Looking to write-up a good one off for GenCon

[Living Legend]

After years of feeling like there wasn't an RPG out there I really loved, I decided to finally put my money where my mouth is and work on one of my own. So for the last year and a half and I have devided most of my free time between becoming a father and writing my own rules system. So far I have only run playtests with gamers I know, mostly because I wanted to make sure to only get feedback from gamers that I knew had a solid level of knowledge about RPG's in general. In a month I will start a campaign at my somewhat local gaming shop (I live in Indiana, so 20 miles away is considered pretty much local), and from there I want to start working on a couple one-off's for this years GenCon.

Last year was my first GenCon, which is barely tolerable since I live in the state that hosts it. I plan on launching my game there in 2012, so last year my goal was mostly just to get a feel for the convention. I've read several forums about the great one offs people have enjoyed at GenCon over the years, which sounds like something fun, and which would be a great way to get some feedback on my game.

I mostly write short campaigns that take a few months of weekly gaming to finish, so I can't say I'm too familiar with writing a good one off. I was hoping to get your ideas/feedback on what makes a good one off, based on the ones you have been involved in at Cons or anywhere. Also, I noticed there are lots of demo's everywhere at GenCon. So I would like to ask what, in your experience or opinion, has been the best way to introduce someone to a new rules system at a Con. Also, if you have any ideas for one offs I would love to hear them.

My game, called Living Legends, is not era specific, so ideas for any time period will work. Don't worry about game specifics, it's core feature is that it's adaptable, so any and all ideas you can give me will be useful.

Thanks

 

[Living Legend]

Glad to see it was you who first stumbled on to my thread Piratecat, since most of the stories of awesome GenCon one offs I've heard involve games you ran. Your advice would be most appreciated.

Oh and sorry I forgot to mention this, but I have been a member of ENworld for a few years now, I just created this account so I could keep my business and personal stuff separate.

 

[Piratecat]

You're a stronger man than I if you're writing your own rules system for a one-off. That seems like a crazy stupid amount of work!* My one-offs are all about streamlining; I usually only know rules I know well enough to not need a book. Do you foresee trouble attracting players when they won't have heard of the game before?

* Unless you love doing so. In which case, go you.

In my experience, the secret of teaching new rules at a con is to only tell them the bare minimum of what they need to know, until they need to know it. i don't explain magic 'til someone needs to cast; I don't explain damage until someone gets hit. Helps people pay attention more.

 

[Mark CMG]

For gamedays, conventions and other one-off game sessions, flexibility in the adventure always seems to serve me well. Making sure that you can allow for players to fully explore what they find interesting while still presenting an experience that feels complete when seen in retrospect is important. I try to ensure there are a good mix of encounter types while having intermixed both encounters that can be skipped and others that can be inserted based on how the pacing of the game develops at the table. Look to have a good introductory encounter, a number of encounters in the middle that can be substituted based on how the players react and explore, then a number of different variables or variable encounters as a way to wrap things up, again, dependent on how the players respond to earlier encounters. Create a flowchart of possibilities while keeping in mind that you can also combine aspects of several designs or trim as needed at the table. As the saying goes, successful one-offs are all about being prepared to improvise.

 

[Gulla]

Make sure you can skip sections.
Almost all convention games get in time trouble. What the really good games often provide is a fixed start, a lot of possible middle action, and a fixed end-challenge. One way that has worked well for me (both as a GM and a player) is to get the problem presented in the first scene, then you go hunting for what happened/who did it/where to stop it/other vital clue, and let the players get some information in each scene you have time for. Then provide both the vital information and some urgency/strong motivation to get to the end scene with enough time to not rush it.

Playing through the end scene alone with unprepared players should give a good indication of how much time you need for it.

As for introducing a new game I like to present the setting/rules after giving out the characters. Max 5 minutes, and focus on "feeling", play-style and getting the players to have the correct dice available. Then get them into the action.

Remember to leave time at the end for both a summary and to get feedback. If you play to long the players will be rushing to the next session and you probably lose the feedback opportunities.

(And what Piratecat said )

 

[thejc]

The afore mentioned concerns are all good. Especially what Gulla said. Time is super important. Pkitty is right, streamline, streamline, streamline. The worst thing about 1offs and such is that when your adventure really starts to move to tension and denouement people start checking their watches to see if they have time to pee pee before they go to the mini painting workshop. So everything from Pre-Gen characters to the map out with minimal work to do on it, to packet info and such for your system.

So my advice is catch a couple highlights of your mechanics and your world. You are trying to draw people in and sell them on another set of rules. So you want to make what they do "POP". And you want it to be easy for them to understand why it's "POPPING".

The most memorable demo I've ever had was with "Pirates of the Spanish Main". They had a cool little 3d ocean map you moved your ships on. The demonstraters knew their product well. It was smooth, to the point, and fun.

Hey lets face it sometimes all it takes to move merch is shiny packaging.

 

[Living Legend]

You're a stronger man than I if you're writing your own rules system for a one-off. That seems like a crazy stupid amount of work!* My one-offs are all about streamlining; I usually only know rules I know well enough to not need a book. Do you foresee trouble attracting players when they won't have heard of the game before?

* Unless you love doing so. In which case, go you.

Actually I'm writing my own rules system to sell it as a complete RPG, but my design team consists of myself and a friend so it's a slow process, between writing and playtesting. We are looking to launch the product line at GenCon 2012. I figured running a couple one offs at this years GenCon would be a good avenue to get some extra feedback as well as get me comfortable with running demo's at a con. And if I'm lucky maybe get a few people interested in my game.

Thanks for the advice piratecat, and thanks to everyone else as well, very good advice.

 

[Rel]

I think it's been a general trend to label the architecture of games that Piratecat (and a lot of others, myself included) runs as "narrow-wide-narrow".

Basically you design an opening scene that presents the central problem that the PC's are trying to overcome. It may already suggest a specific destination (the endgame that will also be narrow).

Then the game opens up a bit and the general question posed to the PC's is, "So what are you going to do now?" If there is only one possible answer then the middle of the game isn't really "wide" (though it still might be fun). This is the part where I gotta be most on my toes as a GM so that I can make sure that, whatever it is that they decide, I can tie it in with the exciting conclusion of the game. I also note that this is typically my favorite part of the game because I really enjoy seeing how different groups of players tackle the same scenario.

Then the game narrows back to your big, exciting finish where the PC's try to resolve whatever the central problem of the game is. This is often a big, set-piece battle. If possible then try to have whatever they did in the middle part of the game have some bearing on things at the end. It makes the players feel like their decisions mattered.

The "narrow-wide-narrow" formula is a formula, with some of the limitations that suggests. But it is astonishing how many plots can fit well within it. It is also a great way to judge your time management for the session. In (very) general terms, I tend to allot about an hour for the opening scene, two hours for the "wide" part in the middle and about an hour for the endgame. This varies based on the general nature of the plot as well as the system (some handle combats faster than others).

One final technique that I'll mention that I've become fond of using is the "in media res" start. I frequently run systems that some of the players at the table have never played before and I want to showcase some of the combat mechanics right away so that they will have a feel for them in later scenes. But I don't want the game to get bogged down at the start with a long combat that might take a lot of time to resolve and distract too much from the other, more story oriented, parts of the game, system or setting that I'm trying to showcase.

The answer is to simply have them part way through the battle at the start of the game. Let them get a few swings in on some bad guys who are perhaps already wounded or who are outnumbered by the PC's who have been doing well. I sort of think of this as the scene that happens at the start of a lot of James Bond movies before the credits. He finishes up the last mission before he's brought in to talk with M about what the rest of the movie is all about.

 

[Piratecat]

Here's a good thread on one-shots:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/171536-what-makes-convention-game-great.html

 

[Living Legend]

Here's a good thread on one-shots:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/171536-what-makes-convention-game-great.html

I think that was the forum I read about a year ago where I heard much praise for your one off's piratecat. thanks, I couldn't remember the threads name.