Original Article
Full Version: FanPro - spare anything for the troops?
| QUOTE |
Ziggurat Con [is] being held June 9 from 1200 to 2100 hours at Camp Adder/Tallil Airbase, is open to all allied military personnel and civilian contractors in Iraq. The largest problem with running a Con in Iraq, of course, is that there are no local stores or game publishers, and few game books on the post. Even dice are in short supply, with many soldiers breaking the unwritten taboo held by many gamers and (gasp!) sharing dice. Thankfully, many game publishers have also lent their support, and have agreed to supply game products to help the Con along. aethereal FORGE, Sovereign Press, Final Redoubt Press, Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Steve Jackson Games are among those that have thrown in their support for the convention. But Amberson indicated that the soldiers could definitely use more. "This convention is currently in drastic need of prizes and giveaways for the troops," he said. "Everything donated will go directly to the troops, or to MWR to use as loaner books for the soldiers." For more information, contact SPC David Amberson at the following address: david.amberson (at) iraq.centcom.mil Donations can also be sent to SPC Amberson directly at the following address: SPC David Amberson A Co 86th Sig Bn APO, AE 09331 |
Can FanPro spare any books to send over there? How about we as individual community members, can you spare a supplement or two to send over there? I'll be sending a few books I ended up with duplicates of.
In another posting about this con, they've specifically mentioned that they'd be playing Shadowrun and Mechwarrior. I've forwarded the contact information on to FanPro, but have not heard anything back yet.
Huh, I've seen those teacher supplements that let you buy 100 or 200 d6's for a relatively low price, but never thought it was worth while for me. Might this be a good course to pursue? With 10 or 20 gamers, 100 dice is whittled down pretty fast.
I don't speak on behalf of FanPro, but I know I have a pile of comp copies of books I've written for in storage that I could definitely afford to donate.
nezumi,
If you can make that happen, that would be a grand gesture, especially since they specifically mention the need for dice.
If you can make that happen, that would be a grand gesture, especially since they specifically mention the need for dice.
I get my bulk dice from here: http://dicepool.com/catalog/ They've got decent prices, especially when you get into the *big* blocks of d6s.
Heh, I guess if people are sending stuff, we should kinda shout out to everyone of what they sent. It would be kinda hilarious if they get 6 separate bulk orders of D6s.
The folks over at Treasure Tables have been in contact with them, and you can find some info at that link.
| QUOTE (PBTHHHHT @ Apr 18 2007, 11:29 AM) |
| Heh, I guess if people are sending stuff, we should kinda shout out to everyone of what they sent. It would be kinda hilarious if they get 6 separate bulk orders of D6s. |
Good idea; and, to keep things straight:
Keeping Track:
Baphomet69: spare supplements (specific ones?)
bibliophile20: $20
Jaid: Links to sites with free stuff
fistandantilus3.0/Plan B: Money (or possibly books)
I'm not sure yet what I'll be sending, I'll have to look when I get home from work. Though I won't be sending only Shadowrun stuff. I'll be sending whatever I can spare, regardless of game. Heck, this might even get someone over there into a game they otherwise would have missed.
As for duplicates, I can see an upper limit of dice (though I think that should be quite high), if they end up with 3-4 of the same game/book/supplement, that's fine too. More to go around. Maybe a few soft-covers will eventually even make their way to the combat troops out in the field...
As for duplicates, I can see an upper limit of dice (though I think that should be quite high), if they end up with 3-4 of the same game/book/supplement, that's fine too. More to go around. Maybe a few soft-covers will eventually even make their way to the combat troops out in the field...
Gah, I've been beaten! Someone else suggested dicepool. Well there you are. The 1,000 16mm lot looks to be cheapest, with 200 close behind. Kinda upsetting that 500 is so overpriced, because that's around the size I think would be most useful. We can chip in a few bucks if we're going to do a bulk order. Shipping shouldn't be anything special, since APO are considered domestic, although some places don't ship to APO so it might have to go through a middle man.
| QUOTE (nezumi) |
| Gah, I've been beaten! Someone else suggested dicepool. Well there you are. The 1,000 16mm lot looks to be cheapest, with 200 close behind. Kinda upsetting that 500 is so overpriced, because that's around the size I think would be most useful. We can chip in a few bucks if we're going to do a bulk order. Shipping shouldn't be anything special, since APO are considered domestic, although some places don't ship to APO so it might have to go through a middle man. |
Well, i sent the guys at dicepool a suggestion that they could add an option at their checkout that, if the dice are for the troops, the purchaser just hits a checkbox that will allow them to send it along with others in one big aggregate package.
but if anyone wants to do a bulk order together, I'm good for about $20.
And let's not forget that they'll need more than just dice--they'll need minis, playmats, and other stuff of that nature.
I don't think they need miniatures and playmats 
I do have a big hex sheet somewhere I could look into getting photocopied, but miniatures are uber expensive...
(Actually... I have a color image of some shadowrun cardboard cut-outs. Presumably I could get it printed onto cardboard and mail that along.) Because specialty printing is expensive, I'll let people decide... We can chip in $27 (enough for 200 dice) OR print off a few large hex sheets and maybe ten or twenty cardboard sheets of "miniatures" (which we'd mail ourselves).
I do have a big hex sheet somewhere I could look into getting photocopied, but miniatures are uber expensive...(Actually... I have a color image of some shadowrun cardboard cut-outs. Presumably I could get it printed onto cardboard and mail that along.) Because specialty printing is expensive, I'll let people decide... We can chip in $27 (enough for 200 dice) OR print off a few large hex sheets and maybe ten or twenty cardboard sheets of "miniatures" (which we'd mail ourselves).
Yeah, I don't think I want them to worry about lugging miniatures around, cardboard cutouts are good enough and easily replaceable/shipped.
As a former member of the Army, I'd just like to thank everyone for getting behind this so quickly. I know that everyone over there will thank you as well, but I thought I'd get a jump on it. Don't worry I'll be sending a couple of books too, though I am not sure what title just yet.
I remember a few years ago we tried to have a drive here at work for odds and ends (razors, deodorant, so on and so forth). Unfortunately I was living a $24k lifestyle on a $25k salary (before taxes). Half of my family is Navy and Marines, so I definitely appreciate what you all do for us. It's good to finally get a chance to support not just people who are putting their butts on the line, but a line of products that I've gotten a lot of mileage from.
| QUOTE (nezumi) |
| I don't think they need miniatures and playmats I do have a big hex sheet somewhere I could look into getting photocopied, but miniatures are uber expensive... (Actually... I have a color image of some shadowrun cardboard cut-outs. Presumably I could get it printed onto cardboard and mail that along.) Because specialty printing is expensive, I'll let people decide... We can chip in $27 (enough for 200 dice) OR print off a few large hex sheets and maybe ten or twenty cardboard sheets of "miniatures" (which we'd mail ourselves). |
For printing the cardboard sheets of the cutouts, send the files to me. Why? I live in Rochester, Ny. The home base for Xerox. Which has an official printing shop in the basement of the psych building, which will happily print stuff up for students at what effectively amounts to a 15%-20% discount off of places like Kinko's.
(actually, could you just send them to me anyway?
) And I just talked to the maternal unit--I have been cleared for contributing $20 for this.
hey nezumi, the chipping of 27. how should we do that? Contact the company and say that several of us are going to contribute to a particular order?
Bibliophile, I'd be happy to share. Obviously I can't send you the hex sheets. Just give me an e-mail (PM or whatever is your preferred method).
PTHHHHT - two options. If one person ponies up $90, he can buy the dice and everyone else who makes donations can just buy other things like books. Alternatively, I don't mind being the front man for this. IF we go that way, people can PM me and I can share my snail mail address for checks, paypal account or you can pay with CC through my wife's web site with google pay (or whatever that service is called). So we're very open to payment methods. The only problem is anything other than paypal takes about a week or two to process.
I'll see how much Kinko's or whereever charges for the hex sheets, bibliophile will run off a bunch of sheets of the miniatures. How many hex sheets/miniature sheets should we run off? 4 hex sheets 4 miniature sheets? If we run through 4 hex sheets, that'll likely kill my funds, so we're looking at the money already brought up (about $40, half way to the 1,000 dice mark) for dice and books.
Thoughts?
As an aside, what's the best way to send books? Buy paper books and have them snail mailed? Buy electronic books and have them e-mailed? If we buy electronic books, how do we deal with copyright protections (since if I buy the book, I don't want some Army guy sharing it around and I get sued, nor do I think Fan Pro wants their file to be shared around).
PTHHHHT - two options. If one person ponies up $90, he can buy the dice and everyone else who makes donations can just buy other things like books. Alternatively, I don't mind being the front man for this. IF we go that way, people can PM me and I can share my snail mail address for checks, paypal account or you can pay with CC through my wife's web site with google pay (or whatever that service is called). So we're very open to payment methods. The only problem is anything other than paypal takes about a week or two to process.
I'll see how much Kinko's or whereever charges for the hex sheets, bibliophile will run off a bunch of sheets of the miniatures. How many hex sheets/miniature sheets should we run off? 4 hex sheets 4 miniature sheets? If we run through 4 hex sheets, that'll likely kill my funds, so we're looking at the money already brought up (about $40, half way to the 1,000 dice mark) for dice and books.
Thoughts?
As an aside, what's the best way to send books? Buy paper books and have them snail mailed? Buy electronic books and have them e-mailed? If we buy electronic books, how do we deal with copyright protections (since if I buy the book, I don't want some Army guy sharing it around and I get sued, nor do I think Fan Pro wants their file to be shared around).
well, i'm going to make the following observations:
fallout warfare happens to be a free game that you can download. the rules are so-so, at best, but it conveniently comes with paper 'counters'... including people in power armor, tribals armed with hand weapons, armored people with various weapons, a couple of explosion templates, a robot or three, and i think even a vehicle or two... in any event, they're intended to be downloaded, printed off, and cut out, so all they need is web access and a halfway-decent printer basically.
WotC released some free downloadable paper models a while back... i have tried out at least some of them using regular printer paper, and school glue, and they work great. a good variety of buildings is included, though they are all fairly medieval oriented (certainly not much good for running shadowrun, though earthdawn could benefit quite a bit). actual card paper would make the buildings sturdier, but is more of a nice thing to have than a necessity.
finally (and this one's a little on the odd side) here is a spelljammer fan's collection of homemade spelljammer ship models. if nothing else, the ships are unique, and again, are designed to be printed, cut out, and glued together.
best of all, all three of those sites are free
fallout warfare happens to be a free game that you can download. the rules are so-so, at best, but it conveniently comes with paper 'counters'... including people in power armor, tribals armed with hand weapons, armored people with various weapons, a couple of explosion templates, a robot or three, and i think even a vehicle or two... in any event, they're intended to be downloaded, printed off, and cut out, so all they need is web access and a halfway-decent printer basically.
WotC released some free downloadable paper models a while back... i have tried out at least some of them using regular printer paper, and school glue, and they work great. a good variety of buildings is included, though they are all fairly medieval oriented (certainly not much good for running shadowrun, though earthdawn could benefit quite a bit). actual card paper would make the buildings sturdier, but is more of a nice thing to have than a necessity.
finally (and this one's a little on the odd side) here is a spelljammer fan's collection of homemade spelljammer ship models. if nothing else, the ships are unique, and again, are designed to be printed, cut out, and glued together.
best of all, all three of those sites are free
Fistandantilus3.0 and I would be happy to contribute.... just don't know what. Do we have a comprehensive list of who's sending what yet?
Boy I hope she means money and not books. I loves my books.
Well, you'll know the next time you look upon your bookshelf, especially when it seems a bit empty. 
Do you think there would be any interest in SR3? Last I checked I had 3-4 copies of the BBB and I would happily part with one or two that are virtually brand new...
Speaking from (ancient) experience, when you're deployed in the middle of BFE and the nearest game or book store is several thousand miles away, trust me, you're happy to have ANY version. Either to play retro or just for something to read!
That reminds me, I think I still have a spare SR3 BBB I can send too! I have some duplicate issues of Dragon mag too (unfortunately they are after the mag started to suck).
That reminds me, I think I still have a spare SR3 BBB I can send too! I have some duplicate issues of Dragon mag too (unfortunately they are after the mag started to suck).
Alright, I have the following:
Bibliophile - cardboard miniatures he will print and mail himself
Me - hex sheet (3 or 4 enough?) with the remainder of $27 going into the slush fund
PBHHHHT - cash donation of $20 towards the slush fund
I'll cover postage for whatever I'm taking care of. My wife will set up a method of paying with paypal or credit card if people show interest (she has a legitimate business and she'll be using google pay for the credit card payments, which means there's 0 risk of me ripping you off). If you want to mail a check, PM me with your name and address so I can verify you're not some freaky person like PBHHHHT is err... did and I'll give you a physical address.
$47 isn't going to buy a lot of gear, people. And I"ll have you know, RPoL.net is already sending several Call of Cthulhu books and dice sets! Worse still, they might be the d20 version! We don't want our boys in brown getting cancer, so cough up a little dough. Remember, they've got the guns!
edit: I will keep receipts for anything I buy. If they're physical, I'll scan 'em. Regardless, if people want to see proof that I bought what I said, I'll e-mail anyone who asks a copy. I understand it's not cool to send money to some stranger on the interwebz, even if he's a DBC member, so I'll do what I can to maintain transparency.
Bibliophile - cardboard miniatures he will print and mail himself
Me - hex sheet (3 or 4 enough?) with the remainder of $27 going into the slush fund
PBHHHHT - cash donation of $20 towards the slush fund
I'll cover postage for whatever I'm taking care of. My wife will set up a method of paying with paypal or credit card if people show interest (she has a legitimate business and she'll be using google pay for the credit card payments, which means there's 0 risk of me ripping you off). If you want to mail a check, PM me with your name and address so I can verify you're not some freaky person like PBHHHHT is err... did and I'll give you a physical address.
$47 isn't going to buy a lot of gear, people. And I"ll have you know, RPoL.net is already sending several Call of Cthulhu books and dice sets! Worse still, they might be the d20 version! We don't want our boys in brown getting cancer, so cough up a little dough. Remember, they've got the guns!
edit: I will keep receipts for anything I buy. If they're physical, I'll scan 'em. Regardless, if people want to see proof that I bought what I said, I'll e-mail anyone who asks a copy. I understand it's not cool to send money to some stranger on the interwebz, even if he's a DBC member, so I'll do what I can to maintain transparency.
Hey now! Just because I'm a proud member of the drop bear conspiracy doesn't mean... oh wait.
D20 CoC?! Isn't that one of those tomes that man was not meant to read?
D20 CoC?! Isn't that one of those tomes that man was not meant to read?
That way lies insanity...
In case it helps you coordinate what you're sending, etc.:
Treasure Tables Blog participation: http://www.treasuretables.org/2007/04/zigg...-troops-in-iraq
Dumpshock Forums participation: http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=17285
Fear the Boot participation: http://feartheboot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3434
RPG.net participation: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=322013
Those are just the ones I know of currently.
Treasure Tables Blog participation: http://www.treasuretables.org/2007/04/zigg...-troops-in-iraq
Dumpshock Forums participation: http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=17285
Fear the Boot participation: http://feartheboot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3434
RPG.net participation: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=322013
Those are just the ones I know of currently.
Thanks for the head's up.
VW_GM on treasuretables.org said he's sending a shadowrun book, so I asked for clarification. Based on which book he's sending, we can organize around that. The question is, do we want to provide both an SR3 and an SR4 book, or just get supplements for whatever edition he gets?
VW_GM on treasuretables.org said he's sending a shadowrun book, so I asked for clarification. Based on which book he's sending, we can organize around that. The question is, do we want to provide both an SR3 and an SR4 book, or just get supplements for whatever edition he gets?
Oh gosh, was reading penny arcade and on their front page was a post about them sending stuff to Zigguratcon. I think the con is going to have lots and lots of stuff sent to them. Heh.
Wow, any clue on what all they shipped? It's hard to get a full list of stuff already sent there.
| QUOTE (nezumi) |
| Wow, any clue on what all they shipped? It's hard to get a full list of stuff already sent there. |
From their front page:
"As it stands, we sent several kits with maps, miniatures, and dice, a substantial supply of Magic cards, and piles of fantasy and sci-fiction reading in addition to the requested shirts and books from our own holdings."
I just sent an email (don't know if they'll actually read/respond to it), inquiring what they sent. I just realized I should have explained I was asking for a full list like what exactly did he mean by piles of reading/books and how many kits and what's exactly in a kit. Hopefully I'll get a response. Anyway, maybe we should concentrate less on the bulk order of dice and get something else?
I don't know that anyone else is buying a lot of d6's, but certainly getting 1,000 may be a bit excessive.
Good thing I didn't order anything yet though...
Good thing I didn't order anything yet though...
Hey all - I have a nice pile of gaming books I've picked up as swag from Cons that I never use. Some of it is pretty good like the brand new Werewolf: the Forsaken that I picked up at Origins, and haven't even cracked the cover on. If someone could post the address to send the stuff to, I would be happy to send a care package. Some of the core books I can send include Werewolf, Mage, Midnight, Kindred of the East, PHB 3rd edition and SR3. I can also send a collection of supplemental books and some adventures to run.
Also, if people are sending SR3 or SR4 core books, it would be cool to send some of the SR3 and SR4 Missions adventures. That way they can start up a game in no time flat.
Also, if people are sending SR3 or SR4 core books, it would be cool to send some of the SR3 and SR4 Missions adventures. That way they can start up a game in no time flat.
Could you expand on the list of Shadowrun books specifically? I'm trying to avoid sending duplicates.
BTW, the address should be in the first post:
SPC David Amberson
A Co 86th Sig Bn
APO, AE 09331
BTW, the address should be in the first post:
SPC David Amberson
A Co 86th Sig Bn
APO, AE 09331
| QUOTE (Dizzman) |
| Also, if people are sending SR3 or SR4 core books, it would be cool to send some of the SR3 and SR4 Missions adventures. That way they can start up a game in no time flat. |
I also have about a dozen SR4 pregened characters that I could send them, so they don't even have to worry about making characters up.
Hey nezumi... thanks I missed the address in the first post. Right now it looks like the package I'll be sending will include a copy of the Midnight core book, the Werewolf core book and Bastions of the North. I might also run up and grab a copy of SR4 core and some card games. I'm also asking some local friends if they have anything to chip in. In any case, I wouldn't worry about duplicating anything we're sending if most of what you're sending is Shadowrun stuff.
Yeah, I'll reiterate (again) what Dizzman said. I wouldn't worry about duplicate anything being sent. Remember, there's a lot of folks over there, I'm sure that more than one copy of anything will find a good home!
My wife has kindly given up her paypal account to the cause; saint_calenture (a) hotmail. So far I have $70 going towards the cause. From what I've seen, it looks like they may already be getting an SR4 manual (please verify that I'm right on that!) So a copy of Street Magic might go over well, plus the 200 dice.
This is your LAST CHANCE to not be UNGRATEFUL FOR YOUR FREEDOMS, in which case I will send a TROOP OF DROP BEAR COMMANDOS to drop on you while you're eating your SUGAR COATED BREAKFAST CEREAL and when the national guard arrives in response, they will JUST LAUGH because you couldn't spare $5 to help TROOPS SERVING IN IRAQ.
(I plan on buying and mailing everything this weekend. PTHHHHBT, I'll cash your check after that, in case I'm hit by a bus on the way.)
(I plan on buying and mailing everything this weekend. PTHHHHBT, I'll cash your check after that, in case I'm hit by a bus on the way.)
Any idea what FOB these guys are at? I'm sending something to a buddy of mine "over there" and might be able to piggyback something on the care package I'm already sending him.
I only know what's in the original post, sorry.
| QUOTE (Jaid) |
| well, i'm going to make the following observations: fallout warfare happens to be a free game that you can download. the rules are so-so, at best, but it conveniently comes with paper 'counters'... including people in power armor, tribals armed with hand weapons, armored people with various weapons, a couple of explosion templates, a robot or three, and i think even a vehicle or two... in any event, they're intended to be downloaded, printed off, and cut out, so all they need is web access and a halfway-decent printer basically. WotC released some free downloadable paper models a while back... i have tried out at least some of them using regular printer paper, and school glue, and they work great. a good variety of buildings is included, though they are all fairly medieval oriented (certainly not much good for running shadowrun, though earthdawn could benefit quite a bit). actual card paper would make the buildings sturdier, but is more of a nice thing to have than a necessity. finally (and this one's a little on the odd side) here is a spelljammer fan's collection of homemade spelljammer ship models. if nothing else, the ships are unique, and again, are designed to be printed, cut out, and glued together. best of all, all three of those sites are free |
This is all a great thing to be doing!
I jsut wanted to post that going to 3ddownloads.com will crash my Firefox browser (most recent upgrade actually today) on two different systems, one running vista and hte other running XP Home, every single time. IE appears to work okay on it. Just letting anyone else who goes to that site know. Not sure what is doing it.
Vlad
Has anybody seen an after-action report on ZiggCon?
I am also curious. Any information or links to photos would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
From: Amberson, David B PFC A/86 SIG BN Supply Specialist
The e-mail included 98(!!) pictures. I haven't even looked at them all. Boxes and boxes full to the top of dice, rooms just stocked full of gaming books. Very impressive. If someone has web space and wants to host them, or you just want me to e-mail them to you, give me your e-mail address and I'll send it on.
[ Spoiler ]
- Justin A. CreechThe e-mail included 98(!!) pictures. I haven't even looked at them all. Boxes and boxes full to the top of dice, rooms just stocked full of gaming books. Very impressive. If someone has web space and wants to host them, or you just want me to e-mail them to you, give me your e-mail address and I'll send it on.
Good stuff! *thumbs up*
That was a very good update. Thanks for sharing. I am glad it went well.
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