Archive:Greenwood's Grotto/2023-06/Into the Forgotten Realms at Gen Con 1984

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 * query     =  Recalled the other day that your adventure “Into the Forgotten Realms” from Dragon #95 was used as a tournament module at Gen Con XVII in 1984. Before there was even a published Realms! Can you tell us how that came about, whether you DM-ed it yourself at the con and how it played? Did you get a chance to give the players a taste of the Realms within the bounds of the tournament milieu?
 * questioner = George Krashos#6925
 * answer    = Yes, I ran it myself (and gave copies away to all of my players when the session was done). I made it a race against Lashan's takeover, with a warband he'd sent hastening after the PCs through the "dungeon," to build urgency (no listening at doors and checking every ten feet for pit traps ;} ). The players loved it and wanted to go on playing that night in my hotel room, but Jen vetoed that, telling them "If Ed is in our room, he's playing with ME, thank you very much!" ...so we played it in one of their rooms, until 1 am. ;} The second sesh, the next day, included some TSR staffers (though I didn't know that until later) who were apparently impressed. Doubly so when they got their free copies and said to each other (about the copies), "Why aren't WE doing this?"