A short list of the games I played, and my personal thoughts on them:

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I’m sure I will tell you all about it when I get back!

Things I’m looking forward to:

Seeing old friends.
Charlie’s Steakery (mmmmm.)
Rogue Trader (I will likely pick up a copy of this.)
Space Alert (heard lots of good things–might have to buy this.)
Running a session of my own little indie RPG.
A good game of Cthulhu (no Origins is complete without it!)
My 9th and 10th trips around the vendor hall (because that is when you discover the cool stuff.)
Playing Arkham on those huge round tables.
Buying another expansion for Arkham (should it be Insmouth or Kingsport?)
Discount Warhammer 40k (I need some Eldar Rangers.)
Seeing a thousand game geeks do their thing.

A short, simple idea popped in to my head on how to make 4ed feel a little more like editions before 3ed.  There are many things being thrown about as “old school”, and while many of them involve social and emotional attributes, there are a few that address mechanical aspects.  The two mechanical aspects I call into focus today are:

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Scientists have isolated the Foxp2 gene from humans and placed them in mice.  This gene is part of a cascade of genes that are believed to be responsible for developing speech.  The result:  the mice have changed their squeaks to whistles.

Creepy?  Yes.  Exciting?  Yes.  I can’t wait for the resulting legal and ethical debate when the first mouse demands a halt to its indignation. 

One of the GMing departments I see myself lacking in is terrain in combat encounters.  Too often, I fall on flat rooms with a pillar here or a table there, but nothing very interesting or interactive.  In games like 4ed, terrain is suddenly a major part of the encounter.  In other games, terrain might not be as mechanically important, but can still afford more depth to a combat.

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