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Was it the hotel having the Brony con as well?Does anybody remember if the hotel rooms had fridges?I stayed at a hotel down the street (a very steep street), which was much less expensive and had a fridge. It was the Clarion. Didn't see any stink'n bronies there. Not the best class of establishment but it was clean and had a fridge - and rooms were nicely sized. And it was also substantially less expensive than the Mariott.
Does anybody remember if the hotel rooms had fridges? I stayed at a hotel down the street (a very steep street), which was much less expensive and had a fridge.
A few comments, comparing with previous years: 1) I really missed third party games and game space. The pinboard was nice but not a good substitute. 2) I stayed at a crappy hotel down the road which was much cheaper and had free internet access; the upside to that was that it was closer to other restaurants. While the place I stayed was a bit of a fleabag, it was a better choice overall. Don't overlook access to food and drink outside of the hotel. 3) The presentations were especially interesting this year. Everyone was on their game, and the third party stuff - presentation by Gary McBride was very interesting. 4) The demo by Sasquatch Studio was fun. Id like to see more third parties demoing their settings like that. 5) Banquet was a big improvement over last year, both in quality and presentation.
Talk about a can of worms unnecessarily opened... If you think its not offensive, try offering up as a title over on one or more of the multi-racial forums on Facebook. So..what about half-orcs and half-elves you say? Those descriptions refer to mixes of two different and distinct species - not races - and how a fantasy culture may refer to them - not the blending of two types of orc or two types of elf or two types of human. Paizo has plenty of folks who can do better than this and come up with something really unique, like 'Twixers ("between worlds") or something else that could fit within the campaign setting. For the adventure, the word bastard works just fine as a description of "sorta bad dudes".
They basically *are* still open; you just can't book them right now, because we're preparing attendees' individual schedules, and have to lock down changes until we deliver their event tickets at the show. Ah, makes sense. When will the physical world get with the digital program?
Im guessing a Pathfinder Sci-fi game...
Sara, it looks like there are still unfilled spots in many events. Why not just leave them open until filled?
Id love to be able to do this, but the problem is that if you pick a time, it could potentially conflict with whatever your lottery choices are... Would it be possible to create an official thread for organizing times/dates/rooms ad hoc? Once I know my schedule, Id be happy to set a specific time in the 'free room' for a specific event.
Okay, thanks! Ive been running the same adventure each year for the last three years, polishing, improving, adding new art. Id hate to miss a year.
Maybe I missed it, but will there be some free gaming rooms?
The Clarion Hotel is a short distance away. It seems more like a business hotel. Just saying because its less expensive and you can get different types of rooms with differing amenities (free wi-fi, microwave, etc).I was looking at that. Cheaper room rates overall and its only about 800 feet down the road. The one disappointment from last year was that the hotel rooms did not include fridge + microwave. A friend of mine even got a free room upgrade to some kind of suite, and even that didn't have a fridge. Clarion has spacious rooms that include both, so I'm giving it a shot.
The Clarion Hotel is a short distance away. It seems more like a business hotel. Just saying because its less expensive and you can get different types of rooms with differing amenities (free wi-fi, microwave, etc).
You might want to think about what happens if you are spending several hours at one of the many game sessions. Sitting still and quiet for 3-4 hours at a time is tough on a child that young. At previous 'cons there were some (older) kids which were better behaved than a number of attending adults ;)
Id feel more sorry for the guy making that complaint if he didn't pack his complaint full of his family ailments (esp his wife) as if that had anything to do with it. The modicum of sympathy I have for hotels is how often people trash rooms or steal everything that isn't bolted down. But its a very small modicum (Spot DC 35).
Let me say this right now that I forbid you to capture my bald spot like someone did last year... ;-)
I believe hotels charge X extra then refund the balance.
We have an allegerator?
Just asking and pre-planning my shopping trip along the way :-)
Put me down for a Goblin Brain - thanks for keeping up the tradition Majuba! :-)
Since there are open slots, I was thinking of giving one of these a shot. Do you need to do Part 1 before Part 2, etc? No hazing involved, right?
Why not create an open shared Google spreadsheet? Thats a good idea. Lets see though if Paizo sets something up or not. If not, then we can work something out.
Giving this a bump so its not forgotten - please Paizo Team, have a corkboard or something so we can coordinate these games :-)
I was trying to do you all a favor and have the evening games start and end at an earlier time but if everyone would rather shift all the 6PM open gaming slots to 7PM then I'm prepared to do that. Just let me know and we'll make it so. At the end of the day it's YOUR show and we just want everyone to have fun so help me do that. :) Id sure like to have a little time to grab dinner between the two.
Thanks (and all!) for the reviews! One of the things I enjoy about coming up to the Seattle/Redmond/Bellevue area is good coffee and good restaurants. Any place pulls some reasonably priced pitchers and pints?
I've been meaning to try Spicy Talk but I'm not over in Redmond very often. Glad to hear it's still good; I had heard there was a change in chefs there and the quality suffered, but that was a while ago, so perhaps they've gotten it back together. It's on my list, as is the Gyros2Go!To be honest, I've not been there in months. I used to go out to lunch a lot but not really since we got our corgi, so I've not been there in roughly 4 to 5 months so quality might have suffered since then. That must be one plump and tasty corgi if he's lasted you 4-5 months ;-)
You been to any of the non-chains, Michael?
I thought Id narrow this one down a bit. I am not familiar with this part of Redmond, anyone know what's within short walking distance of the hotel?
Sessions can be age/maturity rated as 17+, which really makes it inappropriate to have young children present in the area.
Just call them, tell them the date range and it should be fine. I just placed my reservation and there are still rooms left at the con rate.
Submitted again - this is the third year for this event, new prop pictures are in the works. If by chance it doesn't get into the event schedule, Ill run it anyway at a free table. ============== Event Name: Failed Sanity Check Event Description: You bolt up after a mind shattering experience in a strange and unpleasant place with no memory of who you are, with only a smeared reflection as you guide. Bring two colors of d6 dice for this direct sequel to one of HP Lovecraft's most famous stories. This is a mystery-horror adventure - only sign up if you've never played in it before. No experience required. Category: RPG
It seems it wouldn't take much to implement: a large cork board in a prominent location along with a stack of forms and a box of pushpins... Maybe there's a Linux or Open Source Con in the area where we can lift a cork board ;-)
It would be nice if there was a central location where GMs can post their ad hoc game events, game name, description, number of players wanted, time, location online. That way, instead of sticking our noses into the various free rooms, it would be easier to know that someone is going to be in Room X @ 9 PM wanting to run Game Z. Some industry conventions used to offer an online calendar for this, which was awesome for scheduling meetings. Or even the classic pin up board would work. I havent given much thought on implementation - I guess this could be done via a sub-forum or Facebook. What do you all think?
Non-PFS GMs aren't PFS Volunteers, no. Thanks Vic!
Hi, I'm up for running another session game, but Im wondering if volunteer GMs who want to run a session or two (Non PFS) are going to need to be volunteers as they were defined in the blog post about them. Anyone know?
Vic, is someone from Paizo in contact with the hotel about running out of double bed rooms and securing more?
There is a time honored tradition among many companies to assume the role of customers for fishing expeditions. I sure hope Paizo isn't doing that. As an aside - I was recently watching the bonus features on the Stargate Universe DVDs, and one of the show creators mentioned something of parallel interest. He said that he thought that fans of previous iterations of SG (Atlantis, SG1) helped torpedo SGU because SGU was new and different and they missed their old shows. I could see that happening with a premature Pathfinder 2.
The rapid release of 5th edition suggests how badly Hasbro dropped the ball (or pass the ball to Pathfinder). They made a new game simply to make a new game to sell more books - it was not a better game. It was a game to productize more mats, cards, figures and of course, books.I'm pretty sure that the release of 4E was due to the fact that a lot of us felt there were serious problems with 3.5E, the 'money grab' claim is pure BS. Hmmm. A large corporation buys out a smaller one with a rich IP portfolio, and putting out a new version of interlinked products that should appeal to a much larger customer segment (young MMO players) to generate new revenue is BS? I don't think a corporation like Hasbro has an innate love of the game and somehow places that love above profitability. 3.x was getting long in the tooth, and core book sales are the big money makers. Trying to appeal to the MMO crowd did make a lot of sense because its a much larger group that old school RPGers, however either the product didn't appeal to them, or the crowd just isn't interested in the table-top experience. What is clear is that 4th edition did alienate a segment of buyers. The announcements so far about 5th edition suggest an obvious course correction.
I'm guessing Monte Cook won't be coming this year. We need to set that boy straight ;-)
Now that you-know-who is preparing for a marketing blitz around 5th edition, I think it's time for Pathfinder 2nd ed. Mostly, I think this would be a good way to capitalize on a larger marketing budget, but I could see some real value coming out of it. I think what that would do is give D&D 5th Edition a huge break. The rapid release of 5th edition suggests how badly Hasbro dropped the ball (or pass the ball to Pathfinder). They made a new game simply to make a new game to sell more books - it was not a better game. It was a game to productize more mats, cards, figures and of course, books. Now Paizo has also produced a number of these products, but they've done so to meet market demand, rather than trying to convince the market it needs a lot of stuff that it really doesn't need. The variable "level of detail" style game discussed for 5th edition so far in regards to 5th edition sounds exactly like what it is - the attempt to recapture customers who have already moved on to something else. No longer are they trying to capture the new generation of MMO players but acknowledge that the paying market are the oldsters. Any good edition can be given a full decade. In a decade, you can come up with refinements to almost every part of the game, and test each one to ensure that its really an improvement or not.
The banquet was always a great deal - this year the price is quite a bit higher. What's being served, Roast of Mona? :-)
I think MORE people submitting games to be placed in the lottery is really what needs to happen. I completely agree. In addition to just getting more sessions going, Id hope for two things - More Paizo team run adventures. Maybe its me, but it seemed like there were more sessions run by Paizo employees in 2011 than in 2010 (or maybe scheduling was better). GMs running lottery games don't have tiny maximums. Some games lend themselves to 2 or 4 member parties. It might not sound like much of a difference but if a few 4 member parties could become six member parties, that means more people get the games they want. If you want a tiny maximum, how about running two sessions of it? I wouldnt want this mandated, just taken to heart :-) Id like to see some way to advertise an ad hoc session, so people know you aren't just a lonely looking guy sitting at a table. What about reusable plastic stand ups that say "Game Forming, Please Ask!" or the like?
That is interesting - and look at those examples - it does seem the man on the street is anywhere from levels 1-3, and up.
So when a PC starts out as a level 1 character, how remarkable are they? It seemed like there was some effort put into making man on the street NPCs range in levels between 1-5 back in the day. However I like the idea of achieving 1st level making you already a somewhat heroic figure - meaning, most people are 0 level and competent folks are 1st level, and really heroic folks are 3rd level. The rest are true heroes and monsters, short in supply but dangerous to cross. I am still relatively new to Pathfinder and I dont get a sense of the level of the Average Joe in adventure path / Golarion. Can someone explain?
Late 70s to early 80s were my HS years, and all said and done, it wasn't all that bad (place a pin someplace between That 70s Show and Freaks & Geeks...). I started the first Gaming Club at my high school, and we had no problems finding sponsoring teachers. Mostly, we were ignored, which is how we liked it. Actually, we annoyed the Chess Club because their members would rather come to our games than theirs. Because I was affiliated with both a high school club and a local group, I got called a few times by local police who asked about it - they were trying to figure out if it was a cultish thing or not. Likewise, there were a few psychiatrists who wanted to learn more, and we let them sit in on some games. A few friends had troubles at home, mostly because of the MM's devils and demons. As long as you weren't drinking and driving, getting someone pregnant (AIDs wasn't quite the public issue yet) or getting busted for smoking weed in a public place, parents weren't nearly as dialed in to what you were doing, as they are now. Of course, if you were in high school at that time, you are watching your kids all the more carefully ;-)
Hey, if you didn't want to read idle speculation and armchair quarterbacking, why post this? ;-) Most business decisions by public companies are made for business reasons. WotC is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and its been what - 11 years now? That's quite a bit different from when WotC acquired TSR. Im sure its complicated. I think every RPGer owes a big thank you to Ryan Dancey and the OGL (whom I spotted at PaizoCon 2011 but was so rushed that I didnt have a chance to say hi). Because of that, companies can come and go, and run their products into the ground, and we still have the rules to play with.
As Paizo looks at dates and locations for 2012, I hope they can avoid June 21-23rd when Bellevue/Seattle hosts the AHA National Homebrewers Conference. About 2000 homebrewers are expected to attend. I would hate to miss either one. I was happy there was no overlap with Father's Day this year. It would be kind of cool if there was some proximity for other local events. What else is happening in the Seattle area around the same time?
We actually began looking for a larger place to host PaizoCon *last* year, but we knew that this year, we wouldn't quite be big enough to step up to a larger venue. At this point, though, I'd say that odds are pretty good that PaizoCon 2012 will be in a larger space. I hope you'll keep it in Bellevue, all the same.
Cool I was just curious, I am excited too play,usually I run cthulu so this will be a nice change. See ya at the con. Everyone did a bang up job role playing it to its conclusion! Thanks everyone for playing. In case I run this next year, don't reveal any of the special details (you know what I mean ;-)).
Any more hype updates? The clock is ticking...
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