RPG convention time is in full swing and that makes this a good time to give some advice to those who are thinking of running a game session at a CON. Here is a short list of my DO’s and DON’Ts for prepping to run a session at a CON.
Pre-Generated PCs?
Give EVERY pre-generated PC a sentence or two about why they are working with the others or what their relationship is or what the main goal is. This may sound obvious or stupid to you, depending on your particular preferences, BUT it is important. Just doing this one small thing gives the players a way for their PC to immediately be able to talk to the PC next to them. Also note that I said “a sentence or two” NOT a huge 3 paragraph backstory… don’t do that.
Clues & Hints?
Be prepared to give clues, clues, clues, and more clues if there is anything to “figure out” – people will not get it, most of the time, until more than enough clues have been given. These players are not your regular group so you should not assume they have the same group touchstone info that you have with your regular players. Put another way – just because your regular players would “get it” after that second clue, these may not, and you should be prepared for that.
Should You Playtest? How Much?
If you are writing the scenario, playtest it at least once with people you know (for timing issues) and at least once with strangers (for clue/story issues).
If you aren’t writing the scenario, but are instead running a pre-written scenario by another designer, you should STILL playtest if possible. In this case you will want to do a run through just to get familiar with the ins-and-outs of the scenario, and then worry about perfecting the timing and clues.
You should also playtest in the same format you will be running at the con – that is, if the con is virtual, your playtest should be virtual, and if the con is in person, the playtest should be as well.
Rules Review?
Review relevant rules and print them out so you have them on a single page or two. This puts relevant things right there in front of you, no flipping through a book or searching a PDF. This is something an experienced GM might ignore, but do it anyway!! You might remember the hiding rules (for example) for your regular game, but sometimes when dealing with a stranger/new player who is asking something in a different way (that you are not used to) your mind will completely forget the rules you know so well. If the possibility of looking like an idiot who doesn’t know the rules gives you anxiety, you should have a cheat sheet for yourself – there is no shame in needing to access such a tool.
For the record, it is nice but NOT necessary for a GM to know every rule backward and forward for them to run a great game session. Many games are very dense and have complex rules – it’s okay to not know every single one perfectly right off the top of your head. BUT if you *think* you should have that knowledge, and it causes you anxiety to not have that knowledge, you should take steps to alleviate that anxiety… this is what this advice is about. Make a cheat sheet, even if you don’t think you need one. It is better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.
Timing?
Make a mock schedule and plan for 3.5 hours to be used for a 4 hour game slot. Why not 4 full hours? Because the first 10-15 will be the intro, getting names, handing out pre-gens, welcoming them, etc. And the last 10-15 minutes should be wrap up. So your schedule might look like this:
- Time 0-15min Welcome/intro/pregens time 15-60min introductory scene, roleplaying, finding out the main issue, search for clues
- Time 16-120min First encounter – might fight, might just talk, outcome will decide whether event B or event C occurs
- Time 121-140min Travel to place where next event occurs – includes roleplaying interlude or flashback scene
- Time 141-225min Final encounter event – big battle, resolution of storyline
- Time 226-240 Epilogue, wrap up, get them to fill outa survey, answer questions, etc.
Even if you don’t stick to the schedule exactly you will at least know how far out you have gotten and how much to drop or reel in.
How Many Necessary Elements?
This depends on the system, of course, because how long an encounter may last is system dependent. Typically, in a d20 fantasy game (e.g. D&D, 13th Age, Pathfinder, etc.) you should prep 3-5 events. Events are not all combat, but are things that will happen in the session that must have some resolution, usually by roleplaying and rolling dice. I split them into 3 categories: skills-check based scenes, roleplaying-based scenes, and combat-based scenes.
Usually a skills-check based event or two and a roleplaying-based event or two and a combat-based event or two can usually be completed in a 4 hour session with no problem. That means 3-5 events should be planned. Let’s say you plan a major roleplaying scene, two skills-check based events/scenes, and a small combat and a large combat. That is 5 event/encounters and maybe can be completed in a single 4 hour session… but sometimes you get people at a table who LOVE to roleplay and the roleplaying event goes on 3x longer than you counted on… now what?
The way to plan for this is to decide which 2 of those 5 events can be completely left out without detriment to the other 3. That is – determine what is NECESSARY for the game to continue. For example, if necessary clues are given in part 2, then the party MUST complete part 2, no matter what kind of event it is. If part 3 is fun but not necessary, it can be cut if you run short on time. BUT maybe you really LIKE part 3 and think it may be the most enjoyable part of the session for some players – you don’t want to cut it then! Because you have gone through and planned this out well, you can simply plan to move the necessary clue into part 3 and let part 2 be optional. – you won’t find that out unless you spell out what is necessary beforehand.
And that’s it – that is my humble CON advice… I hope it is helpful to you, and until next time – I wish you good gaming!
Thanks for Reading!
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Until next time, I wish you good gaming!
~DMSamuel
