I had a great time at ArcaniCon and found it well worth the time and money to attend. This wonderful event was made possible only by the many people who volunteered their time to make it possible. I'm sorry I don't know all the names of those responsible, yet we still owe you all gratitude.
Special thanks go to Tony & campaign staff for putting the event together. There were the logistics as well as the gaming. Picking a city and finding a hotel took effort, and getting the GMs [Chroniclers] and modules, etc. ready for the con took organization. I appreciate your putting it together.
Creating the adventures took time, and it was a really nice mix of having two soft-point modules and an all-day event with some interwoven plot points yet each of which could stand alone, so together they made an even stronger festival weekend. The mod authors and editors as well as the main event writers made some good stories. Our ability to choose our mini-missions at the main event was really nice, though I realize it meant more work for the writers and GMs. The festival games were also extra touches for flavor and fun. In speaking with others, I'm not the only one who feels like our choices mattered and our decisions affected Savona.
All the GMs put in a lot of effort over the weekend. The soft points took the standard amount of good effort to run, and I realize an Arcanis mod is usually more complicated (in a good way) to run than most RPG adventures. The main event was probably lots of work on the GMs since we didn't know till the last minute what each table would do. The NPCs (many of whom were GMs) were fun to interact with, and the role-playing, costuming, and plot points through the NPCs made the event much more than a series of missions.
In proving the importance of story, GMs kindly let my PC's Myrantian slave do a lot of role-playing interaction, and his backstory mattered more than it ever has before. Except for combat, parts felt like the slave was more important than his patrician master (and in retrospect, I think he was). I observed hints at other politics, intrigue, and (I think) secret factions beyond what I personally experienced, and I think everyone found enough to keep busy during the main event.
Getting to see so many old Arcanis friends and making new friends was the extra special punch. If I were just playing with a bunch of random people, I'd not have enjoyed it as much. Getting to talk and play with old friends was wonderful, and the multiple stages of main event let us all play with more people during the day. The way that Arcanis players care about role-playing and not just min-maxing character design, care about story and not just "winning", and like to make smart plans instead of just hitting foes with a weapon makes it a joy to play with you. It was also really nice to talk in person with some people whose names I recognized from the forum here. The stories and themes of Arcanis have the depth and intellectualism that draw the sort of players with whom I enjoy playing, and it's the people and stories that keep me coming back to Arcanis.
Even though no one from Team Paradigm was able to make it this year, I also realize that without their having created such a wonderful background of this intricate world and game system, we wouldn't have been able to play these games.
Thank you all, my friends.