BY DANI TIETZ
Are you ready to go on an adventure?
The second annual MAGE (Mahomet Area Gaming Enthusiasts) Con will feature two days of adventure as self-made characters travel through a Dungeons and Dragons universe created by the table’s game master on July 12 and 13 at the Mahomet Community Building.
The conference is the product of brothers Mark and Dan Webb, Keith Pogue, Erik Hawley and Greg Ziegler, who thought there may be more people who enjoy playing the game they enjoyed playing as teenagers.
“Many of us hadn’t played since high school,” Dan Webb said.
In a game that was generally played by teenage boys decades ago, Dungeons and Dragons has evolved from a math-based to a story-based adventure that families enjoy playing together in their homes.
“It’s kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure story; a book that you would get into taking part of it,” Mark Webb said.
“You put yourself in that world and experience it.”
Dan Webb, who recently took his son to the boy scout fundraiser, Farmageddon, a Farmer City Dungeons and Dragons convention hosted by the Knights of the Octagon, said the gaming conventions have become a place where families and game enthusiasts get out to spend time together.
“You’ll see that they get into their characters,” Dan Webb said. “And it’s fun to see moms, dads, sons and daughters all at a table together.”
The group found that the opportunity to play Dungeons and Dragons in the Mahomet area was a popular option in July of 2018. They knew that friends and some of their families would participate, but, with almost no advertising, they weren’t expecting visitors from out of town.
Just wanting to see what the interest might be, MAGE Con was opened up to players at all levels who gathered to play their characters at tables of six or seven participants.
“This is a really good example of an activity that brings different crowds together for, I think, a positive social experience,” Dan Webb said.
“There’s so many different people from different groups,” Mark Webb said. “(Gaming) is just a different thing. You don’t have to be into sports or academics, there’s no end goal, you’re not trying to get a college scholarship or to advance your own career.
“Everyone can do it and it brings different groups together.”
In order to appeal to many different players, MAGE Con will feature opportunities for newcomers to come in and create their own character, jump right into their first game or for seasoned players to go head-to-head against other veterans or mentor someone who is just learning.
MAGE has invited local Pathfinders and Starfinder Society members to set up a table at the event. They also hope high school students who started a Dungeons and Dragons club after school will join the event.
Mark Webb and Dan Webb believe the dungeon masters, who set up the adventure players will be going through, are skilled for this convention.
Having played at the dungeon masters tables before, the Webbs know that the crew running the show this year are versed in handling diverse characters in a myriad of situations with consistent rules.
Gaming cons are nothing new. In fact, with the story-creating mode of Dungeons and Dragons, players travel from con-to-con throughout the year to try their character in different situations.
The Geneva Gaming Convention or Gary Con are the pinnacle gaming events, but smaller cons like Winter War in Champaign always draw crowds.
Mark Webb and Dan Webb hope to fill the Mahomet Community Center again this July.
While they believe that their event may quickly outgrow the space as it gains popularity, the Community Center is the perfect place for the quaint event at this point in time.
“It’s right downtown, so people can see other businesses where they can visit,” Dan Webb said.
With growth, additional costs occur, and it is important to the MAGE group that they continue to keep the fees for the event low.
The $10 fee for guests playing sessions 1-3 and $15 for guests who will continue on playing sessions 4-6 includes a MAGE Con patch and light snacks throughout the day.
“We just want to make it have a home feel,” Mark Webb said.
“We’re trying to just have a treat people like a family game,” Dan added.
“We want to be welcoming to families because we just want to see that interaction.”
Mark Webb and Dan Webb said there are two ways participants can prepare for MAGE Con.
Newcomers can purchase a handbook or download a free guide to get an understanding of the game prior to coming to MAGE Con, if they wish.
And while everyone is welcome to register at the door the day of the event, the group hopes that participants will pre-register by visiting their website so that the group has an idea of how many people will be in attendance.
