Howdy All, The Collector's Trove and Gary Con would like to announce an ongoing series of events at Gary Con that pay special attention to the early days of wargaming prior to the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons. The special events will be gathered under the aegis: Legends of Wargaming. These time capsule events bring Gary Con attendees the classic board and miniature wargames that were a staple during the early days of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (LGTSA), International Federation of Wargaming (IFW), Castle & Crusade Society, Midwest Military Simulation Association (MMSA), and Gen Con. Each event will present the history of the game and its significance to the hobby of wargaming and even role-playing games. The original rules, vintage figures, and accurate accessories will be used during play. When possible, the events will involve individuals who played, refereed, and authored the games along side Gary Gygax and his friends during this golden age of wargaming. This is your chance to experience what it was like to play these games at the earliest Gen Cons and Gary Gygax’s own basement in Lake Geneva! The games will be taught and refereed so interest is all that is required by players. Even if you don’t sign up to play be sure to stop by to view the displays, ask questions, and watch the fun of classic wargaming! Returning Events: The following are the returning Legends of Wargaming events currently scheduled for Gary Con X. To find these events in the registration catalog type "Legends of Wargaming" into the search field and all will be conveniently be pulled up for you! Action on the High Seas: Iron Bottom Sound (John Bobek) Braunstein I (Dave Wesely) Braunstein IV: Banania (Dave Wesely) Chainmail Fantasy: Battle of Brown Hills (Nathan Lyke, Mike Sefton) Chainmail Fantasy: Battle of the Moathouse (Paul Stormberg) Chainmail Fantasy: Orc's Drift (Kevin Cabai) Chainmail Historical: Battle on the Ice (Mike Mornard) Chainmail Joust: Gary Con Jousting Tourney (Paul Stormberg, Tom Fortunato, Kevin Maurice) Chainmail Man-to-Man: Viking Raid! (Terry Kuntz) Classic Warfare: Fury of the Celts (Kevin Maurice) Dawn Patrol: Brisfits: Once More Into the Breach (Skip Williams) Dawn Patrol: Early War (George Henion) Dawn Patrol: Mid-War (George Henion) Dawn Patrol: Late War (George Henion) Dawn Patrol: Baron's Revenge (George Henion) Don't Give Up The Ship! (Mike Carr) Dungeon! (Dave Megarry) Jutland with Miniatures (Keith Sloan) Legions of the Petal Throne (Victor Raymond) Little Wars For Queen and Country (John Bobek) Remagen Bridgehead (Jon Pickens) Siege of Bodenburg (Paul Stormberg, Ed Stahlnecker) Source of the Nile (Ross Maker) Sturmgeschutz & Sorcery (Mike Reese, Ben Reese) Tractics: Arab-Israeli War Battle of Bir Lahfan (Tibor Ipavic) Tractics: Arab-Israeli War Jiradi Pass 1967 (Tibor Ipavic) Tractics: WWII Russian Front Spring 1943 (Mike Reese, Ben Reese) New Legends! In addition to the Legends of Wargaming VIPs listed above we are proud to announce the following new additions to our Legend's VIP cadre: Scott Duncan was friends with Gary Gygax way back in late 1960s when there was a little known postal Diplomacy club named the United States Continental Army Command (USCAC). Scott was the club's President, Bill Speer, the Vice President, and Gary Gygax, was the treasurer. Well around, 1967 these guys decided to change the focus of this group. The new course was to be one which would encourage and foster the growth of an international club of wargamers. Rechristened as the IFW (the International Federation of Wargamers), this club would go on to connect over 700 wargamers worldwide. Many of these gamers formed friendships and a desire to gather together to game. This desire for a national convention failed at it's outset but then Gary Gygax tried his hand at it with help only from his immediate family and local gaming group. That convention was Gen Con I in 1968 and it became an immediate hit. The IFW and its monthly fanzine were integral to Gen Cons for years to come, faltering every now and then but still dedicated to the idea. Eventually D&D came about and TSR took over the convention and now, 50 years later it is one of the largest table-top gaming conventions in the world. Greg Bell was just a high school kid in the mid-1970s when he became integral to a cultural phenomenon that would soon sweep the world and he soon proved to be indispensable to the company that produced it. The phenomenon was Dungeons & Dragons and the company, TSR. Greg was TSR's seminal artist, doing artwork for TSR's flagship publication, Cavaliers and Roundheads in 1973, as well as Dungeons & Dragons, Warriors of Mars, Classic Warfare, The Strategic Review, The Dragon, Greyhawk, and Blackmoor to name a few. Ads, catalogs, periodicals, letterhead, games, books, buttons, miniatures, posters, t-shirts, and even matchbooks carried his artwork to people all over the world. Indeed, his iconic lizard man illustration became the very colophon for the company in 1975! It is amazing to think that this company, poised to take over the gaming hobby, relied so heavily on one young man. While Greg's career as a TSR artist was fleeting, lasting just over two years, it left an indelible stamp that remains to this day with his crazy, cool, weird, sci-fi vibe that we all know and love.
New Legends of Wargaming Events! The Collector’s Trove is always working with Gary Con and its VIPs to bring you amazing Legends of Wargaming events. This year is no exception. In addition to our regular offerings Legends of Wargaming is proud to feature the following incredible new events: Rule the Vault of the Drow! We are pleased to announce, former TSR designer, developer, editor, and author, Jeff Leason (C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan) joins us as a new Legends of Wargaming Marshal! He will teach the game as each player takes on the role of the leaders of the noble houses in the Vault of the Drow. The game will combine player-to-player roleplaying and strategic movement on a custom made board that represents the Vault of the Drow. Players, as their persona, will scheme with one another to bring down the other Houses and ascend in rank but beware only one Noble House will Rule the Vault of the Drow! This is your chance to learn to play Diplomacy! If you ever wondered where the roots of role-playing games lie, check this one out! Diplomacy is the game that connected hundreds of players across the world, including Gary Gygax, through postal gaming. It also gave rise to dozens and dozens of fanzines which further spread the web of wargaming around the world. Gary Gygax loved to play this game and created several variants including: Crusadomacy, Khanomacy, Indianomacy, and Conanomacy. In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Gary's Drow Series tournament from Gen Con XI in 1978, Paul Stormberg with the assistance of Jeff Leason, has created his own variant, Drowmacy! Set in Gary's dark fairyland of the drow, players will vie for ultimate control of their homeland - The Vault of the Drow! Strategos N This is your chance to learn and play Strategos N by Dave Wesely (1968), an important set of rules for conducting Napoleonic era land battles. This game was adapted from Strategos: The American Art of War (1880) by Charles A. L. Totten, a wargame used to train military officers in tactics. Quite popular among Wesely's gaming friends in Minnesota, including Dave Arneson, it was eventually played at Gen Con and by Gary Gygax. The idea of an impartial referee becomes one of the stepping stones eventually leading to the creation of Braunstein, Blackmoor, and ultimately, Dungeons & Dragons! This battle will be conducted on Dave Arneson's actual ping pong table - the same table that Blackmoor was first played! Battle of the Hundred An all new Chainmail event run by none other than Terry Kuntz an LGTSA member, founding TSR employee, playtester of both Chainmail and D&D, and, infamously, creator of the dreaded beholder! A great way to learn the Chainmail rules! Raise your own army, choose your battlefield and face off with the best commanders Gary Con has to offer! This Chainmail historical scenario will be conducted using the point system to raise an army - an army of 100 points! Terrain selection will be carried out using the rules laid out by Gary Gygax and employed by members of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the Castle & Crusade Society in 1971. This will challenge your ability to form an army and to command them on randomly generated terrain! Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game that is the roots of the original Dungeons & Dragons game. This game will be played on the Legends of Wargaming sand table and feature 40mm Elastolin figures by Hausser – just like Gary used! Combat of the Thirty Our largest Chainmail event ever with space for up to eighteen players! This event will be run by Michael Mornard himself! Michael played Chainmail on Gary's own sand table in 1972, was a playtester of D&D, and was one of the few individuals who played in all three personal campaigns of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and Professor M. A. R. Barker! The Combat of the Thirty was fought during the Medieval period, as part of the Breton War of Succession, a war fought over who would rule the Duchy of Brittany. Each side picked thirty champions, knights and squires to face off in an intense melee. The winner would be declared the ruler of the Duchy! Players will each choose a Champion or Knight and a couple of faithful squires and then sally into combat! This battle will be re-fought using Chainmail Man-to-Man rules and conducted on the Gary Con Sand Table. Test your tactical skills in this exciting miniatures game that is the roots of the original Dungeons & Dragons game. The game will feature 40mm Elastolin figures by Hausser – just like Gary used. They Met at Quatre Bras Napoleonic miniature gaming is the cornerstone of wargaming. Join Dr. Steve Fratt, president of HMGS-Midwest, to learn and play, Fire and Charge! a classic set of Napoleonic rules from 1964 by legendary Jack Scruby. Jack was the main producer of figures for the wargaming hobby throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s through his company, The Soldier Factory. His activities led to a rebirth of miniature wargaming in the United States. Indeed, Gary Gygax bought many of his figures from Jack and learned some valuable lessons about business from him as well. This battle will be fought using actual vintage figures sculpted and cast by Jack Scruby himself! Come and play! No experience necessary! Little War of the Worlds We are very excited to have a new Legends of Wargaming Marshal join us this year, Jason Cook (dndgeek). Jason puts together amazing dioramas for playing some of the coolest games at Gary Con! This one may be his best one yet! “Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.” This Legends of Wargaming event recounts the story of H.G. Wells’ classic science-fiction novel, the War of the Worlds, using Wells’ own Little Wars "live fire" floor-game rules (but this game will be run on a table, for folks that can't crawl around on the floor for three hours). Players will vie for victory by efficiently shooting projectiles at Martian fighting-machines with British naval guns and vice versa on the 120th anniversary of the novel’s publication! All models and miniatures will be provided. Open to all ages. No experience is necessary.
Additional Special Events! In addition to the Legends of Wargaming events, The Collector's Trove is proud to present the following incredible events: Gaming at Gary's House: Each year since the 40th Anniversary of D&D, the owners of Gary Gygax's former home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva have invited us to run special sessions of Original Dungeons & Dragons during Gary Con. This year, two sessions will be offered to Gary Con attendees. The first will be an original Greyhawk Castle level by Gary Gygax from 1976 - previously run only for the 40th Anniversary of D&D in 2014. The second will be an original Greyhawk Castle level by Rob Kuntz - an adventure that was last run at 330 Center St. in 1974 by Gary Gygax in the very same dining room in which we will be playing! This will be the first time this adventure has been offered to the public in nearly 44 years! Gary Con Legends Tournament: Vengeance of the Giants If you have ever wished you could go back in time and play in one of those early classic tournaments now is your chance! For those who have never played a tournament, they are open to anyone who knows how to play Dungeons & Dragons (edition really doesn't matter). You play like any other roleplaying game with the added excitement of seeing which adventuring group accomplishes the most and is the best team to play. You could even win a free badge to next year's Gary Con! This will be the inaugural year for the Gary Con Legends Tournament, an annual single-round tournament inspired by legendary tournaments of the past. Each year we will create an all-new adventure that revisits or continues the adventure of an original classic tournament. The same ones that became the legendary TSR adventure modules we know and love. Each new tournament will be designed and even DMed by the TSR themselves! This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Gary Gygax's legendary Giant Series adventures used as the first Origins Open Tournament in 1978. In recognition, this year's Gary Con Legends Tournament will be: Vengeance of the Giants! An all new adventure trilogy by Paul Stormberg with TSR legends Allen Hammack, Zeb Cook, and Jeff Leason! This adventure picks up where the Giant Series left off and uses characters from the original tournament to clash with a new set of foes. This three-part tournament will span a six-hour slot with short breaks between parts. Even if your team does poorly in one part they can make-up for it in the next and, most importantly, no matter how your team does they get to play through all three parts of the adventure! Dungeon Masters for the tournament will feature a number of Gary Con veterans including Zeb Cook and Allen Hammack! While dungeon master assignment is random, this is a standard, non-featured event and you could end up in a game with one of your favorite TSR designers, like Zeb Cook or Allen Hammack! Teams will consist of nine players and will be formed online, complete with pre-generated character sheets, so that when you arrive for your time-slot you and your team will be ready to adventure! Teams will also be formed at a pre-tournament briefing an hour before the slot begins. You could sign-up with a couple of friends or join some other Gary Con attendees and make new friends! Requests to be with other players on the same team will be handled via email after registration. The players of the top scoring team will receive free Silver Badges (or an equivalent credit towards higher badges) to next year's Gary Con! Interplanar Melee Wow! A rare chance to play in an event formerly exclusive to TSR employees and run by an original participant, game designer, Zeb Cook! The legendary Interplanar Melee games were played locally at the Dungeon! Hobby Shop, TSR folk's houses, and at Gen Cons. The Interplanar Melee game allows players to select from up to eight different miniature armies of 8 to 30 figures each, of any multiple genres or periods and then duke it out using whatever technology, magic, or superpowers they have access to. These events were definitely zany, off the wall games that had the participants (almost all TSR employees) rolling in laughter. Participants of these events included: Jeff Leason, Kevin Hendryx, Jeff Dee, Erol Otus, Paul Reiche III, Tom Moldvay, Harold Johnson, Zeb Cook, Lawrence Schick, Dave Trampier, Evan Robinson, Bill Willingham, Jon Pickens, and others! Armies will be provided, all you have to do is command them! Gen Con's 50th Anniversary! Each year in the Legends of Wargaming room (Maple Lawn C), The Collector's Trove online auction house (www.thecollectorstrove.com) has put up museum-quality displays featuring the history of the gaming hobby. Previous years have included the 40th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, 40th Anniversary of Dungeon! board game, Dave Sutherland III Memorial, and last year's Artists of TSR. Nearly 300 con-attendees visit the display each year which is free and open to all attendees. This year we are proud to present: Gen Con's 50th Anniversary! Started in 1968 by Gary Gygax and held at Horticultural Hall in his hometown of Lake Geneva Wisconsin, Gen Con is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2018. The display will focus on the first 10 years of the convention culminating with Gen Con X held at the Playboy Club - yes that's right the same place where Gary Con X will be held! The display will offer an unprecedented look at the history of these early Gen Cons through photographs and memorabilia from those golden wargaming years. Become a Legends of Wargaming Marshal! Each year, The Collector’s Trove seeks out new events to sponsor for Legends of Wargaming. Currently we are seeking new Game Marshals to teach and demonstrate the following games: Boot Hill, Outdoor Survival, Alexander, Stratego, Warriors of Mars, or just about any 1975 or earlier miniature or board wargame. Oftentimes our referees come up with new twists on the theme and use the old rules and even vintage equipment to conduct novel new games, so let your imagination run wild! Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in being a part of this phenomenal program! Futures Bright, Paul J. Stormberg The Collector's Trove www.thecollectorstrove.com TLB Games www.TLBgames.com
This is a lot of awesome events! Thanks Paul, Kevin & all the GMs for organizing & running them. Some are very labor intensive.
