Köln RPC : journey to the heart of RPG

Köln RPC : journey to the heart of RPG

It all started on a Friday... or was it Friday ? Anyway, a few days before our GM's birthday. We were all brainstorming to find THE present when a clue came unexpectedly in the form of a little voice " He would be soooo happy to go to the convention and meet Joe Dever !!! "

We looked at one another: hum indeed, good idea, why not ? And a smile came to our faces... But, he shouldn't go there alone, right ? And therefore it was decided that on April, 18th - 20th the GM would meet his co-God accompanied by Gustavius and Griselda (to the dismayof Erleothir who was to spend the week-end with his parents … ).

On the very day of the trip, as the day went by, the motivation grew steadily to reach a maximum at Feierabend. Köln, here we come !

The trip was uneventful : rowing when overtaking cars, taking the wrong turn while following GPS instruction, randomly coming across the " hotel Moutons ", taking another wrong turn, thanks again to the GPS and finally turning three times around the block – crossing the RPC parking lot at the occasion – before finally, at 22h00, checking in the hotel, yeah !

Tired, we still took time to map the road for the coming days (where are the most interesting stands ? What are the lectures we want to attend ? Which workshop would it be fun to take part in? ). After finishing our drinks, feeling ready, we decided to call it a night.

The following day, we met in the hotel lobby for breakfast – on the way, we met other guests whom we suspected to be attending the convention too... or why would they be wearing their armour otherwise ? Some of us might have felt a little out of place amongst all those "profis", especially wearing casual clothes.

On that bright, bright sunshiny day, we left on foot to the RPC enjoying every sign bringing us closer ( 500 m ! 300 m ! 150m ! Parking on the left ! 75m ! ). On the stairs to the main entrance, Storm troopers served as welcome committee. We proudly pulled out our tickets and smiled our best smile to the opening host and hostess. We were there.

Orks, wizzards, fairies, random magical characters, aliens, … the RPC call had been answered by all fans, no matter their universe and it was a surprizing sight.
The crowd was mixed: all ages, both sexes were represented in almost equal share. The plan established the day before was quickly dismissed as we entered the hall 1 mainly dedicated to computer games and an incredibly vast weapons, accessories and armors store.
In this crowd, the Square-Enix stand was rather disappointing... so small and without any news, not even any reviews of their previous hits. They only offered a short demo of FFXIV where the only "enemy" one could kill was a herd of sheep .. epic !

Of course, we couldn't resist the temptation to try some of the weapons and gears everytime we happened to walk by the store, obviously by chance, nothing intentional.

The morning was already gone and Griselda was craving for a cup of coffee. We thus moved to the cafeteria strategically placed between the two halls.
After a little break in the good company of previously encountered aliens and Alan Ripley, we took a deep breath and confidently entered the second hall. Only to stop five meters further, to dive in the boxes full of figurines to paint.

We indeed came with a shopping list containing : a GM figurine, a D100, maps and possible rule books. The first stand looked promising and we felt sure we would find everything we needed and even more.

However, there was a catch... " I need a real d100 " exclaimed the GM, but all what the stands had to offer were ersatz, that is to say, the combination of 2d10. But who said we can be that easily defeated? After hearing the same answer 5 times, we kept on asking untill... a polish stand ! The largest dice selling stand of the place, a gamer's paradise, there dices for all styles, all forms, all sizes... even cheatting dices ! and some strange tokens " what are those tokens for ? " " well, there are tokens ?! " " oh! "

It didn't deter the GM who asked

" Do you have a d100 ? " and the salesman replied in the most natural way " of course "

And here came the dreaded question " which color ? Blue, white, black or red ? "

" Blue ! Black ! " were heard at the same time, leaving Gustavius speechless and the salesman laughing. The GM took the last word and got it black.

It was now time to move to the end of the room and pay a visit to Joe, who undoubtebly had been waiting for us all day.

Once in front of him, we went shy and didn't really dare press forward. But the GM took his books out and lined up to get them signed. We immediatly followed and ordered tshirts for every one, and then also a map of the Magnamund, and also a poster, or maybe two, and the four little ones too. Oh Christian do you have that book ? It was only the three of us, but it was enough to send the assistant in a little panic "what size for the t-shirts ? I hope we have enough … "

We left him to check and followed Joe to the main poster for a photoshoot session with him. First individually, for our two cameras, then group pictures (in double of course ). Amazing Joe, still smiling through the coming cramps.

We left him return to his other fans, after a handshake and last few words of thanks and congratulation for his work. We stayed longer with two young guys helping out : the translator of Lone Wolf series in German and Moritz, a gamer.
Not forgetting any of the purchased items, we moved on to the yard.

The yard was kind of a let down: a training fighting area, several medieval / leather shops, a roasting piglet and the usual restoration stands. However, in that slightly uninteresting part, there was one very fascinating point : why is there a journalist interviewing an owl and its owner ? the question is still unanswered today …

We came back inside, saluting Joe from afar, and then finished the visit of the hall with a quick stop to the anime area ( quite empty ). New shopping session, further researches, more wandering, oh look ! star wars is talking to star trek !!

Though tempted, we decided not to take part in the on-going table games... too technical, not enough time and honestly, we were starting to be tired and needed to rest.

We made a brief halt at the hotel to drop our stuff and left again, heading west, toward the city.

To get a detailled touristic description of Köln please do not hesitate to ask somebody else or check their website.

We discovered Köln through necessity : where can we sit for an apéritif and where can we then go to dine ? Or do we really want to dine ? We crossed the famed "locks bridge" next to the philharmonic and facing the train station, behind the dom: you can't miss it.
We entered in the dom just long enough to decide not to visit it and then, we followed a street which lead us through the old city and then to the new one and back. Time was passing by and we were getting really thirsty. Necessity calling, we stop at an italian restaurant, planning on only drinking an aperitif there... but we ended up staying for diner as the menu was really inviting. We definitely made the right choice, it was excellent.

We almost stayed there for the night but, our energy levels being back to full, we felt the RPC call again. We weren't sure something was going on there, they might not been expecting us, but we still went, following our instinct.
The main hall was empty, there wasn't the smallest sound and we sent Gustavius to scout. When he came back, escorted, we thought it was over... but no, a party was indeed taking place in the yard. Very quiet and intimate, mainly for the RPC workers. To reach it, we walked through deserted halls and silently laughed at the security guards fighting with fake spears, bows and axes...
We sat at a table, enjoyed a few beers in the warm evening, listened to the live medieval performance while chatting.

The cold brought us back to the hotel for a last drink.

We set off late the next morning. No we didn’t oversleep, we simply took time to enjoy the hotel’s breakfast buffet (oh those mini portions!) and to look around – namely, stare at the other guests. There were also a few minutes used to adjust Gus’ clothing because yes, he dared enter the lobby with an old polo shirt instead of proudly wearing his Lone Wolf T-Shirt as convened. Immediately spotted by Griselda (yes indeed those t-shirt have the power to put the Gamer in their character) she instructed him to go back to his room and change before coming further. Ah the face of the other guests when then saw us three so properly dressed! We didn’t look amateur anymore.
Once in the Messe, after a quiet and short walk under a warming sun, we crossed the first hall which had lost some of its interest. The second hall was still the heart of the convention. Anxious to know if Joe Dever made it to the top and received a RPC Award for his amazing work, we came to his stand and we think there was a hint of fear in his eyes (there was for sure fear in his assistant’s eyes ^^). All smiles we congratulated him, chatted a little and set for a new picture session. Such nice pictures that they have been posted on his facebook page with the title “true fans” – yes, we ARE proud of that too.
We finished our little round, looked for further maps, accessories, figurines, books and what else, happily waved good-bye to Joe from across the stands and left generally satisfied by our visit.
Once at the hotel, checking out was quick and we soon found ourselves on the road back home. A trip long but animated by our conversations…
The convention will have a 2011 edition: who’s in?