About AmberCon NW

What is AmberCon NW?

AmberCon Northwest is a fully scheduled role-playing game convention devoted to Roger Zelazny's worlds of Amber using Phage Press's Amber Diceless RPG by Erick Wujcik. The convention is open to players of all levels of experience; our members are united by their interest in diceless role-playing and Zelazny's work.

ACNW 2018 takes place Thursday November 1 through Sunday November 4. Additionally, there are usually pre-convention dinners and Portland area activities, both organized and informal, on the Wednesday before and the Monday after the convention.

If you have never attended an AmberCon before and have questions about the setup or scheduling, please contact the organizers at acnw@wyrdrune.com.

What do I get for my money?

AmberCon NW offers a long weekend of scheduled gaming events, Thursday evening through Sunday evening. All members choose the game events they wish to play and receive their schedule in advance of the convention. Likewise, GM's receive their player lists, so everyone can prepare in advance.

The convention is divided into 7 event slots: Thursday evening; Friday morning, midday, and evening; Saturday day, and evening; and Sunday day. Events are run by volunteer member GMs -- this could mean you! For a 150-person convention we need about 20 to 22 games in each of the event slots -- that's over 140 events! If you would like to run a game at the convention, check out the Become a GM section here on the web site.

Membership rates include gift cards towards meals that include a 15% pre-paid gratuity. Cards can be used at all of the convention resort's cafes, pubs, and restaurants. Check out the McMenamin's Edgefield web page web page for a preview of their excellent restaurants.

There are two membership rates:

Full Membership - $185 includes

up to all 7 game slots, Thursday evening through Sunday evening
a $70 meal card
3 breakfasts
snacks, tea and coffee during the day.

Short Membership - $135 includes

up to 4 game slots, Friday evening through Sunday evening, for example
a $50 meal card
2 breakfasts
snacks, tea and coffee during the day.

Also included are the opening reception on Thursday evening featuring substantial finger food, and the closing reception Sunday evening featuring Edgefield's Terminator Chocolate Cake.

Schedule:

Registration – Thursday, Nov 1, 2018 -- 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. – Ballroom
Slot 1 -- Thursday -- 7 p.m. to midnight
Slot 2 -- Friday, Nov 2 -- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Slot 3 -- Friday -- 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Slot 4 -- Friday -- 8 p.m. to midnight
Slot 5 -- Saturday, Nov 3 -- 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Slot 6 -- Saturday -- 7 p.m. to midnight
Slot 7 -- Sunday, Nov 4 -- 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Terminator Chocolate Cake and Closing Remarks -- Sunday, 6:30 p.m. -- Ballroom
Open gatherings -- Sunday -- 7 p.m. onwards -- Admin Lodge, Ruby's Spa Soaking Pool, Distillery, Little Red Shed, Power Station

If you require accommodation, you will book it through AmberCon NW using our registration page, but you will check into the hotel and pay at the end of your stay as for a normal booking.

Edgefield hotel rooms come in a wide price range, from $30 per night bunk bed space up to $170 per night king or double queen suites. In between are rooms featuring twin, single queen, or king beds with and without en-suite baths. Some of the accommodation space is booked in advance to double as game space; if you don't mind your room being used in this way, the convention provides an additional discount of $30 per night.

For a full fee schedule and a list of hotel room options and costs, see the About Edgefield page.

What about travel arrangements?

The nearest airport is PDX, Portland (Oregon) International Airport, approximately 20 minutes from Edgefield in good traffic. Amtrak and Greyhound both come into downtown, just over half an hour away.

Shuttle, limo, taxi and public transportation services are available from the airport or from downtown Portland to the hotel in Troutdale. Directions for travel by car will be sent out on request. We also coordinate some shared rides from the airport through our travel coordination volunteer.

What do I have to do now?

As in past years, we need to get confirmations and deposits from at least 60 members before July 9, 2018.

After that, our next deadline is August 13, 2018 for registration and membership payments in full. If you are registering after August 13, please contact the organizers at acnw@wyrdrune.com before using the registration page.