I am no longer a young man.  My encyclopedic knowledge and ludicrously detailed ranking system of all things geeky lapsed long ago.  A once nigh-omniscience, overwhelmed by the ever-deepening sea of content, impossible to keep pace with.

But one truth endures:  Dragons are super-the-coolest-rad-to-the-max.  Golden dragons still reign as the majestic royalty of the monster elite.  A snobby group, to be sure.  Filled with things like liches wearing false noses just so they can look down them at you with their creepy raisin-eyes.

Naturally, when asked to help create the Golden Dragon commemorating 50 years of Gen Con, I was nearly immediately fired for the eardrum shattering joysqueal I emitted.  (All the more impressive considering they contacted me via email.  Such was the power of my joysqueal!)  Gen Con was the first convention I ever attended, and remains a favorite I look forward to every year.  (Along with BererkerGluttonCon, an obscure but delightful event, with such indulgences as 40% ABV Bacon-infused Mt Dew syrup tankards, double-deep-fried chocolate porkbelly fries, and a welcome kit of con-themed defibrillator pads and cardiac bypass stints.)

Best part of this project was getting to work with Gen Con over a few months developing the concept and feel of the dragon, which I've named Aurum.  Because I get to name things I make.  Like my brilliant invention: Pants made of soap that you wear over your other pants, so you always have clean pants.  I'm still working out the kinks.  For example, when it rains you become a frothing geyser of suds and bubbles.  I'm thinking I'll call them Sudsaloons or Trousuds.  Maybe iPants.

Special thanks to Mr. Smaug the Terrible for consulting, and providing use of his lair for the photo shoot.  Catering for Mr. Smaug provided by Fire n' Death Donuts n' Hotwings.

Aurum would soon discover all the horded gold coins were in fact chocolate.  We all agreed not to inform Mr. Smaug.