August 1976 was a magical year, a year of firsts! It was the year that the Gen Con Game Fair premiered as the official convention of TSR, Inc., and was the showcase for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. It witnessed the appearance of many companies who would later become legendary: Judges Guild, Ral Partha, RAFM and Dragontooth Miniatures. And it was the first gaming convention that Harold Johnson (who would later become the Vice-President of Games for TSR) ever attended and where he would meet his idol, Gary Gygax and his good friend Jim Ward. That year, Gen Con also witnessed the birth of a tradition that thrived for over three decades – the AD&D Open – a tournament conceived, created and nursed to life by Indiana resident, Bob Blake and his gaming group. This premiere event would become the world cup of D&D adventures. It required creative solutions, encouraged role-playing and promoted heroic teamwork as the only path to certain victory! Harold played that year and the next, and though his team was summarily defeated each time, it sparked in him a fascination for this event that celebrated team unity. In 1979, when he joined TSR, his first creation was to write C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan for the AD&D tournament at the Origins Convention. When Gary Con decided to revive the AD&D Open, we invited Harold Johnson to rediscover his love of team adventures and to write something that would honor Gary’s memory. In partnership with Jim Ward, they have conceived a beginning we never expected, an adventure saga that begins in the mundane world with the solitary mission to re-open the Gateway to Adventure and to return the magic to all of us! Join us as we begin a new tradition at Gary Con. Designed for teams of up to 6 players featuring intermediate level heroes, this three round saga promises to be amazing. Who knows where it might one day lead; perhaps even to the sweltering jungles and a return to a Hidden Shrine? We can only hope! Stay tuned as we release additional updates regarding this spectacular event!
Re: Gary Con Tournament - AD&D Open Wow - very cool! I've been thinking GC really needed an ADD tournament. I was intending to try and put one together for next year, but this is even better (sooner and someone else - who knows how to write a tourny adventure - has done the hard work :lol: ). As updates become available, my questions are: How does this work registration-wise? Will the details be 'firmed-up' in time for pre-registration? Hopefully, as I would use this as my top choice (unless it's being done totally separate from the regular registration process). (Also, what are the pre-reg rules again? 2 events, 4 for early birds, or something? I've forgotten and can't find it.)
Re: Gary Con Tournament - AD&D Open That was also my first Gencon and first convention tournament experience.
Re: Gary Con Tournament - AD&D Open I've been begging for a tourney since GCI. I like the nod for this year, but next year, they should make it their own. The Gary Con Open sounds real nice.
Re: Gary Con Tournament - AD&D Open An Avogadro's number times wow!!! Gianfranco will nuke of envy!!!
Re: Gary Con Tournament - AD&D Open Very cool indeed! A treat for all that will play it. Great job to all the hard work to make it happen!
I'm in! Now how do teams enter? Do people register and list a common team name they are part of or will teams be randomly assigned?
Everyone registers for this event as part of normal event registration. Team assignment will occur during marshaling for the event. Be sure you and your prospective teammates register for the same time slot. Important points to remember: 1) Only those who pre-register for the event are guaranteed a DM/table. 2) During marshaling, all ticket holders will be given an assignment based upon the number of DMs we have. If additional seats remain, priority will be given to first come, first serve walk-ons. Bottom line, get all of your teammates to pre-register for the same time slot, and you will be fine.
