday.
As the cast was being introduced, the crowd was in for a surprise. Sam Riegel, arguably the most hilarious of this wonderful party, came skating out on rollerblades wearing a skin-tight, neon pink dragon costume! I really wish I was able to get a decent picture, but the crowd immediately stood up to cheer and applaud cutting off my line of sight to the spectacle. But still, it was a hysterical sight to behold. Matt Mercer, the dungeon master, came out to another standing ovation. He let the crowd settle down before revealing his response to Sam Riegel’s practical jokes. He had a shirt printed out of a still from one of the CR episodes, specifically a frame where Sam Riegel is in mid-sound effect making a ridiculously goofy face. The loving friendship that this cast shares is easy to see in every episode, and it was fully on display throughout the show.
I did feel bad though because James didn’t make it all the way through the show. The wear of the day had left him with a rough headache and the cheers of the audience were making it all the worse. Luckily they were streaming it in the lobby, so he was still able to watch along with everyone else. I didn’t blame him though. The crowd was cheering and screaming every ten minutes, especially when Matt brought out a surprise guest. Kary Payton joined the game, taking up the role of his mysterious cleric character Shakaste. He even brought out a prop in the form of a Nefertiti lamp he took from the basement of the theater, much to everyone’s delight!
The session wrapped up a big story arc that started with the kidnapping of several party members and the untimely death of another. The Mighty Nein finished their raid on the fortress occupied by a slaver group known as the Iron Shepherds, avenging their fallen comrade and rescuing their friends. After being gravely injured and hiding for multiple turns, Liam O’Brien’s character Caleb ended up with the final blow on their nemesis. His portrayal of the moment was absolutely fantastic and something that no one in that theater will ever forget. Caleb’s response to killing the demonic foe was just as memorable: “He shouldn’t have killed my cat.”
As the cast of Critical Role assembled on stage to thank everyone for coming, James and I took the opportunity to try to get an early Lyft out of there. Unfortunately, a whole lot of others had the same idea and the app was having trouble keeping up. We ended up not getting back to the AirBnB until after 2a.m. and since I had to get things ready for the next morning, I didn’t go to bed until almost 3.
