Are All Demo/Con games like this?

I know when I run Con Games, I try to add a brief character history, a background reason why they are on the adventure, roleplaying notes, and what they think and know about the other characters.

In the past, I have included tactics the characters might use.

Some players like the history and roleplay, some ignore it.

When playing in a game, you will meet all types of players. It is no big thing to endure someone's quirks for 4-6 hours. If you can't , just politely leave the table.

Keep playing in demos and con games, you will have a game where all the crap is ignored and things will click into place.

Besides, in 6 months, the bad players and games will become retrospect, and nearly everything is funny in retrospect.
 

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The problem with con games is that, regardless of whether they are an RPGA game, a independent game, or something else entirely, you need to focus on what your play experience is going to be.

When you only have 4 or 5 hours to introduce the characters, the plot, play the game and come to some sort of conclusion, something is going to have to be skipped or not focused on.

In an average D&D game, you want to give players chance to use some of their cool powers. My couple of discussions with WOTC employees about adventure building and design have always said the same things: Players, as has shown by their market research, want to use their cool powers. They see a character sheet that lets them teleport an enemy 4 squares and hit them for 2d10 damage, they want to try it out. Part of the fun of having those powers is getting to show off. You have powers that other classes don't.

So, one of the primary mandates in RPGA games is that there has to be at least 2 combats in the adventure per 5 hour long slot. Most adventures use 3 combats. Each one generally takes 1 hour to 1 and a half hours. Generally, that means 3 hours used up with combat. Leaving about an hour or 2 for role playing, plot, setup, take down, and so on.

The reason 3 combats(and sometimes 4) are normally used is that (at least in 4e), it takes about 3-4 combats to deplete someone's healing surges to close to 0. It creates a growing sense of trepidation and tension as you get closer and closer to dying, creating urgency. That's the same reason it's heavily recommended that you not put any point that a long rest can take place during an adventure. Generally that means setting up a plot reason why the entire adventure needs to be completed in a day.

Roleplaying takes a lot of time. Or at least it can if you let it get away from you. Which is why not a lot of con adventures encourage it. A simple conversation where the characters introduce themselves that is full of roleplaying can go on 2 hours by itself. When that is the entire time you have for all of the non-combat portions of the adventure, you don't want to encourage that.

I will generally cut people off and encourage everyone to concentrate on the plot. I try to summarize things in as few words as possible in order to move the game along more quickly. If people pay close attention during the combats and take their turns quickly(something I can't really guarantee, since it depends on the players), then there is extra time for role playing and I'll encourage it more. Pacing is one of the key skills of convention DMing.

On the other hand, rarely will I cut a battle short for time unless it is extremely obvious that the PCs have it wrapped up without any real chance of taking significant damage. This is because I've seen players get really annoyed at feeling like battles ended anticlimactically. I know I've felt it as a player before. I was just thinking "Cool, I'll use my daily on that one there, which lets me do extra damage to everyone within 2 squares of it for the rest of the encounter. That's going to be awesome." when the DM says, "Yeah, you have this battle, the enemies surrender." It...isn't very much fun. I enjoy killing monsters.

As for why people go to conventions. Everyone has their own reasons. I want to get XP so I can go up levels and get new powers. I want to be told an interesting story, be given a chance to be the hero, and use my powers to kick monster butt. I like knowing that I was "that guy who saved the town from the attacking monsters". To me, the time I spend saving the town from the monsters IS roleplaying.

I don't know where your patience level is. I'm used to dealing with people who don't decide what to do until it's their turn. This actually ties into the thread about how long your turns take in an average game. I'm used to a 3 round 3.5 combat taking about an hour and a 6 round 4e game taking about an hour. Both of these are with 6 players. About 50% of the time is taken up by the DM. Which means that each player's turn takes about a minute in 4e and about 2 minutes in 3e. I'm not sure if that's too much for you. But it's perfectly normal for me. Some people take less time, others take more, but it averages out.

I've just learned that it's not worth it to complain if someone is taking a while. You complain, they get angry because they think they are moving fast enough, then it ruins the mood at the table and no one is having fun anymore. I have a friend who will complain about the speed we are playing games nearly every session. It's become no fun to play with him.

As for the rest of problems with people. Well, people come is a variety of shapes, colors, sentiments, attitudes, patiences, and personalities. You kind of need to deal with that when you go to a convention, because all of the different types will be there.
 

IThe adventurers are very, very, very dry. Just 'here's some monsters, hack at them'. The DMs, nor the adventures, encourage any sort of roleplaying - which is why I thought people went to Cons to play. My hands feel tied; unless I do exactly what the little booklet says I should do, then the DM just doesn't seem interested in it. I tried to get into character and felt like a sore thumb.

Here is the issue with Con games. You have a set amount of time for an adventure (4 hours is common). Everyone playing that adventure is expected to take about the same amount of time. If one group finishes in 2 hours, they feel shortchanged.

Roleplaying has a huge effect on time in an adventure. I once ran an adventure at a con that finished about 15 minutes before the deadline. I went to the main room, where I knew there was a roleplay heavy GM and at least a couple of players. They had never left the tavern where the adventure started. They were fine with that (because the group was somewhat self-selecting), but most groups I've seen would have at least some players frustrated a never having seen the adventure.

So, most adventures for cons tend to be very roleplay light so it can be designed within the time fram. That shouldn't crimp player's ability to roleplay their characters within the adventure's framework, but it does often turn out that way.

Then you have players who are very, very slow to understand the rules.
Some of these games tend to be run to introduce players to the game. Having a lack of rules mastery is not a requirement for these games. I recommend aiding the player as much as possible (without making the decisions for him) and trying to smooth gameplay. Ideally this is the GM's role, but in practice he has a lot to juggle to begin with (including trying to pace the adventure within the given time frame).

Or am I just too negative and should button my trap?
Maybe a little. I recommend you try to lessen the problem by running some adventures in such a fashion and improving the GM pool by your presence. Put a GM in there who can handle the problems that the GMs you have seen aren't able.
 

That being said I for the most part do not play D&D games at cons. There are other games I don't play, but this being a D&D message board I'm using it as my example. As we see from different threads there are different play style of the game and usually what I enjoy most about D&D is not something I see at con games. I'm sure there have been and will be D&D games I'd like but after ten years of looking and finding frustration in those games it is not worth my convention time especially for a game I am usually playing weekly.
In my experience (which was back in the 80s and early 90s), most games facilitated getting your own groups and playing together. Arrange to game with people whose style you like. Alternatively, but up messages that you are looking for gamers with your play style to form a group for a certain session (especially big events, like some of the larger RPGA games).
 

I'm holding a moment of silence for the RPGA's late, lamented Classic games - the ones where the pre-gen characters all had detailed, interlocking personalities that were tailored to the adventure. Not everyone loved them, but I sure did.
I have a mixed bag on this account. I am not the "improvisational acting" style of player, but have gamed with large numbers of them. I have walked into games with "detailed, interlocking personalities" none of which are personalities I could roleplay comfortably in a given session.

On the other hand, I have played in games with a couple of brief character hooks are given (some tying characters together) and those rarely work out badly. Not too much direction, but enough to give some teeth to fit a character into one of my gaming styles.
 

I only ever got to play one RPGA Classic-style game, and I enjoyed it immensely. (I played Robilar, and some of the most fun in the session was between me and the player of Quij, who I'd never met before.) There's definitely a place for that style of con game, and when I run my games for gamedays, I usually do try to put a few character hooks on each character, even if the players decide not to utilize them, they're there for those who want to.
 

Sorry but it's just bad luck. Some of the best games i've played have been gameday games. Even when it's an adventure with no real built in roleplaying if you have the a good gm and enthuesiastic players it will be fun.

For example, i had a blast at the local ww game day last weekend. It was a very basic adventure heavy on hack and slash. We had pregens with no background, and most of the players had never played 4e. as matter of fact some of the players said they really had no interest in playing 4e before the game but had nothing better to do that day. It all worked out though, the guys playing the gnome bard and the warforged barbarian ended up deciding they were best friends and every time the warforged rushed into combat he would bust out a short monotone song about killing stuff. It was very cool. One of the other guys decided that my character and his were in a relationship, so we spent the game trying to come up with and implement ways that our characters could double team enemies. We very little to work with but we all ended up having a great time, and as a bonus everyone with a bad opinion of 4e left saying the game had completely changed thier outlook on the game.

I suggest coming up here the next time there is a Boston gameday, i don't think i ever had a bad game at one of those.:)
 

I can’t say that I shared your experience. This was my first time going to a con-style event and playing with strangers and it worked out smashingly. I met 5 brand new people that day to play with, including a gentleman who had never played 4th edition before, and one of the other players brought his young daughter to play. I was reticent at first, worrying she would get bored or distracted, but she actually did wonderfully. We let her pick first, and she gravitated towards the bard (tiny like her) which again made me nervous as the leader is an important role. With a little help from her father she did a great job, and was arguably even a great roleplayer.

She dove right into the (admittedly light) story of helping a little girl who had accidentally unleashed demons upon her town. The rest of us were able to squeeze in little bits of roleplaying with our admittedly bare bones personalities, including I (the paladin) feigning displeasure at the drow and invoker proposing trying to ignite the mill full of monsters rather than descend in immediately. We all shared a laugh when the barbarian successfully distracted me long enough for the other players to attempt their scheme (to no avail, the monsters stomped out the flame before it could reach the flammable flour.).

Ultimately it took us 6 hours to do what was supposed to take 3 hours, but with 2 people who were essentially completely new to the game period, I’d consider it a resounding success, and nobody left the table unhappy.

In all fairness though, I think trying to play along with someone who has a serious impediment to overcome could probably be more frustrating than a sharp-witted little one. It really depends on your perspective and your willingness to be patient with others. Since my own group is full of people constantly busy with jobs and having to come in late and leave early, I was delighted to sit down with people willing to invest 6 hours in a game.
 

That said, it sounds like immersive roleplaying is more your thing than killing things and taking their stuff?
Not at all.

I was playing a paladin. I tried every opportunity to bring up something about My god or make a prayer or something, and I just got blank looks. No one else even seemed to want in character banter.

Killing monsters and taking their stuff is fine, but it felt robotic because there wasn't even any discussion. 100% combat, 0% roleplaying. (I'm fine with 75-25 myself).

As I said earlier, the DM told us, "Yeah, games now are all about ROLLplaying". I try to ROLEplay, and get shut out.

In an average D&D game, you want to give players chance to use some of their cool powers. My couple of discussions with WOTC employees about adventure building and design have always said the same things: Players, as has shown by their market research, want to use their cool powers. They see a character sheet that lets them teleport an enemy 4 squares and hit them for 2d10 damage, they want to try it out. Part of the fun of having those powers is getting to show off. You have powers that other classes don't.
I didn't get to use any of my cool powers. Half of my powers revolved around "Grant a saving throw!" Well, nothing in the first encounter caused anything that required a saving throw. I had two cool attack powers - and one missed. I was saving my dailies. Then left after the first encounter (due to time restraints).
 
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As I said earlier, the DM told us, "Yeah, games now are all about ROLLplaying". I try to ROLEplay, and get shut out.

That sounds more like a bad table than anything - and I might be projecting, but more like a DM who got stuck running a game he didn't like. I've seen people roleplay in Star Fleet Battles and Battletech (Fred Sanford's Merc Guild, Unite!) and I've seen people roleplay in Risus. Anything in between is doable, and totally subject to the players at the table.
 

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