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IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS ONLY DARKNESS...
The story of IntrigueCon begins in April of 2013. The four of us, Clint, Daniel, Daniel, and Rob had been playing together off and on since the early aughts and, in a bit of down-time during one of our regular sessions, we got to talking about going to conventions. We'd been to some, sure, but nothing regularly. As is probably true for most roleplayers, the main obstacle, we agreed, was cost.
Being a relatively obscure pastime meant that there weren’t many events that catered to roleplaying and there certainly weren’t any near us, were there? So we, uncharacteristically, unanimously agreed we should run one right here in Edmonton, after all, it’d be pretty easy to put on a roleplaying convention. As it turned out we were wrong, on both counts. Running a convention wasn’t quite that easy, and we discovered that there were, not one, but two dedicated roleplaying conventions, in the area, Nerdly North at Camp Maskepetoon on Pigeon Lake, and UndergroundCon just down the QE2, in Calgary.
Instead of packing it in before we’d really started though, we decided to use Underground, as an opportunity to learn as much as we could about running a con under similar circumstances i.e. for Albertans in a city of about 1 million people (rather than a live-in con over a weekend). In hindsight it’s lucky a couple of us did make the trip down the QE2 that June morning. UndergroundCon did not return in 2014, nor has it since.
So, on October 18th, 2013, when IntrigueCon opened its doors, we had no idea it had already become, the largest dedicated roleplaying convention in Alberta. This is, of course, not to say there aren’t larger cons at which roleplaying is a part, but, to the best of our knowledge, aside from Nerdly North, there aren’t any others where roleplaying games are front and centre.
IntrigueCon 2013
IntrigueCon 0.1, as we called it, was held in 2013 at the Lansdowne Community League Hall. It was a proof of concept and we hadn’t at this point begun to produce buttons. They were, however, being earned.
Although the event was a success in terms of attendance and feedback from participants, financially it was a failure. It was particularly dispiriting when we met for dinner after the con to discuss how, after all the hours of work, we were all about to get a hefty bill for the privilege of doing it. In short, after that meeting we decided that there was not going to be an IntrigueCon 2014 unless we could do something about that. Something significant had to change.
First, we agreed it was unlikely that we were going to double the number of attendees in the next year. With that in the front of our minds, we were left with only two options: double the price for players or, ask everyone attending to contribute equally to running the event. We opted for the latter. We’ve unapologetically stood behind the philosophical position that everyone in the game needs everyone else. GMs enjoy GMing and players enjoy playing and, as both enjoy having a con to attend, both should contribute to making that possible. Having said that, we absolutely recognise that GMs do more preparation for the event and so, over the years, we’ve tried to do little things to recognise that.
People have suggested offering tiered registrations and GM discounts but every complexity we add, increases the amount of administration time required to run the con. Although we've put on 20 events by now, we're still learning things and each con presents new challenges that supercede fixing something that's currently not broken. If costs for registering at the event were similar to others in the city we'd look much more carefully at making payment more granular, but, for now, we operate from a simple principle that people would rather pay a few extra dollars each year than pay less one year and there be no con the next
IntrigueCon 2014
In our second year Lansdowne Hall was undergoing a major renovation which meant that we had to find a new venue. We settled for Brookside Community League Hall. The event took place October 24-25 2014 with an attendance of 40.
Asking everyone in attendance to contribute worked, and we almost broke even, going in the hole to the tune of the cost of the coffee and tea. Aa a side note a generous attendee insisted on buying the tea bags we tried to give them. That attendee was Nathan T, our current 5th organiser!
Coffee Club has since become a feature of the con and is often still the difference between losing and making money.
2014 also marked the first year we had buttons, and there were four:
Original 31
This was our first button, even though we handed it out in our second year. If you see some-one wearing one of these it means they were one of the 31 attendees at the very first IntrigueCon; one the Original 31.
2014 Attendee
You’ll notice that even though 2014 was the second year of the con, the centre of the button reads “1”. Because we put the first con together very quickly as a proof of concept the first con was actually called IntrigueCon 0.1.
2014 GM
Although we’re firm believers that Game Masters run games because they want to run games we still try to do a little something extra to recognise our GMs. In 2014, and beyond, one of those things has been a button exclusively for everyone that runs a game.
All Star
Since 2014, this button has been awarded to folks who’ve gone over and above to help make the con better for every-one. Whether it be hanging around after the con to help clean the venue, doing pro-motional work, or coming to our rescue in many and varied ways, these people are ICon all stars.
IntrigueCon 2015
2015 saw the convention return to the newly renovated Lansdowne Community Hall. Now a much bigger and state-of-the-art building our attendance swelled to 60 people and ran from October 16-18.
2015 Attendee
A third year attendance button with only a two in the middle…? What is this witchcraft? We consider 2014 our first proper year of the con hence the “2”.
2015 GM
Awarded to people who ran games at IntrigueCon 2 in 2015. There was a lot of back and forth over this button. I guess we, uncharacteristically, had a bit of time on our hands. Anyway, in my head the button represented the face of a king.
Hat Trick
This button went to everyone who completed a “hat trick” of IntrigueCons. As it was only the third year of our existence it went to people who’d been to the first three cons.
XP
2015 was the first year the convention ran for three days: Friday through Sunday. So to recognise those attendees that signed up, and played, or ran, a game in every session, we awarded them with the “full xp bar” button. We didn’t keep track of exactly how many of these were issued, but a surprising number of attendees came out for the whole shooting match. The four sections of the bar represent the four sessions, but there were five, and we won’t dwell on that… moving along.
Sſtabmontown
One of the fixtures of IntrigueCon is Sſtabmontown, a brutal, but fun, Old School Dungeons & Dragons game run by Adam Waldron-Blaine. At some point every IConner worth their salt should play it. When you do, you get the #sstabz button to show you’ve had your mettle tested, and met the challenge!
Fun fact! There was actually an IntrigueCon 0.5 which consisted of about ten of us getting together in April 2014, playing Sſtabmontown, and making plans for the event that would become IntrigueCon 1 that October.
IntrigueCon is also a big supporter of locally produced games and adventures spawning multiple piublished titles that were played first here at the con.
IntrigueCon 2016
Having outgrown the Lansdowne Hall we moved to the Parkdale/Cromdale Hall. Although our attendance was up, 65 people came, we were told that the location of the event was a problem for more than a few potential attendees. Even so, we were very happy with the venue and the way the con ran in general. 2016 also featured the first theme This way to certain death.
2016 Attendee
The third official year of the con marked the introduction of themes to the event. The first “This way to certain death!” was not as heavily publicized as it should have been (we didn’t really do it at all) but we had one, by gum, and it played into our first theme button.
2016 GM
Judge… and if we’re honest, jury and executioner. The 2016 GM’s were encouraged to work in the theme for the year (see above) and some really embraced the idea. GM Graeme Comyn won the award for “most deaths” in his game of Operation: Fallen Reich where he killed everyone… and their dog… twice.
DEATH
The theme for the con was used as the basis for the first IntrigueCon bingo. “This way to certain death” inspired the Death button which was awarded to people who completed their bingo card.
4 Years Pin
Like the ancient Greeks, IntrigueCon only recognises the existence of four elements. Attendees of the first four conventions received a button infused with these elements so they might better carry the power of the con through to next year, and beyond.
BINGO!
This was the first, and last, bingo card we had. People enjoyed them keeping track of them all was... a challenge.
It's an idea we;ll likely revisit especially with the apps that now exist to facilitate these tyes of scavenger hunt.
IntrigueCon 2017
It's 2017 and we are in our third building in three years. This time we had intentionally gone for a venue as close to the middle of Edmonton as we could without looking at commercial spaces. The Queen Alexandra Community Hall fitted us perfectly and it, apparently, fitted attendees too with over 80 showing up for the weekend, comfortably the largest turnout yet.
Our theme this year was "Glory is Fleeting but obscurity lasts forever" a quote belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte.
2017 Attendee
Convention 5 but button four. It's an easter-egg for those who've read this far. Enjoy! You're welcome.
2017 GM
A button and a mini-map! It's a double threat in paper and metal. Awarded to people who ran or facilitated games at IntrigueCon 2017.
Theme Button
Taken from the Napoleon quote, the theme this year was an inducement for players to do the most interesting things with their characters.
Although it was the theme for 2017, it's a great way to approach every con game in every year.
Fun Fact: that is not a 14 over the little fella's shoulder in reference to Bastille Day, it's "i 4" as a reference to the fourth IntrigueCon, which we can all agree is much more important.
Fun Fact about the fun fact: Napoleon was of average height for his time.
Besties
One of the most important aspects of promoting the con is word of mouth. The third of our permanent buttons, is awarded to anyone who brings a friend with them to IntrigueCon.
First 5 Years
A signifier that the possessor has attended all five of the Fall conventions. Each year there are fewer and fewer of us until there will be only, well, four, or something.
I Cthu-Cthu-Cthoose You
Call of Cthulhu is a perenial favourite at IntrigueCon. We often have more Cthulhu based games than D&D of all editions combined.
What darkness lurks at the hearts of Edmontonians?!
If you keep your eyes peeled you may also see a couple of green and purple sashes being sported by our "Brides of Cthulhu". These are a couple of ladies who've run 5+ sessions of Cthulhu based games over the years.
This perma-button is awarded to anyone who takes their chances with the Great Old Ones and they didn't necessarily live to tell the tale.
Three Cons
This One's for folks who've attended 3 cons. Back in the day it meant 3 Fall events but now it goers to anyone who gets to three in any combin-ation. Heck, in 2024 you could hebe earn this badge in a single year...
Five Cons
This One's for folks who've attended 5 cons.
SpringCon 2018
Although we'd talked about doing it for years (and did it in a minor way in 2014), 2018 was the first year we committed to a Spring con. It proved pretty popular attracting 52 attendees to the newly renovated Lansdowne Community League Hall.
Spring cons are now a fixture in the IntrigueCon calendar taking place the first week in May each year.
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