GenCon 2019 roundup

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Caesar Slaad

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Hey folks! I thought it might be interesting/useful if we make a thread collecting new RPG product announcements from GenCon 2019! So if you are following a company who announced some upcoming gaming goodness, add it to the list here!
 
It's very possible there have been things I've missed, but so far I haven't heard of anything really big.
 
Airlock does sound cool.
 
WTF?!? Urban Shadows 2nd is kickstarting fall of 2020?!? What is the point of announcing that now?!?

Heh, Armored Society will launch in Fall 2021, so we’ll hear two more Gencon Announcements at least.
 
WTF?!? Urban Shadows 2nd is kickstarting fall of 2020?!? What is the point of announcing that now?!?
Oh isn’t this the latest trend for Kickstarters? Announce it, then run late with actually putting it up on Kickstarter. Followed by overshooting the publication date of the actual thing.
 
Oh isn’t this the latest trend for Kickstarters? Announce it, then run late with actually putting it up on Kickstarter. Followed by overshooting the publication date of the actual thing.
In all fairness, Urban Shadows was well underway before the kickstarter even happened. After that, it delivered in a very reasonable time. I have some complaints about the final product, but that ain't one of them.
 
In all fairness, Urban Shadows was ....
Sorry wasn't a particular shot at Urban Shadows, it's just that recently I thought a few kickstarters had been late being posted after being announced that they'd begin at a certain time. Would have to seach back to confirm, but have vague memory of BESM4 and Paragons 2 both doing this
 
Not being funny, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of 'big' announcements here yet.
 
WotC seem to have moved away from GenCon as their tentpole event? And most other RPGs seem to launch via Kickstarter these days? The only potential big fish seem to be FFG and Cubicle 7? With them both having big franchises they look after they might have something ‘big’ to announce.

Paizo are launching rather than announcing. That seems a more common model these days? Kickstart your product for launch at GenCon?
 
WotC seem to have moved away from GenCon as their tentpole event? And most other RPGs seem to launch via Kickstarter these days? The only potential big fish seem to be FFG and Cubicle 7? With them both having big franchises they look after they might have something ‘big’ to announce.

Paizo are launching rather than announcing. That seems a more common model these days? Kickstart your product for launch at GenCon?
I think a lot of publishers have realised that if you launch at Gencon, you're going to get caught in the scrum - particularly the same year as a big title like Pathfinder 2e - so going to a date elsewhere in the year helps you get more attention; it's happening in videogames too, with E3 (The big trade conference) having lost a lot of impact in recent years and more publishers moving to a Nintendo Direct-like model or specific events.

That said, when D&D6 launches, you can bet that's all you will hear from that year's Gencon.
 
...going to a date elsewhere in the year helps you get more attention; it's happening in videogames too, with E3 (The big trade conference) having lost a lot of impact in recent years and more publishers moving to a Nintendo Direct-like model or specific events.

True. Not only is E3 doing it, but this year's San Diego Comic-Con had several companies not show up in the main convention center and instead rent their own halls, etc. And I've noted that Disney seems to be holding some of their stuff back for their own D23 conference. It's not just the little guys holding back or going their own ways.
 
WTF?!? Urban Shadows 2nd is kickstarting fall of 2020?!? What is the point of announcing that now?!?
If you've got it in your production schedule, why wouldn't you announce it? From a game production perspective, the fall of 2020 isn't far away at all. They are clearly already working on it. Why wouldn't they be talking about it? Any playtesting on it will likely be done this year, so they want fan attention on it.
 
Magpie announced a satchel of upcoming RPG kickstarters. The Airlock RPG in particular has me intrigued.

Armored Society:

Urban Shadows 2e:

Airlock:
Wow! both Airlock and Armored Society sound cool AF. I'll be keeping an eye on them. Thanks for bringing em to my attention, Caesar.
 
It looks like my assumption that the flexible classes in PF2 not tamping down new classes (though they should) is correct:

PF2 announcements from GenCon:

Announced in Paizo 2019 & Beyond for Pathfinder (summarised by Joana on Paizo forums):

Age of Ashes AP (July)
Lost Omens World Guide (Aug)
Lost Omens Character Guide (Oct)
Critical Hit Deck (Sep)
Critical Fumble Deck (Oct)
Bestiary Pawn Box (Nov)
Bestiary Battle Cards (Dec) -- monster deck of 408 cards (picture on one side, stats on the other)
Lost Omens Gods & Magic (Jan)
Extinction Curse AP (Jan)
Gamemastery Guide (Jan) -- schedule could slip even farther (NOoooo!)
The Dead God's Hand (Feb) -- 128-page adventure, 1st thru 6th or 7th levels
Absalom: City of Lost Omens (GenCon 2020) -- 228-page hardcover guide
Absalom: City of Lost Omens map folio (GenCon 2020)
Agents of Edgewatch AP (GenCon 2020) -- play as members of Absalom City Watch
Bestiary 2 (spring 2020) -- more than 300 more monsters
Advanced Player's Guide (GenCon 2020) -- classes: investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, witch (playtest starts in October); ancestries & heritages: aasimar, catfolk, changeling, duskwalker, dhampir, kobold, orc, ratfolk, tengu, tiefling; 60 archetypes (pirate, acrobat, duelist, beastmaster, gladiator, poisoner, assassin, bounty hunter, scout, and more)
 
If you've got it in your production schedule, why wouldn't you announce it? From a game production perspective, the fall of 2020 isn't far away at all. They are clearly already working on it. Why wouldn't they be talking about it? Any playtesting on it will likely be done this year, so they want fan attention on it.

It's going to be something on the order of a year and a half to two years, if not more, before this product becomes available. I saw the headline, got a bit excited, read it and realized how far off it was and any excitement I had died. Can't speak for other people, but for me, this announcement was an utter fail.
 
They do like that supplement treadmill don't they.


More like they 'understand' :money: the mind of collection completionists. :alien::cry:

Just like EA 'understands' :money: the mentality of roster update, er, video game sports fans. :goof::music:

Your, in sweet bitterness like my soul, :shade::coffee:, joyfully waiting for the end of it all.
-- opaopajr
 
Agents of Edgewatch AP (GenCon 2020) -- play as members of Absalom City Watch
Is there something special about this city or this particular city watch group in the Golarion setting? Naively it seems to be really stretching it as a supplement, like "Cooks of Clearwine" or something for Runequest.
 
It looks like my assumption that the flexible classes in PF2 not tamping down new classes (though they should) is correct:
Not really surprised, they've got a lot of stuff that couldn't fit in the corebook that they're going to spend a few years porting to 2e. If you know Pathfinder you can probably write most of their rulebook schedule for the next few years, sprinkle in an adventure path every year and accessories for the books as they come. PF2e beginner box coming 2021.
 
If you've got it in your production schedule, why wouldn't you announce it?
The classic concern would be that people stop buying 1e as soon as you announce 2e. This is why car salesmen are rarely told about new versions ahead of the public - plausible deniability!
 
The classic concern would be that people stop buying 1e as soon as you announce 2e. This is why car salesmen are rarely told about new versions ahead of the public - plausible deniability!
That makes sense for cars, RPG PDFs are cheap, and this kind of announcement can lead to people picking up the PDF, which is currently half off, just to see what the game is like.
 
It's not a product announcement (sorry), but I just noticed that The Alexandrian won a silver Ennie for best website. Congrats, Justin Alexander Justin Alexander! I have to admit it's well-deserved; plenty of people have cited Justin's articles for their insight and advice. I just didn't know that it was well-known outside of our niche within a niche, so that's a pleasant surprise. Maybe the rpgpub is next?
 
It's not a product announcement (sorry), but I just noticed that The Alexandrian won a silver Ennie for best website. Congrats, Justin Alexander Justin Alexander! I have to admit it's well-deserved; plenty of people have cited Justin's articles for their insight and advice. I just didn't know that it was well-known outside of our niche within a niche, so that's a pleasant surprise. Maybe the rpgpub is next?

Most awesomest RPG community award?
 
Let’s hope that’s never a category at an RPG awards event.
Everytime I visit other forums I appreciate the no politics rule more and more.


Unrelated but is it just me or does it seem this year's Gencon was anticlimactic? It may well have been the best four days in gaming but announcement/hype wise it seems flat this year.
 
It's not a product announcement (sorry), but I just noticed that The Alexandrian won a silver Ennie for best website. Congrats, Justin Alexander Justin Alexander!
Good for him, he deserves it. The Alexandrian was a great help when I was building my current campaign.

Unrelated but is it just me or does it seem this year's Gencon was anticlimactic? It may well have been the best four days in gaming but announcement/hype wise it seems flat this year.
I haven't followed the results closely but so far all signs point to yes.
 
Probably the thing I got the most excited about was board game related: IDW showing off the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, as well as previewing the upcoming Batman Adventures (based on the Animated Series) which is 100% compatible.

Oh, and Marvel Champions from FFG, which we have a thread about already.
 
That makes sense for cars, RPG PDFs are cheap, and this kind of announcement can lead to people picking up the PDF, which is currently half off, just to see what the game is like.
I guess. I’m thinking more about the extended line (which may not be a factor for this product, I’m not knowledgeable about it). Common wisdom seems to be that sales of splatbooks drop off once the next edition is announced.
 
I guess. I’m thinking more about the extended line (which may not be a factor for this product, I’m not knowledgeable about it). Common wisdom seems to be that sales of splatbooks drop off once the next edition is announced.
That's a valid concern for some games, but this is a game that only had two supplements over three years, I don't think they are really concerned about keeping the splatbook treadmill running.
 
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Agents of Edgewatch AP (GenCon 2020) -- play as members of Absalom City Watch
Is there something special about this city or this particular city watch group in the Golarion setting? Naively it seems to be really stretching it as a supplement, like "Cooks of Clearwine" or something for Runequest.

"AP" means adventure path, so it's not (primarily) a sourcebook.

What will be interesting is if this AP includes a cool, fully developed structure for citywatch/law enforcement-based play the same way that the Kingmaker AP included a strong structure of wilderness exploration/realm-based play.

It's not a product announcement (sorry), but I just noticed that The Alexandrian won a silver Ennie for best website. Congrats, Justin Alexander Justin Alexander!

Thank you! I'm still getting giddy whenever I think about it, and I really appreciate everyone who has supported the site over the years. It's great that there are so many people who have gotten something of value out of my eclectic musings. :smile:
 
Speaking of apolitical, how apolitical was GenCon this year?
 
I just posted this over at the Alexandrian, but thought I'd share it here, too:

My Gen Con this year was packed to the gills: Before the ENnie nomination and before becoming the RPG Producer at Atlas Games, I had been invited to run the Cthulhu Masters Tournament (CMT). For those unfamiliar with the CMT, it’s an annual Gen Con tradition that dates back to Milwaukee: It’s a three-round tournament, with players advancing from the first round on Thursday & Friday to the Semi-Final rounds on Saturday and, ultimately, to the Final Round where one player will earn the title of Cthulhu Master. It’s a really cool tournament where advancement is based on the votes of your fellow players. Not only is the content of the scenarios usually elevated to a really high level, but the tournament attracts really high-caliber players who are then further refined through multiple rounds of play. By the time you reach the Final Round, you’ve got a fantastic group of players combined with richly detailed characters who are thrown into a generally spectacular scenario in a system specifically designed to push those characters to the brink of personal identity. The results are usually electrifying.

It was an honor to be asked, and an even greater honor to assemble and work with an absolutely phenomenal Game Master team. (Thank you Chris, Sarah, Heather, and Peter!)

I’ll have more to say about this year’s CMT in the near future here on the Alexandrian, but I mostly bring it up here because it was a major commitment that was then paired with a lot of other major commitments. We adjusted our schedule so that I could attend the ENnies Award Ceremony, but I was running my final Round 1 CMT session from 4pm to 8pm on Friday.

The CMT is run in a private room at the Omni Severin hotel. The Omni is basically right next to Union Station, where the ENnies ceremony was being held in the ballroom.

So at 8pm I leave my session. I walk out of the Omni. I walk down the street to Union Station. I walk through the doors into the ballroom. And literally the first thing I hear is:

“… and the last nominee for Best Online Content is The Alexandrian. And the winner of the Silver ENnie for Best Online Content is… THE ALEXANDRIAN.”

So I just keep right on walking, straight up and onto the stage.

I’ve been in the room for literally 5 seconds.

30 seconds later, of course, and this is a really sad story. Instead it’s absolutely perfect. And also bad-ass.

If you ever need to win an award, by the way, this is definitely the way to do it. No time for stress. No butterflies in the stomach. No anxiety. Just winning and then being able to enjoy the entire evening in the company of fabulous and wonderful and creative people, basking in a wonderful afterglow of giddy excitement.

Thanks, once again, to everyone who helped make this possible.

EDIT: Including, in particular, everyone here at the Pub who went to vote for the Alexandrian when they heard about the nomination.
 
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