Extra Life Extra Fun

Posted on by John Kovalic

Gamehole Con/Dorkstock 2017 is done finished, and a wild weekend it was.

Without question, this was the largest, most successful Dorkstock we’ve ever pulled off, and all praise should go to this year’s director, Nancy Hutchins, whose put together an amazing slate of games and fun and Igor Bars.

John Ickes, Alex Aulisi, David Michael and all the Dorkstock volunteers were also outstanding.

The entire Gamehole Con crew was fantastic. Dorkstock absolutely could not be what it’s becoming without them. This is a terrific show that in five years has gone from a Good Idea to a Great Regional Con. The organization, attention to detail and professionalism behind the show is obvious. Bonus: it’s a hoot!

Surround yourself with good people, folks. They take the bullets for you.

It was an exhausting three (nearly four!) days, so I’m using today to recover a bit. But look, Saturday night, THIS happened:

I do feel the desperate need to rave a little bit about the Extra Life game of Dungeons and Dragons I lucked my way into got to play.

I mean, lets be frank, to start with, things like this happen to other people. At least to my mind.

So suddenly finding myself seated alongside Pat Rothfuss, Ed Greenwood, Erin Evans, Tom Lommel and Guarav Galati, on a game DM’ed by Chris MOTHRAFRAKING Perkins, was definitely a “My God, How did I get here?” moment.

Watch Extra Life: Chris Perkins @ GameHole Con 5pm PT from dnd on www.twitch.tv

Guys? We were PLAYING DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS FOR CHARITY!

I mean, really!

Not gonna lie: it sure beats biking sixty miles with a duck on your head. (And both were about six hours long, to be fair. SERIOUSLY: no contest).

I don’t expect anyone to wade through every hour of that video, but the fun quotient was off-the-charts. I was literally crying with laughter at times. YES, I know this makes for terrible television, but you can focus on Pat or Tom or Erin or Guarav or Ed or even Pat some more who are MUCH BETTER AT THIS KIND OF THING THAN I AM and also prettier. But everybody’s got to start somewhere.

 

I was reduced to bribing viewers into buying me retools and potions. I am not a proud man.

 

But it worked!

 

Here is Yortle the Torle, Paladin of Bahamut, in all his pre-lava glory.

 

YORTLE (RIP, presumably)

 

Here are Five Things I Learned While Playing D&D for Charity:

  1. Chris Perkins is an amazing DM, and I need to up my DM’ing game.
  2. Making sports jokes for a D&D audience is dumb.
  3. Making sports jokes about Green Bay Packers players from 30 years ago is super-dumb.
  4. I need to get into character far sooner.
  5. By which I mean “at all.”
  6. Roleplaying with actual Improv actors is akin to fencing with professional swordsmen.
  7. Ed Greenwood’s voice can move mountains.
  8. Know which camera you are supposed to be looking at before the show starts, dum-dum.
  9. I desperately want to game with everyone in that group again!
  10. I can’t count.

 

I wasn’t lying. This is Randy Wight, my Blood Bowl star player, and others from his team, also named after Packers of that era nobody remembers (Bent Moss; Al Tomb; Sterling Sharpsword)

 

==> Your Pal, John

 

 

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