The Biltmore, in Lovecraft’s day

This past weekend was NecronomiCon in Providence, the first in over a decade.  I had the good fortune to be able to attend (at least for a few hours) every day and had a wonderful time.  While I have a bit to say about the Con, for those of you in a hurry, I present:

The Executive Summary
It was a very successful con, with only a few minor frustrations. I wished I’d been able to meet more people, but was glad to see those I did. While sometimes the RPG side of things felt a little shunted aside, it was amazing to have a venue in which so many of the people I’ve only known online could meet, talk, and game together.

For those looking for a more details discussion, here’s a recap, day by day followed by additional thoughts…

Friday

Friday was more of a high-speed reconnoiter since I had the homunculus in tow.  While she was exceptionally well behaved, I knew I had only an hour, perhaps two at most, to see the con.  The Con was a weird match for the Biltmore – a goodly number of the attendees were rather Goth while the clientele was rather not.  Nevertheless the staff was very friendly and helpful and the attendees were well behaved.

After getting my badge I made my way to the first of two dealers areas, the first on the 2nd floor, the other split between the 17th and 18th floors.  The preponderance of the wares on hand were of the tchotchke variety – statuettes, medallions, artwork.  All interesting to look at but I already have to lovely Lovecraftian idols and don’t need more to clutter my office up any more.  The books available were an interesting mix of very small press and small press.  I picked up a couple back issues of Lovecraftian Studies (always researching for the next Arkham Gazette) but didn’t see have any must-have books.  It was nice to hear the Necronomicon Press is slowly returning to lift.

It was only en route to the Hotel Providence to check-in for my Saturday gaming sessions that I finally saw someone I knew (not too big a surprise since I knew so few people attending save online), when I spotted Brian Courtemanche and Tom Lynch coming up from the Providence.  Hey guys!

The Providence itself was the third (much smaller) vendor area, anchored by Chaosium, so I spent a few minutes saying hello to the Chaotic ones there and flipping through the preview of Horror on the Orient Express 2nd Ed.  Very nice!  After a quick peek in upstairs on the various games in session, I retreated home so that the homunculus – likely the Con’s only attendee dressed entirely in pink – might get some time at the playground.

(more later…)