My first convention...

[Aristotle]

Not sure if another forum would be better or not for this.


So I've been gaming for like 14 years. I think about games and gaming every day (when I'm not dedicating whole days to the subject). I'm a gamer...

And I've never been to a convention of any sort. I'm almost ashamed of that. But, while surfing the RPGA site deciding whether or not I should join (did I mention I'm not a member of the RPGA either?) I saw that Winter Fantasy is slated to be held in Arlington, Virginia. That's like 30 minutes from my house.

So I've made up my mind to go, but I'm a tad nervous. What goes on there? What sort of things will there be for me to do? What 'stuff' should I consider bringing with me? In general, what sort of advice can you give someone looking to go to their first convention?

 

[painandgreed]

Is it a gaming convention or a fandom convention?

If its a gaming convention, you show up and pay your money. You get the program and see what games are going on when. You sign up for the games you want to play in. Then you head to the dealers room and check out all the stuff the dealers are selling. When it comes time for your game you head to the appropriate spot where only you and the guy organizing the game show up. After awhile waiting for the others that are supposed to play with you two, some guy walks in and yells "Hey, I just bought this old copy of <insert game here>. Who wants to play?" The two of you look at each other, shrug, and sit down for a game. Repeat till weekend is over.

I won't speak about fandom conventions lest I offend somebody here.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well,you show up and sign up for an RPGA gaem. This will involve such moments as...

• Watching a guy physically cry becasue he has to use one of his "Certs" (a magic item) in the game.
  
• A DM reading directly from the module with neither interest or perspective ("Um...it says here that you guys have to talk to the bartender to get the...thing. The thing you need. I dunno. Are you going to talk to him?")
  
• A module written by the cheapest DM in creation. ("So all of those orcs who attacked us with swords have...one sword as treasure?")

Outside of the RPGA...

When it comes time for your game you head to the appropriate spot where only you and the guy organizing the game show up.

Couldn't have summed it up much better than that.

Be prepared for odors you have never before experienced.

Get ready for 70-75% of the women at the con (which means 3 of the four) to have "queen Bee"" syndrome, and be insufferable, though they will be moderatly more tolerable than their entourage.

And I still keep going! Baffling

 

[Invictikore]

From the way you guys sum it up who would ever want to go..... I say go with a open mind and have fun. Most things should be provided but a couple pencils and dice would be good. If you are going to play a certain game, maybe have one of the books in the car. And once you get there, TALK TO PEOPLE, that is the best way to have fun.

 

[scourger]

my con experiences

It looks like you're talking about this con:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=rpga/conventions/wf2005faq

It looks great, if you want to try out RPGA gaming. I'll give you the low-down on my con experiences generally and with RPGA specifically as well as some advice.

I had been gaming about 15 years before going to my first gaming convention. It was a small con in a small city. I ran a game. It ended in about 15 minutes with a TPK. What a disaster.

It was about another 7 years before I went to another con. GenCon. In Milwaukee for the last time. What a great time. I went with a friend. Highly recommended. I wish I had done a few things differently. I wish I had played more games that I would not ordinarily play. I wish I had played in Gary Gygax's game as my friend did. I did meet him, so that was cool. I found RPGA gaming unsatisfying. It is a bit too much work for too little reward for me. Overall, a great experience but a little to expensive with plane fare, hotels, etc. to repeat as yet.

In the past year, I attended 2 more local cons. The first was about 2 hours away. Smallish but relatively close. I drove over with a friend. Again, highly recommended. The RPG we wanted didn't run as scheduled, so we played a couple of card game demos. Very fun to stalemate expereinced players as novices. Then, we watched some of the events and surveyed a very wild hotel party before leaving. A good time overall.

The second was about 1 hour away, and I went by myself. Smaller but even closer. I played a couple of fun RPGs that I would not ordinarily get to play. Once it looked played out, I left and got home early.

One thing I always enjoy is the dealer room. Even at the smallest, most recent con, I picked up a used RPG book that I read cover-to-cover. I hope to do some trading next time. There are always good deals to be had.

Yes, you will encounter new smells, sights and sounds. It's just part of the territory.

You will also probably find these RPGA games to be well organized and attended. RPGA games were full and on-schedule at my local cons this year.

My advice is to go with as many of your gaming buddies as you can. Play games you do not or would not ordinarily play. Spend as much time and money in the dealer room as you can (if there is one). Find the parties. When it looks played out, leave.

I would go for the d20 Modern game first since it a campaign kick-off and you therefore won't be playing alongside players who have many years in the game with much knowledge and multiple, powerful characters. If you like it, you can contiue to play and build your character. Also, The Game Mechanics are awesome; so it will probably be a great game. As an added bonus, you can review the d20M SRD for free online to get a grasp of the rules.

Second choice for me would be the Eberron game. Also a campaign kick-off with benfetis noted above. WOTC's new setting has to have some appeal.

Living Force is also appealing. It's Star Wars, after all.

Living Kingdoms of Kalamar is good. That world has some nice features that make it appealing for a D&D game. I played a half-hobgoblin, which was cool. Only got 100 xp, though; so I probably wouldn't repeat it before other options.

I'm jealous. This con is only 30 minutes from your home. You owe it to yourself to go. Have fun!

 

[smerwin29]

I've never been to a convention of any sort. I'm almost ashamed of that. But, while surfing the RPGA site deciding whether or not I should join (did I mention I'm not a member of the RPGA either?) I saw that Winter Fantasy is slated to be held in Arlington, Virginia. That's like 30 minutes from my house.

So I've made up my mind to go, but I'm a tad nervous. What goes on there? What sort of things will there be for me to do? What 'stuff' should I consider bringing with me? In general, what sort of advice can you give someone looking to go to their first convention?

Winter Fantasy is not your normal convention (as if any gaming convention can be called normal). Winter Fantasy is run and sponsored solely by the RPGA, and most likely only RPGA events will be offered. For some reason a few people (some for good reasons, some not) despise the RPGA.

If you are really interested in attending Winter Fantasy, the first thing you'll want to do is sign up for the RPGA. It is free, and I'm sure you will be able to do so at WF. You will also want to do some research about the various kinds of adventures and campaigns under the RPGA umbrella. Most of this information is available from the links off the RPGA website. Be advised that getting the most out of the RPGA takes a little patience and "homework" to make sure you are in the type of game or campaign that interests you.

In terms of Winter Fantasy as a convention itself, this is generally how it works--and since it is only RPGA events, it usually runs a bit smoother for players. You will be able to register for events online once the schedule is set. At the convention, you can pick up your badge to show that you are registered, and usually each event will have a ticket. Let's say the first event you sign up for is Death in Darguun, the first special event in the RPGA's new Eberron campaign. On your schedule it will probably say that all players for this event meet in a certain spot (maybe in a certain room, maybe under a certain banner if it is one large playing area, etc.) In the area where the players meet there will be a marshall. The marshall is in charge of putting together tables of players and sending them off to play with a DM.

In the case of Death in Darguun, it is the beginning of a new campaign, so all players will be first level. This makes finding a table rather simple. In some campaigns, such as Living Greyhawk, players might have characters anywhere between 1st and 17th level, so you will have to talk to other players and the marshall to find a table for lower level characters.

Once you find a table, off you go with your DM to a designated gaming area, where you play your game. Gaming slots usually last about 5 hours--4 hours for playing and 1 for getting set up, filling out paperwork, etc. Then it is off to the next slot and the next game.

It bears repeating: the tough part for new players in the RPGA is navigating the various kinds of events and campaigns that are offered. It can be overwhelming to a new player in a convention setting. The RPGA should have staff there to explain things about the different campaigns, help you create a new character, and get you moving in the right direction. Most DMs are also very understanding of the questions that new players have.

I know this is just scratching the surface, so if I can answer any more specific questions, please feel free to contact me offlist or ask them here.

Regards,

Shawn

 

[Aristotle]

Thanks for the replies thus far guys. I saw that the RPGA was pretty much running the show for this particular Con. I plan to hit GenCon or Origins eventually, but I doubt I'll be able to justify that expense again this year (as usual).

I went ahead and took the Herald DM test and submitted myself for a DM Membership. I'm assuming I can play on that too. I'll need to look into the RPGA a bit more to see how active I plan to be in it, and how things operate.

I'm definately going to go. And I do plan to hit both the Eberron and d20Modern campaigns if I can (as I've yet to play in either setting/system), as well as possibly Star Wars (which I own but have never gotten around to reading or running).

Thanks again.

 

[Patman21967]

Well...there used to be a con in Baltimore, Atlanticon by name. I went 2x. The first with my whole gaming group, we called ourselves M.O.G. ( monsters of gaming ) We all ran games there. It was awesome. I had people who worked for GW play in my Warhammer game, and people from Chaosium play in my RuneQuestII games. Very cool con, and cool people. Heck, on Saturday we even rounded up 20 or so to go out for beers and see Tyson get knocked out by Douglass, then hit the strip clubs after. I played in some kick-butt games.

Now, I never joined the RPGA, but I have heard horror stories. Never played in one of their games, but have heard worse. I would highly recommend going with friends, and finding games that sound appealing to your tastes. I found the after-hours games alot of fun too. Hell, try it out, the worst that can happen is getting gang raped by a bunch of fat biker women...whoa...where'd that come from....have fun bro...

 

[painandgreed]

If I would have had time, my description would have sounded much more fun than it did. Between the loot you pick up in the dealers room to the esoteric games you play on whim, it usually is lots of staying up real late having fun playing games with other people. Personally, I remeber running a Morrow Project game only to have all the people who signed up to be from my normal gaming group (I traveled across the state to play with you guys?), live action Talisman and Paranoia, and a refereed game of Axis and Allies where the Allies and Axis sat back to back and you didn't know what was in the territory you were attacking till you did so because only your peices were on the map you could see.

 

[Wycen]

My first con was a fandom convention in San Jose or San Francisco, I can't remember much anymore. It was Baycon, maybe around 87, at the start of Robotech's popularity.

Anyway, I remember various things that at the time blew my mind, being like 16 years old. I was brought by a friend, who was our Robotech Game Master maybe 17 years old, who in turn was brought by his father.

People in Star Trek uniforms. The hand made Robotech uniform my friend wore but I didn't realize until we got to the con. A seminar I remember nothing about except flyers for "pink pineapple or salad?" which I know had nothing to do with the seminar and then a long hall way off to the side with booths where my friend stopped to talk to a guy with a beard behind a booth. While he was talking I remember looking down the booth and trying to figure out what the hand drawn hand collated books said on their title. Furversion. No 16 year old should ever be subject to anything furry.

I don't think we played anything but I remember trying to find a Star Wars game, heck just trying to find people gaming.

Getting a ton of "loot" from previous conventions, like the previous years convention books and flyers, etc.

I didn't really think about going back, but later that year the same friend mentioned he was running a game at some local con at the airport Hyatt/Hilton. That was only 10 minutes away and I figured if he was running a game it couldn't possibly be bad.

And thus my first trip to Dundracon went off and suddenly I knew I wanted to do that again.

From reading the previous posts it sounds like Winter Fantasy is a specialized con. If it was a "normal" game con, I would suggest simply going with a few bucks and books and first walking around to check things out. You only have to pay for 2 things generally, either admission to the Dealers Room, where companies sell stuff, and/or to sign up for con sponsored games. There are always "open" gaming rooms which can be hit or miss but you don't need to pay to play these.