Dragonmeet 2024: The Tabletop Indie Event of the Year Returns for a Full Weekend!

On Saturday November 30th 2024, Dragonmeet, the indie tabletop gaming spectacular will return to the Novotel in Hammersmith London. This convention is a highlight tabletop event for many in the UK (and beyond) with its plethora of events, shows and exhibitors, as well as its warm, inclusive atmosphere. Usually Dragonmeet takes place over a single day and there is so much to experience in that time. Whilst that is still true this year, there will be associated events on the Friday before and the Sunday after to allow attendees to enjoy an extended weekend of tabletop goodness courtesy of Dragonmeet.

On Friday 29th November, Dragonmeet and UK TIN (Tabletop Industry Network) will be hosting a networking event from 9pm at the Novotel. This event is free and open to TTRPG professionals, content creators or anyone interested in getting into the field.

On Sunday December 1st, Dragonmeet will be supporting SoulMuppet Publishing to host their first industry event, MuppetMeet. MuppetMeet will be a free full day event, also at the Novotel, for a free day of industry talks and networking opportunities. 

To help get prepared for this year’s Dragonmeet and all the associated events, I caught up with some of the key organizers. I spoke with John Dodd, Dragonmeet’s operations director, Taylor Navarro, the co-founder of the PoC Lounge and Fiona K. T. Howat, the organizer of the PodcastZone.

If you are interested in attending, make sure you purchase tickets, which are available on Dragonmeet’s website. General admission is £15 and some events require extra tickets to attend. 

Exhibitors – Meet Your Favorite Creators and Get Your Christmas Shopping Done!

Looking to treat yourself or get a gift for the significant gamer in your life? Dragonmeet’s got you covered. There will be a whole host of indie tabletop exhibitors selling their wares across two trade halls. Are you after the latest big roleplaying games? You can check in at Modiphius Entertainment, Rowan, Rook & Decard, or Pelgrane Press. On the other hand, you can never have enough dice. In which case, why not head to Barrel of Dice or Jodie’s Dice Farm? There’s also loads of great artwork and accessories you can get from the likes of Lunar Shadow Designs, The Coven of Stitches and Moonlight Maps. 

Dragonmeet has wares if you have coin!

Going to the exhibitors halls is also a great opportunity to discover gaming communities and organizations dedicated to improving peoples’ lives through gaming. For example, The Role Play Haven have gaming clubs all across the UK. Meanwhile, Game Therapy UK are a therapeutic gaming charity that used evidence-based research to address mental health concerns using games. If you have professional tabletop aspirations, I would highly recommend checking out the UK TIN stand. As part of what they offer is help with publishing and promoting, you will likely find games created by their members at their stall as well. For more details, check out this preview article all about UK TIN and what they can offer players and creators.

You can check out the full range of indie tabletop exhibitors on Dragonmeet’s website. Or, you can simply show up on the day and have a wander. Either way, you’re bound to find lots of goodies to browse and buy.

More Quality Live Shows at The PodcastZone 

The world of TTRPG Actual Play and Audio Drama podcasts have been going from strength to strength in recent years. The PodcastZone is a space where you can find the stalls of talented content creators and catch hugely entertaining live shows.

As well as the live shows, the PodcastZone is also a chance to meet your favorite creators, or find new ones.

It started off as a place for podcast creators to network with each other. Fiona made the point that being an online creator can be quite isolating and Dragonmeet is such a good place for valuable connections to be made. 

Being able to make those connections and make those collaborations, not just with podcasters, but with people working on TTRPGs as well, is so valuable. So people go and make friends, and I just sit there like the mother hen going good, excellent!

The PodcastZone eventually evolved into a place for creators to showcase their creations to attendees. Fiona is clearly passionate about supporting UK TTRPG content creators. In setting up the PodcastZone, she is able to set up a supportive space for them and is even able to support with tech and recording. She spoke about how difficult it can be to start out as a content creator and how this kind of support can make a world of difference.

More quality creators for you to check out at Dragonmeet!

If you are passionate about doing your little show online or in person, then having even just a small audience is such a big step up. And not many podcasts get to do that, but when people can see your show, it just sort of helps people get confidence. I have done many live shows as a streamer and in person, and it’s a very scary experience, but it’s very valuable, because you learn so many skills.

Fiona also spoke about all she’s learned about putting on shows for conventions. Whilst epic four hour long Actual Plays can be great for TTRPG fans, the flavor of these shows is light entertainment accessible to newcomers, featuring a variety of genres and games.

This year’s exhibitors include Dice with Death, Modified Roll, Pretending with Dice, The Future d20 Show, We Fix Space Junk, Deck of Many Aces and A Game of One’s Own. Current fans of these groups will have the chance to meet their favorite creators, find out about their future plans and grab some valuable merch. With so many exhibitors, it’s also entirely possible that you find a new favorite whilst you’re here!

With so many great live shows on, you may have some difficult choices to make!

The PoC Lounge Is Back With an Exciting Roster

Last year was the inaugural PoC (People of Color) Lounge, hosted by Taylor Navarro and Jasper William Cartwright. This year, the lounge is back with a full roster of activities from 9am – 7:30pm on Saturday November 30th. 

The PoC Lounge is back, bigger and better than ever!

The PoC Lounge is a place where people of color can take up space, network with one another, learn from one another and create together. As such, this event will only be open to people of color and select special guests.

I caught up with Taylor to discuss why the PoC Lounge is such an important part of Dragonmeet. Here’s what she had to say about her aims for this year’s PoC Lounge:

So we’ve got a variety of events, because my aim for the lounge is twofold. The first is to educate, and that is not just existing people in the space and for new people who are interested in the space as well, but also to have fun together.

This year’s PoC Lounge has a full day of events for PoC creators.

Taylor made the point that whilst last year’s event was a success, this year she and Jasper are making sure that the lounge is more visible and features a lot more structure.

This year, the PoC Lounge features a variety of panels about making it in the world of TTRPG creation and events that provide opportunities for connection and gaming. Panelists attending include Nathan Blades, Wren, Michelle Kelly, Science & Sorcery‘s Khalil Thirlaway and EUphoria‘s Aida. Taylor and Jasper will also be sharing their knowledge and experience in some of these panels as well.

Taylor was very excited by the prospect of peoples of color coming together to share knowledge and make new contacts. The hour and a half game jam provides a great opportunity for quickfire collaboration. As well as the PoC networking event, there is also a game exchange at the end of the day, where creators are encouraged to share their games with one another.

Gaming Opportunities Galore!

Dragonmeet have dedicated a whole floor to putting on tabletop gaming sessions. Speaking to John Dodd, he was very keen to to host gaming experiences that you wouldn’t normally get at home. As well as Roleplay Games, there are also more Live Action Roleplay Games and Social Deduction Games.

Whilst many of the sessions are now fully booked, there are still some spaces available. There are also dedicated demonstration areas for participation games. You can still book on to full game sessions of Pathfinder, Starfinder, Golden Sky Stories, Lovecraftesque and Blood on the Clocktower by purchasing tickets on the website.

There are also still spaces for the inaugural Dragonmeet XCrawl Championship. John was particularly excited to talk about this. In this XCrawl, teams of TTRPG players will play through a series of Dungeon Crawl Classics scenarios. There will be official judges monitoring the teams to award points. The winning team will receive the very first Dragonmeet XCrawl trophy along with a mysterious second prize from Dragonmeet!

Whether you want to run a game or join as a player, the team at Dragonmeet have got you covered.

Whilst XCrawl and many other games are strictly 18+, there will be a new Young Dragons event. Young Dragons will be run by vetted gaming practitioners from The Role Play Haven to run gaming experiences for children and their parents.

There will also be an open game space for people to play their own games. These can be games you’ve brought from home, purchased in the exhibitors’ hall or from the nearby Bring & Buy area. Just make sure you bring cash. If you want to sell some old games, you can register to do so through the link above.

Tabletop Seminars Where You Can Learn From the Best of the Best!

Dragonmeet offer a range of seminars on a range of topics throughout the day. Like with the live shows, there are too many to see without access to a functioning time machine. So, make sure you have a look at the seminar schedule and to prioritize what you really want to see.

Any ticket holders can attend these seminars. They cover a range of topics from roleplay entertainment and writing rpgs to using games for mental health or educational purposes. Guest speakers include Oxventure‘s Johnny Chiodini, Hatchling Games‘ Richard Oxenholm, and 3 Black Halflings‘ Liv Kennedy. 

Want to learn from the best of the best in the tabletop industry? Look no further.

On top of all this, at 9:30am, participants can attend the first Dragonmeet Awards. A team of judges will be selecting the best TTRPGs from the year from the over 120 entrants. Not only will you be able to the first to know who’s won but you’ll also learn about the hottest new games out this year!

Dragonmeet & UK TIN Networking Evening

Let’s have a look at some of the extra events that will be on either side of Dragonmeet. On Friday 29th November, there will be a free networking event from 9pm in the Bordeaux Suite of the Novotel. This is open to any TTRPG professionals, content creators, or anyone interested in getting into the field.

If you’re a current or aspiring TTRPG professional, this promises to be a veritable who’s who of the UK TTRPG scene.

This event is a collaboration between Dragonmeet’s PodcastZone and UK TIN. Here’s what Fiona had to say about the evening:

The main purpose of the event is for attendees to connect with each other, build relationships and exchange information with others to create mutually beneficial connections.

The event will feature a short orientation briefing by Taylor Navarro about the PoC Lounge, the PodcastZone and Dragonmeet in general. She will also be around to answer any questions following the briefing.

If you are a current or aspiring TTRPG professional, I would highly recommend attending this event to make the most of your time at Dragonmeet. Just be aware this is a bring your own food and drink event, so come prepared.

MuppetMeet – SoulMuppet Publishing’s First Industry Event

SoulMuppet Publishing is the company being outstanding indie TTRPGs as Orbital Blues and Paint the Town Red. Thanks to the support of Dragonmeet, they will be running a day of indie TTRPG seminars and networking on Sunday 1st December.

The Tabletop industry events continue on Sunday 1st December with MuppetMeet!

These seminars are a mixture of solo speakers and panels covering a range of topics. These include putting together Actual Play productions, RPG retailing and building creative and diverse teams. Speakers and panelists at MuppetMeet include SoulMuppet’s Mol Joule, EUphoria‘s JC Darcy, Edward Spence and Montford Tales’ Rori Montford. Attendees will also be able to take part in networking events from 3pm.

MuppetMeet is currently running as a pilot session to see if people would be up for a full weekend of the Dragonmeet experience. If enough people show up to this event, then it’s more likely Dragonmeet will run and support full weekend events in the future.

There’s still a whole lot of great events to take part in on Sunday’s MuppetMeet.

As a reminder, MuppetMeet is a free event that anyone can show up to. If you haven’t gotten tickets for Dragonmeet yet, tickets are still available on the website. You can get adult tickets for £15, under 18 tickets for £7.50 and free tickets for carers.