Fancy running a game at a con and want to create your own adventure?
Great! Conventions are a a good way to test out something on a new group and try something different. But con games are a little different, even for an experienced GM, so here is a little advice to help avoid some of the pitfalls. In this article I’ll look at how con adventures differ from your usual ones, and in part two I’ll look at actually running it.
Remember they will have a reputation for excellence, and you need to make sure you are not the reason they lose it. But as long as you are ready to do your best you’ll be fine. It also makes for a more fun con to be part of a team and it’s a great way to make new friends.
Having said that, you only need to know the rules that will apply to the adventure you are running. If there is no spaceship combat, you don’t need to know how to run that. If there are no spellcasters in the game, you won’t need the magic rules. So plan your adventure around the aspect of the game you know the best. Chances are these are your favourite bits too so it’s a win-win.
There are two advantages to a pregen group of characters. The first is that they can be custom made to do the adventure. The GM can ensure they have a wide selection of abilities and that everyone has a part of play as well as their own opportunities to shine. Secondly the GM can make sure they are cool, with the best skills and powers and streamlined abilities. They can also be given a connection, like family or heist gang to make sure they know each other and hit the ground running.
By the way, ideally create a broad mixture of pregen characters, especially in terms of gender and ethnicity so there is something for everyone at the table. In the perfect world, have more characters than you need to allow for a greater selection. My friend Walt used to run Victoriana with double sided character sheets, one side a male character the other side a female character. While they shared a concept (scientist, soldier, aristocrat etc.) they were quite different characters in terms of specific skills and abilities.
So make sure your adventure can run with fewer than the full character roster. Don’t make even character absolutely essential. So if you have fewer players you can still run the game for those who did show up. However you may limit their choices if some characters are more useful than others.
YOUR TURN: What advice do you have for running a game at con? We'll have more advice in Part 2 next week.
Picture courtesy of Gabrielmeister - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, File:Stephen R. Marsh at NTRPG Con, June 2017.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Great! Conventions are a a good way to test out something on a new group and try something different. But con games are a little different, even for an experienced GM, so here is a little advice to help avoid some of the pitfalls. In this article I’ll look at how con adventures differ from your usual ones, and in part two I’ll look at actually running it.
Join a Crew
If you are new to running games you might like some back up from one of the many crews that do their own organised play during cons. “Lurking Fears” and “The Wrecking Crew” are two that I know and are both excellent. The main bonus of working with a crew is that they usually have their own dedicated room, so you know where all your games are. It saves searching the map if you forgot to check out the corridor allotments. You also have the backup of a group, who will help you out with advice and guidance. You may also find they have some set adventures that just need a GM, if you don’t actually want to write your own.Remember they will have a reputation for excellence, and you need to make sure you are not the reason they lose it. But as long as you are ready to do your best you’ll be fine. It also makes for a more fun con to be part of a team and it’s a great way to make new friends.
Structuring your adventure
Most convention games are about 4 hours long. So I tend to break that down into 3 acts. That gives me an hour for each act. The ‘fourth’ hour gives extra time if any act runs longer than expected, as well as time for lateness, breaks and rules explanation. Don’t forget your players may have never played this game so figure in some time to take the rules slowly as they get up to speed.Know the Game
It is generally best to run a game you know well. You don’t need to be a master of the system, but you should be clear on all the rules you need to run the game. You may well be the only person at the table who has any idea how the game runs, and time is too short to keep rereading the rulebook.Having said that, you only need to know the rules that will apply to the adventure you are running. If there is no spaceship combat, you don’t need to know how to run that. If there are no spellcasters in the game, you won’t need the magic rules. So plan your adventure around the aspect of the game you know the best. Chances are these are your favourite bits too so it’s a win-win.
Create Pregen Characters
I can’t emphasise this enough. Never, ever, make your players create characters for your con game. There are one or two exceptions, but it’s generally a very bad idea. This is for two reasons. The first is that it wastes time. The players haven’t come to create characters they have come to play an adventure. The second is that they probably don’t know anything about the game or its setting and won’t have the faintest idea what is available or what might be a good option. I’m reminded of one game of Delira I played at a con, the last of a series of four adventures. I hadn’t played any of the previous ones, but half the group had. They had to wait two hours, with nothing to do, for the new half of the group to create characters. Luckily I knew the system a little and could help the others or we might still be there.There are two advantages to a pregen group of characters. The first is that they can be custom made to do the adventure. The GM can ensure they have a wide selection of abilities and that everyone has a part of play as well as their own opportunities to shine. Secondly the GM can make sure they are cool, with the best skills and powers and streamlined abilities. They can also be given a connection, like family or heist gang to make sure they know each other and hit the ground running.
By the way, ideally create a broad mixture of pregen characters, especially in terms of gender and ethnicity so there is something for everyone at the table. In the perfect world, have more characters than you need to allow for a greater selection. My friend Walt used to run Victoriana with double sided character sheets, one side a male character the other side a female character. While they shared a concept (scientist, soldier, aristocrat etc.) they were quite different characters in terms of specific skills and abilities.
Plan for a Varied Amount of Players
Most con games assume a player character group of about six characters. When the game is made available for people to buy tickets it may even sell out. But on the day of the game, you have no idea how many players you will get. People flake out, get ill, double book or just plain forget. You may get walk ups to your table to fill out missing places though so don’t despair. One year at Gen Con I ran a lot of Victoriana, all the games were sold out, and not a single game ran with a full group of all the original players who’d booked tickets.So make sure your adventure can run with fewer than the full character roster. Don’t make even character absolutely essential. So if you have fewer players you can still run the game for those who did show up. However you may limit their choices if some characters are more useful than others.
Do Something a Bit Crazy
Finally, when creating a con adventure, you can go a little wild. You are not starting a campaign (although you might do a follow up next year). So it doesn’t actually matter if the whole world is destroyed. So make the adventure you couldn’t run with your usual group. The one where the whole group might die if they fail, or the villain will bring ultimate darkness if they fail to stop them. Even if the players fail, they will still leave your game feeling awesome because their actions (or lack) saw the world destroyed. That’s a story they will tell for years.YOUR TURN: What advice do you have for running a game at con? We'll have more advice in Part 2 next week.
Very quick and easy and part of the fun. The other was Nobilis (although that GM had the character parts done, just let us arrange the main 4 stats)
