Overview Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Participant Schedules

18 FRIDAY
Mondschein, Maître d’Armes Historique and his students from
Worcester Historical Swordsmanship present an exhibition of
authentic gaslamp martial arts, followed by a hands-on class on
how to fend off ruffians! Worcester Historical Swordsmanship
7:00pm
27 Introduction to Arisia Alcott (3W)
Is this your first time at Arisia? Maybe your first time at a con?
Welcome! Our experienced panelists will give you tips on how to
get the most out of the con, on general con survival, and information
on what to do and see that is special about Arisia. There
will be lots of time for questions, as everyone’s Arisia experience
is unique, and we want to make sure to cover the things most
important to you! Kris “Nchanter” Snyder (m), Venetia Charles,
Christopher Davis, James Meickle, Barbara A Woodward
28 Fantastic Four: What the FF is Going On? Bulfinch (3W)
Once touted as “The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine”, Marvel’s
Fantastic Four was the first family of comics for decades. But
going into 2016 we see the family broken apart with no core title
of their own and a movie franchise stuck in the dumps. Can this
iconic Silver Age family be saved? Or would time apart do them
some good? Bob Chipman (m), Kevin Cafferty, Glenn Hauman,
Dan Toland
29 Games and Representation Douglas (3W)
With games visiting worlds beyond imagination, why do gamers
who aren’t white, male, straight, and cis still struggle to
find a place in gaming communities? What can we do to make
our games and places more inclusive? Pablo Miguel Alberto
Vazquez (m), Heather Albano, Adria Kyne, Summer Plum, Victor
Raymond, Liz Salazar
30 Genre Fiction in Translation Faneuil (3W)
Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, translated by Ken Liu, won
the Hugo for Best Novel. Clarkesworld’s recent foray into translating
Chinese SF has brought some well deserved attention to
the vibrant body of stories in that country. Haikasoru has made
a name for itself translating works from Japanese, and Tor.com
has recently published SF stories translated from Spanish. What
possibilities do we see in translation of other cultures’ SF? How
might this change the landscape of the genre? Crystal Huff (m),
John Chu, Morgan Crooks, Ken Liu, Sarah Weintraub
31 Strange Horizons Reading Hale (3W)
r Come listen to various staff members of Strange Horizons, the
weekly speculative fiction magazine, read from their own original
works. MJ Cunniff, Lila Garrott, A.J. Odasso, Sonya Taaffe
32 The Ephemeral City Burroughs (3E)
Festivals like Burning Man, Pennsic, and Rainbow Gatherings
are huge annual events that bring together thousands of people
for a short period, creating entire cities with their own economy
and politics. What is the draw of a temporary society? What
experiences do these gatherings bring to the participants? How
do they challenge “mundane” society? And what are they really
like? Daniel Marsh (m), Melina M. Gunnett, Rachel Kory, Dr.
James Prego, Drew Van Zandt
33 Pathfinder Society: Sewer Dragons of Absalom (4hr 30min)
Harbor I (3E)
g Absalom is Golarion’s busiest and most populous city, but one of
its largest populations goes largely unnoticed. You must venture
into the sewers beneath the City at the Center of the World to
stop the meddling dragons within from disrupting a vital Pathfinder
Society operation. Ray Diaz
34 Pathfinder Society: Silent Tide (4hr 30min) Harbor I (3E)
g When strange reports of misty undead spread through Absalom,
you and your fellow Pathfinders are dispatched to the halfdrowned
district of Puddles. Notoriously rough, the drooling
addicts, flesh panderers, and quick-handed knifers of Puddles are
the least of your worries. The night’s tide brings with it an ancient
armada of some long-forgotten war and you are the only thing
between their mist-shrouded ghost fleet and Absalom’s utter
oblivion. Daniel Hennessey
x Art i Music g Game s Combat k FastTrack r Reading