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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeff Wilder" data-source="post: 2309381" data-attributes="member: 5122">To a large extent, a game intended for a convention has to commit the great Cardinal Sin: it has to railroad players.  Clues have to be unmissable, and motivations for the pregenerated characters (always use pregenerated characterss!) need to be strong.Develop encounters for the time you have available.  In a four-hour time slot, I try to fit in three combat encounters (only one of which will be major), two roleplaying encounters, and a problem-solving encounter.  Obviously you can do more in a six- or eight-hour slot.Generate characters who are interesting, but mechanically fairly simple.  Make sure you know the rules those PCs use: if you build a ranger who uses a whip and a hand-axe, know the whip's special properties, the rules for tripping, and the rules for sundering weapons.For each pregenerated character, I write down six "areas of expertise," and I build the adventure so that those areas of expertise come into play.  It isn't necessary that every single skill and feat be used during the game, but if a PC has "Knowledge (architecture and engineering)" at an incredible level, the player will love the chance to use it in a vital situation (e.g., quickly shoring up a bridge -- or arranging for its collapse).  It's okay if the areas of expertise overlap, even within the same character.  Three or four of six of the fighter PC's areas of expertise might very well be listed as "kicking much butt."Clearly designate one character the leader in the writeups, and make hooks between characters broad and unsubtle; you want to encourage roleplaying as much as possible.  Don't build in serious conflicts between characters, unless that's intended as a major part of the game.  Oh, and I make PCs genderless, with ambiguous or alternate names, so the 6'5" 300 pound guy doesn't get stuck playing the elven princess if he doesn't want to.As much as possible, allow players to choose the character they want.  (Sometimes it helps to have alternates: fighter or barbarian, cleric or favored soul, sorcerer or warlock).  I've found this isn't as big a deal if players aren't forced to play a gender they don't want, however.  It is important to clearly identify one character as the leader, and make sure (to the extent it's possible) that an active and assertive (but not overbearing or aggressive) player gets that character.Keep the action moving.  In my home campaign, I make my PCs tell me when they're ready to do whatever they wanna do.  At a con game, where people are usually all strangers, the DM often needs to prod the group to keep things moving.  Summarize often, presenting the obvious options clearly to the players, to minimize "decision paralysis."GMing convention games can be a lot of fun.  Look at the opportunity as a way to stretch GMing muscles that probably don't get much of a workout in your homegroup.  I find that I go much more over the top in my portrayal of NPCs at cons, for example, which is fun for me, but sometimes difficult to do in the company of my friends back home.</blockquote>

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