Gen Con 2016 Call for Volunteers!

What is this word, 'prep'?

No idea, sounds boring.

It means to print the scenario and then pretend I read it.

Squee GenCon GenCon, my favorite con to GM at. And who known maybe this year, if I am selected to GM, I'll get to run the tier I was supposed to prep for the special. After my first special I prep all the tiers.

Yeah. Been there, done that.

I think it was 3 years ago, when the monster stats weren't even in the adventure, so you had to look them all up. I printed out all the monster stats for the two tiers I was told to prep, then had a group of players show up for a different tier, and I didn't even have the stats, let alone done any prep for that tier.

I found the Gen Con email from January 6th. It said:

"In 2016, Gen Con will not contract with prior shuttle providers. Instead, Gen Con is investigating other non-shuttle transportation options for attendees. Attendees are encouraged to find the transportation and parking needs that best suit their convention and housing plans. If additional transportation options become available, Gen Con will announce them via email newsletter and messaging on gencon.com."

Um, the shuttles were the best option for my housing plans. :(

Mahtobedis wrote:

Squee GenCon GenCon, my favorite con to GM at. And who known maybe this year, if I am selected to GM, I'll get to run the tier I was supposed to prep for the special. After my first special I prep all the tiers.

Yeah. Been there, done that.

I think it was 3 years ago, when the monster stats weren't even in the adventure, so you had to look them all up. I printed out all the monster stats for the two tiers I was told to prep, then had a group of players show up for a different tier, and I didn't even have the stats, let alone done any prep for that tier.

I feel that pain. I prepped mid tier and then not only did a 10-11 tier show up at my table, but they were all from my local Society group here in Dayton. Not only did I have to song and dance my way though while looking up different numbers than I had preped, I had to do it for people who knew me well enough to know I was doing it.

But they're a great bunch of guys so they actually helped as much as they could.

All in all, it was an awesome enough time that I'm volunteering Tier 1 again.

Having run 'cold' for a different campaign (but not Ninth Ring of Dante Inferno frigid--having played the equivalent of a 'scenario') I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

It's actually why I've mostly stopped judging for that campaign. They never allowed for 'set-up' time prior to a slot (back to back to back to back slots at Gen Con, for example), and the 'scenarios' one would get handed make even some of the skeletal ones for Society Play into masterpieces.

We're going to try (again) to get the Special listed at different subtiers so people can buy tickets for the subtier they actually want to play. That would let us better estimate the number of tables we need at each subtier, which would alleviate a lot of the pain our GMs feel when we have to ask them to switch subtiers at the last moment.

I turned mine in :D

Bob Jonquet wrote:

Can anyone confirm there is or is not going to be any special bus services? If so, what the schedule is? what the routes are? Cost? Contact info? Or maybe its too early in the season to know what Indy will have available for us. Past experience indicates they embrace the GenCon crowds and try to offer extra services.

There was an email from Gen Con a couple of weeks ago that said they would not be offering the bus service they had the last couple of years. The only bus service being organized is the airport to downtown and return for those flying in and out.

I did see the electric cars when we were there last year. It was a car share system that might work for a few people, but I'm not certain how far put they go.

The service you speak of is Indy-blue, and it is relatively new. Webpage located below

blue-indy

Here's hoping GenCon come through with some transit options. We lost the housing lottery badly last year and wound up about 13 miles aways. We didn't have too much trouble using cabs and so on, and actually drove in twice but I feel like the extraordinary parking luck we had on those two occasions used up all my parking luck forever.

This year I want to bring some fairly bulky terrain (if the scenario I want to run proves to be on offer), so I'm hoping for luck tomorrow!

Just waiting on an email.

Working on the volunteer emails now.

For those volunteering for Tiers 3 & below - I spoke with our Gen Con liaison. He confirmed that volunteers wanting to participate in the housing lottery should buy a badge and participate per the directions on the website. When the Paizo provided GM badges hit your account, you will be able to claim a refund on your purchased badge.

Thanks Tonya. Off to watch a parade.

Thank you, too, Tonya. I was wondering whether I should go ahead and pay for the badge tonight.

Anyone get an email yet?

Anyone get an email yet?

A few mail snafus on my end, but I've sent all the emails. You should have it now!

See you at Gencon :)

Robert Reine wrote:

Anyone get an email yet?

A few mail snafus on my end, but I've sent all the emails. You should have it now!

See you at Gencon :)

Thanks Tonya. I was a snafu. See you at my first Gencon. Looking forward to helping out at HQ and getting to know some of the Paizo staff.

Got my email. I noticed this interesting paragraph:

In addition to your scheduled games, we are asking all GMs to prepare at least one of the evergreen scenarios (5-08 The Confirmation, 6-10 The Wounded Wisp, or 7-10 The Consortium Compact) or the new Gen Con 2016 quests.

I'm fine with this, but I found it interesting that First Steps 1 is no longer on that list.

I am so thankful that one of the evergreens was specified this year as being the additional prep instead of "another in your time slot" as I've seen in the past.

It looks like I'm losing the housing lottery this year, so I really hope they come up with some transportation solutions to the surrounding hotels.

Couple years ago one of our hotels (Candlewood Suites?) had a shuttle bus during the day but we had to call a taxi at night. But that was also the same year our hotel was overbooked (The local college had originally decided it didn't need the rooms anymore then after hotel registration it decided to take those rooms back) and moved all 5 of us into a different hotel with one bed...

Got mine. Stepped up to tier 1 this year.

And the hotel lottery's over. If you aren't already booked for a hotel within walking distance, you aren't going to get one.

I thought there was supposed to be waiting lists or something, but I'm not seeing how to get on to them.

And then I tried clicking on another hotel that was a few miles away, and that one disappeared from being available while I was trying to select it. Their web page is confusing enough for first timers that by the time you figure out what you're doing, the room you're trying to book is already gone. This whole system sucks.

I think I'm just about ready to give up on GenCon. It has outgrown Indianapolis, so there's no point in going until they move it to Chicago, which is the only midwestern city large enough to accommodate it. How long do you think it'll take for the people running it to realize that?

Don't they have a contract that ties them to Indianapolis for more years?

I think I'm just about ready to give up on GenCon. It has outgrown Indianapolis, so there's no point in going until they move it to Chicago, which is the only midwestern city large enough to accommodate it. How long do you think it'll take for the people running it to realize that?

It's not going to happen in Chicago with McCormick Place being the only major convention center and the insane labor fees and requirements to set up there, in addition to the exorbitant rates that the downtown hotels charge *currently*.

Chicago's 'too big' for Gen Con, unfortunately, and not laid out well enough. Indy, at least to it's credit, is trying to expand hotel space, though that takes time...

For personal reasons, I wish they moved to New Orleans.

And the hotel lottery's over. If you aren't already booked for a hotel within walking distance, you aren't going to get one.

I thought there was supposed to be waiting lists or something, but I'm not seeing how to get on to them.

And then I tried clicking on another hotel that was a few miles away, and that one disappeared from being available while I was trying to select it. Their web page is confusing enough for first timers that by the time you figure out what you're doing, the room you're trying to book is already gone. This whole system sucks.

I think I'm just about ready to give up on GenCon. It has outgrown Indianapolis, so there's no point in going until they move it to Chicago, which is the only midwestern city large enough to accommodate it. How long do you think it'll take for the people running it to realize that?

If it makes you feel any better, my hotel is 7mi away... I had bad luck on that lottery. Bleh.

Got my email. I noticed this interesting paragraph:

Quote:

In addition to your scheduled games, we are asking all GMs to prepare at least one of the evergreen scenarios (5-08 The Confirmation, 6-10 The Wounded Wisp, or 7-10 The Consortium Compact) or the new Gen Con 2016 quests.

I'm fine with this, but I found it interesting that First Steps 1 is no longer on that list.

I don't think they've asked people to also have First Steps prepped in the past two years I've GM'd. They've wanted it kept to the more recent evergreens. AFAIK, First Steps' ommission is not an indication of it being removed, just that they would rather people keep it to those four choices provided. Or at least that is what I am inferring.

Fromper wrote:

Got my email. I noticed this interesting paragraph:

Quote:

In addition to your scheduled games, we are asking all GMs to prepare at least one of the evergreen scenarios (5-08 The Confirmation, 6-10 The Wounded Wisp, or 7-10 The Consortium Compact) or the new Gen Con 2016 quests.

I'm fine with this, but I found it interesting that First Steps 1 is no longer on that list.

I don't think they've asked people to also have First Steps prepped in the past two years I've GM'd. They've wanted it kept to the more recent evergreens. AFAIK, First Steps' ommission is not an indication of it being removed, just that they would rather people keep it to those four choices provided. Or at least that is what I am inferring.

Anybody know which of those people seem to enjoy the most? First-time GenCon GM here.

EDIT: Other than the GenCon Special, of course...

If it makes you feel any better, my hotel is 7mi away... I had bad luck on that lottery. Bleh.

Your luck was better than mine. When I first got in, it pretended to have hotels that were 7 miles away, but I couldn't actually book any of them. By the time I gave up, the closest hotels it was showing me were 10 miles away. I ended up not booking anything, and I gave up on trying to find the wait list, too. Is there actually a wait list, or is that just a myth?

Fromper wrote:

I think I'm just about ready to give up on GenCon. It has outgrown Indianapolis, so there's no point in going until they move it to Chicago, which is the only midwestern city large enough to accommodate it. How long do you think it'll take for the people running it to realize that?

It's not going to happen in Chicago with McCormick Place being the only major convention center and the insane labor fees and requirements to set up there, in addition to the exorbitant rates that the downtown hotels charge *currently*.

Chicago's 'too big' for Gen Con, unfortunately, and not laid out well enough. Indy, at least to it's credit, is trying to expand hotel space, though that takes time...

It will never move to Chicago. As you said, costs are crazy. I've worked a lot of trade shows there, and the labor rules and costs have driven quite a few conventions from McCormick Place.

Also, there is exactly 1 real hotel within like a mile of the place. The conventions that have large numbers of out-of-town attendees have to hire fleets of greyhound sized shuttle busses to get to the downtown hotels.

The other Chicagoland option would be Rosemont, but that's not any larger than Indy.

UndeadMitch wrote:

Fromper wrote:

Got my email. I noticed this interesting paragraph:

Quote:

In addition to your scheduled games, we are asking all GMs to prepare at least one of the evergreen scenarios (5-08 The Confirmation, 6-10 The Wounded Wisp, or 7-10 The Consortium Compact) or the new Gen Con 2016 quests.

I'm fine with this, but I found it interesting that First Steps 1 is no longer on that list.

I don't think they've asked people to also have First Steps prepped in the past two years I've GM'd. They've wanted it kept to the more recent evergreens. AFAIK, First Steps' ommission is not an indication of it being removed, just that they would rather people keep it to those four choices provided. Or at least that is what I am inferring.

Anybody know which of those people seem to enjoy the most? First-time GenCon GM here.

EDIT: Other than the GenCon Special, of course...

I've always been partial to The Confirmation, but if you've played or run any of them, then I recommend going with whatever you feel comfortable with.

Were we supposed to get an email either way? I have received nothing yet.

Check your spam filter, Zetran?

Also, Fromper, Cedoxi, and others having issues... If you have NOT made a reservation using the system, keep checking back every so often. There are a few points where rooms become available, like I mentioned before, but also when the dealer rooms are situated some rooms become clear, as well as the 'club' rooms. As long as you don't reserve, you have the option to reserve on the system. (It's what I did last year.)

Last year we got a hotel a couple blocks away from the convention center without the housing block lotto, I'm not entirely sure the details but a friend had a coworker who was part of some VIP club I think and managed to get us a room. Was a pretty sweet hotel and a pretty good rate.

13 miles out! Same hotel as last year. Oh well.

Nothing in the spam folder, Wei Ji.
But I sent an email to the volunteer address, so hopefully I'll hear something soon!

For personal reasons, I wish they moved to New Orleans.

For personal reasons, I wish they moved it to Las Vegas.

And, note, Vegas has a lot of available hotel rooms and convention spaces.

Robert Reine wrote:

For personal reasons, I wish they moved to New Orleans.

For personal reasons, I wish they moved it to Las Vegas.

And, note, Vegas has a lot of available hotel rooms and convention spaces.

There was some chatter about Vegas on a GenCon writing track list I'm on. Folks there said it had been proposed in the past but that there were two big reasons (I have no idea how valid these really are) for making it a non-starter--competition for dollars from other activities and the perception, at least, that Vegas isn't "family-friendly."

kinevon wrote:

Robert Reine wrote:

For personal reasons, I wish they moved to New Orleans.

For personal reasons, I wish they moved it to Las Vegas.

And, note, Vegas has a lot of available hotel rooms and convention spaces.

There was some chatter about Vegas on a GenCon writing track list I'm on. Folks there said it had been proposed in the past but that there were two big reasons (I have no idea how valid these really are) for making it a non-starter--competition for dollars from other activities and the perception, at least, that Vegas isn't "family-friendly."

Like any tourist-oriented place, Vegas will have a lot of options to draw people's interests. How else do you make money in tourism?

And, honestly, while there are plenty of adult activities, there is plenty of family-friendly stuff, as well. Amusement parks, kid-friendly places and shows, all sorts of stuff.

Heck, Vegas is one of the few places I know of where not only is there a restaurant open for any holiday, there are a variety of restaurants open for any holiday.

Well I guess my first trip to Gencon had the gaming gods smile on me. My housing lottery hit in the first 44 minutes and I was able to secure a nice room 3 blocks away.

Question on what "new Gen Con 2016 quests" mean? I assume there will be more info on them as we get closer.

Well I guess my first trip to Gencon had the gaming gods smile on me. My housing lottery hit in the first 44 minutes and I was able to secure a nice room 3 blocks away.

Question on what "new Gen Con 2016 quests" mean? I assume there will be more info on them as we get closer.

In 2014 they released Silverhex quests. 2015 saw the Phantom Phenomena. They're a series of 6 ~1 hour quests you play 1st level pregens with. The more of the 6 you play the better your chronicle sheet ends up being.

They're quite fun and free! If you haven't seen them I suggest downloading them and checking them out.

So what is volunteering at HQ like? Seeing how I'll be there a good bit, tier 1 volunteer, I'm curious ;)

You'll most likely be marshaling/mustering. You'll get a clipboard with tables/GMs assigned to you that you have to send groups to. Once everyone is seated you'll go around and collect tickets and hand out water & tokens to GMs. Some HQ volunteers input the session sheets, others collect them and make sure they're completely filled out. Others are at the help desks helping people or checking out pregen binders to gms. During the special HQ volunteers also act as signalers for success conditions.

You'll most likely be marshaling/mustering. You'll get a clipboard with tables/GMs assigned to you that you have to send groups to. Once everyone is seated you'll go around and collect tickets and hand out water & tokens to GMs. Some HQ volunteers input the session sheets, others collect them and make sure they're completely filled out. Others are at the help desks helping people or checking out pregen binders to gms. During the special HQ volunteers also act as signalers for success conditions.

Isn't the HQ group also the group that 'emergency GMs' are pulled from in case a GM has an illness or the like, too?

@Wei.

I hope so. I'm all up for running some games. I just didn't want to GM 8 tables. I wish there was a GM/HQ tier where I could mix and match. I'm close to my third star and I'll have it by Gencon time. Ive gmed at least five local specials (can't remember the number now). My ideal volunteer experience would be 4 sessions at HQ and 3 tables with a little free time to check the rest of the con.

I completely understand that one, Robert.

After having done the 'judge seven or more slots' for a few Gen Cons... there's just no way I can physically do it anymore.

Folks may feel free to mutter imprecations about weakness, but doing it for several years for a campaign that wasn't as gracious with the 'slack time' between slots would not understand the distinction.

The truest warning sign was judging for sixteen hours in one day for that other campaign, after judging two previous days for four and eight hours...

At the end of the last slot I needed two of my players to help me up and I ended up stumbling over to Scotty's for a much deserved and belated breakfast/lunch/dinner -- that I had to take half of back to my room as I'd nearly passed out at the bar despite not drinking any adult beverages.

I do not wish that on anyone.

Ever.

Yeah running 8 slots in a row is rough. I did that last year. Shouldn't be a problem this year since I will be at Gen Con on Thursday to run stuff this year.

I keep seeing things like five miles, and then wonder why people dont cycle.
Then I realise not everyone is as bike crazy as we are.

GENcon bike rental/cargo bike rental should be a thing.

And the hotel lottery's over. If you aren't already booked for a hotel within walking distance, you aren't going to get one.

I thought there was supposed to be waiting lists or something, but I'm not seeing how to get on to them.

So it is still possible to get a hotel close by but it takes some work.

People always cancel and when they do cancel, those hotels go back on the list. I have done this every year to include last year. It takes some work because you have to continually keep an eye on what is available.

They got rid of waiting lists either last year or the year prior.

Isn't the HQ group also the group that 'emergency GMs' are pulled from in case a GM has an illness or the like, too?

Typically no. HQ volunteers rarely have their GMing materials with them and we have A LOT of logistical activities to keep marshals busy. "Emergency" GMs are usually either GMs who were released from their scheduled event and willing to run something else, or players who have GMing materials with them and volunteer to cover a table. The latter is exceedingly rare though.