Final report from Iraq and Ziggurat Con

Amberson, David B PFC A/86 SIG BN Supply Specialist wrote yesterday....

Greetings All,

Well, Ziggurat Convention 2007 is finally over. I am sorry for the lateness of this e-mail, but I will try to answer all your questions, as well as share some pictures with you guys so you can see what happened. I have been getting feedback from all over post about the convention, and have the following bits of information. For those who have loved ones who are in these pictures, or for those of you who are publishing a story about the event, please write me privately in about a week, and I will do my best to send larger copies of these pics to you.

First, I really want to thank those who were so supportive of this convention. From Wizards of the Coast whose employees contributed approximately $15,000.00 worth of products, to the Junior High School Student who donated the one thing he could afford - a brand new set of dice. No matter how big or small the donation, we offer a huge thank you to all who contributed to this event. We are honored, and humbled by your generosity. Boxes of left over gaming materials will be shipped to MWR Centers throughout Iraq with supplies for the troops to use.

The most popular events held few surprises for everyone. The console gaming, Rifts, Risk, Axis & Allies, Magic the Gathering, World of Darkness, and Dungeons & Dragons were all very popular.

What did surprise us was the popularity of XCrawl as published by Panda Head Games. SPC David Amberson ran that game, and gave a copy of the XCrawl main rules book to the three players who chose their characters first. The table was quickly locked after eight players, and more wanted to join in, but were unable to because of table size restrictions.

SPC Kathleen Hiersche ran Munchkin Demos with a whole lot of prize support from Steve Jackson Games. Hiersche was even confirmed as one of the "Men in Black," so she can run games at other conventions later.

Another surprise came from the influx of interest in ShadowRun's 4th Edition game run by SPC John Gilbert.

Ziggurat Con had drawings for prizes. SPC Amberson disqualified himself from the drawings as the Convention Chair, and as the one holding the drawings. The winner of the Grand Prize - a Core Rule Book Set, extra dice, graph paper, mechanical pencils, a D&D Tote Bag, a Gargantuan Black Dragon, a Colossal Red Dragon, 4 boxes of miniatures, a shield and a short sword was SGT Gary Decker. SGT Decker really wanted the sword, and after getting the sword, almost left the rest of the prize pack, much to everyone's laughter.

The following are e-mails and letters I received from those who went to the Convention. I did not edit or censor their e-mails to me. I want you to see what they wrote, and know how much they appreciate your support. Because of you, this convention was possible. Now if we can only find someone to run the convention next year - LOL!!!

"Thanks for the games I had a great time wish I could have stayed for the whole con, the convoy I was taking to Bucca was stopped on the road for an EFP and we never made it further than CEDAR II. I have two question one when are you free I would love to get together and talk or XCrawl or anything and second do you happen to have any shirts or miniatures left? I here I left 15 min to soon and I did not have to my driver changed the tire by himself at 1400 (I do have the best driver in the unit ) well send me a message back let me know I would love to get together." - SSG Reichenbach

"Given what we had to work with, I am proud of the results of this convention. We had limited time, resources, space and people--yet stuff managed to pull off a noteworthy event. The prize support was absolutely phenomenal and the whole thing would have been impossible without such loving, supporting gamers back home; even the major gaming companies themselves, pitched in to help. One of the things that pleases me most is the fact that everyone who came in walked away with something significant. We weren't even able to actually give everything away and STILL everyone had something big to show for having been there. However, one of my beefs with the whole thing was lack of attendance; we didn't have enough games being run or enough to fit the games we did have. Which isn't for lack of support-- unfortunately, the problem with the being the first gaming convention to be held in a warzone is that we are, in fact, soldiers in a warzone. Mission requirements or inability to travel prevented many people from showing, who otherwise would have made it. The really irking thing about this is that we had people from off-post saying they would show, who never did. But, I digress. I think one of the bigger problems with attendance was a sort of resigned acceptance of an inability to attend, so no effort was made; either that or inflexibility on the part of certain unit supervisors or commanders. No one specifically, that's just how the Army is--the "grin and bear it" attitude. Which isn't to say we didn't receive support over here. Indeed, there were a few unit commanders actually in attendance and enjoying themselves thoroughly. The goal of the event was achieved, however; it got the word out, got us supplies to pass out to the various MWRs, introduced some new players to the game and, most importantly, it proved that it was possible, paving the way and setting the bar for this sort of thing in the future." - PFC Samuel Dickerson

"First, I like to thank EVERYBODY for showing up to ZiggCon and especially all of those who helped out! This event was put together BY gamers FOR gamers. Without our fellow gamers, this wouldn't have been possible. We owe each other for the memorable occasion this past Sunday. As much as we all enjoyed this event, it would have been almost NOTHING if it weren't for the folks back home showing their support for us in this environment. They were the ones who donated the dozens of thousands of dollars worth of gaming material that we ALL got a chance to walk away with. While we had the big-name publishers dishing stuff out for us, we also had the "mom & pop" game shops helping out, as well as the individual gamers who were willing to donate their own gaming gear. 20+ year-old gaming dice?! Heck, I, personally, won't forget the feeling I got from holding that 4-book stack of old-school AD&D books from 1978! All of that being said, it's only fair that the people, who sent so many of their potential assets and/or prized gaming treasures, get something back from us. I'm sending out a call to all who participated in and all who helped with ZiggCon. Please send us any photos you have and a review of what happened, what you helped out with and what you thought. Essentially, this is our great big "Thank You" to the gaming community at large and a witness to all of those who so desperately wanted to be here. (You'd be amazed at the sheer number of civilians and former military that wanted to actually be HERE for it!) Let's say thanks and tell 'em how it went." :-D - Justin A. Creech

So to everyone who helped us, we, the participants of Ziggurat Con thank you for all your help. Without you, there wouldn't have been a convention to support.

SPC David Amberson
Ziggurat Con Chair

Flikr photo stream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98564151@N00/sets/72157600374605702/

But Wait, There's More!

20 pounds, 11 oz. of rattling Stuff, from the very generous Ancient Wonders, is winging its way to troops. The Loot was Substantial, and worthy, so make sure to thank them, and the other Dice Depots!

If you have Loot of your own, it MUST mail TOMORROW to make it there, and it MUST go Express Mail. Other services will not make it there in time.

A filled out example of the customs form is below, for your convenience.

Two more cartons

The World Wide Web is wide, indeed

From Down Home, 2,400 miles from Portland (and 200 miles from my hometown of Collier County, Fla.) is a report from RPGA-TAMPA. Go, Bucs!

RPGA Tampa
From: Dominick Trascritti
Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 12:24:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [RPGA_Tampa] Tampa Area Gamers step up for Ziggurat Con

Tampa Area Gamers is supporting Ziggurat Con, June 9, 2007, in Baghdad Iraq.

http://operationdicedrop.blogspot.com/

We put together a package and shipped it out, Eric put it in the mail today. We hope it will get there in time. It had donated gear from TAG members, Emerald City and Pendragon Games. The value was estimated at some where over $240.

I am very proud that TAG works hard as a group to take time to donate to important causes. These guys are over there to keep us safe at home, and events like this ensure that they know that are in our minds and our prayers.

Let me offer a word of thanks to all the members who could put something in the box. If you could not, please contact Eric and slip him a few bucks for the postage.

A quick inventory was:

1 Emerald City Dice Set - Large - Opaque Red
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Large - Opaque Black
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Small - Opaque Black
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Small - Translucent Aqua
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Small - Opaque Green
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Small - Transparent Orange
1 Emerald City Dice Set - Small - Opaque Red
1 Chessex Dice Set - CHX 25311 Arctic Camo
1 Chessex Dice Set - CHX 25347 Silver Tetra
1 D&D Miniatures Battlegrid - unpackaged
12 Randomized D&D Miniatures Dungeon Tiles - unpackaged
1 D&D Miniatures Boosterpack - Underdark
2 D&D Miniatures Boosterpack - Unhallowed
2 D&D New Players Kit
1 Star Wars Miniatures: Starship Battles Starter Kit
1 Star Wars Miniatures: Starship Battles Booster Pack
1 D&D Monster Manual
1 D&D Monster Manual II
1 Wizards of the Coast Prize Box - Assorted Dice & Miniatures

Late to the party? How you can ship direct to Ziggurat Con

AWRIGHT YOU MEATHEADS!

THIS IS THE YEW-NITED POSTAL SERVICE FORM TWO NINER SEVEN SIX A, OBTAINED FROM THE RACK ON THE WALL OF YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL POST OFFICE.

DO NOT TRY TO FILL IN AND CREATE THIS FORM ON LINE, AS THE MUTANT THUMB-BRAINED PROGRAMMERS WHO CREATED https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do HAVE YET TO MAKE THAT ACTUALLY WORK FOR APO AND FPO ADDRESSES IN EYE-RACK.

IT MUST BE SUBMITTED, ONE FORM PER PACKAGE, FOR EACH PACKAGE SHIPPED TO EYE-RACK.

PARCELS MUST BE TAKEN TO THE POST OFFICE DURING OFFICE HOURS; YEW CANNOT DROP A PARCEL IN A BOX AFTER HOURS.

PARCELS SHALL NOT CONTAIN ANYTHING TO OFFEND THE SENSIBILITIES OF THOSE FINE PEOPLE IN EYE-RACK. IF IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT. YES, PHIL FOGLIO, THIS MEANS YOU.

EACH PACKAGE TO EYE-RACK MUST BE WELL-SEALED, WITH CORNERS TAPED OVER, AND A SHIPPING LABEL CONTAINING YOUR ADDRESS AS WELL AS THE DESTINATION ADDRESS, WHICH IS SHOWN ON THE FORM AS AN EXAMPLE FOR YOU DEBUTANTES.


IF YEW TRY TO SHIP BY MEDIA MAIL TO EYE-RACK, YOU ROLL A FUMBLE, AND GEE-EYE JOE AND GEE-EYE JAME GAMER IN EYE-RACK LOSE. IT WILL NOT GET THERE IN TIME FOR ZIGG-UR-AT CON, AS THE DEADLINE FOR MEDIA MAIL HAS PASSED.

IF YOU TRY TO SHIP TO EYE-RACK BY PARCEL POST AFTER MONDAY 21 MAY, YOU ROLL A FUMBLE.

IF YOU TRY TO SHIP TO EYE-RACK BY EXPRESS MAIL AFTER SATURDAY 26 MAY, YOU ROLL A FUMBLE.



THE BLACK ITEMS IN THE RED BOXES DO NOT CHANGE, EXCEPT FOR BOX TEN, IF YOU ARE RICHER THAN PAUL ALLEN AND CAN AFFORD TO SHIP BY EXPRESS MAIL.

ITEMS IN RED TYPE WITHOUT A RED BOX WILL CHANGE, DEE-PENDING ON THE CIR-CUM-STAN-CES OF YOUR SHIPMENT.

BOX FIVE LISTS INSURANCE, WHICH IS OPTIONAL, DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU WISH REIMBURSEMENT IN THE EE-VENT YOUR PRECIOUS PARCEL IS SPINDLED, FOLDED, MUTILATED OR RUN OVER BY A HUM-VEE.


SAID PACKAGE SHOULD NOT EXCEED 34 INCHES IN LENGTH, NOR SEVENTEEN INCHES IN WIDTH, NOR SEVENTEEN INCHES IN DEPTH. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL REGRET IT, FOR THE RATES FOR THOSE LARGE PARCELS ARE SPEN-DY.


ANY QUESTIONS?

AH CAIN'T HEEEEAR YEW!

Parcel Eight ships courtesy new benefactor

Mike Caron of Far Far Away chipped in $50 which pays for Parcel Eight, shipping tomorrow. Thanks, Mike!

Yet Another Gift

O. D. D. thanks Antonia Cabal of Milwaukie for a $10 donation. That Grrl Gamer's gift will cover the remaining fraction of freight cost for parcels Six and Seven (the OSFCI purchase).

The Parcel Post shipment of Grrl Gamers' dice, card and board games will roll out this weekend. Then, a Monday night sweep of the three game stores generously serving as Dice Depots, followed by a hurried trip to the Main Post Office, will close out Operation Dice Drop.

Bring out your dice!
Bring out your dice!

I'll be checking with those three stores:
Rainy Day Games in Aloha
Empire Games in SE Portland and
Ancient Wonders in Tualatin
to get estimates of weight, so I can calculate freight and insurance costs for the Monday close-out shipments, and then will advise tomorrow how much I THINK we'll need to round out Operation Dice Drop for Ziggurat Con.

From a faraway land

Michael Mallon of Houston, TX found us through the D&D Archive and asked we take a look at it. He also sent a contribution of $100, which after PayPal fees, nets us $96.80. That erases our deficit from shipping parcels 1-7 and buying the merchandise for parcels 6-7. Kewl!

Parcel 8 will ship out courtesy that kind contribution as well. That has the dice bags, minis and card games from Grrrl Gamers, their dice and dice from the gaming distributor's going-out-of-business sale, We're holding off to package as much as we can in one carton, for a box of up to 34" long, up to 17" wide and up to 17" deep is the most cost-effective shipment, less spendy than two smaller boxes of the same total weight.

You can ask for a shipping kit of cartons and customs forms from the Postal Service; our was requested Tuesday and arrived Saturday (your mileage may vary). More tips on packaging are at the Postal Service web site.

A Generous Gift from OSFCI

Oregon Science Fiction Conventions, Inc., has granted us $300 for purchases and shipping of merchandise to Ziggurat Con. Excellent!

OSFCI operates Orycon, Oregon's long-running science fiction convention in November, and GameStorm, Oregon's premiere gaming convention, held every spring.

It was their generous donation which enabled us to buy and ship the large purchase of RPG books sent Tuesday.

However, Operation Dice Drop is still in the red. Ixias kindly donated $50, which helped with the $74 postage charges for the first five cartons. The $300 OSFCI donation was totally consumed by the unxepected bargain purchases, nearly paid for the freight (only $5 short), leaving nothing left over to cover the back charges for mailing the first batch. Not knocking OSFCI, or Ixias; their generosity has gotten us this far, but no farther.

Merchandise is accumulating at our Dice Depots, no funds are left to ship the loot, and we're $30 in the red.

Please consider a donation to Operation Dice Drop. A small amount allows us to ship some large happiness to GI Joes and Janes stuck in the sandbox, and helps them keep making their sanity rolls.

You can PayPal it to JOHN (at] 503BARTLEY [daht} COM and feel free to ask me any question about what we're doing and how we do it. We keep open books here, you've seen the receipts we posted here to show the mailing costs, and we also list what's gone already.

Yet Another Dice Depot for your convenience

Ancient Wonders of Tualatin is our new Dice Depot on the South Side, serving Clackamas County and nearby environs.

They're at 19060 SW Boones Ferry Road, and will provide a 20% discount to any purchases sent directly to Ziggurat Con.

Thank you, Ancient WOnders!

WOTC is on board!

Wizards of the Coast's News section on their home page for Dungeons and Dragons now links to the Wikipedia article on Ziggurat Con.

That Wikipedia article also cites a KPAM-AM radio interview... anyone happen to have recorded that, so I can link to it?

A new Dice Depot on the Eastside

There's a new game (store) in town, and they've enlisted with Operation Dice Drop as a Dice Depot.

Empire Games, 7979 SE Foster Road, will hold your donations until Shipping Day (21 May).

Empire's location is a little funny; even though the street address is on Foster, the store fronts onto SE 80th. It's the first building at the NW corner of Foster and SE 80th, and is behind the south corner of Freddie's.

Cartons Six and Seven on their way

Now, good gamers, let's change our plan.


Tuesday's RPG manuals are on their way, and that's great news for the gamers in The Sandbox.

That marks the end of what we can count on for Media Mail shipments. To get there on time, from now unti 21 May, shipments must now go Priority Mail. That last batch would have cost 3.27 times as much, $17.11 more per carton, if sent Priority Mail instead of Media Mail. (We know we can't afford to Express Mail anything.)

From now on, when you drop off gifts at Dice Depots for us to ship, please concentrate on dice, minis, and card-based games, which are much lighter than RPG books.

The one likely exception is the Dungeons & Dragons Players Kit 3.5th Edition which is pretty darned light, and contains everything needed to keep a MilGamer happy.

Last Load of Books

A gamer friend of ours, Amy Kennedy-Mehegan, runs open gaming on alternate Saturday nights in Westmoreland. She was also kind enough to tumble to a don't-miss bargain: ABC-Northwest, a major game distributor (with whom she is not associated), is shuttering their doors.

So, that distributor's Going Out Of Business Sale became a winfall for Operation Dice Drop. A carton of RPG books has been acquired (more about the benefactors who paid for that tomorrow) when Amy drove down to Salem to Loot The Bodies at the distributor.

Vampire: Storyteller Screen # 10757
Vampire: The Requiem Core Bk # 10741
Werewolf: Storyteller Screen # 10758
Werewolf: The Forsaken Core Bk # 10743
D&D DMG II # 10014
D&D Monster Manual II # 6829
D&D Monster Manual III # 9697
D&D Monster Manual IV # 11332
D&D Arms & Equipment Guide # 7988
D&D Complete Arcane # 9900
D&D Complete Divine # 8906
D&D Complete Mage # 11585
D&D Complete Psionic # 10687
D&D Defenders of the Faith # 6001
D&D Song and Silence # 6500
D&D Spell Compendium # 10316
D&D Sword & Fist # 5733

Plus
Dice OPQ 12mm 50D6 Asst.
which follow in a Parcel Post shipment.

Those books ship today, and that wraps up what we can do with Media Mail, the cheap way to ship to APO addresses.

That shipment exhausts all the donations we have on hand, yet there's still merchandise to ship (a list of THAT will follow later this week). We still need funds for shipping dice, card games, board games, and those few books which folks may bring in, in the last few days before our cutoff date of 21 May, the last day for Parcel Post shipments.

So, consider the virtue of small contributions which will make a big difference to games out in the Big Sandbox. If you can help, e-mail me at john (at] 503BARTLEY [daht) com which is the PayPal address for contibutions.

Books Away!

Seven, count then, 7, cartons of books are en route to Camp Adder tonight from SE Portland, thanks to the generosity of Ixias and OSFCI.

More books follow tomorrow, and then we concentrate on dice, miniatures, board and card games.

From here on, books won't be spurned, but if there's a choice in books what we contribute, let's concentrate on core rulebooks for the game systems asked for, i. e., D&D 3.5, B5, White Wolf, et al.

And, again, thank you!

Looting the Bodies at Rainy Day Games

Wow. $529 in new or near-as-new donations collected at Rainy Day Games in Aloha ship out tomorrow AM. That's in addition to the contributions from the Grrl Gamers of Portland. See the list, below.

That doesn't count the dice, card games, board games & miniatures, which must ship via Parcel Post.

Grunts, Portland likes you.

Comics:
Dork Tower (6)
Knights of the Dinner Table (8)
Nodwick (4)
PS 238 (3)

RPG manuals & supplements:
BESM D20 Special Edition
D20 Xcrawl Adventures in the Xtreme Dungeon Crawl League PHD-1000
FF Legends & Lairs: Elemental Lore
FF Legends & Lairs: Monster's Handbook
FF Legends & Lairs: Portals & Planes
FF Legends & Lairs: School of Evocation
FF Legends & Lairs: Spells and Spellcraft
FF Legends & Lairs: Twisted Lore
MGP Babylon Five Heroes and Allies #3514
MGP Quintessential Cleric #4003
SJG Star Munchkin RPG
WOTC 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide
WOTC 3.5 Monster Manual
WOTC 3.5 Player's Handbook
WOTC Deep Horizon (L13)
WOTC Hearts of Nightfang (L10)
WOTC Kingdoms of Kalamar (L8-L9)
WW Creature Collection #8300
WW Relics & Rituals #8310

CafePress store for OperationDiceDrop

I'll be posting here the sales and revenue data from the new CafePress OperationDiceDrop store, http://www.cafepress.com/dicedrop.

Go there. Buy kewl stuff.

All net proceeds (i.e., revenue received from CafePress after they deduct management and other fees) will go to buying dice, books and games, and shipping purchased and donated games to Iraq, and after that closes out, to other combat (including 'peacekeeping') zones.

Accumulated non-books to ship by Parcel Post

The result of my wife's Grrl Gamer group and their dice-bag sewing parties:

30 bags of dice w/ a D20 std set within each bag (see above)
2 lb, 8 oz of assorted types & sizes of dice, batched in ziplock bags or in Altoids tins
50+ terrain pieces in shoebox
One plastic box assorted minis, individually wrapped in paper towels to minimize transit damage, w/ matching WOTC D&D character cards. (How many? Well, > 2 dozen.)
Another pack WOTC character cards.
Two sealed tubes of Pringles (mmm, snacks make the gamer)
450-card deck, Illuminati New World Order, the One With Everything set, w/ manual book
Net Book of Riddles.txt (loose leaf paper in a folder)
Lord of the Rings / Return of the King card set, in plastic box (Be the first in your tent to collect the Balrog!)
And, the aforementioned books (see previous post).

They will ship Parcel Post once batched into the optimum size-weight groups. (Anything over 34" long, 17" wide OR 17" deep is much more expensive, so multiple parcels are often more cost-effective).

Personal contributions - Monday's book shipment

Here are the books which will ship Monday from Liberty Hall, 97267, via Media Mail:

F&SF magazine (screened for censor's sensibilities)
Analog magazine (ditto)
AD&D PHB TSR2159
Babylon 5 Ship Plans Vol 1 MGP 3353
D&D 3.0 DM Guide TSR11551 (2 ea)
D&D 3.0 Monster Manual II WOTC 882680000
D&D 3.0 Monster Manual TSR11552
D&D 3.0 PHB TSR11550 (2 ea)
D&D 3.5 Defenders of the Faith WTC 11840
D&D 3.5 DMG #177520000 (Qty 2)
D&D 3.5 Forgotten Realms Campaign Settings
D&D 3.5 Map Folio I 886480000
D&D 3.5 Monster Manual #177550000
D&D 3.5 PHB #175240000
D&D 3.5 PHB Deluxe Edition
Dragon Issue 348, October 2006
GURPS Atomic Horror SGJO2295 6065
GURPS Werewolf The Apocalypse SJGO1995 6077
Jayne's Intelligence Review: The Royal Manticoran Navy ADA 21951
Vampire: The Dark Ages WW#2800


These are personal contributions brought to us by friends.
More will follow from gaming stores.


They will ship Media Mail (AKA Book Rate) once batched into the optimum size-weight groups. (Anything over 34" long, 17" wide OR 17" deep is much more expensive, so multiple parcels are often more cost-effective).

New Dice Drop Depot: Rainy Day Games in Aloha

Rainy Day Games at 18105 SW Tualatin Valley Highway in Aloha is now supporting Operation Dice Drop!

From the owner of Rainy Day Games:

Rainy Day Games would love to participate in Operation Dice Drop. In addition to serving as a collection point I'd also like to offer a 20% discount to any customer that wishes to purchase something from my store for Operation Dice Drop. I will also make some donations from my store.
Please keep in touch and let me know if there is anything else that we can do to help out with this effort.
- Steve Ellis, Owner
- Rainy Day Games, LLC

I'm looking for an Eastside gaming store to serve as another location, and maybe Gresham. I'll be making calls on a few prospects, later today, and will post any successes here.

The Anonymous Benefactress

Benefactress No. 1, Ixias, has donated $50 American to help pay for shipment of dice and books to The Sandbox as a aprt of Operation Dice Drop. Thank you!

That will allow shipment of two (2) Media Mail book-only shipments of 20 lb each (which MUST ship by Wednesday 9 May, one week from today) and a mixed-bag of dice, cards, board games, figurines and remaining books (which MUST ship by Monday 21 May). Multiple shipments are better, for if parcels get larger than 34" long or 17" wide or deep, costs more than triple.

Early Shipments Are Like Gold.
Let me repeat that.
Early Shipments Are Like Gold.

Please, people, drop off your books at Rainy Day Games (more about that in my next post) or send them yourselves, to make that Wednesday 9 May deadline for the best possible Military Mail rate!

Downloadable Poster for Operation Dice Drop

Here's a poster for Operation Dice Drop collection points. Contact me, K7AAY ..at.. ARRL ..daht.. NET if you want help or have donations for Ziggurat Con.

/. !!!

Operation Dice Drop was just Slashdotted.

Z iggurat Con, where R.P.G. isn't just a Rocket Propelled Grenade, needs your help.





The con chair noted:

We have been so long without books, dice and such that whatever you can send will be appreciated. I think it would be best to let you know what games are actually scheduled for the event. This way you can decide for yourself what you wish to send. The best way is to send by US Postal Service (we don't get any other deliveries here).


Sunday - 1200-1600
1. GURPS
2. Shadowrun
3. XCrawl
4. Magic Tournament (Sealed Deck, Sanctioned)
5. Rifts
6. Babylon 5 RPG
7. Munchkin Card Game Demo

Sunday - 1600-1700
1. Wind up games, prepare for next session.
2. Drawings for FREE STUFF

Sunday - 1700-1830
1. Dinner - To Conform To DFAC Hours

Sunday - 1830-Finish
1. White Wolf System-Vampire
2. White Wolf System-Werewolf
3. Starship Troopers
4. MechWarrior Miniatures Demo
5. Cyberpunk 2020
6. Historic Miniatures Battles
7. D&D Fantasy - RPGA Event

Con chair: SPC David Amberson david.amberson (at) iraq.centcom.mil writes:

The Con's historical landmark "mascot" -- the Ziggurat that gives the Con its name -- can be found on the post, and hails from the ancient city of Ur. Nearby is the house where it is believed that Abraham (a large figure in the Bible, the Koran and the Torah) was born. Cool digs for a Con -- if not for the fact that there's a war going on. Amberson, however, emphasized the need for soldiers to relax and kick back with enjoyable activities from time to time.

"There is a deeper sense of camaraderie in a war zone than you see back home," said Amberson, who is a supply soldier with Alpha Company, 86th Signal Battalion. "You eat with these people, work with them on a daily basis, and can even share a tent with the same people. When work is over for the day, we can sit back, relax, drink our favorite sodas, eat our favorite snacks, and play a bit of D&D. This helps us relax in a very stressful environment. We found a place where we can go somewhere far away from the IED's, mortar attacks, and gunfire, without ever leaving the safety of our camp. The next step was only logical."

I've asked the board of my local SF-and-gaming con non-profit (OSFCI) to support the con, by paying freight for dice ( Bring out your dice, Bring out your dice) and minis (via Parcel Post) and for RPG manuals and supplements (via Media Mail), but as a Red Crosser, I've learned a long lead time is required to get parcels to troops, so if you like the idea, start preparing NOW. And, I'm not alone:

aethereal FORGE, Sovereign Press, Final Redoubt Press, Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Steve Jackson Games are among those that have thrown in their support for the convention. But Amberson indicated that the soldiers could definitely use more.

"This convention is currently in drastic need of prizes and giveaways for the troops," he said. "Everything donated will go directly to the troops, or to MWR (Ed. note: Morale Welfare & Recreation) to use as loaner books for the soldiers."