Events

Guests

We are still finalizing details on which guests will be attending, but right now, we are planning on having:

Loren Wiseman (http://www.io.com/~lkw/) of Steve Jackson Games

Traveller Line Editor — Steve Jackson Games

Loren Wiseman (www.io.com/~lkw/) was a founding partner in Game Designers' Workshop, and has been a professional game designer, developer and editor ever since. Loren has written, co-written or developed nearly fifty gaming products, for Traveller, Twilight: 2000, Merc: 2000, 2300 AD, Dark Conspiracy, Space: 1889, GURPS: Traveller and other games, and has won several awards for his efforts. Loren is presently employed by Steve Jackson Games, where he edits the on-line magazine Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society, the official online magazine of Traveller, and is Line Editor for GURPS: Traveller.

Jeff Dee, Artist and Game Designer

Jeff Dee was a staff artist at TSR in the early 80's (he's particularly well known for his work on the Egyptian and Melnibonean sections of the original AD&D Monster Manual). Jeff also worked at the now defunct Fantasy Games Unlimited, where he illustrated numerous Space Opera RPG books and co- authored Villains & Vigilantes, a highly successful superhero RPG. He's done freelance work for West End Games (Star Wars adventure illustrations and cover paintings), GDW (illustrations in Space: 1889 and MegaTraveller), and other gaming publishers. He's also worked in the comics industry, inking The Badger for First Comics and penciling a 4-issue mini-series based on Villains and Vigilantes for Eclipse.

During the past decade Jeff has been working in the computer games industry, acting as art director on games such as Ultima VII and Master of Orion. Recently he's returned to the paper games business, contributing illustrations to "Superiors II" from Steve Jackson Games and designing WarChest, a customizable fantasy board game using collectible miniatures from Lance & Laser Models.

Jonathan Lyons, Science Fiction Author

Austin author Jonathan Lyons will be reading from and signing copies of his first novel, Burn, at OwlCon. The book, a technoir murder mystery revolving around spontaneous human combustion, is doing very well at Barnes and Noble online, and elsewhere. It is published by Domhan Books. Burn is a nominee for the Frankfurt Awards. For more information on Burn, go to the Burn web site.

BIO: Jonathan Lyons lives in Austin, TX, where he works in Web and multimedia design. He hails from Iowa, where he received his bachelor's in English at the University of Iowa. He has trained in the Brazilian martial art capoeira, which is mentioned as the fighting style of choice for the NewSchool Grrls in Burn

Although he has had a number of short stories, essays, and a hyperfiction published, this is his first novel. He is currently working on his next two.

Visiting Valhalla – the Convention Party

This OwlCon will see the dawn of a new tradition, a party in Valhalla.  Normally you have to die heroically and have your spirit carried there by a Valkyrie, but it turns out that Valhalla is conveniently located on Rice University’s campus, so we can avoid that bothersome dying part.  Valhalla is the name of the graduate student pub at Rice University and it’s dungeon-like appearance could not be more appropriate.  The party will run from 2200 to 0200 on Saturday night.  Costumes are not required, but there will be a costume contest that will be judged at 2330, and prizes will be awarded.  There will be music and merriment galore, so come on out and have some fun!

24-hour Open Gaming

The primary open gaming room is Sewall Hall 207, which will be open throughout the convention.  Additional open gaming may be available in other areas of Sewall Hall.  When the Rice Student Center is open on Saturday and Sunday, additional open gaming space may be available in Sammy’s.

Live Action Role Playing (LARP) - Novices Welcome!

Live Action Role Playing is alive and well at OwlCon. If you have never tried out a "LARP" then please consider giving it a try at OwlCon, both of our LARPs welcome novices. Conventions provide an ideal one-shot environment for trying out new games. This year, Ryan McMullan of the Ricegame troupe (www.rice.edu/ricegame) is running the Vampire LARP, and Michael Teegarden is running the Call of Cthulhu LARP. They are both veterans of not only LARPs but OwlCon as well, and they have great plans to entertain you. We hope you enjoy your live action role-playing experience and will work with us to create a memorable gaming experience. The LARPs will occur throughout Sewall Hall and will have snacks, refreshments, and prizes! As with all LARPs, there is no touching and please respect others in the LARP as well as those that are not involved in the LARP. There is an additional five-dollar fee to play in the Vampire LARP and a three-dollar fee to play in the Call of Cthulhu LARP, but there will be snacks, drinks, and props galore!

Warhammer Rogue Trader Tournament

OwlCon boasts the first major officially sanctioned Rogue Trader Tournament (RTT) for Warhammer 40,000 in the state of Texas.  Two Games Workshop Outriders, Dennis Dawson and Darrell Runyan, are organizing the event.  This RTT is being strongly supported by the Houston and Galveston gaming merchant community, enjoying support from Horizon Games, Gamesmasters Unlimited, Chimera's Den, and Comiczone.  We will be equipped to accommodate up to 48 players, so even if you do not play, you might want to come take a look at the sea of beautifully painted miniatures.  The tournament will occur in three rounds from 1000 to 1800 on Saturday, using 1,750-point armies, in the Grand Hall.  There is an additional five-dollar fee to play in the Rogue Trader Tournament.  Please refer to the event listing in the gaming schedule for more details.

RPGA Events

We will have a variety of RPGA events to offer at OwlCon. There will be Living City (using AD&D 2nd ed.), Living Greyhawk (using D&D 3rd ed.), Living Rokugan (Legend of the Five Rings), Virtual Seattle (Shadowrun), D&D 3rd edition, and Star Wars events. This year's RPGA events are being run by the Houston Area Role Players (HARP). HARP has regular meetings at Horizon Games and they routinely run RPGA events. Check out their web site (www.sarduna.com/harp) for more information on their club. There is a $2 entrance fee for all RPGA events. There will be some prizes awarded in addition to the standard points and certificates.

MiBs, Outriders, and Wolfpacks, Oh My!

We are bringing in the big guns for game masters. The Houston area Men-in-Black, the official Steve Jackson Games volunteers, will be at OwlCon running all of the Steve Jackson Games offerings. Official Games Workshop volunteers, called Outriders, will run the Warhammer events. As if that weren't enough, we'll also have a White Wolf Wolfpack Demo Team, called the House of Gabel, coming down from Louisiana (hoo-eee!). All of these fine people will be bringing all manner of prize support. So come on down, try out games run by our ringers, and get some loot!

Panel Discussions

There will be two panel discussions featuring our gaming industry guests.  Saturday, at 1400, Loren Wiseman and Jeff Dee will discuss the History of the Gaming Industry, providing us an insider’s view.  Later on Saturday, at 1600, Loren Wiseman, Jeff Dee, and Rick Jones will discuss the various aspects of getting material published in the gaming industry, both as an in house writer and as a freelance writer, and the challenges involved in developing new gaming material.  The panel discussions will be moderated and will occur in Sewall Hall 309.

Author Readings

Our guest author, Jonathan Lyons, will be reading from and signing copies of his technoir murder mystery book, Burn, at 1200 Saturday and later at 1900 Saturday. For more information on Burn, go to http://www.the-foundry.net/burn/.

Role Playing Games (RPGs)

OwlCon was originally a gaming convention, so we will have plenty of gaming! We will be trying out something different this year, a one hour break between standard gaming sessions. Look at the gaming page for more info.

* - run by Rick Jones, a writer for White Wolf.

Miniatures

Board and Card Games

  • Civilization
  • Cosmic Encounter
  • Illuminati New World Order Run by Men-in-Black
  • Roborally
  • Samurai Swords
  • Settlers of Catan
  • Titan
  • Other TBA

Computer Gaming

We regret that we will not have computer games at this OwlCon. The resources were not available this year, but we will look into arranging this in future OwlCons.

Art Room - Canceled for OwlCon '01 as of 20NOV2000

There will be no art room this year. If you are interested in helping us coordinate an art room in 2002, or you are interested in submitting work for 2002, then please contact the Director of OwlCon.

Dealers' Room

The dealers' room is located in the Grand Hall. It will be open during the following hours: Friday 1800-2300 Saturday 0900-2300 Sunday 1200-1700 The individual dealers are not obligated to keep their booths open throughout these time windows; please confer with individual dealers to confirm their times as needed.

Anime room 

Big eyes, small mouths, and vivisecting blades; come watch the pretty pictures as we bombard your mind with round-the-clock anime. Is your kung fu strong enough?

Movie rooms

Swords, lasers, starships, oh my! Embark on an epic quest to watch fantasy and sci-fi movies round-the-clock. May the flicks be strong. We will have two movie rooms in addition to the anime room. One will feature primarily fantasy and science fiction, and the other will feature action, horror, and cult films.

We Need Volunteers!

Conventions are a great place to meet like-minded folk and help strengthen the hobby.  We need game masters, gophers, registration staff, security, and a lot more.  If you'd like to help out, please contact Michael J. Casavant, the Director of OwlCon.

Questions? Comments? Please contact the Director of OwlCon.
All content copyright Michael J. Casavant, 20AUG2000
This page was last updated Thursday, 06-Dec-2007 15:34:59 PST