Last weekend I got the distinct pleasure of attending the D8 Summit in Utica IL. The D8 Summit is a charity fundraiser convention. Their motto is “When you game for charity, everybody wins.”
Most of the proceeds of this event are used to support PADS of Illinois Valley, a homeless shelter network in North Central Illinois. Some of the proceeds also went to fund a renovation of a Domestic Violence shelter for women and families in Dixon, IL as well. In addition to having a great time you also get the satisfaction of knowing you are helping a great cause.
There was much to do at the Summit. A board game library with over 200 titles. Several “Play to Win” format board games, and some Pathfinder Society role-playing sessions. But the biggest reason most people attend, including myself is for D&D Adventures League.
The D&D Adventures League is an ongoing official campaign for Dungeons and Dragons. The heroes you create in the Adventure League follow you wherever you go, whether you play at your local game shop or hobby store, at conventions or in the privacy of your own home. You can take these heroes and hop in to games all over as long as your level is appropriate for the current session.
This convention was awesome. I loved it. On Saturday I literally played D&D for 14 hours. The greatest session by far was the “Epic” on Saturday night. An “Epic” session in D&D involves everyone in the room playing the same session. In this case there were 30 different tables. We were all in a port town being attacked by pirates. Each table receiving their own mission on how to save the town from these pirates. This was so much fun. In addition to great story telling, the organizers also arranged for several people dressed as pirates to wander the hall and interact with the tables, and in some instances even attack the table. Besides your campaign you sometimes had to pause your game and deal with the pirates at your table. If you were successful in your current mission you were able to send a “Boon” to another table which is a bonus to the game. I have been in a few “Epic’s” before but nothing to this scale and with this much detail, the addition of cosplayers really brought this to the next level.
I really enjoyed this con. It was highly organized and well thought-out. They even had several D&D authors there running campaigns they had written. I can’t recommend the D8 Summit enough. I will definitely be attend next year. Hopefully I will see some of you there next year as well.
