www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuImXBLU0Bw

2008 Christmas Card

The topsy-turvy year of 2008 is almost to an end. This has been a year of all kinds of change, ridiculous levels of stress, and anticipation for new things to come. I’ve stumbled, triumphed, experienced regret, endured painful loss, yet made some great new friends.

Instead of putting you to sleep with all kinds of detail, I’m just simply going to say that I’m grateful that this roller-coaster year is almost to an end. I’m so very thankful for the many wonderful people in my life—including my wonderful family, fantastic friends both old and new, and even the loyal dog that lays at my feet while I write. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be able to survive the rough times to enjoy the good.

This first Christmas without my Dad has been hard. When I call down to Georgia soon I still want him to answer the phone. But I have thirty-three Christmases with him to remember, and thanks to the army of friends and family out there to support me I’ve made it through without getting too sad.

I’m looking forward to a 2009 in which I work both harder and smarter, avoiding more of the bad and savoring as much of the good as possible. I’m going to reconnect with old friends, get to know my new ones even better, and maybe even make a few more along the way. Let’s see if I can get healthier, wealthier, and a touch wiser as I go.

Thank you … all of you. I wouldn’t be here without you. Happy Holidays, and enjoy a wonderful new year.

I believe that when creative people read or watch the works of others, they can sometimes not only connect with the material, but somehow “get to know” the folks who wrote it. I read the novels of Margaret Weis since I was in the fifth grade, and when I met her it was like I already knew her. Over the years, as a writer and creator myself, I’ve come to realize just how much of your personality and soul you reveal in your work. Enter the Dead Gentlemen…

Years ago, Sovereign Press shared office space with our partner company, Fast Forward Entertainment. It was a fantastic time for me, since I got to spend daily time with folks I had long-admired: James M. Ward, Timothy Brown, William Connors, Lester Smith, and more. But that’s another blog. It was the office intern, Alex Jacobs, that brought in a VHS tape called The Gamers and told me, “You have to watch this!”

If you’re a geek and haven’t watched The Gamers, go ahead and stop reading and immediately go order it. It’s funny, and the reason it’s funny is because it’s US. If you’ve played D&D for any length of time, you know these guys and have seen these situations. It demonstrated real wit and humor and neither toned nor dumbed it down to make it more appealing for anyone outside the niche.

I suppose it was about a year later that I spotted a DVD in a booth at Gen Con. It was Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake. Made by the same folks who created The Gamers. Out came in the wallet and into my collection went the DVD. Cleverly, I watched the original Demon Hunters film (on the same disc) first. I was mesmerized.

Demon Hunters is not a great film in the sense that any movie reviewer would give it. It was created by college students who only had the vaguest idea what they were doing. Many of the student-actors are terrible, the pacing gets a bit bogged down before the final act, and the video quality is, well, video (not film or high-def).

Did any of these stop me from enjoying Demon Hunters? Christ, no. Matt Vancil (writer/director) is a freaking genius. He’s the next Joss Whedon, I truly believe, just waiting for his moment. Watching Demon Hunters is like watching Whedon’s episode of Roseanne. His moment hasn’t arrived, but you can see the potential. Add on the talents of the other early Dead Gents—including (but not limited to) Don Early, Nathan Rice, and Steve Wolbrecht, and you have this unperfected but tasty recipe for future greatness.

It also revealed the world of Demon Hunters and the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. It’s a cousin to such things as Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Ghostbusters, Men in Black, and other mixed-genre material that my brain can’t conjure up at the moment. It combines horror and humor, action and irreverence, drama and slapstick. It made me actually care about the characters even when they tossed out the tension of a particular moment to get a joke.

The sequel, Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake built upon the first but showed just how much Dead Gentlemen had learned from the first film. The story and the writing were tighter, the humor and action managed to go even more over the top, yet there were actual character arcs, moments of setup and payoff, and a freaking musical number in a bar. Not to mention a Christmas Tree as an important character in the film. Despite its many flaws, I love the hell out of Dead Camper Lake and pull it out every so often to watch it again and hum along to “Demon Hunter Blues.”

It was after seeing these first three films that my wife and I began a friendship with the Dead Gentlemen. It was Don Early we met first, followed by the rest of the gang at various conventions and events. And, you see, for me it was like I already knew these guys and gals. They had put their heart and soul into their work, so I didn’t have to “get to know them.” The ice and been broken by their films, and it felt like I was hanging out with folks that I had already known.

Our early friendship led to an invite to see an early screening of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising in 2006. Holy. Shit. This movie had the humor of the original film mixed with believable characters who actual develop during the course of the film. It had action that was fun to watch. It was shot with real production values. HD quality, dolly track, crane shots, special effects, nice sets, great props, and other things that geeks like me tend to notice when we’re watching something. The performances are good, and even though this is a Gamers movie, it tells the story in such a way that even someone outside of the hobby might very well enjoy and appreciate the story!

I’m rambling on for too long. I love Dorkness Rising, and then everyone who speaks English should own it. And once they subtitle it, make “who speaks English” read “in the world.” It’s the best ambassador for role playing games there has ever been, and it completely washed the rancid taste of the Dungeons & Dragons movies out of my mouth.

In 2006, Don Early and I came to the mutual decision that we had to figure out a way to work together. Not because we had any particular genius idea, but because we had become part of each other’s extended family. They admired and enjoyed my work and the feeling was more than mutual. So I pondered, and then suggested that we create a role playing game based on the Demon Hunters films. It was something fun and unique and the property had not yet had a chance to find its audience.

Fast forward a bit and the end result in the Demon Hunters Role Playing Game from Margaret Weis Productions. My role on the project ended up being smaller than originally hoped, but it turned out even better than I had imagined. Everyone brought their A game to the table and the results are a wickedly funny yet completely playable RPG that happens to include a hilarious half-hour short film that shows off the amazing talents of the Dead Gents once more (and put Nathan Rice back in his doo-rag to assume the role he was somehow born to play). It also lays the foundation for explaining the world of Demon Hunters to the newbs while keeping the fun.

This was a love letter to my friends on the west coast that is long overdue. These are my people, and I’ll defend them but make no apologies for them because they require none. My only regret is that it takes airplanes and game conventions for us to spend time together. But those tickets are more than worth it.

This if for you: Don, Matt V, Nathan, Steve, Ben, Jen, Chris W, Matt S, Jimmy, Chris D, Emily, Brian, Christian, Scott, Jeremy, Cindy, Camille, Tiffany, Katy, Matt D, Tree—and the other that I stupidly forgot to mention. Love you guys.

Share the love. Check out their films, or flip through the game we made together. And stay tuned, because we’re just getting started.

"Jamie & Felicia" by Lindsay Archer

As a young boy reading Dragon magazine sitting in the kudzu patches of North Georgia (okay, I never actually did that, but it sounds good) I knew that one day I had to go to Gen Con. I had been playing D&D since I was seven years old, running as a DM since age 11, and attending local events since my early teens—including a little show called Dragon*Con that I will blog about at a future date. But Gen Con was my gaming Mecca, all the more ironic because for years it literally was in a Milwaukee building called MECCA. I finally made it up there at the age of nineteen, and my adventures there are lost out on the Internet somewhere. Maybe one day I’ll dig up my old journal post.

Years later, I’m writing as a jaded game professional who has attended Gen Con 15 times. I live right next to Horticultural Hall, the original site of Gen Con here in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Gen Con is now an incredibly stressful time of year, where our most important releases premiere and our sales throw important cash into the coffers. But I manage to have some fun, nonetheless. The following are two of my favorite moments from Gen Con ’08:

PSI Game Night

We setup the booth, and after putting on a fresh shirt and cleaning up as best I could, I headed over to the Westin in order to show off our games to the retailers participating in the Gen Con Trade Day event. We had two tables going, one to demo the Dragon Lairds board game hosted by co-creator Tom Wham, and one for the Demon Hunters RPG in the capable (if tipsy) hands of Cam Banks.

On a normal day, Cam is an enthusiastic Game Master. Give him a few Kamikazes and the odd glass of wine and you get über-Cam, a force to be reckoned with! At one point I walked by and he gestured, wildly, declaring “Okay, this is awesome!” before describing the crazy outcome of the battle scene in which the Demon Hunters were currently embroiled. Tom is game industry legend, and the Dragon Lairds session had lots of good-natured arguing and backstabbing.

With things going good and the free drink tickets all distributed (with only one lonely glass of merlot) for myself, I decided I’d like to try out a game. I sat down at the Playroom Entertainment table and played several turns of Portobello Market—a great German-style game that looks a little like Ticket to Ride but plays quite differently and has some nice variable decisions and strategy that go well with the theme. Even more fun than the game itself was making friends with Elisa and Phi, the former of whom was familiar with some of my work and the latter knows a very close friend of mine here in Lake Geneva.

The game night was a success, even though I ended up ending the game in order to lose catastrophically. But Tom’s and Cam’s tables both went very well. I’m already looking forward to next year!

Screening of The Guild

At Comic-Con I was lucky enough to meet producer, writer, and actress Felicia Day. (She’s apparently also a violinist and a mathematician and fellow displaced southerner.) I was already familiar with The Guild, remembered her from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, and had loved her performance in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, But when I met her in person and found that she played D&D I knew that we’d get along just great. For those wondering, yes, she is that adorable in person and is very gracious with her time and extremely appreciative of her fans.

After Comic-Con I told Felicia that I would be happy to bring The Guild to Gen Con with me this year and we could sell it on her behalf from the MWP Booth since she couldn’t be there this year. I also managed to wrangle a late-night screening with the Gen Con film room. Felicia and I deluged the Internet with postings about our plans at Gen Con. Unfortunately, battle plans never survive contact with the enemy.

Thursday night I was running late. (Those who know me well would fake their best “surprise face.” Just ask the aforementioned Elisa!) We rushed over to the Westin to get set up before midnight. I sent Christy and Danielle ahead to scout out our location and let any folks waiting know that The Guild was on its way.

Felicia and friend/co-star/Legend of Neil-creator Sandeep Parikh recorded a great opening message for the Gen Con audience that I had on hand, but she and I were really hoping that we could figure out a way for her to address the audience live. So I rushed into the lobby, hoping to talk Internet connection issues with the hotel staff. After all, I was hosting an event in a meeting room! I knew exactly what to say to whatever unlucky hotel employee awaited behind the front desk. Too bad there was no one there!

I opened up the chat program on my laptop and engaged video chat with Felicia. I wasn’t sure how far the free hotel lobby WiFi would reach, but thought we could give it a try. So I picked up my laptop with her face on fullscreen and walked down the hall toward the film room. People shot me strange looks as I walked by holding the electronic disembodied head of Felicia Day.

We reached the film room! Completely empty. Not even a projector or a passed-out gamer or couple making out. Christy and Danielle explained to me that they couldn’t get a straight answer out of the Gen Con staff in front of the room.

Felicia’s disembodied head looked so disappointed. Not a single fan turned out to see The Guild? I knew better, having talked to folks all day at the con. “Is anyone here for the screening of The Guild?” I shouted down the hallway. Suddenly the dozen or so people milling about the Westin all were heading my way. Turns out they were just as confused as we were!

I set Felicia’s disembodied head down on the table and said, “Why don’t you chat with your fans for a minute? I’m going to go yell at some people.” Then I marched down the hall to the Westin’s Gen Con HQ booth. Turns out that no yelling was necessary. They had moved the room three doors down to the Animé room, and were waiting for us to show up and give them the disc!

I assembled the troops and recovered my MacBook, and together we marched into the Animé room—instantly zapping some big eyed, small mouthed character about to give a tear-filled speech before killing a hundred ninjas with a sickle or whatever was up on the screen. “Who’d like to watch The Guild?” I asked, to the grateful applause of the two dozen or so people who were already in the room.

We were already running way-late, so there was no time to figure out hooking up the projector to my laptop. But I am the master of rolling with life’s punches, so I just walked up to the front of the room and introduced myself. “Hi, I’m Jamie Chambers, a writer and game designer with Margaret Weis Productions. And this is the disembodied head of filmmaker and actress Felicia Day.”

So with Felicia in the palm of my hand (or her digital head, at any rate) we proceeded to do a short intro and Q&A session with a live audience. It was bizarre and fun, and the screening that followed filled with laughter and cheers. I’m pretty sure that a dozen gamer-guys decided to take the “+5 Sexterity” line and use it at the local Indianapolis bars later that night.

Despite everything, we managed to make the screening work. Later that night, I stole WiFi from Steak-n-Shake and logged in to let Felicia know how the screening itself went after she logged off. The e-mail from her read “AWESOME!” in the subject line and she had Twittered about the experience as well. She’d really like to come to Gen Con next year, but she’d almost give it up for the chance for me to carry her disembodied head around the convention in ’09.

I just returned from an evening expedition a place here in Canton, Georgia known to the locals as “Hell’s Church.” It is a place of urban legend, supernatural rumor, and the site of real-life crime when the church was burned to the ground in 1990.

I’ll keep the names of my traveling companions to myself, but I was there with several ladies age 15 to 31. We had a few flashlights, our cell phones, and my camera. Our tour guide, a very old and dear friend, knew most of the stories of the place. Hell’s Church was supposedly the site of unwholesome activity, including occult activity — one that led a disturbed teenager burn the whole place down.

Here’s the short description from The Shadowlands:
Cherokee County – Canton – Hell Church – is a place located in the old part of Canton. There is a long narrow road going back into the woods that is very difficult to get down. You then come upon a church, out in the middle of nowhere, there is a very small (one room ) and white. Located directly across the road is a cemetery with graves dating back to the 18th century. Although there have been accounts of graves freshly dug. The story goes that back in the 80′s a boy was found mutilated. Most say that it was a cult killing. But the church was shut down and the newspaper clipping of this horrible event still exists. The church has been re-opened but there are still accounts of hearing faint piano music coming from inside the church late at night.

Walking around, the first thing we noticed is that many of the graves are bordered with bricks or stones and are covered with gravel. Many of these graves — even those many decades old — still have a very visible mound over the site of each body. Some families had several mounds side-by-side, and this phenomenon was visible even on more traditional dirt graves. Intrigued, I looked around and was astonished to see the high number of infant and child graves — more than I think I’ve seen in any cemetary I’ve visited. Some of my companions got the creeps and wanted to leave immediately. One was ready to leave, but then changed her mind and wanted to stay.

While others had a more specific experience, the one tangible thing (besides the strange grave mounds) was the smell. Near the center of the cemetary we all noticed a very strange, distinct odor. It was sort of sulfuric, but somehow also sweet. As my guide and I stood side by side near a grave that seemed be covered in astroturf (strange enough on its own!) the smell grew very strong indeed, and both of us felt a slight chill.

After our exploration, we got in the van and drove only a dozen yards when a police car came down the road and immediately turned on the lights. The officer approached our vehicle and asked us our business, explaining that there was lots of bad activity back here — causing the Cherokee County sheriff’s department to patrol the road regularly. He cited drug deals, vandalism, theft, and more, but quickly sent us on our way.

A very unusual experience, and several of us would like to visit the place again during the day where we could see the markers more clearly and would be less likely to be arrested! I did notice one prominent grave marked “Chambers.” Though it’s unlikely they are any sort of relation, it’s possible!

Others who were there might have their own stories, but that’s mine. Anyone in the area who’s interested in the supernatural and strange places should — legally and safely — check this place out.