We made it back from Gen Con, and after recovering from the exhausting drive I wrote the following comment on Wil Wheaton’s blog to share my experiences.  I thought some of you might enjoy reading it, too, so I wanted to repost it here.

I’ll have more to report from Gen Con in a bit.

If you’re coming to Gen Con this year in Indianapolis (August 5th - 8th), be sure to stop by booth #1722 in the exhibit hall to say hi!  (We’re right across from Wizards of the Coast.)

GMSarli Games is hosting two seminars this year:

“Star Wars Saga Edition Retrospective” (SEM1013330) - Thursday 8/5, 2pm - 4pm

Location: Marriott - Indiana Ballroom B

Description: Game professionals who worked on the Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition take a look back at the product line, sharing their experiences and what they learned from their work. [Confirmed guests are Gary M. Sarli, Sterling Hershey, Christopher West, Gary Astleford, and Patrick Stutzman; Rodney Thompson and Christopher Perkins currently have a schedule conflict, but both have said that they’ll see if they can get free long enough to attend at least part of the seminar.]

“Introduction to the e20 System” (SEM1013331) - Thursday 8/5, 4pm - 6pm

Location: Marriott - Indiana Ballroom B

Description: The e20 System project is a patron-backed rebuilding of the venerable d20 games of the past decade, seeking to harness the lessons of millions of hours of gameplay. Come to learn more about the project and how to participate.

Immediately after these two seminars, I run the first instance of the “Evolved Delve,” the very first public adventure for the e20 System.  (There are a total of five slots for the game during the convention.)

“Evolved Delve” (RPG1013333) - Thursday 8/5, 6pm to 8pm

Location: Hyatt - Discovery, table 3

Game Master: Gary M. Sarli

Description: A team of spies must infiltrate an enemy installation, rescue a prisoner, and escape pursuit in this fast-paced action adventure. Join the game’s first-ever public adventure even as the core rulebook is undergoing its final stages of development.

“Evolved Delve” (RPG1013334) - Friday 8/6, 1pm to 3pm

Location: Hyatt - Discovery, table 4

“Evolved Delve” (RPG1013335) - Friday 8/6, 6pm to 8pm

Location: Hyatt - Discovery, table 2

“Evolved Delve” (RPG1013337) - Saturday 8/7, 1pm to 3pm

Location: Hyatt - Discovery, table 2

“Evolved Delve” (RPG1013338) - Saturday 8/7, 6pm to 8pm

Location: Hyatt - Discovery, table 1

Currently, all the “Evolved Delve” games are sold out, but previous experience tells us that it is not at all uncommon for someone not to show up for a scheduled game for any number of reasons; given this, I would encourage anyone who is interested in attending to bring some generic event tickets ($2 each) and swing by before the start of one of the sessions. If a slot goes unclaimed, you can take that spot at the table.  This is obviously a first-come, first-served thing, so you’ll want to be there early to have the best chance of getting a seat!

Tonight, we crossed the threshold of $10,000, so we are officially in “funded” territory!  I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their very generous support, for helping to spread the word, and for taking a leap of faith with me on this project!

We still have 8 days of funding left before the actual deadline, so there is still time for new people to join up and/or for existing patrons to revise their pledges.  We’ve hit the minimum needed to go forward, but every bit of extra money we raise now goes toward increasing the budget for freelancers (writers, editors, artists, etc.) and to buy a larger print run of the hardcover book when we have it finished.  So, every little bit we raise before the deadline helps!

Also, I opened up some additional $100 and $200 patron slots, so if you had wanted to get into a higher category but were unable to, go to the e20 System project’s page on Kickstarter and click the “Manage Your Pledge” button over on the right-hand side.

One final point: I also added a VIP (Very Important Patron) level for anyone who might be interested.  In short, it’s a $1,500 pledge that gets you a flight to Gen Con this August, sharing our hotel room (you get your own bed, of course!) in the Marriott right across from the exhibit hall, and we buy you a 4-day badge.  Basically, you get to party like a game designer for 5 days and see what it’s like in our (crowded) world.  So, if you were already thinking about Gen Con this year but you haven’t made any specific plans yet, we’d love to have you join us!