Hi there, coming back from the great Big Bad Con 2018 in California, I started to think of some fellow roleplayers who ran RPG games for the first time in a convention, and wanted to provide some advice to put all the chances on their side for a great experience.
What do I mean by a Con ?
This means a roleplaying game convention organized by individuals, organizations, or associations. The classic format is to rent a hotel, and use large event rooms or convert bedrooms into game rooms. Or get access to a community center, and use their workshop rooms.
The organizers collect the game propositions from Game Masters (GM) or Facilitators, and the participants can register in advance or last minute for those sessions to be players. The type of games may be tabletop roleplaying games (RPG), board games, Live Action Role Play (LARP), and sometimes conferences, debates, and workshops; we will focus here on tabletop Roleplaying Games.
Common logistics questions.
If the Con is over several days, usually organizers love 3 days and weekends, then you may need to plan for accommodation. Checking in a bedroom in the hotel is the royal way, as you will have a spot to drop your gear, take a shower, can crash after a long game day, and will have more time on-site to meet the participants after the sessions. Sometimes the Con participants can get a small rebate on those rooms. Otherwise, look for a room, find a hotel/Airbnb/friend’s couch nearby.
If you are living close by, or only coming for a day, then you do not need to worry, but still, check what your commute will be and if you need to park a car for the whole duration. The goal is to be there on time for your session.
| Key points |
| – Arrive in advance for your session – Have a place to stay – Get time to explore the rest of the con – The 3-2-1 rule. Each day, you need at least : 3 hours of sleep, 2 meals, and 1 shower |
🜁 What if you are a player.
No need to focus on the GM preparation, you can come and enjoy a game. Here is some advice to make it a good experience for everyone. If you plan in advance, sign up online when the convention is announced, and look at the games offered. Then when the game session booking starts, sign up for your games sessions, and you’ll have your list of picks ready. Most Cons have a registration system for the games, first come first served, a choice list or random assignments, or a mix of all. Look up the signup dates if you are aiming for a specific game, or want to play with friends.
If you are coming straight to the Con, you may want to check the schedule to know if they are games with slots open, or if there is a last-minute call system for games with missing players or a games-on-demand system that usually allows for drop-in sessions.
| For your player package, come light, and focus on the essentials. |
| – Pick clothes you are comfortable in, with a change per day. If you are doing a LARP, you may bring a special costume and want to wear it around. Some places may be hot or the AC can be freezing, so bring layers. A con is the very place where an obscure geek Tshirt is considered formal wear :) – The usual water, drink, snack, medicines, phone charger… Bring dice, pen, and eraser, a pocket notebook for the game story details, or take notes. If you are looking to make friends, bring some cards with your contacts (chat/twitter/email/social…) – There is always a seller’s room where you could get your missing gear, dice and cards are easy to find. Maybe get a signed copy of that new game you liked |
| How to pick a game to sign up to |
| – Look for friends or the name of people you’d like to play with. – If you like a particular game or style, you can stay in your comfort zone, in that case, you can expect to meet GMs or players that are in the same state of mind as you. – If you are going for experiences, try at least one game you have never played before. Some GMs are bringing very rare games to Conventions, or even playtesting their own new creations. – Do not overload yourself with sessions. 3 games of 4 hours will keep you busy for a full day. But maybe you could do 2 games and a break in the middle. You may need at least 1 hour to find food between 2 sessions. Beware of schedule overlap. It could be rude to leave a game to jump to another or to come late because you were finishing the previous one. |
🜃 If you run a game as GM or facilitator.
🜂 Before the con
Pick a good game/scenario for a Con
Try to read the atmosphere of the Con, and pick a game that will fit. If you are bringing a very unusual game, make sure to mention what is special in the game draft for the sign up. You will be asked to write a brief introduction for your game.
| Game presentation checklist |
| – Duration of the game. – The range of the number of players. – The game name & scenario name. – The Rule System, if this is a hack or homebrew playtest, mention it. – And a small draft for selling the game and setting the right expectations. – If you have an image of the cover, it will help attract players. – Style of the game, and themes involved. Especially if they are suitable for teens, or for adults only. Most games are cooperatives, but if this one has some PvP, make sure to mention it. – Safety mechanisms ( x card, veils, open door, …) |
Some games are heavy in rules or content and may require players already familiar with the game, some games are lighter or fast to pick up, this will determine which type of players you are looking for.
For the scenario, it is best to look for a one-shot story, that will fit in the time you have. The usual mistake is to pick a game that will be too long to complete and will be interrupted. A 2 hours game has to be very quick to pick up and direct, a 4-6 hours game will be fairly intense, and the story will still be condensed in a few major scenes, and a 8+ hours will take his time and will require more breaks.
For the characters, you do not want the players to spend 25% of the session building a character. So you can pick a game that has quick character creation sets (like the playbooks in PBTA), or bring pre-generated characters (like the dungeon leagues do). The trick for pre-gens is to make more of them than the number of players, just in case, and leave some customization options (name, genre, appearance, moves, some backstory). You can pre-establish relations between the characters and NPCs. If you have a story very tied to particular characters, propose them to the players first. Remember that low-level characters may be frail or provide limited options, but high-power characters may have a lot of capabilities to master and be harder to learn for players, maybe pick an intermediary power level. You can create short-fuse arcs and secrets for the characters, but then consider that they will likely be exposed during the game.
| Essential things to bring to the table |
| – The documents for the game, scenario, clues, screen, maps… A copy of the rules books you need. Eventually, a copy for the players if this is a dense game (or has spells lists). Some people like pdf versions of the books, then bring your tablet/laptop and electric juice. – Characters sheets, a lot of them. It’s usually impossible to print anything on the spot, so get some extra. I usually aim for enough sheets to run the game twice, if it happens. – Dice for you and for all the players (they may not have the set for your game) – Pens for each player to write the character sheet. |
| Optional things to bring to the table |
| – Music device and playlist, if you like to add an ambiance. A speaker could help too (sometimes the room TVs have an audio/HDMI/Bluetooth input) – A battlemap or a dry-erase roll, plus some pens. This is very useful to show your plan, and for notes taking in the middle of the table. If you bring more pens, then players can also use it to write their hit points, status, and counters on their corners. – Note cards and markers. Fold them as player characters’ name tags. Use for NPC names that way the players will not forget them, but also for clues/ clocks (PBTA) / aspects (Fate) / items / key locations… And be used for secret notes – Character portraits (printed or numeric), to show your NPCs, or to have the players pick them. Pinterest is a good source of inspiration. Look at this black&white portraits catalog for pbta games. – Some food and drinks to share. Lemon drops are a must to keep your voice up after intense hours of gaming. |
🜲 During the Con
On the day of the Con, get a good bag to carry your stuff. Come in advance to check where your table is or your room. Take time to introduce yourself to the organizers or volunteers. Double check that you have all you need, enough chairs, water, and a coffee before… Setup and get ready to receive your guest players.
What if you are short of players :
Pass a message to the organizers or post on the Con’s social media to announce that you have an open slot. Ultimately as long as your scenario can accommodate fewer players, roll with it.
What if you have too many players or people waiting:
If you have a hard limit, refuse politely if you are already full, and redirect them to the Con team to find another game. If you plan to rerun the game later, see if they can register for another session
If you feel that you can accommodate extra players, ask the initial players if they accept to have a larger group or propose to the extra players to be watchers/spectators
If you had missing registered players at the starting time, give them 5 minutes maximum, then allow waiting players to replace them.
| Game etiquette |
| – Welcome the players, introduce yourself and each other, and confirm the name of the participants to the booking list. Repeat the name of the game. – Before starting, take a table turn to explain what is your style, tone, and vision for the game Review the safety tools, ask if anyone needs to clarify some details, and establish the veils and boundaries (see examples here for Safety & calibration tools) If the participants are not all on the same page, try to find a common ground, and adjust your story. – Keep the preparation short: You want to be in-game no more than 30-45 minutes after the beginning of the session. If you are doing collaborative world-building, set a time limit. Explain the key rules briefly, the rest can be discovered later in the game Help the players to pick their characters or to create them. Encourage character’s bounds, by initial backgrounds or relations at creation. – Start the game !!! |
| Running the game |
| – Address the players by their characters’ names, and try to get them to speak in character. Write or spell the names of your NPCs for the players to access them faster. – Speak loudly and enounce clearly, and repeat differently when the players are having a hard time understanding you. Especially in a large hall with multiple tables, the ambient sound can be loud. – Do not carry everything on your shoulders, you can delegate tasks to the players : Ask someone to manage the initiative order, and start and stop the soundtrack. Players may be checking a rule in the book for you. You can also delegate the narrative control and get the players to participate more, and populate the world. – If there is tension or someone is uncomfortable: Call for a pause and offer to discuss it out of character. If someone needs to walk out of the table, it is their right. Share and keep in mind the Safety & calibration tools – Keep an eye on the clock. Call for bio breaks every 2 hours, or between big scenes, especially for long games. If you are lagging behind still 1 hour before the end of the session, propose doing a fast-forward to the final scene. If you are too short anyway, drop a nice Cliffhanger. If you finish before the timer, then great, you’ll have time to chill and talk. – After the game, propose a debrief before the players leave Take time to ask for feedback, one thing they liked, one thing that could be improved Let them express what they wanted to say out of character, and ask about the part of the game that was not explained. Give them your contact, if they want to send you feedback later. |
🜄 After the Game/Con
Once the adrenaline is gone, you will need to refill your batteries. Walk around the Con to see what you didn’t have time to visit. Later, do a mental review of your session, what worked, and what went wrong, and see if you would like to run the same scenario again, or modify it, or look for something completely different.