🎲 GenCon 2026 Saturday Recap: My First LARP, Deadlands in the Chaos & Gaming Groups You Need to Know

🎲 GenCon 2026 Saturday Recap: My First LARP, Deadlands in the Chaos & Gaming Groups You Need to Know

Author: Tabletop Journeys August 21, 2026 Duration: 19:14

What happens when a lifelong roleplayer finally steps into his first-ever LARP and goes 0-for-8 at rock-paper-scissors? You get one of the most unforgettable Gen Con Saturdays on record. 🪨✂️📄

In this episode of Tabletop Café, your host Michael breaks down his packed Gen Con 2026 Saturday a day that included:

🧛 His first official LARP experience. An Old Gods of Appalachia tabletop LARP run by City of Glass Games, set aboard an immersive period train with costumes, sound effects, props, and railroad-era atmosphere that earned a full A+ rating

🤠 A multi-table Deadlands game titled "So Shall He Reap", run by the MAMS crew, including GM Dungeon Wrecker Rose, featuring a cinematic Savage Worlds adventure that somehow survived a real-life tornado warning mid-session

🌪️ The Gen Con tornado scare that sent some gamers to the basement and others… back to their cards of Hanabi (perfect score achieved, no asterisks)

💬 A candid look at the gaming organizations bringing RPG events to life at Gen Con and why the roleplaying scene deserves way more coverage

🎯 What City of Glass Gaming and MAMS are running, who they are, and why you should look for them at your next convention

Whether you're a Gen Con veteran, a LARP-curious roleplayer, or someone trying to figure out how to get the most out of convention gaming, this one's for you. Michael also shares thoughts on Alice is Missing, Vampire: The Masquerade, the noise challenges of Gen Con's shared event spaces, and why you absolutely should go.


Can't make it to Gen Con? Michael has a word about AcadeCon too. 👀


00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:35 – Why Michael Goes to Gen Con

00:02:19 – Saturday Game 1: Old Gods of Appalachia LARP

00:10:18 – Tornados and Hanabi

00:11:55 – Saturday Game 2: Deadlands "So Shall He Reap"

00:16:18 – Should YOU Go to Gen Con?


And remember:

✅ Like

✅ Subscribe

✅ Ring the Bell to never miss an Episode


🔗 Links & Resources mentioned in the episode


🎮 City of Glass Games / City of Glass Gaming. Look them up on Facebook for their event schedule, including LARPs, Vampire: The Masquerade, Changeling, Alice is Missing, and more

🤠 MAMS Crew. Convention RPG event organizers running Deadlands, Old Gods of Appalachia, Shadowrun, Star Wars, Monster of the Week, Fate, Lancer, Masks, and more

📖 Old Gods of Appalachia RPG. Published by Monty Cook Games using the Cypher System. Cthulhu-meets-Appalachian-folklore horror

🃏 Deadlands: The Weird West. Savage Worlds-powered horror Western RPG

🤫 Alice is Missing. A silent, phone-based TTRPG mystery experience

🎟️ AcadeCon. Michael's regional convention. Definitely worth checking out if Gen Con isn't in reach


🗺️ Tabletop Journeys Links


Patreon: patreon.com/ttjourneys

Bluesky: @ttjourneys.bsky.social

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ttjourneys

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ttjourneys

Website: https://ttjourneys.com/

Email: podcast@ttjourneys.com


#TabletopJourneys #GenCon #GenCon2026 #TTRPG #LARP #OldGodsOfAppalachia #Deadlands #SavageWorlds #DungeonsAndDragons #TabletopRPG #ConventionGaming #RolePlayingGames #TabletopCafe #DrHomebrew #RPGPodcast #TabletopGaming #VampireTheMasquerade #MontyCoookGames #WorldOfDarkness #AliceIsMissing #CityOfGlassGames #RPGCommunity #TTRPGCommunity #BoardGames #GenConRecap


Three longtime friends, with a combined century of experience around the gaming table, invite you into their ongoing conversation. Tabletop Journeys is a podcast born from decades of shared history, not just as gamers but as people who have spent a lifetime thinking deeply about the worlds we create together. You’ll hear the easy, often hilarious dynamic of a group that has played in and run every kind of tabletop and live-action roleplaying game imaginable. Their discussions are the kind that usually happen late at night, after the dice are put away, where ideas get pulled apart, rebuilt, and passionately debated. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair in one of those living rooms, listening in as they dissect everything from game mechanics and storytelling techniques to the unexpected life lessons found in collaborative imagination. It’s less a formal review show and more a chronicle of a lifelong journey through games, packed with the kind of insight and friendly argument that only comes from truly knowing your fellow travelers. Tune into this podcast for a natural, deep, and often very funny exploration of why we play.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Tabletop Journeys
Podcast Episodes
Preservations Bonus Episode - Reputation Rolls (S4 Ep2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:17
The mission is over, but Starfleet’s judgment is just beginning. In this Preservations bonus episode, the crew faces Reputation Rolls after the events of S4 Ep. 2. Success, risk, restraint, and questionable choices all c…
Forged by the Cold: Building Better Campaigns with Northlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:52
❄️ OtRP (S2 Ep. 30) – Forged by the Cold: Building Better Campaigns with NorthlandsA frozen frontier is more than snow and longships—it's a culture that should shape every encounter. In this episode of On the Right Path,…
The Names We Preserve (Act 3.3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:04
The Names We Preserve (Act 3.3)The mission is almost over… until everything begins to fall apart. In The Names We Preserve (Act 3.3), the crew faces impossible odds as lives hang in the balance, split-second decisions re…
On the Right Path to Kobold Press's Northlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:11
OtRP (S2 Ep 29) - On the Right Path to Kobold Press's NorthlandsWhat makes a campaign setting more than just another fantasy world? Step into Kobold Press's Northlands as we crack open this epic tome and uncover the lege…
Preservations - Season 4 Ep 2 (Act 3.2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:12
🌌 A forgotten archive. An impossible deadline. Shadows closing from every direction.The search for the truth reaches a dangerous turning point as the crew of the USS Dilamus Christian uncovers a hidden Cardassian install…
Dr Homebrew - Windowboxing Vidarant's Vault (Episode 284) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:51
You asked, so Dr. Homebrew delivered! After the huge response to the original Window Boxing episode, Josh is back with a hands-on, adventure-by-adventure breakdown — putting the framework into practice with Vaderin's Vau…
Preservations: The Names We Preserve (Act 3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:54
A forgotten Cardassian outpost. A child who keeps proving everyone wrong. A doorway that refuses to surrender its secrets. 🖖 The expedition finally reaches the hidden archive, but the journey underground is anything but…
Mike Shea and Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster (Episode 283) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:44
He wrote the book on how to run better games with less prep. Then he wrote a better book. And now Mike Shea of Sly Flourish is sitting down with us at Tabletop Journeys and this conversation does NOT disappoint.If you're…
Preservations: The Names We Preserve (Act 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:17
Preservations: The Names We Preserve (Act 2)Two stowaways. Two away teams. One mission already beginning to unravel.As an archaeological expedition launches into hostile territory, an unexpected discovery forces Starflee…