by JordanCon Marketing | May 5, 2021 | Activities, Announcements
Every year JordanCon features a Silent Charity Auction on Saturday for the Mayo Clinic. This year we’re moving back in with the Art Show and Dealer Hall. Our normal space is too small to maintain appropriate social distancing.
The auction will run while the room is open on Saturday. We’re still working out the details for those times, but we already know about some amazing items again this year.
Speaking of donations: do you have something you’d like to see in our auction? We’ve had everything from memorabilia from Robert Jordan’s personal collection, to signed books, to prints of the Wheel of Time eBook covers, to hand-made crafts, and every year we receive more amazing items from people all over the world. If you have something you wish to donate, let us know by filling out our Charity Events Donation Submission Form. We will not be accepting any items that were not submitted beforehand. The cutoff date for submissions is July 9, 2021. If you’d like to donate something but will not be attending JordanCon this July, please contact CharityEvents@jordancon.org to arrange shipping details. We can’t wait to see you all in July.
-JordanCon Charities
by Workshops Track | Apr 24, 2021 | Announcements, Programming
Love Spensa, David, Joel, Alcatraz, and their associates? Tune in as the Sanderson track launches into discussing Branon Sanderson’s young adult and middle-grade works. The focus of the panel is on Skyward and Starsight, but elements of The Reckoners, Alcatraz vs The Evil Librarians, and The Rithmatist are discussed. Note: Full Spoilers are discussed for those series.
Some of the topics include:
Do the characters share similarities?
Will Sanderson give Brade a redemption arch?
Dion use of “they” as default pronoun.
Moments of squee in the worlds.
On the weekend of April 24, 2021, join a live Q&A session for the panel. The panelists and moderator will be taking questions in the #SandersonTrack chatroom on JordanCon’s Discord group. The official session will start one hour after the panel goes live.
The Cosmere will return to take over discussions at JordanCon 2021 in July. Join us then for speculations about The Lost Metal, our thoughts about Rhythm of War, and more!
Panelist:
Ashley Chappell (callsign: Cat Lady)
Daci Cole (callsign: Blue)
Paige Vest (callsign: Blade)
Deana Whitney (callsign: Braid) – moderator
If you want your own Doomslug toy, visit the JordanCon Worskhop blog: Space Slugs.
If you are wondering “Why are they wearing tiaras and hats?” JordanCon loves its shenanigans, even from a distance.
Send questions or comments to the Sanderson Track: sandersontrack[at]jordancon.org
by Gaming Track | Apr 23, 2021 | Announcements, Fantasy
The Jordan Con Gaming Track will run two games on April 24th at 8:00 PM and April 25th at 1 PM. We have two offerings for the weekend, depending on your tastes and availability. The games are open for the first 4-6 players to sign up; sign ups are open now.
A Tale as old as Tyme
GM is Ryan Szesny, and he will be putting on a spin on an old favorite. D&D 5e is the system and the players are going to be hired by the eccentric artificer, Morice LeFey, to retrieve his daughter, Belladonna Marie LeFey (Bell to her friends), who traded herself for her father’s freedom. The Crumbling Chateau has a beast roaming the ruins and a cast of odd and dangerous servants cursed for their master’s sins. This Beauty and the Beast inspired game will pit 4-6 players against the Beast, his over zealous servants, and the village “hero” Gaston, and deal with a damsel who is in less distress than she seems at first glance. Played on roll20.net on April 24th, 2021 at 8:00 PM Eastern.
For the King!
GM is Kevin Smoot, and he will run a Arthurian Dark Ages game using the Savage Worlds System. The king himself has charged the party to recover the sword Galatin from Vortigern and his Saxon mercenaries. Take on the role of a knight or their retinue as they do as chivalry and their king demands. Blood and honor await players in this dark fantasy role playing game. Game is open to 4-6 players to last 2-4 hours. Played on roll20.net on April 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM Eastern.
by Jaymie Greenway | Apr 20, 2021 | Announcements
Thank you for supporting JordanCon! JordanCon will host an in-person event at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia hotel, from July 16-18, 2021. The capacity of the event will be capped at 500 people, including staff, but not including guests (authors, artists, vendors, and media).
Programming
The 2021 event will be scaled down and several annual events will not take place as safety remains our top priority. Examples of activities that will NOT take place in 2021 include: ConSuite, Karaoke, Dance Party, Poker Tournament, Blademaster Tournament, and Speed Friending. Official room parties have been cancelled and open room parties are strongly discouraged and may not advertise in any convention areas. We are planning to provide a game room with limited hours for which you must bring your own games.
Additionally, most programming will have limited seating, including the costume contest and opening ceremonies. All program tracks will run a reduced schedule, and there will not be an Art & Artists track, though we are planning to host the art show and art auction. Our original Artist Guest of Honor, Mark Poole, will not be able to attend, though our Author Guest of Honor, Marie Brennan, is currently planning to attend. Members of Team Jordan and Team Sanderson, including Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson, are also planning to attend.
We are working with the hotel to evaluate options to increase participation, including holding some events outdoors, and possibly broadcasting some events to overflow spaces.
Safety
In addition to reduced programming and services, there will be increased safety measures. All attendees must be fully vaccinated by July 1 and must provide proof of that vaccination no later than July 5th (instructions for providing proof of vaccination will be sent by the registration team following receipt of your RSVP). Proper mask-wearing, social distancing, and daily temperature checks will be required. If you do not pass a temperature check, or are unwilling to wear a mask over your nose and mouth, you will not be permitted to participate in convention activities.
Registration
Confirmation of plans for attendance will be conducted through an RSVP process. Beginning on Tuesday, April 20, we will send out the RSVP link via email to staff and eternal members to confirm their plans. We will then roll out the RSVP link to all members in chronological order of the month the membership was purchased. If you use any link other than the one received in your own email, you will be placed at the bottom of the confirmation list. To review the RSVP link release schedule, please visit the FAQ.
We know this is a lot of rules and changes, and we appreciate your understanding. We do look forward to seeing many of you this year – from 6 feet away!
by JordanCon Marketing | Mar 30, 2021 | Announcements
JordanCon is a tax exempt 501c4 non-profit organization that holds a yearly sci-fi and fantasy literature convention to honor the late Robert Jordan by supporting the Mayo Clinic. But we’re also so much more than that. JordanCon is a family of incredibly diverse people who come together to celebrate not just their love The Wheel of Time, but also the many lifelong friendships they’ve made over the years. JordanCon often feels more like a family reunion than a convention, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
But Covid-19 stopped us from gathering last year, and we all felt the effects. We weren’t just missing an event (though the event itself is fantastic); we were missing each other. JordanCONine allowed us to interact as much as we were able, but we missed the hugs, the high-fives, the dancing, the costumes, the panels, the… the things that make JordanCon so special. We missed being together in one big space, enjoying our favorite weekend of the year as a family.
Now 2021 is here and it’s clear that Covid-19 is going to continue to cause disruptions for events and organizations moving forward. We already had to postpone our usual weekend in April, and now we’re working hard to try and figure out how to continue to bring you the best JordanCon experience we can.
But we can’t do that alone; we can’t do it without our family. So as much as we didn’t want to ask, especially since we know many of you are hurting financially during this time, we find ourselves in a situation where our operating costs are much higher than they’ve ever been. Like many organizations, especially non-profits, we’re worried about the future. JordanCon doesn’t make money. We’ve always focused on using the funds we receive to make the convention fantastic, and more importantly, to support charities such as the Mayo Clinic. Because of that, we don’t have an emergency fund. And who could have possibly anticipated a global pandemic and the increased operating costs associated with it?
If you can’t afford to help financially, we completely understand. Times are hard. But if you have some money to share, we would definitely appreciate any help you’re able to give. We’re even offering donor rewards based on how much you donate to the campaign. We just want to make sure we can keep hosting this incredible family reunion (that is technically a convention) and donate to charities like the Mayo Clinic for as long as we possibly can.
Donate here.
by Gaming Track | Jan 5, 2021 | Activities, Announcements
The module can be in any D20 system and can be in any setting, though it must conform to the theme. This year, the theme of the Module Contest is Piety/Zealotry. Bring the light, regardless of if they wish it or not.
The Module must:
• Conform to the theme of Piety/Zealotry; it can be motivation, source of conflict, or a backdrop for the adventure
• Contain at least one combat encounter
• Contain at least one social encounter
• Contain at least one puzzle or mystery
• Be 7,000 words or less
• Conform to the Layout Template Provided
• Have premade characters for players to choose
• Be playable to a conclusion in 2 hours time
• Have all information and handouts necessary to run the module within (no refer to book x for table stats on y, etc.)
• Setting Agnostic; do not rely on back story to sell the scenario
Submissions must conform to the family-friendly standards of JordanCon and should conform to the intended audience (see the JordanCon Anti-Harassment, Diversity, and Inclusion Policies) :
• The intended audience is someone ages 13 years of age or older.
• Wheel of Time Fans are the primary audience.
• Objectionable material is grounds for disqualification; this could be disrespect for the genre, an IP, a fandom, or real people or people groups. Context is key; satire or parody is allowed but being disrespectful is not.
Modules will be judged by Jon Hermsen, Ryan Szesny, and Sean Hillman on the basis of:
• Clarity – how well your points come across on the first reading; a reader should be able to pick it up, read it once start to finish, and understand how the module is supposed to flow. It should be clear from the reading who this module is intended for, what kind of genre it is meant to be, and what sort of character, item, or setting restrictions are required (i.e., a low magic setting for a module should mention that a whole party of wizards is not intended).
• Creativity – how unique or interesting the scenario is. This could be an interesting idea for the scenario, an interesting antagonist or characters, or just approaching something from a unique perspective (i.e., a war campaign from the warg’s point of view in the Battle of Five Armies).
• Playability – how useful the module document would be in a game; this includes game flow, balance, and how well the mechanics are laid out. I.e., if all the players have a one percent chance of survival for the first encounter for a light action romp game, it is out of balance.
• Ease of use – how well the module stands on its own and supports itself; less words can leave a lot of questions and over explaining a topic causes important information to be buried in text. I.e., the GM shouldn’t have to flip 3 pages for a single encounter if they were using the document as their only source document.
• Aesthetics and Layout of Information – how well the layout minimizes flipping and cross referencing; the stat blocks should be able to be picked out with a quick flip, there should be a logical flow to the module that puts sequences in the order they are likely to appear, and things must be organized so that one doesn’t have to read the whole document to find specific information about a general topic with all information in one location.
Scores will be tallied by each judge awarding a score of 1-5 in these five categories with the highest overall score winning.
Although all applicants will receive feedback based on the reading and play test of their submissions, all modules will be judged based upon the first submission. Contestants each get one attempt to compete.
All participants will receive constructive feedback and a participation badge ribbon, and the winner will receive a certificate.
Submission deadline is March 1, 2021.
