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Chicago Gameday XXI Planning Thread; our date is Nov 8th
This thread is for planning purposes only. A separate thread will be created for player sign-up closer to Gameday. A link to that thread will be posted here.
Gameday XXI Planning
This is the planning thread for Chicago Gameday XXI. If you're interested in running an event for Gameday, or just have planning help to offer, this is the thread for you. If you're confused, go here to learn more about Chicago Gameday.
The Time, The Place, The Basics
Gameday XXI will be held on Saturday, November 8th. Events start at 9:30am. Gameday XXI will be hosted by Games Plus, a.k.a., Earth's Greatest Game Store™.
Gameday has two event slots that are 4-5 hours each: a morning slot from 9:30am to 2:30pm, and an afternoon slot from 3:30pm to 8:00pm (and beyond). We typically run six events in each slot, with 4-6 players plus GM in each event. GMs may request more/fewer seats in their event, but we have found that 4-6 players per event is ideal.
If you do not have an ENWorld Community Supporter account with Private Messaging enabled, please make sure I have your email address. Feel free to email me.
Submitting and Running an Event
How do I sign up to run an event?
If you would like to run an event for Gameday XXI, please post a proposal in this thread.
What info should I provide as part of my proposal?
At the minimum, we need to know:
The game system you will be using
How many players will be accomodated
A catchy title
An event "blurb," i.e., a basic summary of your event
Whether you want to run the event in the morning or the afternoon
Optional, yet helpful info you can provide includes:
If there is a particular table you would like to use
Whether your event expects prior experience with the rules
Whether your event is or isn't suitable for all ages
Whether pregens will be provided
Links to said pregens (PDFs, Word files, etc)
Links to info about the game system
Links to any other files you'd like to offer potential players
Any images you might like included in the final event description
How long should my event last?
Your event should last at least 4 hours.
If you are running an event in the morning, it should not run longer than 5 hours, as you will be taking time away from the lunch break.
Events run in the afternoon may last longer than 5 hours, but please be respectful of: a) Games Plus hours of operation, and b) the needs of players who may be reliant on the Metra scheudle.
When do poeple sign up for my event?
A separate player sign-up thread will be created in a few weeks. You will be notified in advance of the sign-up thread going live.
May I screen potential players?
Pre-approval of player sign-ups is not allowed. By volunteering to run an event, you're agreeing to run it for whomever signs up. Thankfully, everyone who comes to Gameday is totally awesome.
What if I want or need to cancel my event?
Once the sign-up thread begins, GM volunteers have until one week before Gameday in which they may remove their event from the schedule. After that point, the schedule is set, and you are expected to come ready to run your event, regardless of whether anyone has signed up for it. Barring genuine emergencies, of course.
May I run more than one event?
I would ask that people initially refrain from submitting more than one event. I want to give as many people as possible the chance to submit an event before GMs start doubling up. As soon as we see there is room available, GMs can add second events.
Current Event Lineup
Morning: 9:30am - 2:30pm
True20, ekb, "Raiders of the Lost Tomb", 5 seats
Awesome Adventures, "Has The Large Hadron Collider Destroyed The Earth?... Reply Hazy, Try Again Later", Nev the Deranged, 4 seats
D&D 4e, Vyvyan Basterd, "Return to the Slave Pits of the Undercity, Assault on the Temple of the Slavelords", 5 seats
Committee for the Exploration of Mysteries, Tim C Koppang, 5 seats
D&D 3.5, Fenril Knight, "Voyage of the Golden Dragon", 5 seats, private room
Serenity, TraceBuller42, 6 seats
Star Wars SAGA, Paul Klein, "Iridonian Darkness", 5 seats
Afternoon: 3:30pm - 8:00pm
D&D 3.5, Mark, "We All Fall Down!", 5 seats, private room
Shades of Earth, HinterWelt, "Against the Cult of Thule", 5 seats
Fú - The Fortune of Heroes, Reidzilla, "The Prison of 1001 Deaths", 4 seats
D&D 4e, Solodan, "Lost Temple of the Fey Gods," 5 seats
Suggestions
If you have suggestions, recommendations, or ideas for enhancing the fun of Gameday, please feel free to post them here and we'll open up discussion.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Burning Wheel rewards playing.
—Blackberry
Last edited by buzz; 26th October 2008 at 08:20 PM..
d20/D&D 3.5 in the second slot private room, please. Let's call it, "We All Fall Down!" 5 seats for this tradition dungeon crawl from a traditional dungeon master. Pregens will be provided and 9th-level.
Wooooooo, GameDay's fully legal! -Not that we're bringing booze into Curt's store or anything. *g*
ANYWAY, I actually have two ideas running around in my brain, and I'm not sure which I should pursue, so I shall offer them both up for opinions. Tell me, O Visitors to the Planning Thread, which would be more interesting:
Continuing my Supernatural "setting" with an all-new adventure that's unrelated to what has come before? Crowes' Trilogy is finished, and although the Big Bad Demon is still out there and probably wants revenge, I thought I'd let him sit for a while and do something else. Also, there's the officialSupernatural RPG coming out from MWP using the Cortex system at some point, so I could see waiting to see what can be done with that, too. On the other hand, I'm not sure how long it will be before that's released, and I'm more than willing to keep running my Unisystem version in the meanwhile.
Playtesting an indie game concept I've been working on. This would be an actual playtest using supplied characters, just to see what people think of the system/setting/potential and hopefully shake some of the bugs loose and/or discover things that want to be fleshed out further, added, etc. The game in question? S.T.A.R.: Sentai Trope Action Roleplay. That's right, Sentai, as in Super Sentai, commonly known to the Western World as Power Rangers. But "Sentai" just means "taskforce" and the genre is all about the power of teamwork, so it can do a lot more than just color-coded spandex heroes. I'd be planning a three and a half to four hour adventure, leaving at least an hour to discuss the system itself and other things it can do and will be in it afterward, if people were interested in that sort of thing.
So, what's anybody think? First one? Second? Interesting? Weird? I should just run some plain old Buffy or M&Md20 instead? (And okay, the second one is a little weird, but y'know. Indie. Makes it fit, heh.)
Oh, and Buzz, whatever I end up running, I'm thinking I'd prefer an afternoon slot...but if somebody wants to play and can only make the morning or would prefer to run an event of their own in the afternoon or something, it doesn't make a lot of difference to me. I'll get back to you with a final decision. *g*
Last edited by Ninjacat; 28th September 2008 at 09:50 PM..
Reason: adding time "preference"
d20/D&D 3.5 in the second slot private room, please. Let's call it, "We All Fall Down!" 5 seats for this tradition dungeon crawl from a traditional dungeon master. Pregens will be provided and 9th-level.
Added, you filthy grognard.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Oh, and Buzz, whatever I end up running, I'm thinking I'd prefer an afternoon slot...but if somebody wants to play and can only make the morning or would prefer to run an event of their own in the afternoon or something, it doesn't make a lot of difference to me. I'll get back to you with a final decision. *g*
Okey dokey. Just lemme know.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Somewhere under a lost and lonely hill of grim and foreboding aspect lies a labyrinthine crypt filled with terrible traps and rich treasures both precious and magical. Accounts relate that adventurers have an extremely low probability of ever finding the burial chamber, for the passages and rooms of the tomb are fraught with terrible traps, poison gases, and magical protections. So only large and well-prepared parties of the bravest and strongest should even consider the attempt, and if they do locate the tomb, they must be prepared to fail. Any expedition must be composed of characters of high level and varied skills. They should equip themselves with every sort of device possible to ensure their survival. But success would bring great renown and honor...
The players are a team of graduate students and junior faculty at MIT, doing research on a legendary "Acherim" tomb in a disputed portion of the Palestine Mandate in November 1936. What they've found leads them to believe that maybe it's worth the risks to investigate and excavate it themselves...
This will be a pulp/noir flavored adventure for 5 core characters - Dr Jones (no, the other other one), Dr Dinkley, Rogers (and animal companion), and Blake - using True20 as the game engine (which is the same as Blue Rose). There are some significant differences from other OGL d20 games, but the system is streamlined and easy to pick up. Only a single d20 is needed to play (well, along with paper and pencil). Cheat sheets of the rules that diverge from WotC d20 SRD will be on hand for any and everyone - even the ones not playing in this game.
Time will be a major constraint: there will be pressure in-game to complete the mission as quickly as possible (those pesky Nazi treasure hunters and anti-British "community organizers" always trying to get in the way of Science!). As can be seen by the description, this is not very conducive to hacking and slashing (though there is a fair amount of that as well). There will be some conflicting agendas between the characters - there will be winners and losers... and blood.[]
{This would work well for an AM slot, with a possible "gentleperson's agreement" that the Loser buys the Winner a tasty beverage at lunch. Attached is a quick start that gives a great overview of the system itself. And the all the books referenced are in-stock at Games Plus, last I looked...}
Last edited by ekb; 25th October 2008 at 06:10 AM..
Playtesting an indie game concept I've been working on. This would be an actual playtest using supplied characters, just to see what people think of the system/setting/potential and hopefully shake some of the bugs loose and/or discover things that want to be fleshed out further, added, etc. The game in question? S.T.A.R.: Sentai Trope Action Roleplay.
Personally, I think this would be a really cool thing to bring to GameDay.
Location: A few minutes from GAMES PLUS, a.k.a., Earth's Greatest Game Store™.
Posts: 1,113
Buzz, I am going to have a chance to run a game in the AM slot, in the Private Room please. I'll post my game description shortly. It will be a fantasy adventure for sure; possibly Pathfinder D&D or CORTEX System. Have not decided just yet.
Thanks.
__________________ .
"You live in a world full of 12,000 menus and nothing to eat."
-- Rube [Dead Like Me]
This will be a pulp/noir flavored adventure for 5 players using True20 as the game engine (which is the same as Blue Rose, and taking advantage of a character type specific to Blue Rose). There are some significant differences from other OGL d20 games, but the system is streamlined and easy to pick up. Only a single d20 is needed to play (well, along with paper and pencil).
Added.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Buzz, I am going to have a chance to run a game in the AM slot, in the Private Room please. I'll post my game description shortly. It will be a fantasy adventure for sure; possibly Pathfinder D&D or CORTEX System. Have not decided just yet.
Thanks.
Added and awaiting details.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Throw me down for running Awesome Adventures in a morning slot. Four seats. No experience necessary.
Awesome Adventures is basically Spirit of the Century with all the rough edges filed off. It's a faster and smoother ride, but still packs plenty of punch.
Character sheets, pencils, and FUDGE dice will be provided. Players should bring a sense of adventure and a willingness to facilitate awesomeness.
Last edited by Nev the Deranged; 29th September 2008 at 12:00 AM..
Ninjacat: I might be interested in trying a Sentai based game in an afternoon slot, depending on how close to finished the game is. Is this first-pass playtesting, or ashcan (99% complete) playtesting?
Throw me down for running Awesome Adventures in a morning slot. Four seats. No experience necessary.
Awesomeness added.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Well, I'm afraid it's closer to first-pass than ashcan. There's quite a bit of the system done (it's relatively simple) but a LOT of it is still in various notebooks, files, some still in my head, etc. The Players' portion is mostly done, and I expect I could have it 99% finished by GameDay, which is why I'd be interested in seeing people's thoughts on playing it, but much of the GM stuff is still in my head or random notes, needs compiling, that kind of thing. I guess this would be an "alpha" playtest, still requiring the creator to run it, as opposed to a "beta" of turning a group loose to see what they can do with it?
But yeah, you were one of the people I thought might be interested. Does a mostly-complete Players' Section sound like enough to hold your interest?
I would like to run a game, but I'm kinda nervous about doing so. I know I talked to you Buzz about running that Kids Only game, but I'm not sure i could do it for 4 hours. What do you think?
No D&D4e?? No Star Wars SAGA?? Come on, people, it's 2008-- this is not your father's RPG!
FWIW, I'm debating running some 4e. I usually want to run something other than D&D at Gamedays, but I'll be crunched for time leading up to the 8th, and I know 4e better than anything else I own, so it'd be easy to prep.
So, I'm mulling it over.
__________________ If knowledge of a game's plot would spoil its experience, it isn't a game.
... A player cannot learn of a game's ending without experiencing it, because a game is not a linear object.
—Mike Mearls
Linear Mode
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