PAX Unplugged 2024 started on Friday, December 6 in Philadelphia, Pa with two great events in the tabletop roleplaying culture. The first was an announcement of the upcoming release of the new two-die-twelve fantasy roleplaying game from Critical Role, Daggerheart. This will be released by Darrington Press, the publishing label imprint for Critical Role, which has published previous games supported by Critical Role like the gothic horror TTRPG Candela Obscura.
The second event was the ever-popular Acquisitions Inc. Actual Play of their Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Before Critical Role there was Acquisitions Incorporated, and Game Industry News has previously written about them and their unique take on Dungeons and Dragons gameplay. They continue to fly the Dungeons and Dragons flag while showcasing the newest wrinkles in the 50-year-old hobby. They placed their characters back in Greyhawk right before the release of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, which GiN reviewed. In that book, Greyhawk was the chief example of how to build a campaign.
Both were on the main stage of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The convention center saw tens of thousands of people attend, selling out early. Unlike the other PAX events like PAX East, PAX West or PAX Australia, Pax Unplugged 2024 had no video gaming tie in. It was strictly a tabletop gaming event.
This was evident in the large gaming hall that had multiple games from various companies. Everything from Pathfinder to Star Wars games were played. There was also hobby supported events for painting miniatures and even terrain building for them. In smaller rooms on the first floor, there were different more private rooms that weren’t in an auditorium setting that ran games supported by the publishers.
One of these groups was Lurking Fears. They are a company made up of Game Masters who support various publishers and their players by running games at conventions. I signed up for a Traveller game and also a new one called Batman: Gotham City Chronicles that would be run on Day 2 of PAX. My next article will talk about my gaming experience at PAX Unplugged and the events of day two, which was fun and had some surprises.
The cosplay for the attendees matched many TTRPG themes and was colorful. They even had an event with so many participants that they spilled out into the hallway. The various cosplayers then did a series of lineups for photographers by themes such as Critical Role, Unique or Vibe.
The amazing part of PAX Unplugged was that many of the organizers were volunteers who for admission to the convention did everything from crowd control, media support and wellness checks on attendees. Their labor of love shined throughout this still growing event.
If you enjoy tabletop roleplaying, then PAX Unplugged is an event that does not disappoint in size or enthusiasm. The next PAX Unplugged is in November of 2025, so set your calendar up for it now.