August 15–16, 2026 · One Up TCG · Tuscaloosa, AL

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Panels & Talks

Pull Up a Chair

Four talks and five character-creation workshops, all in Room A, all free with your pass. No sign-up — just turn up.

Saturday Aug 15

  • 10:15am– 11:00am

    Character Creation 101

    Room A Justin, Steph Free Workshop

    Join One Up staff as they walk you through creating characters for play in the store’s D&D campaigns!

  • 11:30am– 12:30pm

    How to Start a Game Store

    Room A Frye Free

    Ever wondered what it takes to open a game store? Hear from One Up owner Frye about the planning, challenges, costs, and day-to-day work involved in turning a passion for games into a thriving business.

  • 12:30pm– 1:15pm

    Character Creation 101

    Room A Justin, Steph Free Workshop

    Join One Up staff as they walk you through creating characters for play in the store’s D&D campaigns!

  • 2:00pm– 3:00pm

    The Quickest Possible Summary of Metal Gear

    Room A Orrent Free

    Ever want to get into Metal Gear? Ever want to know too much about Metal Gear?

    Well I don’t have time to explain it all, so in a brief 60 minutes, and a few gallons of coffee, I’ll go through the essentials from the first entry on the NES to the final title in 2015.

  • 3:00pm– 3:45pm

    Character Creation 101

    Room A Justin, Steph Free Workshop

    Join One Up staff as they walk you through creating characters for play in the store’s D&D campaigns!

  • 4:00pm– 5:00pm

    50,000 Miles — A Frye Story

    Room A Frye Free

    Join Frye as he talks about his upcoming book as well as what inspired him to begin writing.

Sunday Aug 16

  • 11:00am– 11:30am

    Character Creation 101

    Room A Justin, Steph Free Workshop

    Join One Up staff as they walk you through creating characters for play in the store’s D&D campaigns!

  • 1:30pm– 2:30pm

    Character Creation 101

    Room A Justin, Steph Free Workshop

    Join One Up staff as they walk you through creating characters for play in the store’s D&D campaigns!

  • 3:30pm– 4:00pm

    Character Motivation and Conflict

    Room A Jessica Free

    From D&D characters to long-form fiction. Let’s chat together about what makes a character work and your favorite ways to create motivation.

About the Workshops

Character Creation 101 is a workshop rather than a talk — you leave with a character sheet you can take straight into one of the festival’s D&D one-shots, or into the store’s established weekly campaigns. It runs five times so it’s easy to catch one before a session.

See the D&D page

Good to know

  • Everything in Room A is free — your festival pass is all you need
  • No sign-up or ticket, seating is first come first served
  • Saturday is the busy day — three talks and three workshops
  • Sunday is quieter: two workshops and one talk
  • Times can shift on the day — check the full schedule before you head out

The full schedule has both days hour by hour, including everything happening on the main floor.

Come Listen

Every panel is included with a weekend pass.

Get Tickets