About MerpCon

MerpCon has taken place each Summer on the last weekend of July; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The event is held in scenic Spokane, Washington, USA.

It is a 100% free event open to the public.
The event is NOT in any way endorsed by any of the Tolkien copyright holders, including, but not limited to Tolkien Enterprises and the Tolkien Estate.

This is a non-commercial get-together for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and his works, and those who want to game in Middle-earth and it's various incarnations.

This is a non-commercial event hosted by volunteers as a benefit to the community.

History of Previous MerpCons

MerpCon I (2005)

Guest Speaker: Professor Chris Seeman

Location: Spokane, WA. Merlyn's Games & Hobbies and North Spokane County Library.

Details

Featured guest speaker was Professor Chris Seeman, author of many Decipher and ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises) books and modules, as well as creator of the 9 years long publication (1992-2001) Other Hands magazine, co-editor of The Guild Companion, and many other contributions. He was a co-Game Master at MerpCon I as well! The convention campaign was "Escape from Numenor!". You can read Professor Seeman's review here.

MerpCon II (2006)

Guest Speaker: Michael Martinez

Location: Spokane, WA. 127 East Mission Avenue (Kung fu For Life school building).

Details

The 2006 MerpCon II Guest Speaker was Michael Martinez. Reknowned in the Tolkien Communities, and author of Parma Endorian, Visualizing Middle-earth Earth, Understanding Middle-earth, and much more! Merp.com is the official authorized host of his many great number of Essays. The convention campaign was "Under Umbar". You can read Mr. Martinez's review here.

The following "prizes" were made available to those who participated all three days:

• Full size black and white printed map of Thomas Morwinsky's Numenor (with his permission). Some received full color as well.
• DVD of useful Middle-earth gaming related content.
• Prize drawings of special authorized and autographed books by Michael Martinez
• Parma Endorian the only authorized (and autographed) printed and bound full color 8" x 11" copies
• Understanding Middle-earth
• Visualizing Middle-earth
• And many other "goodies".

MerpCon III (2007)

Guest Speakers: Dr. Thomas Morwinsky, Professor Chris Seeman, Michael Martinez, Joe Mandala, and Cason Snow.

Location: 127 East Mission Avenue (Kung fu for Life)

Details

Featured a plethora of special guests including (click the names to see their short biography on this site):

• Professor Chris Seeman
• Michael Martinez
  
• Dr. Thomas Morwinsky
• Joe Mandala
• Cason Snow

The featured campaign was a complex mix of a six part series loosely linked together, with a "big finale" joining the groups together at the end, called "First Contacts". You can read the review from The Guild Companion, by Joe Mandala, here.
 

MerpCon IV (2008)

Guest Speakers: John D. Rateliff and Michael Martinez

Location: Spokane, WA. 2714 N. Division (Kung fu for life School building).

Details

MerpCon IV had a heavily Dwarven themed, but also had some non-dwarven themed adventures. The guest speakers were:

• John D. Rateliff
• Michael Martinez

MerpCon IV provided several different adventures from different campaign authors and Game/Dungeon Masters. This was also the first year a youth table was provided (players ranging from 8 to 17 years of age). Whereas previous MerpCon events were mostly centered around the Númenóreans and the descendants, MerpCon IV's theme was heavily focused on J.R.R. Tolkien's Dwarves both for adventuring and for the guest speaker topics.

One campaign was provided by published author, John D. Rateliff, set in the Long Lake area. The Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and Eä d20 3.5 rules were used.

Another campaign was provided by Chris Wade, his infamous Tol Fuin campaign. The Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing rules were used.

The youth campaign was set in the Iron Hills. The Eä d20 3.5 rules were used.

John D. Rateliff, and Michael Martinez both spoke. First each had a separate solo session on each day, then to wrap up the final day, both spoke together. Mr Rateliff's session was focused primarily on "A Brief History of Tolkien Role-playing Games". You can read his followup from this speech here. The audio and video is available on the MerpCon website.

Role-playing Game Systems Used
MerpCon I and II only used one RPG system, ICE's MERP (Iron Crown Enterprises Middle-earth Role Playing). Since MerpCon III (2007) however, we now run with offerings for multiple role playing gaming systems. Systems have/may include (but are not limited to):

MerpCon V (2009) (July 24, 25, 26, & 27)

Guest Speaker: Michael Martinez

Location: The Apple Tree Inn, 9508 N. Division, Spokane, WA, 99218, USA.
http://www.appletreeinnmotel.com/
1-800-323-5796

Details

Themes include Elves, Orcs, and Dragons.

This year we were able to provide 4 private gaming rooms, with overflow capacity for up to 8 tables. Thanks to the help of 6 Game Masters we were able to keep the table sizes to a more reasonable level to keep the game play action at a reasonable speed. Some adventures were provided by the game masters, while others used a convention-wide series of connected games.

For take home "loot" this year we offered customized dice with the MerpCon logo (in Ringerbearer font), and some custom t-shirts.

The facilities were much nicer, they were air conditioned, had comfortable seating, a kitchen area, and with each room being separate, able to keep the noise level variable so GM's didn't have to lose their voices over the din. ;-)

In addition to the previous offerings, online participation will not only include chatroom, audio streaming, and video streaming, but also the event was accessible via Second Life interaction.

Other Minds Magazine issue 7 was released, and the latest versions of Ea d20 RPG Races & Cultures, and Magic in Middle-earth books.

Clips from the upcoming fan films "Born of Hope" and "The Hunt for Gollum" (among others) were also shown.

This is the last year that MerpCon will be a free event, and the last year the name MerpCon will be used, starting in 2010, it will be called TolkienMoot and participation fees will be charged in order to cover some of the costs (up to this point all expenses have been out of Hawke's pocket, ranging from $1,000 to over $6,000 USD each year!). A separate company entity will be formed as a non-profit organization, so that donations can also be accepted. Additionally the 2010 TolkienMoot will have a broader venue, Tabletop RPGing in Middle-earth will still the core attraction, as well as learned Tolkien scholars, but other Tolkien-related venues will be allowed, including computer-based, wargaming, artists, and much more.