PAX POX
Well, it's been a week since PAX. I had high hopes of really covering the convention - on location blogging from my iPhone that spared no detail. Unfortunately, the wi-fi at the convention was less then co-operative. I think I summed it up well in this almost hiaku-like tweet:"Sucking on the broadband teat - chapped nipples of wifi... "
So, after a couple of failed updates that cost me long posts that I had typed in with my now near-bloody thumbs, I pretty much gave up on the whole "blogging-from-iPhone" idea. Instead, I figured that I would just post a couple of big updates when I got back, and cover the highlights of the show. I made it home on Labor Day, exhausted, but still awash in a warm post-PAX glow. I caught up on my sleep for most of that day, and I figured that the next day I would catch up on my blogging.
Unfortunately, by the next day my warm post-PAX glow had been replaced by a post-PAX fever... That's right, gentle reader, I had caught the dreaded PAX POX! For those that hadn't heard, there was a hellacious flu outbreak at the show - not during the actual convention, but in the days that followed. Hundreds of people reported (via the #PAX tag on twitter) coming down with nasty cases of the flu. It knocked me out for almost a week.
So, here I am, one week later, and I find that now that I have rejoined "real" life, the motivation to go back in time and discuss PAX in any great detail has left me. It seems that PAX has become like a warm memory of childhood, locked away safe from the harsh light of this working man's reality, only to be brought out over good scotch and in the company of fine friends. To allow one's thoughts to linger over-long on such a happy time is only to invite sorrow it seems, for these days cannot measure against those...
What little I will say: I picked up my Retribution book (only days ahead of the rest of the known universe) as well as the Extreme Juggernaut and a pretty snazzy Cygnar t-shirt. I didn't even make it to any of the Warmachine events (PAX has the odd ability to fold space and time down to a point where you can only accomplish one-quarter of what you had hoped, while still filling your days with 4X the joy of an average day), but my friend Tallyn42 did play in the events, and you can read about that here.
And I find now that even this little bit of reflection is making my heart ache for better days... Alas, I am overwhelmed by emotion (or maybe that is the last bit of the flu). Regardless, I must retire. Fear not, gentle reader, for I will leave you with these images of the neat things you can take pictures of in glass cases. While we have all seen these models a hundred times in magazines and books, I will say that if you have not seen them first hand, it is hard to imagine the mastery apparent in their execution. Every time I get to gaze upon them I am truely humbled and inspired, and my desire to paint is simultaneously rekindled.
Artistry of a different fashion - this was done in sidewalk chalk. Yeah, no shit. Labels: Hordes, miniatures, PAX, PAX09, wargaming, Warmachine
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Living Forgotten Realms: I'm going to be playing in my first RPGA event while at PAX, and a buddy and I are signed up for a couple of different sessions. I've been running a game of D&D on-and-off for the last few years, but I haven't been on the player's side of the DM screen in almost 20 years. I'm realtively new to 4E, having just switched over about a month back, but I think I have a good enough handle on it for this kind of deal. Other than that, I have no idea what to expect from this format, but it should be a good time.
Cutthroat Caverns: "Without teamwork, you will never survive. Without betrayal, you’ll never win." A simple card game that puts the players in the role of an adventuring party that has discovered the "Sacred Item of Unimaginable Marvel" - and of course, you each want it for your own. Unfortunately, nine monsters (randomly drawn from an encounter deck) stand between you and the exit to the dungeon. If you don't work as a team, you won't have the horsepower to make it out, but if you don't backstab the others at just the right moment, you can't claim the prize for yourself. It's straightforward screw-thy-neighbor gaming at it's best.
Infernal Contraption: This is a game I bought at PAX last year in the Privateer Press booth. It's definately a beer and pretzels affair, but is surprisingly fun to play. Another card game, this one has you trying to assemble an "infernal contraption" with the goal of forcing your opponent to consume all of his resources (cards) before you run out of cards yourself. This quickly became our go-to game inbetween events.
Battletech: An old favorite that I haven't played since I was a teenager. This is the granddaddy of big, stompy robot games, and is an interesting mix of board game, wargame and RPG. The game itself has had some rough years, passing from FASA to FanPro, and ultimately to Catalyst Games Labs. The good news is that Catalyst seems to be doing well by the series, and has put out a Introductory Boxed Set that is a great introduction to the game. (You you read my impressions the boxed set, along with my glowing fanboyism 
